Many people feel God’s call to serve in missions. With that is the responsibility of raising their children and ensuring they are educated. This can prove challenging, depending on the foreign country one goes to. In my case, I was sent to the Ubangi Academy (UBAC) in Congo as an 8 year old.  The school served grades 2 through 12, with a rigorous curriculum. Normally there were 40-50 in total attendance, with most living in the dormitory, adjacent to the school. How did parents rationalize sending their kids away, starting as young as 7 years old, for 8 to 10 weeks at a time? How did the children fare? Many struggled, and have residual trauma into adulthood. I sent surveys to parents and kids alike and determined that very few kids and parents have discussed the experience. Furthermore, many kids don’t want to revisit that part of their childhood. This is part 1 of a 5 part series, to introduce the topic and lay out the challenges for parents and kids alike. It will discuss the elephant in the room, which is: how come so few families have talked about this experience that was extremely impactful on the children. Then, the Ubangi Academy, as an institution will be discussed in more detail in part 2. The routine, expectations, schedule, culture and subcultures will be explained. Then in part 3, how parents handled the challenge of separating their families and trusting that their children were adjusting well and being well cared for will be the topic.  Part 4 will be interviewing kids and their experience of the dorm ecosystem, emotional damage incurred, and how they adapted to dorm culture. Most listeners will be surprised at how most children look back at the experience. The final episode will be a summary and discuss the takeaways learned from all the interviews and surveys. And recommendations on how the kids can move forward using the positives and negatives from the experience for a better life as adults. The dilemma of balancing mission and family is very complex and controversial. I hope you join for the journey for the 5 episodes to hear the broad spectrum of perspectives on this most important issue.  Special thanks to Roger and Sally Eales for sharing how they looked at the role of UBAC in their family’s life. Also Jeff Aiken provides his take on UBAC and its impact on his life as an attendee and then as an adult.

**Rated in 2024 to the TOP 25 Best “Life Stories” Themed Podcasts Worldwide – https://blog.feedspot.com/life_stories_podcasts/