This year I was invited to speak at the Annual CSC Banquet. Below is not a transcript of what I shared, but rather the notes I'd written down in preparation for my talk. It's a reflection on what the Lord has done, what He is doing, and what He will do in the future!
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field (Matthew 13:44).
Hello and good evening! For those who don’t know me, my name is Roberto Atienza, and it is an absolute blessing and honor to be able to address you all at tonight’s banquet. As you may have guessed, I was born in the Philippines. Taal, Batangas, Philippines to be exact, on the island of Luzon, in the second floor of our family’s ancestral home (on my mother’s side) as was common in that day (the hospital was a day’s journey away). I immigrated with my family to America at a young age, and my experience was very similar to that of other 3rd Culture individuals (a 3rd culture person is someone who was raised in a culture or country other than that of their parents or their country of origin). The older I got, the less I fit in with my friends and family in the Philippines, and yet the older I got, the less I found I had in common with my American friends as well.
I’m married and have four kids (we’ll have been married 17 years this coming August). My lovely wife Heather was born in NE Montana in a small, rural Mennonite farming community inside of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation (up there on “Highway 2” for those familiar with the area). If that sounds rural, well, it is 😊. In fact, a recent study published by the Washington Post that aimed at finding “the middle of nowhere”—that is, the place in America furthest from, well, anything—found that her father’s farm is right in the middle of the top three “middle of nowhere towns” in the US. From an outsider’s perspective, I can tell you that her Mennonite heritage is rich with tradition, tasty foods, and a joyfully unique humor not too dissimilar from the “Midwestern sarcasm” that I’ve come to know and love here in Minnesota.
Our kids are distinctly 3rd culture, and hapa. Their names are Dietrich, Tessiana, Juana, and Bastiaan, and the term hapa is a term of endearment that we call our kids and our family; a Hawaiian word that refers to someone who is of mixed-blood or mixed-culture, where one part of the mixture is typically Asian or Pacific-Islander. Our kids were not born, nor were they raised, in the Philippines or in a Mennonite farming community.
Having been born in the Philippines, I have always had a heart for my kababayan (my countrymen). Being a 3rd culture individual, and a father to hapa kids, I’ve always had a heart for misfits; for those forgotten, unseen, and neglected. Since coming to faith in Christ, this heart and God-given desire has played itself out in the ministries that the Lord has called me to. For the past 14 years I’ve served at the Filipino American Christian Church; first as its Worship and Youth pastor, and then as its Lead Pastor. Even while serving as the Lead Pastor, I’ve had a heart and burden for helping out with our Wednesday night kids and youth ministries, working with the children of newly arrived refugees, as well as the 3rd culture Filipino kids that attend our church.
I first came to know of CSC through the families of adopted kids who attended our church; friends who I am blessed and better for having known. I’ve served on CSC’s Board of Directors for the past few years, and now, by God’s grace, I’ve been called to serve as its next Field Director.
Heather, the kids, and I feel so fortunate; we are so excited and overjoyed to be able to live out our calling in this way. To share the love of Christ—to live out His Gospel message—among my kababayan, and among kids who would not otherwise know such love, is our God-given call.
I have to tell you (and truly, I am without words to express) the tremendous and deep gratitude, humility, responsibility, and honor I feel to be called by God to serve in this capacity.
Being a pastor, I think I’ll try to convey these indescribable feelings with an illustration 😊. It was either that or a half hour, 3-point sermon., so consider yourselves fortunate.
It’s not one of my illustration; it’s actually a parable that Jesus teaches in Matthew 13. Jesus says that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a “treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Matthew 13:44). Paul and Marlys found that treasure in the field; they have a vibrant relationship with Christ which is demonstrated in how they care for and love the children of Cebu. They value Christ as precious and price-less, and they love the children in Cebu because these kids are made in God’s image; children who are all too often not seen as precious or price-less. Children who are not given any regard by the world (certainly not by the world around them). But, children who are need of forever families that can nurture them and usher them into their spiritual family as adopted sons and daughters of the Living God.
I feel as though I’ve been given a most precious treasure. Paul and Marlys, the Board, and all of you have entrusted me with the task of caring for and nurturing something so precious—the legacy of caring for and loving children who would otherwise go unloved—and carrying this legacy into the future. It is an honor and a blessing to spend as many years as the Lord will allow to continue what Paul and Marlys have started; until the inheritance of our treasure in Christ comes to its full fruition, when we are joined together in the presence of Our God in Eternity.
Prayer Request
We are continuing to pray for discernment when it comes to what we should do with our home. We have met with realtors and we have met with property managers, both of which provide great reasons to either sell or rent out home. Pray that the Lord would lead us to the right decision.
The kids are also praying that they can determine which of their things they'd like to pack into two balikbayan boxes (shipping boxes used by Filipino cargo/shipping companies). We told them their favorite items should go into two boxes that we will carry with us on the airplane. Whatever is remaining will either be shipped separately, given away, or sold. Pray that the transition continues to be smooth, and that Heather and I can model good principles in what to keep and what to get rid of.
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