I just had the incredible privilege of helping some missionary kids prepare for a major move. I had a wonderful time with them (they were amazing kids!) and plenty of opportunity to ruminate over why it is that I am so utterly devoted to missionary kids: :)
- They come from good stock-MKs have parents who are passionate and courageous enough to follow God's call to be sojourners. That trickles down in a major way!
- To get a glimpse through their eyes is to see the shifting shapes and colours of a kaleidoscope. Host culture, passport culture, family, mission/church and school culture all colliding and reconfiguring constantly.
- I am fascinated by their HIDDEN CONTEXT: I love nothing better than to hear their stories, and boy do they have some good ones!
- I am blown away by their potential. The catalyst of an international childhood in a home with a focus on reaching people for Jesus churns out some incredibly intense, focused and skilled people with a passion for changing the world.
- In spite of their remarkable potential, they are frequently voiceless within mission organizations. Often leadership are not interested in them until they are old enough for productivity, missing a vital opportunity to develop, shape and hone people with gifting and skills naturally suited to mission work.
- I love missionary kids because the road they walk is difficult, confusing and lonely at times. They need the support of adults within the mission organization who are available to advocate for them and bear witness to the complexity of their journey.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Why I Love Missionary Kids....
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5 comments:
Three days back in Singapore and I find myself at the Eurasian building participating in a 24 hour playwrite competition! I've decided to write about TCKs so I've turned to your blog for inspiration! Yeah C'h!
I can't wait to hear what you write about! How does it feel to be back?
Wow, this is so encouraging. :) Like, really really really encouraging. I'm a missionary kid, and I just moved to the U.S. a year ago for college after spending my whole life in the Philippines. :)
i am so glad you are encouraged...how are you finding your adjustment???
ju
last year was kind of rough, but better than a lot of people I know. :P This summer I did an internship with MK2M (a branch of Campus Crusade geared towards MK's) and so I trained for a month with like 11 other college age MK's before helping lead a mission trip to Mexico made up of high school aged MK's, and we were taught a lot about transition and TCK stuff and we helped each other process our adjustment which was infinitely helpful. :) And we read that book about TCK's that I saw somewhere on your site, haha. Great book. Do you by any chance know Libby Stevens? She does TCK talks and she taught us at the internship for a week as well as doing a senior seminar for my school in the Philippines.
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