Today, we have Jerome with us. Welcome, Jerome!
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I was born in Bahrain in the Middle East and lived there for 16 years before moving to Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada, in July 2025. I am bilingual in Arabic and English, which means I have the unique skill of switching between reading right-to-left and left-to-right depending on the language.
My family background is rooted in ministry; my parents are both Canadian and lived in Bahrain for 21 years, working as teachers with a heart for the gospel in a place where traditional missionary visas weren’t permitted. My dad recently retrained online through Ambrose University to become a pastor, and he has now taken over leadership at a church here in Canada. I am the middle child in my family, with one older brother and one younger sister.
I was 16 years old when we made the permanent move to Canada. Although I had visited Canada for summer vacations in the past, living here full-time is still a very different experience that I am adjusting to. I am currently a Grade 11 student at a public school, which is a transition from the private school in Bahrain where my parents used to teach.
In this current season of life, I enjoy playing the guitar — specifically an older one that belonged to my mother — and I love using it as a way to worship. I also have an interest in writing, and I previously published a poem as a guest writer for TCKs for Christ.
One of the hardest parts of being a TCK for me is that life is very transient, and saying farewell to my community in Bahrain was a very significant and special process for me. While I don’t have a clear picture of my future yet, I know that being a Canadian citizen makes higher education more accessible for me here, and I am open to how God might use my Middle Eastern experiences.
What is one special memory from your time in Bahrain?
When I was leaving and saying farewells, it was very special just knowing that people loved me. I wrote thank-you letters to all my classmates just for being my friends. Many people wanted to take me out one last time before we left, to go to the movies together, or to do something like that. A bunch of people from our church had meals with us. It was really special to know that while I was going, I was loved and cared for.
What is the hardest thing about being a TCK?
I think one of the hardest things is that relationships can be difficult, especially because the life of a TCK is very transient and always changing. It is a very fine balance to navigate. Sometimes, I find myself pulling away from people because I don’t want to go through another broken relationship. Other times, I find myself clinging desperately to people because I feel I need that relationship and want to spend enough time with them to ensure it doesn’t break.
I am very affected by how much everything changes around me and how many relationships and friends I actually lose. Even though I lived in one place for 16 years, Bahrain had a large expat community where people moved frequently. There was a US base there, and people would often come for only a year or two. It was really hard to befriend people only to have them gone by the next year.
How has being a Christian made being a TCK easier or harder?
Being a Christian has definitely helped make being a TCK easier. Because I have faith in a God who cares for me and has a good plan to bring out His best for me, it makes it easier to surrender and trust Him.
Whether God wants me to move to another country or have certain relationships, I find it easier to trust in Someone bigger than I am who has a better plan than I do. During transitions and moving to different places, God is the only reliable Person.
I believe God has put us TCKs in these unique positions for a reason. Even when things are hard or I don’t know the “whole story,” I remind myself that He has a plan through all our situations and interactions. Looking back over my life, I can see how He has prepared me for things.
For instance, a few years ago, my mom had a very stressful and confusing visa issue during Christmas that kept her from traveling with us to a conference. At the time, I didn’t understand why God would let that happen, but seeing His faithfulness through that situation ultimately helped me trust Him more during our big transition when we moved from Bahrain back to Canada.
If you could time-travel, what would you tell your younger self?
If I could time-travel, I would tell my younger self that God has a plan through all of this. I would remind myself that God is faithful and constant, even when everything else is changing, and that He will guide me through both the storms and the calm seas of life. Because I can see God’s faithfulness in the past, I would tell myself to trust Him in the now and know that He holds my future.
I would also tell myself to embrace the culture that I am growing up in — to really throw myself into it. I would encourage my younger self not to be afraid, timid, or shy about engaging. I would tell myself to be more open to speaking in Arabic and to immerse myself in the Bahraini culture. It is so important to engage and be a part of that world instead of holding back.
What are some of God’s promises, works, or attributes that have helped you in this journey?
I find it really important to submit to God’s plan, even when I cannot fully understand it, because I believe He is able to guide me through every situation. One of the most encouraging attributes I have seen is God’s goodness, which I have found remains evident and constant even as the seasons of my life and the places I live change.
I also think of God as a storyteller; I love hearing about the “God stories” in the lives of other TCKs because it shows how He is uniquely at work in each of our journeys. I believe He has specific things in store for my future, and I am relying on Him to reveal those things as I continue to seek His direction. Finally, I view God as a trainer, knowing that wherever He leads me next is for the intentional purpose of preparing and equipping me for the specific work He wants me to do.
What is one thing you would like to tell your fellow TCKs?
I want to remind my fellow TCKs that God has put us in this unique position for a reason. He has a plan through it all, and while it is definitely hard sometimes, and we struggle with things that other people don’t always understand, we can rest in the fact that God’s got this.
During my own transitions, I constantly had to remind myself that even when I don’t know the whole story, I know that God’s plan is good. Every situation and every interaction in our lives is there for a purpose. Although we may go through difficult times and wonder why God would allow them, looking back often shows how He was preparing us for exactly what He wanted us to do next.
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