In December, Pastor Jim and his family embarked on a two-month home mission assignment to California. We had the chance to catch up with Jim about the highlights and learnings of the trip.

What was the purpose of the trip?

The trip is called Home Mission Assignment (HMA) and one of its purposes is to inform the church of mission. Generally missionaries go back and report on how our core mission is going but it’s also an opportunity for us to talk about Great Commission mandate and raise more support and recruit workers into that field. We also garner partnership for projects and most importantly, maintain and deepen our relationships with the church and many brothers and sisters.

What were some of the highlights from the trip?

Definitely the highlight is seeing God work in the church and in the lives of individuals. It’s always great to see how the churches are doing now as opposed to a few years ago. The highlight for me has definitely been the relationships - all the meetings we have gone to have been so wonderful and so good.

The challenge is that there are many meetings and appointments. It’s tiring! Having to juggle between a number of different accommodations - we stayed in four different locations in Southern California alone and switched back and forth between a bunch of different cars. Your life isn’t regular; it doesn’t have a discernible routine. As a family, it’s hard especially for Claudia and E who rely on steadiness and routine. Logistically, it’s hard.

On one hand, it could be exciting. But if you think about holidays, it’s exciting for the first few days and then it starts to get old and you want to be home. When you’re on 2 or 6 months HMA, you don’t get to go home. The tiredness and disorientation goes on and on. While the relationships are great, there’s weariness in logistical detail.

What has God taught you and your family in the trip?

That God is leading us and changing us, that we are never the same and spiritually - I hope it means that we have been sanctified. There is a journey that God leads us and we can’t look back. We need to continue to look forward and follow him as every step depends on him to take us on that ride. So whatever scenery unfolds, that is where God is calling us, so we need to thrive in that by trusting in him.