Leaving the nest to study in a "foreign land"

I started this blog post a month ago, however, due to my own daughter embarking on her own journey of heading off to college as an MK, our lives came to a stop. We concentrated much on getting her ready for the big changes that were approaching quickly. Going off to college is a big event in any young person's life but as an MK leaving the nest to study in a foreign land which everyone around them would consider to be their "home", it poses an even greater life change.

We praise the Lord that in our situation with our daughter heading off to college, many tears were shed by nationals who dearly loved her and could almost not bear to say goodbye to her. She is missed tremendously, not only by her family, but by those for whom she was burdened and desired to see come to Christ; by her Christian brothers and sisters in Christ who loved her sweet spirit and enjoyed sweet fellowship with her over the years.

Teens who have become friends.

Other MKs, some of whom have known her all their lives.

Children who love and admire her.

And most of all, special "Grandparents" who have been a "ministry" of our daughter's, for years.

Some people who have never had to leave their children so far away from home do not and will not understand what our families experiences as their children grow up and move on to college in their "foreign" homeland. With these posts we hope to shed some light for those who do not realize how much this change affects these families and help those families who are about to embark on this journey by providing personal experiences, sound advice, and helps to make the MK college transition much smoother for both students and families.

As we begin this new theme for weekly posts, we would like to start out by introducing a new idea here on the BMW blog. I asked the BMW ladies some weeks ago to send me a list of their children who were attending colleges throughout the US this fall semester 2016. My goal was to have their names listed together somewhere so we could all more easily pray for them and the parents. Another wish of mine was to be able to ask you, our readers, to "adopt" an MK college student for this fall semester. I am talking, of course, about those readers who live in the United States. One of the favorite things to receive as a college student is mail and care packages. But, being away on a foreign field makes sending care packages to your children a little more challenging. Chocolate chip cookies that have traveled across the Atlantic just don't taste as fresh! Know what I mean?!
This gives you the opportunity to be a blessing to an MK and help support them through the tough transition into college life and moving back to the US.

For privacy's sake, we will not post the names of the students publicly here on this blog. However, if you are interested in "adopting" an MK, please feel free to contact me through Facebook Messenger or by e-mail (danddsterling@juno.com) and I will get you connected with an MK. If you share what state you are in, I might even be able to locate a student who would be within driving distance of you which would make it even easier to be an encouragement to them. I am so excited about these posts and especially this part of seeing our readers be a blessing to our children in our absence. May God bless you richly for your participation!