Abide Debriefing
Stateside and Abroad
Move forward with hope and momentum
Many missionaries struggle with feeling overwhelmed or discouraged, especially in seasons of high stress or during transition. Our Abide group debriefings and retreats provide a safe community for you to process your experiences and gain practical tools to move forward.
Unpack & Process
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What is Abide?
Abide Debriefing provides time and space for adults and kids to process field experiences, be refreshed and renewed, connect with other cross-cultural workers, and prepare to enter the next season in health and wholeness whether returning, transitioning, or on furlough.
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What will I experience?
We spend time each day debriefing in guided group sessions with other cross-cultural workers. As the week unfolds, we’ll help both adults and kids acknowledge the losses and gains experienced on the field, examine expectations and stress, and navigate transition.
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What's my hopeful outcome?
The compassionate debriefers at Abide will listen as adults and kids share the good, the bad, and the ugly. They will help you gain a holistic perspective of your experience, enabling you to tell your story in a way that is honest and meaningful.
Abide Stateside Dates & Locations
June 16-20, 2025
Joplin, MO
June 23-27, 2025
Joplin, MO
July 14-18, 2025
Joplin, MO
October 13-17, 2025
Joplin, MO
October 20-24, 2025
TBD
Abide Stateside Pricing
The price includes the debriefing experience as well as light snacks throughout the day and lunch each day but Friday.
Debriefing participants are responsible for securing housing and transportation to and from the training site.
TRAIN has negotiated rates with local hotels and other housing options. Once registered and a minimum 10% deposit is paid, participants will receive confirmation and additional information by email.
If you have questions please contact us at 417.625.1400 or admin@traininternational.org
$685
Adults
$520
Ages 5-18
$410
Ages 0-4
Abide Abroad Retreat Experience
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What is Abide Abroad?
Abide Abroad is also time and space for adults and kids to process field experiences and be refreshed and renewed for the seasons ahead. This time, we bring the retreat experience to you! Our hope is to give global workers a place to rest and reflect before they hit major seasons of transition. We pray it is a cup of cool water in a desert place!
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What will I experience?
In addition to group guided practices and time to reflect on your own, we choose beautiful, restful locations that offer you a place to truly retreat. We do our best to partner with locations that offer amenities made for relaxation and a destination that offers opportunities to explore. We also endeavor to make this as affordable as possible!
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What's my hopeful outcome?
Our skilled debriefers will walk with you as an individual or as a family, meeting you where you are and helping you to have the tools you need to get to your next destination. We strongly believe a regular rhythm of retreat is vital to your spiritual health and vitality. We pray this is just the beginning of accepting an invitation for regularly scheduled soul care!
Abide Abroad Dates & Locations
July 28 - Aug 2, 2025
Millstatt, Austria
Debriefer’s Toolbox
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Interested in becoming a trained debriefer?
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Looking to add to or refresh your debriefing skills?
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Join us for a Debriefer's Toolbox event!
Abide Stateside FAQs
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Debriefing is the deliberate process of unpacking and processing your past field experiences with a facilitator for the purpose of understanding your story in a holistic and life-giving way so that you can transition well into whatever is next. Debriefing is not a substitute for counseling, clinical care, spiritual direction, or coaching, but may serve as an entry point into these avenues for growth and/or healing.
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Debriefing is for you if you are a cross-cultural worker who has served abroad for at least one year. We recommend debriefing after your first term, your final term, and after any terms marked by significant transitions or changes.
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We encourage those seeking debriefing to give themselves at least one month in the US prior to coming to debrief. This provides enough time to begin to get a sense of how it feels to be "back" and how transitions in relationships may impact you.
Although we have had people come to debrief three, five, and even twenty years after their return and receive immense benefit, we do encourage participants to debrief within the first year. We give you lots of tools to help with thoughtful decision-making that can ease the process of transition and help you curate your next steps.
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You can register above by clicking the link under the event. We accept registrations year round, but generally our debriefing events are waitlisted 30 days prior to the beginning of the event. Best to grab your spot early!
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If you cancel your registration more than 30 days from the start of this event, 90% of your total registration will be refunded, and the 10% deposit will be retained to cover administrative costs. If you cancel within 30 days of the event, 50% of your total registration will be refunded.
If for some reason TRAIN International cancels or changes the event in such a way that you are no longer able to attend, and you are unable to transfer to a different date, your entire registration (including your 10% deposit) will be refunded.
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Yes, once registered, you may transfer to a later training session. Please let our team know as soon as possible if you are changing your registration. Price is not guaranteed past the current registration year.
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Yes! Children of all ages are welcome! We have a debriefing experience designed exactly for them.
If you have an adult TCK (third culture kid) who is transferring home for college or is looking for a place to process and prepare with other ATCKs, please check out our Adult TCK debrief in partnership with Ozark Christian College above! (This debrief runs concurrent with a regular family debrief so everyone can attend at the same time!)
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For the Joplin debriefings, Joplin, MO airport (JLN) is most ideal at less than ten minutes from our facility. However, it is a small airport and flights are sometimes limited. Other nearby airports include Springfield, MO (SGF) at 1 hour 10 minutes away, Bentonville, AR (XNA) at 1 hour 20 minutes away, and Tulsa, OK (TUL) at 1 hour 40 minutes away.
For our Savannah debriefing, the Savannah airport (SAV) is recommended.
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Sessions typically run from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Throughout the day you will engage with group debriefing, breaks, time to connect with other participants and trainers, and time for personal reflection. On Friday, we will be finished before noon in order to leave you time for travel arrangements.
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We provide light snacks throughout the day, and full lunches Monday-Thursday. While participants are responsible to secure housing, TRAIN has negotiated rates with local hotels and other housing options. Once registered and a minimum 10% deposit is paid, participants will receive confirmation and additional information by email.
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No, TRAIN is an independent organization and serves participants from various denominations and mission agencies.
Have a question that wasn’t answered here? Please contact our Executive Assistant & Administrator at 417.625.1400 or admin@traininternational.org.
To find out more about Abide Abroad or the Debriefer’s Toolbox, click the link for the event above.
What people are saying about Abide
“Abide provided a training and processing opportunity I didn’t know I needed. It was a blessing to hear and be heard by facilitators who have been where we are and could help guide us forward as we work through furlough and re-entry. Thank you!” ~Abide Participant
“At Abide we were given the gift of time, listening ears, and attentive hearts. The Train staff had built such an intentional time for us so that we could really process and unpack the stuff we knew we needed to and some things we didn’t realize until we paused long enough. The setting was peaceful and pretty and we feel like we made connections and friends we’ll take with us.” ~Abide Participant
“It is so great that Train has children and youth tracks that allowed our children to be near us and also to have adults pour into their lives! We wanted to be sure our whole family could debrief, so thank you! ~Abide Participant