A Culture Shock

In 1986, Helene and I landed in India. What a culture shock that was for us! Upon our arrival in Bombay, now called Mumbai, we were overwhelmed by the unfamiliar surroundings. The Swedish and Indian cultures seemed poles apart! For the first week, we seriously considered returning home.

After that first week, though, we both came to the same conclusion: ‘We have always wanted to be missionaries. So now that we have finally received a foreign assignment, how can we give up? We must overcome these obstacles.’

Therefore, instead of running away, we decided to learn as much as we could about this completely different way of life. As we did so, Helene and I quickly fell in love with India. In fact, we have since learned two Indian languages, Gujarati and Punjabi.

In 1995, Helene and I were back in India, where we worked with the translators at the branch to provide them with the MEPS tools they needed to do their work. Today, there is sufficient literature available in many of the languages spoken there to help people to study and progress to baptism.