Mission Trip Checkup: A Prescription for Spiritual HealthSample

Numbing Agents

Pain relievers like ibuprofen are a blessing to recent generations, but as wonderful as it is to temporarily sooth pain with a couple pills, doctors caution patients about the danger of even over-the-counter pain relievers, as misuse can cause severe side effects.

Even after a particularly good—or particularly difficult—mission trip, the hardest part can often be coming home. Long-term and short-term missionaries typically experience uncomfortable, even painful, symptoms upon returning to their native culture. These symptoms can look like reverse culture shock; aversion toward one’s environment, lifestyle, or culture; intense gratitude or guilt or sorrow; and even a complicated mixture of all of the above. Every person’s reaction and every trip is different.

Although the intensity of these thoughts and emotions can be painful, numbing the pain is never advised. The season after every mission trip is a time of growing pains. Sometimes it feels like trying to fit back into an old mold after you’ve been stretched to new proportions. As much as you may want to go back to the old normal—or as much as you may never want to go back to it—your time of service will have changed you and you are not going to be what you were. You’re meant to keep growing, not to deaden the growing pains.

When you return home, be on the lookout for the quick fixes you reach for, which may be pain relievers in disguise. Let the discomfort, the out-of-place feeling, the complex emotions, lead you to ask God, “What do I do with what I experienced? What would you have me do from here?” 

Don’t move on too quickly! The agitation of your spirit can be used for good, and if you don’t numb it, it can lead to growth, not only for you but also for countless others. 

Practical considerations:

• Have a trusted friend—whether a team member or someone who’s done similar work before—debrief with you, not only immediately after your trip but at several intervals afterwards.
• Prayerfully consider a fast from a select thing (for example, food, social media, movies, non-essential shopping, eating out, etc.) to help you focus on the lesson God is still teaching you about your mission trip.
• Journal as much and as deeply as possible. Write down your prayers. Note the passages that God has been showing you. In a couple years, you’ll be glad you recorded all you did.