{"id":36765,"date":"2024-09-06T12:48:03","date_gmt":"2024-09-06T17:48:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/internationalministries.org\/?p=36765"},"modified":"2024-09-18T11:36:23","modified_gmt":"2024-09-18T16:36:23","slug":"caring-for-missionary-kids-in-college","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internationalministries.org\/caring-for-missionary-kids-in-college\/","title":{"rendered":"Caring for Missionary Kids in College"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=&#8221;Caring for Missionary Kids in College&#8221; font_container=&#8221;tag:h1text_align:left&#8221; use_theme_fonts=&#8221;yes&#8221; el_class=&#8221;single-mk-post-heading&#8221;][vc_column_text el_class=&#8221;single-mk-post-text&#8221;]Transitioning back to the U.S. for college is arguably the biggest change an MK experiences. How can you help ease this transition for the MKs in your life\/church\/organization?[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Transitioning from a life overseas to life in a U.S. university brings with it a host of challenges for MKs. While all college students face the joy and fear of spreading their wings and learning to be independent, MKs often do it an ocean away from their family lifeline. In addition to many cross-cultural adjustments, learning how to drive, operate a bank account, get phone service, and shop for what they need, they are also dealing with the grief of goodbyes to family members and lifelong friends from their host country. Transition is not a one and done event, either. What happens on family weekend? Holidays and school breaks? Or just those times when you really miss your mom? And what can we as a church do to best support these MKs?[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text el_class=&#8221;single-mk-post-text&#8221;]Read through these ideas and see which ones you and\/or your church might be able to implement \u2013 or even come up with some of your own![\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<ul style=\"margin-left: 20px;\">\n<li>Listen. Ask probing questions. Provide a safe place for stories and grief and joy to be shared. Seek to understand and connect.<\/li>\n<li>Take them out to a restaurant that may serve foods from the country(ies) they called home<\/li>\n<li>Help take care of their practical needs \u2013 fixing a car that breaks down, answering questions about how things \u201cwork\u201d in the U.S., being the \u201cadult driver\u201d in the car while they have their learning permit<\/li>\n<li>Be substitute parents during special events at college<\/li>\n<li>Offer hospitality by giving students a \u201chome\u201d to go to when they are on a break and can\u2019t go visit mom and dad<\/li>\n<li>Encourage your church to support MKs with the same scholarship funds that are available to your other church teens<\/li>\n<li>Allow MKs to use your church as their \u201chome church\u201d in order to get other church-related scholarships for their Christian universities<\/li>\n<li>Add them to your church\u2019s college care package ministry (if your church doesn\u2019t have one of these, start one for the MKs you know!)<\/li>\n<li>Send them a card to let them know you are praying for them, and include a $20 Walmart Gift Card or some gas\/laundry money<\/li>\n<li>Provide a place for them to store things over the summer after they must move out of the dorm<\/li>\n<li>Give rides to\/from the airport, or rides to\/from their university to help them move in\/out or to make sure they get where they need to be for their school break<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=&#8221;landing-text-btn&#8221;]<a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Caring-for-Missionary-Kids-in-College.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Download<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=&#8221;Caring for Missionary Kids in College&#8221; font_container=&#8221;tag:h1text_align:left&#8221; use_theme_fonts=&#8221;yes&#8221; el_class=&#8221;single-mk-post-heading&#8221;][vc_column_text el_class=&#8221;single-mk-post-text&#8221;]Transitioning back to the U.S. for college is arguably the biggest change an MK experiences. How can you help ease &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cos_headline_score":0,"cos_seo_score":0,"cos_headline_text":"Caring for Missionary Kids in College","cos_headline_has_been_analyzed":false,"cos_last_analyzed_headline":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[832],"class_list":["post-36765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-journals","tag-mk-resources"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Caring for Missionary Kids in College | International Ministries<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/internationalministries.org\/caring-for-missionary-kids-in-college\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Caring for Missionary Kids in College | International Ministries\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=&#8221;Caring for Missionary Kids in College&#8221; font_container=&#8221;tag:h1text_align:left&#8221; use_theme_fonts=&#8221;yes&#8221; el_class=&#8221;single-mk-post-heading&#8221;][vc_column_text el_class=&#8221;single-mk-post-text&#8221;]Transitioning back to the U.S. for college is arguably the biggest change an MK experiences. 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