When you experience being on mission with God, it can be pretty intense. You are out there connecting with people, serving food, doing work with kids, building homes, sharing your faith . . . and all in environments that you have never experienced.

That is huge in your life, but remember that your friends and family that are back at home haven't had any of those experiences. They might look at you with a bit of a blank stare and then move on to talk about the latest movie.

Don't get discouraged, one of your roles is to represent a missional life back home. You have to find creative and compelling ways to share with your friends and family what you saw, what you did, what God used to change you.

Yes, that is work, but it is worth it. Don't you want your experience to impact others.

Consider doing a few of these things to connect:

1. Write a blog while you are on your trip and encourage your friends to read it and be praying.

2. Upload your photos on Flickr, Picasa or YouTube and send it to your friends so that they can see you on mission.

3. Tell stories - don't just report what you did. Talk about people's lives.

4. Make it simple - don't write 5 page emails about your trip. Save the long stories for those deep personal conversations.

5. Make it fun. Don't over-spiritualize your conversation. Help those you love realize that anyone can be on mission with God - anyone.

Listen to the podcast on this subject here.