Parents Perspective on RP Missions
October 31 2011
Howard and Irene Huizing have a lot of experience in the field of letting go. When their daughter Heather was in high school, she took several short trips to Mexico; in college she crossed the pond to serve in Scotland; and several years later, God called her to a five-year commitment in the war-torn nation of Sudan.
Heather is now working for the U.S. Center for World Missions, an agency that helps to improve strategic decision-making and practice on the mission field, especially in unreached or hard-to-access areas. Her parents are glad to have her home, and while they know that God could call her away again in the future, they have peace knowing that He will be at her side.
“You really start the process of letting go when they’re babies. You put them to bed, leave them with babysitters, send them to school, and God prepares you for each of those steps He asks you to take,” Irene says. “The safest place for our children—although it doesn’t guarantee physical safety—is at the center of God’s will. It doesn’t matter if they’re in a little community in Kansas or on the other side of the world somewhere, God’s hand is on them.”
Heather’s youth group in high school really ignited her interest in missions, so by the time she got to college her decision to major in missions didn’t come as a big surprise to her parents. They admit they were a little unnerved when she announced in 1996 that she was interested in the RP Missions trip to Scotland.
“She had been to Mexico numerous times, but this was her first trip overseas,” Howard says.
The fact that Scotland is a Western country offered some reassurance, but the Huizings knew that a place’s level of “foreignness” doesn’t make it any safer than another. They have found, though, that intentionally entering into those experiences with their daughter has helped make the unfamiliar less threatening.
The Huizings had the opportunity to visit Heather twice while she was serving in Sudan, and they even traveled to Northern Ireland the year after her Scotland trip. It has been deeply meaningful for them to see these places first-hand, but there are many other ways parents can share in the mission experience with their children.
“It is helpful to put yourself into other foreign situations, to increase your sense of the world and of being part of a world community,” Irene explains. “Participate somehow as much as you can. It’s not just your child going to some place God has called them to without your consent. God can also place on your heart a burden for that country and work.”
While Heather was in Sudan, her parents kept track of the weather on the internet and checked the news in Sudan. They also emailed frequently, getting a sense of everyday life at the mission and entering into a shared vision for the people and God’s work among them.
“It’s amazing to see God’s presence in the midst of all those experiences,” Irene says.
She recalls the awe she felt when Heather, after returning from that first trip to Scotland, told her about going into the public schools with the rest of her team. Not only had they shared their testimonies, but students had come up to them later and were able to relate to pieces of their stories.
“It’s sometimes hard to see God’s hand at work in our own circumstances here at home. We’re so busy here—sometimes we don’t notice. Being taken away from that for a bit to see what God is doing in other places, and going specifically to serve Him, can really open your children’s eyes and yours.
To learn more
For parents whose children are considering short- or long-term missions, the Huizings highly recommend Neal Pirolo’s book Serving as Senders.
“Missionaries, including children on short term trips, come back with this deep experience that has become a part of them, and people at home ask how it went but don’t know how to relate to it. People don’t have the questions to ask,” Irene says. This book is a helpful resource for parents striving to actively participate in the work their child is doing on the mission field and how to engage with them when they come home.
