Originally from Asia, Ethan* has been living overseas with his wife and four kids for the past seven years as he completes his PhD. It has been a difficult journey at times, but he’s grateful for the opportunity — and looking forward to seeing where the Lord takes him.
Challenges and Adaptation
To say Ethan has dealt with his fair share of challenges wouldn’t be stretching the truth. After moving to the States originally, and then to Canada, Ethan and his wife welcomed four children within the space of four years (no sets of twins!). At one point, they were living in a one-bedroom apartment while Ethan was studying. If the kids were in the living room, he would shut himself in the bedroom to work. When the kids were taking a nap, he relocated to the living room.
Since arriving in Toronto in 2019, the family has moved into a bigger apartment, and Ethan has been working on his Old Testament doctoral studies. The focus of his work is the concept of wisdom within the minor prophets.
Diving Deep into Old Testament Wisdom
“My first intent was to study the relationship between wisdom and prophecy, because I found there is some proverb-like language in the prophetic books, for example, the final phrase in Hosea,” Ethan explains. “So I wanted to know why this wisdom language is in the prophetic book — I wanted to know the relationship. I found that’s a huge topic and I needed to narrow it down. So I narrowed down to why wisdom is in the minor prophets.”
Ethan’s unique position of growing up as a Christian in his country of origin opens up some wonderful opportunities. He is hoping to utilise his experience for furthering the gospel in his homeland.
“Our churches need resources of truth,” Ethan shares. “In rural areas in my country, churches don’t even have a pastor. Or if they have a pastor, the pastor maybe didn’t have theological training. They don’t know how to do expository preaching, and they don’t know how to interpret an application, or do appropriate application of the biblical texts. So I think they need more resources to equip them. That’s the most important thing, an urgent thing to do.”
Bridging the Gap
Over the past few years, Ethan has discovered that his real gifting lies in writing more than speaking. Rather than becoming a professor teaching in a theological college, or even being a pastor in a local church, Ethan is praying over how he can use his writing skills. He envisions himself being used like a bridge.
“Between seminaries and churches, I try to connect,” he explains. “If I’m able, I can connect with different seminaries and different churches and work together, maybe through a network, establishing a platform for everyone to work together and to have more impact on society, and also to get the resources to the most-needed places.”
Looking Ahead
Another dream of Ethan’s would be to see local scholars writing commentaries in his language that reflect the context they live in. Many of the resources available currently have been translated from English, and while they are not unuseful, Ethan believes it would have a greater impact if resources were written in the original language by local people.
Ethan expects to complete his dissertation in the next few months. He would value your prayers as he and his wife begin making plans to return to their home country to begin full-time ministry there. In particular, please pray for their kids as they make the transition across cultures.
*Name has been changed for security purposes.
Written by Ngaire Buckley, Langham Partnership Australia