When I was a little girl living on the mission field in Colombia I quickly realized the other missionaries were not just my parents co-workers, they were family. As a MK (missionary kid) we would decide which adults we would give the title "aunt" and "uncle". We decided this on how well we knew the person, how much they were apart of our lives, and how fun they were!
If they were our parents good friends they usually earned the title.
If they were really cool and took us to cool places.
If they listened to us, mentored us, or basically were given responsibility of us like our parents.
If they attended our events, dramas, and other special events in our lives.
If they were there for us in hard times in our lives and still loved us....they were given the title.
Even today I still have a few people that I call "uncle" and "aunt". It gets a little trickier seeing as I am also a missionary with Wycliffe now, but some titles just stick.
When I was attending my training camp here (POC) I ran into a couple who were both MKs in Peru. It has been fun getting to know them and their two little kiddos. As we started talking I realized that they gave the title "aunt" and "uncle" to everyone on the Peru mission center. They said their center was small and everyone that is older, any adult, was given this title. I thought that was pretty interesting!
We thought about what their kids should call me. Should it be, Aunt Amanda or just Miss Amanda? Which would mean more to me and to them? We settled on Aunt Amanda. I am thrilled!
Though I have 5 biological nieces (2 on the way) and 2 nephews there is just something different about being a "missionary" aunt. They will never be on the same level but I am honored.
I am now a missionary aunt to three families here and take great pride in it. It's like they are welcoming me into their family!
So if you ever see a missionary being called "aunt" or "uncle" and you know they aren't related to that person you will know that it's because we have shared this bond, this special experience that is almost like family.
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