No photo | Comments Off on Missionary kids sue parents for ‘sucky, non-western upbringing’ Posted by joelkilpatrick on May 31, 2011 in 2003-2008

ORLANDO — In a move that could bankrupt denominational missions programs, 250 children of missionaries have filed a class-action lawsuit against their parents for raising them in “disgusting, disease-ridden parts of the world” like Indonesia, Cambodia and virtually anywhere in Africa. The result was an “unfair, sucky, non-western upbringing that alienated these children from their U.S. peers, and put ticking timebomb illnesses in their bodies,” according to the lawsuit.

The children seek $1 million per person in damages. Because their parents are legally tied to the organization they serve under, that money could come straight out of missionary budgets of the Assemblies of God, Southern Baptist Convention and several smaller organizations, wreaking havoc on missions programs.

“It’s about time we took our destiny into our own hands,” said Marsha Limnell, 22, an MK who now lives in Happy Valley, Pa., and who went through five years of trauma counseling after growing up in Uganda. “I mean, who would ask to be raised in Kampala?”

The suit asserts that children have a “right to be raised in conditions equivalent to those in the country of their citizenship.” In effect, it means that raising a U.S. citizen in sub-standard conditions elsewhere in the world could be considered child abuse. Legal experts say that could force future missionaries to give their children citizenship of the country they serve in.

MK Cameron Leftengle, 17, grew up in Malaysia and was convinced she was leading the kind of life most other kids would envy, until she returned to Illinois as a second-grader and ran into a spate of cultural transition issues.

“I remember squatting on the playground and defecating during recess, like we did in Malaysia,” she says. “The kids laughed at me and I got sent to the principal’s office. I was humiliated.”

She was also embarrassed when her classmates found she’d brought toasted crickets and fire ants for lunch.

“The scars from those experiences are hard to overcome,” she says. “My life was basically ruined.”

She insists she’s more upset with the denomination than with her parents because they “promote a culture of dysfunction among missionary children” as a result of lifelong work in a foreign culture.

No denominations named in the suit cared to comment, but insiders say “they’re holding their breath and hoping this will blow over.” The case will be heard by a judge in September.•