What does it take for returnees to thrive?
In part one of this series we considered the importance of discipling Chinese students as Chinese believers who are prepared to live in a Chinese context (contextualized discipleship). In this second part we consider the need for pre-return training to prepare returnees for the issues they will face on returning home. Experience has shown that there are four key topics that need to be addressed:
- Relating to family.
- Facing work and career issues.
- Understanding and relating to the church in China.
- Reverse culture shock and transition
Read Part 2 of the Pre-Return Training article here: https://thrivingturtles.org/2017/08/26/what-does-it-take-for-returnees-to-thrive-part-2/
Returnee Handbook Review
Returnee Handbook: On the Road of Homebound Journey by Overseas Campus Magazines. This is a very detailed resource with lots of information and questions. You can choose sections of the material to work through in a conversation with an individual student or with a small group of students. Some sections could be given to students to work on by themselves. These materials are available in both English and Chinese. For more information see: https://thrivingturtles.org/2016/06/20/pre-return-training-resources-china-specific/
TT Pre-Return Seminars
The Thriving Turtles team is able to provide China specific pre-return seminars. If you have a group of 5 or more potential returnees and you would like to host a seminar or retreat for them please contact us. For further information see https://thrivingturtles.org/2017/08/28/pre-return-seminars/
Prayer Letters
Prayer is an important part of any ministry and this is very true for Thriving Turtles. We are planning a bi-monthly “newsletter” and a weekly “prayer moments.” We will be sending you another email in the next day or so with information about how you can sign up for these letters. If you are interested, you need to opt in to each of these letters – we won’t automatically sign you up. More information will be coming in the next email or you can sign up directly from our website.