Our Ministry at Waxhaw 
 

            We are assigned to work with the 100 plus junior and senior high MKs living at the JAARS center in North Carolina.  JAARS is a technical branch of Wycliffe Bible Translators primarily geared towards supporting missionaries through software development, multimedia presentations, and transportation of materials.

            The JAARS center population is unique as it has a mixture of both short-term (or transient) and long-term (or station) MKs living there.  Short term MKs could be there from a few weeks to a few months.  Their families go to the JAARS center for various training seminars.  JAARS also is a traditional hub for furloughing missionaries returning from the field or making last preparations before heading back to their overseas ministry sites.  Most transient MKs find it difficult to put down any roots knowing they will be leaving soon, and yet need someone to talk to about the transitions they are going through.  Many of them are also looking for someone safe to talk to about questions they have regarding American culture from which they have become unfamiliar.

            Station MKs are there as a result of their parents service at the JAARS center.  Although this makes up about 60-70% of the MKs, they have their own unique challenges.  Many of their families get involved in a local congregation, yet due to circumstances such as financial differences, often higher levels of Bible knowledge, and/or a sense that Waxhaw isn't really home, many of the MKs struggle to blend into the local youth ministries.  Nearly half of the MKs living at the JAARS center are home schooled which tends to further limit MKs from being able to develop healthy relationships with students outside the JAARS center.

            It is our desire to develop a safe place for our missionaries' children, both transient and station MKs.  We want to help them with the difficult process of saying "hello" as well as "good-bye."  We also want to be able to provide opportunities for MKs to develop their spiritual gifts and explore their calling.  With the wealth of missionary resources that exists at JAARS, we are impatient to witness how God will use these young men and women in His Kingdom.

To see an birdseye picture of the JAARS center as well as a virtual tour click on www.jaars.org/jaarscent.shtml