Meet the TCK: Rebekah Falk

Meet Rebekah! Rebekah has lived in Niger, West Africa and Canada. She shares her experience learning how to fully depend on God in a new place. Rebekah has found unique ways to connect with the cultures she has lived in and she understands the importance of not diminishing your experiences regardless of how long you lived overseas.

Can you briefly share your TCK background (where you grew up, your parents' nationality, and where you currently live)?

"My family is Canadian. We moved to Niger, West Africa in 2012 and came back to Canada in 2014. That being said we moved around a lot and I never really had a town that felt like home."

What's one TCK experience or memory that really defines your TCK journey?

"It's so hard to pinpoint one specific memory. I feel like the biggest experience is more so the dependence on God. I have always struggled with feeling like I don't fit in the TCK category because we only lived overseas for 2 years. But the biggest part that has defined me would definitely be the dependence on God factor."

How has being a TCK shaped the way you see identity, home and belonging?

"Home hasn't really ever been a place. We haven't ever lived in a home for more than 5 years. We typically moved every 2-3 years. My family became home, they became my safety net. It was a hard change when my parents decided to go back onto the mission field. I felt solid and secure and then they moved and my home moved, even though I hadn’t lived with them for a few years. It has been a challenging journey to understand that what was home is no longer home. You don’t realize the constants that you cling to when everything is changing. The people that were my home, my constants, are no longer my home. Being a TCK really pushes you to figure out what home means to you; I am not convinced I know what home means. But I do know that I have become very good at making a new house feel like home.”

What has been the hardest part of growing up between cultures?

"I love having so many different cultures close to my heart. The hardest part is having one so near and dear and yet not being able to really experience them anymore."

What has been the greatest gift or strength you've gained from being a TCK?

"I think adaptability. I might not love change and I might struggle with it greatly, but being a TCK has really forced me to adapt. To accept the changes and even to embrace them. I have learned about my controllable change habits that help me cope with the changes, but over all the ability to adapt is huge."

How do you stay connected to the cultures that shaped you?

"I think there are small things that I do to try and stay close to those cultures. Small things like I will put my hair in African braids. Trying to stay connected with the people that I walked through those cultures with. As well as going over those memories. Eating those foods, even if it means making them myself."

What advice would you give a fellow TCK?

"It doesn't matter if you were on the mission field for a month, for a year, 10 years or your whole childhood. You are a TCK and that is ok. Do not diminish your experience, do not make light of the moments that really impacted you whether it was a short time or a long time."

If your life were a movie, book, or playlist, what would it be called?

A Life through Musical Eyes

Rebekah is also a piano teacher, located in Calgary AB, NW. Her business name is Bekahs Music Melody and you should check her out here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bekahs_music_melody/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bekahsmusicmelody

Website: https://bekahsmusicmelody.mymusicstaff.com/contact