OUR FOREMOST MINISTRY Raising A Family In Missions
[ First as a newly wed couple , then as a family of four , Roland and Leah have been serving as missionaries in Asia for nearly a decade . What was it like to be ‘ out there ’ and then return to Singapore ? Like many others , they had concerns about their finances , children ’ s well-being and housing . Roland and Leah share their thoughts on how knowing their Father has helped them to be faithful to their call .]
Roland and Leah , what motivated both of you to join missions ?
Leah : Even before I met Roland , during my studies , the verse “ Seek ye first the Kingdom of God , and all these things shall be added unto you ” was prayed over me . I was willing , but acted upon the call only ten years later ! I went through enormous mental gymnastics to convince myself I was not ready to go . But in reality , my willingness is what counts for God . Finally , He convinced me to build His Kingdom as a full-time missionary .
Roland : Several experiences inspired me to commit my life to sharing the Gospel with others . I couldn ’ t stop thinking , “ How can I keep the Good News to myself !”
So , when we got married , the decision to go into missions was clear for us . We left Singapore and joined a YWAM Base in North-East India . After three years in India we transitioned to another YWAM location in East Asia . This was where we started our little family .
Did you struggle with being in missions after starting a family ?
Roland : I felt challenged when we started to have children . When it was just the two of us , we could barely hold our finances together . How could we pull it off with children ? However , what Hudson Taylor said proved true to us : God ’ s work done in God ’ s way will never lack God ’ s supply .
Leah joins in : That includes letting go of my own ways and learning to be grateful for any provision . I had to convince my Singaporean self to transfer my trust in safe budgeting to the God who works with what we have — He is Jehovah Jireh — the Lord who provides .
What else did you find challenging , and what helped you to overcome it ?
Leah : Besides finances , we were also worried about our children ’ s well-being . Would they survive the cold winters ? Would that bronchitis turn asthmatic ? But we reasoned that if the local children could grow up well in these conditions , so could our children ! We learned to treat their exposure to the mission field as life ’ s education . These differences helped widen their ( and our ) perspective , and they toughened up quickly !
After many years abroad , you decided to resettle in Singapore . With all your savings gone , how did you resolve your housing situation ?
Roland : To us it was a miracle ! Securing a flat is such a huge thing for any Singaporean family . We were set to trust God , knowing that He would provide . One day , while we were overseas , we received a call from Singapore informing us that we got a flat in an estate during a ballot ! What more could we have asked for ?
However , it took time for the miracle to come through . HDB almost forfeited our down payment because our missions work abroad made it difficult to prove that we were credit-worthy . We almost felt like giving up . “ Was doing missions worth letting go of proper housing for our family ? Why does returning home feel like we ’ re entering into another battlefield ? Where is God in all this ?”
Anxiety crept in . It would have been so much easier to take things into our own hands . Both of us could have worked aggressively for a couple of years to fulfill the housing requirements . The temptation was pressing , but we felt that this new flat was our promised land and we needed to endure in faith . As a family , we decided that Roland will continue with YWAM while Leah finds a job in the marketplace .
Then , over the span of four years , we continued to walk in obedience and God brought people and circumstances together to help us . It was an incredible moment when we finally held the keys to our flat in our hands .
Looking back at the last 10 years , what was the biggest lesson you have learnt as a family in missions ?
We saw that God is first of all our Father , and through Him we learned that ‘ family is our foremost ministry ’.
Through our parental care for our children , God taught us about His fatherly character . When our kids are disobedient , we discipline them but our hearts ache . Our love for our kids resembles the magnitude of God ’ s love for us . God showed us that it is not all love or all punishment . We are the best people to discipline our kids because of the great love we have for them .
We also realised what an honour it is to be the first to introduce our children to God , as the One who is with us at all times . When we went through difficulties as a family , we would all pray together . We taught our young sons to trust our Heavenly Father in all things . By serving as a family , we showed our children that God is real and involved in our lives .
It really doesn ’ t matter what our circumstances are — whether in Singapore or India , in rented houses or HDB flats — God is always present and walks with us as a whole family .
16