The eldest son of missionary workers, Joas has lived on the other side of the world since he was six. He knows the Netherlands mostly from the months when the family was on leave. In a few weeks, he hopes to finish high school. Then a big switch will follow: he will move to the Netherlands on his own. How does Joas view this step? And how has growing up in a missionary environment shaped him?
Single Netherlands
That the time to emigrate would come was something Joas saw coming for a long time. Many young people at his Christian international school preceded him: “Everyone around me is taking this step. You finish high school and then you fly out and start living on your own.” Still, it feels strange that he has booked a single ticket to the Netherlands. “But it's also time for the next step. And it helps that I have good friends who have already flown out. I can ask them for advice,” he says.
At home in a specific place
Despite being Dutch, Dutch culture does not necessarily feel like home. Feelingly, Joas now moves between different cultures: the Dutch culture of his parents, the culture of the country where he grew up and the international Christian culture at school. “I recognise what is meant by the term ‘Third Culture Kid’: I am not really a Dutchman, but I am not really a citizen of this country either," he says.
If I feel at home somewhere, it is in a certain place and with a certain group of people. So on the one hand, I cannot root myself well in one place, but on the other hand, that is why I can easily adapt and find my way in a new place.”
Immigrant in their own country
For Joas, the move feels both very familiar and very new at the same time. It is mainly his family and the specific places he knows that make the Netherlands feel familiar. “The fact that I will soon just be able to go to family birthdays feels very special,” he says. There are also practical advantages: “Everyone speaks the same language as me. In the Netherlands, for example, I could just go to the doctor myself.”
At the same time, he feels like an “immigrant in his own country” in the Netherlands, as he puts it. He misses the common ground that many Dutch people share. For instance, he knows little about Dutch pop culture. The individualistic Dutch culture is also at odds with the group culture he is used to. “Here, you can start a conversation with anyone on the street. I really appreciate that.”
Going for God
Besides valuable elements from the local culture, Joas naturally takes lessons from his parents back to the Netherlands. “The most important thing I got from my parents is to really go for God. I know how much faith it takes to work as a missionary: stepping outside your comfort zone and then knowing that God is good and with us. I have learnt that faith. If God is with me, everything will work out.”
If God is with me, all will be well
God leads the future
With this confidence, Joas moves into the future. From September, he hopes to attend a Discipleship Training School with Youth with a Mission. In this way, he hopes to make the relationship he has with God even more personal. What he will do after that, he leaves to God. “I have no idea. My image is roughly that I will go to a university in the Netherlands. But if I feel God is taking me in a different direction, then I am all for that.”
Pray for Joas
Are you praying with us that Joas' transition will go well? Pray:
- For precious last moments with his friends and acquaintances in the country where he now lives
- For a great start in the Netherlands and a valuable time at the Discipleship Training School
- That Joas’ relationship with God will remain strong and that he will experience God's strength and peace
- For the family members left behind, that they can continue life with confidence and good cheer when Joas is at a distance
- For other children of missionary workers who, like Joas, will make such a transition this summer.
Retrieved from InToMission's website Find more information about and for Third Culture Kids.
