Part Two:
A very important part of raising kids on the mission field is to give the children a sense that they are missionaries too. We always tried to make them feel a part of the ministry. They passed out tracks with me and invited boys and girls to Sunday school. The first Sunday school we started was at Angela’s ninth birthday party. We invited the boys and girls she had befriended to our apartment and had cake, games and a Bible lesson. After that we had a class every Sunday afternoon. That group grew to over 120 children and two separate classes, both meeting in our apartment. This ministry was not just my wife’s, but it also belonged to my children. A few times the children from that class would get into my children’s possessions and steal things. That became a good opportunity for us to teach them that those possessions were temporal and the souls of the children were eternal. I watched God bless my children in the ministry. Later, when we started camps, my children considered the camps as their own and worked for the Lord. Melissa and Angela were good counselors and value their experiences in the camps.
We tried our best to treat the Moldovans, both children and adults, no differently than we would treat any American. I witnessed some American missionaries treat the Moldovans as a sub-culture. They would not allow their children to make Moldovan friends or allow Moldovan children in their yard. I have always treated the nationals both in Moldova and Malawi as equals. Because of that, my children have done the same. Children need friends, and some of my girl’s closest friends are Moldovans. This attitude has made all the difference in reaching the nationals around us for the Lord. It has allowed me to have a large ministry with nationals in leadership positions. It has, at times, hurt me in the missionary community, because I have had to stop working closely with some Americans because of their separatist attitude toward the nationals.
One thing that is often over-looked is that God is giving our children grace to live on the mission field. Without God’s grace and help in Moldova, I could not live here or work. That same grace is also flowing to the children of missionaries. I will tell of our first overseas Christmas as an example. I have always thought American Christmas was overly commercialized; however, I was very disappointed that we could not find gifts that first year for the children. We had always enjoyed gift giving, and it was a part of our celebration. Due to their communist culture, the Moldovans and Russians did not celebrate Christmas, but they attached all the secular customs like decorated trees, gift giving, and Santa Clause to New Years. Because of this, we found a tree only the day before December 25th. It was what you might describe as a “Charlie Brown tree,” but we had very little to decorate it with or to put under it. The girls’ grandparents had shipped a small gift for each of the girls, but most of what we found to buy in the country could be put in the stockings. My father had grown up during the depression, and our first Christmas in Moldova was like what he had described from that time. On Christmas morning I was expecting some tears of disappointment from the children, but I was surprised. I found them excited and happy with their meager presents and with the general celebration of the day. The Spirit of God really rebuked me that morning. God’s grace was indeed sufficient for my children. In reality we were happier without all the trappings. The true meaning of Christmas was able to shine forth in our home as a result.
My wife has also made a great difference in the lives of the children. My wife has demonstrated time and again a godly attitude toward my work and ministry. She has kept a nice, clean home environment for me to come home to after a hard day. She has home-schooled the children, played with them, done crafts, and been there for them in every situation. She made life fun for them. I credit the spiritual growth of my children and any ministry effectiveness as much to my wife’s efforts as to my own. I could not have preached and built ministries if she had not kept the home. She has never complained about being far from America nor cried for the things we left. Make no mistake about it; it is hard to leave your homeland and go to a third-world country. There are sacrifices. My dear wife has never been a complainer. Just the opposite is true: she has encouraged me when I was down, and she has helped the children with all the adjustments they needed to make. Stephanie is a worker in the ministry. She has taught the children in the Sunday school and women in their groups; she is loved and respected by the women of Moldova. She is also not afraid to do the dirty work, whether that is washing the camp dishes or doing the camp laundry. She was exactly the kind of example my children needed to have around them.
The greatest challenge for my children has been in re-adjusting to American life in the States. They are not really Americans culturally, because they accepted the Moldovan way as normal. The American social culture for teens has been one area that was hard for them to adjust to; or rather, they prefer the Moldovan way. Moldovan youth talk, take walks together, sit in cafés or parks or homes and simply enjoy each others’ company in conversation; most of this is done in groups, not in pairs or couples. In the States it is the norm to spend time watching videos, playing video games or some other activity with limited personal interaction. As a parent, watching this adjustment has been difficult. We have sent them back to the States for school or college, and we could not always be there to help them with this adjustment. My children go to church, love God, and are seeking to serve Him. My two oldest girls have married godly men and are serving the Lord in their local churches. My younger two are still in school, and we will see what God has for them. He has blessed our family with a good spirit. As I’ve said before, we have seen God’s hand in everything, including our family.
A very important part of raising kids on the mission field is to give the children a sense that they are missionaries too. We always tried to make them feel a part of the ministry. They passed out tracks with me and invited boys and girls to Sunday school. The first Sunday school we started was at Angela’s ninth birthday party. We invited the boys and girls she had befriended to our apartment and had cake, games and a Bible lesson. After that we had a class every Sunday afternoon. That group grew to over 120 children and two separate classes, both meeting in our apartment. This ministry was not just my wife’s, but it also belonged to my children. A few times the children from that class would get into my children’s possessions and steal things. That became a good opportunity for us to teach them that those possessions were temporal and the souls of the children were eternal. I watched God bless my children in the ministry. Later, when we started camps, my children considered the camps as their own and worked for the Lord. Melissa and Angela were good counselors and value their experiences in the camps.
We tried our best to treat the Moldovans, both children and adults, no differently than we would treat any American. I witnessed some American missionaries treat the Moldovans as a sub-culture. They would not allow their children to make Moldovan friends or allow Moldovan children in their yard. I have always treated the nationals both in Moldova and Malawi as equals. Because of that, my children have done the same. Children need friends, and some of my girl’s closest friends are Moldovans. This attitude has made all the difference in reaching the nationals around us for the Lord. It has allowed me to have a large ministry with nationals in leadership positions. It has, at times, hurt me in the missionary community, because I have had to stop working closely with some Americans because of their separatist attitude toward the nationals.
One thing that is often over-looked is that God is giving our children grace to live on the mission field. Without God’s grace and help in Moldova, I could not live here or work. That same grace is also flowing to the children of missionaries. I will tell of our first overseas Christmas as an example. I have always thought American Christmas was overly commercialized; however, I was very disappointed that we could not find gifts that first year for the children. We had always enjoyed gift giving, and it was a part of our celebration. Due to their communist culture, the Moldovans and Russians did not celebrate Christmas, but they attached all the secular customs like decorated trees, gift giving, and Santa Clause to New Years. Because of this, we found a tree only the day before December 25th. It was what you might describe as a “Charlie Brown tree,” but we had very little to decorate it with or to put under it. The girls’ grandparents had shipped a small gift for each of the girls, but most of what we found to buy in the country could be put in the stockings. My father had grown up during the depression, and our first Christmas in Moldova was like what he had described from that time. On Christmas morning I was expecting some tears of disappointment from the children, but I was surprised. I found them excited and happy with their meager presents and with the general celebration of the day. The Spirit of God really rebuked me that morning. God’s grace was indeed sufficient for my children. In reality we were happier without all the trappings. The true meaning of Christmas was able to shine forth in our home as a result.
My wife has also made a great difference in the lives of the children. My wife has demonstrated time and again a godly attitude toward my work and ministry. She has kept a nice, clean home environment for me to come home to after a hard day. She has home-schooled the children, played with them, done crafts, and been there for them in every situation. She made life fun for them. I credit the spiritual growth of my children and any ministry effectiveness as much to my wife’s efforts as to my own. I could not have preached and built ministries if she had not kept the home. She has never complained about being far from America nor cried for the things we left. Make no mistake about it; it is hard to leave your homeland and go to a third-world country. There are sacrifices. My dear wife has never been a complainer. Just the opposite is true: she has encouraged me when I was down, and she has helped the children with all the adjustments they needed to make. Stephanie is a worker in the ministry. She has taught the children in the Sunday school and women in their groups; she is loved and respected by the women of Moldova. She is also not afraid to do the dirty work, whether that is washing the camp dishes or doing the camp laundry. She was exactly the kind of example my children needed to have around them.
The greatest challenge for my children has been in re-adjusting to American life in the States. They are not really Americans culturally, because they accepted the Moldovan way as normal. The American social culture for teens has been one area that was hard for them to adjust to; or rather, they prefer the Moldovan way. Moldovan youth talk, take walks together, sit in cafés or parks or homes and simply enjoy each others’ company in conversation; most of this is done in groups, not in pairs or couples. In the States it is the norm to spend time watching videos, playing video games or some other activity with limited personal interaction. As a parent, watching this adjustment has been difficult. We have sent them back to the States for school or college, and we could not always be there to help them with this adjustment. My children go to church, love God, and are seeking to serve Him. My two oldest girls have married godly men and are serving the Lord in their local churches. My younger two are still in school, and we will see what God has for them. He has blessed our family with a good spirit. As I’ve said before, we have seen God’s hand in everything, including our family.
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