Creating #homeish and hospitality for the whole family.
“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” – 1 Timothy 4:12
The Timothy Project is an initiative aimed at empowering CI missions workers’ children to thrive long-term.
In 1972, a group of families joined together to form Cornerstone International (CI). Tim Lindsay, a rising third grader, was one of three children of the first missions workers.
Tim and his best friend Hal, (CI’s current President) found their young friendship challenged as they had to figure it out with 5,000 miles separating them. Through their parents’ intentionality, their own tenacity, and the grace of God, this friendship is now over fifty years old and has seen many rich chapters over the years.
“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” – 2 Timothy 2:2
Cornerstone International began out of the desire for a missions agency that empowers missions workers to hear from the Holy Spirit and obey, while also embracing their entire family. In the case of the Lindsay family, obedience meant planting a church overseas. And it meant unique challenges and opportunities for stewarding the children God had given them. At that time, few were discussing the gift or the challenge of being a child growing up in a culture different from that of their parents.
Fast forward nearly fifty years…
Children of missions workers have been referred to as “third-culture kids” (TCKs) because they frequently spend a significant portion of their developmental years in a culture different than the passport culture of at least one parent. It’s a beautiful thing that presents many challenges that have only begun to be researched and discussed in the last 20 years.
#homeish
The phrase #homeish is a hashtag that has been used by some TCKs to talk about when they encounter home-like qualities. Many don’t actually have a single place they would call home.
(Tim Lindsay & Hal Hamilton)
When Tim left for Europe with his family, even though the small town of Wilmore, KY was no longer his literal home, it remained #homeish during visits back to the States. The town was like an ever-expanding “playground,” a repository of memories, and a symbolic and actual connection to important relationships.
CI has over fifty missionaries in over fifteen countries. There are dozens of children in our community. CI’s headquarters has been a home-like place for many of these families because of ongoing relationships with our staff, but it lacks many of the amenities and areas of memory-making and play necessary to make it even more of a #homeish place.
That’s where you came in!
Thanks to your generous donations, we were able to build a beautiful playground for our TCKs. It has been such a blessing to these kids for several years now.
We also are creating focused curriculum, equipping parents and staff, and making debriefings available to all of our missionary children. This is a huge step in caring for families long term!
Besides that, we created a TCK Flight Fund. During the ages of 18 – 23 when many TCKs attend college in a country different than where their parents are living, it is important for their care and development to have the ability to visit home twice a year. We have the initial funds set aside to offer a tiered approach to incentivize our missionary families to save and invest in their families this way and will be rolling this plan out in the near future.
Want to continue the impact? Please consider donating to the Timothy Project fund below to help us continue to bless the children under our care.
To find out more about The Timothy Project please reach out to us by clicking here.
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