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Showing posts from May, 2024

400 Meter Hurdles and Re-Entry

Re-entry is the process of transition for those who have been living outside their passport country and are now repatriating back into their passport country and culture. There are many reasons why cross-cultural workers re-enter their passport countries. One reason could be that the decision was out of their control, and they were forced to leave such as not getting a VISA approved. Another reason comes from a request from others, such as working back in the home office. Some reasons are initiated by the cross-cultural worker themselves like completing their time commitment and not ‘re-enlisting.’   Imagine re-entry like running the 400-meter hurdles in a track meet. Historically, the 400-meter hurdles have been the most demanding track and field event since the 1900 Olympics. Picture the lane is filled with ten 36in or 30in hurdles spaced evenly within 400 meters which is one lap around the track. The majority of hurdles are placed on the straight aways and a couple are placed wh...

May Newsletter

  SHANNON’S CORNER Ministry & Serving! Congratulations! We crossed the finish line!!!  Together we have raised $40,000 for my budget this year to continue to serve and provide care for all those who are on the front lines of ministry – domestically and globally. Ministering to a family on furlough from SE Asia to provide a debrief for their four children ranging from 10 to 16 years old. The kids were such a joy to work with and hearing their stories of their years living in SE Asia as we did emotion work to give language around the losses they are processing through. We did a self-portrait activity of how they see themselves, how they believe others see them, how they want to be seen and how they believe God sees them. They made some beautiful drawings and clip artwork. And we drew out their family timeline that will help them to continue processing their stories. My colleague, Jen and I traveled to Cabo, Mexico to debrief two families serving with YWAM. The one family is ...

Road Trips & Margins

These last six weeks have been full of doing in-person care, so I have been on the road. I do love a good road trip to see new places and to meet new people.  I was debriefings a family of with four teenagers and asked them, “How many beds do you think you’ll sleep in before heading back to their host country?” They thought for a moment and one of the teens came up with maybe 10 beds and the rest of the siblings agreed. I shared with them that in that past week, Wednesday to Wednesday, I had slept in four beds.    This constant change in mobility can start to cause tiredness and possibly weariness. I use to always work steadily until it was time to go and then stress out and hurry to pack everything and leave on time. Then I would usually come back hitting the ground running. This would usually lead to weariness and not just a normal tiredness.  As a member care caregiver, I have taught many people about planning margin around both ends of when there is travel whethe...