Oceans Apart - For the Sake of the Call

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Esmé's Mommy here:

My mother grew up as one of eight children in rural Canada. Farm life was tough work in those days, and the six girls, of "sturdy German stock," were expected to do their share.

Imagine the culture shock when Mom, with my one-year-old sister and infant brother, moved with her husband across the ocean to India to work as missionaries. Another sister arrived in India, followed by a new sister in what was then East Pakistan, and finally me in Bangladesh.

Mom and Dad have continued to work in exotic locations, including New York City, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Botswana. They finally retired a couple of years ago and moved to Vancouver Island, BC, hoping to enjoy their twelve grandchildren more frequently.

Shortly after their retirement and move back to our continent, I discovered I was pregnant with my first baby. And then hubby and I decided to move across the world with their newest grandbaby to Mozambique. Rather than expressing regret that we were moving away so soon after they moved back, Mom encouraged us to go, recognizing the calling.

I love this photo of Mom with her five sisters and mother, dressed in beautiful Indian saris. My Grandma (far right), a true Canadian pioneer, is still alive and well in her nineties. This photo represents the meeting of two cultures and a mother who followed her calling across the ocean, instilling that same calling into her own children. I want to pass that on to my baby, too.

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This post has been entered into a Mother's Day Photo Contest. And another one. And another link.