These legitimate questions-and dozens of others flood the minds of people who venture into other lands and cultures.  While such a cross-cultural experience can be exciting to anticipate, yet it can be quite intimidating--if not downright frightening--to ponder. 

     Using her expertise that comes from a 34-year career as a missionary, along with the valuable input from colleagues, the author has crafted this fascinating volume. Through engaging stories and practical information, Pat Johnston helps answer the questions that plague first-time travelers. 

     Delve into this book.  Peruse its pages.  Learn how to survive in another culture.  Find out if you should really kiss or shake hands.  

Excerpt: "Diane, how did it go?"

       I could hardly wait for my friend's response, for she had just returned to the United States from an overseas Work and Witness trip.

     "Well," she grimaced, "it wasn't what I imagined."

     "And why was that?" I asked.

     "I anticipated at least enough water for daily showers and washing clothes--and safe drinking water from the faucet. In my bedroom the little space heater barely cut the chill. When traveling I sometimes had to close my eyes to avoid seeing how close other vehicles drove to our bus.

     "And I missed sliced bread. No stores sold Dr. Pepper--my favorite soft drink. Our accommodations didn't even have a television, much less cable TV. And since I didn't speak the local language, I felt like a foreigner. I was way out of my comfort zone!"

     It was obvious that Diane's experience in another land fell far short of her expectations.

I     n this book  career missionaries and volunteers, senior adults and youth, preachers and farmers,  marrieds and singles share how they were confronted with the call of God.

     Sometimes that call was heard in an audible-like voice, sometimes recognized in divinely ordered circumstances, sometimes perceived in a quiet nudging of His Spirit. However the call came, it was unmistakable. It was God’s call to serve Him - somewhere, sometime - in missions.

     Reading this book will help you understand if God is calling you. (80 pages)

Excerpt:

     In the dusky twilight, Bob slipped out the back door and down the steps toward the barn. As he cinched the saddle on the horse's back, God began to talk to him. "Bob, I heard what you said about having everything you ever wanted."

      Bob replied, "That's true, Lord, and I give You all the thanks."

      God then asked Bob an amazing question. "What about what I want?"

      Bob's answer was quick. "God, the horse, the saddle, the house, the barn, the pasture--everything I have is yours."

     Then God said, "What I want is you, Bob. I want you to be My missionary."

     It seemed like an impossible suggestion to Bob. "You can't mean me, God! I've never been to seminary!" 

     That really happened to Beverly in Beirut, Lebanon.

     In the story Beverly prays, “OK, God, I don’t think it’s going to be easy to find a place to live in the middle of a war.  Plus we have to drive by Karentina Bridge to get to Hamra.  You’ve got to help us with this!” 

     This book shares how God took care of Beverly and her family. After reading it you will know that God can take care of you, too. (64 pages) 2nd - 6th grade level

Excerpt:

     Beverly shot up in bed. She blinked slowly in the darkness. "Is it the middle of the night?" she wondered.

     She looked at four-year-old Joanne asleep in the other bed. "What woke me up?" she asked herself.

     She slid out of bed, pulled back the window curtain, and peeked out. There wasn't a soul in sight, but she could hear the sounds of explosions in the distant downtown area of Beirut. "I shouldn't have awakened," she thought. "I hear bombs every night."

     She was used to the bombs, for Lebanon was in its fifth month of civil war.

     Suddenly, she heard noises outside her bedroom door. Her mind filled with questions. "Is that Mommy and Daddy talking? Why would they be up now?"

     Whatever the label, the result is the same. People on the run, fleeing bombs and bullets, searching for safety.  They become fugitives, refugees, emigrants. Many are never able to return to their homes again.  Such has been the history of the Middle East. 

     And what did such conflict, such turmoil, produce?  The ingredients . . . the climate . . . the opportunity for the opening of an Armenian evangelical church in Jerusalem in 1921 that eventually spread to five Middle East countries and their Arab populations. 

     Read and believe that God is still at work in the Middle East today. (88 Pages)

Excerpt:

     A fierce snowstorm wrapped the miserable Armenian refugees in its deadly white embrace during their exodus to Turkey's seacoast. Samuel and Guelenia trudged in the freezing cold with Albert and Angel for four days with only short rests, meager food, and snow for water. (It is estimated that 20,000 Armenians followed the French out of Marash. Only 4,000 survived, since many who escaped annihilation by the Turks froze to death along the way.) The Najarians didn't realize it, but they had begun their journey to Jerusalem.

     Changed Hearts, Charged Lives describes how knowing Jesus changed the lives of men and women living in South Korea, The Philippines, Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Thailand, Samoa, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Reading this book will help you to understand how knowing Christ should change your life. (94 pages)

Excerpt:

     As a Christian, Siripawn does not believe she needs a spirit house in her front yard.

She explains this new belief by saying, "Spirit  houses show respect to evil spirits and are unholy things. Now that I know and respect the one and only true God, there is no need for me to have a spirit house. I realize that God has power over evil spirits. God's power is stronger than Satan's power.

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