Surrogate Families

"All the missionaries at Lomalinda knew the ache for our families we left behind.  

We filled the void by becoming surrogate families to each other."

Carol Martin | Wild Indians and Other Common Misconceptions

Pete and I have been asked on several occasions if we are still sure that we are supposed to raise our family overseas.  I am not sure if this question has come up more recently because we have now officially begun working for a mission organization or if it is due to the fact that we have a precious 8 month old son.  Either way, I can confidently say, "YES!"  I am now more sure than I have ever been that Pete and I are exactly where God wants us and we are thrilled to be preparing a team of prayer and financial support partners who are excited about what God is doing through aviation in Indonesia and around the world!  Without these partners in ministry, there would be no ministry.  Pete and I covet the prayers already prayed and the ones committed while we are overseas.  

Yesterday we arrived back in East Texas.  This place that I fought so hard to not call home.  This place where I struggled to make friends when Pete and I were first married (due to my unwillingness to be fully here).  This place where despite my best efforts, God placed us and formed the beginning of our marriage and the start to our family.  Cade will always be a sweet reminder, a fun little souvenir, of our start in Texas.  

I am so grateful that God saw fit to have Longview, TX be the starting point for this amazing journey called family.  Just when I believed that I had left all my family back in Georgia, God was creating before me a surrogate family in Texas.  We have best friends who are refreshing to return to and pick right back up on life.  We have more mature couples we are more than happy to call our Texas parents.  We have dear friends/family who are just like an older sibling helping guide us, nurture us, and remind us of God's promises and strength.  

So far on this trip, Pete and I must have said 100 times, "it feels like we never left".  This is so true.  This is family.  This is how I know and am certain beyond anything in me that God will provide family for us thousands of miles away from "home," in a new environment with a different language and a diverse culture.  This is how I know that we will have a surrogate family in Indonesia, because He has already provided one for us here in the States.  

I am grateful for the sweet blessings of a surrogate family and this precious time to reconnect with them before we make the huge move to the other side of the world and meet our new surrogate family!

Jenny, Kym, and Ashley at Kitty Hawk | Summer 2009

Longview Family on Vacay in Outerbanks! | Summer 2009

Webbs and Greenwalds at the Lake! | Summer 2011

"I'm at the other end of my life now, and looking back, I have yet another moment of understanding, another "Oh," a new perspective.  Was there really a cost to following Jesus?  Did I really make any sacrifices?  The joy of the years of being God's child has been so great, the work so rewarding, the "oh the places you'll go" have been so interesting, the experiences so vast, it appears after all, there was no cost to me, only gain."

Carol Martin | Wild Indians and Other Common Misconceptions