BLESSINGS OF A MISSIONAL FAMILY

Saying Yes to God in Every Season of Life

Henry and Kate never imagined they would serve overseas. When the thought entered their minds, their immediate response was, “No, we must not have heard clearly!”  

A “bad idea” becomes actionable

Their kids were seven and five years old. Henry was in academic medicine, busy with a healthcare startup, and an elder at his church. Kate was running her own music school. Uproot everything to go overseas? All their friends thought it was a bad idea.

Surprisingly, both Henry and Kate’s parents were supportive. They said, “If God is leading you that way, you should go.” Henry and Kate were still hesitant. They had various concerns and many unanswered questions. To their credit, they continued to seek the Lord for clarity.  After taking the Perspectives Course and attending a missions conference, their hearts began to change.

Two years later, they said “yes” to God. Immediately, things felt easier to them. Now, everything was in God’s hands. If God was sending them, He would have to provide the opportunity. Out of the blue, a company reached out to Henry. The job took Henry’s family to Asia for the next eight years.

Almost giving up from the get-go

In his role as chief medical officer, Henry was challenged by the foreign work culture and attending communication issues, such as deciphering the cultural subtext of what was said and what was left unsaid. On the other hand, Kate was up past midnight helping the boys with their homework. “Mom, for first time, I really had to pay attention in class,” their 4th grader said. Meantime, the air pollution in their city became so bad that Kate feared her family’s health was at risk. The stress level was high. Three months in, Henry and Kate wondered if they had made the right decision. The thought of going home was not far from their minds.

An about face to stay in the race

Then at the GLS fall retreat, they studied Ps. 23 and God spoke to Henry. When the waters were still and the pastures were green, the psalmist was good with God. But when he entered life’s dark valley, he began calling upon God in the second person: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me.” It became an intensely personal conversation, an intimate I-Thou relationship. Henry heard God saying to him, “I am your Shepherd. Don’t be afraid! I am with you. I will take you through this valley--you and your family. My rod and My staff will guide and comfort you…” When God spoke these words over Henry, peace came over him.

In that first year, Henry and Kate threw their many plans out the window and leaned into God’s every word for wisdom and strength. It was a transformative year. They stayed the course and God grew their knowledge of Him, blessing their work, children, and ministries.

Do the math of losses and gains

Even so, there were losses, Henry and Kate admitted. There were lost opportunities when the healthcare startup Henry left behind went IPO, and when they could only be with their extended families for 7-10 days a year for eight years until Henry’s father’s terminal illness brought them back to the US. Henry was close to his father. He still grieves the lost time.

Still, there were gains in the midst of the losses. God gave the family a year to spend with Henry’s parents before his father passed. It took many miracles for that to happen at the height of Covid in a city they had never lived in before. God answered their every need when He sent them overseas, and when He brought them home.

It was also a big blessing to see how the boys have matured. Growing up overseas, they saw a different world with many needs. Serving as a family on worship team, visiting orphanages, teaching English, and babysitting while the grownups did Bible study, the two boys became less self-absorbed, more compassionate, and cross-culturally sensitive. Finally, the boys have an authentic relationship with God, something not to be taken for granted even in missionary families.

Ready to go but willing to stay

Today, their oldest son is doing well in college and active in campus ministry. Their younger son will go to college in another year. Their 7-year-old daughter’s bright personality and sharp mind is a delight to people around her. Because of her strength and resilience, Henry and Kate believe she will adjust well if they go overseas again. “We are ready to go but willing to stay,” they said as they sent out their resumes again.

Henry and Kate are living missionally in every season of life. Missions is not about location. While they are in the US, this is God’s assignment and their mission field. Their lifestyle of service and witness remains unchanged. If God should call them elsewhere, be it Denver or Dubai, they are willing and ready. In their own words, choosing God’s will and pleasure frees and emboldens them to go anywhere and do anything.

What anxieties make it hard for you to trust God? Read this for the key to freedom to follow Him.