July 21, 2020
We serve in the city of Lezhë and the town of Milot, Albania. Our focus is building relationships to lead many to Jesus. We are involved in children’s ministry, discipling new believers and training emerging leaders. Having served in Albania from 2001 to 2005, we feel blessed to have the privilege of living in Albania once again.
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July 21, 2020
We are in the process of moving into a new home. I realized that in our 14 years of our marriage, we have moved 14 times, not to mention all the transitions each time we came back to the States for home ministry assignments! I wondered sorrowfully how that reality has impacted our children. Then God brought me comfort by reminding me that we have not only survived all of this transition, but have been able to thrive.
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July 21, 2020
My identity and understanding of the world and the gospel are forever changed by the opportunity I had to grow up as a TCK in Cusco, Peru. I remember an empowering conversation with my mother before leaving for Peru, where I was given a say in this decision to move. Making this choice at age seven deepened the degree to which I took on the role of “missionary.”
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July 21, 2020
God’s love and grace have shaped my identity as his child. I have had the blessing of serving on a few mission trips and have also assisted in after-school tutoring. I realize now that the fire to serve others was sparked as others invested in me and my community. I strive to see others as God sees us—as one body of Christ, as being equal.
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July 17, 2020
I am an American, a TCK, a young adult, etc. But oftentimes it seems that we blot out our most important identification, our foundation: we are children of God. With this fact in mind, suddenly, the fact that I am a TCK no longer seems to weigh on me. I will encounter misunderstandings because of it, of course, but I have a greater purpose and longing that my heart seeks after.
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July 17, 2020
I like being a TCK because I get to see and do things a lot of people don’t get to. For example, I have learned to do Thai dancing and to cook Thai food. I have made friends who live in many countries. But sometimes I don’t like being a TCK because I don’t really fit in anywhere.
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July 17, 2020
Growing up as a TCK, I experienced a lot of opposites. I was always overjoyed to come to the States for the summer, but at the same time I would start feeling homesick for the places and people I had left behind. The window is symbolic of all the windows into the lives of the people around me that were opened to me because of my TCK experience.
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July 17, 2020
The game of the street in Central Asia was urtganiki, which consists of “ball dodging and life swapping.” In this game, I have had the privilege of playing the role of both life-giver and life-receiver. Whether the teammate I high-five back into the game does well or poorly, we feel connected more deeply because of the life-exchange. Similarly when we reflect on Jesus giving us his life, we feel more connected to him.
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July 17, 2020
Third Culture Kids (TCKs) are uniquely formed and called to serve. Having grown up in Thailand, our daughters are TCKs. Their faith has been tested by deep affinity with people whose view of the world is vastly different than theirs. Yet, they are convinced of the reality and relevance of Jesus, and they are well-positioned for witness in the intercultural settings that abound in our world today.
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