Over the years we have seen students respond to coming home in a variety of ways. Some have easily and quickly integrated back into life at home, others have struggled and had to work to get back in stride, and still others have fallen somewhere in the middle. (Check out our blog post on Reverse Culture Shock ) We know that you are praying for your student and want them to integrate in a healthy way, and we want the exact same thing. Below are some tips that may help you and your student:

Actively Listen

Your student will have tons of stories. Sometimes students need to unpack their experiences before they are ready to transition back into life at home. Allow them this time, and even take it a step further by encouraging and showing them that you want to hear from them. Look at pictures, ask questions, and really share in the conversation with them. Most people will not care enough to listen past 1 or 2 stories, so this is a huge opportunity to minister to your child.

Expect Your Student to be Different

Global experiences change people. Encounters with poverty, a new culture, inability to communicate, being a minority possibly for the first time, and spiritual darkness will alter the way your student views and interacts with the world, including you and your family. Patiently try to discover the changes in your student and help them readjust in a godly way. Many of these changes are for the better, so your job is not to help them change back, but to help them integrate these experiences and changes into their lives and your family.

Share in Their Passion

Many of the people your student comes back to will not be able to identify with them or will not be interested enough to try. This will most likely make for some disappointing or frustrating moments. Having someone who shares in their new passion will make a big difference. Read up on the people group, religion, or country your student worked among and talk about what you learned with your student. Explore how God may have used this experience to give your student a bigger heart for the world or this specific people and how it could help shape their future.

Don’t Assume This is Over

Students who serve overseas often return home already planning their next mission trip. Please know that we are first and foremost concerned about your student living on mission and integrating his/her mission experience into life back home. Give your students a few weeks to process the whole experience, and then see if her passion to go again is still strong. We have some amazing next level experiences all over the globe, and we look forward to the opportunity to partner with you and your child once again as God leads them to go.