Leaving Home - Home is Wherever I'm With YOU

In 2008, the Gaede Family left ‘home’ to go to Uganda.

I had a private practice, and I was a full-time mom, I was involved in ministry. But we sold everything and followed Him. I had such clarity knowing that we were going to Uganda. I knew that God was going to be meeting me in new and exciting ways, because He already was. 

The family finally settled in Kampala Uganda where they lived seven and a half years.

We moved from place to place and were living out of suitcases while we were trying to find a house in Gulu.  Life looked different than I thought it would.  I thought that I would find community right away, but I really struggled to have deep friendships. It just kind of felt like there was this disconnect. It was hard; I did not feel at home. 

Then, the organization that we were working with asked Carl to spend half of his time in Kampala. We moved again and settled into life in Kampala, and I came to the clear realization that home is less about location and more about community.

“[…] home is less about location and more about community.”

The community we found there celebrated holidays together, and did those things that you look to your family for.

They became family. We had an incredible community in Uganda, and they felt like home to us.

When we felt God calling us to leave this new home, I experienced a lot of grief over losing that community - our Ugandan friends, our Ugandan life, our house - leaving it to go to Iraq seemed unknown and scary.

Among the many blessings God brought, He also grew their family during the eight year season in Uganda.

There's something about God's grace. More than community, home is God. He is home. I really believe that. I can get emotional thinking about it, because of how we were able to feel at home any place that He's called us, it's because He's been there. He's our home, and I think that He gives us grace to be in that place. 

I was awake in the night journaling and He brought me scriptures saying that He was going before us. That He was with us, and that He would never leave us or forsake us.

In 2016 the Gaede family responded to God’s call and left home in Uganda, making their move to Kurdistan, Iraq.

So, by the time we moved, I was excited because I knew the Lord wanted us there. Again, there was this mixture of sadness and grief and excitement and anticipation. 

You know, Iraq is a pretty harsh place to live. We went a lot without heat and without power, and there are a lot of challenges. When you think about going to live somewhere, Iraq wouldn't necessarily be on somebody's top 10 list, but we had this grace that allowed us to fall in love with it and all of its harshness.

“[…] we were able to feel at home any place that He's called us, it's because He's been there. He's our home […]”

Home felt like it was supposed to be in Iraq. When we had to evacuate, we were uprooted and forced out with just a few belongings. It was awful not being able to say goodbye to the people that we loved or having closure. We thought we would be able to go back after a short time away but that wasn’t the case.  That experience gave us just a small taste of what the people we serve must experience, but nowhere near the magnitude. We had access to so much more than they do, and we were able to leave a country in turmoil to go to guaranteed safety. Most people that are forced to leave home aren’t going to a place that is safe or comfortable.

Being able to experience God’s faithfulness over and over and over again was so helpful to me.  He is faithful to His word and we don't have to fear.  Now, we’re back in Wisconsin.  I know that this is where God wants us right now, and so that feels peaceable to me. It feels like home, too.  I have my family, we're in a place where people want us, and we have community - that feels really good.

Now, I have community spread across the globe, I love that I get to have relationships with people around the world and that I can relate to people of varying cultures. But I have longing for those other parts of the world as well, I miss all of that. They all feel just as much like home to me. 

It’s almost like God has grown our home rather than taking homes away. He’s expanded our communities and sense of belonging, which is part of what home is. In trusting Him, His grace has expanded our ideas of home.

If the Lord calls us to another country sometime, I just want to be ready to move when He wants me to move. I have loved the privilege of being where He's called me. It's the best place on earth to live. 

Hands down, I would do it all again. He has supplied all our needs, and He has blessed us in more ways than you can imagine.

Even though the conditions can be harsh, or the situation might not be ideal, there is something about being in God’s presence, listening, following, and living out His will. That is the only place I want to be. He is my home.

Read the extended interview with Julie to hear more, HERE.