My name is Cara and I grew up as a missionary kid in Russia. When I tell people I was a missionary kid, I receive various responses. Some assume I was mischievous, and they were spot on; while others seem to think I was rebellious (not the case); and still others think I would be awkward as I returned to America.
Cara Sunberg (front, right) grew up in Russia as a
missionary kid with her sister, Christy (front, left), and
their cousins (back from left) Sophia, Jenna, Lydia and
(front, center) Lexi Sunberg, who are now serving in
Bulgaria.
I must admit, although I enjoyed having a good time and getting into mischief occasionally, I am thankful for the way I turned out and have my parents to thank for setting such Godly examples for me.
Everywhere I go, it seems I cannot help but brag about my parents. I feel strange that I never went through a period of dislike for my parents or rebellion against them. Perhaps it was that their demanding travel schedule made time with them special and precious. Or it could be that no matter what age my sister and I were, our parents encouraged us: we were missionaries, too!
I recall specific situations where my parents entrusted me to do things that seemed beyond me, but I rose to the occasion. My parents would often allow me to lead the American groups that came through Moscow on the Metro. Of course, Mom and Dad were there to guide me if I made a mistake. They encouraged me: I was the one leading the group and could do so with poise.
Another memory I have from the mission field comes from the summer of 2004. My parents could not make it to the country of Armenia to lead a group of 50 high schoolers on a missions trip, so my parents sent my sister, Christy, and me. My sister and I had never been to Armenia, but we went nonetheless and were translators and guides for those much older than ourselves. I had the unique opportunity to go to a Kurdish village (a village where they worship the sun) in the mountains of Armenia and tell the children there of the love God has for them.
I am thankful for the lives my parents have lived out before me and their example will live on in me. I hope to love the world as they do and someday raise my children in much of the same way they raised me; to be a missionary no matter what age and to have a faith that is shameless.
-- Cara Sunberg is a student at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois. She spent some of her growing up years in Russia, along with her parents Chuck and Carla Sunberg, and sister Christy. This story was reprinted with permission by New Horizons, the newsletter for Nazarene clergywomen.