The Time I Sang in Front of American Soldiers in Germany
How one of many unique experiences as a missionary’s child fostered my love for writing.
As a small girl, my life was anything but boring.
I was born in Fort Worth, Texas in 1968 in the middle of the Free Love Movement. My mom was a writer and student at UTA. My dad, well, let’s suffice it to say, he had been working on his hippie persona for awhile.
By the time I came along, my dad had thrown out his moccasin boots and joint clips for a uniform, a gun, and a potential tour in Vietnam.
When I turned two months old, my mom and I went to stay with my father on the marine base at Jacksonville, North Carolina, then moved to Havelock, where my father was transferred to Cherry Point Naval Base. Sometime later, my first brother was born on the base.
While in the marines, both my parents became Christians and soon after, my father felt “the call” to the mission field.
In 1970, after my father ended his Marine service, we moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he went on to complete his mission training at Tennessee Temple Bible College. My youngest brother was born there in Chattanooga.
In 1973, we had traveled (called “deputation”) 26 states in the prior year and a half, raising mission funds for our…
