Book Revie: Gretchen Janssen, Women on the Move; a Christian Perpective on Cross-Cultural Adaptation, Intercultural Press, 1989.

Review:

Janssen’s book is written for women, specifically wives, who are moving into a cross-cultural environment. She deals with women’s issues of culture shock plus their care for the house and family and their role in a new culture.  The material is the result of her research on the needs of expatriate women.  The book was published in 1989 and much of the material has been covered in more depth by other authors since then. Therefore, this reviewer believes the book is most helpful for those moving into missions for the first-time.  However, the book is written from an overt Christian perspective with helpful, practical exercises at the end of each chapter. Those exercises can be used for personal reflection and group discussion and deliberately integrate the reality and character of God with the issues of cross-cultural adaptation.  Her exercises of Christian application give the book added merit.                                            

- Dr. M.L. Codman-Wilson, 7/1/11

Summary:

In terms of women’s “need for Christian community, she says: “It is probably the one stable place that is reality in an unreal setting…The minute a man goes into the door of his office in a new region he has identity.  Women have no identity or community for maybe 3 or at least 2 years…[But] to be able to come to a church where you can say, ‘I’m Carolyn. I’m a Christian and I love the Lord, you have identity wherever you go.’” (19)

In the chapter on culture shock she encourages people to “write out your unconscious preconceptions (stereotypes) of the country to which you’ve come.  Listen to their stereotypes of Americans (27).  “Most people who are successful in living overseas adapt.  They maintain their primary identity in and with their own culture but they also reach out, make contact with the host culture and learn both to accept the differences encountered and to function effectively within them.  Integrating into another culture requires a high degree of commitment and perseverance along with strong language learning skills and the ability to split your cultural identity without negative psychological consequences” (40-41).  “The coping stage of adjustment starts when you set yourself some small manageable goals with a limited time period.  These are the steps towards functioning more fully within your new surroundings…The top 3 skills needed in successful adaptation are sense of humor, low goal/task orientation and the ability to fail” (pp.36-39). There is a helpful exercise on 50 Questions to answer about your host country and culture at the end of the chapter (50-53).

Dealing successfully with cross-cultural adaptation requires a good understanding of who you are – “What roles and relationships are important to you?...If they are missing in your new environment, is there something that suits your personality and fulfills your needs that can be a be a substitute?” (61).

Determining your goals and direction is part of that self-definition.  Write down “your long range goals and then choose short and mid-range objectives that will lead you to your ultimate destination... Ask yourself the question: “When I am 80, what do I hope I have been or done with my life?” (65) Place your desires before the Lord and pray over and then write out your goals in 3 areas:

            “Relational goals – any relationships you would like to have

            Achievement goals – any and all creative or productive achievements that you would like to make, without limitations

            Personal goals – any enrichment or enjoyment you would like in your spiritual, emotional, physical or mental life…

Now select one goal from each area…determine which of these three you wish to work on the most…Cross off any activities for which the necessary resources (money, people or contacts needed, proper location etc.) are unavailable to you..Then do the same for internal resources.  Consider the activities that are left. Once you determine that you are willing to spend at least one-half hour per week on specific steps, number them in the order they must be accomplished to attain your goal.  Break these steps down month by month for the coming year” (74-75).

Find your gifts and use them.  “Our talents are often discovered in situations of need…A prayer that has been helpful is: ‘God, help me to fulfill your vision of my potential’.  Many biblical characters, whose position or talent seemed inadequate to meet the task, through their willingness to obey God in spite of overwhelming odds, won great victories (83-85)…”We may never know what we can do until someone asks us, so we need each other.  Often gifts are discovered and affirmed in community” (86).

The exercises at the end of the chapter are all taken from scripture: a juxtaposition of one’s roles with a study of gifts (from Ephesians 4:1-17), a study of the O.T. book of Esther, a study of the wife of noble character Proverbs 31 and a study of Matthew 14 and the implications of walking on water.

Women speak frequently about the need for genuine friendships on the field.  “Americans tend to have more superficial friendships.  For people in many other cultures a friend in an ongoing in-depth relationship for life” (93).  She suggests 4 ways to develop deeper friendships quickly and sustain them in the face of time limitations:

            Intentionality

            Empathy which includes “our own ability to be real, to take the risks of being open, daring to let

 the other share in knowing us as we are inside, shedding our masks” (96)

            Listening to both the feeling being expressed and the words

            Confronting in love when differences arise:

                        “The relationships you want to be meaningful and lasting require truth and integrity as well as affirmation. [It is therefore important to] confront the issue in an atmosphere of caring and respect, seeking to understand and retain the integrity of both persons’ viewpoints while resolving the differences through a mutually acceptable solution” (102-103).  She suggests 4 steps:

1.      “Objectively describe the situation or behavior

2.      Express what you feel rather than what the other is doing wrong

3.      State how you are affected by the situation or behavior

4.      Say specifically and unemotionally what you want.” (104)

She admits that new beginnings are “not always easy or happy…A beginning requires the development of a new lifestyle, a new attitude and new kinds of self-discipline…It means accepting the possibilities and potential inherent in the present, determining your goals and direction and then saying ‘Yes’ to all that affirms them and ‘No’ to that which denies their fulfillment” (122).  She quotes Jeremiah’s prophetic words to the captives in Babylon for women who have moved into a new culture: ‘Put down roots, make meaningful commitments to the community, seek its welfare and pray for it’ (Jer. 29:4-7, 11-14).  “When you invest yourself in a new place, a new venture, or a new friendship, the more you give, the more you stand to lose if and when it ends.  But through the giving you come to know more about yourself and others and to grow in your knowledge of God.  For me the investment and the risk are worth it.  Today can be a new beginning. You are the only one who can make that decision for yourself” (124).

Questions for Reflection or Discussion:

1.       Do the exercise Janssen suggest at the beginning of her book:

Write out your unconscious preconceptions (stereotype) of the country to which you’ve come.

Write out their stereotypes of Americans.

2.      What roles and relationships are important to you?

If they are missing in your new environment, is there something that suits your personality or calling that can be a substitute?

3.      What practical steps can you take to fulfill Jeremiah 29:4-7 in your context:

Put down roots?

Make meaningful commitments to the community?

Seek its welfare?

Pray for it?