Rob and Trish* were in a hurry to get to the mission field, but their sending organization required that they go through missions training before going to the field. “I thought it was a waste of time, and I just wanted to get on the field. It felt like an additional expense and additional time,” admits Rob. Trish adds that she was reluctant to go back to school in middle age. The hurdle almost deterred them from missions altogether. They complied, however, and went to Missionary Training School (MTS). 

Within two months, their perspective changed drastically. Rob attests, “The program can take me from almost to the point of giving up being a missionary to sitting here talking to you that you’re crazy if you don’t go to MTS.” Trish expressed love for MTS and for learning about the Bible.

A year later, Rob and Trish were navigating a new life in Greece and found their training in MTS to be invaluable. Only one week after their arrival, the country experienced the strictest lock-down yet, including requirements to text the police whenever they left the house even for groceries or exercise. They were able to find an apartment and move during the lockdown, but all other activities had to be done in Greek, including shopping for house furnishings and utensils online. Because of MTS, they felt more prepared for handling the stages of frustration in trying to operate in a foreign country. 

“It kind of changed our outlook knowing and expecting these different phases to come up… There are times in Greece when without MTS, we would have really, really struggled to stay.”

They also found the MTS topics of team dynamics, personalities, and conflict resolution to be invaluable. Their anticipated teammates had already transitioned away, and a new team was in place. Through the biblical community at MTS, they learned to bond with their new team and find family away from home. 

To increase the complexity, their teammates represented a variety of countries: Ireland, Germany, the US, Iran, Afghanistan, Greece, Finland, and the Netherlands, not to mention the Third Culture Kids who formed a blended culture of their own. 

“The cultural difference on the team alone can be overwhelming at times, and without cultural training, it would be very difficult. But with cultural training, we have more empathy with teammates from Europe as well as the people we serve from honor-shame cultures from the middle east.”

The team primarily works together to serve people from Afghanistan and Iran, including those coming from the recent refugee crisis. They have found cultural training to be helpful both in teaching English and in sharing the Gospel. Rob reflects, “Certain things we wouldn’t think as wrong, but they would consider it as shameful.” From MTS, they learned the importance of cultural sensitivity and understanding perspectives of honor. “We got really close to an Afghan family there, spent a lot of time with them, and learned about chai, Afghan celebrations, and family dynamics. We were at their house almost every day.” They credit the time spent with Afghan neighbors in Clarkston for teaching them things that even their teammates with thirteen or seventeen years of field experience had yet to learn. 

Two years later, Rob considers MTS “ The best thing we could have done … Now, I would go back and do it again. There’s so much information in such a short time; there’s a lot of stuff I miss.”

*Names changed 

Written by: a GFM Staff Member