Welcoming Them Home: A Guide for Families and Friends of Returning Missioners and Volunteers

When a volunteer or missioner returns home after service in another culture, people at home face many questions about how to best support them during their transition. Many people find that the person they knew has changed, missing their cross-culture experience and struggling to feel comfortable in the place they call home. Friends, co-workers, parishes, families, religious communities, and mission sending organizations all play important roles in helping the volunteer or missioner thrive as they transition to a new place. This book is intended to help those at home better understand the experience of re-entry and offers some suggestions for helping make this time of transition life-giving for those returning and for their receiving community. The book includes information about re-entry, transition, and practical advice for those at home who want to support their loved one. This book is one in a series of five volumes published by From Mission to Mission, an organization serving returning missioners and volunteers since 1980. The guide shares insights from decades of experience with those returning from a time of living and serving in another culture.