Missionary Kid Song

M.K. Song- Bethany Kennedy

by Bethany Kennedy


Is it true?
You can’t answer the question “where are you from?”
You speak two languages but can’t spell either one
You have a passport but no driver’s license
And now you’re wondering how that last one was wrong

You’re an MK, this is your life
It’s not easy, but it’s all right
In fact it’s better and you
Wouldn’t trade it for anything

MKs are a race without color, without culture.
The only thing we have in common is that
we have nothing in common at all.

Is it true?
Your life story includes “then we went to” at least five times
Complete strangers say they knew you when you were “this tall”
National Geographic only makes you homesick
But you don’t really know where home is at all.

You’re an MK, this is your life 
It’s not easy, but it’s all right
In fact it’s better and you 
Wouldn’t trade it for anything

MKs are a race without color, without culture. 
The only thing we have in common is that 
we have nothing in common at all.

Is it true?
All you want for Christmas is a box of pop tarts
You know what REAL coffee tastes like and it’s not like Starbucks
Your parent’s siblings are like strangers to you but
You have fifty or sixty aunts and uncles who love you

Is it true?
You know the difference between 110 and 220 volts
You spent a fifth of your life in an airport
You go to a church you’ve never been in before
And you see your picture on the bulletin board.

You’re an MK, this is your life 
It’s not easy, but it’s all right
In fact it’s better and you 
Wouldn’t trade it for anything

MKs are a race without color, without culture. 
The only thing we have in common is that 
we have nothing in common at all.

MK Safety Net

 http://mksafetynet.org/

“MK Safety Net offers hope, healing, encouragement and advocacy to former MKs (Missionary Kids) and TCKs (Third Culture Kids). The difficult journey of recovering from abuse can be even more daunting for an MK or TCK due to factors related to growing up overseas. MK Safety Net understands the unique aspects of the MK experience and offers support for MKs on their healing journey.

MK Safety Net is a 501c3 nonprofit with no ties to any mission or religious organization. We respect the diversity of paths to wholeness that MK abuse survivors find helpful, including both secular and various religious modalities of healing.”

A Life Overseas

https://www.alifeoverseas.com/about/

“A missionary crams a life into a suitcase and begins a journey into foreign places, both geographically and spiritually. Assaulted by cultural stress, ministry challenges, learning a new language, and the trauma of culture shock, missionaries long for community– a sense of connection, regardless of if they are the boiling water alone in an African hut or battling public transport in a crowded Indian city. No doubt, living overseas can be brutal — on a family, on a faith, and in a soul. But, there’s no doubt, too, that it can be one of the most depth-giving experiences an individual can embrace. Like all of life, though, our stories are understood best when we have a community to share them with.

The blog collective ‘A Life Overseas’ provides that place of online connection for Christ-following missionaries and humanitarian aid workers living in foreign countries– from the past, present, or future. As a team of writers who have logged years of overseas experience ourselves, we want to create an online space where expats of many nations come together to interact, encourage, and find a community that ‘gets it’.

At this site, you’ll find honest conversation about the role and realities of international missions, practical advice from others on the foreign field, and faith-based inspiration for the days when you’d just rather go home.

Whether you are new to the mission field, thinking of moving internationally, or have already spent years on foreign soil, Welcome to A Life Overseas. We invite you to interact with the people who step through this online door– leave comments, consider writing a guest post, read and share articles that impacted or challenged you. Subscribe to our blog (below or sidebar) or connect with us on facebook. We’re hopeful that the doorways to different worlds, perspectives and stories here will lead you to a bigger faith, a more effective ministry, and a greater understanding that you’re not alone.”

To My New Friends (from an MK)

There is not enough time.
There is never enough time
From the moment we meet
I am thinking of the end; maybe
Because I have done this before
I’ve done this too many times before
And every ending is too soon so
There are two choices in response to that truth.
Courage or cowardice, love or fear,
Connection or solitude.
I have never claimed to be courageous,
But I’m trying.
Dear God I’m trying and it’s harder
Than I thought it would be…

There is not going to be enough time
For me to love you in
And the coward in me says don’t try
But the image of God in my soul
Says otherwise.
So I’m trying.

by Ghanaperu