Combating Homesickness: While Off the Mission Field

I have often been asked, how can you be homesick for the place you served in?  Not sure, other than once you get adjusted to the culture you live and minister in, you can actually have reverse culture shock when you return to "home" off the mission field.  So how do you combat homesickness while back "home" on furlough?  Here are some simple tips and tricks I have learned:

1) Be A Tourist - Take a day and visit places as a tourist.  Is there a tourist place in your home town or near by you have never gone to?  Visit it and take pictures to share with people back on the field.

2) Gather Gifts - Look for gifts for people back home on the field.  Make sure they are items that can travel easy and if need be, can go through customs, but make it fun!

3) Keep a Journal - It is a good idea to keep a journal on or off the mission field.  Personally, I keep one for on the field and one for on furlough.

4) It's Okay to Feel Different - Depending on how long you have been gone from your country of origin, you may be having reverse culture shock.  Prices of things may seen shockingly cheep or high to you, depending on the item.

5) Don't Stay in Your Country of Origin to Long - Staying to long on furlough, makes it harder to get back to where you are called as a missionary.

6) If possible, schedule churches for your furlough way in advance. - Many church that already support you will be happy to have you in on short notice, but one of you major goals with you furlough should be be to raise more support for your ministry.   This will help you be more effective in the ministry God has called you to do.  This also helps you not have as much time to get homesick (although talking about home can make it flare sometimes), and get you back home on the missions field faster.

7) Don't ever stop learning. - Being back in your country of origin is a great opportunity to improve yourself between meeting by gleaning wisdom from Christians in the ministry, construction, music, computers, and any other field of study that would be useful to you.

8) Being a missionary is a calling and one of the greatest things you can do with your life. - Don't forget your calling.  While on furlough, we have the chance to see God use us to call others to the mission field.  We are not God, and should not twist people's arms into ministry, but also we should do our best to be an example and help others answer God's calling in their lives.

~ Michelle