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After the Trip: Unpacking Your Crosscultural Experience
Can a one-time crosscultural experience truly be life-changing?
Veteran trip leader and intercultural guide Cory Trenda says yes—if we let the trip launch a journey of integrating the experience into our ongoing life.
In After the Trip Trenda provides a unique guide for individuals and teams to make the most of a crosscultural trip after returning home. Readers will find help with navigating the crucial reentry process, remembering and sharing key stories, interweaving new insights into everyday life, and engaging in continuing learning and service. Combining practical tips, reflections, and stories from Trenda's own decades of crosscultural travel, this is an essential resource for organizations, churches, schools, and all travelers who want crosscultural trips to be a catalyst for lasting good.
The trip itself is just the beginning; real life change happens after the trip.
Veteran trip leader and intercultural guide Cory Trenda says yes—if we let the trip launch a journey of integrating the experience into our ongoing life.
In After the Trip Trenda provides a unique guide for individuals and teams to make the most of a crosscultural trip after returning home. Readers will find help with navigating the crucial reentry process, remembering and sharing key stories, interweaving new insights into everyday life, and engaging in continuing learning and service. Combining practical tips, reflections, and stories from Trenda's own decades of crosscultural travel, this is an essential resource for organizations, churches, schools, and all travelers who want crosscultural trips to be a catalyst for lasting good.
The trip itself is just the beginning; real life change happens after the trip.
128 pages, Paperback
Published July 3, 2018
12 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 4, 2024
This book was so insightful! As someone who is passionate about global ministry, I think this book is extremely helpful in realizing how one can steward short-term trips in the most beneficial ways. One of my favorite quotes from the book was “In America I see God in black & white, but in Ethiopia I saw God in color.” I know our God is the same whenever you are, but I couldn’t help but thinking of my own experiences. God is the same God yes, but I related to this so much. I see God in color when I am in Mombasa or Lusaka. It’s a beautiful thing. Thank you Lord for the ability to celebrate different cultures!!
July 30, 2018
Corey Trenda “provides a unique guide for individuals and teams to make the most of the trip after returning home” in his new book "After the Trip: Unpacking Your Crosscultural Experience."
Right away, Trenda agrees that mission and volunteer trips aren’t always beneficial:
“You may be surprised—and disturbed—to learn that studies have almost universally found no measurable long-term effect of these encounters on the lives of trip participants!”
Yet at the same time, he feels certain that this doesn’t have to be the case:
“The key word here is potential, and much of that potential has to do with whether or not this once-upon-a time experience actually becomes integrated into the participant’s ongoing life.”
What does this mean? For Trenda this means synthesizing your experiences into actionable lessons that may change a person’s life trajectory and to ultimately live more like Jesus.
Near the end of his book, Trenda sums up this mindset:
“We are all products of our time and place in history. We are molded, shaped, and truncated by our culture. The tremendous privilege of crosscultural encounters is the opportunity to break through those strictures into a larger world, to see the world more through a God’s-eye view.”
Trenda goes on to describe what this looks like:
“The more we connect with and come to love the other, the less threatening justice becomes and the more creative and courageous we can choose to be.”
The second chapter deals with stewardship—specifically our responsibility to value both the people and the encounters that God puts in our path. Chapter 3 delves more into how properly to reflect on your trip. I particularly appreciated his connection between gratitude and action
Chapters 4 and 5 focus on actionable steps to help change occur and keeping the lines of communication open with the people you’ve met on your trip. Chapter 6 gives suggestions for preparing for future trips with the goal of making your “next trip your best trip.” The final chapter talks about the key to a “life-changing journey.”
I haven’t seen many books that deal with this topic despite several books geared toward missions in the market. As such, I think this will be useful for anyone who has traveled on a mission trip or hopes to in the future, or even quite honestly, any believer who travels at all.
This would also be a very handy guide for trip leaders to use for debriefing their teams, and the book includes suggested discussion questions at the end.
I recommend this book for anyone who is even remotely interested in the crosscultural experience.
As Trenda asserts, crosscultural experiences done right can be life-changing.
(As a disclaimer, I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher but all views expressed are my own.)
Right away, Trenda agrees that mission and volunteer trips aren’t always beneficial:
“You may be surprised—and disturbed—to learn that studies have almost universally found no measurable long-term effect of these encounters on the lives of trip participants!”
Yet at the same time, he feels certain that this doesn’t have to be the case:
“The key word here is potential, and much of that potential has to do with whether or not this once-upon-a time experience actually becomes integrated into the participant’s ongoing life.”
What does this mean? For Trenda this means synthesizing your experiences into actionable lessons that may change a person’s life trajectory and to ultimately live more like Jesus.
Near the end of his book, Trenda sums up this mindset:
“We are all products of our time and place in history. We are molded, shaped, and truncated by our culture. The tremendous privilege of crosscultural encounters is the opportunity to break through those strictures into a larger world, to see the world more through a God’s-eye view.”
Trenda goes on to describe what this looks like:
“The more we connect with and come to love the other, the less threatening justice becomes and the more creative and courageous we can choose to be.”
The second chapter deals with stewardship—specifically our responsibility to value both the people and the encounters that God puts in our path. Chapter 3 delves more into how properly to reflect on your trip. I particularly appreciated his connection between gratitude and action
Chapters 4 and 5 focus on actionable steps to help change occur and keeping the lines of communication open with the people you’ve met on your trip. Chapter 6 gives suggestions for preparing for future trips with the goal of making your “next trip your best trip.” The final chapter talks about the key to a “life-changing journey.”
I haven’t seen many books that deal with this topic despite several books geared toward missions in the market. As such, I think this will be useful for anyone who has traveled on a mission trip or hopes to in the future, or even quite honestly, any believer who travels at all.
This would also be a very handy guide for trip leaders to use for debriefing their teams, and the book includes suggested discussion questions at the end.
I recommend this book for anyone who is even remotely interested in the crosscultural experience.
As Trenda asserts, crosscultural experiences done right can be life-changing.
(As a disclaimer, I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher but all views expressed are my own.)
January 11, 2019
I didn’t love this book. But it’s the only work that I’ve seen emphasize integrating short term missions back into your everyday life.
Trenda is honest about these difficulties which is another strength.
He author is more on the progressive side of evangelicalism so you’ll either appreciate or not appreciate all of his phrasing depending on where you land.
Overall this is a helpful awareness piece in helping prep for short term missions.
Trenda is honest about these difficulties which is another strength.
He author is more on the progressive side of evangelicalism so you’ll either appreciate or not appreciate all of his phrasing depending on where you land.
Overall this is a helpful awareness piece in helping prep for short term missions.
May 13, 2019
A good little book on the importance of serving on short term mission trips with a proper perspective on what it is you are there to do. The books helps you unpack your trip and ask the tough question, did what I do there actually matter? We often think that serving of any kind of beneficial, but often what you are doing might hurt more than help. It could lead to dependency instead of empowerment. Think about what you did and God's heart for Mercy and Justice.
August 13, 2019
Perfect book for after my short term mission trip to Malawi. I started this on the last plane ride home and have read a few chapters each day. Helpful in the rollercoaster of emotions and questions after the trip. A must read post mission/venture trip.
May 4, 2023
Well thought through book that helped me process after a vision trip. How do we let experiences soak and change us?
October 2, 2023
very insightful and caused a lot of thought. I personally appreciate the stories that were within the book, they really helped prove a lot of points.
July 3, 2025
…4.3 stars.
January 1, 2019
“Cross-cultural encounters leave us with vivid memories, writing seemingly unforgettable stories on our brain with permanant ink.
“But as time progresses, memories and good intentions fade when they aren’t an active part of our life…
“So how do we move the memories from our head to our heart and finally to our feet and hands?”
Cory Trenda’s short book—just 128 pages—packs a punch. As the author admits, research suggests that mission trips, on their own, have virtually no measurable long-term effects on the lives of participants (despite our hopes and promises). What you do after, though, can make a difference.
I particularly liked chapter 6. It explores concrete ways you can learn from the disappointments and discoveries of your trip in order to make your next trip the best one yet.
Note, this book is written to mission trip participants as the sort of thing to read after they come home, but it is no substitute for a debriefing process. If trying to process your trip on your own, you will probably find a workbook or series of exercises designed to help you unpack your specific experience more helpful than reading a book. The author references some of these resources and includes Tim Dearborn's "Eight Great Questions" as an appendix.
The book may find a good secondary audience in mission trip leaders and organizers, who are generally the sort of folks who can most appreciate the points it makes.
“But as time progresses, memories and good intentions fade when they aren’t an active part of our life…
“So how do we move the memories from our head to our heart and finally to our feet and hands?”
Cory Trenda’s short book—just 128 pages—packs a punch. As the author admits, research suggests that mission trips, on their own, have virtually no measurable long-term effects on the lives of participants (despite our hopes and promises). What you do after, though, can make a difference.
I particularly liked chapter 6. It explores concrete ways you can learn from the disappointments and discoveries of your trip in order to make your next trip the best one yet.
Note, this book is written to mission trip participants as the sort of thing to read after they come home, but it is no substitute for a debriefing process. If trying to process your trip on your own, you will probably find a workbook or series of exercises designed to help you unpack your specific experience more helpful than reading a book. The author references some of these resources and includes Tim Dearborn's "Eight Great Questions" as an appendix.
The book may find a good secondary audience in mission trip leaders and organizers, who are generally the sort of folks who can most appreciate the points it makes.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews