Word association: Riot –

What do you think of when you hear the word riot? Last week I had the opportunity to facilitate for a group of missionary kids. It was eye opening. Those of us facilitating sat in on many of their other sessions in order to be able to use our activities to reinforce the lessons they were learning daily. The retreat leader was a former missionary kid and was able to speak from experience on many issues that third culture kids face. One thing she did was have the kids say what came to mind when she mentioned the word riot. Here are a few of their responses:
Rocks
Burning tires
Roadblocks
Lockdown
Travel restrictions
Emergency food supplies
Change of president

To say that these kids have lived a different reality than their North American counterparts is an understatement. It took a few days for them to open up to those of us who don’t fully share their experience but I was very grateful for the chance to get to know a few of them. While they are often put on a pedestal for wrong reasons these kids do have an incredible opportunity to impact the world.