“Before joining the Aging Parents Cohort I felt I was in a whirlwind of change in our family and decisions that loomed on the horizon, but I didn’t feel I had a safe place to process it. Processing the possibilities of leaving the field didn’t always feel safe with people in our organization, and friends back in my passport country didn’t always understand the complexities of dealing with the international aspects of what we are facing. The experience has been great. Each session has had something I could take away to ponder and pray through. But my favorite part was the time of sharing at the beginning of each session; the time of sharing helps me feel less alone in this journey and I have an opportunity every month to consider this aspect of my life.”

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I joined the Aging Parents Cohort for community and resources. I’m a single, and it was encouraging to see singles as well as marrieds walking this road. It’s challenging for everyone.”

“I’m an only child of an aging mother.  I was afraid of the future and a little lost and needed to work through and understand some of the challenges that are coming my way. I enjoyed the different topics and being able to walk alongside others (mostly in much more difficult circumstances than I have!). Little tidbits of great advice came from lots of different places. I am coming to accept more that there is a reality that I will probably have to leave the field someday to take care of my mother, although it may be several years from now. The cohort is helping me manage the stress and expectations!”

“I was uncertain of the next steps in planning and caring for my mother. In addition, I’m in member care, so I wanted to vet this course in order to gain personal insight and also know when to recommend it to other cross-cultural workers in my organization. Highlights for me include sharing where each of us are in the process of dealing with aging parents and having the chance to process with others who truly get all the different angles and understand the ministry challenges in the midst of it all. In my situation, not a lot has changed, but I know that it will be changing at some point, and I feel better equipped to walk into those changes after a year in the cohort.”