I’m Sam, the eldest of the Reynolds children. We are a missionary family. I am 11 years old. I have two younger brothers — Justin, 8, and Jacob, 3. Our baby sister is named Sia.

Our arrival in the United States was a moment of both joy and sadness. Sadness because we were leaving everything behind. We left our grandparents, our friends and our culture to embark on a new life. But joy because we were excited about new friends and a new life.

We arrived in Michigan on May 25, 2023.

Three weeks after our arrival, Sia was born. Our joy was perfect. We really needed a girl in our family. We were also relieved because Sia was born where there wasn’t malaria. Each of us boys had malaria when we were one week old. Baby Sia is still healthy today.

We quickly faced culture shock. Back home, we used to explore the local village and farmland with our friends. Here in America, we didn’t have friends to run and play with because the children here didn’t understand our language. The food here is also very different from back home.

Soon we started school, but because no one could understand our language, sometimes we cried in class because of misunderstandings. When we explained to our parents what we were going through at school, they always told us to be brave because that was the price we paid as children of missionaries.

I remember one day, Justin’s teacher sent an e-mail to our parents, telling them she didn’t know how to help him understand the lessons. Our mom replied by saying, “Be patient with him. He will be fine in a while.” To tell you the truth, we were not prepared for this situation, but everything the Lord does is good.

After six months of adapting, we began to understand the language, made new friends, enjoyed different foods and were more active in school. In April, Jacob and I celebrated our birthdays with our friends and teachers. It was lovely to have the joy of friends again.

We understand that the Lord hasn’t called us to easy things, but with His help, we will be able to overcome all the trials that lie ahead.

We are children of missionaries, and we want to support our parents by doing our best. Please pray for us as we look forward to making new friends in Central Africa. Pray that we will share Jesus’ love with them and that their families will want to hear about Jesus from our parents. Please also prayerfully consider joining us and becoming part of our monthly support team.

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