Contents - Missionary Care

Raising Resilient MKs
Raising Resilient MKs: Resources for Caregivers,
Parents, and Teachers
Edited by Joyce M. Bowers
ACSI
Association of Christian Schools International
Cover design by David Tieszen
Interior design by Elizabeth G. Stout Published by the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI),
P.O. Box 65130, Colorado Springs, CO 80962
Copyright © 1998 by Association of Christian Schools International
Printed in the United States of America.
Reproduction of chapters from this book or the entire book in any manner
for use in education and training, not for commercial sale, is permitted,
except as noted on page 53. Those downloading have permission to forward the downloaded files
(unchanged and without charge) to others who would benefit from the
content. Please do NOT post this book anywhere else on the Internet. TO THE MEMORY OF Margie Bowers My sister-in-love 1952-1977
J.M.B.
Contents Forward-Robertson McQuilkin xi
Preface-Joyce M. Bowers xiii I: Historical Perspective
1. Looking Back, Pressing Forward: The Legacy of the
ICMKs-Joyce M. Bowers 2
2. ICMKs in Perspective: Deacons for the 21st Century-
Ted Ward 11 II: MKs, TCKs, and the Body of Christ Resolutions from ICMK Nairobi 20 Discipleship and Nurture
3. Discipleship: The Kingdom Perspective-
David C. Pollock 21
4. Developing a Flow of Care-David C. Pollock 33 III: Understanding MKs and TCKs Resolutions from ICMK Nairobi 39 Understanding the MK as a Third-Culture Kid
5. Being a Third-Culture Kid: A Profile-
David C. Pollock 40
6. I Am Green-Ruth Goring 50
7. The Real Value of Growing Up Overseas-
Michael G. Loftis 54
8. The MK's Advantage: Three Cultural Contexts-
Ted Ward 59 Transitions
9. Transitions and the TCK-Jean M. Larson 71
10. Preparing Children for Missionary Life-
Sandra D. Wright with Paul E. Nelson 85
11. Adventurer, Observer, Member: Helping MKs
Appreciate Local Culture-Sally Jane Norton 95
12. The Re-Entry Task-David C. Pollock 103
13. Sudden Removal from the Field-John Powell 113 College and Career
14. Preparing Our MKs for College-Beth Wyse 124
15. Making Career Choices-David L. Wickstrom 134
16. Career Developments: Woodstock Class of 1968-
Steve Van Rooy 145 Adult MKs
17. A TCP String of Five Pearls-William D. Taylor 150
18. Emotional and Behavorial Patterns of Adult MKS-
David L. Wickstrom 159
19. Bruising: When Things Go Wrong-
David L. Wickstrom 170 IV: Resilient Families Resolutions from ICMK Nairobi 185 Families and Parenting
20. Raising Resilient MKs-Diane Morris 187
21. Family Dynamics That Affect the MK-
John Powell 197
22. The Importance of Fathers in MK Development-
David L. Wickstrom 204
Healthy Development
23. Preschool Curriculum: Structure and Wonder-
Diane Lilleberg 214
24. Development: The Twig is Bent-Wayne D. Lance 221
25. Helping Students Develop: Key Concepts-
John R. Powell 240 V: Educational Issues Resolutions from ICMK Nairobi 250 Overview of MK Education
26. Identifying Issues and Defining Terms-Brian V. Hill 252
27. The Christian School in a Missions Context-
Richard J. Edlin 258
28. Options of MK Education-Joyce M. Bowers 273
29. Making Informed Decisions-Joyce M. Bowers 282 Education Across Cultures
30. Transcultural Education: A Model for Expatriates-
Brian V. Hill 288
31. Foundation Stones of Transcultural Education-
Ollie Gibbs 301
32. Building a Conceptual Framework for Transcultural
Education-Peter and Jan Blackwell 308 Language Learning
33. Nurturing Our Student's Native Languages-
Anne-Christine Marttinen 319
34. Learning the Rules or Learning the Language?-
Marilyn Pool Andreasson 323
35. Second Language Issues for MKs in National
Schools-Cynthia Storrs 331 Multinational Complexities
36. Multiple Choice in MK Education-
Alan McIlhenny 339
37. Understanding the Needs of Asian MKs-
Polly Chan 346 Boarding School
38. Boarding: Getting Back to Basics-
Tom and Wendy Ballentyne 360
39. Preparing Children for Boarding School-
Nick and Dora Pauls 365 Curriculum
40. Developing Christian Curriculum: A Complex Task-
Diane Lilleberg 369
41. Choosing a Curriculum-Diane Lilleberg 373
42. A Framework for Culturally Sensitive Curriculum-
Richard J. Edlin 377 MK Schools-Administrative Issues
43. Pre-Field Orientation-Philip M. Renicks 381
44. On-Site Orientation Programs-Bonnie McGill 385
45. Staff Relationships That Work-Roger H. Luce 389
46. Promoting Staff Continuance-David K. Wilcox 402 MK Schools-Staff Issues
47. Effective Parent-Teacher Partnerships-
David C. Pollock 405
48. Relations Between Teachers and Dorm Parents-
Evan and Jewel Evans 412
49. You Are a Protector-David C. Pollock 417
Special Needs
50. Children with Special Needs-Wayne D. Lance 422 VI: Collaboration Resolutions from ICMK Nairobi 450 Research 51. MK Research: Notes and Observations-
John R. Powell 453
52. Doing Research Together-Ted Ward 466 Regional Organizations and Conferences
53. Development of Regional Networks-
David K. Wilcox 478 VII: Looking Toward the Future 54. Trends in Missions: Implications for MKs-
Paul E. Nelson 489
55. Trends in Member Care-David C. Pollock 500
56. Facing the Future: Issues in MK Education-
Philip M. Renicks 508 Appendix About the Contributors 518
Foreword
There are significant advantages of being born into a missionary home.
Many outstanding Christian leaders grew up in mission settings.
Jack Layman is a leader in the international Christian school movement
and long-time headmaster at Ben Lippen School, which has provided secondary
education for generations of missionary children. After overseeing the
education of hundreds of MKs, and conducting statistical and evaluative
studies, Jack Layman concluded that, taken as a whole, children of
missionaries are ahead of their monocultural American counterparts
academically, spiritually, and even socially. Most readers of this book
would concur that opportunities given to missionary children for cross-
cultural learning and direct participation in the spread of the gospel are
great privileges, which far outweigh any difficulties involved.
However, there are also hazards, as both critics and friends of the
missionary enterprise point out. Not all MKs thrive. This volume is
designed to shrink that number and increase the proportion of MKs who do
flourish because of their heritage.
Joyce Bowers has compiled a truly encyclopedic reference library in one
volume, treating every aspect of missionary children's experience. For
many it's a long-awaited resource:
( Missionary parents should find it invaluable; it will impact the
missions movement at its most critical-and vulnerable-point.
( Caretakers and educators of missionary children will find their
concerns addressed in detail in a major portion of this volume.
( Adult MKs will find resources for understanding, evaluating, and
responding to their own heritage.
With more than forty authors, both theoreticians and practitioners, you
can expect a wealth of experience and research data. But with so many
contributors, there are some things you should not expect:
( Don't expect all the essays to be of equal excellence. The quality
is uneven.
( Don't expect all the authors to agree. One of the contributions of
the book is to present varying, even opposing, viewpoints.
( Don't expect all theories or interpretations-even all "data"-to be
equally convincing or meet with your approval.
If you are like me, some analyses will frustrate you and some proposed
solutions dismay you. But we grow as we are motivated to examine a variety
of ideas and sort out what is valid and valuable in particular settings.
For example, I would prefer more attention given to a broader frame of
reference and less treatment of "the MK" as a single category with
predictable characteristic