Kids in missions

I have no idea if most missionary moms have the same doubts that I do.  I wonder how the realities of missionary life will affect my kids.  I wonder what the future brings for them.  I worry about their health, about their language learning, and about their future education.  I worry about the risks of modern life, about traveling on boats and with crazy bus drivers.  I worry about them growing up between different cultures, I worry about what they will learn from the neighbor kids, and about just about everything else  in life.

Perhaps it's just natural to worry as a mom, but I wonder if I worry more than some.  People tell me how wonderful they think it is that my kids have the opportunity to live in another country and learn mutliple languages.  Sometimes it's hard to see that when I am worrying about whether the drinking water is safe, or what to do about lice and skin fungus's that just love this tropical weather.

So today I want to write about the benefits of having kids as a missionary.  Besides all the worries that I mentioned, there is the simple fact that taking kids into the jungle, or even across town for a bible study, is a lot of work.  At this moment we are planning to travel over land to Nicaragua for a YWAM conference.  The trip will take about 3 days and I know that my nerves will be frazzles by the end of it.  So, what makes it all worth it, for both us and the kids who have no choice but to tag along with us?

To me, the first consideration is that God has called us as a family.  When he put in my heart the desire to work with the indigenous people, all those years ago when I made my first visit to an indigenous village, he already knew that I was going to get married and have kids.  So at some point I have to trust that he knows what he is doing, and is able to guide Alex and I in what is best.  I may ask in some situations what is best for them, but it's certainly not in their best interest for us to ignore what God wants us to do.

In working with indigenous people, whether here in town, or out in the small villages, family is central to their lives. The first question you will be asked is about your family.  Having kids not only orients you in the way things should be (existing in the context of family), but there is something that you can immediately relate to.  Babies speak the universal language.  When other women see you in the context of motherhood, you aren't just a foreigner who has come to teach them something. You are a fellow mother who knows what it's like to experience labor pains, go through morning sickness, get up with a fussy baby in the middle of the night, and correct a sassy two-year-old.

It also keeps me humble.  I realize that I don' t have all the answers.  Yesterday, when a toddler starting throwing a tantrum in the middle of the Bible study I was teaching, rather than feeling annoyance, I felt compassion.  I have been there.  It's not easy to keep a one year old quiet for two hours.

Also, having traveled with my kids to the small villages, and lived in jungle conditions, I know how hard it is to keep kids healthy in those conditions.  Yesterday, after the Bible study, Alina, who leads it, showed me some pictures from her recent trip to one of the coastal Wounaan villages.  All the kids are sick with skin infections because of the unclean water.  As she showed me the pictures, I remembered the terrible infection that Princess got last year when we were at that very village.  Before I had kids, my thoughts would have been judgemental, "why can't those moms keep their kids cleaner?"  But now I thought about how I had struggled to keep my kids clean, and applied antibiotic oinment every day, to no avail.

I can't tell you how many conversations have been started by my kids.  Just having a baby in your arms makes up for any lack of social skills.  Once you have a starting place, it's easy to build a friendship.

I have often been amazing at what our girls have put up with.  Two years ago, when Rose was just a baby, we traveled by boat over the ocean for several hours. Not only was the ocean rough that day, but halfway through our journey we ran into a tropical downpour.  I struggled to protect Rose from the rain, between a plastic bag and a borrowed umbrella.  My whole body ached from the bouncing of the motor boat, I was shivered from the cold rain, and the point of land we were trying to reach didn't seem to be getting any closer.  Rose, on the other hand, slept the whole time, and woke up in a good mood at the end of it.

Last year, while we were on our two month outreach, we ate a lot of fish, almost always served whole.  I was a little worried that Princess especially might be frightened (and grossed out) by the gapping mouth and huge eye staring up at her from her plate.  But she loved it!  She even discovered how tasty the fish eyes are, and now will cry if she's not given the head.  She's more of a trooper than I am.

Since we have decided to homeschool, I enjoy seeing all the opportunities to learn through our missionary experiences.  We have plenty of opportunities to interact with farm animals, though we don't own any ourselves.  Things like mountains, rivers, lakes, oceans, beaches, and forests can be seen firsthand.  They get to expereince different types of houses, people, and circumstances.  On our trip to Nicaragua they loved to see the ox drawn carts in the streets.

And I could write on and on about the benefits of being bi-lingual.

I guess I wrote this more to remind myself, than for anyone else.  Yes, my girls are giving up many things that kids back in Oregon may take for granted.  But they are receiving other treasures in return.  My prayer is that both they, and I would be grateful enough to see them every day.