October 2008
IWM Newsletter
Global Connections
Dear Missionary Friends,
Here we are! Back in Koza! As my dad probably told you, we spent a month in Tchad. The hospital there was always
busy, and Dad was always at the hospital, and Mom, being the devoted wife and doctor that she is, was always in the hospital with Dad. So naturally, they were always worn out when they finished work.
I never went into the hospital. I avoided it like the plague, so I don't know their side of the story. My side of the story
was filled with lazy days and horse-back riding. I wish I could tell you I went from house to house proclaiming the word of
God and converting the whole town, but I can't. Neither did I cure the entire village of sickness. My time there was spent
with the animals and the plants.
You would be amazed about how much you can learn about God by just sitting and watching! When did time get so
endangered that we must chase after it always? We are always, always moving! So now I have a message for all
you workaholics out there. This is it: SIT DOWN! DON'T MOVE! That's the message.
So often we just need to kick off our shoes, slip on our cute little bunny slippers, and sit down. You need to watch the
plants grow. I could fill up this page with all I learned from just sitting and watching in Tchad, but I'm not going
to. The things I learned mean nothing in words! You have to go out and experience God's peace yourself.
And if you want to use that I-CAN'T-SPEND-TIME-WITH-GOD-BECAUSE-I-HAVE-TOO-MUCH-WORK excuse, you can just save your breath! If God wants to spend time with you (which He does) then there will be a
way to find peace and quiet. It's there that you will always find God. He wants desperately to talk to you, but He
won't force you to talk. You have to go to Him yourself. I promise you that if you go to Him in the quiet you
will never regret it. (from a letter written in Cameroon after a trip to Bere Hospital in Tchad)
Sara Shank
centerfold around a poem by Bob Thayne, the husband of an
MK.
INSIDE. . .
Several MKs in attendance at our summer programs
This issue of Global Connections features mission- shared their thoughts with us and we are now sharing them
ary kids (MKs). Previously we have talked about MKs but
with you. Victor Shepherd, an MK from Costa Rica to Guam,
this time we hear from them. Some 64 MKs attended Insti- Heather Wahlen, an MK returning from the Philippines, and
tute programs this year and many of their pictures are in our Steven Allcock, an MK from the UK to Greece, talk about the
community they found when they spent time with other
MKs. They reflect on the lessons they have learned from
their unique experiences. Sara Shank, an MK from the US
to Cameroon, challenges and entertains us with two creative
compositions.
We hope you will enjoy their pictures and
contributions. The Institute of World Mission is
committed to serving MKs as well as adult missionaries. Will you help us by giving a hug and
a word of affirmation to those special MKs in
your circle?
Teen Reentry participants celebrate at the new
Cheryl Doss
Andrews University entrance.
January 26-February 14 , 2009
Mission Institute-Costa Rica
April 27-May 16, 2009
Mission Institute-Asia
June 23-28, 2009
Andrews Family/Teen Re-entry
2 News from IWM
GLOBAL CONNECTIONS
October 2008
More Re-entry MKs:
(left) Kevin Boutet;
(below) Klaus Irrgang
& Keyla Boutet.
Re-entry MKs (left to right): (top row) Daniele Kuhn; Zac
Reiswig; MadisonYoungberg; Mikayla James; Caroline
Kuhn; Nalisa Reiswig; Katelyn Youngberg; (bottom row)
Gerald Warusavithane; Michael Iseminger; Heather
Wahlen.
3 News from IWM
October 2008
GLOBAL CONNECTIONS
2008 Andrews
entry &
Re-e
Instittute MKs
Institute Pre-school MKs: (left to right) Sebastian Lizarraga; Keren Toms (teacher); Samantha
Regalado; Seth Jr. Abu-Bonsrah; Zachary Kiš;
Kali Morrison (helper); Nicki Scheppler (helper);
Julie Kiš.
Clod
dless
Little sproutts ask, “Which
is you
ur clod?”
Little TCK sprouts
s
don't
know wh
hat to say,
for they aren't rooted in a clod,
not with a thick root
like the other
o
sprouts.
Institute 6-8 yr.old MKs: (left to right) Ignacio Lizarraga; Ashley Jankiewicz; Jessica Mutero; Amber
Torres; Shawn Rantung; Leticia Sol Martinez.
Despite the humili
liation and confusion of
bei
eing clodless,
the TCK sprouts
sp
survive.
Yea
ars pass.
Re-entry Teens: (Above) Desmond Warusavithane;
Victor Shepherd; Daniel Wahlen; Kenny Lutke;
Ebenezer Akyiano; Dakota Youngberg. (Right)
Kaley Church; Yanna Vasmout; Kalila Richards;
Stephanie Roberts, Sierra Iseminger; Sarah Shank.
Institute 9-12 yr old MKs (left to right): (back row)
Elcin Altinkaynak; Fonda Mutero; Shaina Rantung;
Megan Miller; (front row) Robert Hibbert; Lyndsay
Regalado; Caitlin Jankiewicz; Rachel Costello.
Now fully grow
wn, the TCK plants
still don't have
single
t
thick
roots
like the other plants,
and they still aren't sure about
claim
ming a clod.
Yet they are the
e most healthy of plants
in the garden,
thriving on
o the nutrients of root
sysstems that reach
fa
ar and wide.
by Bo
ob Thayne
Institute Teen MKs: (left to right) Jonan Nangoy; Ebru Altinkaynak;
Evrim Altinkaynak; Lynette Allcock; Stephen Allcock; Nathan Miller;
Nancy Abu-Bonsrah; Jewel Torres; Sara Miller.
4 News from IWM
GLOBAL CONNECTIONS
October 2008
Institute Participants (alphabetical order): Seth, Nancy & Seth Jr. Abu-Bonsrah; Graham, Pauline, Lynette & Stephen Allcock; Erkin, Meral, Ebru, Evrim &
Elcin Altinkaynak; Jannie & Hanlie Bekker; Kevin, Teresa & Rachel Costello; Velda & David Cox; Richard & Hadassah Doss; Sandra Fletcher; Fady Ghafary;
Sandra & Samuel Grice; Tevni Grajales Guerra & Ruth Calderón de Grajales; Hanny Guzman; Garth, Tineke & Robert Hibbert; Edyta, Katelyn & Ashley
Jankiewicz; Michel-André & Anita Kanor; Adam, Kristi, Zachary & Julie Kiš; J. Guillermo Lizarraga, Olga Sepulveda, Ignacio & Sebastian Lizarraga; Joseph &
Beulah Manuel; Ronald, Peggy, Nathan, Sara & Megan Miller; Andrew, Margaret, Fonda & Jessica Mutero; Ronald Nalin & Elisa Canovese; Stanley, Lenda
Mambo & Jonan Nangoy; Jerry & Lanelle Northrop; Steven, Anna, Shaina & Shawn Rantung; Ferdinand, Charito, Lyndsay & Samanatha Regalado; Jane Sabes;
Luis & Susanna Schulz; Twyla Seaton; Cristy Shank; Blanca & Leticia Sol Martinez; John & Ruby Stafford; Wilfredo & Nimfa Sumagaysay; Irvent, Alisa, Jewel &
Amber Torres; Allan & Wendy Walshe.
Editor
Cheryl Doss
Layout Editor
Vernieta Porras
Contributing Editors
Rosa Banks
Enid Harris
Rick Kajiura
Re-entry Participants (alphabetical order): Donald & Marjorie Bankhead; Joaquin & Aida Cazares; Phyllis Collins; Karla
Guerra-Boutet, Killman, Kevin & Keyla Boutet; Klaus, Joyce, Desmond, Gerald Warusavithane & Klaus Irrgang; Myron, Candace, Sierra & Michael Iseminger; Ronald, Jacqueline, Caroline & Daniele Kuhn; Jagannadah Rao & Kamala Manukonda;
Heather Rodriguez-James, Giblert, Kalila & Mikayla James; Artour, Azanetta & Yanna Vasmout; Clinton, Gina, Daniel &
Heather Wahlen; Wesley, Betsy, Dakota, Madison & Katelyn Youngberg.
Wagner Kuhn
Jose Lizardo
Lester Merklin
Published by
“Mk Corner” will be
back on our next issue
in January 2009.
If you would like to receive the IWM
Newsletter electronically, please send
your e-mail address to:
[email protected]. We will be happy to
send you a PDF version of our quarterly
newsletter.
Institute of
World Mission
Phone: 269-471-2522
Fax: 269-471-6252
[email protected]
iwm.adventistmission.org
In Their Own Words-Thoughts from MKs
You Know You’re an MK When. . . .
by Sarah Shank
Teen Reentry
by Victor Shepherd
You know you’re an MK when. . .
--your mom has said the words, “I would like to try this year’s batch
of fried termites. They say it’s going to be a good one”.
--you start saying “when the electricity goes out” instead of “if the
electricity goes out”.
--riding a motorcycle becomes second nature (meaning you can
read, hold onto goats, tie ropes around packages, or fall asleep, all
while sitting on the back of a fast moving motorcycle).
--after you wash your face, your washcloth looks like you dragged it
on the ground.
--you wake up in the middle of the night to find a huge spider
gnawing on your skin.
--you’ve forgotten how to use a napkin.
--forks are optional.
--it’s more comfortable to sleep under the dining room table than it is
to sleep in your bed.
--you can tell the difference between a power outage and the
electricity being turned off on purpose (they sound slightly different).
--your eyes start tearing with happiness when you spot a Heinz
ketchup bottle.
--malaria bothers you less than colds do.
--it’s seventy-five degrees and you’re wearing a jacket and long
sleeves (and you still say “I’m freezing!”).
--showers aren’t considered necessary.
--you can make a bag of chocolates last for two years.
--you can truthfully say, “I love plane rides.”
--you find yourself calculating how late you can be to a meeting and
get away with it.
--you have read the same book fourteen times.
--at the end of a church service, they will always sing “Hark the
Herald Angels Sing” no matter what month it is.
--you take bets on how long the water will last in the water tower,
without a pump to pump it (in my experience, about a day and a half
is the max).
“Hello America” reentry seminar
is not only about classes. In fact
the last thing that would pop into
your mind is boredom. “Hello
America” seminar is about family.
I was blessed to attend reentry
this year and we had a terrific
group. Our group consisted of six
boys and six girls. All of us had
different backgrounds,
personalities, and missions. But
we shared something in common,
we all were Missionary Kids.
We as Missionary Kids have
the blessing and the privilege of
starting in the mission field at
early ages. We have lived in
different countries and we have
been exposed to different
cultures. A simple question like
“where are you from?” made us
think for a few seconds, but Reentry helped us understand that
although we are different from
other kids, that difference helps
us to support and relate to each
other’s experiences just like a
family.
Victor Shepherd is a sophomore at Walla
Walla University. His parents serve in
Guam.
Sarah Shank Is a freshman at Upper Columbia Academy. Her parents serve in Cameroon.
Global Connections For Your Files October 2008 “We’re thinking of being missio
onaries.”
by Stephen Allcock
Re-entry
by Heather Wah
hlen
“Are you crazzy!?” I said.
“Leave hom
me, leave my friends,
f
my coountry and
my fam
mily!!!”
I wass fifteen when my parents told
t my sister and me that they
t
had been thinkingg of being misssionaries for a long time, and
a
now theey were going to go ahead with it.
To me,
m being a missionary
m
meant
livinng in a grass hut
h with no eleectricity, runnning water, cars,
and worst of all
no inteernet!
But thhankfully that was not the case.
c
My parents have been asked to
t be missionaries in Europpe,
most probabbly Greece.
Re-enttry seminar iss a time to
have fun. This leads too several
questions like:
1. What makes
m
it fun?
2. Is it funn for kids too??
3. Why iss it important??
And, of
o course, whaat comes
after quesstions? Answ
wers! So
here are answers
a
from me:
1. Becauuse you get too meet
new kids and
a if you gett to meet
kids, you get
g to play gaames and
climb treees too.
2. Yes. Just
J read answ
wer one.
3. Because you can leearn new
things youu never knew before.
And it cann bring you clooser to
God.
How do I know thesse
answers? Because I’vee been
there. Weell, I hope youu choose
to go there, too. Have fun!
Still I did
d not like thee idea of leaving home in thhe UK and cooming
to America for
f training!
They driive on the wroong side of thee road,
their cars are
a bricks
and theey don’t even speak real Ennglish!
Why would I waant to go theree!
But, praisse God, He’s always there for you!
By thee time we werre ready to come, I was sixtteen, and hadd had
loots of time to think
t
and prayy about it. Andd in that time,,
God clearly
c
impresssed me that itt was
the right thhing to do,
and, more importaantly, it was what
He wantedd us to do.
Heather Waahlen recently reeturned with
her parents from the Philipppines. She is
in the fifth grade at Atholtonn Adventist
School in Columbia, Marylaand.
So ovver we came, right into the waiting armss of IWM, my own
litttle family herre in the USA..
Theirr program reaally helped mee to sort out my
m feelings and to
m other peoople who weree in the same boat as I wass
meet
and after the first coupple of days it really did
feel like a faamily
and I havve made some very good friends.
f
So heere I am, waiting to see what
Good’s next surpprise will be!
Stephenn Allcock is doingg homeschool annd enjoying the internet while hiss
parents are in training with
w Adventist Froontier Mission.
Global Connections Fo
or Your Files October 2008