(Quick note: I generally post about family discipleship and resources I recommend later in the week but I'll be "offline" most of this week as I prepare to speak at my church's women's conference this weekend, so I'm sharing this with you a few days early! If you're inclined, I'd appreciate prayers that God will give me the message he wants me to share. Enjoy, and I'll be back next week!)
Learning about other cultures and how God is working in them has always been a priority for us. It's one of the big reasons we chose to homeschool...so that we could learn about cultures and ways of life very different from our own and how we all fit into God's plan.?
We recently received two volumes of a DVD series called Growing Up Wild. This collection of five DVDs features the adventures of a family of four brothers growing up as missionary kids to the Wano tribe in the remote jungles of Papua, Indonesia. Each volume contains three short (approximately fifteen minute) episodes, along with activity suggestions, plus a second disc with a PDF activity/teacher guide containing additional suggestions and printables to correspond with the activities. Each episode is narrated by the parents, and told from the boys' point of view.
We received Volume 1 and Volume 4, which cover various aspects of the Wild family's life among the Wano people. Volume 1 features episodes on their home and how it was constructed, how they eat and get supplies, and how they get electricity and water. Volume 4 begins with an episode on nature and some of the unique creatures and plants that are native to that area of Indonesia, then moves on to unique aspects of the Wano culture, and then a look into how the Wild family and their missionary partners work to teach the Gospel to their Wano friends.
We've thoroughly enjoyed these two volumes and are looking forward to collecting the other three! These are a family project, but they aren't amatuerish in quality at all. They're very professionally done, with catchy music and graphics and beautiful photography and video.
Even more importantly, our family really appreciates the way lessons about creation and nature, everyday life in a different culture, and a biblical worldview are woven together in an entertaining, interesting format. My kids (especially Karate Kid) can really relate to the Wild brothers, who seem like typical American kids on the one hand, and yet have insight into the Wano culture from living within it that's invaluable for understanding how God works in all people and cultures. There are scenes of the family doing schoolwork, using books familiar to us that we've used in our own school, playing with Legos, taking care of their pets, playing bow and arrow with their Wano friends, eating unusual foods, and even the older boys and dad having their septums pierced!
We were all fascinated by the episodes about their home and how it's set up, their supply trip, how they're able to have running water and indoor plumbing, and some of the interesting creatures that live alongside them. But the consensus among us was that our very favorites were the two episodes on the Wano culture and how the Wild family is working to bring God's story to them in a way that they can relate to. We were all moved by the testimony of a Wano man as he explains how he came to understand "Yawe's very straight talk" about his sin nature and how Christ had died for him.
Not only have we enjoyed watching and learning from the videos, we love the philosophy behind them. I can't say it any better than this, from the introduction to the activity guide:
"Our hope is that Growing Up Wild will be a blessing to many families. We pray that this program will spur you on to live for Christ. I tell my boys all the time, 'We learn and work hard at gaining knowledge, not so that we will become smart or be known as clever, or in order to make a name for ourselves, but so that we can be used for Christ.' I believe that our purpose is to make His name great among all peoples, to glorify Him. I believe our purpose is to enjoy Him and all he has done and is doing and will do for us, to enjoy all that He has created. And so it is our prayer that as we share with you about our life, you won't see us and our many imperfections, blunders, or typos, but you will see that we serve a mighty God! He is a beautiful God, a just God, a tender and caring God, a Creator of amazing proportions, the God of the ages. He doesn't change, and is still about redeeming people and bringing them into a right relationship with Him even at the ends of the earth.?
We really consider it a great privilege to be able to be a part of foreign missions in a remote part of the world. We believe that the Bible is true and living and powerful. We believe that it is God's desire and His plan to redeem people from every nation and people group. We want to share with you about our story with Him. It really is our prayer that God will raise up men and women who want to live all out for Him, craving to be stretched and used and poured out for His namesake."
Check out the trailer:
Disclosure: Growing Up Wild generously provided our family with two volumes of their collection in exchange for sharing our honest thoughts on them with our readers. All opinions are my own.?
Source: http://homewithpurpose.blogspot.com/2012/11/growing-up-wild-dvds-missionary-familys.html
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