Missionary Kids???

[manicfaith]

I was an MK, (and I guess a pk too, as my dad was an ordained minister, and he preached at churches a lot...he never was pastor to a church, though)..
I grew up in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua. And then in Madrid, Spain. Finally wound up meeting my husband in Barcelona, and that's where I'm living now.
My parents were missionaries for 15 years, and it was a strange childhood, bouncing around different Central American countries and the USA..and finally over to Europe.
But it was awesome!

 

[wish2bflying]

Australia, USA, Mexico, USA, (trip around the world),PNG, Indonesia, PNG, (trip around the world), USA, Australia, PNG, (trip around the world, this time driving all over Europe and the USA for 4 months), Australia, PNG, Australia - finally, for good.

In 18 years, I lived two years that I remember in my passport country. Now, 18 years later, I still struggle to feel "at home" here. I read Third Culture Kids and could hardly talk without choking up. Still can't think about it too long without getting emotional. I look white but I feel "other". I don't fit in anywhere. I can't go "home" because I don't have one. I can't go "back" because there's nobody to go "back" to.

I have a wife who grew up in one city her whole life. My kids hate moving and I never realised how hard it actually was until I saw the pain I put my kids through. I joined the Army and moved five times in two years, two of those moves interstate. I was feeling "normal", and my family was falling apart. I've left the Army and we're "stable" again, whatever that means, and I'm feeling restless already. I feel trapped because I can't get a better job to get enough money to go anywhere.

The one thing I do have is God, and my family, and the church. Nothing else makes sense, and I don't think it ever will.

White people are SO boring.

I need to sleep.

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

 

[meiguorach]

I've always been an MK (..and a PK, too, I guess since my dad was an ordained minister and a youth pastor... though he was never the pastor of a church). Was born in South Korea in 1994 and when I was almost 11, we moved from there to China, where I lived up until earlier this week. I'm back in the States to study at Liberty University this Fall, and.. it's a pretty different place from what I'm used to! Haha.

When I was 4, I lived for one year in the States (in one location) when my sister was born, and for the next 3 years my family was traveling non-stop on deputation around the country. Over the years, we've made several visits to the States on furlough, usually for about 4 months at a time. So, I've never really lived here.

 

[Bulan77]

I had totally forgotten about this thread until I googled "missionary kids" and "forums" tonight!

I was a PK too. The two worlds overlap, but there are definitely unique aspects to both lifestyles and identities.

Are any other MKs still active in these forums?

If you want to check out forums FULL of MK topics visit: mkPLANET.com/forums

 

[Jaelyn Liza]

I'm a MK, and now a missionary myself too!

 

[Bri<3]

You might be a MK/TCK if:
- you sort your Christmas mailing list by continents
- you can speak three languages, and can t spell in any of them
- you cruise the Internet looking for fonts that support your "native" language's alphabet.
- you feel you need to move after you've lived in the same place for a month/year...
- you have a name in at least two different languages, and it's not the same one.
- you don't think that two hours is a long sermon.
- you haggle with the checkout girl for a lower price.
- you refer to gravel roads as highways.
- fitting 15 or more people into a car seems normal to you.
- you know how to pack.
- you realize that furlough is not a vacation.
- you do your devotions in another language.
- you have friends from or in 29 different countries.
- you speak with authority on the subject of airline travel.
- you can cut grass with a machete, but can't start a lawnmower.
- you watch nature documentaries, and think about how good that animal would taste if it were fried.
- you consider a city 500 km away to be "very close".
- you have a time zone map next to your telephone.
- you read National Geographic and recognize someone.
- you can't answer the question, "Where are you from?" in less than 20 minutes.
- the family gathers round the computer to check the email.
- you forget that your grandparents speak only English.
- you have a passport but no driver s license.
- you watch National Geographic channel and recognize someone.
- you keep dreaming of a green Christmas.
- you wince when people mispronounce foreign words.
- you have strong opinions on how to cook bugs.
- you know there is no such thing as an international language.
- most of your friends can t speak English.
- you watch a movie set in a foreign country, and you know what the local people are REALLY saying!
- you think nothing of straddling white lines to pass between buses or trucks travelling side by side, because There was plenty of room, Officer! Honest! At least 15 centimetres clearance!
- the message on your answering machine is in two languages.
- you habitually buy food supplies in bulk.
- you are cold when it is 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Oh my gosh!!! I can totally relate to a lot of this stuff!!! I spent seven years overseas!!!