Stressful situations are met on any mission field with respect to coworkers and the indigenous peoples. Emotional maturity and social compatibility are required. For this reason, a resume of your background and relationship to family and friends is requested in
this evaluation.
Please write an autobiography in essay style, using appropriate paragraphs, treating in detail the subjects indicated. The outline which follows is only a guide and is not to be copied or answered in question and answer fashion. Use as many sheets as required, with your name and page number on each.
A. FAMILY BACKGROUND
1. Your birthplace, home, and parents: Were your parents compatible, happy, or the converse? List the children born to your parents in order of birth. Were you raised in a Christian home?
2. Mention others who lived in the same household for any time during your growing-up period, i.e. relatives, boarders, hired hand, housekeeper, servants, etc. Mention, if appropriate, foster parent, step-parent, divorce, etc.
FATHER
1. His occupation and work habits during your childhood
2. His personality and habits in relationships with people
3. Your personal relationship with him and any significant changes in it as you matured
MOTHER
1. Her occupation, if she worked for long periods during your childhood
2. Her work at home, amounts of responsibility she took for the work and management of the household
3. Her personality and habits in relationships with people
4. Your personal relationship with her and any significant changes in it as you matured
BROTHERS AND SISTERS
1. Describe your relation with each. Indicate if you were an
“auxiliary parent” to a younger child or, conversely, if you were in the place of a younger child supervised by an older one.
2. Were there feelings of unusual intensity, positive or negative, with any brother or sister?
3. What was the general atmosphere? Were there jealousies,tensions? Was it a close-knit family or rather on the remote,self-sufficient side? What did you do together (church, games, sports, travel)?
4. Describe present occupation and current age of each brother or sister, marital status, religious affiliation, and present family group.
B. SCHOOL
1. Where did you attend grade school, high school? describe briefly two or three events from elementary school.
2. Did you have trouble with teachers? Why? or Why not?
3. High school: favorite subjects; extracurricular activities: school paper, clubs, sports, etc. Did you ever quit school? If so, why?
4. College: relationships with roommates, if any. Did you change majors? Why? In what ways did you mature?
C. SOCIAL
1. Clubs, Scouts, 4-H (outside of school), hobbies, church
2. Dating: Review briefly. Attitude toward marriage, children. (See also on E.)
D. PERSONAL
1. Are you aware of any extreme likes or dislikes or special fears which have disturbed you in the past?
2. What do you consider your strong points? Weak points?
3. Any lack of emotional control? How do you explain it?
4. Are you unusually sensitive? Have you lost your temper at someone in the last few months?
5. Is sustained concentration difficult? List the books that you have read in their entirety in the last six months.
6. Was there a time of rebellion in your teen or later years?
7. Are you subject to faintness or dizziness? Great fatigue? Prolonged depression?
8. Have you ever had a “nervous breakdown”? Describe.
9. Have you ever sought consultation with a neurologist, psychiatrist, or a psychologist?
10. Describe an instance of relying on spiritual help in time of discouragement.
11. Have you ever tried to offer counsel to someone else in trouble?Describe a case.
12. How often do you have personal, private devotions (time spent,
materials used)? Family prayers?
13. Is your spiritual, social, intellectual, and emotional growth basically
satisfactory to you? Why or why not?
E. MARRIAGE
Date of marriage, courtship. Were both Christians at time of marriage?
Additional remarks.
F. GROUP RELATIONSHIPS
1. Give the name and address of one employer for whom you worked for at
least six months who has a personal acquaintance with you and has observed
your relationships with your co-workers.
2. Give name and address of one group leader who has observed you for a
period of six months in your relationship with the group (Explorers, AWANA,
scouts, etc.) working on definite projects together, preferably a group in
which you were active beyond the age of sixteen.