The Children’s Ministry and Mission Department jointly organised a parent-child mission exposure trip during Easter this year. Seven families in total (13 children from K3 to F1 and 13 parents) traveled together to Bangkok, Thailand, to visit missionary Sui-lun Lee and his family. The parent-child mission exposure trip had two purposes. In terms of mission exposure, it allowed whole families to learn together about the needs of the mission field, experience the life of missionaries and support the development of their local ministry. In terms of parent-child relationships, it sought to build positive and healthy family relationships through family interaction and sharing, as well as sincere communication.

          Renewal 1: A New Experience: Most of these seven families had traveled to Thailand before, but this was their first time going there to serve. Taking children on a mission exposure trip was by no means easy. The parents led by example and joined their children in a variety of activities—learning Thai together; going to a hot and humid market to buy groceries in Thai; cooking in a hot and cramped kitchen; visiting villages to play stall games with the villagers and distribute leaflets… As families, drenched in sweat, they experienced together the hardships faced by missionaries. During the trip, the children were no longer being served. Instead, they learned to take care of their own responsibilities. Without domestic helpers to assist them, the parents had to personally bathe their children and take care of their daily routines. At the market, one child saw a stall selling a whole pig’s head and curiously asked the missionary uncle about it. They then learned that pig heads are used by local people as offerings to deities when praying for blessings. The children’s curiosity also encouraged us to learn more about the needs of the mission field in Thailand.

         Renewal 2: A New Discovery: The sharing sessions held in the evenings focused mainly on interaction between parents and children. Families learned to listen and respond to one another, while also encouraging one another through the sharing of different families. When the parents shared the “new” things they had discovered about their children, one mother, who had arrived a day later than the rest of us, said that she had discovered how proactive and enthusiastic her daughter was in reaching out and building relationships with the other children, even though she had joined the group a day late. I asked the child, “How do you feel when your mother appreciates you in this way?” Smiling, she replied, “Very satisfied,” because what she had done had been noticed and appreciated. Life in Hong Kong moves at a relentless pace. What parents “notice” about their children is so often limited to homework, dictations, tests and examinations, and grades. We seldom “notice” their growth and breakthroughs. More than their academic results, our children need us to notice their growth.

         Renewal 3: A New Relationship: One important purpose of the parent-child mission exposure trip was to enable our children to become friends with the missionaries’ children. On the mission field, the children whom missionaries’ children come into contact with are mostly local children, and they seldom have friends who share their own language and cultural background. We encouraged the children on our mission exposure team to take the initiative to talk and play with the missionaries’ children, and through these activities they developed very good relationships. When the missionaries returned to Hong Kong for furlough in July, their eldest daughter joined our children for a week of summer activities and was even invited to stay overnight with one of our families. They had a wonderful time together. Although they may not be able to maintain these relationships as they grow older, at least they have created beautiful childhood memories. In this way, by “playing alongside” them, we can also support missionary families.