DL couple to spend year overseas – DL

Talk about it

    When Bill Mohn unexpectedly lost his job this spring, he and his wife weren’t sure what they were going to do.

    Mohn had been a social studies teacher at Detroit Lakes Alternative Learning Center.

    His wife, Kendra, joked about them going to teach in Ukraine with a friend they knew from working at Camp Cherith near Frazee and Vergas, and who had gone to teach there last year.

    They checked the website of Kyiv Christian Academy, where the friend teaches. It’s in Kyiv, which is the capital of Ukraine.

    When they looked, there were no job listings for social studies teachers or music teachers, which is what Kendra taught part-time at Roosevelt Elementary School in Detroit Lakes.

    The next day, when Kendra checked the website again, there was a job added for a social studies teacher.

    What had started as a half-joke had turned into an option for the Mohns to seriously consider.

    Mohn described himself as not fond of adventure, and said his family loves living in Detroit Lakes.

    “We were pretty content with life, but those unexpected things happen,” he said.

    After losing his job at the ALC, Mohn said he “was disillusioned with what happened here,” and was sort of up for anything.

    So he and Kendra decided to move to the Ukraine, and commit to a year of teaching at Kyiv Christian Academy.

    “It felt like God was leading us to do this,” Mohn said. “So we took a step of faith.”

    They left DL for the Twin Cities Saturday, and flew to Ukraine Sunday.

    Somewhere different

    Kyiv Christian Academy is an English speaking school with students who are primarily the children of American missionaries, and some international students from the embassy in Kyiv, Mohn said. It’s a K-12 school that had 141 students last year, he said.

    Mohn, Kendra, and their two children Josiah, 8, and Katja, 7, will be living in a seventh-floor Kyiv apartment – very different from their house in the country near Detroit Lakes. The apartment is within walking distance of the school and other necessities, like a grocery store, so the Mohns won’t have a car there.

    Although Kyiv Christian Academy is English-speaking, Ukraine is “not an English-speaking country. We’ll be immersed in their culture,” Mohn said.

    Kyiv has a population of about 3 million and is the seventh largest city in Europe. It’ll be a drastic change from Detroit Lakes, but Mohn has done his research and described Kyiv as a “safe city.” He also said Kyiv’s climate is similar to Minnesota’s.

    Community support

    The Mohns will be teaching as missionaries, which means they receive a stipend from the school, but it’s “not a regular job,” Mohn said. This required them to raise support like anyone else going on a mission trip.

    They’ve received support from the church they attend, Lakes Area Vineyard, but they’ve also gotten support from churches they’ve never even been to, Mohn said.

    In addition to financial contributions, people are also helping the Mohns with their house while they’re gone, and helping them store their vehicles.

    “It’s just humbling, to see these people support us,” Mohn said.

    They were also met with some skepticism at first, Mohn said.

    “Some people thought we just wanted an adventure and to have it paid for,” he said. “That’s completely not the case.”

    For the most part their family has received a lot of support, and they are grateful.

    “It is exhilarating,” Mohn said.

    ‘Excited and terrified’

    Josiah and Katja will be attending Kyiv Christian Academy, which will be a particularly different experience for them, because they’ve been home-schooled in Detroit Lakes.

    Mohn said Josiah isn’t too excited about the move.

    “It’s scary at his age – well, it’s scary for me too – but this is all he’s known,” Mohn said. His son is warming up to the idea though, and Mohn and Kendra “think he’ll do fine.”

    Mohn’s daughter Katja has “been excited all along,” he said, especially because, ironically, her unusual name is common in Ukraine.

    Mohn and his wife are also very excited about moving.

    “It’s really good to get out and experience the world outside of Detroit Lakes and Minnesota,” Mohn said. He’s also excited to support the missionary families, he said. “That’s something I’d never thought of before.”

    With that excitement comes a healthy dose of fear too, as Mohn described himself as “excited and terrified.”

    “It’s a little scary, too,” he said, “but we trust that God has good plans for us.”

    For now, the Mohns are only committed to a year of teaching in Ukraine.

    “If it’s just this year and we never go back, just the experience for our family will be wonderful, and it’s such a blessing,” Mohn said.

    They’ll come back to DL next summer, Mohn said, but after that, they don’t know what their plans are yet.

    Mohn and Kendra are thinking about having their family travel inexpensively into other parts of Europe while they’re there.

    The Mohn’s are excited for the entire trip, but they’ll miss Detroit Lakes, too, Mohn said.

    “I’m going to miss my family and friends here,” he said, but it’ll be exciting.”

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