8 June 2007
Dhaka, Bangladesh

Transitions for a missionary kid

Stewart, 23 months, checks out the music selection on an airplane.

After living 17 years halfway around the world, it is time for me to return to America. My family moved to Bangladesh when I was 7 months old, and except for an occasional furlough back to the States, Bangladesh has been it for me. This fall I will be attending Hendrix College in Arkansas. Although going to college in America will be a big transition for me, I know that many wonderful opportunities await me there. Still, looking back, I realize how much I am going to miss the life I have in Bangladesh.

Most of my memories of Bangladesh take place in Rajshahi, where I lived for 13 years. We lived next to a hospital where my parents worked as missionary doctors. Almost every morning, I would follow my mom around the children’s ward and maternity ward as she did her rounds. When my parents ran mobile clinics in remote villages, I would follow them there also. My favorite part about those trips was knowing I would get the best traditional Bengali meal you could find: rice, lentils, a fried vegetable, and if I was lucky, chicken curry. Eating my favorite meal with my bare hand will probably be the thing I will miss most about Bangladesh.

Stewart Morgan wicket-keeping in a cricket match.

This year, my senior year, I have been attending the American International School (AISD) in Dhaka. I am a member of the cricket team, a great sport not many Americans understand. I also had the opportunity to go to Malaysia for a class trip to learn scuba diving. At AISD I have had the opportunity to make friends from Germany, England, Sweden, Norway, Korea, Japan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and many other countries around the world. The diversity of friends and experiences I have had as a missionary kid will enhance my ability to integrate into the community at Hendrix and perhaps bring an extra dimension into their student body, too.

Despite all that I will miss about Bangladesh, being back in the States will open up doors to opportunities I have rarely had. I will finally be able to walk down the street and not have twenty pairs of eyes staring at my white skin. I also look forward to having my first job. And I will have access to all the fun commodities that I long for every time we visit America. For example, I cannot remember the last time I sank my teeth into a double whopper from Burger King. I also dream about going to the movies on weekends, walking through malls, and talking with friends at coffee shops that have free wireless Internet. A part of me has missed being a true American, and now I will finally experience that.

Looking back and looking ahead, I realize there is not much more I could have asked for. I have had incredible experiences in Bangladesh, and many new and different ones await me in America. Moving back to the States will be the biggest transition of my life, but I know that having grown up in Bangladesh will make my experience of America all the richer.

Sincerely,

The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 115