Third-Culture Kid Perspective

00:01
Michaela Federwitz
The more effort you put into actually caring and getting to know that TCK, the more open they’ll be with you and the more they’ll feel comfortable. 

00:21
Rich Rudowske
Welcome to the essentially translatable podcast brought to you by Lutheran Bible translation. I’m Rich Rudowski. 

00:26
Emily Wilson
I’m Emily Wilson. In today’s episode, we are going to explore the life of the third culture kid. According to super authoritative source Wikipedia, a third culture kid is a person who was raised in a culture other than their parents or the culture of their country of nationality, and they live in a different environment for a significant part of the years of their childhood development. You have some exposure to this, rich? 

00:52
Rich Rudowske
Yes, I do. Got a few at my house the other night, actually. I was sitting on the foot of the bed of my son, who’s now a high school senior. And before he swung his feet into bed, he brushed them off and reminded me that’s what he’s been doing since he was a little kid from the days where we lived in the Kalahari desert. And that was necessary for bedtime sleeping. And those habits just become ingrained. And sometimes I find that I need to explain some stuff that my kids won’t know because they missed middle school and junior high years. And that’s kind of fun sometimes, too, right? 

01:19
Emily Wilson
Well, I had a chance to interview Michaela Federowitz, and she’s a TCK who grew up in a missionary home in Ghana, West Africa, and she lived there until she moved to the US and attended high school here. And she’ll be returning to the continent soon to serve as a missionary, supporting LBT. Canada’s missionaries, Reverend Mike and Kara Kuhn, beginning this summer. So it’s really exciting. So enjoy these ponderings of the challenges and joys of the LBTTck life. Today we are sitting down with Michaela Federwitz, who is a missionary kid from Ghana, and we’re just so thankful for her to join us and share a little bit of her story. So, Michaela, can you introduce yourself to our essentially translatable podcast listeners? 

02:13
Michaela Federwitz
Yeah. So, as Emily said, I am Michaela Federowitz. My parents were missionaries. They’ve been missionaries for as long as I can remember, and I still think of overseas as more of my home than the states. 

02:27
Emily Wilson
Yeah, that idea of home, that’s a little bit nebulous, right? It’s a little fuzzy for a missionary kid. Can you share a little bit about how do you identify home? How do you identify being a missionary kid or a third culture kid? A lot of people haven’t heard that term. So in your own words, how would you describe that? 

02:50
Michaela Federwitz
Basically a third culture kid is just someone who lives in a culture that is not their passport culture or they live in a culture that’s not their parents’culture. So I grew up in Ghana, making me grow up in a culture that my parents were not from and that my passport did not match. It’s a cool experience. It’s definitely different than what other people experience, I guess, with talking about home. For a lot of people, home is like their house or they’ve lived there for x number of years and they’ve got friends there. That’s where they’ve put down permanent roots. For a TcK, we define home very differently. Home is where the heart is. You have people that you love in all of those places and sometimes even places that you don’t live. 

03:50
Michaela Federwitz
And so just like being with those people that you love, that’s really home. So I have several homes in several places over most of the world. 

04:01
Emily Wilson
Right. That is beautiful, but also challenging. Right. That your home, you’ve got a home in Ghana, you have a home in northern Illinois where your family’s sending church was. And thinking about this third culture, I’ve heard some people describe it as that it is that kind of blending. But then also that third culture kids have a culture that is their own, that regardless of where they’ve come from, what countries they have put some roots down or like, whether it’s that their parents were in the military or their parents were missionaries or government officials, but that there was been moving, that they can identify with one another more readily. Did you experience something like that with other third culture kids and how has that impacted you? 

05:02
Michaela Federwitz
I did experience that third culture with other tcKs. Yeah. We might not have come all from the same background as missionary kids, but we all knew that feeling that we didn’t exactly belong where were, no matter where were. So just like being able to talk or get together or even message for the Internet, that’s our own culture. Other people can’t really identify with that. 

05:36
Emily Wilson
It’s kind of challenging, right? That not necessarily being able to identify with one another. And yet also, a lot of the third culture kids that I’ve met are kind of chameleons that they will try to adapt and kind of reflect what’s happening in their particular environment and just this adaptable, flexible sort of calling that they’ve just identified with. Have you felt that way yourself, or has it been a little bit of a different experience? 

06:13
Michaela Federwitz
Yeah, you’re definitely right. About being chameleons. We’re not all like that. And we’re not only like that. 

06:20
Emily Wilson
Right. 

06:21
Michaela Federwitz
I think when we feel uncomfortable or when something’s new, we tend to try to blend in and be as inconspicuous as possible. 

06:31
Emily Wilson
Low profile? 

06:32
Michaela Federwitz
Yes. Then I think different people have different ways to approach things. It depends on your personality. Being an introvert, I’d prefer to be the chameleon of sorts. I like to just pretend that I actually belong and be normal. But also normal is overrated. So I think as I’ve gotten more comfortable in a new culture, especially here in the States, I felt more comfortable making known that I wasn’t from here, if that makes sense. So I would talk about Ghana, like how we would do things in Ghana. Sometimes I dress more. I don’t go the full distance with that, but I definitely do let some parts of my other culture shine. The more comfortable I am in a. 

07:33
Emily Wilson
Place that is true. Sometimes it’s not the time to show. Right? So a chameleon will adapt and change, but eventually its true colors and what it is will show, but it takes time. Right? It’s not always the right environment. And similarly, a third culture kid wants probably to be in an environment where they know that they’re able to engage in those kinds of conversations and being able to be transparent. These were my experiences. This is where my heart is. So you’re on the campus of an international school and lots of third culture kids probably have come through this space. So how did you find that transition to life here in the States? In that kind of community? 

08:35
Michaela Federwitz
I can only guess that it’s easier than if I had gone to an all american high school. But even here, especially in the beginning, I didn’t quite feel like I belonged. I didn’t know what was expected of an american. And I definitely look american. 

08:55
Emily Wilson
You were the third culture. 

08:57
Michaela Federwitz
I was the third culture. 

08:59
Emily Wilson
So you’ve shared a lot about your experience here as a third culture kid. What was your experience growing up in Ghana and adapting what was normal? Would you be able to share that kind of glimpse? 

09:18
Michaela Federwitz
Well, I’ve lived in Ghana since I was eight months, so. And strangely enough, those are not my first memories, but just the fact that I’ve lived there the majority of my life, like things that would seem strange and abnormal to someone else, seemed completely normal to me. So just because of the color of my skin, I was different. Like it was obvious I was different, but it wasn’t a bad difference necessarily. They just recognized that I didn’t know how their lives worked, so that was really nice. They knew that I didn’t know, and so they would show me, or they’d try to explain things to me so that I could better understand. Sure. That was definitely appreciated. 

10:17
Emily Wilson
They welcomed you into their community by sharing about who they are as Ghanaians and their community. And if I remember correctly, you were in the comba language community. Could you share a little bit about the culture of where you grew up? 

10:37
Michaela Federwitz
Yeah. So were there for the first ten years of my life, and really, I only remember about five years of that. But just growing up, I would have school, and after school, I’d go outside and I’d play, I’d run around. It was different for me than the other local girls. They did not run around and play outside in the fields. They stayed at home. They helped their mom or their aunt or their older sister who was already married. They’d help out with younger siblings. Sometimes there were, like, seven year old girls running around with two year olds on their backs. There was not a big age difference for babysitters. Sure. So that was how I differed from them. And once I got to a certain age, I was not as appropriate for me to run around and chase cows with the boys. 

11:36
Emily Wilson
That does sound like good fun, though. 

11:38
Michaela Federwitz
It was fun, and I’m really glad that at about the time when it stopped being okay for me to do that, I discovered a love of reading. So I’d end up on the couch after school reading a book instead of going outside and playing. 

11:56
Emily Wilson
So you lived and worked around and with the cultural expectations in Ghana and now in the US, and you’ve probably been able to find after the fact that you have adapted in that way, that chameleon sort of tendency just happens so naturally, like you said, like, oh, it wasn’t until after the fact that was a good transition. But culturally, how we find, maybe we’re in that and we’re respecting that, but sometimes it can be challenging. Right? Like you said, you are that third culture kid. So being able to find and to explain to the opposite culture, know you’ve explained the US to ghanaian friends and explaining Ghana to your american and other international friends. 

13:03
Emily Wilson
What has that experience been like as you share what it was like to grow up and explaining the other culture to the other, that you’re the liaison in some ways when you aren’t wanting to be, what is that like? 

13:21
Michaela Federwitz
Well, I guess living in Ghana, people wanted to know what the US was like, but not having grown up here, I wasn’t sure how to explain it. But it’s interesting, though, finding out how different cultures react to something other than them. So I found that Ghanaians were more accepting that there were different people out there. People could be different, and they didn’t have to understand it, and that was okay. And then being in the US, I found that it was kind of the opposite. Not everyone, but generally, people were like, oh, that’s different. And they weren’t okay with that. So it’s interesting, right? I feel less inclined to open up to people who are just like, oh, yeah, it’s not really okay that it was different. 

14:25
Michaela Federwitz
And they might not come out and say that, but just dislike gauging by their reactions or their comments. And that’s a nice thing about being a TCK, is you’re more observant than you would be otherwise. 

14:42
Emily Wilson
Sure, there’s a lot more signals that you’re picking up on. It’s not just your cultural signals of your home culture, but also the culture that’s hosting your passport culture. It’s all a lot of things to try to gauge and pick up on. And. Yeah, thinking about that, what’s different? A lot of know, trying to explain cultural differences to individuals. Like, I use Dwayne Elmer’s book cross cultural connections and cross cultural conflict a lot in my conversations and explaining it’s a spectrum know. We know one side of the spectrum good, another side bad. And we start off with those being very narrow on either side of the spectrum. And that it’s like we have in our cultural perspective, I should say that it’s narrow on the spectrum as much as our understanding of what good or bad is. Like. 

15:52
Emily Wilson
That we have certain expectations and our different category, not much is different. It’s black or it’s white. And that there’s not a lot of acceptance necessarily for the different in a very neutral way. Like thinking about an approach to time. Right. That’s probably something that was very familiar of event orientation and time orientation of the event starts when people show up, and it goes till whenever versus it starts and ends at a very certain time. Some people find it very rude to delay, and some people find it very rude to hold an event without giving people the Grace. And we find as we talk to more and more cultures that. That different, that it’s neutrally different. It adapts. You’re giving the. That’s a really familiar thing. What was your kind of experience with that. Of that different category of, hey, it’s just neutral? 

17:11
Michaela Federwitz
Yeah, I mean, what you said with the time, it’s definitely there. That’s one thing that I do see, but especially, like, with my siblings, I have two brothers here at school with me, and the older one, he’ll say, oh, we’re going to do this at this time. And I’ll be waiting for him on american time, and then five minutes later, I’ll text him, like, where are you? He’s like, oh, I’m just coming. And that’s something in Ghana that it’s just, you know, anytime between now and the next time I see. 

17:57
Emily Wilson
You know, that it’ll happen. And when it happens, and you’ll love it when you’re together and look forward to the next time, but not really sure when that might be. 

18:09
Michaela Federwitz
Yeah. So it’s definitely interesting. And I think my family, well, now that my whole family is back in the states, but even before, when it was just my brother and I, we would try to do some things. Ghanaian. 

18:26
Emily Wilson
Yes. 

18:27
Michaela Federwitz
Like, sometimes we would actually plan on wearing ghanaian clothes to school on a certain day. There was one year we did our school photos in clothes, or like, we’ll make guinean food or plan on doing something together. We’ll talk the way we used to in Ghana. And I think that’s important that you still remember even though you’re immersed in something different, right? 

18:59
Emily Wilson
Absolutely. And maybe this is a painful subject, but I’m going to approach it and you can totally say no. But there are certain things that, like you said, you hold on to. And we have memorable experiences. Some of the memories are, oh, I could have gone without that one. Or some are cherished and just wanting to. For me, I wasn’t a third culture kid, but moving down to Concordia, Missouri, I have least favorite memories of my time living in Chicago and great, wonderful memories. And so wondering if you’d be willing to share some of the things that you miss the most and some things that you miss the least about living internationally. 

19:52
Michaela Federwitz
I mean, there’s just so many. I like the dust least of all. 

20:00
Emily Wilson
Could you explain the dust for those of us who have limited knowledge base on that beautiful time of year that you’re describing? 

20:11
Michaela Federwitz
So what would normally be fall and winter in the US is harmiton season in West Africa. So Ghana is situated between the equator and the Sahara, and during that time of year, there are windstorms from the Sahara that bring this very fine dust that gets into everything and there is no escape from it. You can seal something in plastic and still find a very thin layer of dust on the inside. It gets through everything. The windows, it’s in your bed. It’s under your feet. You sweep three times a day and you still get a very massive pile of dust on your. 

21:06
Emily Wilson
That. 

21:07
Michaela Federwitz
I don’t miss that at all. Being in the states at the same time, though, it’s kind of bittersweet, because sometimes when I would go back to Ghana for summer and Christmas the past few years, and getting back to the states in the middle of winter, after Christmas, I’d open my trunk and I just smelled dust. I’m like, oh, well, that’s home. 

21:37
Emily Wilson
Yeah. 

21:37
Michaela Federwitz
But also at the same time, I’d have dust everywhere. 

21:41
Emily Wilson
Inconvenient. 

21:43
Michaela Federwitz
Yeah, it’s really bittersweet. So I dislike it more than I like it, but there’s definitely a memory behind it. 

21:53
Emily Wilson
Absolutely. That it’s like, I remember one time, and this is not quite the same, but driving back up to northern Illinois, I got excited about the light pollution because I’m like, oh, I know exactly where I’m coming up on. And normally I very much dislike light pollution. I love seeing the stars. But there was something about, I know where I am and my family is nearby and just driving on the road and being like, okay, home is just a few miles away. I could do this, but it’s not something that we necessarily like, but we love everything attached to it. 

22:42
Michaela Federwitz
Yeah. 

22:43
Emily Wilson
So the list of things that you miss most, I’m sure, is like a mile long, then? 

22:49
Michaela Federwitz
Oh, it’s forever long. I’m not sure I could even begin to list all of the things, I suppose if I had to pick a few. It’s warm. It’s warm. Being, like, right on the equator, it’s warm all year round. In some parts of the year, it’s warmer than others. But I found that I very much just like being cold. I tend to bundle up within an inch of my life in the winter. 

23:23
Emily Wilson
I do have to say, listeners, Michaela has adapted beautifully. When she first came to the US and it was her freshman year, I was concerned for you, Michaela, because it was about 60, and I saw you wearing something over your ears to bundle up. And I was like, I wonder what it’s going to be like when we get down to single digits. Fahrenheit. Is she going to be okay? And you have really adapted. 

23:51
Michaela Federwitz
I was fine. There were a couple of days in there. I was like, why do people leave their houses in this? 

24:02
Emily Wilson
Oh, I question the same thing, but. 

24:06
Michaela Federwitz
Honestly, if you went to Ghana, say, in the spring when it’s the mean, you would wonder the same thing. Why do people even leave their houses? 

24:20
Emily Wilson
Just plant in front of a fan and just hope that you can cool down before nightfall. 

24:26
Michaela Federwitz
Yeah, pretty much. 

24:30
Emily Wilson
Those are pretty special things to reminisce on. And I love the fact that you have owned the fact that I am a third culture kid. I’m going to wear my ganayan outfits. She’s got some beautiful prince guys. And that you have that special bond with your brother and brothers, I should say, on campus and being flexible to like, hey, we’re going to make some food. We’re going to make some ghanaian food. And that’s pretty awesome to be able to embrace that right where you are and to hold that as a living memory and honoring that. And I’m sure, though, too, like you said, that bittersweet, that you’re happy to do those things, but it’s also probably a bit of a melancholy, too. 

25:27
Michaela Federwitz
Yeah. Because it’s like, it’s not really part of my life at this moment. It’s just like, no memories. That’s all memories are. It’s remembering what used to be or what did happen. And you don’t have that anymore, right. So they’re valuable in that way. That was something that you did. It’s part of you, but it’s also kind of sad because it’s like, but it’s not your life anymore. You have a different life now. 

26:03
Emily Wilson
So have you been able to find that being in a third culture kid community, because you’ve got friends from all over the world that you’ve been able touch base and kind of process these things together? 

26:18
Michaela Federwitz
The summer between my freshman and sophomore year, I did a TCK reentry program, and I met all sorts of kids from all sorts of places. It was different than what everyone else there experienced because they were all college aged. They were coming back for college or taking a gap year before college, so everyone was older than me, but we all understood. And when you’re a TCk, age doesn’t matter. Yeah, it’s helpful when you’re around the same age, so you can kind of be like, oh, yeah, I’m talking on the same intellectual level, but age really doesn’t matter. And so it was good to connect with them, to swap stories and be like, oh, yeah, something like that also happened to me, but it was different because it was my part, not yours. 

27:20
Michaela Federwitz
So we had that independence, like, that individuality, but as a whole, we all understood what each other was talking about. We’re like, oh, yeah, Americans don’t make sense in this way or that way, or a different culture doesn’t make sense in this way. So it was good to be able to share stories and be able to sympathize with each other and be like, yeah, we really don’t understand this. 

27:48
Emily Wilson
You’re all feeling the same thing. I heard it recently described of we’re not all in the same boat. We’re all in the same storm, though. And being able to sympathize in that way, that know your boat, that you are carrying all of the experiences of your time in Ghana, but you’re in the same storm of trying to navigate. What is this going to look like, living and studying in the US after growing up abroad, that you were unfamiliar with american culture and you can relate to the person who grew up in eastern Africa or Europe or Asia. 

28:32
Michaela Federwitz
Yeah, and I like your storm analogy because it’s true. We’re all just as confused. And yeah, we’re going through the same thing, but we see different waves and different waves hit us from different angles and it’s different. And that difference is what makes us the same. It’s unique. And once you find that group of TCK friends, it’s like, these are your people. They’ll understand your whole life because, yeah, it might get easier in some ways, but it never, always goes away. 

29:23
Emily Wilson
Right. So one of the things that I’m sure has been the Americans make no sense and we’re wanting to kind of share because sometimes what is it that is the cure for those kinds of things is building up an awareness and trying to share from the insider perspective of, well, how do we combat that and how do we grow together? And so maybe some of our northern american audience might say, like, oh, my goodness, I may have asked a question of a third culture kit that maybe was less than helpful. I’m wondering if you could shed some light on what kinds of questions you’ve gotten over the years that you just maybe dread to hear and how we, speaking from a monocultural person thus far, how we might be able to grow and better support third culture kids. 

30:34
Michaela Federwitz
Yeah, I think one question that I hear the most and that I always struggle to answer is, where are you from? And it’s like, there are so many answers to that. And if the questioner could just narrow it down, like, where were you born? See, I can answer that. Or where did you spend your childhood? Yeah, I can answer that, too. But where you’re from is so broad for a tck that it’s stressful to answer. And we could just stand there for like 15 minutes telling you our whole life story to try to get to this bottom of where we’re from, because chances are we don’t even know. We haven’t gotten to that point where we know where we’re from. 

31:35
Emily Wilson
Right. 

31:36
Michaela Federwitz
It’s just where we’ve lived. 

31:38
Emily Wilson
Right. Yeah. That is an awesome pointer right there, because that’s something that we just tend to say, oh, where are you from? And we don’t think anything of it. But how complicated that is for a third culture kid to process of. Wait a second. Are they asking where my parents are from? Is that what they want to know? Do they want to know what citizenship I hold? Or are they asking mean for you? In Ghana, you lived in a very small village at one point and then in a mid size city. Right. And so it’s like, okay, well, which of those am I from? What do I identify with more closely there? 

32:30
Michaela Federwitz
Yeah. My advice there is just, like, narrow down the question. The more specific it is, the easier it is for us to answer. 

32:40
Emily Wilson
Right. What kinds of questions do you love for people to ask? 

32:50
Michaela Federwitz
Not sure that I necessarily have a favorite question or multiple favorite questions, but just, like, if you’re willing to actually put in the effort to ask something that actually means something and listen and care as tcKs, we’re not big into small talk. If you ask a question, you might as well be prepared for our life story, because somehow it’s all connected. 

33:23
Emily Wilson
Sure. 

33:24
Michaela Federwitz
So the more effort you put into actually caring and getting to know that TCK, the more open they’ll be with you and the more they’ll feel comfortable. Because that’s one thing with tcKs, is we fake comfort, like, a lot. We’ll pretend that we’re on the same level with you. 

33:54
Emily Wilson
That chameleon. 

33:55
Michaela Federwitz
Yeah, we’ll pretend. And that’s not always healthy. Or rather, it’s never healthy, that fake. 

34:05
Emily Wilson
It till you make it is painful sort of thing. 

34:08
Michaela Federwitz
It really is, and it’s not great. But, yeah. Just the sincerity of any question. I’m not sure that it’s any one specific question. It’s the attitude behind it that really counts. 

34:27
Emily Wilson
Right. And I just remember when first getting to know you of sitting together, and I don’t know that were really talking about anything so in depth, but almost four years ago, three and a half years ago, of just sitting together over coffee, checking in and wanting to share that love for you and this hard time of transitioning to a new culture, new space, and how that was a real challenge, but also how you embraced it. And I think that’s one of the wonderful things, too, about third culture kids and what we can learn from that third culture kid mentality is the gift of relationships, of taking that time and investing in that in one another and sitting down and to build on that it’s not just overnight. 

35:41
Emily Wilson
Maybe you’re able to connect like that overnight with fellow tcKs, but you already know each other’s culture. But being able to say they’ve got a lot of experiences that I don’t have, a TCK versus a monocultural person, well, what does that look like for me to be there to bridge that gap and to support? 

36:06
Michaela Federwitz
Yeah. I think those first two years of high school, when I would come in and I’d visit with you before school every morning, I think that really helped. I did not realize it at the time. Once again, once again, just looking back at. Looking back from an older and more mature point of view, I think that really did help me. The fact that there was at least one person who cared to listen, no matter how much I talked or just. 

36:36
Emily Wilson
Like, I probably asked you 20 questions, you’re probably like, oh, please stop. But you were a good sport about it. Yeah. So that’s, I guess, just kind of the word of advice, right, of like for people who are looking to support third culture kids just love on them and take the time to be sincere, to sit and to listen and ask meaningful questions. 

37:05
Michaela Federwitz
Yeah. And I think that’s something that tcks learn early on, is that other tcks, like, half hour conversation, and you all are already best friends. It doesn’t take long because you’re so used to moving on or just, like, being somewhere else, that relationships have to go at warp speed. They have to go from, oh, I know your name to I know that your cat’s name was whatever it was, the average person that you would talk to, just like visiting family friends or supporters of your parents, they don’t necessarily know your cat’s name. They might know, yeah, what your name is or how old you are, but that’s about it. And I think a lot of times, tck sense that. And so don’t open up. 

38:09
Michaela Federwitz
They’ll spend a lot of time coming up with the ideal short answer for any question because they just assume that people don’t actually care. They’re just asking to be polite. And that’s one thing, like with being a chameleon, it’s helpful to know because some people just really don’t want to know your life story. But at the same time, it’s not the easiest. 

38:39
Emily Wilson
Right. So really, it’s that authenticity of when talking to a TCK depending on their age level, of course, because I think that sometimes you’re an adult now, but adult tcks that maybe they’ve gone through college and how to still love on them and ask questions because chances are this is something that they carry with them and has shaped them to be who they are and for the rest of their life, that’s who they are. And so how to love on them and be authentic and take the time, right. That it’s not looking for that ideal short answer because ultimately we have a big story to tell. 

39:35
Michaela Federwitz
Yeah. Living in the States for the past four years has definitely been different. Like, yeah, I’ve been more in my passport culture. I’m starting to understand a little bit more. And I think for people it’s like, oh, yeah, you’ve been here for a while now. You know what’s going on. You’re now one of us. Whereas coming back for PD is like, people are like, oh, yeah, you haven’t been here for a while. This is new to you. But I think something that people forget is no matter how long you’re in your passport country, you’re never going to actually be all the way there. It’s a process and it’s never going to be over. It’s going to be with you for the rest of your life. 

40:28
Emily Wilson
Just giving that grace, right. That it’s like none of us have all of the answers and tcks have been elsewhere, so they don’t have all of the insider answers that the rest of people from their own passport culture have. So being in that grace orientation that let me come alongside and not patronizingly, but lovingly support and walk with you and be there for you with that, which kind of ties in beautifully with, I wanted to ask you, how have you, because you are a missionary kid, which is like a subgroup of third culture kids, how your parents ministry, your involvement vicariously in Bible translation ministry, how has that impacted your faith and your understanding of what it means to be a third culture kid? 

41:30
Michaela Federwitz
I think that growing up in a different, I keep saying different culture, it’s really not. It was my own culture, but I still felt foreign. But just growing up overseas, my parents really, they wanted me to and the rest of my siblings, but yes, they wanted us to be firm in our faith. They wanted us to know who were, no matter where were, no matter who were with. They wanted us to have identity. So that was important to them, that’s been important to me to remember who I am. And faith is the center of that. I think tcks tend to get lost in who they are. They don’t quite know what their identity is. 

42:35
Michaela Federwitz
But my freshman year of high school, my parents gave me a ring, and they said, well, whatever you don’t know, then just, like, look at your ring, say out loud, like, I’m Michaela. I’m a daughter of God. My parents love me, that kind of thing. Just like, just knowing who you are is very important. 

43:04
Emily Wilson
That’s so beautiful. That is so beautiful, because I think so many individuals struggle with that, especially when you’re trying to tackle questions like, where are you from? And what’s your heart language and what is it that you miss most and miss least? And all these insensitive questions that I probably asked you over the years and that ultimately all of the questions that go and are floating around in your head and your heart and your mind like that, it’s just, who am I? I am a dearly loved child of God. 

43:44
Emily Wilson
And wherever I am, wherever my home is, wherever my family is, I know that I am at home in Christ and that he defines me, that everything else that he has given us, that he’s blessed us with, whether we’re monocultural, the third culture kid, whatever it is that makes up all the rest of us, what’s at the heart of it is our identity in him, and that’s so beautiful. So what words of advice would you give to individuals who are walking along this journey of being a third culture kid and trying to kind of find their bearings and that they haven’t necessarily looked down at a ring and said, I am a child of God, what words of comfort or advice would you give? 

44:50
Michaela Federwitz
Well, that’s a difficult question because I haven’t quite figured it out myself, and I’m not sure I ever will, I guess stay rooted in God’s word. You can’t go wrong there and find one, two, three friends that will be there and will listen. That’s always important. And I think being a third culture kid, I matured a lot faster. So I have fewer friends that are my age and more friends that are older in their. Even older than that. I get along better with. Suppose I’m an adult now, but when I was in adults, I felt more comfortable with them than I did with my peers. 

45:50
Michaela Federwitz
And I think their, I guess, extended experiences in a culture different than mine, or even just like the same as mine, like other adult tcks could sympathize or could share what they learned when they went through this process. So just finding those people, relationships are everything. 

46:16
Emily Wilson
Yes. 

46:18
Michaela Federwitz
The stronger a relationship is, the happier and the happier you’ll be and the more comfortable and authentic you’ll end up in the long run. 

46:32
Emily Wilson
So I just want to say thank you so much for sharing your heart and your experiences with us. And I want to encourage all of you listeners that as you know of third culture kids, walk alongside them, pray for them, pray with them, and be in those authentic relationships. And we’re so excited for next steps for you, Michaela, and how you are called to be in God’s mission and where he’ll be using you and all of your experiences as a third culture kid for his mission and for his people. Thank you so much for joining us. 

47:17
Michaela Federwitz
Yeah, thank you. This was fun. 

47:23
Rich Rudowske
Thanks to Michaela Federitz for joining us on the podcast to share her experience as a third culture kid. We’re thrilled to have her as one of our newest missionaries to get involved in supporting her ministry by prayer or giving. Check the link in the podcast notes or find her name@lbt.org. Slash Give thank you for listening to the essentially translatable podcast brought to you by Lutheran Bible translators. Look for past episodes of the podcast@lbt.org Slash podcast or subscribe on audible, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow Lutheran Bible translators’social media channels on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Or go to lbt.org to find out how you can get involved in the Bible translation movement and put God’s word in their hands. This episode of the essentially translatable podcast was hosted by Emily Wilson. 

48:10
Rich Rudowske
The podcast is produced and edited by Andrew Olson and distributed by Sarah Lyons. Executive producer is Emily Wilson. Podcast artwork was designed by Caleb Rotewald. Music written and performed by Rob Weit I’m Rich Radowski. So long for now.