Jacob and I have spent our whole lives with the expectation that we would have children and we have been excited by that. So when I say that our kid is a strategy move for our ministry, I don't mean exclusively. We want the child for the reason most parents want a child aaaannd a few extra reasons...
Right before we pack our bags and head off into the jungle for the first time may seem like an absurd time to plan to have a child, but here's why it isn't:
1. Status
When Jacob and I were in the village, married, in 2012, we were put with the teens of marriageable age (whether or not married) who had no children. In the village, you weren't considered an adult unless you had kids. (I believe you could also skip that step and be an old person, but you needed some years to pull that off.) We feel like we can do a better job building relationships with people and doing our jobs if our peers are considered the adults of the village and not their angsty teens. For that to happen, we need a child.
2. Language Learning and Relationship Building
If you've ever tried to step out side of your comfort zone while people were looking at you like you were a circus animal and might do a trick or something, you know how valuable it can be to have the focus removed from you. When doing language learning and relationship building, there's a lot of forcing yourself to go outside and talk with people about.... ..... Forcing friends is hard. But when you sit a baby in the dirt, all the attention shifts to the kid and you have an easier time practicing your language and you have something to bond with nationals over. Aren't babies cute?
Furthermore, when our kid gets older, he will have grown up with this language as one of his own. When we come to a place of struggling with words, he might very well be able to step in and save the day. And even more impressively, he could do this with biblical concepts I can't seem to explain well to the nationals and we've found ourselves stuck on. My little translator in training!
3. Life is More Fun with Kids
You can feel free to disagree with this one, but children are filled with wonder at the littlest things and that's contagious. I think back to some of my least favorite times in the bush and they usually involve me sitting on something I don't want to be sitting on for hours. But having a kid means I get to watch him toddle around and explore his new world. I get to focus in on him and not on - is that ANOTHER bug on my skin?!?!?!? On painfully boring days in the bush, I can pull out some bubbles and watch my kid race after them. Also, Jacob and I have a worthy excuse to bring Legos duplos to the bush.
So as you can see, for the sake of status, skills, and sanity, maybe making a baby right before heading out wasn't as crazy as you had originally been wondering!
Also, be sure to check out our 10 reasons (in more general terms) we're stoked to have a jungle kid.
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