by Amy Medina on April 3, 2018
Dear Missionary Mom of Littles, I see you. I’m starting with that, because I know that often you don’t feel seen. You stay home with the kids while your husband goes out to teach the Bible study. You hang around the back of the church, trying to keep the baby quiet. You have to leave […]
by Marilyn on July 9, 2017
Every summer I begin thinking about change and transition, about reentry and culture shock. With the first warm breezes of the season, I am transported to places and times where this was my reality. And I begin to hear stories from others who are going through these transitions. The stories are told in photographs and […]
by Lisa McKay on May 31, 2017
If you have children and live overseas, you probably spend time with them on the phone or video call with far-away family. How does that generally go for you? Our children (aged 3 and 5) approach every video call with their grandparents with tremendous anticipation and evident delight. They sit still and pay close attention […]
by Amy Medina on December 1, 2016
My first Christmas on African soil was when I had just turned six years old. We had arrived in Liberia only three weeks earlier, and my mom was in the throes of major culture shock. My parents had shipped over a few presents, but nothing else for Christmas. My mom managed to find a two-foot […]
by Marilyn on September 9, 2016
My mom and dad raised five children in Pakistan. At the time, options for educating children were limited. Here is her story about kids, trust, and ultimately learning that God loves and cares for her children. All five of us have come to know the God that she trusted. ***** “Do YOU think it’s right […]
by Amy Medina on July 31, 2016
I can still picture them: Miss Eager, Mrs. Sacra, Miss Davis, and many more. They gave up a good salary and a steady career to teach missionary kids in an unstable African country. And I was in their classrooms. It was the investment of teachers like these who inspired me to pursue education as […]
by Lisa McKay on March 12, 2015
It’s been five weeks since we said farewell to the house in Laos that we were still calling “new home” and boarded a plane to “Nana Papa home” in Australia. It’s less than a week now until we get on another plane that will take us to “ocean home” in Vanuatu—a place the kids and […]
by Kelley Nikondeha on September 19, 2014
Often in community development work we focus on the big things – the massive ideas that will transform the local economy, the construction of classrooms or strategies for improving local human rights. The challenges are not small, so our work efforts expand to meet the needs – we make our best, biggest attempt, anyways. Today […]
by Editor on July 7, 2014
Some of you are packing your bags, and with that, packing up a life overseas. There is so much that goes into this – from the practical, like tickets and packing, to the reflecting and the goodbyes. Today we hear from a blogger/writer Becca Garber who has been overseas with the military. As she packs […]
by Laura Parker on February 12, 2014
In true A Life Overseas fashion, we are marking this our 200th post (!!!) with a difficult conversation about the ethics involved in working with children overseas. As always, thanks for making this place an open space to hash out the realities of this living-and-working-internationally-thing. We’re grateful for your insights, experience, and grace, and we’re […]
by Tara Livesay on February 10, 2014
This month I’m writing in the air while I fly away from my island home. My feet will touch the ground in five cities today before I arrive at my final destination. Leaving the kids and the work behind, of course my mind is filled with all sorts of ‘A Life Overseas’ things, but I […]
by Tara Livesay on November 12, 2013
“You’ve given her roots, now give her wings.” That is what they all say. “God loves her more than you, trust Him with her.” That is what the spiritual and wise will advise. As mothers and fathers choosing to live and work far from our passport countries and most of the institutions of higher learning, […]