The Second Generation: Joseph (Jay) van den Akker

The first reason I decided to go to the Bible Institute was that my mom had decided before I was born that I was going. She loved it, and it was great for her to get a firm foundation in the Bible before going out into the world.

I also thought it was a good idea to go to Word of Life because I’ve had a sheltered missionary kid life. (Jay has been in India for the past 12 and a half years.) I wanted to get a foundation and get closer to God before going to scary America, which is just really different than what I’m used to.

Right before I left for the Bible Institute in Jeju, my mom asked me if I was going because she wanted me to or because God wanted me to, and I definitely felt that God wanted me to go.

I chose Jeju because I love Asia and I love Korea. I have so many amazing Korean friends, and I saw it as an opportunity to travel more with the trip to Israel that the school takes. I’m really looking forward to that.

The main thing God is teaching me now is about relationships with other people, having an authentic relationship with Him, and how these two areas affect each other. Here, we are always together. We are in classes together; we are living together. We see how we really, truly are. People can say to me, "You probably need to work on this." I can see how people handle situations and watch and learn from that.

The Bible Institute is awesome. I’m so glad I came. I was scared of D points when I came, but once you’re here, it’s just fun. I’m so glad my mom told me about the Bible Institute and influenced my decision.

(Jay’s older sister, Maria, also graduated from the Bible Institute in Jeju in August.) Maria couldn’t stop talking about what she was learning, the community, the teachers. That had a huge part in my coming here. I was psyched to learn more about God.

Click here to read about Jay's cousin, Joanna, Class of 2013.

For more second generation stories, click here.