Shop Talk

Join Brandi and James as they review the highlights of the podcasts from last year. With 12 episodes, they had many wonderful guests covering a broad range of topics impacting cross-cultural workers. This episode ends with three guest spots sharing stories of their holiday memories living cross-culturally. Meet our Guests below or in the podcast! […]

Join Brandi and James as they interview Jeff Simons on Sabbaticals. Jeff is a missiologist at core. He works out this passion as a trained leadership coach, and a cross-cultural companion to global leaders in major transition to, within, and from the field. His unique wiring plays out as a Resourcing Developer—of people, tools for […]

Join Brandi and James as they interview Dr. Lee Long, discussing chronic depression and the treatment modality of CBASP. This relatively new and foundational approach to treating chronic depression helps clients navigate fear avoidance and perceptual disconnection. This is primarily accomplished through two goals of CBASP of felt didactic safety and perceived functionality. This approach […]

Join Brandi and James as they share thoughts from Pete Scazzaro’s book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. They discuss the book’s principles and practices and how they apply to cross-cultural workers. Family Retreat Activities: Here are some activities for families to do together, including a family genogram. Here is a resource for anyone who would like to […]

Editor’s note (The sound quality improves after about 15 minutes) Join Brandi and James as they interview Danielle Wheeler, the founder of Velvet Ashes. They talk about the unique experiences of women serving cross-culturally and the loneliness and isolation that can be a hallmark of the experience. Danielle Wheeler is a spiritual director and the […]

Join Brandi and James as they talk to Stephanie Schwarz. She is a Registered Psychologist working with individuals, families, couples, and children. She enjoys building relationships in communities, connecting with schools, providing supervision, and supporting people negotiating international transitions. Today the conversation is about the challenges with cross-cultural teams. This includes navi...

Join Brandi and James as they interview Dr. Ted Wueste on Attachment Theory and how it impacts our relationship with God. You can find more about Ted at https://desertdirection.com. “attachment theory, in developmental psychology, the theory that humans are born with a need to form a close emotional bond with a caregiver and that such […]

Brandi and James welcome Verne Salter to discuss addiction and its impact on cross-cultural workers. One of the bigger factors is that whatever is dealt with in our home context gets intensified when moving cross-culturally. This also may be complicated by the loss of healthy anchors. The result is issues that might only be minor […]

Brandi and James welcome back Geoff Whiteman, ThM, LMFT, to discuss missional resilience and what he has learned from his most recent study listening to member care professionals. You can learn more and get in touch with Geoff at www.resilientglobalworker.org “At the end of our grit, missional resilience really flourishes, and we come to the […]

Bethany Walker is currently the curriculum director of an online Christian school called Norhtline Academy, which has been serving global workers for over 25 years. She has extensive experience teaching, developing curriculum, and living cross-culturally. You can read more about her here. Families are going to have unique needs, and those pieces of resourcing are […]

Hannele Secchia serves with SIL in Ethiopia, where she grew up and has lived and worked for the last 15 years. In Ethiopia, she has served SIL, Bingham Academy, and the broader cross-cultural community in a variety of care-oriented ways. Currently, she is the President of Families in Global Transition. The Sandwich Generation “This is […]

Join Brandi and James as they interview Shonna Ingram about transitions and retirement. It can often be a taboo subject but can be an opportunity to celebrate a different life stage and is worth planning for. “Retirement is a hard transition for people. It may not be only the re-entry or retirement issue; it could […]

Join Brandi and James as they wrap up 2023 with some highlights, trends, and what they look forward to next year. One way to incorporate this same idea yourself or with your family would be through the practice of an Examen. Pausing to notice the highs and lows of the year and to write down […]

Bethann is the co-founder and CEO of Safe Place, a ministry that provides support, training, care, and guidance to folks serving in Christ-centered ministry throughout the world. She is also a licensed chaplain, board-certified pastoral counselor, and author of “The Invitation,” a handbook that sets the stage for couples to engage in deeper relational connection. […]

Join Brandi and James as they talk about Short-Term teams with Andrea Kroeze. Andrea serves with Touch The World, offering training and development for short-term projects, teams, or individuals doing short-term cross-cultural ministry. https://touchtheworld.org Through The Missions Academy, you will be equipped with: https://learn.themissionsacademy.com/ Contact Andrea andreak@touchtheworld....

Join Brandi and James as they interview Chyrl Mullins, an Educational Consultant with Wycliffe. They talk about Autism spectrum signs, symptoms, and treatments. They also look at how to navigate the world of ASD from the perspective of families and co-workers. Understanding more about neurodivergence and the range of experience with ASD increases the grace […]

Cross-Cultural Worker Expectations Worksheet – by James Covey, MA LPC-S Step 2: Invitations Internal Expectations A) Give grace to myself or others. Is my expectation unrealistic? Is this personable to give me what I need at this time? Do my expectations need to beadjusted? B) Release, surrender or grieve an unmet expectation. Do I need to […]

What is Trauma?  “Trauma is a deep wound of the heart and mind that takes a long time to heal. It hurts every part of our lives: how we relate to others, how our body feels, what we think about, and how much we can trust God. It can make us feel separated from God […]

Compassion Fatigue “It is impossible to be close to suffering and not be impacted by it” – Mark Ventrella. “Most healthcare providers enter the field with the intent to help others and provide empathic care for patients with critical physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs. Healthcare providers, however, can be impacted by the continuing stress […]

Join Brandi and James as they discuss emotional intelligence, what it is and why it is important for cross cultural workers and organizations to be emotionally intelligent. Daniel Goleman, the author of Emotional Intelligence, defined emotion as “referring to a feeling and its distinctive thoughts, psychological and biological states, and range of propensities to act.” […]

Join Brandi and James as they talk with Brianna White, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist about anxiety in teenagers, specifically Third Culture Kids. Brianna said; “we all need to remember that anxiety is a body reaction to a challenge we are facing. It can be really uncomfortable but that doesn’t mean its bad or dangerous […]

Why do they call it the neutral zone?? it doesn’t feel neutral at all its just hard! Join Brandi and James as they talk to Dr. Stephen Jones about his research, books and personal experience with navigating transition. They cover the range of the transition experience and talk tools and practical steps for healthy transitions. […]

Join Brandi and James as they welcome Amy Galloway to talk about the roles of women in cross-cultural ministry. The topics range from how to create organizational change towards a minority (30% must be represented for change to happen) to the development traits women experience at different points in their journeys. Amy Galloway has an […]

Join Brandi and James as they interview Dr. Janeen Davis to figure out why we can’t all just get along! Janeen shares about her experience as a cross cultural worker and care provider and how she found the Peace Pursuit Quickstart Guide and shifted from being a conflict avoider to a peace pursuer. Janeen Davis, […]

Join Brandi and James as they discuss James’ recent research and presentation on what the global staff care and counseling community have learned from the pandemic about caring staff. Not all of the changes that have impacted our cross cultural workers have been negative and many we need to keep doing. In many ways our […]