Inspired by Laura Numeroff— If you send an MK some cookies, she’s going to want to eat a couple. But first she’ll ask her mom if she can walk down the street to get some apple soda to go with them. On her way, she’ll see a stationery store. That will make her think about buying […]
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by Michèle Phoenix I’ve written extensively in the past few years about attitudes and choices that can help MKs and TCKs to avoid some of the pitfalls inherent to being multi-cultural. Here are, in my estimation, the top ten most valuable of them. 1. I will believe that I am not weird—I am complex. It’s […]
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Consider this the Table of Contents for a book on missions, cross-cultural living, grief, TCKs, MKs, missiology, common pitfalls, transition, short-term missions, relating to senders, and a whole lot more. I figured it was time to compile our most-read posts and present them to you, organized by topic. So here they are, 85 of our […]
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“My book is called Misunderstood because that is how many young TCKs feel.” – Tanya Crossman It’s true. Many kids grow up among worlds and end up feeling completely and totally misunderstood. They may feel misunderstood by the societies they’ve grown up in and the societies they’ve returned too. They may feel misunderstood by the nuclear families […]
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by Michèle Phoenix As I travel to speak and consult with missionary families around the world, the word “permission” regularly comes up. In a subculture saturated with expectations and obligations, it seems to have a restorative power. Missionaries’ Kids, too, live under burdensome expectations and would benefit as much as their parents from clearly articulated […]
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There is no single story when it comes to the third culture kid; the missionary kid. While we can learn and grow from research and the common themes that have emerged to form a perspective, each child has their own story. Like fingerprints, these stories are unique, formed by family of origin, personality, and life experience. […]
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Within mission circles, the term “call” or “called” is loaded. It is loaded with story and passion; with grit and determination. It is also loaded with hurt and condemnation; with wrecked dreams and spiritual baggage. A few years ago I wrote a piece called “Lost to a Call.” It was a short essay, written from […]
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Ever talked to an MK before? Did you wonder why we looked a little lost? Why we tend to give people confused looks all of the time? Yeah. As an MK myself, I can say with confidence: we’re an odd bunch. Guilty as charged! But there’s more to the story than you might think. You […]
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We don’t go into cross cultural missions without a fair degree of idealism. We would never leave our home, family, friends and culture if we didn’t think it was our calling and that we would make a difference. As parents, our children become part of that idealism. We can’t help having expectations and dreams of […]
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The last two months we’ve been exploring the ideas in Timothy Sanford’s book “I Have to be Perfect” (and other Parsonage Heresies). I hope this series is as healing for you as it has been for me. So far, we’ve given ourselves permission to say “and” in The Little Word That Frees Us. Then we began […]
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Living abroad is an amazing adventure, but it comes with some baggage. And sometimes, the baggage fees are hidden, catching you by surprise, costing more than you planned. You thought you had it all weighed out, you could handle this, squeeze right under the limit. But then it got heavy. Your new friends moved away, […]
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