Growing up in Papua New Guinea, we both received education and mentorship from volunteers who supported our missionary parents by teaching us. They were part of the vibrant cross-cultural Christian community that nurtured us, making our experience as missionary kids one that was full of love, joy, fun, and enriching learning opportunities. Since leaving PNG, we have lived in the U.S. for about 23 years, training and working in educational fields. 

As our children have grown, we have found our hearts and our thoughts returning to PNG, remembering what we experienced there that shaped us as children and young adults. We believe God has led us to this opportunity to return to that community as a family and support the work of the missionary staff at Nazarene General Hospital at Kudjip by pouring our time and our love into the lives of MKs, just like our teachers did for us. 

The Nazarene General Hospital at Kudjip serves Jiwaka Province in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, treating about 60,000 patients a year. Most of the doctors at the hospital are American missionaries, and other American and international staff also serve there. Their children need an appropriate, accessible education that will prepare them to move between countries and cultures. There are no schools within driving distance that meet those needs, so the only option for families at Kudjip are the small missionary kids’ elementary school and secondary school on campus that are  staffed by volunteers and parents. 

When volunteers are not available, missionary parents have to take on the workload of educating their children in addition to their other work. Hospital staff often work long hours and undergo emotionally draining experiences as they come alongside those who are suffering physically and spiritually. Making sure their children have a high-quality, engaging, and enriching education is an important support to them as they carry out the challenging work to which God has called them. 

Rebekah is teaching full-time in a combined 1st and 2nd grade class at the MK elementary school for the 2024-2025 school year. Our daughter Rosie is attending 4th grade at this same school, and our daughters Dora and Sylvia are completing 9th grade at the MK secondary school. There are 25 missionary kids attending the MK schools at Kudjip this year, with 4 volunteer teachers supporting them (this will be the first year in a long time that they will be fully staffed, without needing any parents to teach full-time!). 

Joel is continuing to teach some classes online in his role as a professor at University of Alaska Anchorage, as well as teaching electives at the MK secondary school and conducting research in global bioethics. 

We are excited about how this opportunity draws on our experiences at these same schools as missionary kids; Rebekah’s experience homeschooling our own children, working in an elementary public school in Anchorage, and teaching language arts; Joel’s experience teaching at UAA and cultivating a supportive cross-cultural learning community when we lived on campus for 4 years at UAA; and our love for serving alongside and living out our faith with people from other cultures.