What is it like to be the only foreigner in school? The only one with a different skin color, a different language, a different religion, and a different way of thinking and communicating? You will definitely be laughed at. After all, you will constantly make mistakes. You will use the wrong words, or pronounce them in a funny way. Your mother will put ‘weird’ food in your lunch box that makes your classmates gag and you may innocently say things that will shock everyone, or make them roll on the floor with laughter.
Many Chinese missionary children have experienced this in recent years. Most missionaries who started going to the field in the early 2000s were singles, but now they are married with children. And new missionaries joining them in recent years are more likely to have young families. These missionary children often do not attend international schools. Even if they exist in the country they are serving in, they are usually way too expensive. So, the children go to local schools, and more often than not, they are the only foreign child in their class or even their whole school.
School life is just one of the pressures Chinese missionary children face. There are the transitions, the security issues, their parents being busy holding down a job as well as doing ministry, the lack of finance, and the general stress of cross-cultural family life. With a lot on their plate, how do we help them to thrive within the calling their family responded to?
An experienced missionary couple, who raised their own children on the field, has initiated holiday camps for these missionary children. They will do them in different regions of the world, so children do not have to travel far. Recently, there was one for missionary children growing up in Pakistan and neighboring countries.
The workers explains how these camps work. One focus is the improvement of the children’s English. This is very important as they live and travel internationally. Also in many of the countries they live in, English is an important second language, and widely used in education. So several hours of each day are spent practicing English.
But it is not simply a language camp. Days start with devotions in which parents share their testimonies and stories of the church in China. It is important that Chinese missionary kids develop a connection with their spiritual roots and learn where they come from. As well as spiritual roots, they need spiritual wings. They are encouraged in their own relationship with the Lord and supported as they seek how and where God is calling them. To help this, there is also worship and Bible study.
There are also emotional needs to attend to. Together, the children are encouraged to share through conversations and play, how they are dealing with the unique challenges they face. Older missionary children share what they felt in school and how they overcame the challenges of the first difficult years. They encourage the younger ones to persevere and trust God, as well as comfort them.
These camps are incredibly valuable for the healthy development of these children. Please pray as we prepare for another camp in Southeast Asia in April.
