It was Sonlight C that introduced Jack to missions thirteen years ago. I still remember reading through the selections in Window on the World that year with my two little “official” homeschoolers on either side of me on the couch, and three year-old Jack squirming in my lap trying to get the best view of the maps. His earliest years were spent immersed in Missionary Stories with the Millers, Adoniram Judson: Bound for Burma, Catching Their Talk in a Box, and other stories chronicling the spread of the Gospel.
Sonlight took him to lands where the people spoke languages he had never heard and ate exotic foods he had never tasted. From the beginning, it was the vehicle which the Lord used to light a fire in his soul for the unreached and then to kindle that fire into a passion for serving the Kingdom. Today, it’s a journey he’s continuing as he’s studied Church History, which includes the detailed and engaging From Jerusalem to Iran Jaya, a history of Christian missions.
Sonlight has taken Jack along to translate the Scriptures for the tribes of Papau New Guinea, to the Spanish missions in California, to witness to the secluded people groups in central Africa.
Last week, he took Sonlight with him as he took his own first steps into the far-flung corners of Nepal.
I have to admit,there were plenty of afternoons along the way when I asked myself if these “extras”—these bits of learning outside the traditional 3 Rs—were worth it. I was juggling active, curious kids, trying to keep everyone fed and dressed, and still unsure if this experiment in home education was worth the sacrifice. Why spend hours every week reading aloud about men and women who fought to take Jesus’ Name into unreached areas? Couldn’t my kids learn about that later? What purpose was it really serving, anyhow?
This purpose: that three year-old, now almost 16, traveling to a remote village on the other side of the world to help lay the groundwork for evangelism of an unreached group of people he has never met.
For the first few years of Jack’s life, Sonlight took him places. Now, he’s the one getting his hands dirty with the work of preaching the Good News. Life is so much bigger than the 3 Rs, my friends. Have Sonlight, will travel.
