My husband Bill and I live in Larnaca, Cyprus, where Bill is pastor of the Trinity Christian Community Fellowship (TCCF) congregation of the Reformed Presbyterian Church. We moved here from Japan, where we had lived for over 23 years. We went to Japan on Jan. 1, 1974, in response to a mission call by the RPCNA Foreign Mission Board.

Evniki, our first daughter, was born in June 1974. Yvonne was born in 1975 and Christina in 1979. In 1992, the family accompanied Evniki to the U.S. to start college. We returned to Japan a few weeks later without her. This was my first experience of being separated from my children by thousands of miles. Christina and I cried all the way back to Japan. I did not know when we would next see Evniki and I was miserable. I prayed for peace. The Lord rebuked me for “mourning” a child who was healthy and continuing to grow in Him. I learned to be thankful to Him for her new experiences and to trust Him for her well-being. There were times when the loneliness for her, and in later years for Yvonne and Christina, overwhelmed me, but the Lord graciously reminded me repeatedly that they were in His perfect care where they belonged.

In 1997, we moved to Cyprus to help with TCCF. Cyprus, like Japan, is a modern country with many Western conveniences. Living here does not pose a hardship apart from living so far away from our children and, now, our precious grandson, William. When some well-meaning people tell me that they love their children or grandchildren too much to be separated from them and they can’t understand how I could live so far away from mine, my heart aches and I feel guilty. The Lord gently reminds me that He has placed me here for a purpose and that He is always watching over my family. He assures me that He is providing for them and keeping perfect watch over them. All He asks of me is to be obedient to Him (Luke 18:29-30).

When we moved from Japan to Cyprus, we left Christina at Geneva College in the U.S. I was truly experiencing the empty-nest syndrome. It took me some time to begin to bloom in Larnaca, Cyprus, where the Lord transplanted me. I asked the Lord to give me something special to do to show me that He wanted me in Cyprus for a particular purpose, and to help make my being so far way from all of our children easier.

In the summer of 1999 after two years in Cyprus, we traveled to the U.S. to visit our family. A few days after our return to Cyprus, something extraordinary happened. I felt a great urgency to visit the American Academy (AA) but did not know why. I sensed that God was commanding me to go, and I asked the Lord to show me what to do once I reached the AA.

In the director’s office I saw three Japanese boys. The secretary told me that they needed a translator, and that she had been trying to phone me as I arrived. I introduced myself to Eiko, the mother. I was thrilled to speak to her in Japanese. Eiko was from Tokyo. Her husband’s business was in Romania, but schools and housing were very expensive; so she came to Cyprus to check out international schools. They had been in Larnaca for two weeks and kept delaying going to schools. Eiko told me that her mother, who had become a Christian before she died, had come into her dream and told her to go to the AA the next day—the day we met. I told Eiko that God led me to her and kept her from going sooner because I could not have been there sooner to help her. I felt that the Lord was telling me to meet this family’s needs. I was left with a sense of anticipation to see what He had in store for them and how He wanted to use me in their lives.

We invited Eiko and her boys to our house for a meal. Eiko started attending the women’s Bible study in our home. Later we started weekly Bible studies in Japanese and English with her and her sons. The Lord worked in their lives and brought them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Eiko had many obstacles to overcome, but, by the grace of God, she was victorious and continues to rejoice in her salvation.

She and her boys returned to Romania after three years to be reunited as a family. Eiko is growing by leaps and bounds. She has opened her heart and home to many from different nations. The Lord has used her tremendously in leading others to Him, and they in turn take the gospel home with them to their countries. In heeding the Lord’s prompting to minister to Eiko, I feel that we are reaching others through her. The seed planted in her is spreading and multiplying worldwide, fulfilling Christ’s mandate for evangelism.

Since Eiko left Cyprus, the Lord has brought other people into my life. When I help them, the Lord is glorified and, in return, He fills me with His peace and joy. When I allow myself to be overwhelmed with loneliness for my children and grandson or to focus on problems, I become restless and sad, playing into Satan’s hands because he keeps me from fulfilling what the Lord purposes for me to do.

I believe that daily time in the Word, fellowship with God, and meaningful relationships with His people are as vital for a healthy Christian as are exercise, good diet, and regular rest. The Lord has shown me that when I keep my priorities right before Him and trust Him, He fulfills all my needs and blesses me with His peace and joy.

I praise Him for His many blessings to my family and me and for keeping us close to Him and to each other despite the ocean that separates us. He has taught me the importance of blooming obediently where He plants me!

—Kalli Sterrett

Kalli Sterrett is a veteran RP missionary of Japan and Cyprus. The Women’s Missionary Fellowship feature appears quarterly in the Witness.