The noon siren wailed, telling us it was lunchtime at Kent Academy, the boarding school for missionary’s children in central Nigeria. “I’ve been waiting for hours to eat,” I said to the other first-grade girl next to me as I closed my desk drawer. “I’m starving.” She crinkled her eyebrows. “Are we having something good for lunch?” I shrugged. “The food here tastes weird to me, and I really miss my mom and dad. No matter how hungry I get,…
Dad ran a hand over his stubbled chin as he stepped into the kitchen of our mission home in Nigeria. “Marcy, there’s a plane coming tomorrow. Do you have any cookies to send to Kent Academy for Larry and Debbie?” Mom dried her hands on the towel beside the sink and crinkled her forehead. “Oh, Herb! We ate the last of the brownies with our afternoon tea.” “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier.” Dad rubbed Mom’s weary back. “I’ve…
After getting a cast on my arm for a broken wrist, I used it as a weapon against bullies. That helped me learn to stand up for myself.
The morning sunlight streamed through the crack at the side of the curtain, and I blinked my eyes awake. As I sat up in bed, pain shot through my right arm. Even wrapped in a cloth bandage, my right arm throbbed from when I fell off the monkey bars the day before, on the playground at the boarding school for missionary kids in Nigeria. I scooted to the edge of my lower bunk in the dormitory and slid my feet…
At boarding school I got hurt while playing on the monkey bars when a friend gave me some advice, meaning to help, but it backfired on me.
For many years I dreamed of doing extraordinary work for the Lord, but felt relegated to living an ordinary life. Then I found my tribe.
Sitting in a women’s Bible study, I looked around the circle at the smiling faces. Am I the only one who has trouble with forgiveness? I wondered. As a six-year-old, my heart shattered when I was sent to boarding school for several years. When I returned home for vacation, I couldn’t express to my parents the homesickness, rejection, and abandonment I experienced. I felt hurt and angry. The many instances of abuse I saw from people who were supposed to…
O Lord, you know everything about me. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away…and when I rest at home. You place your hand of blessing on my head. (Excerpts from Psalm 139:1-5 NLT) “Welcome back to Kent Academy for second grade,” the Auntie said with a smile. I carefully stepped out of the blue VW van parked on the playground in front of the girls’ dorm in Miango, Nigeria. “Follow me, Debbie, and I’ll show you to your…
At the end of my first year at boarding school I was so excited to go home. I’d made a few friends and learned the ropes but hoped I wouldn’t ever return.
In first grade at boarding school I decided to cheat on a test and hoped I would get sent home. I missed my little brothers and new baby sister.