Have you ever heard of the term hidden immigrants or global nomads? Did you know that there is a population called Third Culture Kids numbering approximately around 230 million in the world? Missionary kids are children of Missionaries and a sub category of Third Culture Kids. Their plight in reentering their parent's country of origin are little known in the Christian community much less the world in general. Yet their sufferings are real and in some cases debilitating mentally, emotionally and socially. Most of these kids are resilient and resourceful but because of these same characteristics many tend to suffer silently and not get help.
This is why we at Compass Ministries partnered with Interaction International to co-host a Reentry Seminar in Georgia for both middle school and high school age MK's. The Seminar ran from July 29 - August 8, 2020. It was designed to provide needed tools and understanding for these teens to transition into North American culture. Some of the issues these teens were dealing with were grief from losses they experienced from moving constantly during their formative years, culture shock, misreading social cues, and adapting to the legal, financial and educational system. But the simplest need most of them have are tools dealing with their loneliness.
During these two weeks we served 19 middle schoolers and 43 High Schoolers. We were able to provide an environment for them to go deep and also to be with fellow MK's in a safe environment. We opened the door for them to learn how to access resources and also ask for help when needed. Over all it was a very meaningful two weeks that impacted not only the kids but also the staff. To give you a taste of what it was like please click the link to the video below.