MK Ministries works hard each year to promote our ministry and get the message out about the importance and need for this ministry. Many of you can remember a time when we didn't have a ministry exclusively for MKs! Looking back into my generation, I can see that there was such a need for this ministry. Then to see the progress that we have made for this new generation - IT IS SIMPLY AWESOME! However, the biggest obstacle is getting the news of this great ministry out to others for their support and connection. To that end, we write articles and submit blurbs about our ministry to many of the UPCI magazines and any other opportunities that we have. This was an article written by me last year and used in promotion of
MKM. I trust you will enjoy it but more importantly SHARE IT!! Let's get word out about
MK Ministries.
1+1=3
by
Carla Burton
Arithmetic
was never my greatest subject in school, but, yes, even I know that in the
“math” world the title of this article is not true. But in the world of missionary kids there is no truer
statement. This equation reflects
the concept of Third Culture Kids.
Missionary
kids are considered third culture kids!
This simply means that they come from one (1) culture, they add to that
one (1) other different culture then they merge these into a third (3) culture. Most missionary kids are just like any
other kids in the fact that they are born into a western culture. Most of our missionaries come from
America and Canada and even if they are born while their parents are on the
field, they still grow up with a western culture perspective. But you also have to understand that
MKs (missionary kids) absorb much of the environment of the countries where
their parents are missionaries.
Both of these cultures will influence their thinking, speech, compassion
and perspective about life, creating this third culture. So in our world – 1+1=3 – is really the
truest statement reflecting our perspective of life.
 |
| Cylinda Nickel & Carla Burton |
Let
me share some Third Culture Kid perspective. Many of us are bilingual. There are MKs that actually think and process in another
language and then translate it back into English. Many of our MKs that were raised in Spanish speaking
countries have adapted so to the language that they consider it their first
language. Because of this, Third
Culture MKs have a hard time understanding western concepts, idioms and slang
when they return to their first culture.
I remember growing up in the Philippines, southern colloquialisms just
didn’t translate. We had an
American preacher speaking and he used the phrase, “. .that is just a bunch of
HOGWASH!” The translator didn’t
understand this but translated it as , “it is MUCH CLEAN PIG!” The faces of the Filipinos were quite
humorous because they didn’t clean their pigs – they raised them to eat. It just didn’t translate. For many missionary kids returning back
to America or Canada this is often how they feel in conversations while trying
to adapt. But the beauty of MKs is
that in many of our churches throughout America they are putting their Third
Culture language abilities to work by becoming a part of ethnic outreaches and
ministries.
Most
Third Culture kids don’t think like their western culture. They share a “world perspective”
realizing that the world is made up of more than just the west. Many Americans don’t really have an idea
about the world and what is happening.
They don’t understand things like civil wars, daily military violence,
lack of financial resources, or the hardship of providing for basic necessities
such as shelter, food and water.
Third Culture kids have an understanding of living life this way. One of the hardest transitions for me
with my Third Culture perspective was the contrast financially in America. I had come from a culture (the
Philippines) where most people earned $5.00 per day. They lived in homes constructed from bamboo, sheet metal and
scraps of plastic rolled over the roof.
Most of them didn’t have running water or electricity. They worked hard each day to earn
enough to stop by the market and buy the food they needed to feed the many
people living in the hut. So when
I returned here and saw people shopping and buying $100.00 dresses just to have
something new to wear to church that weekend, or throwing away plates of food,
or not being willing to share with others – it caused a lot of transitional
issues that I had to learn to deal with.
Third Culture kids bring a perspective to the table that is good for
western cultures to receive and learn from.
 |
| Carla Burton & Mark Hattabaugh |
Third
Culture kids have compassion.
After seeing the conditions that much of the rest of the world lives in,
after watching their second culture people and falling in love with them, they
bring big hearts back with them to America and Canada. MKs will be some of the
most compassionate, loving, helpful and able workers in your church. They want to reach out to others and
they want to see people helped.
Take advantage of the compassion developed by the merging of these two
cultures.
But
along with all the advantages that Third Culture (MK) kids develop, they also
have some difficulties transitioning either from their first culture to their
second or back from their second to their first culture. Through the years, we have seen many
missionary kids lost in this void of transition due to the fact that they had
no ministry that understood and would watch over them. But with the development of MK
Ministries through the Foreign Missions Division of the United Pentecostal
Church, we have seen a change in the tide of this transition.
Our goal in MK Ministries is to be
the bridge between these cultures.
Our heartbeat is to see them walk confidently and successfully from one
culture to another and back again.
Our ministry bridges this gap with many tools.
Our website (
www.upwithmks.com)
is a great tool because it provides access to MKs ANY WHERE IN THE WORLD – both
in their first and second cultures.
Our latest project being completed at the time of this publication is
our MKM Re-Entry DVDs.
These are a
series of 9 lessons covering emotional, physical and spiritual issues faced by
missionary kids upon returning to their first culture.
We talk about dealing with loneliness
and transitional perspectives.
We
teach lessons about how to handle your finances and deal with day-to-day living
issues.
We encourage them
spiritually to connect to a local church, youth group and Pastor.
They watch the DVD along with student
handouts and these are available to all our MKs returning to their first
culture!
MK Ministries also bridges the gap
for these kids through fellowship events such as our pizza bash at General
Conference, our MK Retreat (hosted every other year) which provides them an
opportunity to physically come together and share. We also minister through e-publications such as devotionals
and our latest endeavor – MK Blogs – info on all these can be found at our
website. But our greatest tool is
our membership of MKs. By
connecting MKs to MKs and creating relationships, we are developing a safety
net for our Third Culture kids.
They minister to one another through Facebook, email, phone calls and
mentorship. Since the inception of
MK ministries we have seen a decline in MKs being lost to the void of
transition and we have seen many older MKs who were lost returning and
connecting back to God, local churches and other MKs. This is the power of a designated missionary kid
ministry.
So
even though 1+1 doesn’t really equal 3 in the math world, in the Third Culture
Kid world it is perfect math!
Speaking of math, MK Ministries is a ministry that is fully funded
through your PIMS, so if you want to do some math that will really make sense
(or I should say cents), join us.
You can do this through our website –
www.upwithmks.com.
And remember that in our world 1+1
really does equal 3!
To reach more of their world than I could ever of mine.
