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Missionary Reentry Transition And Disrupted Spiritual Friendships: An Introduction To Practical Theological Consideration Of Transition And Ambiguity In Life Together In Christ, Gail Hutchinson

Doctor of Ministry

Scattered throughout communities in the U.S. are Christians who have returned home following a season of living and ministering overseas. Many returnees experience a lingering sense of disorientation and disconnection that has been described as feeling like “a stranger at home” or “everything sort of fits but not quite.” Relationships with family and local friends are often affected in ways that are unclear, uncanny, and unexpected. Spiritual companionship is disrupted as returnees and local Christian friends become partial strangers to one another. Reconnection is further hindered when disorientation, unsettledness, and ambiguity are not well understood, acknowledged, and supported in many …