Living in and adapting to a new cultural setting, however, makes them more vulnerable to sin. At a latter stage of adaptation they can become discouraged by the lack of response, continued inability to communicate, and interpersonal conflict with teammates. Discouraged missionaries are more susceptible to sin. Some cultures overtly parade certain types of sins to which the missionary is vulnerable. The loss of vision frequently creates an environment where missionaries are vulnerable to Satan's attacks.
Missionaries tend to be people of great vision.
But sometimes this vision is rooted more in human ego than divine direction. They lose their vision for God's work and begin to think about worldly things. Thus discouragement breeds sin, and humanly-contrived visions die for lack of divine impetus. As a pack of wild dogs follows after a herd of wildebeests waiting for an old one to get tired or a young one to stray, so Satan stalks missionaries hoping to bring about their demise. This emancipation is not merely the endeavor of individual missionaries as they prostrate themselves before God but also the work of an entire missionary community living transparent, confessing lives in compassionate accountability.