On Christmas Day you probably were not thinking about South Sudan. At least not very much. I wasn’t. But, if you are the Faders, you were. They left their home and relationships in South Sudan for a Christmas holiday, not knowing their return would be tenuous. A year ago the Faders were featured on willtravelwithkids,… Read More Turmoil in South Sudan – Interview with American family who calls South Sudan home
As I recalled the account of a fateful holiday meal, posted yesterday on Communicating Across Boundaries, I asked my mom to recount the event from her perspective: That Thanksgiving is a bit of a blurr. Of course, I wanted it to be perfect. Dad had gone to Malawi, by train, to get our beloved students.… Read More The Ill-Fated Feast – Mom’s perspective
Today I have the privilege of writing a guest post for Communicating Across Boundaries. Marilyn Gardner of CAB is a passionate writer who covers a wide range of topics. I appreciate her perspectives on culture and Third Culture Kid (TCK) issues. She spent formative years in Pakistan and has traveled extensively, with a keen eye… Read More The ill-fated holiday feast
By the grace of God and with the expert coaching of my husband, I gave birth to a beautiful, healthy boy in September. He was eight days “late,” but they come when they come. The labor was, of course, excruciatingly painful. But it had a beginning and an end – and a completely worthwhile reward.… Read More A TCK gives birth
Today I have the very distinct honor of posting a journal entry my mom wrote in 1988 before our family of six moved to Mozambique, a country in the midst of a brutal civil war. Over the course of this last month my mom has shared some personal details from her journals about the challenges… Read More Moving to a country in civil war – a letter to my small children
Today meet Jake and Jessie in Bucharest. I am so encouraged by their story, up and moving to Romania because they knew that’s what they needed to do. One of my favorite quotes – “People of all cultures love kids, so they’ve opened a lot of conversations and softened a lot of people to us. … Read More Up and moved to Bucharest, Romania – with four young children
When I read the Fader’s blog from South Sudan I am always encouraged by the joy and vivacity which marks their lives. They live in the new South Sudan, a place most people would refuse to take their family simply because all they know about Sudan is what they’ve heard on the news. If… Read More Raising boys in Melut, South Sudan
I find that after living in the same place for a year or so, I settle into my favorite haunts and hideaways. There is an occasional foray into the unknown, like my recent drive through an off-my-beat neighborhood because I needed something only carried in “that part of town.” I stay in my comfort zone, as most creatures do.… Read More that store down the road with the foreign name. . . try it.
In 1986 my family moved overseas for the first time, taking along all our worldly possessions and saying good-bye “for forever.” Today, I’m proud to have my mom as a guest writer share about that experience. Thanks mom! Traveling with children had always meant piling suitcases in the car — and blankies, a pacifier, diapers,… Read More The first good-bye – 1986
I have mixed feelings about the side of the road. When I was a kid, road tripping through remote areas of Mozambique, the side of the road was where the land mines were. Sometimes there were signs – “Perigo Minas!” Sometimes there were trenches and yellow tape marking areas where a de-mining operation was… Read More the side of the road
