This was a book that was loaned to me by a coworker when he found out I was interested in being a full-time overseas missionary. It had been sitting on my shelf for many months, but I decided I better hurry up and read it when this coworker announced his retirement.
I was able to read the book in one day, which is not an easy feat for me. This book has the distinction of being the only such book on sale at the United Methodist Volunteers in Mission store. Surprisingly, however, Kohls does not write from a Christian perspective. Even so, his insights would be valuable to an outgoing missionary, though I hope that whatever sending agent they went through would offer them training above and beyond this.
This survival kit helps to prepare travelers for the culture shock they will likely experience, the struggles in adapting to a different culture, as well as the ups and downs of life in another culture, and reentry.
Some of the most helpful aspects of this volume is when Kohls explains how our different values and culture influence our behavior and expectations. Kohls also gives good advice in acclimating yourself to your new surroundings and building relationships.
This is certainly a helpful "kit" for first-time overseas long-term travelers, as well as a good reminder for those who have done it before. However, like I said, if you're going on overseas missions, you'd better have a lot more training than this book can offer.
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