Today we have Anna here with us! Welcome, Anna!
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and the different cultures you are a part of?
I was born in New Zealand to Kiwi parents, but moved to Germany at four years old as a missionary kid, later becoming a pastor’s kid. There, I was surrounded by a melting pot of cultures.
We often visited the large African community of refugees in our little town. I remember loving the spicy food, getting to eat with my hands, and sitting on the ground rather than at a table – quite a treat for a little Western girl, I can tell you! To this day, I can eat much spicier food than many around me. I am certain it was from my taste buds being exposed at such a young age.
Also, I was privileged to experience the fall of the Berlin Wall from close quarters during my almost six years in Germany. I celebrated with my West German classmates and later with my East German classmates who came to live amongst us. I was in awe of my God and His desire and power to heal, restore, and redeem “my” nation’s pain.
Now, I live in the Netherlands with my Dutch husband and our two girls. I have dual citizenship (Dutch and New Zealand) and have lived in Europe (Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands) for 29 years of my life (4–9, 19–24, and 25–44 years of age), while only 15 years in New Zealand (0–4, 9–19, and 24 years of age).
Here in Europe, I learnt to speak German, Swiss German, and Dutch like a local (albeit with a bit of a strange, unidentifiable, twang). I love languages and always have. But I must admit my (Swiss) German has deteriorated since moving to the Netherlands in 2003 (as the languages are just too similar).
Traditions like Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas) and King’s Day markets, habits like biking everywhere while carrying multiple bags of groceries and up to three kids on my “Mama” bike, and foods like ontbijtkoek (a type of cake), stroopwafels (caramel cookies), home-made erwtensoep (pea soup), and zuurkool (a cabbage/potato/pineapple/cheese/sausage oven dish) have become my own.
“Home” has become quite a difficult concept for me. I long to return to my “home” of New Zealand to be with my siblings and their families, but I know that if we ever do leave Europe, I will also be leaving my “home” here.
My in-laws have become surrogate parents to me, especially since my Mum died in 2014.My Dutch, American, and South African friends here are like family to me too. We also have a “third daughter,” as we call her – a (Dutch) friend of my daughters who has become so precious to us all.
What is one memory from your time in one of your non-passport countries that you would like to share?
I traveled to Romania several times with my parents and siblings. We went right after Ceaucescu fell and doors opened to bring in aid to hospitals and orphanages, and then later when we walked through the adoption procedure to bring my little brother “home.” Romania and her people will forever remain etched into my heart.
My greatest joy was being able to be in the local church amongst hundreds of women raising their voices in praise, their heads covered in respect for our God, while the men stood apart, joining with them as one in worship. I was in awe of this beautiful people of God, who had grown in faith, compassion, and quantity through the most horrific persecution.
But my heart also broke in two after seeing rows upon rows of abandoned babies, rocking to and fro, and the dire need of so many around me. Simultaneously, I was gobsmacked by the local pastor and his wife, aptly named John and Lydia, and their overflowing generosity to us all. They opened their homes and hearts to our large group, giving in abundance out of their lack: the most amazing of home-cooked meals and their very own beds.
After those aid trips with my parents and those who helped them (including the local Romanian church and many local German businesses), I came home changed: my heart was broken open by the Lord’s compassion (His suffering with us), and I longed to become His compassion in this aching world.
What is an advantage of being a TCK?
I think because I have faced so many hurdles, I’ve also made countless blunders. You might wonder: how on earth could that be an advantage? Well, it’s actually all these blunders along the way that have so deeply humbled me and made me so very reliant on God’s help and His guidance, making me willing and ready to release my understanding in exchange for my God’s.
Prayer has become like breathing for me, and if I do ever forget to breathe, my youngest especially is quick to remind me: “Mama, don’t you need to pray first?” Why? Because it’s my go-to with her too. I’ll bow my head, close my eyes, and lift up my heart to my God in every circumstance. Or if we are out and about on the bike or in the car, my eyes will remain open as I talk to Jesus with her.
Who was someone that you met in one of your passport countries that made a difference in your life and how?
My Dutch friend whose name means “God is gracious.” She went to be with Jesus last year, but she left an indelible mark on me. I responded to a vacancy for a volunteer to visit her once a week. My job was to help give her social interaction since her chronic illness left her mostly housebound.
At the time, I was forced to relinquish my dream of teaching again after I was diagnosed with a chronic heart condition. I was looking for a “doable” and fulfilling use of my time (when the girls were at school).
I thought the job was nearby. But when her daughter told me it was clear on the other side of town, I almost balked, thinking: “If I had known that, I would never have applied.” At that stage, I didn’t have my Dutch driver’s license, and my heart condition made longer bike rides unpredictable, to say the least.
But right when I had those thoughts, another thought came to me: what if this is God’s doing? So, I told Jesus: “Okay, show me in that first meeting that this is You calling me.” Wow! What unfolded in that very first meeting was incredible: God had handpicked us for each other. We had so many overlapping stories.
God is indeed gracious, and in that one year and five months, He healed us both of so much – as we told our stories, as we held each other’s hands and bowed our heads in prayer, as we listened to and sang hymns, as we watched God do what only He could, and as we gave up our way for His.
Oh yes, we certainly grew weary of ourselves and of each other too at times, but through it all, the Holy Spirit turned us to look upon Jesus, who never grows weary. Or as Isaiah 40:28 reminds us:
“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable” (ESV).
Oh, God didn’t take away our chronic illnesses, and my dear friend had cancer spread through her body at the end, up until she took her last breath on this earth. Instead, He healed us through the thorns in our flesh as He leant us into His grace.
It was our illnesses that pressed us into His arms and each other’s. I still feel her arms wrapped around me. Her laugh was like no other – oh, how we laughed and cried, and how Jesus ministered in our midst, redeeming the pain of our past and rewriting our stories in His steadfast love.
What characteristic of God have you learned most about in your life as a TCK?
That God remains faithful when we are faithless. When I left for Europe, I was running away from God. Or so I thought. Turns out I was running away from the idol I had made of Him and straight into His waiting arms. I just didn’t see that until He opened my eyes in my thirties. This verse is now my living testimony:
“And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.”
Isaiah 42:16 ESV
What is one thing you would like to tell your fellow TCKs?
Pray. Pray. Pray. Tell Jesus everything. Bring Him your anger, your doubts, your fears, your deepest longings, your grief, your stumbling, your all. And listen for His sweet thoughts for you, soaking in Scripture, praying it over yourself and into your day. He’s there, in it all with you. You are never alone.
When you just don’t know where to begin in prayer, check out this article.
And, check out Sara Hagerty’s beautiful book, Adore: A Simple Practice for Experiencing God in the Middle Minutes of Your Day, which will lead you into adoring our God, in and through the most excruciating of circumstances, to find the peace of God descending upon you.
tcksforchrist.com 
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