Being at school barefoot all day, having to pause class because the rain hitting the tin roof is so loud that you can’t hear anything, elementary kids playing 4-square with high school students, playing mud soccer– these are some of the everyday moments at SAM Academy, a school for missionary children located in the jungle town of Pucallpa in eastern Peru. It is where we strive for excellence in academics but most of all, where memories that last a lifetime are built on the foundation of our love for Jesus.
The original SAM Academy started back in 1966 as a boarding school for missionary children of then South America Indian Mission. The parents were stationed out in tribal communities and sent their kids to live and study at SAM Academy. At the time, the school only went to the 8th grade and functioned this way until it closed in 1980. At that point, the MKs (Missionary Kids) either attended the Wycliffe Bible Translator’s school or were homeschooled. The Wycliffe school eventually closed and the need for an MK school became apparent. In the year 2000, SAM Academy was re-opened, but this time as a day school that included high school. We had one high school graduate that first year. Since then, we have seen many missionary kids and teachers walk through the halls of SAM Academy.
If you ask a former student or teacher what they remember about SAM Academy, you might get answers like: the family atmosphere of the school, the forever friendships that were built, the teachers investing their time and lives into the students in and outside of class, or the unexpected adventures that we encounter such as roofs blowing off during a microburst wind storm, an iguana getting trapped in the soccer goal net, helping to push a pickup truck that got stuck in the mud or a pet boa constrictor that was brought in for show and tell that goes missing. There is never a dull moment at SAM Academy!!
It’s hard to believe that 25 years have passed since the doors were re-opened at the school. As we look back through the years, we see God’s faithfulness and goodness for the school and how He has blessed us in so many ways. There have been different opportunities for the alumni to get together at weddings, graduations and get-togethers. In these moments, it is as if time has stood still and the kids are taken back to when they were students at SAM Academy. The stories and memories pour out amid laughter and smiles.
The future of SAM Academy is in God’s Hands. We hope to continue to challenge our MKs to make faith their own and to mature in their walk with Jesus, all the while learning the multiplication and periodic tables.
Minori Taguchi Lucas has been a missionary with South America Mission in Pucallpa, Peru for over 35 years with her husband John and has taught at SAM Academy since 2000.
She continues to teach at the school and loves spending time with the MKs. She herself is an MK from Ecuador and Peru. John and Minori have 2 grown children who both graduated from SAM Academy and are now living in the States.
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