From KB, 2004, From interview with Mr. and Mrs. B.
People are not in awe of you when you come back to US because of your mission time. Relationships with people are different, especially with the people you once may have been close to. People have lived without you and have gone on while you were out of the country, so things will be different.
- From the book Stepping Out
You change dramatically while being overseas.No one else can share your experiences at your level of intensity, and this can get frustrating when you feel that others don’t understand you and what you’ve been through. You feel you have changed, but may feel yourself slipping back into old habits. You may be disappointed with other Christians upon returning home, thinking that they should be acting differently because of all that you have been through.
Suggestions:
Integrate your experience into every aspect of your life.
Be aware of your frustrations and find someone to talk to if you need that
From Interview with WF and FF:
When they returned to the United States, people were on the streets asking them for money. It wasn’t the America they had left and they didn’t know how to do things in the US anymore.
I had a friend who spent a summer in Africa on a mission trip and when she returned home was sickened by what she saw. She couldn’t go to a grocery store, because she saw the rows and rows of food that we had. She had seen the other end of the spectrum, with hardly any food. Plus she had a hard time with people’s attitudes and how they may not even care about the plenty of food that they had available. KW
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