Housing

When a family arrives on a field of service in the host country, there is seldom any question about housing.  The whole family lives in one residence, usually with no one else in the house or apartment.  However, when an unmarried person arrives, housing may be a question.  It seems to “make sense” to have two or more singles share a residence to save money, and also they are not as likely to be lonely.

However, although two people from the same culture may share cultural values, they may still bring very different family and personality backgrounds.  When two people from different cultures are serving on a multi-cultural team and asked to share a residence, even their cultural values will not be the same.  The more people, and the more differences between people living in the same residence, the more likely is conflict.