How to Handle Culture Stress

Debbie Stephens • Apr 24, 2017

In the last 18 years, I have traveled to countries on nearly every continent. Every country I traveled to has taught me about culture and about myself.

Through my travels, I have experienced things completely foreign to my definition of normal.

I have bathed and washed my hair in a bucket, slept in a treehouse, eaten with monkeys, been roommates with scorpions, used two boards as a toilet, traveled through the mountains in the back of a pickup truck and eaten foods I can’t pronounce.

All of these experiences, while exciting, triggered culture stress in me, which can affect your mind, body and emotions.

If you travel abroad, you may have similar experiences of culture stress. But you don’t have to face them unprepared. From one traveler to another, here are my best tips for identifying culture stress and handling it well .

Culture Shock vs. Culture Stress

You have likely heard the term “culture shock” before. While connected to culture stress, culture shock is experienced differently.

Culture shock is defined as a sense of cultural disorientation when exposed to or immersed in a different society. It can also manifest itself when cultural expectations are unmet.

stages of culture shock

Culture shock generally moves through four different phases:

  • Honeymoon ( “Wow, this is great!” )
  • Frustration ( “What have I done?” )
  • Recovery ( “I think I can, I think I can…” )
  • Acceptance ( “I love these people. I don’t want to go home!” )

I’ve experienced this during my travels when “normal” activities were suddenly not normal to me anymore.

Culture stress is defined as the relearning of daily routines that are now unfamiliar and unknown, resulting in making new decisions constantly.

culture stress

Culture stress happened to me as the days went on, and my new daily routine started to weigh on me. I was functioning but on a very limited level. I felt anxious and, at times, scared of some of my circumstances. Culture stress can bring on new levels of fatigue and discouragement.

Other signs you are experiencing culture stress are negativity, frustration, depression, homesickness, anger and even physical illness.

How to Handle Culture Stress

It is normal to experience culture stress, but you don’t want to stay there forever. Here are some ways to process your new way of life, attitudes and cultural norms:

Remember, God is with you. The stresses of entering another culture can lead us to overemphasize our circumstances and deemphasize the ministry God has for us there. Staying connected to God through His word helps me know He doesn’t need me but is allowing me to join Him in the work He is doing.

Talk to someone. Tell your supervisor or teammate how you are feeling. Speaking my feelings out loud seems to bring them into perspective. They aren’t quite so ominous anymore. Ask your co-workers to pray with you. Ask the Lord to give you a love for the people you are serving and strength to overcome the struggles you are experiencing.

Focus on similarities. I find people are the same all over the world. We may have different customs, wear different clothes and eat different foods, but we all experience love, joy, fear and loss. During a particularly difficult trip, God allowed me to connect with a woman in spite of our differing cultures. Praying with her in a time of deep sadness, I saw how God comforted her, and it made me thankful that I was there to experience this with her.

Journal your feelings. When experiencing culture stress, journaling my feelings helps me release some of the negative energy I’m feeling. I also always end with praise for the Lord, as I know He is with me in my struggles. “ Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress my God, in whom I trust'” (Psalm 91:1-2).

Take care of yourself. I have introverted tendencies, meaning I gain energy by spending time by myself. When I feel overwhelmed by crowds of people and need a break, I try to take some time to regroup, even if it is just for a few minutes. When you find yourself becoming anxious or fatigued, find a healthy distraction to refresh yourself. However, be careful not to isolate yourself. “ Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

Push yourself to make local friends. Get out in your community. Set a goal to meet someone new or learn something about your host culture every day. Find a local friend, a person of peace, to help you learn the language and local customs (Luke 10:5-6). As a mobilizer with Equipped to Go , I often see short-term missionaries give into the temptation to constantly connect with family and friends on social media. They find themselves between two worlds and often find it easier to cling to the world they know over the new one to be discovered. Making local friends can help you feel more connected to your host culture.

The strangeness you feel will slowly become more natural to you as you climb out of the valley of culture stress and your surroundings become your new normal.

I wouldn’t trade my experiences abroad for anything, even though they felt like struggles at the time. I have grown immensely through each one, and they all mark a special time with my Savior that still fuels my faith today. If you find yourself tired and worn out from living in another culture, hang in there, my friend. He is Faithful!

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.”

2 Corinthians 2:14-15

Exploring The Creative Power of Creative Arts Ministry

By Lorena de la Rosa • 16 May, 2024
Creative Arts Ministries focus on using the arts to provide new avenues for Gospel reach and discipleship around the world. Ever felt the urge to channel your creative talents into a higher purpose but were unsure where to start? Whether your passion lies in art, music, or another creative endeavor, God is opening doors where creativity meets ministry, where the journey of expression takes on new meaning with eternal significance. Creative Arts Ministry is all about using your creative side to share the Gospel, encourage the global Church, and build disciples all around the world. Made with a Purpose At TEAM, Creative Arts Ministry encompasses a variety of initiatives and global workers on multiple continents, all focused on using the arts to provide avenues for the Gospel. Jon Tello, TEAM’s Global Arts Ministry Coordinator is a creative person who was first called to ministry when he was in 9th grade, even though he had no idea what that meant. “I talked to my pastors, and they said, ‘Hey, this is awesome, you’re going to be a pastor. You’re going to preach and teach God’s word,’” Jon recalls. He wasn’t sure how his love and gifting for art fit into this. Yet in his heart, Jon knew, “God made me into an artist for a purpose.” Jon says his experience is not unique. Many who feel called to global missions feel that their passion for the arts must take a back seat. They are left with the question, “As an artist, how do I fit into the bigger framework of this thing that we call the global Church?” Luke, a TEAM global worker in Japan, concurs. “A lot of people get into [cross-cultural work] just adjacent to where their skill is,” says Luke. He goes on to explain a great metaphor for what happens next. “In music, there’s a term called ‘dissonance.’ It’s when there are two notes very close together, but they clash.” Being near to one’s true calling and giftedness, yet not quite able to express it can lead to frustration and burnout. For Jon, Luke, and many others in TEAM, God is helping them find a “sweet spot” where they can use their creative gifts for Kingdom work, particularly in areas where traditional church planting and direct evangelism are difficult if not impossible. A Call to Creatives In a world teeming with creativity and a growing desire for missions, many find themselves at a crossroads, wondering how to blend their artistic talents with the call to serve. Picture this: a vast landscape of possibilities, where your creativity isn't just a skill, but a powerful tool waiting to be unleashed in the mission field. Jon’s role in TEAM allows him to help global workers tap into this potential. Jon remarks that the concept of art for ministry is anything but new. During the Renaissance period, the literary rate was so low that the Church commissioned artists to create beautiful images to communicate with the people. Jon says Creative Arts ministry today works very much the same way to reach and impact believers and unbelievers alike in ways that words alone cannot. “In a sense, we are artists commissioned by the Church that are going out across the globe, doing just that: creating imagery, creating music, creating a story to tell,” Jon says. Though once a TEAM Italy global worker, Jon now works alongside other artists to help them use their skills in ministry. “They need somebody to help them embrace who God has created them to be and for what purpose,” Jon said. “And once we’re able to do that, it’s a beautiful thing to see these artists truly thrive.”

Loving Like Jesus Cross-Culturally (Part 1)

By Megan Lunsford • 23 Apr, 2024
When seeking to serve cross-culturally with an authentic love for others, there’s no better example for us than Jesus. If we sat around a table and threw out the question, “How do we love like Jesus?” I think we would have several commonalities as we respond. For example, Jesus loved all people right where they were. He loved those who were deemed the least, those hardest to love, or those who were His enemies. These are all beautiful realities of the heart of Jesus. When we step into relationships, it can be easier to take on the warmer, more gracious gestures of Jesus’ love, especially in cross-cultural relationships. Think about it––when doing life with those who look and act differently than us, we are already out of our comfort zones and would rather keep things as simple and familiar as possible. But there are other facets of Jesus’ heart we often overlook that can transform us and others even more into His likeness. Jesus is love because God is love. Everything Jesus did was out of love; it’s the mere definition of who He is. As followers of Jesus, He calls us to the same: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.” (1 John:7-12) Every display of love we offer to others is an opportunity for them to encounter the ultimate love of the Father. That’s a pretty big deal! In this article, we’ll look at three expressions of Jesus’ love that we tend to overlook when engaging others cross-culturally. (Next month, we’ll look at three more.) 1. Jesus loved sacrificially. Everywhere Jesus went, crowds followed Him. We even see times in Scripture where Jesus had plans to step away for time alone but those who were hurting found Him and He had compassion on them and stayed with them. Can you imagine rarely having any time to yourself but, instead, constantly being surrounded by crowds of people wanting help from you? Jesus loved sacrificially. He welcomed all who came to Him with love and compassion, never turning anyone away. “When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36) In the same way, we can make room in our lives for Jesus to bring sacrificial interruptions which, in His eyes, are orchestrated encounters to transfer His love to others. It can be tempting to be so “on mission” that we are full steam ahead and find ourselves frustrated when the Holy Spirit sends an interruption into our path that we feel we don’t have time for. Or, perhaps, we have scheduled a meet-up but it’s the norm in another culture to be 30 minutes or an hour late. We anxiously think through how it will affect whatever we have planned next. While it’s normal to feel a little stressed, what if the very "interruption” standing in front of you was really a divine appointment sent by God? Or what if that person running late experiences how peaceful and gracious you are in adapting to their culture and therefore, they can encounter a beautiful display of Jesus’ love? To truly represent Christ, we should remain ready and willing for each assignment the Lord sends into our path, no matter the cost or how much we will have to re-route our day. He is always a hundred steps ahead and will work all things for His glory and our good. 2. Jesus loved by discerning each situation well. Think about how many situations Jesus had to respond to on a daily basis. We read in Scripture that there were lines of people waiting to be healed by Him, talk to Him, hear His teachings, or simply touch the hem of His robe. Jesus was fully dependent on His Father to discern each situation before addressing it. “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” (John 5:19) Another temptation we can have when in a relationship with those God has sent us to is to think we already know the solution or what God wants to do before we’ve even asked Him. We believe we are full of knowledge, so we just pull from the bank we have stored within and go with it. However, when we access what is familiar to us as our default, we risk missing out on a God-given solution that might truly be the key to unlocking whatever challenge is in front of us. What does this look like when interacting with others? We can simply ask, “God, what is on Your heart for the person standing in front of me?” Then we listen and respond as He speaks. When we make it a daily habit to pause and hear God’s heart for each situation before responding, we are guaranteed to be effective in loving those around us. He knows the heart of every person that will cross our paths. Imagine how impactful we can be if we first lean on His wisdom and discernment before moving forward. 3. Jesus loved by speaking truth. Most of us are familiar with the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. If we are honest, this conversation makes us a bit nervous as none of us would be comfortable with Jesus calling out intimate details of our lives that we would prefer to hide. But Jesus went further than just airing her dirty laundry. He offered her the hope of the Gospel and a relationship with Him - a divine fulfillment that could never be found in an earthly relationship. Jesus modeled a powerful example of loving others well cross-culturally. He took the low place and spoke truth, truly out of love––speaking to her heart from His. Like Jesus, our goal in sharing the truths about Him and His Word is to bring hope and satisfaction through Him alone. When we speak truth from Scripture, we are calling others higher into all God has for them. The tricky part here is we should avoid speaking truth if it isn’t first fueled by compassion. If it merely comes from a place of judgment, condemnation, or self-righteousness, it will fall flat 100% of the time. But if it truly comes from love, you are likely to not only win a heart back to the Father but, like the story of the Samaritan woman, even an entire village! If you see someone living outside of God’s best for their lives, ask God to show you your heart before engaging theirs. Once your heart is properly postured, you can speak truth out of an overflow of God’s love and trust Him for a transformation in their lives.
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