Junior Matthew Adair doesn’t mind moving; in fact, he said it’s made him a better person.
Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Adair traveled the world. At the age of 3, he moved from his father’s native land, Ireland, to India. He remained there until he was 6 years old. He returned to Ireland to live there less than a year, then moved to Colorado.
He said that he enjoyed living in Ireland and Colorado the most, but didn’t dislike any of the places that he has lived.
After living in Colorado for nine years, Adair moved to Kentucky for nine months, then moved to Arkansas in December 2012.
“My parents were missionaries. My dad is Irish, but we moved to India because my dad is a social worker, and then we moved to America because that’s what we believed what God wanted us to do,” Adair said.
Adair’s parents are now employed at Family Life Ministries through Campus Crusades for Christ.
Adair attended public school in Ireland and India, and he said he couldn’t remember any major differences. He was homeschooled in Colorado. Because Adair was so young when he lived in Ireland and India, he has a hard time recollecting details. The only thing he remembers about India is his house.
“In Ireland, the living conditions were modest. We lived in one of those homes that were joined to each so our house was right next to our neighbors. It was small like all the other houses in Ireland,” Adair said. “But in India, we actually had a fairly large home. We were one of the wealthier families.”
All of Adair’s father’s family lives in Ireland, except for his aunt, who now lives in Switzerland because of her husband’s job.
Adair said that he plans on pursuing a career in the medical field and would like to attend Vanderbilt University or Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences (KCUMB). He said that joining the Air Force is a large possibility.
“I mean the first reason that I thought of it was to pay for college and medical school because I know they are expensive, and the idea of getting that paid for, serving my family, my nation and my God all at the same time, it just grew on me,” he said.
Mission trips are something Adair said he will do, but does not want to become a permanent international missionary.
Adair said that he and family do not plan on moving any time soon, but Adair hopes to move back to Colorado or Ireland when he gets done with his education.
“I know I’m going to travel,” he said. “I love Ireland. It’s my heritage. The legacy passed down to me. I love it there, and Colorado is where I spent the majority of my time in one place and I just grew connections there.”
The most difficult aspect of moving, to Adair is staying in one place.
“From moving, it kinda puts a mentality in your head,” he said. “What happened to me is when I moved, let’s say to Colorado, and stayed there for such a long time, it was hard to make friends and settle down because I got into the mentality of, ‘Okay, I’m going to stay here. I better not get too deep in my relationships with people, because I’m just going to move again.”
Adair said moving was worth the troubles it brought, and added a level of maturity because he had to adapt.
“I don’t know what it’s been like for someone who has stayed on place their whole life,” he said. “I can’t imagine what that’s like.”
