Pod # 23 Growing Up On The Field 

The hardest thing about growing up on the field is the relational instability you have your whole life

In this Pod, I sit down with a guy who grew up his whole life on the field and has rare insight into the life of an MK. We talk about the pressure MKs feel to perform, the lack of identity and belonging, being a “hidden immigrant”, the effect all this has on faith, and what the pathway to real connection and belonging looks like. 

I don’t know an MK who doesn’t have a deep level of grief or bitterness or confusion about their experience. 

Timeline

• 00:00 Intro 
• 00:44 Born on the field 
• 3:11 Affects of Parents’ attitude towards locals
• 6:32 How did you understand your own identity growing up a Third-Culture-Kind (TCK)? 
• 9:13 The Hidden Immigrant Phenomenon 
• 11:13 How children understand living between two worlds 
• 12:55 Did you ever feel resentment for being raised on the field? 
• 15:31 What is Relational Instability?
• 20:21 Struggling to find identity, connection, and belonging 
• 24:25 Making the transition from the field to the West 
• 29:51 What effect did your transition have on your faith? 
• 32:35 The pressure on MKs to be meet unrealistic expectations
• 37:17 The path to finding belonging and connection 
• 42:41 How did people cultivate an environment of acceptance for you?