Here’s a bit of our family’s story and how we ended up in Thailand. To learn more about each member of the Thai 5, please click on their names. Thanks for reading!
Our family in traditional Northern Thai dress
Having been born into a Christian family and raised going to church, it’s really not much of a surprise that Nathan trusted in Christ as his Savior at an early age in life. In fact, he was about 4 years old at the time and it was shortly after his younger brother’s death. He had been asking his parents questions about life and death, Heaven and Hell, and they had shared the Gospel with him. To be honest, he doesn’t really remember the day he prayed with his mom to accept Christ. However, his parents assure him it’s a true story and, as someone once said, “You may not remember exactly when you were born, but it’s enough to know that you’re alive.”
During his growing up years in Nebraska, his family (parents, a younger brother and younger sister), church camp, Sunday School, and youth group played a big role in his spiritual nourishment. He was far from the perfect kid, but is thankful for the many godly influences in his life. One of the greatest came through his youth pastor and youth group during middle school and high school. It was at that time that God really got a hold of his life and, completely by His grace, called Nathan to serve Him.
In July 1997, the summer between finishing high school and beginning college, Nathan went to Constanţa, Romania with a short term mission team. This was his first time to travel outside the USA–not to mention his first ever flight on an airplane!–and he recalls feeling a mixture of excitement and fear. Over the next two weeks, his life was radically changed. God used that experience and the people he met to expand his idea of ministry and open his heart and mind to the idea of serving Him overseas. Following his return home, he left for Grace Bible College (GBC) in Grand Rapids, Michigan, having enrolled several months prior with the intention to study a degree in youth ministry, but now open to wherever God would lead. Before leaving for college, he distinctly remembers praying something like, “God, I’m sure what I’ll end up doing, but I just want to serve You!” In turn, God gave Nathan His indescribable peace.
At GBC, Nathan met a girl named Jessica Heath. She had grown up as the daughter of a pastor and consequently her family (parents, an older sister, older brother, and younger sister) had moved several times within the US, including homes in Washington, North Carolina, Florida, and again in Washington. When Jessica was about 5 or 6 years old her older sister led Jessica in trusting in Christ as her Savior. She too grew up with many godly influences and, from an early age, desired to serve God with her life. For example, when Jessica was just 8 years old, she went on a trip to Brazil with her father. During her time there, Jessica recalls telling her dad, “I think I could be a missionary here!” After graduating from high school a year early, Jessica began attending Grace Bible College with the desire to study the bible and meet someone also interested in ministry. It was during her and Nathan’s first semester as freshmen that they met and, at first, formed a friendship. However, sometime during the Spring of their first year, their friendship grew into a relationship and they both began thinking about marriage.
After completing 2 years of school, Jessica graduated with an Associates Degree and, just two weeks later, in May of 1999, she and Nathan were married. Initially, they planned to leave for the mission field after Nathan’s graduation. But, before that happened they began to see the need for pastors in the US and wondered if they should consider serving in a church. Then, in February of 2002 their son, Matthias was born. Of course, he added a dynamic and wonderful dimension to their life. About this same time, Jessica was let go from her job due to company setbacks and Nathan was just a few months from finishing his classes at GBC. Over the course of several months, God lead them to Faith Bible Church (FBC) in Olney, Illinois where Nathan began serving as pastor in Spring of 2002. This church, filled with patient and understanding people, served as the perfect place for the Killions to get their feet wet in ministry. Over the course of the next 5+ years, they learned a lot about ministry, family, and the balance of the two. It was during this time that their daughters Abigail (2004) and Chloe (2006) were born, as well.
As Nathan and Jessica served at FBC, God used various people and opportunities to draw their hearts towards becoming missionaries. For example, in both 2004 and 2006, Nathan took trips to the Philippines to speak at youth conferences. Then, in January 2007, Ben Anderson, the Director of Things to Come Mission, invited Nathan and Jessica to be part of the upcoming Africa Safari to Kenya, scheduled to take place that June. At first, the reality of three small children at home–the youngest not even a year old–and the necessary funds for the trip were viewed as obstacles to going. However, they decided to pray about it and in a very short time, God provided exactly what they needed. So, in June of that year, Nathan and Jessica joined a team of 11 others and spent 2 weeks in Kenya taking part in a wide variety of ministries and activities. During that time, they prayed and talked with one another and the Andersons about becoming missionaries, asking every question on their minds from, “How do you raise kids overseas?” to “What about those huge bugs?” By the end of the trip, they knew for certain that God was calling them to full-time mission work.
About 6 weeks before going to Kenya, the Killion family had met Genesis and Verna Maraat along with their two children, Andrea and Josiah. Having served in Kenya for the past 15 years, the Maraats were now in the US and preparing to leave for Thailand. As they shared with Jessica about their desire for another family to join them in Thailand, Genesis excitedly said, “We’ve been praying for co-missionaries and now God has provided that family! The Killions!” Although he was partially joking, Genesis also said that to challenge us the Killions to consider going to Thailand, a country they knew very little about at that time. And so, as Nathan and Jessica spent the next several weeks preparing for Kenya and during their time there, Thailand was heavy on their hearts. And so, the call to become missionaries came together with the call to Thailand.
They returned to the US and remained at FBC in Olney until the end of 2007. Then, in January 2008, they began deputation by traveling from church to church to share their vision for ministry. A little over 11 months later on December 9, 2008, their family arrived in Chiang Mai, Thailand. And now, over 3 years later, the adventure continues! God is good!
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