Personal Narrative: Growing Up In A Missionary Family

Growing up in a missionary family, we did not have the luxury of name brand clothes and most of the time we did not get new clothes; only hand-me-downs, which we received from missionary closets at churches we visited across the country. Missionary closets are stocked with items similar to that of garage sale, like stationary, school supplies, bath towels, toiletry items, kitchen items, clothes, shoes and much more. However, unlike a garage sale, there is no payment upon leaving. Because this was normal for our family, I had no idea the stigma that some of society puts on people who buy or, in our case, are given used items. In addition, I was also homeschooled, which limited outside influences that would make me think shopping in mission’s closets was anything but normal. As a young girl, I never thought this was odd or different nor was I embarrassed. I would leave the closet feeling happy, excited and thankful. …show more content…
It was during a potluck dinner being held in a gymnasium of a large church we were visiting. The pastor’s wife, joined by one a deacon’s wife, invited my mother and me to visit their mission’s closet. My mother told me I could pick out two dresses. However, when I could not decide which two of the three beautiful dresses I wanted, she let me get all three. As we were leaving the closet, we thanked the woman, took our items to our car and returned to the potluck dinner. I was so happy and excited about the beautiful dresses that I told my mother I wanted to go thank the women