In Her Shoes: Missionary Monday

This is Kristine and her family. They are currently on deputation, preparing to leave for Indonesia in May. Here is her interview...

1. Please share your missionary call.

My name is Kristine Lien. My husband, Phil, was pastoring in Central Florida just a year and a half ago, when God called us to the mission field during our church's Missions Conference. We were not surprised that God called us to the mission field. I surrendered to missions as a young girl and even spent a year in the country of Ukraine on a short term mission trip after high school. My husband surrendered to the mission field in Bible College and graduated with a missions major. What we were surprised at was the field to which God called us. My husband is Chinese by descent and speaks Cantonese. We always thought that we would go to a Chinese speaking country and minister using my husband's first language. Instead, God called us to the country of Indonesia, which has the largest Muslim population in the world and where the Chinese language was outlawed for many years. God has worked in our hearts and we are now excited about ministering in this beautiful, but spiritually needy country.

2. What do you think you will miss most about the States?

There are a few things that I think I will miss about the States. I will certainly miss my parents. My mom developed brain cancer last summer, and every minute spent with her is precious. I am very thankful for Skype that will allow us to see each other. Something silly that I will miss is shopping in Target and Publix. I may even get desperate enough to miss WalMart, but I'm not sure yet. Two other luxuries that will be missed are central air conditioning and clean tap water.

3. What do you love most about your field?

I have not been to Indonesia yet, but I already know that I love the people. I had a couple of friends in college who were from Indonesia, and I'm still in touch with both of them. I am also excited about the food. My family loves Southeast Asian food, so we will be very happy there!

4. What is a typical meal in your culture?

Chicken satay with peanut dipping sauce, fried rice or noodles, and dishes prepared with sweet soy sauce are some of the meals that they eat in Indonesia. (I get hungry just writing this!)

5. Say something in your language, then translate.

Selamat Pagi = Good Morning

6. What are some fun things that your family does while traveling?

Our family has an excellent leader (Daddy!) who makes it a priority to stop and see fun and educational things along our journey. My kids have seen in one year what it takes most families a lifetime of vacations to see, if they are the adventurous type. Some examples are Yellowstone, NYC, Niagara Falls, Sequoia National Forest, Chicago, Victoria, B.C., and many other places. A fun thing that my husband does is make announcements over the van radio using an app on his phone. It sounds like we are in an airplane, and the kids love it! We also like to stay in hotels with swimming pools to reward our kids for being so good on a long day's drive.

7. Please share your favorite Bible verse, or one that has been an encouragement to you.

Our ministry verse is 2 Cor. 5:18 "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;"

8. What have you found to be the biggest challenge of deputation?

I like deputation. I am extremely grateful for the experiences that I've had as a result of pre-field ministry. Probably the most difficult thing I've experienced is having sick children during conferences. My kids have had the flu on a couple of occasions, and it's no fun to be sick in someone else's home.

9. Name one thing that God has taught you on deputation.

I am learning to be disciplined in all things. I've always struggled with discipline in certain areas in my life, and I feel that God is giving me a chance to develop in this area. I have more freedom to focus on Bible Study and home schooling than I ever had before. God is so good!

10. How are you preparing your children now for the mission field?

We have always had a missions emphasis in our family. My kids have been excited since the day we told them we were called to be missionaries. I even chose their homeschool curriculum years ago to train them in case God called them into ministry. As often as we can find an Indonesian restaurant, we take the kids to eat the food. We talk about our new house and I am allowing the kids to choose how they will decorate their rooms in Indonesia. We practice brushing our teeth out of cups because we can't use the tap water over there. My husband always talks about what their roles will be in our new ministry (teaching Sunday School, nursery worker, usher). We are excited to have our children ministering alongside of us and they, in turn, feel like an important part of our ministry.

Our website is www.lienmissions.com. My husband keeps a blog, and I plan to blog once we get to the field. We hope to be in Indonesia by the summer of 2012.