What is Cultural Integration Training?

Our family is about to depart for seven weeks at the Center for Intercultural Training in Union Mills, NC. This is a highly acclaimed program for pre-field missionaries, and a required step in our deputation process.

The following is a description of the CIT program:

Cross-cultural living, ministry, and language learning create unique stresses on the individual missionary and family in a variety of ways. We will address those issues and seek to prepare you to successfully navigate those critical areas.

• Explore the unique stresses of moving overseas and provide tools to help in the transition.


• Identify how expectations play a role in the cross-cultural adjustment.


• Analyze the special needs of singles, married couples, families, TCKs (Third Culture Kids), and women's roles.


• Explore the phenomenon of culture shock, its causes, its effects on relationships, and ways to cope.


• Introduce the basic theoretical perspectives and research tools for cross-cultural study.


• Learn skills in applying principles and data of social organization to formulating mission strategy.


• Acquire at least 25 highly effective language-learning techniques, ideas, and projects.


• Receive productive guidelines on how best to approach learning a language for the entire family.


• Conflict resolution skills


• Spiritual formation

Whew. Sounds like a lot to learn to me. They have a separate (but just as intense) program for our boys.

Once we complete CIT, we can go to France as soon as our support is in place. That's right, folks, we are down to the final phase, and it's going to be a race to the finish. Our heart's desire is to be in France in September--allowing the boys to begin school at the beginning of the school year; which is particularly significant since they will be in a school with an integration program for non-french speaking students.

The challenge is that for the next seven weeks we will be focusing on our pre-field training and not on fundraising. We are past the half-way point, but as the old song says, "We have a long way to go and a short time to get there!"

Will you join us in asking the Lord of the Harvest to bring in the final funding we need? Will you pray that we will trust Him for the timing of our launch? Will you thank Him for His amazing provision? He who began this good work will be faithful to complete it. We are confident of that.

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