Growing Up as a Missionary Kid

Growing up, I’ve had some amazing experiences that couldn't be obtained in other walks of life. Our family moved to Southeast Asia to begin our mission work about 13 years ago. I was only one year old, so basically, I’ve grown up as a missionary kid all my life. I wouldn't have traded that childhood for any other. I grew up in an awesome environment.

At an early age, I saw some amazing stuff. I got to share in the excitement of preaching the Word of God to our tribal friends and seeing the amazing transformation that the gospel brings about. That’s not something that many kids get to experience firsthand.

We homeschool in the tribe, and that’s been a cool part of growing up. There are a lot of pros to homeschooling. For instance, our mom lectures in our living room. So on cold, rainy days, we can bundle up in blankets and snuggle with our pets while we listen to our mom teach. Another nice thing is that our teacher never changes. Our mom and dad have taught us faithfully throughout the years and given us a strong foundation in God’s Word, as well as in subjects like reading, writing, math, and science.

Along with homeschooling, there are so many fun things to do. Just living in the jungle has been an awesome environment to grow up in. Doing things like hiking on trails that no other westerner has ever tread upon before and riding on helicopters since I was four have been fun aspects of our missionary life.

Throughout all of this, I am thankful to God that I grew up as a missionary kid. As I said before, I wouldn’t trade these years of my life for any others. These experiences have strengthened my foundation in God and His Word.