Must Read: 50 stories from the last 10 years in Guatemala as missionaries

Photo courtesy of George Sisneros.

I was born in Guatemala but after two years spent my formative years also in Costa Rica, the United States (Connecticut, mostly), Panama, Morocco and Egypt due to my father’s job with Xerox Corp. We spent the majority of Christmas holidays in Guatemala, and while the Guatemalan portion of my family was upper-middle-class, there was no hiding from the part of the country that was desperately poor.

Sisneros’s book does an excellent job of describing the grinding poverty endemic to the part of the country where he and his family live, including the reasons for why so many from Central America choose to pay exorbitant sums to “coyotes” to help them get into the United States.

My favorite chapter of the book comes near the end, where he talks about his children being Third Culture Kids (TCKs).

Not only were his children TCKs for having been raised a good portion of their lives in Guatemala, “but they were also MK’s, or missionary kids. Both have their own unique burdens.”

George Sisneros with his newly adopted daughter.

“My favorite chapter of the book comes near the end, where he talks about his children being Third Culture Kids (TCKs).

I wish we could have prepared them better. I wish we could have flown them home to visit family more often. To practice flying maybe. We just didn’t know. The nest was higher than we thought.

Sisneros fully admits that his idea of “home” is vastly different from his children’s.

“That house [in the United States] we moved out of nine years ago is a distant memory for all of us, but especially for them. If it weren’t for photos, they might not remember it.”

He also recognizes his kids might deeply miss their “home” of Guatemala when they go back “home” to their passport country.

“They might be desperate for friendship in a now foreign country where they don’t have roots.”

Sisneros also observes that his kids “might hold resentment or anger or sadness, or all three ... for a past they didn’t get.”

Additionally, he wishes he and his wife could have prepared their kids better for their return to the United States.

“I wish we could have prepared them better. I wish we could have flown them home to visit family more often. To practice flying maybe. We just didn’t know. The nest was higher than we thought.”

“Do You Love Me?: Giving Up the American Dream to Serve the Underprivileged” is a great book, particularly for missionaries — either current or future — that has great descriptions of what such a life entails.

George Sisneros and his family. Scan here or visit: www.cultursmag.com/ george-sisneros-50-storiesfrom-the-last-10-years