A missionary wife shares the importance of family ties when serving in a mission field.

In March 2014, our family of five wearily deplaned at Hong Kong International Airport. My husband, Matt, had accepted a call to teach at Asia Lutheran Seminary. We were met by Steve Witte, then-president of Asia Lutheran Seminary, and his wife, Mary. We’d traded our 2,200-square-foot home in Texas for a tiny apartment on the 19th floor with a kitchen the size of a phone booth. Our great adventure into world mission work had begun!

Family of origin

It was quite an experience for our immediate family. I remember the challenges of our son getting lost in the middle of Hong Kong Island (praise God for iPhones and Google!) and chuckle at our attempts to navigate a Cantonese wet market at dinnertime. We found that we enjoyed the sweet taste of lychee fruit and pomelo and tried unsuccessfully to avoid the pungent odor of durian. I discovered that my husband can carry a whole frosted birthday cake through a crowded subway station during rush hour, that two of our children are naturally gifted Chinese speakers, and that the other is unfazed by hiking trails populated with over 100 monkeys. Our family learned to hone skills we would never have known we needed or possessed.

That was 11 years and three countries ago! Matt and I have lived and served in Hong Kong, East Asia, and Thailand. We recently moved to the new WELS world mission field of Australia. Our family has grown by adding spouses and grandkids. It currently spans three continents—North America, Europe, and Australia. At times, this physical distance has caused intense grief and longing in this mama’s heart, but the Lord has met me in beautiful and profound ways through his people and his Word.

Family of teammates

Psalm 68:6 tells us that “God sets the lonely in families.” We learned that we have another family now. Our family on the mission field has included seasoned missionaries in Hong Kong; energetic, tenacious young teammates in East Asia; and a compassionate team in Thailand. We’ve never walked alone! This family has encouraged us when we felt defeated and prayed for us through our joys and struggles.

We’ve just returned from our Asia-Oceania Team annual retreat in Chiang Mai, Thailand, a family reunion where we could celebrate what God has accomplished in our corner of the world, including thousands of baptisms in 2024! The highlight of the conference for me was when we all communed together at the Lord’s Table. Matt and I teared up as the new team from Asia Lutheran Seminary, some of whom were Matt’s former students and are now professors themselves, made their entrance.

The apostle Paul told the Philippians that he longed for them with the affection of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:8) and often used familial language for his teammates in the mission field. I love that he included all those lists of people to greet at the end of his epistles and that he was not ashamed or embarrassed to tell them how much he needed their companionship. His circles included men and women, Greeks and Jews, the wealthy and the poor. He called Onesimus “my very heart” (Philemon 1:12) and Timothy “my true son in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2). Paul rightly calls his coworkers in the kingdom family. How could we think of them as anything less?

Expanding our family

What joins us to our family in the mission field is the same love and purpose that all Christians possess. We are united through Christ to share his love with the nations. Whatever your biological family looks like, if you are in Christ, you have others you are called to serve, and we need you to fill your role. If you are a woman, your church and lost neighbors need you to love them with your mama heart. If you are a man, we need you to showcase godly masculinity and be the dad, brother, or son so many have never had.

In Australia, we’ve had the joy of becoming a surrogate family for students from China, Taiwan, and Japan. We meet at the food court in a local mall once a week so they can practice English and socialize. Aussies love a good “sausage sizzle,” so we have them over to our townhouse to grill and play games, planting gospel seeds as we introduce them to American holidays and traditions. We want them to see the family of Christ in action. One student wrote us a heartfelt letter after she returned to Japan: “I do not have family here, but I never felt lonely because of your kindness and support.” We were able to tell her that the love she experienced is from her true Father in heaven through the work of his Son, Jesus.

Does all this family on the mission field completely remove our longing for our biological family? Of course not. The holidays are especially difficult, and the pandemic was brutal. We struggle to find ways to feel close to kids and grandkids far away. We continually ask our aging parents if our serving overseas still works for them, as we strive to honor and care for them. Their support and that of our siblings has been unwavering, giving us peace of mind and confidence to keep serving overseas.

All Christians experience the longing for perfect, continual fellowship with God and one another. When we remember that our Father’s house has many rooms and one day we will enjoy perfect fellowship, today’s heartaches become easier to bear. God help us to view all of our relationships in light of eternity!

Learn more about WELS mission work in Australia in the April 2025 edition of WELS Connection and this Together article.

Author: Christine Doebler
Volume 112, Number 04
Issue: April 2025

Meet our mates

Peter and Alanna Janke are that perfect mix of business and pleasure—the ideal teammates for our ministry in Australia. They are serious about sharing the gospel, teaching, and equipping believers while still being able to enjoy a good game and laugh at life’s absurdities. Their humor is quick and keen yet gentle and kind. Peter is a gifted linguist, educator, and strategist; he has that special quality of often being the smartest person in the room but humble enough to focus on others. Alanna is a kind and loyal friend, skilled at drawing people in with her conversational skills, and graced with genuine interest and compassion. Both Peter and Alanna come from families with gospel zeal in their DNA. Their two-year-old Marvin calls us Aunt Chrissy (which sometimes comes out like “Crazy,” but I’ll take it!) and Uncle Matt, melting our hearts. We’re eagerly anticipating Marvin and Jonas’ Australian accents!