Building Bridges Through times of Transition

Times of Transition can be very hard on families and especially their children.  Missionaries and MK's go through more transitions then most people in life.  Everyone navigates transitions in a different way, with a wide range of emotions and coping skills.  As I invest in our children I talk a lot about all the transitions that they will be going through and what are some healthy ways to cope with them.  I have my mock bridge set up.  They walk across it under "normal" conditions.  Then they put on some glasses that are covered with wax paper which shows how hard it is to cross a bridge when you are going through transitions.  There is no way to cross the bridge without falling off.  However as a friend walks a long side them giving them a hand they can make it across the bridge without falling.  It is just an illustration of how important it is to have a good support system when going through those transitions.  We then spent some time trying to build bridges.

MK Caregivers Summit 2017

This past week I was able to attend the MK Caregivers Summit which was held in Kansas City.   This year the topics covers were: Millennial & Emerging Generations, MKs/TCKs: Engaging Today's Culture, and Values and Communication Styles. Our keynote speaker was Jonathan Catherman.  He was an exceptional communicator and he shared a lot of valuable things.   This conference is always a high light of the year when I can get together with other MK Caregivers from many different mission organizations.  Resources and ideas are shared.  It is always a great time spent worshiping and being challenged and encouraged to keep pressing on in ministering to our MK's and missionary families.  

Our NTM Team

Dunking Donuts

While I was in MO. I was able to connect with one of our former students.  He invited some of his friends over and we had a donut making party together.  The donuts turned out great and I really enjoyed meeting some pretty cool people.

New Tribes Mission MK Summit

The past couple of days I had the privilege of being a part of the New Tribes Mission MK Summit.  Unfortunately due to the weather and health issues several people had to cancel out at the last minute.  However, we had a good group of people come together to to talk about how we can serve our families and MK's better.  We had a couple of teachers from our MK schools, a couple of home school coordinators from overseas, MK care personnel, and the rest of the North American team that came together for these meetings.  It was a great time to gather, connect, and to find out what we are all doing,  and how we can work together more effectively, and in the end help our families.

MK's in Transition

One thing I have been spending a lot of time on these days is working on my MK transition classes.  Each year I try to plan things depending on what families we have and the ages of the children.  I have been developing three new activites, one of which I did this past week.  I also have several other activites from previous semesters I will be doing as well as several whole family activites.  So each week until the end of the semester I will be hosting MK Transition Classes.  

The first activity I did was on leaving well and what are some things the kids can do to help them in saying good-bye.  This past week our activity was on sorting and packing.  I first did a fun white board activity where the kids got to talk/draw about their favorite or worst part about packing and unpacking, flying, and moving to a new place.  Although their parents will do most of the packing, families moving overseas have to sort through all of their belongings.  It is not easy for some kids to have to give away special toys and only bring a limited amount of things with them.  Kids can also get stressed just seeing boxes pile up and their house become bare.  Therefore, it was good to talk through some of these "not so fun" things in life.  For a fun acitiviy I bought a bunch of random things in (some breakables and also food items) for the kids to work together on packing.  They were supposed to figure out the best ways to pack things so they would arrive in one piece, and to save as much space as possible.   I always love these times with the children.  Some very fun and meaningful times are spent together.  It helps that I try to have a yummy snack.  :) (Due to where these children are going I won't post any pictures of them.)  But pray for their family and all the changes ahead.)

The Shedd Aquarium

One very special treat while we were in Chicago was to be able to go the Shedd Aquarium with Aurora.  Even though I grew up in Chicago I had only been there once many years ago and Aurora had never been.  Our niece Charlotte who was home from Peru recovering from wrist surgery came with us.  It sure was a fun day spent together.

The Spring Break Connection

The middle of March was our spring break so we made a quick trip to Chicago for the weekend to spend time with my parents and other family members.  We had planned on taking Jeremiah with us but he ended up getting sick.  That was disappointing and we sure missed him.  It did however, work out for Aurora to come with.  We made some great memories together with family.