I never thought that my own joys and challenges of growing up in Czech, along with my Moody education in Children's Ministry, would be of such direct use to the Lord. But now I'll be going back to Central and Eastern Europe to serve the JV Kids* and their families. Who knew?!
It's been special to zero in on these kids and the stories they are living, and the one that God is weaving right now in Josiah Venture. Since now is the season for building a team of ministry partners, that means I get to share about the vision of Josiah Venture these JV kids often!
Speaking of these JV Kids (and thus TCK's) this often has made me acutely aware of my own little TCK tendencies that I sometimes forget about. I feel very comfortable both in America and in Czech, but I have moments of learning in both cultures, as do we all!
An example: Just two weeks ago, I learned that there is a white flashing signal at the traffic lights that turns on when there is an emergency vehicle nearby or approaching. Pretty nifty, right? Yeah, not sure how I never knew that before. This is probably obvious to some people who have grown up in America, but still struck me as new.
Example #2: Yesterday, I used my very own US library card for the first time!! And I was strangely excited about it. I just registered for a library card last week.
Now that I know that the suburbs of Chicago are my "home base", I can get a library card. In some ways, this is my TCK version of putting down roots, or should I say, of committing to relationships here. I may not always physically be here in the suburbs, but I will forever have relationships and a home church here!
You know what makes this library experience extra special?
It's actually the only library I remember visiting in the States when I was a kid.
I had some serious health issues when I was little, and had to come with my mom to the US to see doctors a few times throughout my childhood. On this one occasion, we stayed with a family friend from church (what I now call my church too, which is pretty cool!) and I remember her taking me there to borrow big floor puzzles. We never had floor puzzles in Czech, so I reveled in the availability of them and at the plethora of fun things in the American library.
Little did I know that one day I'd go back to that same library with my very own card, as an (healthy! Praise the Lord!) adult, to rent movies to watch with friends from church.
The way the Lord has brought so many aspects of my life full circle still surprises me. Now that I'm seeing some of these patterns, it makes me excited and curious to see what's next on the journey.
And just as a bonus: Here's an old-school photo from the 90's in Czech - yep, I was all about the leggings and pink accessories at that age!
*JV Kids are a group of over 100 children of Josiah Venture missionaries (most of the parents are North-American, though some are bicultural families too), who live across the 13 countries that JV is in. These are all TCK's, and most of them attend national schools. You'll hear more about these JVK in the future!
It's been special to zero in on these kids and the stories they are living, and the one that God is weaving right now in Josiah Venture. Since now is the season for building a team of ministry partners, that means I get to share about the vision of Josiah Venture these JV kids often!
Speaking of these JV Kids (and thus TCK's) this often has made me acutely aware of my own little TCK tendencies that I sometimes forget about. I feel very comfortable both in America and in Czech, but I have moments of learning in both cultures, as do we all!
An example: Just two weeks ago, I learned that there is a white flashing signal at the traffic lights that turns on when there is an emergency vehicle nearby or approaching. Pretty nifty, right? Yeah, not sure how I never knew that before. This is probably obvious to some people who have grown up in America, but still struck me as new.
Example #2: Yesterday, I used my very own US library card for the first time!! And I was strangely excited about it. I just registered for a library card last week.
Now that I know that the suburbs of Chicago are my "home base", I can get a library card. In some ways, this is my TCK version of putting down roots, or should I say, of committing to relationships here. I may not always physically be here in the suburbs, but I will forever have relationships and a home church here!
You know what makes this library experience extra special?
It's actually the only library I remember visiting in the States when I was a kid.
I had some serious health issues when I was little, and had to come with my mom to the US to see doctors a few times throughout my childhood. On this one occasion, we stayed with a family friend from church (what I now call my church too, which is pretty cool!) and I remember her taking me there to borrow big floor puzzles. We never had floor puzzles in Czech, so I reveled in the availability of them and at the plethora of fun things in the American library.
Little did I know that one day I'd go back to that same library with my very own card, as an (healthy! Praise the Lord!) adult, to rent movies to watch with friends from church.
The way the Lord has brought so many aspects of my life full circle still surprises me. Now that I'm seeing some of these patterns, it makes me excited and curious to see what's next on the journey.
And just as a bonus: Here's an old-school photo from the 90's in Czech - yep, I was all about the leggings and pink accessories at that age!
*JV Kids are a group of over 100 children of Josiah Venture missionaries (most of the parents are North-American, though some are bicultural families too), who live across the 13 countries that JV is in. These are all TCK's, and most of them attend national schools. You'll hear more about these JVK in the future!
LOVED everything about this post!!!
ReplyDeleteI love libraries and library cards!! 😍😍😍 Seriously, American libraries are one of the things I miss the most over here. But!! Good news for you (if you have any type of e-reader)… you can use your library card to borrow books for your e-reader. So handy when you live overseas and want to read a book in English, but don't necessarily want to buy it. Yay!
ReplyDelete