Serving Beyond the Paycheck:
An Interview with Missionary Nurse Tammy Reese Short
By Dana Marie Martin
Tammy Reese Short was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she lived until age 13. She now is involved in missions to Tanzania, East Africa, and with InterMission Ministry for missionary care.
There are 12 questions to this fascinating interview with Tammy Reese Short. I was amazed by how selflessly Tammy serves the graduated high schoolers in Tanzania education-wise, sometimes from her own funds earned via nursing in the States. So, my remark to Tammy was, “So, you are essentially a self-supporting missionary!” to which she responded in the affirmative — when there are insufficient donations for high schoolers to further their education in Tanzania, Tammy donates to the mission efforts from her own nursing funds.
The following questions and answers will bring you into “the know” on the above.
(1) I am wondering if you were born in Zimbabwe as a TCK (third-culture kid)? Do you have a story or two about your birth and/or childhood?
Tammy stated that she was not born in Zimbabwe, but that when her mom was eight months pregnant, she and her husband, Tammy’s dad, moved suddenly to Johannesburg where Tammy was born. Tammy lived in Johannesburg from birth to 13 years old, during Apartheid. She attended an English-speaking, all-white school and lived in an all-white neighborhood, as the country gave no other option. Her parents were involved with a local church during half of Tammy’s 13 years in Johannesburg and then were involved with World Bible School (WBS) the other half of their time in Johannesburg. Her parents organized seminars for those interested in WBS, and offered to baptize those who expressed an interest in baptism into Christ.
(2) Describe your parents, John and Beth Reese, to me.
Tammy’s dad, John, had made a commitment to do mission work with an emphasis in missions in Africa due to his heritage, having grown up in Zimbabwe. Her mom had planned to be a missionary, but had not planned on Africa. They were aligned on missionwork though. Tammy stated that her dad and mom were good parents who balanced family needs with their missionwork. Her parents are people of integrity; their life matched their words.
(3) When did you return to the states from South Africa? How did culture shock affect you? Can you share a story or two illustrating the culture shock for a TCK between South Africa and the U.S.?
Tammy returned to the States when she was 13 years. She had visited the States before on furloughs, which occurred every three years. She had previously attended 1st grade in Searcy, Arkansas, while her dad served as a visiting missionary for Harding University.
The main difference between the cultures in South Africa and the states for Tammy was her accent. In South Africa, she was called, “The American Kid,” and in the States, “The South African Kid.” When her family moved to Austin, Texas, she joined the Girl Scouts and band (played the flute). These two groups helped Tammy make friends.
(4) How did your dad’s former presidency of World Bible School affect you? Describe World Bible School.
World Bible School teaches Bible through paper correspondence and the internet world-wide.
Tammy’s dad worked with WBS in South Africa and then Austin, and eventually became WBS President. His work gave her a world vision of the need for evangelism.
At age 16, Tammy and her family went back to sub-Saharan Africa, and worked in eight countries from Tanzania on down to recruit students for WBS. They signed up new students at gas stations, police roadblocks, and just about everywhere. There was such a positive reaction to these pamphlets, and there was a huge boost to WBS enrollment registered in Austin, Texas (100,000 people signed up in Zimbabwe alone!).
It was not just Tammy’s parents involved in this mission effort, but the children, too! The kids helped to distribute pamphlets when they had breaks from living in their RV (They lived in an RV for nine months—parents and three kids.). Tammy’s mom home-schooled the Reese children during the WBS mission effort to sub-Saharan Africa.
(5) How did you and your husband, Lewis, decide on serving in missionwork as a family in Tanzania?
Tammy met Lewis at a World Missions workshop. Lewis had already graduated while Tammy was still in college. Lewis had just been involved with Harding University in Florence (HUF) and Avanti Italia, both programs in Italy, at the time, he had just finished Avanti Italia and was living in Nashville, raising funds to move back to Italy permanently. In 1999, Tammy was a nursing student in the School of Nursing at Harding University (where this author’s husband, Tod, was Assistant to the Dean of the School of Nursing!). Lewis got the funds to return to Italy and he was ready to go. He went. Lewis and Tammy were engaged. When Tammy had graduated from Harding University, they married in 2000 and Tammy joined him in Milan.
With Lewis having grown up in Taiwan as a TCK and Tammy having grown up in South Africa as a TCK, these two TCK’s decided together to move to Italy to serve in missionwork, where they stayed for 11 years. Tammy gave birth to their three daughters there. They worked with a church in Milan, Italy, for 11 years.
In 2011, Lewis and Tammy moved back to the States, specifically Memphis, Tennessee, for three years. During this time, they decided to go to Tanzania to serve as missionaries. They chose Tanzania because it was safe and close to a city where their kids could have access to services/amenities. Also, they would be just three hours away from Tammy’s brother, David Reese, and his wife, Jenna. (David and Jenna were supported by the Cloverdale Church of Christ in Searcy, Arkansas). Lewis and Tammy are aware that one of the biggest challenges for missionary families is the great geographical distance from family, so they opted to be close to family in Tanzania which helped their kids to enjoy cousin camaraderie, and allowed for adult support for Lewis and Tammy in the form of mutual encouragement and practical help. Some of the local Christians who were of the greatest help to Lewis and Tammy were originally with David and Jenna, who Lewis and Tammy inherited once David and Jenna left Tanzania. Lewis and Tammy were in Tanzania as a family serving as missionaries from 2014-2019.
(6) Describe what your missionwork in Tanzania looked like.
When Lewis and Tammy arrived in Tanzania in 2014, there was already a medical clinic there which had been established by Drs. Danny and Nancy Smelser from Florence, Alabama, and Fielden and Janet Allison from Searcy, Arkansas. That group started a Christian high school/boarding school called Alpha Omega Secondary School. Lewis and Tammy worked with the high school with both practical details and building relationships with the students. Lewis and Tammy collaborated with local churches, and Tammy served in medical outreach as a community nurse. Most of her nursing skills were used when people stopped her on the street and asked for medical care, especially wound care, which the local hospital had given up on treating.
Lewis now serves as the Chairman of the Board of Tanzanian Christian Services. He is an administrator for the high school and medical clinic. He works closely with local Tanzanians. Tammy is invested in the high school students who graduated from Alpha Omega and need to pursue more education or secure jobs but cannot see their way clear to do so. Presently, Tammy supports 60-70 students at the university level in Tanzania. She strives to personally connect and reconnect with those alumni. This is where she serves selflessly and humbly, more like a self-supporting missionary than being on a church payroll. When donations may fall short, Tammy picks up the difference with her nursing salary from her stateside job, which is amazing. There are a few individuals who donate generously to the student project, and Tammy stretches their money. The donations are for food, board, and tuition. Tammy feels convicted about her mission to the students, and without her investment, they may be without further education which may result in no jobs; all of this leads to no respect in their community. Tammy says that their mission in the Christian high school/boarding school is to raise up Christian leaders, so she feels like post-high school is a very important time to invest in these students, helping complete the mission goal of raising up leaders in Tanzania.
You may be inspired to donate to their missionwork in Tanzania by reading the answer to question 6 above. “Short Family in Tanzania” is available on Facebook.
(7) Are you employed, and if so, how do you work your employment around your missionwork in Tanzania?
Tammy is employed full-time as a nurse here in the States. She chooses her employment based on how flexible her employer will be for her needed travel to/from Tanzania. If necessary, Tammy takes unpaid vacation to go to Tanzania for her missionwork.
(8) What are some of your favorite foods from your childhood? Are there any connections between this food and food which you eat in Tanzania?
The South African village food, specifically a porridge, is similar to food in Tanzania.
Since Tammy’s mom is American, Tammy and her siblings ate American foods growing up, and/or white South African food.
(9) What are some of the favorite Bible lessons you have taught on the mission field? Describe them.
In her missionary effort to Italy, Tammy worked with children and women and teenagers. In Tanzania, where Tammy taught high schoolers for four years, she primarily focused on life lessons with a Bible emphasis. In Africa, many believe that if you follow God, He will bless you with wealth and success. It is important to Tammy to teach to challenge this belief, and to encourage the Africans to follow God even if they do not receive material blessings.
(10) You are multi-cultural. Are you bilingual? If so, what are the languages you speak and/or write?
In Johannesburg, Tammy only spoke English and was only exposed to other languages that she did not learn. Tammy speaks and writes Italian. Tammy also speaks and writes Swahili.
(11) Some TCKs never return to the mission field. What makes the difference, in your estimation, to a TCK returning to the mission field and those TCKs who opt not to return?
Tammy stated that being a TCK can be challenging. If an opportunity to process and heal those difficult parts arises, then the TCK can choose to do missionwork as an adult from a place of healing. If they have not processed their childhood, they might choose where to live based on comfort not mission. If a TCK never felt comfortable in America upon return from the mission field, then the first chance they get, they will head back overseas because they never found a way to be at peace with America. Some TCKs are scarred on the mission field as they live in a fish bowl and endure multiple farewells. They opt to just stay in the States where they finally got comfortable—to avoid trauma and not expose themselves to hurt again. Although it is okay to survive, the goal for a TCK is to be able to process and make peace with all of it and then to make decisions from a healthy foundation and not from trauma-reactions. Some who heal will choose to stay in the States. Some who heal will go back overseas. When a TCK has healed, there is no wrong choice about where to live.
There is a camp for TCKs in Oklahoma called Global Reunion, established by John and Beth Reese and others. Lewis and Tammy are involved with missionary care with InterMission Ministry which is for adult missionaries and their TCKs. So far, Tammy has been to Ecuador, Albania, and stateside Global Reunion with InterMission. Her heart is sad for the deeply troubled missionaries and the deeply troubled TCKs who she encounters.
Since Lewis is a TCK and Tammy is a TCK, this has deeply affected how they raise their children. TCKs face unique challenges, and they have tried to connect their three daughters with resources like Global Reunion that was established 20 years ago.
The website for the InterMission Ministry is www.intermissionministry.org
(12) Could you share the story of your baptism into Christ?
Tammy wanted to be baptized at age 11 or 12 because she knew her family would be leaving South Africa soon, and she wanted to be baptized where she grew up. She verbalized her yearning to her dad. Her dad questioned her as to whether she felt a spiritual conviction or just an emotional response to leaving her childhood home. Tammy realized that it was purely emotional, so she opted not to be baptized at that point. A year later, at the Tulsa Soul-Winning Workshop, Tammy made a decision to be baptized based on spiritual conviction. Her dad baptized her.
Conclusion:
Tammy impressed me with her humility and her genuine love and sense of urgency for the lost who need Jesus Christ. I enjoyed spending time with her, and I was especially excited when I listened to her on question 11, as a fellow TCK. I hope that you are blessed by this interview, will connect with the Shorts’ Facebook page, perhaps donate to help Tammy with her support for high school graduates in Tanzania, and write to the Shorts to encourage them.
About the Writer
My name is Dana Marie (Jones) Martin. I have been a resident of Searcy, Arkansas, from 1989-1999 and 2014-present. My husband, Tod, is the Registrar of Harding University. My son, Matthew, is a technician at Searcy Water. I am an author on Substack, a volunteer at Unity Health for 12 years and counting, an independent contractor for SIMS (medical simulations) for the College of Pharmacy at Harding, and a Christian who attends and volunteers at the Cloverdale Church of Christ. My hobbies are walking Sam, aqua-walking/aqua-jogging, lifting weights, corresponding with friends and family, listening to audiobooks, and writing on Substack. I hope that you enjoy these interviews off Substack. I plan to interview more Missionaries/TCKs (Third-Culture Kids) in the future.
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