Despite being perfectly content living on Minnesota’s Iron Range, the Austin family accepts God’s call to uproot and move to Senegal, West Africa, to teach missionaries’ kids.

 This summer, my family and I will pack our belongings into a shipping container, board a plane and fly to Senegal, West Africa.

We’ll be saying goodbye to our friends and family in Minnesota, all for the sake of the Great Commission, which says in Matthew 28:19-20a, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; …”

But this won’t just be a missions trip. This is a career change — a transfer of residence. We are becoming missionaries.

Submitted photo The Tim and Mary Sue Austin family soon will leave Minnesota’s Iron Range and move to Senegal, Africa, to teach the children of missionaries. The Austin family is, front row from left: Benjamin, 5; Elizabeth, 9; and Samuel, 7. Back row: Tim, 38; Mary Sue, 41; and Hannah, 11.

First, a little background

For the past 12 years I’ve been an English teacher for the Greenway school district in Bovey and Coleraine, Minn. I have had the opportunity to care about my students and to teach my subject in a manner that reflects the wisdom and the love of God. What a privilege!

During this time my wife, Mary Sue, and I have established our home in northern Minnesota, raising our four kids, who are now ages 5 through 11. Until recently, we have felt like this is where we belong.

Ever since 1996 when we moved to this area, we’ve been thoroughly involved in the life of our church, Faith Baptist, in Grand Rapids, Minn. Over the years this church community has been the context and impetus for spiritual growth for our family.

However, there is a profound need in another part of the world, and by God’s grace we are able and willing to go and meet that need. Our eagerness to serve the Lord by going where He would send us is stronger than our desire to stay put in the good life God has granted us here in Minnesota.

The need and work in Senegal

Most missionaries have kids who need a good education. In countries where local schools fail to adequately prepare missionary kids for jobs or further education, missionaries have set up their own schools, staffed by fellow missionaries who are also professional educators. There is a pressing need for good Christian teachers to make long-term commitments to go overseas to teach.

Dakar Academy is located in Senegal, West Africa. This missionary school serves approximately 250 students on its K-12 campus and urgently needs teachers. This is where our family fits into the picture.

I’m excited about the academic instruction I’ll be engaged in there, but I’m also eager to be involved in the lives of missionary kids (MKs) on a personal and spiritual level.

Dakar Academy offers several outreach programs that students can participate in. There are church-construction ventures, village outreach through story-telling, medical ministry, orphan care, Christian witness through sports programs and famine relief, to name a few. We are excited to give the children of missionaries a chance to be missionaries themselves.

Mary Sue is also a teacher, licensed in elementary and special education, and she loves kids. Mary’s primary responsibility, at least at first, will be to adjust to a new culture, focus on language learning and determine how best to be a wife and mom in a new land.

God’s call to teach in Africa

One reason this teaching ministry appeals to me is that I grew up in Africa as the son of missionaries. Places like Ghana, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire and Kenya were home to me from age 6 through age 18. This experience is an invaluable heritage, profoundly shaping who I am today.

Some of the most significant experiences of my life in Africa were the years I spent in MK boarding schools similar to Dakar Academy. I loved this time of independence and spiritual growth. By God’s grace, He used the staff at my schools to build up my faith and lead me toward greater intellectual and social maturity.

Thus, as an MK myself, I can identify with the needs and unique issues faced by the children of missionaries who are growing up in a different culture. I am eager to foster a healthy and enriching experience for today’s MKs.

Clearly, God is using my own experience as a missionary kid to call us to Africa. But there are other important aspects of God’s call.

A couple of years ago I was asked to teach an adult Bible study on the Gospel of John at our church. I enjoyed leading that class, and I wondered if there might be some sort of ministry I could engage in full time.

At about this time, a friend at Moody Bible Institute challenged me about the direction of my life and wondered if foreign missions might be in my future. His inquiry got me thinking.

Then, I had a dream about being in Africa. Shortly thereafter, a poster showed up on our church bulletin board advertising a need for missionary school teachers.

And, there are Scripture verses about going into all the world, about being a blessing to the nations, about fields being white for harvest but not enough workers, and about loving this life and losing it. Such verses aren’t just for plaques on the wall. They are God’s word, given to direct our lives.

The signs were too obvious to ignore. We talked about these things as a family, and once we were open to the idea, God began to confirm in our hearts that this would be an excellent way to continue to serve him.

Funding for a missions career

In order to keep tuition rates affordable for missionary families, most schools like Dakar Academy expect their teachers to come with their own sources of funding. The only way we can go and teach is if we have a team of individuals, churches and families that is willing to make regular contributions toward our financial support.

This sending structure has a number of distinct advantages. It models the method by which Paul and other New Testament missionaries funded their work. It offers people the privilege of getting involved in missions even if they aren’t able to go themselves. For churches, it is a chance to have a window into what God is doing around the world and to have an emissary serving on their behalf. When you support missionaries, it puts your own life into better perspective, and it involves you in something much greater than yourself.

The principal drawback of being funded in this way is that it takes time. You can’t just be hired and then show up for work.

Relationships have to be built and churches have to be visited, giving people the opportunity to participate with us in ministry through generous giving.

We’ve just passed the halfway point of our funding goals. We are grateful to God for this provision, and we continue to trust him as we seek new individuals and churches to come alongside and help send us to Senegal.

If you’re interested in learning more, please contact us via e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text8885 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //-->\n This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .