The hardest question to answer

“Where are you from?”

For many of us, it’s a simple question to answer. But for some, it’s a dreaded question with an overly complicated answer. For global citizens, commonly known as Third Culture Kids (TCK), it’s a particular challenge as they’ve spent their formative  years in a different cultural location somewhere that is not their parents’ home country. 

That’s why we loved pastor Segun "Shegz" Aiyegbusi’s reflections on the challenge of answering that question:

‘I often feel like I’m being tested when someone asks me, “So, where are you from?”  

I panic a little because there’s clearly more than one reasonable answer to that question. Are they asking where I was born? Where I was raised? Or where I’ve been living the last 10 years prior to my current residence? This might seem like a non-issue to some folks, but there are large pockets of us spread all over the globe who would refer to ourselves as having had “Mobile-Childhoods.”  

Some labels used to describe our dilemma include:

• “Culturally-Misplaced”

• “Globally-Restless”

• “Global Nomads”

If all our stories were collected and made into a book, that bestseller would be titled, “Dude, Where’s My Home?”’

In his blog post, Segun highlights some of the distinctive indicators of being a TCK – from flying on a plane before you could walk, to haggling with checkout clerks – but also points out some of the strengths of a multicultural identity. He shares his personal experience of growing up as a TCK and points us to Jesus as the one in whom we truly find our identity, and to heaven as our true, eternal home.

Join us

If the themes from Segun’s blog post resonate with you, we’d love to see you at our upcoming half-day event ‘Identity and Children of God’ on Zoom, Saturday 5 February.

We’ll be exploring:

-    What does it look like to live out our identity in Christ?

-    How can we help TCKs find their identity in Christ? 

-    What can you do to support TCKs in your church, across the street or across the world? 

We’ll also be hearing from people with experience working with TCKs, having a time of biblical reflection as well as quizzes, discussions and prayers.