Growing Up Wild Review

Growing Up Wild is a collection of 5 DVDs that introduce you to the Wild family, who are currently serving as missionaries to the Wano people in Papua, Indonesia.  Each volume contains 3 episodes and each episode focuses on one particular aspect of the lives of the 4 Wild boys (and their parents) in jungles of Papua.  Each volume also includes an activity guide on a separate CD.  You can click here to view a sample of some suggested activities to go with Home Sweet Hut.

The DVDs are narrated by Mrs. Wild, and the entire family is involved in making of each episode.  They took over 3 years to produce.  While they are targeted toward children ages 5-12 (similar to the Wild boys), they are interesting to people of all ages.  It is the Wild's hope that an entire new generation might be influenced to become missionaries by watching their adventures. 

The pros:  Growing Up Wild answers all those questions you ever wanted to know about HOW missionaries do what they do.  Volume 1 showed us how they built their hut, what conveniences they have, and what the Wano people's dwelling looked like.  It also shows you a supply run, and how they have to track how much of something they use and then project how much more they will need since trips to the store are made by plane!  The third episode shows how they pipe in fresh water from a stream to allow for a flushing toilet and running water at the sink.  And that's just ONE volume.  Plus, each one is laden with spiritual truths and teaches how they minister to the Wano people.  I especially liked how each episode ends discussing some truth God that ties in to the subject of the episode.  Homeschoolers in particular may find it interesting to see how these four boys are homeschooled in a jungle, but these videos certainly have a much broader appeal than that.  I can see them being used in churches, Christian schools, and in Christian families--anywhere people want to learn more about how modern day foreign missionaries live and serve. 

The cons:  None

The bottom line:  Here's what the Wild family has to say about these videos: "Our main teaching object in Growing Up Wild is to spur one another on as followers of Christ. We would like to share with you a glimpse of our world, but mostly to testify to the greatness of the God we serve and how he is working in the remote corners of the world".  And it is the combination of  both of those things--the glimpse into their world and the testimony of God's greatness--that I think makes these a wonderful resource to any Christian looking to learn more about foreign missionaries or to teach their children about the lives of missionaries, or just about the awesome God we serve!

You can order any of the Growing Up Wild DVDs for $18.99 each, or all five for $80.99.  To see what other members of the Crew had to say, you can check out the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.

Legal Disclaimer:  I received Volumes 1 and 4 tn exchange for my honest review.  All opinions expressed are my own.