MOLDED BY MISSIONARY ZEAL

My parents, George and Lucille, graduated from the 12th class of Gilead and were serving in Ethiopia when I was born in 1956. They named me Philip, after the first-century evangelizer. (Acts 21:8) The following year, the government banned our worship. Although I was just a toddler, I clearly remember my family worshipping in secret. As a child, I thought it was exciting! Sadly, officials forced us to leave the country in 1960.

When our family relocated to Wichita, Kansas, U.S.A., my parents brought something very special with them​—their inspiring missionary zeal. They lived the truth and instilled spiritual values not only in me but also in my older sister, Judy, and my younger brother, Leslie, both of whom had also been born in Ethiopia.