In This Issue: Culture Shock, Stand4Kids, TCK Books
- FEATURE ARTICLE: Culture Shock? We Don’t Have It!
- RESOURCE LISTS: Thirty Tools for Raising a Mission-minded Family, and More
- BOOKS: Three on the TCK Experience
- EVENTS: Retreats and Conferences
Missions Catalyst is a free, weekly electronic digest of mission news and resources designed to inspire and equip Christians worldwide for global ministry. Use it to fuel your prayers, find tips and opportunities, and stay in touch with how God is building his kingdom all over the world. Please forward it freely!
Resource Reviews, edited by Marti Smith, are published once a month.
FEATURE ARTICLE: Culture Shock? We Don’t Have It!
By Marti Smith
“Maybe you can tell me,” he said, leaning forward, “why Americans never want to admit that they are in culture shock.”
The man I was talking to was kind of “American” himself. He spent two decades in the U.S. and married an American woman before returning to the Middle Eastern country where he was born and grew up.
He was still frustrated with how many of those who came to visit and work in his country hit the wall, culture-wise, and didn’t even realize what was happening to them. “The first month, it’s a honeymoon. They think Lebanon is great. By the third month, it’s ‘These people are all liars! My landlady lied to me. Maybe you are lying to me right now.'” …
I wasn’t sure why Americans (and others) are so reluctant to recognize their own culture shock. But as the group chatted we came up with a couple of theories…
RESOURCE LISTS: Thirty Tools for Raising a Mission-minded Family, and More
Missions Catalyst friend and contributor Karen Hardin – she wrote our April 27 edition about missions resource for kids – has posted some of her up-to-date and annotated resource lists at the website of Stand4Kids.
Lists include books and other media; some pricy, others free. Find some great ideas for raising a mission-minded family, teaching preschoolers about missions, mission books and stories for kids of various ages, and more.
See the Stand4Kids Resource Lists.
BOOKS: Three on the TCK Experience
Know any missionaries? Then you probably know some missionary kids. Recent years have seen a number of resources and ministries developed to help meet their needs. Here are three new ones.
Raising TCKs:
Third Culture Kids: Growing Up among Worlds (Revised Edition), by David C. Pollock and Ruth E. Van Reken. London: Nicolas Brealey Publisher, 2009, 320 pages.
This new edition of the seminal work includes current facts and figures and looks at the impact of the Internet, social networks, and other changes in the world since the first edition in 1999.
>> Available for US$13.57 from Amazon, and elsewhere.
>> Note: The book Doing Member Care Well also includes helpful material about MKs/TCKs and is now available as a free download from the World Evangelical Association.
Off to College:
The Global Nomad’s Guide to University Transition, by Tina L. Quick. Summertime, 2010, 300 pages.
We read about this one in Brigada, which calls it “the first book written to and for students who have been living outside their passport countries but are either returning home or transitioning on to another host country for college/university.”
“It addresses the common issues students face when they are making the double transition of not only adjusting to a new life stage but to a cultural change as well, for even their home country will be foreign to them in many respects. Parents will appreciate the chapter dedicated to how they can come alongside their students, prepare them for the journey, and support them throughout this major transition. The book is also applicable to families repatriating with secondary school-aged students as the psycho-social/emotional issues remain the same.”
>> Available for US$18 from Amazon and elsewhere. You might also want to check out the author’s ministry, International Family Transitions.
One TCK’s Story:
Home Keeps Moving: A Glimpse into the Extraordinary Life of a Third Culture Kid, by Heidi Sand-Hart, McDougal Publishing, 2010, 160 pages.
Our friends at the UK-based mission network OSCAR clued us in on one more interesting resource for kids growing up global. The publisher describes it like this:
“Home Keeps Moving follows Heidi and her missionary family on their many moves through the eyes of a third-culture kid (TCK) and the unique phenomena of having four very different home countries to relate to. It tells the true story of being catapulted from continent to continent constantly: leaving friends and starting all over again, her unquenchable search for a home and sense of belonging in this world, her desire for a life partner with the odds all but against her due to constantly relocating (even into adulthood).
“The story unravels the many challenges faced by global citizens and focuses on the strengths that such a varied upbringing has and the pressures that come with it. This book gives you a rare glimpse into the world of a third-culture kid and brings insight, validation, and clarity to fellow TCKs.”
>> Available for US$10.19 from McDougal. For additional purchasing options, check out Heidi’s blog.
>> Please leave a comment below about these or other resources for TCKs and their families.
EVENTS: Retreats and Conferences
September 16 to 18 – Global Children’s Ministry Conference (Beirut, Lebanon). Facilitated by Kidzana and Le Grain de Ble. This unique gathering will encourage and equip missionaries and ministry leaders from their own context worldwide as they disciple children.
October 22 to 23 – ACMC New England Conference (Peterborough, NH, USA). Check out the ACMC (Advancing Churches in Missions Commitment) website for similar events designed to bring together and serve church mission leaders in Virginia (November 12-13), Minnesota (also November 12-13), Pennsylvania (March 25-26), and Maryland (April 8-9).
October 27 to 30 – North American Conference of the International Turkey Network (Chicago, IL, USA). Biannual event for long-term partners, organizations, churches, former workers, and those preparing to go.
October 31 to November 5 – Personal Growth Conference for Missionaries (Lake Geneva, WI, USA). Facilitated by Caring for Others. This week-long event includes personal growth planning, reflection, and interaction with other missionaries in a safe and confidential environment.
November 03 to 05 – North American Azerbaijani Network Forum (Colorado Springs, CO, USA). To be followed by a gathering of Azerbaijani believers in North America, November 05 to 07. Both facilitated by the North American Azerbaijani Network.
November 16 to 18 – Pioneers Church Partner Forum (Orlando, FL, USA). Designed to strengthen the church-agency connection. A similar event is planned March 29-31, 2011, also in Orlando.
>> See our full calendar. And please don’t hesitate to write and suggest additions!
