Assisting Missionaries By Teaching MKs

By Donna Messenger

MK education is one of the most effective short-term contributions to missionary activities on almost any field. Career missionaries who know the language and are actively working in the culture are often hindered by the need to care for the education of their children.

Opportunities for short-term school teachers are numerous, with many different teaching situations available. Some fields have traditional K-12 schools (often operated in cooperation with other mission organizations), while others run a one-room schoolhouse for a few families. Sometimes the best help is a tutor for children in one family.

Joyce McNamee taught for fourteen years in public and Christian schools and then for 25 years in the education department at Baptist Bible College in Clarks Summit, PA. For Joyce, retirement did not mean slowing down, but rather adding to the experiences of life. In July of 2001, she headed to Chile to teach high school English, Bible, Biology, and Math at the Santiago Christian Academy. Her second year in Santiago, Joyce taught a split class of fifth and sixth graders. Her greatest joy is to "see the children learn and watch them grow."

Joyce remembers one MK whose desire was to enter the Air Force Academy and become a pilot. She encouraged him to earn better grades and apply himself more to his studies. "You can do it," she told him - often. Recently she received a note from his parents with a request from their son to "tell Miss Mac that she was right. I can do it. She kept after me. Thanks."

Most teaching situations involve a commitment of one or two years. It would be difficult to say which is more highly valued by the missionaries - the opportunity for greater involvement in ministry or the impact that these short-term teachers have in the lives of their own children.

My first year in Slovakia was like no other year of teaching that I have ever experienced. About two weeks after arriving in the country, I began assisting ABWE missionary families with the education of their children. After a crash course of driving in Slovakia and learning how to find my way from village to village, I became the "circuit-riding" teacher for Team Slovakia. Throughout the week, I drove from house to house teaching six different MKs, ranging from kindergarten to grade seven. I enjoyed working one-on-one with the different age levels, functioning more as a tutor than as a regular teacher. By teaching the MKs, I was able to free up the missionaries to do language study and to be more involved in local ministry opportunities. It was exciting to contribute to the work in Slovakia even though I didn't know the language or have direct interaction with nationals. - Nancy Allen

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