Is it right for MK's or PK's to have to go without for their parents calling???
 

This thread is inspired from this post.... and MANY other stories I've heard through the years....

Does God recompense provision and protection back to those children??? They obviously had no choice in the matter, they went where their parents went....

I'm not just speaking of these children but MANY MANY others....

I don't feel sorry for any child being brought up to be a missionary for Jesus.
The ones I feel sorry for are the ones not taught responsibility or a work
ethic.The ones not allowed to come to know Jesus.Those are those I feel
sorry for.Their reality is going to come as a shock.Email and ask Sister Nona
Freeman if she felt underprivilaged with Sister Eastridge as a momma or better yet read the book she wrote about her mother.Its an eye and heart
opener.

Wow. Of course its right. If God calls the child's parents; then God will provide grace sufficient for the child's needs.

Furthermore, what the child lacks in material goods and advantage is nothing compared to the opportunity given to them to see the world more clearly as God does and to more easily recognize what really matters in life.

Nintendo for little Suzie vs. parents honoring the call of God in their lives. No contest. Not even close. :cool:

EXACTLY! :cool:

maybe she could go to Best Buy.... :D

Growing up as a PK, I never felt like we were underprivileged. My Dad pastored the church, worked a full time job and held several district offces. He was a busy man to say the least. We did not get to see much of him at home, but he always tried to include us in whatever he was doing when he could. He was a man who loved to have his family with him. My Mom as well. We never felt like we were giving up anything. We weren't made to feel like we were being forced to go along and that we had no choice. My parents made everything seem like such a good experience that we wanted to join right along with them. Why wouldn't we want to They were having a good time, so why wouldn't we join in as well. Whatever they did they put their whole heart and soul into it and they never lost their joy while doing it.

My parents were also very careful to never discuss church problems in front of us. If there was drama going on, we missed the show. We didn't know about it and thus were protected from a lot of the misery. This is where I feel some ministers miss the mark, they sometimes are not careful when they are discussing situations. Kids should not have to carry the load that the parents were called to carry and that is where the distinction comes in, in my opinion. Children of ministers can be a huge help to their parents in the work of God, but they must be protected from the emotional upheaval that happens. It is not easy for a child to watch their parent criticized on a regular basis. There are people in the church that I grew up in, where my Dad pastored. that were absolute trouble makers. I had no idea what some of them were capable of until I was grown up. Believe me, I am thankful to my parents for keeping me sheltered. Had I known about some of the stuff as it happened, I could have been scarred for life. I have a deep concern for PK's who have to bear the burden they get roped into carrying from saints who cannot mind their business.

Excellent response!

Not only that, but in UPCI when the children reach the age of 18 (I believe) they have the choice to stay on the mission field or go back to the States.

Children are very resiliant and adaptable. I believe that as long as a child receives love and attention from the parents they can adjust to other circumstances no matter how tough they may be.

It does take time though and I think that is where Sister Alvear's granddaughter is at right now. A time of grieving over unwanted change in her life. Hopefully her parents will make it an adventure for her and soon the good will outweigh the bad.

I think the question is are the parents called?? If they are called, God will provide. If not, they will have to answer for what was lacking.

They are a part in the divine plan of God. Yet as little ones it is sometimes beyond their comprehension to understand the great plan that each one plays on the stage of life.

I called this morning to talk to her to tell her I am proud of her and she is Grandma´s angel to help such a needy people and when grandma can afford it grandma will buy her a cell phone to receive calls and a nice little closet like she had here.
She loved the little worship team she was a part of so I am praying God will help her find some little friends and she can soon help them to find Christ and have a brand new little team up there.
I have talked to my daughter in law that she not only will have to fulfill the role of mother but for a time she will have to be everything to her daughter…
I remember many times the pressures of the work; the way we work (not depending on any said group of people) took up so much of my time as a mother. Once I was giving so many English lessons just to help buy food and gasoline and pay bills plus my other duties I was sleeping maybe 3 hours at the most. (I really don´t require a lot of sleep but we need more than that) One day I was walking out the door and said to my children that I had to run meet someone that wanted to meet me. One of my boys looked up at me and said, Mother we wanted to meet you to!
I realized something had to change. Brother Alvear was doing all he could but the work needed his spiritual guidance and I could make more money teaching than he could and He has never liked going to the states because he has such a problem (he thinks) with the English language. He really does well and English is not his first or even second language it is his third!
I got rid of some of my students so I could spend more quality time with my children. When I would make the long journeys into the backlands many times I would take them so mission work turned out to be an adventure to them.
I never had money to have fancy things so on the kitchen wall right beside our table I put this big map on the wall and when we would eat we would talk to the children about the calling of God, the needs of this country, why we chose to route we chose. We helped them understand why some missionaries had a washing machine and all kinds of appliances, lots of food and we usually did not have these things. Today I am so glad for that little face that looked up to me and said, Mother we want to get to know you.
All my life as a missionary I have been consumed with a burning love for Brazil but I had to realize my family was my first mission station and if I could not be a good mother and wife I could not give the people here what they need.
To make a journey of a life time short…Our son (only blood son) flies in tomorrow from the states where he and his wife have been doing deputation, he pastors a large growing work in south Brazil, our son Arlei that I have written about is up in the jungle area working for God, Our son Michael flew to meet some Americans to Sap Paulo Brazil and take them around and translate for them. He and his family just returned Sunday night with a team from another state where they were evangelizing. Two sons will hold the fort down here while late tonight Brother Alvear and I fly to the south for meetings. Kids that grew up at our home many are preachers today. If we had not realized our children needed more quality time the story could have ended on such a bitter note.
So, I must say we that have a special high demanding call must reserve family time to save our children and families.
Today our children face the same things they watched us face when they were growing up. Many, many times I set the table by faith with the kids and then we would go pray for God to give us something to eat and not one time He ever failed…
I do not tell you this for pity for I have had the most exciting life you could ever imagine. Many times not having a car I would leave to go to some area with one of the boys on a bus and we would ride it as far as it was going in the direction we were going and then get out and hitchhike! God never left me standing in the middle of nowhere without sending someone to help us! Sometimes they were strange looking people…
I remember one time way up in the jungle one of our boys was with me and I had traded a turtle I found with someone for a flashlight. So I gave the flashlight to my son that was with me and when he saw the hut we would stay in so full of huge spiders and all kinds of bugs he was entertained all night while I slept in my hammock.
When Michael was five we were in the backlands of the state of Bahia and had been walking for hours in the hot blistering sun and had to climb a little mountain. I missed him and looked back and he was knelt down I said, “Michael, let´s go we have to get where we are going before it gets dark…”He looked at me and said, “Mother, I am praying for strength…”
That was an exciting trip when we finally found the house of the family they were not at home.So we picked the locks got in the house took showers, fixed food and when they came in from work that evening they found us smiling sitting in their house… strange house, strange people but before we left they were all Christians!

Ditto.

The only problem is the child may not realize that. However my friend Newman is right by saying God provide grace sufficient for the child's needs.

gotta go...

It's true.. but there are a great many things that a child doesn't fully realize or understand while he / she is a child. When all is said and done, as a adult, I don't regret or miss one thing I felt I 'had' to go without while growing up in a minister's home.

First of all, children don't "need" as much, materially speaking, as the secular world seems to think they do. Secondly, if a family is truly going without necessities, (food, clothing, shelter), then the parents have the same obligations as any other parents to see to it that these needs are met.

But if by "going without" you mean: without nintendos, without designer clothes and tennis shoes, without videos, without TV, without piles and piles of toys, without eating out all the time, well...that's not going without.

Thirdly, I am a PK, so I feel qualified to put in my 2 cents. I believe that any child whose parents are called of God, and are in the work of the ministry are blessed to be brought up in such an atmosphere. The idea that children are being robbed of...well, anything...because their parents pray and fast and work hard and are hospitable and generous and live a life of sacrifice...? Well, that idea is so backwards its almost comical.

As long as children are safe, well-fed, educated, disciplined and loved, they will be fine. Period.

I would have hoped that was already obvious.... going without is lacking provision (food, clothes, shelter)....

Where are these missionary children that are going without food, clothing and shelter? :telephone

I didn't perceive from the post-clip you offered that the child was without food, clothes and shelter. Rather, it seems, there is no money (yet) for furniture, and she will have to make new friends. Is that what you call "doing without?" My children have been in that position before. I remember when Hannah was little, we made over a walk-in closet in our tiny apartment into a cute little room for her...cute...but very small. Sarah slept in the bedroom with us in her toddler bed, and had her books on a shelf above her bed and toys in bins under it. Yet, we were quite happy and so were the girls.

So again...things being tight...not the same as "doing without."

If there are any missionary children or PK's actually doing without food, clothing and shelter, I will be happy to donate some money for their assistance or recommend local services to them.

Look...I empathize with the little girl's plight...truly...but children are resilient, and while I'm quite sure she could use our prayers as she adjust to a new place and new people, she will be alright. :)

Should we ask: "Is it right for children of truck drivers to have to do without their Dad's for long periods of time?" "Is it right for children of soldiers to have to wait until their 2 years old to even meet their father?" "Is it right for children of minimum-wage earning parents to miss out on wearing Nike's?"

Unless there is a true lack of the basic necessities, I am not concerned here. :)

Just my humble opinion... but as long as they've got food to eat and raiment to wear (and all the other variables are addressed, love, acceptance, education, no severe beatings, etc) NO CHILD is truly suffering.

We as parents look back at our own "deprivations" as being "unjust" and vow that such injustices will never visit our own children. But then by the time they're old enough to be running through the yard the kids are finding out just how unfair everything really is. There's no way to compensate for that. Life is unfair. Love your kids and do the best you can for them. Denying your own calling or convictions will not always bring a shiney new bike or the latest game console. You brought those urchins into a world of sin and despair- now do your best to bring them hope. Or better yet, try to show them how they can create some hope for themselves.

Most importantly encourage them to learn how to learn for themselves. Encourage them to read and in their schoolwork. Make them understand that education is important. Education is the way to advance up the social ladders in most societies. Then maybe they'll be able to provide a home for you when you are old where the orderlies don't beat the inmates.

well said. And from my personal experience, the times that we experienced "deprivations" in our lives were the times that made us the strongest and most able to handle life's trials as we became adults. We didn't grow strong during our times of plenty.

Nobody wants to make their children go thru the hard times. We all shield them from heartaches and pain as much as humanly possible. But I wonder if, in the end, our children will feel the same as we do about the hard times they experience as kids.

I think those are important words.
Some times parents are so wrapped up in their jobs or social lives that they neglect their children. That is wrong. That same neglect can happen in the home of a minister or Christian worker also. He or she can be so absorbed in their work that the family is neglected. I think 1 Timothy 5:8 can apply here. There are certain obligations we parents have and if we neglect our families we are less than what God wants us to be.

Jesus is supposed to have first place in our lives
but
the church, or our work in the church, is not Jesus
and does not deserve the devotion which Jesus deserves.

I had a pastor who used to say, "Some times we get so wrapped up in church work that we forget the work of the church."

Look I only asked for you to pray that the child could make adjustments and was trying to say that she is scared. I am not begging anyone for money. It is true that in all walks of life children have to make adjustments. Her brother is doing fine. I think a lot has to do with the fact she was involved in so many things at our local church here and in some of the village churches.
She has lived in this area since a baby so this area is her world.

She is now in a jungle city full of indians, strange people and she is afraid and lonely.
Some of you I know would do quite well with wild indians...in fact I stood before a tribe of cannibal indains when I was 20 years old and told them about Jesus. It is my kind of stuff...sleeping in the jungle, looking for snakes, picking up frogs...but that is not everybody´s cup of tea.

On our last trip up there the indians were talking about killing the white people and she hears those stories and she as a child is afraid. I understand her fear and the fear of many new missionaries that come to the mission fields.

The American that was with us told me she had never been so scared in a place in all her life and she is a world traveller.

more later..

I am sure my son is doing all he can for his family and I am staying in touch with them as long as they are not in the jungle.
This son (adopted) is the one that his mother was a national missionary from our church and was killed by people that hated christians. He is very much aware of the risks that go with the call of God. He prayed for many months and took his family up there to see that area and then they came back and prayed for months.
There are no Jesus Name churches within several hundred miles of them that we know about. God is already opening doors and they have begun services in 2 places.

I once heard a good sermon WHEN YOUR SACRIFICE BECOMES YOUR DOWNFALL. The sermon talked about pastors that lost their children...

I have never forgot that sermon...

Sister Alvear, I'm sure the child needs all the prayer she can get...along with her parents. :) That's quite different from what Malvaro seems to be suggesting, which is...."Are her parents wrong for subjecting her to a life she didn't ask for?" That's all we're addressing. No one (that I know of) is faulting you for requesting prayer. :coffee2

I know the trauma emotionally that our 13 year old son (at that time) went through when we left the only hometown and home church that he had ever known to move here. He was angry with us and felt like he was having to leave everything familiar, including all of his friends and youth group. What he felt was NOTHING I'm sure, compared to this little girl in the jungles of Brazil.

We did not belittle his feelings, because they were very real to him and he does not like change. We just had to pray and trust God for him to adjust and make new friends here and for the church to grow and a youth group to be started here. Now, almost six years later, he is a very happy and well adjusted young man gone to college. I asked him the other day what he considered "home" to be and he said "Jackson, of course". I needed to hear that, just to know that in his mind, it was ok to be here. He now loves this city and this church and has many friends here.

I will be praying for this precious little girl. God has her in His hands and He will help her to adjust.

This post has me about weeping.

Sis Alvear, what is this little lady's name? I want to take her on my heart in prayer.

I think the bold part says it all. I heard a story once of a father that included his children in everything that he did. They were part of his life, not just in his life. He wasn't a Christian when his children were young and he did drugs. His children did them too. Not advocating that children do drugs just making a point. Whatever he did his children did too. When he became a Christian his children were in their teen years, but there was no question they became Christians too. They loved and respected him because when they were little they were little people to him not just kids.

A lot of times children get in the way and are sent out to play when they should be learning to be an adult. Which is what they crave.

God knows who to send.Sister Alvear you are my kind of woman.I promise you there is more to be afraid of in the city then out in the jungle.Here we
just call them seriel killers.There you at least know what you are up against.



I moved a family several times.The daughter had about three card board boxes of nothing while the mama ran around all night with men smoking crack.
You could say she was accomplishing her mission.The child with christian parents however who lacks a few material things has something bigger.She
has God and with him anything is possible.

Hello, my friends...
Am in another part of Brazil today at a lovely church building/ complex...one of ours but we do not pastor here...one of our sons is pastor...

The little one up in the jungle...her name is SABRINA...I named her after Sabrina Wurmbrand my friend...(my daughter in law let me pick out the name)

I hope she grows up to be a great women...like SW was..

And visa versa....