Lauer is pleased to announce that Perry Bradford, of Barnabas International, will assume the role of Director of MU KAPPA International. Perry has worked alongside the Lauers in MK ministries for the past 6 years, both with MU KAPPA and with MK reentry seminars. He and his wife, Sandi, bring a wealth of knowledge about MK ministry and a deep desire to relate to MKs on a personal level. For over 10 years the Bradfords served with Wycliffe Bible Translators in Papua New Guinea, where Perry was the Principal of Aiyura Primary School. They also were very actively involved in Jr. & Sr. High youth ministry at the Ukarumpa Center. Perry & Sandi are parents to three MKs of their own…one in college, one in high school and one in Jr. High.

There are literally thousands of MKs that return to the United States each year. Before them is a world of unknowns. As a family we can attest to this. When we arrived back from Papua New Guinea in 1994, we knew that God was in control and that we could rely on Him to carry us through, yet the "unknowns" were great. How would the kids adjust to their new school? Would they be able to make the transition and still hang on to their faith? What would our new ministry with Barnabas look like? How would we raise support living in the United States? All these questions and more were answered, one by one, in God's time. We held-on to the promise in Joshua 1, that God would look out for our comings and our goings, no matter what!

Now as I begin this new phase of ministry, I find myself clinging to the same promise. Yet this time around it is more of an "encouragement". I know that God will be with me and that He will look out for me as He has promised to do.

I would like to encourage you to come along with me on this journey of ministry to missionary kids. They are a wonderful bunch of kids with a great deal to offer the world.

I would appreciate your prayers, not only for our family, but for the hundreds of MKs that I'll be working with over the course of the year. I trust that this quarterly newsletter will help keep you up-to-date on our ministry and give you some new and exciting insights into the lives of missionary kids and families from around the world.

MKs are typically the products of two cultures... sometimes more... yet the belong to none. They sometimes live under strict values they encounter upon returning to the United States or Canada.

Many learn to conduct themselves and communicate in ways that are regarded normal in the other country but strange in their parent's homeland. MKs long to sense understanding and unconditional acceptance in his or her new surroundings.

With such a backdrop, some MKs experience rough transitions to the North American college campus environment, far away from any family, friends or anything familiar.

Some returning MKs want to put the overseas experience behind them and have no desire to be a part of Mu Kappa. But for those who become active in it, the rewards can be tremendous. For many, Mu Kappa provides an atmosphere for a smoother transition.

"An issue we faced was distinguishing ourselves from being seen as a group established because MKs are maladjusted or somehow goofed up," says Nate Peterson, who helped found Mu Kappa at Taylor University. "Granted, some MKs face significant adjustment problems, but most do all right and are happy just to enjoy the company of others they find easy to relate to."

One grateful alum is Wendy Smith. She became involved with Mu Kappa as a first-year student at Wheaton College and by her sophomore year she was in a leadership role assisting others.

"Mu Kappa gave me contacts with people who looked at life the same way I did," says Smith, now a 25 y eard old teacher at a Christian school in Wheaton. She found other MKs who had a fondness for activities that she enjoyed, such as soccer and camping. She also could discuss shared experiences of going through customs and eating foods no one knows about in the States.

For the past 13 years Mu Kappa has met the needs of hundreds of MKs across the country. The Mu Kappa motto is "Embracing our past while building toward our future." What a rewarding ministry to assist MKs with their adjustment to this new and strange land.

A typical day at Urbana includes: time alone with God, Bible study and prayer with small groups; morning and evening general sessions with 19,000 participants, which includes Bible teaching, testimonies, drama, music, worship and prayer.

I have been asked to present a seminar this year called "Raising Resilient MKs." The overall seminar program is designed to give students a variety of mission and discipleship topics.

In addition to the seminar, I am planning to hose the traditional MK Gathering. During the convention we will be given an opportunity to gather all the MKs for a mini-reunion, for the purpose of reconnecting and sharing what God is doing in our lives. What a joy to watch them speak their various languages, reunite with old friends and tell stories of years gone by.

The dates for Urbana 2000 are December 27-31 and the convention will be held at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

With the understanding support of faculty member Dale Sloat and his wife Bonnie (former missionaries to Brazil), Nate Peterson and the other four MKs established an organization called Mu Kappa (taken from the Greek letters for M and K). Nate became the first president of Mu Kappa. A constitution was written, officers were elected and a program for the coming year was outlined. One of their first projects was to go to the Admissions Office of the school and secure the names of all the MKs who had applied for enrollment. They wrote a letter to each one, stating that if they came to Taylor, they would find a group of MKs already there who were committed to helping them through those transitional years.

Although Taylor is not the first college to have an Mk group on campus, there is a unique characteristic of the Mu Kappa chapter in that it is student-generated. In function it is an example of MKs reaching out to one another. The program did succeed and swiftly, so much so that Taylor University received numerous inquiries from other colleges about establishing Mu Kappa chapters on their campuses. Taylor did not have the capability to expand the organization beyond its campus, so Jim & Ruth Lauer visited the Taylor campus and met with the Mu Kappa members, officers and sponsors. The Lauer's were currently working with Wycliffe Bible Translators to help that organization's MKs adjust to college. The group explored the potential dynamics of a nation-wide network of Mu Kappa chapters. After much prayer and further meetings, it was decided that Jim and Ruth Lauer would take the program beyond Taylor University. They used the 1987 Urbana Missions Conference as a networking springboard to begin this ministry and Mu Kappa International was born. As directors of Mu Kappa, the Lauer's have facilitated the ministry to college-age MKs in transition through local campus chapters. There are now more than 60 Mu Kappa chapters on campuses across the United States.

In 1990, the Lauer's and Mu Kappa moved under the umbrella of Barnabas International, a non-denominational agency committed to encouraging those in missions. Ten years later in May 2000, the Lauer's turned over the leadership of Mu Kappa to Barnabas International and Perry Bradford became the new Director. Perry began his ministry to MKs back in 1980 as an MK teacher with Wycliffe Bible Translators. Perry and his wife Sandi have worked along side the Lauer's since 1994, when they returned from 10 years of ministry to MKs in Papua New Guinea. The goals of Mu Kappa International remain much the same as they did at Taylor: offering fellowship, encouragement and support to first-year college student MKs who have just left their parents on the mission field and are trying to assimilate into American culture. Mu Kappa strives to provide cultural, practical, social, emotional and spiritual direction.

The program has six basic components: Orientation, Assessment, Recreation, Counseling and Spiritual Challenge. Students are orientated to the American culture, both good and bad. They discuss issues related to transition, friendships, dating, finances, college life, choosing a church and much more. The assessment portion of the program takes a look at the MKs interests, strengths and areas of growth. Guidance is given through personality and vocational tests. There is plenty of time for recreation, such as sports, group activities, table games, and even several off-campus activities. Christian counselors with a heart for missions and a love for young adults encourage and guide the MKs in addressing any personal questions. Daily chapels and evening dorm meetings will challenge MKs in their own personal spiritual journeys and encourage them to trust God.

An MK from Mongolia said, "This is something you will never regret. You will come away with a sense of encouragement and hope regarding living in the United States."

We would covet your prayers on behalf of all the staff and MKs who attend. Pray that God would meet each ones need.

But Yarinacocha is only temporary. Even if this Center were not to close soon, I will probably never come back to it for any major length of time. And Yarina is closing. What it comes down to is that I'm afraid to call this place home. Home means roots, and if roots are cut off, a tree does not last very long. So why not call the U.S. home? It should be around a while at least. It's the land of my ancestors and my language. It's the origin of much of my culture. But the U.S. cannot be home either. Too much of me is tied to other places, other ways of life, other points of view.

Someone said, "Home is where your heart is," but my heart is not fixed on a single place. As I thought about all this, I remembered something Jesus said. "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him." I realized that though my heart is not fixed on a single place, it is fixed on a single Person. I have chosen to obey Jesus Christ, and as he promised, Christ has made a home in me: My heart is where home is.

With this awesome realization, the "Irony of the Snail" becomes the "Analogy of the Snail." Like the snail, I carry my home with me. I have portable roots, portable comfort. Like the snail, I'm always safe - my fortress moves around with me. But the analogy eventually fails. The snail's home is tiny; mine, in Christ, is vast. His home is a lonely one; my home is a loving one. The snail's home is outside of him and will not last; my home is inside me and will outlast the earth itself. Most of all, the snail must carry his own home; my home carries me.

So I find I am not homeless. I may never settle down anywhere or ever love a single piece of land, but I am not a vagabond. I will always have my heart, and my heart is where my home is. To quote a song by Larry Norman, "Let this good be the life I lead; let my faith grow like a mustard seed. Jesus' love is all the love I need, and with Him I'm always at home."