It absolutely matters, doesn’t it?

Once in a while, I find myself in a place where I know what I do matters, but I wish I had proof that it absolutely matters. I felt that way as we wrapped up another school year of TCK Connect– our online hangout for MKs/TCKs. I know TCK Connect matters. If it didn’t, people wouldn’t keep showing up for it. However, that’s not the affirmation my heart longed for at the end of another year.

The words my heart needed came in an email a few hours later. It was from Carter*, a 16 year old boy who has attended TCK Connect for the last two years. If you know 16 year old boys in general, emailing doesn’t rank high on their list of fun things to do. Yet this email from him was full of raw feelings that boiled down to gratitude for TCK Connect and the way we run it.

“What surprised me at TCK Connect was that, while Christian, it was a simple meeting (and a fun one at that) with no ‘ulterior motives’…The part that really ‘hooked’ me though was the game…it convinced me that this was made for TCKs by someone who understood TCKs. I first attended during a strict [Covid] lockdown, while attending online school, during our wet, grey, sea-side winter and spring…the small groups basically kept me from going insane.

Throughout the time I’ve been at Connect, it’s always been one of the highlights of the week and really the only time I’ve been able to meet people like me”

My whole body reacted to Carter’s words. Tears escaped my brimming eyes. Chills formed goosebumps on my arms. My throat constricted. My brain could only form a few words, “It absolutely matters. Thank you, Lord!”

More Affirmation

As if that wasn’t enough, a few hours later, email arrived with more affirmation from 14 year old Lacey*.  She said,“All these TCK Connect calls have really helped me move past a bad experience I had in the past with making TCK friends, this last call really helped me know that I now have an awesome group of people I can actually trust.”

TCK Connect–it absolutely matters because TCKs absolutely matter.

Thank You

If you partner with us through prayer, finances, time, and/or encouragement, you are responsible for TCK Connect. You paved the way for these two (and others) to have life altering experiences.

As our partner, you make it possible for our computers, internet, and Zoom to work. You make it possible for our staff to have time to invest and interact with TCKs all over the world. You give TCKs a place to go where people see them, understand them, and value them.

To those of you who say it absolutely matters and give to Interaction International, thank you. Thank you for not just giving but for investing in Interaction International’s infrastructure, staff, volunteers, and the TCKs we get to serve.  You absolutely matter.

Your giving changed lives this year. I hope your eyes are leaking tears of joy as the truth of your impact makes its way from your brain to your heart.

Thank you for joining us in this important ministry.  It matters.  It really does.

An Invitation

For those of you who do not yet give your time, talent, or treasure to Interaction International and its ministries, it’s not too late to join in.  We are actively looking for people to join us on this journey of ministering to MKs and other TCKs.  We welcome you to invest in TCK Connect to ensure that TCKs like Lacey and Carter have a place to go where they can develop community that understands the intricacies of a cross-cultural adolescence.

We invite you to give to Interaction International.  Every program and every supported staff member have financial needs.  Your gift will matter.  It will make an impact that matters.

Will you join us?  Will you click on the give button and say, “It absolutely matters?”

 

Sheryl O’Bryan serves as the Director of TCK Services, the Director of Communications, the Director of STAGE,  and a co-host of TCK Live.  When she’s not madly changing hats at Interaction International, you can find her meandering through her neighborhood with her favorite pup, contemplating the vastness of the ocean, or creating some new art.  What she does–it absolutely matters.