Twelve-year-old Melissa Dorsch chatted merrily with her dad, Tom, on the way home from dropping a friend off at the airport in downtown Bangui. Suddenly they were stopped at an intersection by soldiers shooting their guns into the air. The men commandeered the Dorsch's Toyota pickup, leaving them stranded in the midst of a restless crowd. Another group of soldiers drove by. One in the group recognized Tom and offered him and Melissa a ride.

When Melissa reached home and the safety of her mother's arms, she began sobbing hysterically. Shortly after, French soldiers informed them they needed to leave immediately because of an attempted coup in their adopted homeland of Central Africa Republic. The family grabbed a few changes of clothes and left. Looters swallowed up what they left behind.

"Missionary life is not for the fainthearted," says Sandra Auer, manager of member care for Campus Crusade for Christ's International Ministries. "Yet almost every MK I've talked to will say, 'I'm glad I lived overseas.'"

Believe it or not, it's possible for missionary kids to go through situations like these yet grow up healthy. Campus Crusade's 220 American families overseas encompass 608 MKs, and the ministry recognizes that their well-being is crucial to the success of the ministry. According to a 1991 study by SIM International, family needs--including appropriate education for their children--is the primary reason missionaries leave the field.

"We had plenty of friends in missionary school [in Africa]," says grown MK John Myers, "whose parents had to come home from the field because their kids weren't doing well."

Without the strength of its American missionary families, Campus Crusade would not be active in the 167 countries and protectorates where it serves today.

The factors of a sound life-foundation for children growing up overseas are surprisingly basic: MKs grow up healthy by being part of healthy families, loving the people around them and grieving their losses.

"Family units that are healthy thrive whether at home or overseas," says John Austin, director of international human resources for Campus Crusade.

Raised in healthy families, MKs learn to love the people and build bridges to cultures around them. They don't just study geography and anthropology; they live it. At the same time, they develop linguistic abilities unparalleled by their U.S. peers.

Healthy MKs also represent a powerhouse potential for future missions. According to a recent study of adult MKs, 15 to 20 percent return to the mission field as missionaries. Those who don't return tend to find success in other areas of life. In a study listed in Who's Who in Who's Who, it took 5,000 Presbyterian ministers to produce one child listed in Who's Who. Among lawyers the ratio was 5,000 to 1; dentists 2,500 to 1. But for every seven Christian missionary families from the United States, one of their children would be listed in Who's Who.

The MK lifestyle is not without challenges, however, some of which they share with all "third-culture kids," a broader group that includes children of military personnel and international businesspeople as well. Third-culture kids are those who have spent a significant part of the developmental years in a culture other than their parents', incorporating elements from each culture into their life experience to create a unique, third-culture experience.

"One of the major issues in working with the third-culture kids is unresolved grief," states Dave Pollock, specialist in working with children raised overseas, who popularized the term for this group. "Relationships are short-lived. Someone is always going home on furlough, and friends leave."

According to Dr. Ruth Useem, of the Institute for International Studies in Education, the average third-culture kid lives in eight places in his first 18 years. They become "global nomads," familiar with the world and its cultures, entirely at home in none. The rules and behaviors that worked in one place don't produce the same results in another. Thus, the transitional periods they go through may bring stress and grief, as some of the accompanying articles illustrate.

Despite their abrupt departure from Central African Republic, Melissa and her family hope to return to the people they've grown to love. Together they've grieved the loss of favorite belongings and are working through the emotions of their last days there. But Melissa's parents have also heard their kids talking fondly about life in Africa and believe they are willing to return.

The profiles in this section show glimpses of both the difficult realities as well as the bonuses of the MK lifestyle. Some MKs return overseas, claiming that He who has called their families is faithful and able to fill their years with memories both happy and healthy. Others, like the grown MKs in this section, now draw upon those rich memories to reach out to others around them.