by Laura Fielding, posted Friday, May 09, 2014 (10 years ago)
EAST ASIA (BP) -- They don't sport flowing capes. You won't find futuristic cars in their driveways. They don't even possess super-human powers. But missionary moms overseas are worthy of "superhero" status.
Photo by Kate Weatherly/IMB
Everyday responsibilities -- raising children, running a household, cleaning and cooking -- are a full-time job made all the more challenging by the stress of learning a new culture and language, supporting husbands in time-consuming ministries and reaching out to local believers in their own ministries.
And there's homeschooling, managing health scares, assisting children with learning disabilities.
These women power through these challenges daily and still manage to smile. But IMB missionary Olivia Brighton* says finding balance is not always easy.
Not smooth sailing
While still a teen, Olivia felt God giving her a passion to serve others overseas. After she met and married her husband Seth*, that passion became clear for both of them -- international missions.
After several years of seminary and the birth of their first child, the Brightons moved in 2004 to serve as missionaries in East Asia.
But Olivia and Seth's missionary career has been full of hurdles. They discovered their son has severe food allergies, made even more challenging by the limited choice of foods available in their city. Olivia spent a lot of time in the kitchen, and still does, "trying to figure out how to keep [our son] healthy and well-fed."
At the same time, Seth's work required significant travel in the surrounding mountains, mapping where the people group they hoped to reach lived.
"He loved it, loved it, and I was miserable, and that was really hard, specifically the first year, because I felt really lonely," Olivia says. "[Seth] knew that I was struggling and he tried to help, but it's really hard to do that when you're having such a great time."
Olivia admits that first year she often thought about leaving East Asia, but knowing she would be disobeying God kept her there.
The main thing
The Brightons made it through that rough first year, settled into their ministry and expanded their family: Marcus*, now 10; Daisy*, 8; and Jared*, 2.
Olivia tried to find balance with her own ministries but her main focus never wavered: "Most of my time is spent with our kids." She began homeschooling as the children came of age.
She soon realized Marcus was struggling with school. In second grade he could read the entire book, "The Wizard of Oz," and answer questions about the story, but "he literally could not write a sentence," Olivia says. "He would fall in the floor crying, wailing."
The Brightons discovered that Marcus suffers from a language processing disorder. Olivia decided to change her homeschooling format to a more classical form of education, which involves narration, dictation and copy work. The positive transformation in Marcus was significant. Read More
