Where is home? That was the question that Caleb, our oldest son, asked when we were packing up and preparing to return to the U.S. He was five-years-old and his younger brother, Caden, was three-years-old at the time we had left the U.S. for Thailand, our mission field and home for the last four years.
But before I answer the question of where is home, let me take a moment to introduce ourselves for the benefit of those who don’t know us. Though I was born in Taiwan, I grew up in Saudi Arabia from age one to seven. It was not until my family immigrated to the U.S. that we came to know the Lord through a Chinese church in the southern Bible belt state of Alabama. Lila on the other hand was born in the Midwest state of Illinois, and grew up in a Christian home with Korean parents. It was not until her parents divorced and her dad remarried that she relocated to Maryland. She started attending NCFC in 1992, and gave her life to the Lord in 8th grade at a church retreat.
Fast forward a few years, and the Lord brought us together as husband and wife in 2005 with a passion to glorify Him through our mutual call to cross-cultural missions work. Both of us received a clear calling from the Lord. And so after I worked seven years as a civil engineer and Lila worked eight years as an elementary school teacher, we decided to quit our jobs to attend seminary in preparation for vocational ministry. Eventually, I graduated from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in 2009 with a Master of Divinity and joined the pastoral staff of NCFC briefly on a part-time basis. Lila returned to teaching in the public elementary school sector, while we continued to prepare for the mission field. At some point, we had two little boys, Caleb and Caden, along the way!
Currently, we are serving as full-time missionaries in Thailand with OMF International. We have just completed our first term of four years church-planting in South Thailand. We were involved with language and culture studies, relational evangelism, English teaching outreach, and partnership with an existing OMF church plant. Our youngest, Corban, was born in South Thailand, and we joke that he is half Thai!
And so that brings us back to the question of where is home? I must admit that at first I did not quite know how to answer that question. I have had my own personal struggles with answering that question myself because of my own cross-cultural childhood experience. Everywhere seems to be home, and nowhere seems to be home as well. But the best answer I could give Caleb was that home is where our family is together at the time. And so if we are in Thailand together, that is our home. And if we are in the U.S. together, that is our home. We also thank God for you, our church family, because you have warmly welcomed us and made the transition back to the States so much easier. And for that, we are grateful.
Ultimately, I am learning to teach my boys that home is where heaven is as well because, as believers, we are all on a journey towards that direction, and Scripture reminds us that “our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20). Even with the reverse culture shock that comes with adjusting back to the U.S., we are learning to be comfortable with the uncomfortable and reminded to always be gazing heavenward.
From Pastor Dave’s Heart
September 20, 2015