We were not normal kids. For my sisters and me, there were no popsicle-stick crafts, school playgrounds, music lessons, organized sports and Christmas with grandparents. We were homeschooled—not a choice based on our parents’ educational philosophy, but because God had called our family to serve Him in Cambodia.

I remember carrying three years worth of school books onto an airliner. My sisters and I each had a backpack, a roll-on and a pillow, and we did our best to pretend they weren’t heavy. At our size, Shiloh, Hannah, and I could barely lift the pillows, which were actually our towels and sweaters carefully wrapped around a thick core of books. In Cambodia, I remember waking up during a rainstorm to push all the bookshelves to a spot that wasn’t dripping and put a tarp over them. I remember coming home from a trip and finding a whole box of books that crumbled when we picked them up, riddled by termites. I remember cautiously pulling apart pages humidity had glued together and racing to finish a book before mildew could take hold. Ants cleaned out our crayon boxes and left the paper wraps still standing in neat little rows. Who knew that crayons are made out of soy? I remember Shiloh teaching herself Algebra 1 and 2. I remember her tears and the piles of crumpled papers. I remember my mom writing out our assignments for the next day tightly wrapped from head to toe despite the unimaginable heat so she could escape vicious mosquitoes. I remember the dim glow of her candle fading into the dusty rafters.

Life in Cambodia was challenging for us, and it was a gift beyond all measure. We learned to accomplish our education goals despite the constant stream of village neighbors arriving on our front porch with medical emergencies.

Though constant transition is great resilience training for missionary kids, it can also leave us feeling rootless. We don’t know where to call home. We find the hardest part of a college application isn’t the essay section but rather having to specify our address. Because missionary kids grow up in places where their family may be the only Christian witness they see, college is an absolutely crucial time. Having professors and peers who mentor, disciple, and relate to us is a priceless gift.

For missionary parents, part of God’s call to serve and trust Him in distant lands is the challenge to trust Him with their most precious treasures—their children. Since missionary salaries overseas are determined by the cost of living in a third-world country, AFM set up the Student Education Fund to subsidize tuition so missionary families can send their children to Adventist schools.

My sisters and I have benefited from this. I would like to say thank you to AFM and to each donor for validating the effort we put into our high school studies and for believing in us and our fellow missionary kids. For me, not having student loans meant freedom to say yes when the AFM Great River Project needed someone to bridge the gap between the Kiwi family’s departure and the Clays’ arrival. One student-missionary year turned into nearly four. That time was the richest blessing I could have experienced directly out of college.

The AFM Student Education Fund helps missionary kids complete their education and stay grounded in Christ, but it also is a boon to the ministry of their missionary parents. Without this help, many seasoned missionary parents would have to abandon productive ministries to the unreached and return to the States when their child reaches college age. But the AFM Student Education Fund gives them the courage to obey God’s calling to continued ministry, knowing they don’t have to face the daunting task of college bills alone.

I’m so glad AFM has made careful provision for missionary children and their families. Missionary kids don’t grow up “normal,” but that is why they have so much potential. Thanks to AFM’s Student Education Fund, you have an opportunity to help build up missionary kids and prepare them to carry on the family business. Will you give a gift that says you care about the future of missions?

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