ROACH – Imagine growing up in another country with different customs, languages and cultures, and then coming to the United States to go to college. Our International Misson Board (IMB) missionary kids (MKs) do this every year. Thankfully, because of our cooperative efforts, the IMB pours into these students annually at the MK Re-entry Retreat. A week filled with worship, fun, preparations, food, more fun, a whole lot of encouragement and love. This year, Missouri WMU sponsored the event at Encounter Cove (formerly, Windermere) in Roach, Mo.
Missionary Kids (MKs) traveled by planes, cars, and buses to the retreat, where they met up with friends they’ve known for years and made new friends that could last a lifetime. The IMB team spent time pouring into each MK, helping them with the transition from being on the field with their families to becoming independent college students. They taught them practical skills from how to change a tire and oil in their cars, to budgeting, and more. They also give the MKs a safe place to share what they are dealing with during this transition time. Janet York, president of the Missouri WMU, shared, “I am so grateful that the IMB invests in our MKs to give them a great start to their next journey in life.”
Missouri WMU has spent the last 18 months preparing for this week. They provided the location, meals, snacks, fun activities, gifts and more. York and Sarah Schmitt, MWMU Student and MyMission Consultant, knew this would be a God-sized task and prayerfully asked the Lord for direction and provision. The Lord used so many people to bring about this God-sized event. State WMU from Montana and Arkansas, along with National WMU and The WMU Foundation, gave monetary donations. MBC and some of their Entities donated funds, gifts, and prayers. Missouri Disaster Relief came down and did some cooking for the MKs. Churches and WMU groups across the state donated food, funds, prayer, transportation and gifts. R.A.s and G.A.s from our MBC churches gave, prayed and wrote encouraging notes. Additional notes were added by many other local church members so each MK would have 18 weeks of encouragement notes for their first semester of college.
During the week, MKs participated in fun activities, including a trip to Buc-ees in Springfield, a glow-in-the-dark egg hunt, black light dodge ball, a ropes course, swimming, virtual disco, and the Amazing Race. They were joined by Sandy Wisdom-Martin. National WMU’s Executive Director/Treasurer, who loved being able to connect and pour into the MKs. The last night the MKs had a “taste of all things Missouri,” which ended in a concert by DaMac, a St. Louis Christian Rapper.
When asked about the impact MK Re-entry Retreat has, Sarah Schmitt stated, “This week let us put our feet to the ground. We pray for our missionary families. This gave us the chance to show the students that people care, want to help and bless them, especially during this critical time in their lives.” This was evident in how thankful each MK was for the week. One MK said, “Thank you for all the love and care you have shown us.” Another wrote, “Thank you for continuing to pray and support us.”
Missouri WMU would like to give a heartfelt “Thank You” to everyone who helped make this week possible. This couldn’t have happened without all the support, prayers, love, and encouragement.
At the end of the week, the MKs left to start the next phase of their journey with the Lord, each one taking a little bit of Missouri Baptists with them.