Tomorrow I'm heading to central Ohio for two weeks--to watch the corn grow. (Just kidding.) This will be the third year I'll help staff an MK Transition Seminar as a counselor/coach/small group leader. (MK=a kid raised in an international ministry family, sometime also described as a TCK, because they grow up in a contest that is neither totally local nor totally foreign, making a "third culture" somewhere in between.) You can find a description of the event at https://www.barnabas.org/member-care/events/mk-transitional-seminar. Hopefully I'll get to see some growth--besides the corn! My son-in-law John's parents are here visiting (and will move into our house while I'm gone!) He said something along the lines of "we just dropped our kids off and let them swim." This is, of course, the most common strategy for sending MKs to college (and perhaps kids of every kind,) but just as orientations are highly recommended by most colleges, so also a big transition like this--leaving a country, community, family, and more to return to a "passport country" as well as entering a new environment, typically with high performance and social expectations.
My daughter, the psychologist, says she would have wanted to go to a transition seminar, except for the money, and she thinks she would have loved it. Most who show up do seem to love it, and of course it's almost always their parents and their parents' orgs and ministry partners who are paying for it. (Well, not totally, all of you who are our ministry partners are helping too!) We definitely try to keep it as affordable as possible, which means I'll also be enjoying the "college experience" in many ways ;-).
My kids once said, "[The US] is a nice place to visit for vacation." Situations vary--some kids have dual or even multiple citizenships, others cannot even qualify for a residence visa in the place they've called home. Some have a calling card that gives them instant, if external, acceptance, others really don't, and some, if you asked their preferences, don't even care. So a transition seminar can mean a lot of different things, but more than anything it's about intentionally choosing a new identity and entry posture for a new experience, one that will require focused attention that might be lost unless we also take time to acknowledge and release the experiences and people we are leaving behind. The community of gathered MK's is almost always more important than the guides, but I and the others--MK staff (just a few years older,) college professors, facilitators, and local Christians, are there to love and to reflect, meeting each one wherever they are at, listening deeply to what they're bringing with them, and anticipating the challenges around the corner.
Meanwhile, "back at the ranch*" Laura faces a full slate of visitors, family engagement, and planning for the Internation Women's Connection this coming fall, each with their own joys and demands. We'll have to see who's more depleted when we get back together, having passed this year's anniversary at least in the same country, if not side by side. We have some time planned in early August for a family getaway with our adult kids--and of course Evangeline, our now 9 month old granddaughter.
Please remember us in prayer, and thank you for the unique part you each play in our community of support, which, as an MK myself, I don't take for granted! Steve and Laura
PS *Back at the ranch=an example of how you can be quite fluent in a language, but there are always more pieces. Many MKs would not recognize this as a reference to scene changes in TV westerns. At least, I think that's what it is....?! Of course, maybe people don't even use that phrase any more, and I'm stuck somewhere in the outfield again. This last year we discovered that neither my kids nor my son-in-law knew what a "front porch" was. Do you?
Steve and Laura Spinella
US: 1930 Springcrest Rd, CO Springs 80920
mail: 9685 Otero Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80920
Steve cell 719.355.4809, Laura cell 832.755.4261
<spinella@alumni.rice.edu> <lauraspinella@gmail.com>
<spinella@alumni.rice.edu> <lauraspinella@gmail.com>
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