PART ONE - On Being An MK

PART 1: ON BEING AN MK
SurveyMonkey
Q1 My early life (before age of 18) as an MK

was:
Answered: 1,087
Skipped: 11
Fantastic
Mostly great
Mostly
difficult
Pretty evenly
divided betw...
Awful
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Answer Choices
80%
90% 100%
Responses
Fantastic
21.53%
234
Mostly great
44.43%
483
Mostly difficult
5.89%
64
Pretty evenly divided between great and difficult
26.86%
292
Awful
1.29%
14
Total
1,087
Add additional comments below
Date
I hated where we loved at first, and after we moved to another country and then back to the U.S. I saw how God
used that to make me who I am
6/27/2015 9:22 AM
before age of 12 it was just great, then I started to feel the differences between my friends and me.
6/27/2015 2:47 AM
Would have prefered not to come back every four years to the states.
6/26/2015 9:49 PM
Spent in the center of Africa during WWII
6/26/2015 6:23 PM
Great experiences vs. lack of parental involvement
6/26/2015 1:09 PM
Except for having to start boarding school at age 6, and only spending time with parents twice a year (Christmas
and their mid-year holiday)
6/26/2015 8:34 AM
I had such a blessed childhood, with wonderful Godly parents
6/26/2015 6:56 AM
Three of my nine years in boarding school were very difficult due to some lousy dorm parents.
6/26/2015 1:42 AM
I definitely delt with issues of loneliness, but in retrospect I had a very good experience.
6/26/2015 1:24 AM
1 / 27
SurveyMonkey
10
We left whEn I was 9yrs old
6/26/2015 12:09 AM
11
Didn't become an mk until I was 15. But as a pk from 3-15
6/25/2015 11:51 PM
12
Moving around every couple of years was hard
6/25/2015 10:51 PM
13
The last two years on the field got hard as we started transitioning back. I was age 14 when we moved to the US.
6/25/2015 10:21 PM
14
The time in PNG was great, but on leave if a sense in the US was tough.
6/25/2015 9:45 PM
15
family--great; school--terrible
6/25/2015 8:28 PM
16
Panic disorder, depression, suicidal and many deaths
6/25/2015 3:51 PM
17
As a child I knew nothing else but I was happy & loved. Only remember a time or two crying at school and feeling
alone, missing my parents, but that happens to children in many situations. My dorm parents were amazing 2nd
parents and my dorm-mates were like siblings to me.
6/25/2015 9:24 AM
18
others would definitely see it as difficult. I choose to see it now as the grace of god giving me a unique life
experience.
6/24/2015 11:28 PM
19
It was a normal life to me, even though it might have seemed abnormal to others who didn't live it.
6/24/2015 8:22 PM
20
I had to evacuate one beloved country in war crisis, and adapt to a new one. That was the hardest thing. But in
time, I came to love my second home too. And now serve there.
6/24/2015 5:30 PM
21
Bording school
6/24/2015 3:11 PM
22
I would change the options for this questions; a life that is difficult can still be great in its difficulty. I might, instead,
ask each person to rate their level of stress/hardship during that period of life. Because I'm not really sure what
you're asking here. "Great" and "difficult" can mean different things for different people. You want to be as
specific as possible.
6/24/2015 9:35 AM
23
Sexually abused as a child by a missionary
6/23/2015 10:15 PM
24
I started being an MK at the age of 14.
6/23/2015 9:05 PM
25
Not that I didn't experience any trials (I did) but for the most part I loved being an MK.
6/23/2015 2:53 PM
26
boarding school was traumatic
6/22/2015 12:39 PM
27
Mainly because of having a very controlling dad, not necessarily because of being a MK.
6/20/2015 7:41 AM
28
though i was very young, and it involved a lot of travelling.
6/19/2015 3:11 AM
29
I love my Childhood in Japan!
6/18/2015 4:46 PM
30
Having been separated from my parents for most of my growing up years in wartorn China (WW II) was the
difficult part.
6/18/2015 12:08 PM
31
Though I missed friends and family in the US, I loved the country I grew up in.
6/18/2015 11:09 AM
32
I mostly took it for granted, didn't realize it was difficult until later
6/18/2015 11:05 AM
33
boarding school was awful, otherwise life seemed mostly normal, except as interrupted by furlough
6/18/2015 8:22 AM
34
I did not know any different. Today I appreciate the experience.
6/17/2015 10:01 PM
35
"If someone died it wad a tragedy. If no one died it was an adventure "
6/14/2015 3:55 PM
36
It's difficult to decide because I don't trust my memories. Even within my family everyone experienced things so
different that it's hard to say what I actually feel about things versus what my parents or siblings felt that I have
just absorbed.
6/14/2015 3:48 PM
37
for me it was normal life
6/14/2015 2:03 PM
38
my parents never involved themselves in my life. The rest was fantastic
6/14/2015 11:08 AM
39
My parents really included us in their ministry,
6/13/2015 11:50 AM
40
There were perks, but the constant change, never having steady friends, and not knowing family was difficult
6/11/2015 11:24 PM
41
I became a full time mk at age 12, but was part time from age 7
6/11/2015 7:52 PM
2 / 27
SurveyMonkey
42
In the country where my parents served, there are very few Christians. So none of my childhood friends truly
shared my heart values. It wasn't until after age 18, when I went to a Christian college in the US, that I finally
found friends I could share everything with and have deep, lasting friendships.
6/10/2015 6:47 AM
43
There were definitely good times, but they were always riddled with difficultiess
6/9/2015 6:57 PM
44
It only became difficult when and after I experienced sexual abuse which lasted for a 7-year period.
6/8/2015 10:34 PM
45
I would have had a more difficult (and boring) childhood in the US.
6/8/2015 10:24 PM
46
1/4 okay (vacation time at home) ; 3/4 awful (in dorm at school); furloughs mixture of great and difficult
6/7/2015 6:30 PM
47
I loved living abroad. Especially in Germany. My diffuculties began when we moved back to my home country.
Hated living in Finland. The culture was so different.
6/7/2015 9:39 AM
48
Few....
6/7/2015 5:55 AM
49
Coming home was the hardest part
6/6/2015 9:15 PM
50
there are definitely struggles in being an MK, such as all the goodbyes!
6/6/2015 8:14 PM
51
my Dad started acting out as a sex addict when i was 11, so 11-18 were pretty bad years.
6/6/2015 10:27 AM
52
Father married to the job so home life was tough
6/6/2015 12:26 AM
53
Except for times in my passport country - disliked those times (usually a school year)
6/5/2015 10:47 PM
54
Being with my parents was great, the boarding school life was a nightmare.
6/5/2015 9:06 PM
55
Being "home" was great, but the 1 year furlough was tough.
6/5/2015 5:55 PM
56
I was a pretty optomistic child so I'm not sure if it was really good or if I was just super pumped to be alive?
6/5/2015 4:50 PM
3 / 27
SurveyMonkey
Q2 My feelings about being an MK today

are:
Answered: 1,090
Skipped: 8
I wouldn't
trade it for...
I feel it was
mostly posit...
I feel it was
mostly...
I feel it was
destructive ...
I don't feel
strongly eit...
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Answer Choices
80%
90% 100%
Responses
I wouldn't trade it for the world
60.55%
660
I feel it was mostly positive for me
29.82%
325
I feel it was mostly detrimental for me
3.85%
42
I feel it was destructive for me
1.83%
20
I don't feel strongly either way
3.94%
43
Total
1,090
Date
So many mixed emotions and pain... but I can't imagine any other way.
6/26/2015 10:23 PM
being an MK wasn't an issue, Christianity was the issue . . .
6/26/2015 6:21 PM
Yes, I have been through hard times, but that doesn't mean I would trade my life with someone else.
6/26/2015 6:56 AM
I feel I have been blessed with a richness most of the world will never know about.
6/25/2015 10:21 PM
spiritually it was positive but not psychologicaly
6/25/2015 12:01 PM
Why is there not an "I feel strongly both ways" option?
6/23/2015 10:08 PM
The Lord in His goodness and sovereignty divinely orchestrated the course of my life for His glory and my good.
6/23/2015 2:53 PM
I learned language and my perpective is wide
6/18/2015 4:46 PM
Born and raised in China and living in a children's home in Shanghai for 12 years gave me a greatappreciation
for foreeign cultures, being able to adjust to "doing without " (during wartime everything was rationed and limited)
and I learned to be flexible
6/18/2015 12:08 PM
4 / 27
SurveyMonkey
10
but I fantasize about life being easier if I wasn't an MK
6/18/2015 11:05 AM
11
at 20 it was who I was, at 68 it seems sadly irrelevant except as detrimental
6/18/2015 8:22 AM
12
Because I don't know anything different
6/16/2015 7:00 AM
13
I'm 63 and have come to appreciate the richness of my life as an MK. Much of it was pretty normal--it just
happened in another country.
6/14/2015 5:38 PM
14
I see many benefits, I adapt to change quickly and having multiple languages puts me ahead in lot's of
categories.
6/11/2015 11:24 PM
15
The ability to "step outside" one's own culture and look at it from another culture's perspective is, I'm told, very
difficult for most people who grew up monoculturally. I tend to do it naturally. Since I'm now a missionary myself,
this has been very useful to me.
6/10/2015 6:47 AM
16
It was so hard - so hard that I really struggle to know if it was good. But I know that I learned SO much from it.
That has to be good right? One the other hand, I have had to work through some major issues that are a result of
being an MK that maybe I could have avoided otherwise.
6/9/2015 6:57 PM
17
It was positive, but separations left scars, I think.
6/9/2015 5:35 PM
18
It was destructive to me and our whole family.
6/9/2015 9:42 AM
19
I answered fantastic for question 1 because at the time of growing up, my life was great. It wasn't until I left the
missionary community that I realized how damaged I was by it.
6/8/2015 2:08 PM
20
So, even in some point it made my life difficult
6/8/2015 1:39 AM
21
Met people and learned languages.
6/7/2015 9:39 AM
22
but I still have struggles
6/6/2015 6:22 PM
23
I wouldn't trade it but I would certainly change some things, for example living in a 'dorm'. I believe this has had
damaging consequences in how I build relationships.
6/6/2015 6:46 AM
24
And I would add it was equally detrimental.
6/5/2015 9:06 PM
5 / 27
SurveyMonkey
Q3 The hardest part of being an MK for me

was (Part I):
Answered: 1,066
Skipped: 32
Living
cross-cultur...
How it
impacted my...
The number of
goodbyes I h...
The inability
to connect...
A sense of not
belonging...
Seeing the
"ugly" side ...
Boarding school
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Answer Choices
90% 100%
Responses
Living cross-culturally
2.44%
26
How it impacted my family dynamics
11.82%
126
The number of goodbyes I had to say
31.14%
332
The inability to connect socially with single-culture peers
0.00%
A sense of not belonging anywhere
39.21%
418
Seeing the "ugly" side of the missionary world
8.72%
93
Boarding school
6.66%
71
Total
1,066
Date
none of the above
6/27/2015 1:25 AM
loved boarding school 9-12th, but didn't get to cement family ties in teenage years, and got married.
6/26/2015 10:35 PM
None of the above
6/26/2015 10:08 PM
Coming on furlough
6/26/2015 10:06 PM
It wasn't always easy living with so many people for most of the year. Sometimes if you got a reputation, it was
hard to get rid of. But would still pick boarding school over staying wth parents alone
6/26/2015 9:49 PM
Didn't know it was supposed to be 'hard'!!:-)
6/26/2015 6:23 PM
6 / 27
SurveyMonkey
none of these - reconciling my own beliefs vs respect for my parents and the lifelong indoctrination
6/26/2015 6:21 PM
I clicked the option that most resonated with me.
6/26/2015 6:56 AM
I loved my boarding school, but I still missed my parents a lot
6/26/2015 6:38 AM
10
I answered because you excepted an answer, but actually I would say 'None of the above'.
6/26/2015 6:27 AM
11
returning to the states permanently after being born and living abroad
6/26/2015 3:33 AM
12
a sense of not belonging anywhere being a close second; seeing the ugly side of the missionary world being a
VERY close third.
6/26/2015 1:36 AM
13
The sense of not belonging came later when I had to go to the US for college.
6/25/2015 10:39 PM
14
Coming back, people expected me to behave like an American because that's what I looked like. On the field I
got the excuse of being a little weird because I looked American. But I never knew which to be.
6/25/2015 10:21 PM
15
all the above
6/25/2015 6:55 PM
16
separation from my older brother was terrible. He went to a different school
6/25/2015 12:01 PM
17
I missed my parents greatly during my boarding school times, but on the other hand they tried to spend more
time and have a lot of fun with us during holidays, and they managed to do it!
6/25/2015 6:39 AM
18
really all of the above.
6/24/2015 11:28 PM
19
relationships difficulties due to my parents not dealing with family grief, such as my brother being killed as a part
of being oversees, moving,...
6/24/2015 10:52 PM
20
My family was not as 'hip' as I wished.
6/24/2015 9:21 PM
21
None of the above
6/24/2015 7:37 PM
22
grew up in a legalistic home; feelings not considered; verbal and physical abuse in the home
6/24/2015 5:36 PM
23
None
6/24/2015 4:57 PM
24
living at home
6/24/2015 4:51 PM
25
i also hated boarding school but my favorite friends in life have come from there for the most part.
6/24/2015 4:46 PM
26
Having to be away from home from the age of 8 caused me to build walls with my parents. As an adult, with
counseling, God has helped me to break down those walls and we now have a great relationship!
6/24/2015 4:06 PM
27
Dealing with cumulative and complicated grief without anyone understanding or explaining healthy grief process
to me.
6/24/2015 3:15 PM
28
I hated going on furlough--too different from home!
6/24/2015 2:44 PM
29
Being so much alone in my childhood, far away from my parents in the age I needed them still.
6/24/2015 2:01 PM
30
there weren't really and hard parts
6/24/2015 10:02 AM
31
Loneliness and feeling big expectations were the hardest parts for me.
6/24/2015 9:35 AM
32
Connected to the part in the next question
6/24/2015 8:58 AM
33
I could choose many of these answers
6/24/2015 6:56 AM
34
Being the weird one in school
6/24/2015 5:58 AM
35
It wasn't about belonging but being different everywhere I lived
6/24/2015 1:56 AM
36
We were doing short term missions so I knew I would return, but it was still hard saying goodbye.
6/23/2015 9:05 PM
37
The hardest part for me which I guess falls under "Living cross-culturally" was coming to the USA on furlongs
since it wasn't home to me.
6/23/2015 2:53 PM
38
A sense of not belonging anywhere is tied with that
6/22/2015 9:34 AM
39
I wasn't bilingual
6/20/2015 11:49 PM
40
and seeing the disappointing side of the missionary world.
6/20/2015 1:01 PM
7 / 27
SurveyMonkey
41
Do I have to choose only one? The number of goodbyes also left s lasting (difficult impact)
6/18/2015 8:31 PM
42
Finding the word Third Cuture Kid at age of 21 helped me to belong to my own third culture
6/18/2015 4:46 PM
43
A sense of not belonging anywhere was also a strong point, as well as how it impacted my family dynamics
6/18/2015 12:08 PM
44
Going thru some serious medical things with my mother without the support of extended family, too.
6/18/2015 10:34 AM
45
As well as the sense of not belonging anywhere
6/17/2015 8:48 PM
46
However it made me adaptive and I learned to reach out for friendships and not wait for others to approach me.
6/17/2015 4:18 PM
47
The hardest part was when my family were separated, my brother and I were at University in England and my
parents and sister were living in Nepal. For a long time I wished everyone lived in the UK like a regular family and
I could nip home to see them whenever I liked.
6/16/2015 7:16 AM
48
People say Japanese society is great, but it really isn't if you life there.
6/16/2015 4:43 AM
49
Difficult, the hardest part for me was integrating back into my parents home country. For me my home was
always Nepal (where I was an MK), goodbyes where made easier with social media
6/16/2015 4:16 AM
50
None of the above
6/16/2015 12:20 AM
51
Being separated from my older brother
6/14/2015 11:01 AM
52
adjustment on the "homefront"
6/14/2015 9:04 AM
53
Death of a parent
6/14/2015 8:47 AM
54
and seeing the ugly side- one of the missionaries was a sexual predator
6/13/2015 5:01 PM
55
but really I could have marked them all equally
6/13/2015 3:44 PM
56
Good byes include boarding school and leaving family
6/12/2015 6:27 AM
57
There was a while that I couldn't imagine having a gf or imagine that I could ever have stability
6/11/2015 11:24 PM
58
I have always felt socially awkward
6/11/2015 3:41 PM
59
number of goodbyes is a very close second.
6/9/2015 11:51 PM
60
None of these.
6/9/2015 9:37 PM
61
I just "was" an MK. It didn't seem like it was especially hard.
6/9/2015 1:48 PM
62
all of it hah
6/9/2015 11:36 AM
63
An abusive boarding school in Penang Malaysia just shades the sense of never belonging and all the goodbyes.
6/9/2015 9:42 AM
64
Cultural adjustment after coming to the US. I didn't have problems being an MK beforehand.
6/8/2015 10:28 PM
65
None of the above
6/8/2015 9:58 PM
66
I still retain a huge amount of disillusionment for the hypocrisy that I witnessed among the adults around me. I
have never been able to overcome that.
6/8/2015 7:30 PM
67
Also sense of that things just happens and I can't affect to my life at all (even when young adult)
6/8/2015 1:39 AM
68
Because of boarding school, it impacted family dynamics...
6/7/2015 6:30 PM
69
Giving up friendships on a constant basis was tough.
6/7/2015 9:39 AM
70
The sense of not belonging was hard at first as well, however I have been able to adjust to not belonging. The
good byes I have never really been able to adjust to.
6/7/2015 5:55 AM
71
Living cross culturally isn't as relevant as you are growing up as it is during an adult and adjusting to a different
culture where the background is uncommon.
6/7/2015 12:03 AM
72
Reajustment to australia
6/6/2015 9:15 PM
73
Expectations others had on what my behavior as a kid should be bc of my MK status
6/6/2015 3:17 PM
8 / 27
SurveyMonkey
74
The transitioning from America to France was only difficult in the 1st 2 years because of not speaking the
language, leaving my friends behind, going from doing very well in school to doing very poorly in school because
of the language, hard to make new friends because of the language.
6/6/2015 2:35 PM
75
Families being split and growing up with no real 'parent' figures.
6/6/2015 6:46 AM
76
All of the above
6/6/2015 12:34 AM
77
Going to boarding school also involved saying "goodbye" to my parents several times each year. Always difficult
and usually tearful in my early years.
6/5/2015 11:47 PM
78
But the goodbyes helped make me adaptable appreciate genuine friendships too
6/5/2015 10:47 PM
79
The others are all right up there.
6/5/2015 9:06 PM
80
Perhaps the hardest part was going on furlough to a place my parents called "home," but where I didn't have any
friends or connections other than grandparents.
6/5/2015 6:30 PM
9 / 27
SurveyMonkey
Q4 The hardest part of being an MK for me

was (Part II):
Answered: 957
Skipped: 141
Abuse that
happened whi...
Doubting God's
existence
Financial
instability
Lack of
lasting...
Expectations
to be perfec...
Struggling to
develop a...
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Answer Choices
90% 100%
Responses
Abuse that happened while on the field
10.24%
98
Doubting God's existence
1.25%
12
Financial instability
9.40%
90
Lack of lasting friendships
31.77%
304
Expectations to be perfect or at least better than others
34.80%
333
Struggling to develop a personal, authentic faith
12.54%
120
Total
957
Date
Being known only as the daughter of my parents and not as my own person
6/27/2015 4:17 AM
none
6/27/2015 1:25 AM
none of the above but it seems I have to choose one to progress?
6/26/2015 10:57 PM
Expectations of perfection come a close second. I remember my siblings and I trying to fly under the radar at
churches we were visiting in the US, because we were tired of being put on a pedestal
6/26/2015 10:34 PM
None of the above
6/26/2015 10:08 PM
Not having others if my culture my age to relate to
6/26/2015 10:06 PM
I only mark the one I did because it wasn't any of the others. I did have friendships but hard to say goodbye.
6/26/2015 6:59 PM
10 / 27
SurveyMonkey
Didn't know it was supposed to be 'hard'!!:-)
6/26/2015 6:23 PM
reconciling my own beliefs which differed from my parents and their colleagues, who I respected
6/26/2015 6:21 PM
10
none of the above.
6/26/2015 8:18 AM
11
I missed the whole gospel until this last week, got a DUI and now God is finally opening my eyes to who Christ is.
6/26/2015 6:56 AM
12
But I think I would have struggled even if I wasn't an MK. In fact, I NEEDED to struggle!
6/26/2015 6:27 AM
13
None of the above
6/26/2015 6:02 AM
14
Bullying at the boarding school
6/26/2015 1:42 AM
15
None of the above
6/25/2015 11:51 PM
16
Going to boarding school
6/25/2015 10:36 PM
17
I've had over 6 best friends in my childhood and even now, I can't seem to hold super close friends for more than
5 years.
6/25/2015 10:21 PM
18
Though I was not abused....most girls my age were....and that makes me angry!!!!
6/25/2015 8:31 PM
19
All of them
6/25/2015 6:38 PM
20
None of these--it was being separated from my parents in elementary school
6/25/2015 12:59 PM
21
none of the above.
6/25/2015 8:25 AM
22
Not fitting in anywhere when returning to the states
6/25/2015 6:53 AM
23
Not financial but other instability: During war in a foreign country I was often afraid of loosing my parents. It's not
healthy for a child alone to make plans how to survive and what to do if the parents die.
6/25/2015 6:39 AM
24
I'd rather choose number of goodbyes from part I
6/24/2015 10:52 PM
25
none of those
6/24/2015 9:37 PM
26
None of those apply - I can already see that this survey makes generalized assumptions about the MK
experience. Too bad.
6/24/2015 8:22 PM
27
None of the above
6/24/2015 7:37 PM
28
little room for grace...much more about rules. being a bit rebellious always caused doubt that my faith was real.
deeply desiring a vibrant faith and searching after it seemed full-time because i was checking of boxes and not
following God"s heart...or even knowing what that meant. no one could tell me what being in the will of God
meant and how to get there...but I was often told I want following God's will for my life. still very confusing.
6/24/2015 4:46 PM
29
Was actually the Home assignments, going from church to church "raising money"
6/24/2015 3:57 PM
30
Dealing with grief without understanding healthy grieving process! X 10
6/24/2015 3:15 PM
31
But I am very lucky to have many more friends because of it and thanks to FB I have reconnected.
6/24/2015 3:06 PM
32
though kids here don't have them either
6/24/2015 10:02 AM
33
By a extended relative there on the field, and also with the way it was and was not handled by the mission board
and others.
6/24/2015 8:58 AM
34
None of the above
6/24/2015 7:13 AM
35
None of these.
6/23/2015 11:06 PM
36
coming back 'home' and being told this is where i belong
6/23/2015 9:24 PM
37
None of these really apply to me. I would say it was also hard to say goodbye.
6/23/2015 2:53 PM
38
lack of lasting friendships is tied with that one
6/22/2015 9:34 AM
39
This is so difficult....If I could, I would choose all of the options
6/20/2015 1:01 PM
40
None of these : lack of psychological care/ physchologically harmful teachings
6/19/2015 9:59 AM
41
though i thought i was a christian, I only became a Christian when I was 20.
6/19/2015 3:11 AM
11 / 27
SurveyMonkey
42
again, more than one answer. Being perfect and personal authentic faith were also hard
6/18/2015 8:31 PM
43
Well, this might be hard for all pastors child
6/18/2015 4:46 PM
44
struggling to piece together fragmented sections of various cultural experiences to compose a meaningful whole
6/18/2015 4:18 PM
45
None of the above
6/18/2015 12:08 PM
46
none of the above
6/18/2015 8:06 AM
47
I wanted to pick 2 from above question and my hardest part was a sense of not belonging any where
6/18/2015 1:23 AM
48
None of the above
6/17/2015 10:47 PM
49
Not abuse as such but missing out on stable family relationships day to day
6/17/2015 6:47 PM
50
None of these seem to fit. I would add from the 3rd question that the lack of sense of belonging anywhere is also
a struggle.
6/17/2015 3:10 PM
51
i've struggled a lot with my faith, trying to fit in with my peers I lost most of my faith for a long time. I found it
difficult to relate to people my age in my parents home church probably because they found it hard to relate to
me and my experiences. Overall the hardest part was being frustrated and angry at people who had such a
narrow world view.
6/16/2015 4:16 AM
52
None of the above
6/16/2015 12:20 AM
53
None of those were a real problem, but I thought I have to choose one anyway, so I chose.
6/15/2015 2:25 AM
54
Even though I said alot of goodbyes, somehow, I did learn to make friends quickly and as an adult that has
helped me adjust to new situations and not feel as disconnected.
6/14/2015 5:38 PM
55
I didn't know about the abuse until 20 or more years later
6/14/2015 5:29 PM
56
Nothing
6/14/2015 11:01 AM
57
None of the above - and I feel this question is leading the witness ....
6/13/2015 10:07 PM
58
I said many goodbyes to friends as a kid. I figured out later that I unconcously avoided (sometimes still do)
getting involved with people because I didn't have to be in pain saying goodbye if I never got close
6/13/2015 9:27 PM
59
Expected to become an international missionary
6/13/2015 8:55 PM
60
None of the above. More about trying to fit into the American culture and expectations.
6/13/2015 12:26 PM
61
Loneliness. Feeling of displacement. My favorite book in the Chronicles of Narnia is The Horse and His Boy. I
relate to the main characters sense of displacement and longing. The expectations response is a very close
second.
6/12/2015 6:27 AM
62
Financial instability was hard but that's family. I have learned the longer term effects from lasting friendships is I
don't know how to be a good friend and it's really easy for me to put up walls agains deeper relationships.
6/11/2015 11:24 PM
63
Or at least friendships where the friends were physically present: Mail helps a bit
6/11/2015 7:52 PM
64
Finding out that apparently I don't know as much about MKs as someone who never left their hometown before
being "called" overseas to work with MKs.
6/10/2015 2:03 AM
65
Especially the expectation that I would marry someone exceptional.
6/9/2015 8:42 PM
66
None of these were particularly MK-y for me.
6/9/2015 1:48 PM
67
The abuse was bad, and never knowing where our family would get money was bad, but for a child to constantly
have their potential friends ripped away, that was the worst.
6/9/2015 9:42 AM
68
Seeing the stress it put on my family.
6/9/2015 8:54 AM
69
I also struggled to make my faith my own and doubted whether God really cared about me, but He showed me
that He loved me deeply and wanted me to trust Him.
6/8/2015 10:42 PM
70
n/a
6/8/2015 10:28 PM
71
If I had been a US-only kid, I would still not have had lasting friendships.
6/8/2015 10:24 PM
12 / 27
SurveyMonkey
72
The abuse led directly to my doubting God's existence. After all, if I was praying and my parents told me that God
listened to prayers, why wouldn't He listen and let me go home? At 6, I simply did not understand anything except
that either he didn't hear me, didn't care, or that I wasn't good enough to merit his care.
6/8/2015 7:30 PM
73
I don't find any of above really hard.
6/8/2015 4:11 AM
74
I don't find any of above really hard.
6/8/2015 4:11 AM
75
Missing social skills at back "home" - being hidden immigrant without realising it
6/8/2015 1:39 AM
76
Abuse was from a national not a missionary
6/7/2015 10:39 PM
77
Still struggling with my relationship towards christianity. Very allergic towards fundamentalism.
6/7/2015 9:39 AM
78
bullying rather than abuse
6/7/2015 3:08 AM
79
Embracing emotions locked away
6/6/2015 9:15 PM
80
Insecurity/self-esteem - feeling on display in host culture and home culture
6/6/2015 4:01 PM
81
None of these options apply to me. After learning the language & going to BFA where I could do well in school
again & where it was easier to make friends & have friends I don't remember any hardship except maybe missing
my parents some.
6/6/2015 2:35 PM
82
seeing my dad sexually abuse my mom, all of us being emotionally abused by my dad, and being sexually
abused by a stranger exhibitionist 2x.
6/6/2015 10:27 AM
83
I was the 'bad' kid in a world of peer pressure to be 'good'.
6/6/2015 6:46 AM
84
feelinginferior in my birth country - and as a result the feeling that j could never be good at something there.
(Feeling inferior in my passport country - Because I didn't know the system)
6/5/2015 10:47 PM
85
All of the above.
6/5/2015 9:06 PM
86
With such an emphasis put on outwardly "behaving," especially while in the States, it became too easy to see
myself as better than those around me. I still struggle with this.
6/5/2015 6:30 PM
87
Forcing to be with people I didn't know when on furlough.
6/5/2015 5:55 PM
88
Separation from things that made me feel safe (family, home)
6/5/2015 3:30 PM
89
when people would ask for surveys - trying to fit us all in such a narrow frame, being portrayed as victims that
need someone to speak for and to save them from their supposed self destroying habits they formed as mks.
6/5/2015 2:31 PM
90
the loss of identity because people assumed so much about me.
6/5/2015 1:52 PM
91
Adjusting back to 'home' country
6/5/2015 1:34 PM
92
Friends being out of reach, intimate adults not available
6/5/2015 11:55 AM
93
Coming "home" on furlough
6/5/2015 10:51 AM
94
Also, not being accepted to host culture and my parent's never accepting my adoption of the host culture.
6/5/2015 10:48 AM
95
"not belonging" most acute when re-entered US; #4, I think the self-expectations were more damaging than actual
expectations from others.
6/5/2015 10:27 AM
96
Abuse that happened to a family member but remained unknown for 25 years, changing dynamics for everyone
6/5/2015 10:25 AM
97
Being different and needing to defend my parent's culture
6/5/2015 10:09 AM
98
abuse in boarding school
6/5/2015 9:08 AM
99
Returning to my Passport country
6/5/2015 8:26 AM
100
Unstable family life
6/5/2015 7:42 AM
101
Having to keep going back and forth between the field and the States, two very different worlds
6/5/2015 7:12 AM
102
none of these
6/5/2015 7:08 AM
103
when we came home to America
6/5/2015 6:56 AM
104
Believing I was the least important thing in my parents life and they were glad when I went off to boarding school
6/5/2015 6:47 AM
13 / 27
SurveyMonkey
105
Buying into kitschy church lies which have been detrimental
6/5/2015 5:57 AM
106
It was just life, not harder or easier than anything else, I think.
6/5/2015 3:44 AM
107
Being too adaptable; I do not seem to know what I like
6/5/2015 2:56 AM
108
Not fitting in back in the States/Canada
6/5/2015 2:26 AM
109
being an orphan with parents
6/5/2015 2:23 AM
110
Insufficient time in any one culture to learn how to interact in a socially meaningful way with my new peers.
6/5/2015 2:02 AM
111
I wasn't saved til I was a teenager!
6/5/2015 12:54 AM
112
Part of the same answer was switching schools a lot - numerous on field and also on furlough
6/5/2015 12:12 AM
113
Going through the early teen years while going through hard circumstances.
6/5/2015 12:04 AM
114
inability to revisit friendships that meant the world to me
6/4/2015 10:29 PM
115
Seeing parents struggle with bad health and lack of financial support
6/4/2015 9:57 PM
116
Doing a good job of keeping meaningful friendships with people I left behind
6/4/2015 9:53 PM
117
Re-entry
6/4/2015 9:43 PM
118
Not being able to live overseas as an adult
6/4/2015 9:38 PM
119
How it affected my family
6/4/2015 9:34 PM
120
Abandoment as a child of 8 going to boarding school. Being left in Canada at 18 with no $ or the skill set to
survive.
6/4/2015 9:01 PM
121
None of the above
6/4/2015 8:26 PM
122
Having to be so good all the time. Expectations.
6/4/2015 8:12 PM
123
distance from extended family
6/4/2015 8:10 PM
124
The constant brainwashing and force-feeding of someone else's version of an ancient piece of literature
6/4/2015 7:55 PM
125
Learning to truly love and appreciate my home culture
6/4/2015 7:52 PM
126
warped view of God that I was taught
6/4/2015 7:41 PM
127
Figuring out how to fit in when returning to US
6/4/2015 7:22 PM
128
Abandonment
6/4/2015 7:17 PM
129
being foreign
6/4/2015 7:14 PM
130
Having legalistic parents.
6/4/2015 6:59 PM
131
none
6/4/2015 6:55 PM
132
Finding a mate
6/4/2015 6:53 PM
133
being different from everyone
6/4/2015 6:22 PM
134
A sense of not belonging anywhere
6/4/2015 6:20 PM
135
Family separation
6/4/2015 6:16 PM
136
knowing who to trust
6/4/2015 6:14 PM
137
"Lord of the Flies"-like experiences with bullies at boarding school. Being separated from parents for extended
periods of time. Fear for safety during war-time. Lack of hugs when lonely. Fear of abandonment.
6/4/2015 6:02 PM
138
stuffing down grief, saying it was God's plan..Boarding school w/o nurturing
6/4/2015 5:51 PM
139
Furlough
6/4/2015 5:21 PM
140
not feeling fully apart of one specific culture
6/4/2015 5:21 PM
141
Loss. We lost our visa and had to switch fields.
6/4/2015 5:20 PM
14 / 27
SurveyMonkey
142
Starting adult life with my parents living on the other side of the world before the Internet.
6/4/2015 5:18 PM
143
Not feeling like I identified enough with the African culture or learned the language well enough to be a "good
mk".
6/4/2015 5:12 PM
144
but I don't know if this was because of being an MK or my own personality.
6/4/2015 5:08 PM
145
Not having a sense of belonging
6/4/2015 4:55 PM
146
Saying good bye still. For me nothing comes close. When leaving a place I have to fight withdrawing and if I know
I'll only be somewhere a short time, I have to fight being shallower superficial in my friendships
6/4/2015 4:44 PM
147
Culture shock (boarding at a mission base for high school)
6/4/2015 4:28 PM
148
Facing tragedy and hardship
6/4/2015 4:01 PM
149
Adapting to furlough locations
6/4/2015 3:51 PM
150
A rough re-entry (at age 10) to my passport country, which led to depression for a while.
6/4/2015 3:33 PM
151
finding an American identity.
6/4/2015 3:31 PM
152
Not being able to return for so many years
6/4/2015 3:17 PM
153
Along with #2 -5 and 6
6/4/2015 3:15 PM
154
Not fitting in at school and feeling extremely insecure about myself.
6/4/2015 3:12 PM
155
separation from parents
6/4/2015 3:06 PM
156
Deputation in the US, being thrust in the spotlight, unwilling participant in parents' ministry
6/4/2015 3:04 PM
157
abuse
6/4/2015 2:55 PM
158
Constant transitions; interrupted personal storyline
6/4/2015 2:49 PM
159
Having to say goodbye to every person and place I loved
6/4/2015 2:40 PM
160
Not being close to my blood relatives (grandparents, aunts & uncles etc)
6/4/2015 2:26 PM
161
figuring out how to exist outside of "church world"
6/4/2015 2:16 PM
162
Developing deep friendships
6/4/2015 2:05 PM
15 / 27
SurveyMonkey
Q5 The best part of being an MK for me was

(Part I):
Answered: 1,087
Skipped: 11
Easy language
acquisition
Traveling the
world
Developing a
global world...
The
friendships ...
Participating
in God's work
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Answer Choices
70%
80%
90% 100%
Responses
Easy language acquisition
2.76%
30
Traveling the world
17.76%
193
Developing a global world view
49.03%
533
The friendships I made
23.00%
250
Participating in God's work
7.45%
81
Total
1,087
Date
but also participating in God's work and the fact that I don't have many prejudice towards other cultures
6/27/2015 2:47 AM
Loved it!!:-)
6/26/2015 6:23 PM
it is who I am . . . I was/am, perhaps, embarrassed about what my parents do/did for a living - because it was
their belief, not mine . . .
6/26/2015 6:21 PM
I can see now that that was true, but wasn't conscious of it at the time.
6/26/2015 6:02 AM
While I love all of the above, traveling the world, I feel, incorporates it all into one.
6/25/2015 10:21 PM
I would check both global worldview and participating in God's work, as they are related.
6/25/2015 7:49 PM
I wish all of the above was an option
6/25/2015 9:37 AM
The friendships are a close second, although being a Canadian, I haven't had the joy of continuing those into
adulthood - except through a few Facebook friends.
6/25/2015 9:24 AM
It was wonderful to see how close and good relationships my parents had with their Finnish and foreign
collegues.
6/25/2015 6:39 AM
16 / 27
SurveyMonkey
10
Would like to have been able to check others as well - travel, God's work.
6/24/2015 8:22 PM
11
I have life-long friends who are more like family.
6/24/2015 4:06 PM
12
I loved the people and the country
6/24/2015 3:57 PM
13
Getting to know Christians over denominational barriers.
6/24/2015 2:01 PM
14
But also the friendships: tied!
6/24/2015 1:53 PM
15
Was God's work more important than raising your own kids
6/22/2015 12:39 PM
16
all of the above
6/18/2015 8:31 PM
17
why to choose only one? I would like to tick all lines!
6/18/2015 4:46 PM
18
Lasting friendships and also global world view.
6/17/2015 4:18 PM
19
Seriously, It taught me what faith lived out to its fullest looked like.
6/16/2015 4:43 AM
20
and tight immediate family relationships
6/15/2015 3:16 PM
21
All of the above
6/15/2015 7:13 AM
22
...but it's quite difficult to really know how global or narrow one's own world view is.
6/15/2015 2:25 AM
23
A of the above
6/14/2015 11:01 AM
24
All of the above
6/14/2015 8:21 AM
25
This includes all of the other answers for me. In fact, it is my global world view that has helped me in my career.
6/12/2015 6:27 AM
26
I guess the correct answer should be participating in God's work, however most of the time I did't really feel like I
was participating. I know I helped but I never saw the greater picture. I would say what I enjoyed was the
languages and the ability I had to live in different locations and cultures.
6/11/2015 11:24 PM
27
And the friendships and perspective on life and culture it gave me
6/11/2015 7:52 PM
28
Or all of the above!
6/9/2015 4:20 AM
29
Too hard to pick between language acquisition, traveling, and friendships
6/8/2015 10:28 PM
30
There is something special with the friendship from the boarding school.
6/8/2015 1:39 AM
31
Friendships kind of ties with traveling the world. If freindships was a 10 traveling would be a 9.5
6/7/2015 5:55 AM
32
All of the above, except maybe "easy" language acquisition :)
6/6/2015 4:01 PM
33
All of the above!
6/6/2015 1:26 PM
34
most of everything above
6/5/2015 10:47 PM
35
Initially it was traveling the world. As an adult I had the privilege of visiting with my parents (invited by the
indigenous church) and realizing the numbers that would be in heaven because my parents went. God seemed
to ask me then if my sacrifice, albeit not my choice, was worth it and I had to say it was.
6/5/2015 9:06 PM
36
I feel like living outside of my 'home' country helped me see it from a more objective perspective and makes me a
better citizen as an adult.
6/5/2015 4:50 PM
17 / 27
SurveyMonkey
Q6 The best part of being an MK for me was

(Part II):
Answered: 1,022
Skipped: 76
The family
adventure
Seeing God
change lives
Knowing my
family did...
Boarding school
Furloughs/Home
Ministry...
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Answer Choices
90% 100%
Responses
The family adventure
35.42%
362
Seeing God change lives
20.94%
214
Knowing my family did something to make the world better
26.52%
271
Boarding school
13.99%
143
Furloughs/Home Ministry Assignment
3.13%
32
Total
1,022
Date
again none of these really resonate exactly with me
6/26/2015 10:57 PM
Developing a Global Worldview, actually
6/26/2015 10:34 PM
it made me who I am . . . perhaps, a sense of compassion, and most significantly, being someone who helps
someone else reach their potential, rather than myself
6/26/2015 6:21 PM
I needed boarding school (I was a 5-day boarder).
6/26/2015 6:27 AM
Again, this is with hindsight.
6/26/2015 6:02 AM
Global world view
6/25/2015 10:36 PM
There are amazing memories my parents gave us because of their willingness to go out and experience
everything.
6/25/2015 10:21 PM
Running in the jungle.
6/25/2015 10:12 PM
i was a staff kid at a boarding school and enjoyed being around all the kids there
6/25/2015 11:34 AM
18 / 27
SurveyMonkey
10
Really, all of the above, except furloughs - although, I now understand the importance of them, the reverse
culture shock was not fun!
6/25/2015 9:24 AM
11
Friends I made.
6/25/2015 9:01 AM
12
Went to three schools. Normal growing-up issues, but they were all good in the overall sense.
6/24/2015 8:22 PM
13
I loved it!
6/24/2015 5:30 PM
14
none of the above
6/24/2015 3:41 PM
15
None of these fit
6/23/2015 5:45 PM
16
The whole Christianity emphasis is guilt based, if you don't believe as we do there is something wrong with you,
borders on child abuse
6/22/2015 12:39 PM
17
None of above..
6/20/2015 7:41 AM
18
wish answers from #5 were an option for #6-I'd put developing a global world view and easy language acquisition
as my answers
6/20/2015 5:45 AM
19
None of these : the variety of experiences and people I was able to come across
6/19/2015 9:59 AM
20
My parents also lived at the boarding school so I was lucky
6/18/2015 4:46 PM
21
I thought of Furloughs as a generally bad part, leaving home
6/18/2015 8:22 AM
22
Loved boarding school too
6/17/2015 4:18 PM
23
Through the gospel of his Son
6/16/2015 7:00 AM
24
My parents were very wise in making us a priority, even to make achange in their field of service because they
felt it would be better for us as children.
6/14/2015 5:38 PM
25
Why is furlough on this list??? It's easily the worst part about being a missionary kid!
6/14/2015 3:48 PM
26
All of the above
6/14/2015 11:01 AM
27
It was more knowing my family was doing what God wanted. But very few people were willing to accept God's
Word as truth.
6/13/2015 9:43 PM
28
The older I get the more I realize how courageous and adventurous and caring my parents were to go on the
mission field with a family
6/13/2015 9:27 PM
29
none of the above
6/13/2015 5:01 PM
30
Seeing how similar people are the world over!
6/13/2015 12:26 PM
31
None of these really qualify as second for me. I would have to go back to the first list and choose one of those
because they were all valid for me.
6/12/2015 6:27 AM
32
And number two also
6/11/2015 7:52 PM
33
None of these
6/10/2015 10:17 AM
34
None of the above are applicable, although on furlough I did get to see the last of my grandparents in person
before she died, unlike the others who died when we were away.
6/9/2015 9:42 AM
35
Also having a meaningful sense of purpose and home ministry assignments seeing grandparents and cousins!
Absolutely the some of my sweetest memories.
6/8/2015 10:34 PM
36
None of these really fit.
6/8/2015 10:28 PM
37
It wa my life. hard to say what was the best.
6/8/2015 4:11 AM
38
It wa my life. hard to say what was the best.
6/8/2015 4:11 AM
39
Seeing God change lives ties with famil adventure. They are both an amazing part of being an MK that I have
enjoyed.
6/7/2015 5:55 AM
40
being in the states where not as much was expected of me
6/7/2015 3:08 AM
41
None
6/6/2015 6:20 PM
19 / 27
SurveyMonkey
42
None apply.
6/6/2015 3:48 PM
43
lived for furloughs. my parents idealized US so it felt like vacation and we were very spoiled by family.
6/6/2015 10:27 AM
44
This answer is the only one that was part of my expereince at all
6/6/2015 8:48 AM
45
None of these
6/6/2015 12:26 AM
46
And by "seeing God change lives," I mean our own. I will always have the personal experience of His care and
provision to uphold me throughout my life.
6/5/2015 6:30 PM
47
the 'host' country I grew up in is the country my grandparents immigrated from, so it was a unique opportunity for
my family to connect with them and our heritage.
6/5/2015 4:50 PM
48
The chance to trust God by following His leading without knowing the outcome up front
6/5/2015 3:30 PM
49
What I can pass onto my children
6/5/2015 1:34 PM
50
the ability to see so much that others will never get a chance to
6/5/2015 12:24 PM
51
getting to know and participating in the big C church and kingdom realities
6/5/2015 10:25 AM
52
??
6/5/2015 10:16 AM
53
The walk of faith that i learned
6/5/2015 9:53 AM
54
Living amoung the Africans
6/5/2015 9:08 AM
55
Our being togethern as a family most of the time. I boarded away from home for only a few months to go to an
international school. I was very content to go back to home schooling after that.
6/5/2015 7:43 AM
56
friendships, language, travel
6/5/2015 7:08 AM
57
Developing a love of art and culture now my career.
6/5/2015 6:47 AM
58
The friendships I made
6/5/2015 5:57 AM
59
Traveling the world
6/5/2015 4:23 AM
60
Having an amazing childhood in an amazing place with an amazing family. That's all.
6/5/2015 3:44 AM
61
Being immersed in other cultures
6/5/2015 12:34 AM
62
good family
6/4/2015 11:24 PM
63
adventure and exploring
6/4/2015 10:53 PM
64
Being part of the culture when I was home from boarding school
6/4/2015 10:36 PM
65
Richer sense of culture.
6/4/2015 10:09 PM
66
Getting to know another culture deeply.
6/4/2015 9:54 PM
67
as an adult, I'm good at finding common ground with almost anyone I meet.
6/4/2015 9:53 PM
68
How it shaped me: today I am preparing to be a Bible Translator.
6/4/2015 9:31 PM
69
Seeing God honor my parents' obedience.
6/4/2015 8:26 PM
70
being where God called us to be
6/4/2015 8:10 PM
71
Traveling the world, the food, the friendships
6/4/2015 7:55 PM
72
The personal adventures of daily life.
6/4/2015 7:34 PM
73
Living cross culturally
6/4/2015 7:17 PM
74
different life than most other kids
6/4/2015 6:55 PM
75
Developing a global world view
6/4/2015 6:20 PM
76
Being an outsider, always, also freed me from many cultural restrictions in the US and on the mission field.
6/4/2015 6:19 PM
77
Teaching others about God
6/4/2015 6:14 PM
20 / 27
SurveyMonkey
78
easy language acquisition
6/4/2015 6:08 PM
79
Acepting Jesus as my Savior and having the sadness, fear and loneliness go away, and a real purpose for my life
revealed.
6/4/2015 6:02 PM
80
The freedoms we had like fishing where ever and going wherever we wanted without trespassing, hunting where
and when we wanted etc. No laws in that regard.
6/4/2015 5:45 PM
81
Being able to relate to other cultures
6/4/2015 5:21 PM
82
Easy Language acquisition
6/4/2015 4:03 PM
83
Seeing my us family
6/4/2015 3:57 PM
84
Godly Dad and Mom
6/4/2015 3:56 PM
85
The fact that I've been immersed and adopted into two cultures (i.e. passport & host). I'm able to call them both
'mine,' and my family made wonderful memories in both places.
6/4/2015 3:33 PM
86
Traveling
6/4/2015 3:27 PM
87
Finding a purpose and meaning for life because of it all
6/4/2015 3:15 PM
88
Understanding a different culture and knowing another language. Being unique from those who grew up in one
place in the U.S.
6/4/2015 3:12 PM
89
Faith Academy - so boarding school, but I wasn't a boarding student.
6/4/2015 2:54 PM
90
The culture where I grew up
6/4/2015 2:50 PM
91
None of the above
6/4/2015 2:46 PM
92
Connecting and making good friends
6/4/2015 2:20 PM
93
Knowing it was finally over.
6/4/2015 2:05 PM
21 / 27
SurveyMonkey
Q7 My greatest yearning growing up as an

MK was:
Answered: 1,073
Skipped: 25
To be made a
priority by ...
To have a more
stable life
To be
understood
To feel
"normal"
To have
stronger tie...
To get out of
a Christian...
To go home to
my passport...
I didn't yearn
for anything
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Answer Choices
90% 100%
Responses
To be made a priority by my parents
9.41%
101
To have a more stable life
7.18%
77
To be understood
21.81%
234
To feel "normal"
21.34%
229
To have stronger ties with my extended family
6.62%
71
To get out of a Christian work/the Christian world
1.86%
20
To go home to my passport country
3.08%
33
I didn't yearn for anything
28.70%
308
Total
1,073
Date
To marry another MK :)
6/27/2015 4:17 AM
That and for a deeper connection with peers
6/26/2015 10:34 PM
I was happy. My only disappointment was leaving PNG before I expected, and going to CH/DE rather than
Trinidad/Tobago
6/26/2015 6:21 PM
22 / 27
SurveyMonkey
I yearned to follow in my parents footsteps
6/26/2015 4:28 PM
more comforts financially/materially
6/26/2015 1:01 AM
6/26/2015 12:09 AM
I know/knew that I would never be fully understood, but I wanted people to understand that I at least had a
different view.
6/25/2015 10:21 PM
To feel free, make my own decisions
6/25/2015 3:45 PM
felt like ministry and other kids at boarding school morr important than me because i was a staff kid at boarding
school
6/25/2015 11:34 AM
10
to be with my parents
6/25/2015 11:31 AM
11
none that are listed above. i yeatned to hrow up, marry, have children and be used of God somewhere in the
world.
6/25/2015 8:25 AM
12
To get an interesting church connection with a lot of people in my age when returning to my passport country.
6/25/2015 6:39 AM
13
I think I "yearned" for this because I saw my parents and every other 'foreigner' around me always "praising" their
passport country.
6/24/2015 10:58 PM
14
To learn to really follow Christ, in intimate relationship
6/24/2015 5:30 PM
15
also, to feel normal, and to have stronger ties with my extended family
6/24/2015 9:35 AM
16
My greatest desire was actually to have more time to study.
6/23/2015 2:53 PM
17
and feel normal.
6/20/2015 1:01 PM
18
It wasn't listed above, but I think my real greatest yearning was for good friends my own age.
6/18/2015 11:09 AM
19
I just wanted to stay where we were forever
6/18/2015 2:08 AM
20
i enjoyed opportunities to spend time with extended family when I could
6/17/2015 4:18 PM
21
As an adult I now know that most children, MK or not, yearn to be 'normal'. Guess I was more normal than I
thought :)
6/17/2015 3:43 PM
22
The trouble was more when I came back "home", trying to get people to understand how great it was.
6/16/2015 4:43 AM
23
To fit in somewhere
6/15/2015 9:46 AM
24
It wasn't until I had been in the US for college for a couple of years that I realized I often felt like I was "different"
and needed to explain who I was to others.
6/14/2015 5:38 PM
25
I wanted to be a missionary too
6/14/2015 11:01 AM
26
Avoid having to be on "display"on furlough time
6/13/2015 9:43 PM
27
I guess that's a hard one, there were times I so badly wanted to be normal. When in Brazil I was American, in the
US I was Canadian, in Canada I was American. Furlough was divided in Canada and the US. So I never
considered myself to be a specific nationality. Now that I now a home and have served in the military I would say
I am American but I feel no strong ties to any specific country.
6/11/2015 11:24 PM
28
I grew up in Brazil, and I wanted to be accepted as a Brazilian, instead of being treated as a foreigner.
6/11/2015 10:21 PM
29
There has been some lack of feeling like I comoletely got with any one culture but also a vast expanse of deep
and valuable friendships all over the world. That's invaluable
6/11/2015 7:52 PM
30
I was fairly content
6/11/2015 3:41 PM
31
I was terrified my parents would give up at some point and return back like so many others had in my eyes.
6/11/2015 10:34 AM
32
When I say "to be understood", I mean by my friends. My family understood me, it was my friends at school that
only shared a small part of my life. Not being Christians themselves, they couldn't relate to my faith and so there
was a shallowness to the friendships.
6/10/2015 6:47 AM
33
I yearned to play baseball when I was about 10, and couldn't
6/9/2015 1:30 PM
23 / 27
SurveyMonkey
34
As a small child, I was so excited that we were going to be missionaries, and instead it turned out horribly. God
really destroyed our family and the future of my siblings and I as the price for my parents being missionaries.
6/9/2015 9:42 AM
35
Finances seemed unstable at times.
6/8/2015 10:34 PM
36
Normal interaction with my dad. But this would have been an issue even if I were not an MK.
6/8/2015 10:28 PM
37
Had we lived in the US, I would still not have been a priority.
6/8/2015 10:24 PM
38
To be able to go more places (wedidn't spend many years overseas)
6/8/2015 6:35 PM
39
i learned to be strong quickly, so yearning didn't come into play
6/8/2015 3:14 PM
40
To belong
6/7/2015 10:39 PM
41
I yeared for a chance to get to know the people around me for longer than a year or two. To have consistancy.
6/7/2015 5:55 AM
42
have friends all the rest of the mk's seemed to have
6/6/2015 6:22 PM
43
As a child growing up in France I would say I didn't yearn for anything but I did feel I didn't fit in because I was
American. I didn't like that feeling so much.
6/6/2015 2:35 PM
44
until I went to boarding school.
6/6/2015 12:57 PM
45
I didn't yearn for much growing up, but I didn't realize people were close to their extended families until I was in
college.
6/6/2015 9:50 AM
46
I particularly wanted a deep, meaningful friendship. I had friends but we never grew as close as I'd have liked.
6/6/2015 8:48 AM
47
My greatest yearning was to have friends I could count on to always be there for me
6/5/2015 10:21 PM
48
I discovered well into my adult life that I had ADD. Looking back at my boarding school experience, this helped
me understand many things.
6/5/2015 9:06 PM
49
Certain things while being on furlough made me wish people would put themselves in our shoes. These include
being expected to remember strangers who knew you as a very small child, and people who ask too many
uninformed/small-worldview questions.
6/5/2015 6:30 PM
24 / 27
SurveyMonkey
Q8 If I had children and becoming a

missionary were an option, Id:
Answered: 1,089
Skipped: 9
Want to raise
them as MKs
Be hesitant to
raise them a...
Refuse to
raise them a...
Want to raise
them as MKs,...
Add additional
comments below
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90% 100%
Answer Choices
Responses
Want to raise them as MKs
28.93%
315
Be hesitant to raise them as MKs
10.19%
111
Refuse to raise them as MKs
5.14%
56
Want to raise them as MKs, but with a lot of forethought and strategies in place to make their experience positive.
51.42%
560
4.32%
47
Total
1,089
Date
Want to raise them as MKs if God directed me to be a missionary
6/5/2015 3:30 PM
Do as I felt God was directing
6/5/2015 1:34 PM
Hard to project since so much has changed in 50 years
6/5/2015 1:32 PM
Been there, done that.
6/5/2015 11:04 AM
Be an imagrant in that country and raise them as nationals in that culture.
6/5/2015 9:08 AM
If I could give them what I had I would but circomstances would not likely be the same. And my children would not
nesessarily be like me and siblings. We all praise God for our experience as MKs. Even and maybe especially
the hard parts have caused us to grow strong in our reliance on God.
6/5/2015 7:43 AM
I am now so opposed to mission work and having children due to the repeated trauma I suffered as an MK that I
cannot even contemplate this question
6/5/2015 6:47 AM
25 / 27
SurveyMonkey
As I would never be a missionary but I would absolutely live cross culturally for other reasons, I will go with TCK
(rather than MK) for this question. I would want to raise them as TCK'S, but with forethought and strategies in
place to make the experience very positive.
6/5/2015 6:24 AM
not want to become a missionary
6/5/2015 5:48 AM
10
I would never go anywhere as a "missionary" rather I would go as a person doing their passion for God in
whatever that would look. They would not grow up as MKs but TCKs - learning other cultures and realizing that
we as humans never really like in one culture but are surrounded by many no matter if you live in the states or if
you live other places for a couple years.
6/5/2015 12:07 AM
11
Follow what I felt God wanted for my life and theirs
6/4/2015 11:40 PM
12
I'd homeschool
6/4/2015 10:36 PM
13
I am 3rd gen on both sides of my family. Both my older kids have gone into missions for 1-2 yer stints. Even my
17 year daughter spent 1 year in South America. They now work in secular fields. There are certain dysfunctions
that occur with generation after generation of missionaries. As far as I know there will be no missionaries for the
4th generation. I am pleased with this.
6/4/2015 9:01 PM
14
They ARE MK's :). And loving it . ..
6/4/2015 8:26 PM
15
I'm an atheist now, but if I were to decide to help people overseas I would probably raise them up there
6/4/2015 7:45 PM
16
I would want to raise them as a part of the culture I was living in and with as much forethought as possible. I'm
not sure I would identify them as MKs as I feel the title and all the hoopla surrounding the title can make children
feel entitled to different treatment. If I were ever to be a "missionary" I think I would want to go about the whole
thing in a different way, choosing to have a paying job in a foreign country and to not have the title of missionary
but rather just a follower of Christ choosing to live out my faith among people that I feel drawn to.
6/4/2015 7:29 PM
17
Never send them to boarding school
6/4/2015 7:17 PM
18
I did raise them as MKs, for parts of their lives.
6/4/2015 7:14 PM
19
I wouldnt
6/4/2015 7:13 PM
20
Nothing wrong being a missionary, just not my calling-I could if I wanted to, just don't, but not for negative
reasons
6/4/2015 7:12 PM
21
Keep in mind that God called me to be a parent before calling me to be a missionary. i would keep them with me.
6/4/2015 6:19 PM
22
I would never ever be a missionary under any circumstances ever
6/4/2015 6:08 PM
23
I have 3 children and DID raise them as MKs. But with forethought and strategies.
6/4/2015 6:03 PM
24
This choice was made for me by God. My purpose in life was to be a missionary where I was planted. Howeve, I
did make choices regarding my kids that were influenced by how I was raised. I chose to raise my kids in one
home, going to one school, and attending one church, so that they could develop deep roots, knew that they
were a priority for me, and so that they would come to know and love Jesus at an early age. I chose to help them
memorize scripture and pray so that they would take that behavior into their adult lives. They all still love the Lord,
and I now have 7 grandkids who also are being raised in the same way.
6/4/2015 6:02 PM
25
I did raise them as MKs
6/4/2015 5:51 PM
26
Raise them in the jungle like I was but not necessarily as an MK.
6/4/2015 5:45 PM
27
Took them with me to the misdion field.
6/4/2015 5:38 PM
28
Refuse to raise my son in a indoctrinated environment. Humanitarian work yes, definitely not religious eirk.
6/4/2015 5:37 PM
29
I personally don't want to be a missionary and therefore I wouldn't raise my kids as such, though I wouldn't
hesitate to making them TCKs outside of "mission" work.
6/4/2015 5:21 PM
30
i want to raise them myself. My priority as a Mother.
6/4/2015 3:56 PM
31
No way.
6/4/2015 3:51 PM
32
I'd want to raise them as TCKs, since my husband and I don't feel called to vocational ministry. But we both
would love to give our kids a cross-cultural upbringing if possible.
6/4/2015 3:33 PM
33
I already was a missionary and had children.Their experience was completely different than my own, because of
boarding school. :(
6/4/2015 3:31 PM
26 / 27
SurveyMonkey
34
Not have children
6/4/2015 3:27 PM
35
I dont believe in God, so not as MKs, but maybe as TCKs
6/4/2015 2:49 PM
36
Define missionary as widely as possible, and not raise them in a missionary bubble.
6/4/2015 2:43 PM
37
raise them to seek their own calling.
6/4/2015 2:36 PM
38
TCK-yes MK-no,for right now
6/4/2015 2:17 PM
39
I would have loved to have children who were TCK's but never missionary kids
6/4/2015 1:57 PM
40
I'm an atheist now
6/4/2015 1:56 PM
41
am raising them as MKs
6/4/2015 1:48 PM
42
I have children already and would totally be willing to raise them as MKs but that isn't what God has in store for
us (at this point anyways).
6/4/2015 1:37 PM
43
I did raise them as MKs. #4 The worst part was abuse of girls & women in PNG.
6/4/2015 1:25 PM
44
I would want to raise children as TCKs, since I do not participate in religion much anymore.
6/4/2015 1:18 PM
45
I would have had no problem raising my kids as MK's as long as there were no boarding school involved!
6/4/2015 1:16 PM
46
I would not go into faith missions, maybe do tentmaking missions
6/4/2015 1:10 PM
47
Just make sure it's a much longer term decision
6/4/2015 1:01 PM
27 / 27

PART ONE - On Being An MK

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PART ONE - On Being An MK

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PART 1: ON BEING AN MK

Q1 My early life (before age of 18) as an MK

Pretty evenly divided between great and difficult

Add additional comments below

Spent in the center of Africa during WWII

Great experiences vs. lack of parental involvement

I had such a blessed childhood, with wonderful Godly parents

We left whEn I was 9yrs old

Didn't become an mk until I was 15. But as a pk from 3-15

Moving around every couple of years was hard

Panic disorder, depression, suicidal and many deaths

Sexually abused as a child by a missionary

I started being an MK at the age of 14.

boarding school was traumatic

though i was very young, and it involved a lot of travelling.

I love my Childhood in Japan!

I did not know any different. Today I appreciate the experience.

for me it was normal life

my parents never involved themselves in my life. The rest was fantastic

My parents really included us in their ministry,

Coming home was the hardest part

Father married to the job so home life was tough

Q2 My feelings about being an MK today

I wouldn't trade it for the world

I feel it was mostly positive for me

I feel it was mostly detrimental for me

I feel it was destructive for me

I don't feel strongly either way

Add additional comments below

being an MK wasn't an issue, Christianity was the issue . . .

spiritually it was positive but not psychologicaly

Why is there not an "I feel strongly both ways" option?

I learned language and my perpective is wide

but I fantasize about life being easier if I wasn't an MK

at 20 it was who I was, at 68 it seems sadly irrelevant except as detrimental

Because I don't know anything different

It was positive, but separations left scars, I think.

It was destructive to me and our whole family.

So, even in some point it made my life difficult

Met people and learned languages.

but I still have struggles

And I would add it was equally detrimental.

Q3 The hardest part of being an MK for me

How it impacted my family dynamics

The number of goodbyes I had to say

The inability to connect socially with single-culture peers

A sense of not belonging anywhere

Seeing the "ugly" side of the missionary world

Add additional comments below

none of the above

None of the above

Didn't know it was supposed to be 'hard'!!:-)

I clicked the option that most resonated with me.

I loved my boarding school, but I still missed my parents a lot

all the above

separation from my older brother was terrible. He went to a different school

really all of the above.

My family was not as 'hip' as I wished.

None of the above

I hated going on furlough--too different from home!

there weren't really and hard parts

Connected to the part in the next question

I could choose many of these answers

Being the weird one in school

It wasn't about belonging but being different everywhere I lived