Events

Moving overseas as a family is an exciting and challenging experience! The popular ‘Preparing Families’ day at Redcliffe College is specially designed to equip parents and children understand and prepare for life as a family in another culture.

Drawing on the expertise of Marion Knell (Global Connections TCK Forum, European Member Care Network), Janet Chapman (Global Connections TCK Forum, OMF International) and Stephen and Yolanda Jerrard (New Tribes Mission) the separate adult and children’s programmes give you the tools to not just survive – but thrive living overseas.

For the adults: Parents will be helped to understand the dynamics of bringing up children in another country, and the effects of cross-cultural living on family life.

For the children:  Primary school-aged children will participate in a parallel pre-field orientation programme run by Janet Chapman and Stephen and Yolanda Jerrard, where they will be able to explore their own feelings about the move and be given strategies to cope.

Babies and pre-schoolers attend the Redcliffe crèche where there will be a range of games and activities provided.

Please note the creche is now full for this event, but there are spaces available on the programmes for school-age children and adults.

Impressive, well researched, and a wealth of knowledge and  experience. What a brilliant and helpful day

This has been the most helpful input we have yet had as we prepare to go overseas

Marion Knell leads the adult sessions. A trained teacher, she became involved in the care of missionary families while working for Arab World Ministries. Marion heads up the Global Connections forum on Third Culture Kids, and lectures on the subject at UK Bible Colleges and International Conferences. Marion is also involved with the European Member Care Network and works for a secular international relocation company as a youth and adult trainer. Her book, Families on the Move was published in 2001 and her latest book Burn-up or Splash Down - surviving the culture shock of re-entry is now available.
 
Janet Chapman has worked in Third Culture Kids ministry with OMF International since 1984, living in Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore and now Preston. Her work has included teaching year 2, advising families, giving homeschool support, developing orientation material for children, debriefing TCKs, co-ordinating teams running TCK programmes at conferences and leading Rekonnect, an annual re-entry camp for TCKs. In 2009 she qualified as a counsellor.

Stephen and Yolanda Jerrard work with NTM (New Tribes Mission). They served as house parents for several years in West Africa and Papua New Guinea. Now based at NTM’s headquarters, their ministries involve serving missionaries through working in personnel, member care and MK/TCK care.