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by Carla Williams

Here at Team Expansion, we care a lot about member care, and that includes loving, equipping, and understanding our 200+ missionary kids  (also known more officially as Third Culture Kids).

Because the parents of these kids heard and responded to God’s call to represent Him in unreached places, these kids are raised in two worlds. They have their passport culture and their new home culture, and they often don’t quite fit in either one. Being a TCK has some unique obstacles, but also some amazing benefits.

You’re more familiar with the concept than you probably know. At least, you are if you know the story of Tarzan.

Here are 3 Ways Tarzan is the Classic TCK:

  1. He Doesn’t Match the Culture He Knows and He Doesn’t Know the Culture He Matches

TCKs often don't understand the world they should fit into.

TCKs often don’t understand the world they should fit into.

Tarzan has been with the apes since he was a baby. He understands their language, rules, expectations, celebrations, struggles, and history. From the inside, they feel like his true home.

But it doesn’t matter how well he knows them – he’s never truly going to be one of them. They love him and accept him in their way, but there’s always going to be the reality that he’s a man and not an ape. That doesn’t go away.

On the other side, when the people show up, they look just like him (other than the whole loincloth situation). They assume that he’s one of them, but he has no idea how to interact in their culture. He’s much less comfortable in the world he should fit into than in the jungle home he’s been adopted into.

Often, TCKs spend most of their developing years in the cultures where their families are serving. The occasional return trips into their “home” cultures can be fraught with doubt, uncertainty, and confusion. They look like they should know how to fit in there, but they just don’t.

Conversely, no matter how much they feel at home in their adopted cultures, they’re never completely accepted there, either. It’s a constant battle of almost fitting.

2. He is a Bridge Between Two Worlds

TCKs love two worlds, and they act as a bridge between both,

TCKs love two worlds, and they act as a bridge between both,

As Tarzan navigates the two cultures, he is able to bring each into a greater understanding of the other.

His ape family is terrified and confused about the people. His people friends are fascinated and misinformed about the apes. But through Tarzan, each gains a new appreciation and a broader view of the world.

TCKs are in a unique position to unite cultures. They love and are loved by both of their worlds. Their status as not-fully-either perfectly situates them to be ambassadors for both.

3. He is Able to Compare and Choose His Own Path

TCKs combine the things they love about both of their cultures to create their identity.

TCKs combine the things they love about both of their cultures to create their identity.

In the end, because Tarzan was both ape and man, neither ape nor man, he was able to create his own identity combing the best parts of both worlds.

There’s freedom in never fitting in either place, because you no longer have to. If you’re going to be considered different anyway, you might as well get to determine your own values.

As TCKs combine their passport culture and family environment with the rules and expectations of their host culture, they are able to sift through what makes sense and what doesn’t.

They establish their identities from a combination of worlds, and can become richer personalities and stronger people because of it. But they also maintain a strong sense of compassion and empathy, because they love such different sets of people.

Believers as TCKs

Ultimately, all believers are a kind of TCK. We live here, but we don’t belong here. We have the values and understanding of how our world works paired with a celestial knowledge of our True Home.

We don’t fit here and we aren’t there yet. We love the relationships in both places and can act as an advocate and intercessor. And we are able to use our knowledge of both to establish our true identities while retaining our compassion.

Although, not all of us can pull off a loincloth. Probably best not to try it.

Find out how to pray for Team Expansion’s TCKs.

 

 

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