"The handsome missionary and his family had strong southern accents, and they told stories of their upbringing in the hills of Tennessee before God called them to do His work in South Africa. A projector was set up, and the lights in the church were dimmed as the young missionary shared images of the school they had built on the outskirts of a remote African village."
"Intermingled with images of young men sawing trees and constructing a thatch roof, were photos of breathtaking vistas and animals I had only seen on National Geographic. As I looked at the enthralling images, there was a moment, unexpected and unintentional, when I felt my world, and its possibilities, expand. I came back eagerly the next night to hear the stories of the older couple from Michigan whom God had called to preach in Thailand."
Family vacations were routine and modest, focused on nearby attractions such as South Florida, movies, recreation, and occasional Disney trips, with a distant Carnival cruise as an aspirational possibility. Attendance at church services became habitual, motivated by obligation and a desire to be a good person. Annual missionary conferences provided vivid visual narratives of remote places and construction projects that stirred curiosity. Missionary photographs and home videos of Africa and Thailand exposed remote landscapes and wildlife, creating a powerful sense of elsewhere and widening perceived possibilities. That experience sparked a strong longing to pursue travel and adventure beyond familiar confines.
Read at BuzzFeed
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