This month, I had the opportunity to spotlight Naomi Brane! This is her second year with TPS, and she’s currently taking Algebra 1 with Mr. Manns and French 1B with Madame Orsini. Naomi is a missionary kid (MK) of nine years, who has lived in America, France, Burkina Faso, Mali, and soon to be Senegal! For the past three years, she called Mali in West Africa home, but she and her family will be moving to Senegal in October.
Having lived in four different countries, Naomi has difficulty choosing simply one of them to call her home. She says that Burkina Faso and Mali will always be the closest to home for her. In Burkina Faso, Naomi would go out on playdates with her friends from the French school she attended. While in Mali, Naomi was able to make close friendships with the other MKs and her church’s members.
On the other hand, if Naomi picked a country where she feels most like an outsider, it would have to be America. According to Naomi, returning to America is tough because she doesn’t know the teen culture and the latest movies or trends. In Naomi’s own words, “Oftentimes, I feel like an outsider because I don’t fit into their culture or way of doing things. So it’s really hard to have real friends in America.”
Thankfully, Naomi has formed an incredible amount of friendships among her fellow TCKs! In this community of shared experiences and backgrounds, TCKs can bond on a deeper level, thanks to their shared life experiences. Naomi says that she feels as if she belongs in this wonderful community. After all, the final culture in Third Culture Kid is the TCK culture. All TCKs can connect with each other through this one shared culture.
Being a TCK has its struggles, but there are also many pros to living this kind of life. For one, Naomi says that because she lives in Africa, she’s been blessed with rare opportunities, ones which she would never have if she lived in America. In addition, Naomi used to live in France and she was able to visit the Eiffel Tower, see stunning French castles, and learn the lovely language itself!
Naomi’s dream is to become a veterinarian, and her nine years of TCK life have certainly given her some upper hands in pursuing that career. Over the course of this time, Naomi has been able to aid the vaccination of village cows, act as the assistant of a pediatrician in neutering two cats (on the dining room table), help deliver puppies, bottle feed them, and raise them since their mother passed away, and train two German Shepherds!
When asked, one incredible experience that comes to Naomi’s mind is attending church as an MK. This church was situated at the hospital where her mom worked. The family would bring the patients over and they’d all attend the service together. After it ended, Naomi would hang out and play games, such as Uno and Jenga, with the patients. Naomi considers the most meaningful part of this was that “even though I couldn’t speak the local language of Bambara, we were still able to interact together and be friends in a different way. [The patients] don’t have people who come to visit them. So when we came to spend time with them, it showed them that they were important to God. It showed me that even though I’m just a missionary kid, I can still serve God and make a difference in the lives of people around me.”
Naomi strongly believes that even if MKs are just children, that doesn’t mean they can’t help share the love of Christ with others. Age should not limit a calling or passion to let others know the Good News. It should not be a restriction, but instead a blessing that will lead to many saved lives and renewed faith! As Mark 16:15 is written, “He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.'” (New American Standard Bible)
Thank you, Naomi, for providing your impactful words and sharing your amazing stories. It’s been a great time interviewing you and allowing clay readers to peek into the life of a TCK!