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Reentry
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Introduction
The Phaeacian sailors deposited the sleeping Odysseus on the
shore
of Ithaca, his homeland, to reach which he had struggled for twenty years of
unspeakable
suffering. He stirred and woke from
sleep in the land of his fathers, but he knew not his whereabouts.
Ithaca showed him an unaccustomed face; he did not recognize the pathways stretching
into the distance, the quiet bays, the crags and precipices.
He rose to his feet and stood staring at what was his own land, crying
mournfully: “Alas! And now where on earth am I?
What do I here myself?” (Homer,
The Odyssey)
Even
today after living in another culture for a while people reentering their
homeland with its different culture may experience what Homer described Odysseus
feeling nearly 3000 years ago. Furthermore,
one does not have to be gone twenty years to feel this way.
The change of geographical places is accompanied by a psychological
transition that may take much longer than it took to move physically from one
place to another. These transitions
are experienced by anyone crossing cultures, including those in the military,
the diplomatic corps, the business world, and the missionary force.
When
making any change in life, it is good to take time to “process” the changes
and see how they fit into your life. Nearly
4000 years ago Hagar was in transition when an angel of the Lord found her and
carried on the following conversation (Genesis 16:8-9).
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Angel: “Where have you come from?”
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Angel: “Where are you going?”
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Hagar: “I’m running away from…” (she had been mistreated)
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Angel: “Go back to…”
This gives us a good outline of how to
look at the changes in our lives: thinking about where we have been, where we
are going, and where we are right now. Of
course, we can not actually go back in time, but we can go back in our memories
and think about what has happened and see where those experiences fit in our
lives.
The first such recorded
change experienced by Christian workers was not even a cross-cultural one, but
Jesus took those workers aside to process what had happened.
In Luke 9:1-10 (also found in Matthew 10-14 and in Mark 6), we have a
summary of the first “reentry” after an evangelistic campaign.
Note that Jesus
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called them together (v. 1);
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gave them power and authority (v. 1);
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commissioned them to preach and heal (v. 2);
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oriented them about what to take and what to expect (v. 3-5).
Then they went on their
crusade (v. 6). When they returned,
they reported to Jesus, telling him what they had done (v. 10).
Of course, they did not report to Jesus because he needed to know—like
your sending agency would want to know what you did while you were gone.
They reported to him because it was good for them to review for
themselves what had happened, and it was good for all of them to hear from each
other what had happened while they were gone.
Then Jesus took them with him to a remote place near Bethsaida , the beginning of the first “reentry retreat” or “transition workshop”
(v. 10). It is good to take
time to talk about what has happened to you, especially to talk about this with
others who have had similar experiences.
The first
cross-cultural reentry by Christian missionaries is recorded at the end of Acts
14. There we read about Paul and
Barnabas returning to their “home church” in Antioch where they had been commissioned. They
had completed their work during their first term, and they gathered their local
church together to report what had happened.
They reported two things (v. 27).
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First, they reported all that God had done with them.
Note that they did the same thing when they arrived at headquarters in Jerusalem
and met with the apostles and elders there for the first time (15:4). It is good to report to your supporters and those to whom you are
responsible what God has done with you.
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Second, they reported how God had converted those of other
cultures. Again note that they did
this same thing when they visited from congregation to congregation as they
traveled (15:3). It is good to
report what God has done for others.
As you reenter your
homeland with your “passport culture,” you may go through three stages.
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First is a period of “leaving” your host culture, a time of
“ending” your connections there. This
begins when you begin making preparations to travel home. Unfortunately sometimes people are unable to really “leave” things
behind.
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Second is an “in between” period in which you do not feel at
“home” in either the host culture you are leaving or in your passport
culture into which you are entering. During
this period, you are really a “homeless” person, even though you have a
house in which to live. This begins
when you actually board the plane to return.
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Third is a period of “entering” your passport culture, a time
of “beginning” again to establish a life there.
This period may continue for months, or even longer as you again come to
feel more and more “at home.”
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