09/06/2026
When we returned to Germany on April 1, 2025, after five years in Japan, I expected everything to feel familiar. Instead, I felt disoriented. People around us at the airport were voicing their dissatisfaction and having arguments—wow, where were the smiles and the ubiquitous politeness of the past five years?
On our way “home” we used the restrooms at the Autobahn—I stood at the entrance confused about how to operate the coin machine to get into the restroom. Only after I saw another person go in did I remember.
That’s how reverse culture shock feels—like being out of place in your own country.
I needed four months to finally “arrive” in Germany.
Our sending church had changed a lot. People we knew had moved away or changed church. The church had doubled in size as it had taken in many refugees from Ukraine. People we had never seen before approached us and said, “Oh, you’re the missionary couple our church has sent to Japan, Julian and Karolina, right? I’ve been praying for you!” It was heartwarming to hear that, but it was also overwhelming to take in over 50 new faces.
We had started praying for our home assignment months in advance asking God’s help to organize everything. And he answered abundantly. He provided rent-free housing and a free car, helped us coordinate our schedule and provided us with new contacts. God gave us many opportunities to share about missions in Japan and his trustworthiness.
We travelled a lot across Germany: visiting churches and dear supporters, gaining new ones, carrying out mission events, and representing OMF at conferences. We spent entire weeks on the road, sometimes visiting two churches in one weekend, sleeping in unfamiliar beds and always adjusting to new people, new church cultures, and new schedules. By February, 10 months later, we had spoken at or run more than fifty events and driven over 10,000 km.
Every visit required planning, communication, preparation, and emotional energy. It was almost more tiring than being a missionary in Japan. However, just before we started to feel exhausted, God would provide a period of rest that he had scheduled in advance. We look back in amazement at his provision for all things.
The main theme of our calling, our walk with God, and the main message of our mission talks, is trust: renouncing all and following Jesus (Luke 14:33). We learned that this is also a crucial mindset during home assignment.
Again and again, people would approach us and share how deeply they were moved by what God is doing in Japan and how, through our testimony, they were inspired to trust God more.
Everything about our home assignment was unexpected—except God. He worked in our lives with love and care, and in the lives of the people around us, showing us constantly that it is his mission and we are all invited to join him.
By an OMF missionary
