In this final episode of Season 2, Chesed sits down with her former dorm dad, Mark, who reflects on a life shaped by curiosity and intentionality. Having spent more than 40 years living internationally - first as a TCK and later as a missionary - he shares how a willingness to be curious opened doors he didn’t expect. The conversation begins around food: the dishes the cultures he was living among highly valued, and the meals he learned to say yes to. Those simple yeses became doors to forging relationships in new places with new people.

From there, Mark moves beyond what’s on the table to who is across from us. He speaks about curiosity and intentionality as a posture—one that invites us to really see people and be interested in who they are. This episode is an invitation to consider how being curious and learning to see intentionally can transform the way we live our lives and open doors to deep relationships and Gospel witness.

This episode was produced by Chesed Anne Dent Fitzsimons.

Podcast editing: Chesed Anne Dent Fitzsimons Podcast

Music: Endless Bliss - written by Sander Kalmeijer, performed and produced by Sounds Like Sander.

Podcast cover image: Photography and design by Jonathan Brown.

Please note that guests of this podcast may use pseudonyms

In this episode of The Rest is Just Geography, Chesed sits down with Mark and Linda, who spent many years serving in Japan before returning to the United States. They share their story of life and ministry overseas, and how those experiences eventually shaped Mark’s work building and later directing a Member Care department with the International Mission Board, as well as Linda’s role in training and equipping workers for cross‑cultural service.

From there, the conversation widens to the importance of intentional member care within mission‑sending organizations. Together, they reflect on the role of counseling and training - both for those preparing to go overseas and for those already serving on the field - and why caring for the emotional and spiritual well‑being of missionaries is not optional, but essential. As God sends His people out to invest in the nations, this episode reminds us that He is just as committed to caring for those He sends.

This episode was produced by Chesed Anne Dent Fitzsimons.

Podcast editing: Chesed Anne Dent Fitzsimons, Cohen Kern & Peyton Rice

Podcast music: Endless Bliss - written by Sander Kalmeijer, performed and produced by Sounds Like Sander.

Podcast cover image: Photography and design by Jonathan Brown.

Please note that guests of this podcast may use pseudonyms.

In this episode, Adi and Shannon reflect on their time serving together as college interns in Southeast Asia and what they learned about partnership along the way. With very different personalities and ways of communicating and showing love, working together did not come easily. While they were able to function well as partners in ministry, they soon discovered that they were not partnering well within their home.

As tensions surfaced and misunderstandings grew, the enemy worked hard to create division and keep them from moving forward together. Through honest conversations, vulnerability, and a willingness to fight for one another, Adi and Shannon learned what it meant to become true partners - and even long lasting friends.

Their story reflects the fruit that comes from choosing love, humility, vulnerability, and faithfulness in partnership. As Jesus reminds us, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).

This episode was produced by Chesed Anne Dent Fitzsimons.

Podcast editing: Chesed Anne Dent Fitzsimons, Andrea Alvarado & Peyton Rice

Podcast music: Endless Bliss — written by Sander Kalmeijer, performed and produced by Sounds Like Sander.

Podcast cover image: Photography and design by Jonathan Brown.

Please note that guests of this podcast may use pseudonyms.

In this episode of The Rest is Just Geography, Chesed sits down with Brian, who grew up in South Africa and later returned there with his wife to work and raise a family. Brian shares his story of growing up cross‑culturally, navigating layers of belonging, and what it has been like to move back and forth between places while remaining anchored in an identity that does not change.

As they swap TCK stories, Chesed and Brian reflect on both the gift and the weight of growing up between worlds. Together, they explore what it looks like to hold the TCK experience with gratitude—acknowledging the ways it shapes us—without allowing it to become the primary source of our identity.

The conversation presses into the difference between appreciating a formative story and rooting our identity more deeply in Christ—and how that distinction shapes our ability to live faithfully wherever God places us.

This episode was produced by Chesed Anne Dent Fitzsimons.

Podcast editing: Chesed Anne Dent Fitzsimons & Peyton Rice

Podcast music: Endless Bliss — written by Sander Kalmeijer, performed and produced by Sounds Like Sander.

Podcast cover image: Photography and design by Jonathan Brown.

Please note that guests of this podcast may use pseudonyms.

In this episode of The Rest Is Just Geography, Chesed sits down with Kay, who currently lives and serves full‑time overseas. Kay shares honestly about her lifelong journey with fear and anxiety—something she calls her “travel partner”—and reflects on how the Lord’s grace has been sufficient as she has navigated both life and ministry overseas.

Kay talks about what it took to step overseas despite fear, how that choice has impacted her faith, and how God has met her again and again along the way. She also opens up about a season in her 30s when anxiety became overwhelming, requiring her to pause, seek support from trusted community members, and work with counselors to learn how to take her thoughts captive in healthier ways.

Together, Chesed and Kay explore how deeply fear and anxiety can affect the body, the importance of holistic care, and the steady comfort Kay has found in Scripture -particularly Isaiah 41:10: “Do not fear, for I am with you.” This episode is an invitation to reflect on how God’s presence meets us not in the absence of fear, but right in the middle of it.

This episode was produced by Chesed Anne Dent Fitzsimons.

Podcast editing: Chesed Anne Dent Fitzsimons, Andrea Alvarado, Cohen Kern

Podcast music: Endless Bliss — written by Sander Kalmeijer, performed and produced by Sounds Like Sander.

Podcast cover image: Photography and design by Jonathan Brown.

Please note that guests of this podcast may use pseudonyms.

In this episode, Chesed sits down with Sean, a 22-year-old graduate student, to hear the story of how God used short term missions to impact him. Sean shares how serving in Romania, combined with what he was learning in the classroom, opened his eyes to the beauty of culture, the realities of global need, and God’s heart for the nations.

After Sean tells his story, the conversation turns practical and thoughtful. Chesed and Sean talk about why short-term missions should be approached differently than long-term missions, what can go wrong when trips aren’t done well, and what it actually takes for short-term missions to be healthy, humble, and genuinely helpful. This episode invites listeners to rethink why we go, how we go, and what God might be doing - both around the world and in us - along the way.

This episode was produced by Chesed Anne Dent Fitzsimons.

Podcast editing: Chesed Anne Dent Fitzsimons, Peyton Rice

Podcast music: Endless Bliss — written by Sander Kalmeijer, performed and produced by Sounds Like Sander.

Podcast cover image: Photography and design by Jonathan Brown.

Please note that guests of this podcast may use pseudonyms.

If you are interested in learning more about the organization Sean served with overseas, GEM, you can check them out here: https://gemission.org/

In this episode of The Rest Is Just Geography, a podcast out of Liberty University, Chesed sits down with Tanya who serves as the Director of Mobilization for Converge. She shares her story of how God first called her overseas - and how that call continues to shape her work today. Tanya reflects on her journey to Ukraine, where she lived and served for over a decade, and the ways God taught her how to plant herself in that place and people.

Now back in the United States, Tanya helps guide and mobilize others who are discerning a call to cross-cultural service. Together, she and Chesed talk through practical and often-overlooked things to be aware of when beginning conversations with missions organizations—from asking good questions and understanding expectations, to recognizing personal readiness and organizational fit. Whether you’re just starting to sense God stirring your heart for the nations or walking alongside someone who is, this conversation offers wisdom, clarity, and encouragement for the road ahead.

This episode was produced by Chesed Anne Dent Fitzsimons.

Podcast editing: Chesed Anne Dent Fitzsimons, Andrea Alvaredo.

Podcast music: Endless Bliss — written by Sander Kalmeijer, performed and produced by Sounds Like Sander.

Podcast cover image: Photography and design by Jonathan Brown.

Please note that guests of this podcast may use pseudonyms.

If you are interested in learning more about the organization Tanya works for, Converge, you may find more information at https://converge.org/

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In this episode of The Rest is Just Geography, a podcast out of Liberty University, Jason joins us from a remote village in Papua New Guinea, where he and his family live among the Wabuku people. He shares the story of how God led them there, how He has sustained them, and how He is building something new - a baby church taking root in the tribe.

Jason opens up about the realities of cross-cultural life: the hard moments, the joyful surprises, the cultural learning curves, and the countless ways God has shown Himself faithful. He describes how he and his family have learned to share the Gospel - “God’s talk” - in ways the Wabuku can truly grasp, using metaphors and images drawn from their own world. One of the most powerful is the invitation to step from Satan's canoe into Yahweh’s canoe, a picture of repentance that resonates deeply within the tribe’s way of seeing the world.

This episode was produced by Chesed Anne Dent Fitzsimons.Podcast editing: Chesed Anne Dent Fitzsimons.

Podcast music: Endless Bliss — written by Sander Kalmeijer, performed and produced by Sounds Like Sander.

Podcast cover image: Photography and design by Jonathan Brown.

Please note that guests of this podcast may use pseudonyms.

Yahweh's Canoe Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/7GUkWOowP9pZtIsrlna3PU?si=c62324d1778b4078

In this episode of The Rest is Just Geography, a podcast out of Liberty University, Marie returns for part 3 and tells the story of her return to West Africa for 2 years then back to the United States . In both seasons, she wrestled deeply with uncertainty and fear - struggling to trust God with her future and fighting the urge to take control of her own story. But in the middle of her fear and striving, God met her again with the simple, steady truth of the Gospel.

In this episode, Marie opens up about being a person marked by fear, yet held by a God who has always answered fear not with explanations, but with Himself. Just as God responded to Moses at the burning bush, not by removing the task but by declaring, “I AM who I AM,” Marie discovers that the antidote to fear is not certainty about the future—it’s confidence in the One who goes with us.

This episode was produced by Chesed Anne Dent Fitzsimons.

Podcast editing: Cohen Kern, Peyton Rice, & Chesed Anne Dent Fitzsimons.

Podcast music: Endless Bliss — written by Sander Kalmeijer, performed and produced by Sounds Like Sander.

Podcast cover image: Photography and design by Jonathan Brown.

Please note that guests of this podcast may use pseudonyms.