Several years ago Bonnie and I wrote Coming “Home”: The Reentry Transition to use in our reentry retreats for people returning to their passport cultures after serving in other cultures for several years. We wrote that book for people to read after they had returned to their passport country, so those reading it were looking back to remember what had happened in the past as well as looking at where they were at that moment as they faced the future.
Recently I was asked to participate in a reentry workshop in another country for people planning to return to their passport cultures in several months. Although people conducting the workshop gave the participants copies of Coming “Home,” I realized that those participants were dealing primarily with a different set of issues. They were looking only ahead at what was coming in the future rather than looking back at what had already happened. They had time to change what they were doing so that they could leave “right” making it easier for them to enter “right.”
Modeled after Coming “Home,” this book is written to address these issues which need to be faced before returning to one’s passport country. Each chapter includes two major parts. Part 1 considers the reentry of the Israelites as they returned from Egypt centuries ago, and Part 2 considers reentry today. You may read just the first part if your interest is historical/Biblical, just the second part if your interest is current, or the full chapter if you are interested in both.
I want to thank James Smith, Victor Hamilton, Art Nonneman, and Yvonne Moulton for their comments on the manuscript.
Have a great reentry!