Why is our family working oversees in Africa?
Jose
Our Lord works in amazing ways, some which we may not understand until long after. This was how my experience was when it came to my calling to ministry. I can look back to my teenage years and still see how God was preparing me for ministry. I have been through the valley many times. God is loving and gracious and has led me out each time.
I grew up in a Christian family, fortunate to have been adopted from South Korea when I was a toddler. Along with my 4 brothers, I grew up going to church and gave my life to the Lord at a young age. I would have to say that I had a relatively normal childhood full of sports, sibling rivalries, camping trips and school. It wasn't until the middle of my High School career that things changed dramatically with the death of my father as a result of pancreatic cancer. It was at this time that I felt the love of God expressed through the support of my church, youth group and youth pastor. I feel that this was the foundation to what is now my calling to missions.
At the Lord's calling and the guidance of my friends and family I attended Crown College, majoring in Child and Family Ministry with minors in Biblical Studies and Youth Ministry. It was also at Crown that I met and married my wife. After leaving Crown College, I unfortunately fell into the trap of trying to maintain life on my own. I have to admit that I lost sight, or rather lost focus of what God was calling me to do. I was focused on my family, my kids, my work and well....me. I was disillusioned with the idea that it was my "ministry" to provide for my family and do "life" well.
It wasn't until a few years ago that God reached out and brought me back to Him. "Ironically" it was at the time that I was barely hanging on. I was trying to be everything to everyone and it was all starting to fall apart. It was at this time that we were blessed to find the church home that we had been searching for and healing began to take place. More focus was spent on who God is and what his desire was for my life and less on trying to muscle my way through life on my own strength.
I remember my wife sharing with me her calling to ministry and what she felt God was calling her to do, but at that time I did not feel the same thing. I recall telling her that I didn't sense a similar calling and that was it......for the time being.
We eventually found new jobs that called for lifestyle changes and a change of scenery. We sold our house and moved closer to the Twin Cities. The kids started new schools and we found a new church home. Downsizing from a 4 bedroom house to what is now a 2 bedroom apartment helped me focus on what was important and necessary and less on the things I just wanted. I can look back at this process and see how God was working on changing my outlook and attitude. Then one day it all changed...........
I remember working at my desk and overhearing a conversation that was happening between one of my managers and someone who was retiring. I work in Data Processing and this person had been working in this industry for over 40 years. People were asking him the normal questions about what he was going to do now that his career was over and it was at that time I felt a tug on my heart.
I heard God ask me if this is where I would find fulfillment in what I was doing if I stayed the course for the next 40 years. I was taken aback when my immediate response was No. This past year at Bingham has been a year of service, humility, hard work and incredible rewards.
“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges
my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him
and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.
Psalm 91:14-16
As I look back over the past few years, I am continuously amazed by the love, grace and guidance that God has showed me. He has been there for me in my trials and my triumphs. We look forward to what he has in store for us in the future. We look forward however to another year of adventure and work in Ethiopia.
Jessica
First I’d like to say that if you had asked me three or four years ago if I’d be willing to move even more than a couple hours away from my family, I’d say no way! When I married Jose, my dad often teased him that he’s never going to take his daughter away to Omaha (where he’s from). I was very much a daddy’s girl, and not only that but went to all my nieces and nephews events and saw my parents a couple times a month at least.
So what changed? In October of 2008, my dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer. In July of 2009 he passed away. Watching him go through the treatments and come to terms with his terminal cancer was an amazing experience. I lived with my mom and dad for the last week of his life and helped her care for him around the clock. It was the hardest thing I have ever done but I would do it again in a heartbeat. I learned more in those few months then I expect to for the rest of my life. While he was sick he expressed what he had wished he had done, his regrets, his proud moments and what he will miss. My dad was my world, and I was lost without him.
The year after Dad died I was in the worst place of my life. I didn't know how to live without my dad. I had never made a decision without talking it through with him first. I was angry with God for taking him from me. My dad was a dreamer and always had me dreaming about my life someday and what I would be doing. Without him I thought I was stuck.
I don’t remember exactly when it was, but I finally made it back to church. I don’t even remember what the sermon was about exactly but I remember the pastor saying something about how God is my father. Duh, a concept we've been taught since Sunday school. But he went on to say not only is He your father, but He can be your Dad. You can talk to Him like you would your Dad and have that relationship. I so desperately wanted my dad back and I forgot that God, all along, has been there with open arms waiting for me! At that point I broke down crying and it was then I allowed Him to be my Dad.
Now that you have this entire back story about how I was broken and then picked up by God, I can explain where Africa fits in. Never before, since I became a Christian at age 16, had my relationship with God been so real. I began to pray about His plans for my life. Where do I fit in, what does He want for me? He began to plant the seed for going overseas. Of course I said, no, not me. There must be something else. But the feeling just would not go away. God wanted me to teach children in another country about Him. He knew my heart for children, education and orphans and had a plan. I talked to Jose about it and he did not feel the same way. He did not feel God talking to him.
I just kept praying about it. The feeling never left but I figured it would never be if Jose was not called. I quit the home daycare and began working at the YWCA. Jose was unemployed for a year and got a job in St. Louis Park doing data processing. We sold our house, moved closer to the city in an apartment; all along, not realizing that God had a plan. One day Jose and I were talking and the subject of going overseas came up and he said he had been feeling a tug. I took that tug and ran with it! I put my resume on an online website for teachers who want to go overseas. I began getting emails from schools. After talking to a couple schools I had an interview with Bingham over the phone. It felt perfect! I felt God’s hand guiding me along. Jose and I looked back at our almost 11 years of marriage and can see how He had been preparing us all along.