I also had an enlightening conversation with Michelle Phoenix, an MK advocate in my podcast, “Loving Missionary Kids Well,” where we discussed the unique challenges that MK’s face including additional stress, perfectionism, isolation, anxiety and depression, as well as the many benefits and gifts MK’s gain through their time overseas including a heart for ministry, self-confidence, capability, adaptability, a love for travel, a broader world view, and friendships around the globe. We also include how to know when is the right time to leave the field for your child/children and strategies for coping with transition. If you’re a parent of an MK or an adult MK this episode will make you feel seen and heard.
“Some MKs—dare I say, many—are still tormented not only by the demands of perfection that shaped them, but also by the weight of their failure to live up to them. The suffering of some MKs is undeniable. It can be temporary or long-lasting. Mild or acute. It’s too easy for onlookers to make simple judgment calls about impossible choices without a full, compassionate understanding of what the family has endured. And yet, nearly 90% of MK’s consider their experience overseas a blessing.”
Michelle Phoenix
If you’re in transition, re-entry, wondering if you should leave the field, or searching for how you can practically prepare for any goodbyes and return to your host country, then you’ll love my show with Naomi Hattaway called “Leaving Well.” You can listen here, or watch on youtube.
“Re-entry is not a burden that should be shouldered by just the individual. The more we can acknowledge that people do leave, the better we can treat each other. We do such a good job of onboarding people, but we need to do a better job of welcoming them back.”
-Naomi Hattaway
This week, I also have a new amazing episode “Burnout: Rediscovering Creativity and Joy” with the incredible Merideth Hite Estevez, host of the beloved Artists for Joy podcast. She speaks with beauty and wisdom on how rediscovering creativity helped her recover from burnout, how she lives life now as a working mother without succumbing to burnout again, and how you can tap back into the creative pursuits that make your life sing. It’s one you won’t want to miss!
Be well my loves.
