Ephesians 6

¹ Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.² Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;³ That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

My parents have been Baptist missionaries for decades, and served together in Brazil and Lithuania, and currently serve in Portugal. I was born in Lithuania. Most of my friends there were orphans. Our church there had a ministry in the local orphanage, so many of the children attended our church. They taught me the value of even having parents, let alone godly Christian parents. So when God called us to Portugal and I left my home and friends, I heeded my orphan friends’ advice and continued to value my parents.

Now am I saying my parents are perfect? Not in the least! Does my dad frustrate me at times? YEP! Has my mom ever irritated me? OH Yeah! HOWEVER, I could not be more blessed than to have them as my parents. My dad was there when I accepted Christ as my savior, he baptized me, taught me to always make God my life’s focus. He was there for me as I searched for God’s will in my life, and continues to encourage me and help me study and prepare for the ministry, for God has called me to preach, to be a pastor. My mom taught me to sing even when hard times come. She taught me to read and write, to read the Bible, every day. She taught me to put God first in my life. She has prayed for me every day of my life. She gave me life.

Are my parents perfect? No, they are human just like me. None the less, they raised me on the mission field where I have gotten to receive so many blessings, and learned so many lessons that I will use for the rest of my life. They’ve loved and forgiven me and all my many mistakes. They taught me to follow God and His guidance, every day. They didn’t just teach me Biblical principles, they live them every day. I couldn’t ask for better parents, and I wouldn’t trade being a missionary kid for anything this world has to offer.

So my message to young people, to missionary kids is this. Treasure your parents, learn everything you can from them. As my dad has told me, “You can learn something from anyone, even if it is what not to do.” And if you have parents anything like mine, you’ll have many “what to do’s”. Learn from your parents, value their wisdom. And thank God for the blessing we all have as missionary kids, pastor’s kids. Parents are a blessing. Mine parents have been, and continue to be one of my greatest blessings!

Joshua C. Hale – MK to Portugal