Missionary kids are what most people label children who have been raised abroad by their missionary parents.

For a few students and their families at WCA, this lifestyle has been no anomaly for them. This sort of life includes learning more than one language and assimilating to the culture while befriending kids unlike them.

When Jacob Thomas, senior, was two and a half years old, his parents decided to move to L’Viv, Ukraine. Previously his parents had done some shorter stint missions where they lived in Romania for a year. They traveled around Europe unofficially, which meant they had cover stories.

Although there were international schools for children of diplomats and missionaries, Jacob and his siblings were homeschooled. Due to this, Thomas’ exposure to Ukrainian cultural was minimal. The city in which his family resided in was very isolated – many residents kept to themselves, so it was hard to interact with kids his age.

While living in Ukraine, Thomas could speak the native language fluently and often trekked around Europe and experienced other cultures.

When his parents scheduled events, he helped. He and his siblings would set up for the marriage conference his parents conducted and helped with a similar kind of vacation Bible school in the Carpathian Mountains.

“I loved traveling around Europe and also not growing up in the American culture,” said Thomas.

In 2008, Thomas’ family moved to Texas because his father wanted to become a pastor. In August of  2011, his family moved north, for his father had landed a pastoral job at a church in Illinois. For the time being, his family plans to reside in the States.

WCA student, Samuel Wos, senior, is another such  “missionary kid” who learned to live out of a suitcase since 1999 when his parents felt the calling to a life of mission work in South Africa.

“I enjoyed living with the kids there because they were my friends mostly. They were just really fun people to be around, really fun and relaxed, and the people there are just humble and kind as well,” said Wos.

Stationed in the coastal city of Cape Town, South Africa, Wos’ family became immersed into the culture.  Although South Africa is a land of eleven national languages, Wos knew one – English – when he arrived. While being there, he learned two languages, Afrikaans and Xhosa, that he took in school.

Since Wos’ parents wanted their work to be a family ministry, Wos and his siblings would engage and relate to students who came to events. His parents were involved in campus ministries with university and college students.

In the last three years in South Africa, the Wos family switched focus to sport ministry. Specifically, they became involved in soccer for the World Cup. Wos would often help his dad with soccer training sessions and tournaments.

Last year in January 2012, the Wos family moved back to St. Louis to stay in the States for good. Wos’ parents decided to switch mission fields to global sports outread group.

Although moving back and forth to another country and trying to assimilate to the culture can be a challenge, Thomas and Wos  have adjusted and enjoyed it. Their experiences were starkly different since one lived in Europe and the other in Africa. However, their “missionary kid” status gave them a taste of other cultures and helped them appreciate the experience.