TCKs spend a significant part of their childhood away from their parents’ passport culture. They grow up incorporating elements of several overlapping and sometimes conflicting cultures into their identity.
The sense of relationship is often to this “Third Culture”, the experience shared by others who have a similar background.
We often hear that kids adapt quickly to a new culture and language, but it is not necessarily easy, for them or their parents.
Every now and then, we have missionaries returning home with their families for good, for one reason or another. Is it plain sailing for these children, often known as Third Culture Kids (or TCKs)? One such TCK, JB, shares her story on returning 'home' to the Philippines with her parents after living most of her [...]
My coping mechanism was to build walls. If I didn’t care about people then it didn’t hurt as much when they left.
The reason that I never wanted to be introduced as a “the kid from Japan” was because I didn’t want to be labelled as that kid and be forced to slowly push through the stereotypes.
As a short term worker helping with child care, I thought I was just going to be babysitting.
A mother’s prayers. A young daughter’s prayers. Look what can happen when God answers our prayers.
What is most previous to you? How would you decide what to take with you when you go to school? How do you deal with saying goodbyes? Meet Scratchy the Turtle!
It’s all very well for adults to decide they’re going to go overseas for the sake of the gospel. But what about their children? What’s it like for them?
I would say perspective is the thing I am most grateful for as a TCK. Perspective on life.
‘Mum, I’m in hospital’. When I heard these words from my son, my heart sank. All sorts of scenarios raced through my mind until he continued. ‘I ate a pork bun at the university café and started feeling sick. I got so sick and dehydrated I decided to go to the hospital’. I found out [...]
If He allows it, He will open the door. If you can go, just go!
Perspective is the thing I am most grateful for as a TCK. Perspective on life. I don’t want to waste my life.
Home is no longer a physical location, but the presence of God, because where He is, there too is His kingdom.
We have confidence God is working in the lives of these Third Culture Kids according to His purpose.
Often when we hear stories or testimonies from a Third Culture Kid (TCK), it's a reflection many years down the road. We rarely get to hear from one who is living it. Judit graduated from an international school in the Philippines this June, and she shares with us how it feels to be a TCK: [...]
Find out the needs of the church in Japan and how OMF Japan are seeking to meet those needs in the coming years. Maybe you could be an answer to our prayers…
Evie was raised in a Christian family and remembers being fascinated by missionary stories: “my favourite missionary story was Gladys Aylward’s. I remember watching the movie, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, as a little girl and turning round to my mum, and saying ‘Oh I want to do something like that’ I must have been about nine at the [...]
Without a doubt Third Culture Kids (or TCKs) get life experiences most of us only hear about on documentaries. It has been said they are “citizens of everywhere and nowhere” and they often grow up with a love for travel. In January this year, Mount Mayon was on the local and worldwide news as once [...]
How does moving countries affect a third culture kid? "I didn't know anybody... and all they could do was make fun of my funny accent" Different third culture kids at different stages of life share their stories. Parents from one culture + growing up in another culture = third culture kid. Find out more about [...]
I could hear the whispers as we walked past other shoppers. Comments echoed all around me: “Look at all of those kids.” “Do they have four? Wow!”
Interesting moments in the lives of some third culture kids. " 'What did you say?' ... I realised I hadn't spoken to him in English" Different third culture kids at different stages of life share their stories. Parents from one culture + growing up in another culture = third culture kid. Find out more about [...]
How do third culture kids feel about fitting in? "I look like I should fit right?... but I don't really" Different third culture kids at different stages of life share their stories. Parents from one culture + growing up in another culture = third culture kid. Find out more about TCKs at: omf.org/cross-cultural-work/serving-third-culture-kids-tcks/ Click here [...]
At The Urban Billion, we firmly believe that when God calls you into cross-cultural ministry, He calls not just you, but your whole family. We spoke to a mother about the joys and challenges of living among The Urban Billion with young children. What are the joys and challenges of living in China with children? […]
“Chefoo School Museum Exhibit, Yantai, China” Chefoo School was established in 1881 by Hudson Taylor in what is now the City of Yantai, China. The School was closed at the original site in 1942 when students, teachers and staff were interned by the Japanese following their attack on the United States at Pearl […]
How do missionary parents provide schooling for their children? The Christian Academy in Japan provides one English-speaking option for families in Japan.
“The short-term team was reaching a demographic of people that I, someone in my 30s, was unable to.”
We have a new rule in our house: No Japanese at meal times. Our two oldest are in Japanese school and kindergarten, so most of their playtime in the week is spent in a Japanese environment and context, and so their play language is Japanese. Even when they are at home they spend a lot [...]
It’s easy to list what we do in our jobs, but the context of our roles is vital to understanding why we do what we do. We're missionaries with OMF International. OMF has over 1,200 missionaries reaching out to East Asians. In Japan OMF has about 125 missionaries working in church planting, evangelism, training, student [...]
Find out how you can serve families in mission at omf.org/tck
Claire grew up as a TCK in China and Thailand. She went to boarding school in Thailand for eight years. Before attending university in Germany, Claire decided to take a gap year, spending half of it in China. She wanted to bring her years of childhood and youth in Asia to a good closure and […]
“Yes, yes, but you are a foreign family. We have our own traditions.” Ten years ago, I never dreamed that such a thing would be said to my face at my future children’s pre-school in my own country. But then I married a Canadian, we became “foreign missionaries,” and a new layer of complexity was […]
“Some people may think that parents who send their kids to boarding schools are mean and simply want to get their children out of the way. I did not feel this way because the people at my school made me feel like I belonged, as I was cared for and loved. Most importantly, I […]
We flew back into Tokyo after a wonderful but exhausting three-week holiday in our home country. It was the first time we’d visited there in the three and a half years we’ve been in Japan. On our return we had used our generous luggage allowance to the max, and were now wondering how we could [...]
What happens when excited missionary kids are finally released from a long car ride and welcomed into a big room with other missionary kids to play with? Energy. Ideas. Creativity. Noise. Games. And a bit of chaos. Especially add to the mix that these children live in an isolated area and do not have many [...]
Grieve what you’ve lost; Rediscover what you haven’t; Know who you are; Love who you are becoming. A movement of OMF TCK/MK Alumni called Chefoo Reconsidered continues as more adult TCKs engage with each other, processing their experiences – particularly in boarding – and the effect these have had on their lives. The hope is […]
Have you ever thought of praying for the children who have accompanied their Mum and Dads to this harvest field, or have been born here? Dotted along the 1,000 km trip I got to see 11 of these missionary children and to hear about many more. In fact, in the not too distant future there [...]
Kathy was born in the USA but moved to China when she was three. Her parents serve as Christian professionals with an organization that ‘seeks to be a part of China’s economic and spiritual development by shining the light of Christ through the utilization of professional skills.’ Kathy tells us about her Chinese school: ‘Hi, […]
Jonathan has only had two full years of Japanese education but already he is immersed in speaking, writing and reading Japanese. English is proving a challenge to develop and maintain. Fitting in – or not He is currently the only totally non-Japanese child in his school and along with that comes the culture that he […]
Chefoo School in China was started in 1881, in the earliest days of CIM/OMF. The dedication of teachers and resilience of students was tested to the limit during the war years. In a fascinating BBC article, Mary Previte shares her experiences of being interned by the Japanese, sharing the prisoner of war camp with […]
Reaching unreached peoples with the good news involves a long term commitment, often living in remote and challenging areas. For families, creative ways of providing education are needed. One solution is the East Asia Modular School, where Middle and High School students travel (often long distances) to attend an intensive school program for one week […]
I will also make you a light to the Gentiles that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth. —Isaiah 49:6b “It took three days of driving on bumpy roads over high mountain passes to reach the places Father God has put on our hearts. We spent four nights sleeping in […]
“TCKs have a precious time of learning together to supplement individual studies.”
Whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. —Matthew 18:5 The Orientation Course is a four week long program that new missionaries attend away from their sending country. As a part of this course, KidZone is geared to help prepare their kids adjust to the different cultures that they will encounter. […]
As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. —Joshua 24:15 ‘Loving and discipling the kids of those loving and discipling Asia.’ This vision statement is how those working in the OMF Boarding Home Program in Chiang Mai, Thailand, see their ministry. They support missionaries serving in Asia by providing a loving and […]
As an inescapable part of life we must consider education’s place in mission, not just as it affects the lives of those in the field, but also as an opportunity through which the good news of Jesus can be shared. Contents News – CIM/OMF 150th, Refined for the Future, Chefoo Reconsidered. Lessons from Longsuffering – […]
Chefoo School once again came alive with the sound of excited voices arriving from around the world in October 2014. A week of OMF sponsored events in Malaysia saw more than 50 former students return for a time of joyful reunion as well as processing the separation and loss experienced in their childhoods. Some had […]
