Sent: Reflections on Missions, Boarding School and Childhood

by Jenny Ostini (Editor), Bernard Dainton (Editor), John Chenoweth (Editor)

Mountain streams, bright butterflies, tropical highlands...night-time tears, separation, sorrow. This is a raw, honest book about reinventing childhood in the service of God. Young children were sent to boarding school so that their parents could do missionary work. These are the stories of those children’s lives. Much of our childhood was a grand adventure...some of it was not. Here are our voices from the past and from today, trying to make sense of what being sent away as children meant, and continues to mean, for us. There have been books about cultural confusion in mission children (Third Culture Kids). There have been books telling about missionary lives. This is one of the few to tell of the adult lives that followed in children sent away to a mission boarding school from young ages, so the work of God could continue. 'Sent' is a powerful anthology of 42 stories. They may make you cry, they may make you think deeply about what you believe, what sort of parent you are or will be. We hope you will see that the deeply held convictions of parents can shape their children's lives in unintended ways; and that healing can still occur.

404 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 27, 2020

Reviews

[Knut Kåre · Rating 5 out of 5]

En bok som virkelig gjør inntrykk. Her forteller tidligere misjonærbarn sine historier om hvordan det å bli forlatt og sendt på internatskole har påvirket dem. Det er utrolig mange vonde traumer knyttet til det å bli forlatt av foreldrene og det gjør virkelig vondt å lese om all den smerten så mange har opplevd.

[Barbara A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is deeply personal to me. Although I’m not one of the contributors, much of the writing reflects my own experience. I’m very thankful for these Chefusians who shared their remarkable stories. Their stories came at a great price and need to be preserved.

[Frank Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gut-wrenching collection of reminiscences written by the children of missionaries, sent to boarding school at the age of 5 or 6. It focuses on the culture clash experienced by Biblical literalists in an evangelical mission and their children who grew up with another world view that valorizes maternal deprivation. All parents should read it because the underlying message of the book beneath the theological cultism is: love your children and look after them until they come of age. They need you to guide them through the 'ignominy' of childhood. No one else can take their place.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very useful for anyone who has had experience being sent away to boarding school at a young age. Particularly missionary families.

[Christine Dillon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was not an easy book to read yet it was worth the effort. Often sad, sometimes heartbreaking, it is adult missionary kids reflecting back on their experiences of going to boarding school in their early lives.
A compilation of writings is not easy to organize and bring to a common standard. The editors succeeded in almost all instances.
Who should read this book? Missionaries, their children, organizational leaders. Take the chance to listen and learn from the past.

Merged review:

This was not an easy book to read yet it was worth the effort. Often sad, sometimes heartbreaking, it is adult missionary kids reflecting back on their experiences of going to boarding school in their early lives. A compilation of writings is not easy to organize and bring to a common standard. The editors succeeded in almost all instances. Who should read this book? Missionaries, their children, organizational leaders. Take the chance to listen and learn from the past.

[Sara Eames · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent, if very tough at times, read.