Millie Castillo, Author at Institute of World Mission

I Am An Island: Can missionary women risk their hearts?

They love to take short-term trips over here…” a former co-worker and neighbor explained. He had moved from Indonesia to Singapore and was visiting after changing locations. Talking about Christians in his new host country, he continued,”…but when they’ve had enough, they retreat back home.” I tucked that comment in my back pocket and continued

Sharing Christ with the Buddhists

Christians have often found it difficult to share the gospel with Buddhists. Buddhists have often found it difficult to become Christians. Why is this? Many Buddhists come from countries where families and societies are closely knit. In Thailand they say, “To be Thai is to be Buddhist.” A change to Christianity is often seen as

Three Steps Missionaries Can Use to Cope With Challenges

In this video, Dr. Ann Hamel shares three steps to help us cope with the challenges we face in life. Missionary life can be a wonderful source of blessings—both for the missionary and those they serve. But a mission can also be an unexpectedly difficult experience. We live in a world were difficult things happen.

Homeschool Options for Missionaries

More missionaries are homeschooling today than ever before. The advantages in mobility, flexibility, and individualized parent-supervised instruction allows more time for children to be involved with their parents in mission work. But just what is homeschooling? Homeschooling can fall anywhere along a continuum between these two extremes: a. HOME School: learning based on real-life experiences

7 Effective Ways to Deal With Culture Shock

Would you try running an iOS app on an Android smartphone? This illustrates what people experience who have been enculturated (“programmed”) in one cultural setting (our “operating system”) and find themselves uncomfortable and disoriented in another cultural environment. I want to talk to you about culture shock – a psychological upset that stems from unfamiliar

Your Values and Culture

In all we do we are guided by our values. However, individuals and cultures differ on what they value as most important. Moreover, as Christians, we also listen to the Word of God. In order to understand cultural differences, we need to distinguish between the different types of values we hold: Personal Values—These are values