As the COVID-19 pandemic spread to each of our corners of the world earlier this year, many of us had to consider access to medical care (or lack of it) as we made decisions about staying or evacuating. When Rachel and her husband found out they were pregnant with their fourth child right as lockdowns began, they had to make the hard choice to leave their home in India and evacuate to America. In this episode, Rachel recounts her experience of leaving on short notice, while sick and pregnant, with three young children. She shares how she and her family have dealt with unmet expectations and loss upon their return to their passport country, and how their experience with cross-culture transitions has equipped them to be an encouragement and support to others in this challenging season.
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Wherever you currently find yourself in the world, it’s no secret that all our lives have been affected by the Covid 19 pandemic. Our circumstances and situations might be different, but in an effort to create some solidarity between us we are starting a new mini-series titled “This Global Pandemic.” Each episode will have an interview with a new expat woman who will share her perspective on what life in the time of a global pandemic has been like for her.
In today’s episode you’ll hear from Kim, who lives in Ukraine with her husband and their six kids. They also have guardianship of three men with special needs and they work to deinstitutionalize people with disabilities. Kim shares with us what is was like for her family to unexpectedly welcome several new people into their home to quarantine with them, help a family get their adopted son to America in the middle of the pandemic, and what the Lord has been teaching her about releasing her love of control. Grab your favorite beverage and a comfy seat and prepare to be blessed by Kim’s story.
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In this episode, we are speaking specifically about the work of racial reconciliation. In this conversation, we discuss what we’ve been learning, what racial reconciliation looks like while living abroad, and how we’re teaching our children about race and racism. We can’t “out-write” our experience, so to speak, but it’s our hope and prayer that Taking Route will see growth in the area of better representation as we look inwardly and examine where we can do better and how we can do better. This conversation was important for us to have on the podcast so the Taking Route community can hear where we’re at on this journey and hold us accountable. Thank you for the grace you’ve extended to us thus far. We are confident the Lord — who gathers people from every race, tribe, and tongue to His throne — will continue to lead and make a way for this to be a community that represents a truer picture of His Kingdom here on earth.
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During this pandemic, we expats have fallen into one of two categories: those who stayed and those who left. Expats who made the decision to evacuate their host country have undoubtedly faced some very unique challenges in leaving and finding a new normal in their passport country. In this episode of It’s Tea Time Somewhere, Denise interviews Alicia about her family’s decision to leave Indonesia and evacuate to the States, how they came to that decision, and the lessons she’s learning through it. Alicia’s story will help those who stayed abroad to better understand the realities of our friends who left, and will encourage fellow evacuees that you’re not alone in the ups and downs of repatriating during a pandemic.
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Should I stay or should I go? This is a question that most of us have had to wrestle with recently as country borders closed and flights were grounded. In this episode, Denise and Melissa talk about staying in their host countries during this pandemic, how they made the decision, and how they are coping with their choice. From schooling changes for the kids to cancelled trips and loss of control, this conversation deals with the very real fears, challenges, and blessings of choosing to stay abroad during this pandemic.
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