![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/DSC00203.jpg\")
Our 5 missionary kids at Awana headquarters in Streamwood IL<\/p><\/div>\n
Over the past Nine months we’ve drug our kids literally from sea to shining sea, traveling over 10,000 miles in our little mini-van, visiting dozens of churches and staying in many people’s homes. There were times my kids would have loved to stay home with family, times when they probably didn’t want to hear me preach the same sermon again or listen to our missionary presentation for the 53rd time! There were certainly times when they would have loved to do anything other than sit in the car all day as we rolled across endless farmland and plains in the Midwest.<\/p>\n
Yet, they endured! They stuck with us, and for that alone they get my respect!<\/p>\n
Just a couple of weeks ago we gave our ministry report to our mission board. I brought the kids up and introduced them. After our report the board gave us a round of applause, that was nice. But what they did next really surprised me, they turned round and gave our children a round of applause! That was unexpected and amazing!<\/p>\n
My children really appreciated it and told me “Wow, that was so nice that they clapped for us!”<\/p>\n
That applause got me to thinking a little about my children’s experience as missionary kids. I want to share with you 17 reasons why missionary kids really are awesome!<\/p>\n
1. It was their parents who chose to live the missionary life, not them, yet they willingly go!<\/strong><\/p>\n 2. They make new friends faster than anyone, even if they know that they’re leaving tomorrow and will probably never see that person again!<\/strong><\/p>\n 3. They can sleep in any bed or not in a bed or in the car!<\/strong><\/p>\n 4. They gracefully endure their parents missionary presentations hundreds of times!<\/strong><\/p>\n 5. They’re not afraid to stand up in a church service where they know absolutely no one and introduce themselves!<\/strong><\/p>\n 6. Every time they visit a church in the States several people come up to them and tell them how little they were the last time they visited, they smile politely at the strangers!<\/strong><\/p>\n 7. Even though they’d rather stay home and hang out with their friends they willingly go on excruciatingly long road trips with their parents to visit people they have absolutely no memory of!<\/strong><\/p>\n 8. They learn a new language better than their parents, whether they want to or not!<\/strong><\/p>\n 9. They are effective and bold in sharing the gospel with their friends on the playground and at school.<\/strong><\/p>\n 10. When someone asks them where they’re from, they have to ask for an explanation of the question before they answer because there’s at least four possible answers!<\/strong><\/p>\n 11. They “get” to visit many\u00a0places in the world when they’d probably rather stay home and be a normal kid.<\/strong><\/p>\n 12. They learn to develop a relationship with their grandparents over Skype!<\/strong><\/p>\n 13. They know that going to college probably means living several thousand miles from their parents and they won’t be able to see them for Christmas and other holidays!<\/strong><\/p>\n 14. American culture is a foreign culture for them, but they learn to adapt.<\/strong><\/p>\n 15. No one really understands how they think and who they are besides other missionary kids.<\/strong><\/p>\n 16. “Home” for them isn’t a spot on the map, it’s the few people in their lives who are the closest.<\/strong><\/p>\n 17. Finally, after all is said and done, many of them choose to be missionaries themselves and that’s just plain incredible!<\/strong><\/p>\n This is a tribute to my five children and to all missionary kids who are often the unsung heroes of missionary life!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[36,8],"tags":[139],"class_list":["post-4184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family","category-ministry","tag-missionary-kids"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/DSC00203.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3izZc-15u","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4982,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/47-confessions-of-a-missionary-wife-surviving-furlough-with-children\/","url_meta":{"origin":4184,"position":0},"title":"#47 Confessions of a Missionary Wife -Surviving Furlough with Children","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"January 31, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Let's get one thing straight, if you're a missionary and you have kids, then furlough is anything but a vacation! 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Every morning They have been going with a group of about 45 missionary kids to a nearby church. Mishael was especially excited about riding the big yellow school bus. We praise God for the wonderful teachers who are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Updates"","block_context":{"text":"General Updates","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/updates\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6186,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/you-know-youre-a-missionary-when-33-ways-to-know\/","url_meta":{"origin":4184,"position":2},"title":"You Know You’re a Missionary When… (33 ways to know!)","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"January 12, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm wrote this list for two reasons. I wrote it for you who are fellow missionaries. There's something cathartic and encouraging knowing that you're not the only one with these experiences and feelings. I wrote it for you, my friends who are not missionaries but you\u00a0know missionaries, so that you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/You-know.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/You-know.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/You-know.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":706,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/kids-corner\/","url_meta":{"origin":4184,"position":3},"title":"Kids Corner","author":"Christina","date":"April 30, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Stay updated with regular announcements about new features, games, and events. Trusted casinos keep zodiac casino login players informed and engaged with timely communication. Hi, this is Naomi Suko. I am going to be writing posts called \"Kid's Corner\" about what it is like to be a missionary kid, our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Family"","block_context":{"text":"Family","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/family\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/69.89.31.195\/~sukofami\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/DSC01814-001.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/69.89.31.195\/~sukofami\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/DSC01814-001.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/69.89.31.195\/~sukofami\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/DSC01814-001.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5969,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/life-of-a-missionary-mom\/","url_meta":{"origin":4184,"position":4},"title":"Life of a Missionary Mom","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"November 10, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Today just happens to be Christina's birthday and so I decided to ask her a few question about life as a missionary mother. I hope you'll take a few minutes to watch this video and to pray for Christina and her ministry to our family and to others. One thing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Family"","block_context":{"text":"Family","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/family\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Capture1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Capture1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Capture1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Capture1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3029,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/thirty-seven-ways-to-serve-your-missionaries-better\/","url_meta":{"origin":4184,"position":5},"title":"Thirty Seven Ways to Serve Your Missionaries Better","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"January 12, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Most churches love their missionaries but few know how to serve them well. After our time in the States last year visiting all our supporting churches I thought it would be good to put together a list of ways churches can serve their missionaries. Below you'll find both suggestions about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/DSC01253.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/DSC01253.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/DSC01253.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4184"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4197,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4184\/revisions\/4197"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Now it’s your turn!<\/h4>\n
Tell me why you think missionary kids are awesome. Also if you want to leave some encouragement for our missionary kids, I know they would appreciate it!<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"