THE BLESSINGS AND DOWNSIDES OF BEING A TCK (Third Culture Kid)
Hey guys, it's Messiah. It's been a long time, and I'm glad that I get to talk to y'all again. This week I'm going to do my blog a little bit differently. I'm going to tell y'all about the blessings, and downsides of being a missionary kid. Before I start, I'm going to tell y'all that even though there are downsides of being a missionary, it is totally worth it.
THE BLESSINGS...
Learning to speak in Spanish
Having a lot more experiences
Getting to know more forever family (brothers and sisters in Christ)
Being closer to God
Being closer to my family
Seeing so much more of the world
Trying different foods of the world
Learning so much more about different cultures
THE DOWNSIDES...
Don't always keep up with the lattest things in the States
Not always having friends close to hang out with
Having to watch out or be careful more than normal
Not always understanding 100% of what people say
DETAILS OF THE BLESSING...
I believe that missionaries have so many more experiences than regular kids. I say this because while living here, some weird things happen. For example, when we first came to the country of Honduras, we didn't know any Spanish. When people talked to us, it was sooooo funny because we didn't have any idea of what they were saying. Sometimes, it took all four of us to understand and pick out the word that the people were saying. If you lived in the States, you normally wouldn't have that experience. I also had the experience and blessing of learning Spanish. I now am able to sing in it, and understand when I read a Spanish book. I give thanks to God for giving me the ability to learn quick, and keep the Spanish in my mind. Like I have said before, I still have a bunch of words and verb tenses that I need to learn, but I can have a normal conversation with a person, and even tell them about Christ.
Another blessing is the blessing of meeting so much more forever family (brothers and sisters in Christ) that I never knew that I had. I have all family here on the Island, on the mainland of Honduras, and of course the people in the States. I have had the blessing of singing on worship bands in both places that we live, and I have to say that I loved every minute of worshipping. I am still worshipping here on the Island of Roatán, and I love it. Also, the people here give soooo much, and every week, we hang out with our sweet, loving friends Kristal and James. They are the BEST cooks on the Island, (possibly in the world) and they give so much. Kristal and James if you're reading this, I want to thank y'all for being awesome family. They teach us so much, and love us so much also. James is trying to turn me from a Chicago city boy into a bush island boy.... it's harder than you think (for example learning to cut grass with a machete, learnign to cut coconuts with a machete, learning which leaves to use if you have to go #2 in the woods, learning which bush plants help with which sicknesses, and much more). I have been lots of places, learned about their countries, and gotten closer to God and my family. Being a TCK is awesome.
From a city boy to a bush island boy... Here is a picture of James and me after he cut me a coconut. (I asked him to show me how to cut it, but he said that in his house, I will never cut a coconut because he wants me to play the guitar and not cut my fingers off with a machete. He is a master with the machete.)
Island food...
Sopa de caracol (conch soup)
beef, coconut rice with beans, cucumber salad, boiled green banana
Atol de elote (hot corn pudding/soup) and flitters (fried doubled up flour tortillas)
Worship band here on the Island... (I'll have a better picture next week of us)
The beautiful beach in front of our house...
DETAILS OF THE DOWNSIDE...
Though being a TCK is totally awesome, it does have some downsides. I'm not always aware about things that are happening in the States. I don't know all of the latest fashion, big basketball players, the news or anything, but I'm okay with that. Another downside to this is not always having friends to play or hangout with. I have found friends here on the Island, and I am so thankful to God for that.
Being a TCK is something that is very awesome, and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to experience it.
SONG OF THE WEEK
I havn't done the song of the week in forever, so I'm going to do it. The song for this week is "Graves Into Gardens" by Elevation
Heres the link....
This song talks about how nothing can fill you but Jesus. The verse says that theres NOTHING better than Jesus. He has the power to turn bad graves into beautiful and colorful gardens. I love this song, and hope y'all love it to. Tell me what you think about the blog and the song.
I'll talk to y'all next week, and I appericiate y'all reading my blog.