“When you get free from certain fixed concepts of the way the world is, you’ll find it is far more subtle, and far more miraculous, than you thought it was”
Alan Watts
A few years ago, we took some time to talk and focus on what we want our life to look like with our children. Fast-forward 8-9 years we feel like we have done really well with our initial goal. Given our homeschooling and remote work lifestyle, we’ve realized that our dreams have evolved over the years. We revisited the discussion and today we’ve come to understand that travel is much more than just scenic views and enjoyable family trips; it’s primarily about building strong relationships and all the continuous learning that happens.
Our adventures started with week-long trips, which quickly turned into these epic 2-3 week escapades. And now, as we gear up for our longest, craziest adventure yet, it seems like people are scratching their heads and asking, “Why? How?” So, we thought we’d put together this little yarn to explain our madness. Who knows, it might even inspire a few fellow dreamers too.
Homeschool
In the past year, we’ve really understood our kids’ unique learning styles. Our daughter is a hands-on learner (kinesthetic), while our son is both a listener and a doer (auditory and kinesthetic). If you’re familiar with kinesthetic learning, you know that it can be a challenge to create a curriculum that excites them and helps them remember what they’ve learned, especially when so much of traditional education relies on lectures.
Learning science and history is great, but nothing beats the thrill of exploring battlefields, visiting a prisoner of war jail, uncovering mammoth fossils, or trekking a part of the Appalachian trail. These hands-on experiences took our homeschooling to a whole new level.
What’s fantastic about homeschooling is that it lets us craft the learning experience to suit our kids perfectly. We can infuse it with our own values, like bringing Christ into the curriculum or emphasizing the importance of empathy. We get to ask those thought-provoking questions that make our kids think critically, helping them connect what they’re learning to cultures, relationships, and their place in the world. It’s truly rewarding to be part of our children’s educational journey, helping them discover more about themselves, fostering empathy for others, and passing on a sense of their significance in today’s world.
Remote Work
Navigating and evolving in our remote work setup has been an adventure in itself. While Sean has been able to do remote work on and off throughout his career, it has only been the last year or so that he’s been full-time remote collaborating with a team around the country. This paves the way for our upcoming extended trips but also demands a substantial amount of planning and sacrifice.
We’ve had to determine the optimal travel days, decide on the ideal length of stays in various places, and ensure we have a stable internet connection to handle all the calls and data uploads to the cloud – all genuine challenges. We’ve conducted numerous trial runs and achieved some success in identifying what works well and what…maybe not so much. Starlink has definitely opened the doors (as long as you have a large, clear sight of the sky!) and redundancy through cellular, tools like peplink, and excellent resources like Mobile Must Have have been instrumental in keeping us stable.
Flexibility is the name of the game for our family, especially when we find ourselves confined indoors during a rainstorm, and Dad’s in the midst of an important call, prompting the often repetitive “Quiet, please!” 🙂
We’re fully aware that not everyone, or even most people, have the opportunity to combine work and homeschooling with extensive family exploration on the road, all while keeping the lights on. We are perpetually grateful for the unique privilege we enjoy, and we regularly remind ourselves to seize this opportunity and make the most of it.
Teaching Goals
Our recent trip to Toronto was an eye-opener for our kids. In our small city, owning a car is the norm, and public transportation isn’t a big thing. In contrast, Toronto showed them a different culture where biking, walking to work, and using efficient public transport were the standard. Experiencing this firsthand changed their perspectives and made them realize that the world isn’t all like home. Videos can teach you about culture, but experiencing it is transformational.
But you see, it’s not just about culture, understanding, acceptance, love, and the value of relationships. It’s about what happens when we learn and experience these things in unfamiliar and sometimes uncomfortable places. It’s like a crash course in becoming wiser, stronger, and more confident in who we are and what we stand for.
We aim to instill in our kids the importance of knowing, understanding, accepting, and embracing the concept of sacrifice. We want them to explore the Bible and the progression from having no specific laws to the Law of Moses and ultimately to the teachings of Jesus, helping them understand why Jesus’s teachings are so significant. We believe in teaching them that sacrifice goes beyond giving up simple pleasures like TV, screens, or indulgent food. It’s about recognizing the deeper and more meaningful ways in which we can give up our own desires for a greater purpose.
Life Goals
You know, life isn’t about a strict set of right or wrong ways to live. It’s a bit of a myth we sometimes use to cover up our own slip-ups, overconfidence, and self-centered moments. While the Bible may not provide a step-by-step manual for every second of our lives, it does offer us the teachings of Jesus to help us navigate what is right and wrong. The choice to accept or reject these truths ultimately falls on us.
When you start diving into these teachings, it does spark conversations, raise questions, and sometimes leave you feeling unsure and uncomfortable. But that’s all part of the journey. We should always strive to be a bit uncomfortable and committed to learning and sharing Jesus’s love and sacrifice with others. Making people feel cherished, even in small ways, is a great place to start. It involves praying over our relationships and interactions, as well as seeking out chances to connect with those who might not yet know Christ. Sometimes, it’s about addressing their tough questions or simply showing them a look of understanding and care.
Another important goal is to never get too comfortable with the status quo. I believe we should continually take extra steps, even if it means stepping out of your comfort zone to form meaningful relationships or help someone discover Christ. It’s all about recognizing these moments, slowing down to seize them, and making a positive impact.
Through our homeschooling experience, I’ve come to realize that, just like our ever-curious kids who are constantly learning and growing, we adults should stay in that mindset too. This involves putting in the effort to learn new things, whether it’s helping our kids with math, addressing and improving our own flaws, or deepening our relationship with Christ. It’s also about looking at others through the lens of Christ’s love, standing up against injustice, and keeping Jesus at the center of everything. When you allow Jesus to lead the way, whether in the simple, comfortable moments, or the more challenging times, you can trust that it will all work out for the best. Learning to let go of control and let our Creator take the reins has been an incredibly rewarding journey.
Maintaining Community
One of the major hurdles we’ve been tackling is the bittersweet challenge of leaving our beloved Home behind. Home, where our family, church, and friends reside; a place that embodies the life we’ve always known. While we strive to take a piece of Home with us on the road through audio and video calls and virtual church services, there’s a certain unease about the relationships we’ve built. It’s not always easy, sometimes we all just miss seeing the people we love!
But we’re learning to embrace the fact that we’re continually forming new connections on the road, whether they’re short or long-term. And the knowledge that we’ll always return to our home base provides comfort. What truly drives us to keep chasing adventure is the understanding that these opportunities won’t last forever. The kids are growing up, health can be unpredictable, jobs evolve, and so do our goals or how we go about pursuing them. It’s a dynamic journey, and we’re determined to make the most of it while we can.
The Ultimate Goal
Obviously, the ultimate goal is to make the most of this life as we look forward to a future in Heaven. For those who dare, it could even be drawing as close to Christ as possible, forming a relationship as intimate as He intended it to be from the very beginning.
When I think about living like that, living with the constant devotion to praising God and living for His glory, it is intimidating and it is so life changing. It is such a marked difference, to not put importance on material (or comfortable) things and to lead a life sacrifice for Him to show others what it is like to love Him deeply. Where we get asked how it is possible to live with such hope, where we can get so much joy and express it confidently. Because if we aren’t living this way, honestly, what is our purpose here?
Goals and Travel
Now, let’s piece this all together. If our learning is never-ending, a journey to continually deepen our connection with Christ, His people, His creation, and to become more like Him – it’s high time we evaluate our present priorities and where we stand in life.
Since we’re all meant to be Christ’s disciples, it’s crucial to truly understand our identity. When those tough questions come our way, and they undoubtedly will, we should be prepared to answer with unwavering confidence. It’s about being open to expanding our horizons, stepping out of our comfort zones, embracing others with understanding and acceptance, while also having the courage to say, “I respectfully disagree” or “I hold a different belief” and engaging in truth and love, sharing good news. Not in judgement or shame but in love. We must learn to love others just as our Creator loves us, realizing that we could be the ones to introduce the Holy Spirit and the promise of salvation!
But how can we gain this hands-on knowledge of different cultures and their customs? We want to achieve this by traveling, engaging with people who are different from us, and instilling values of acceptance and love in our children. When we involve them in these real-life experiences, and Christ is the centerpiece of our journeys, as we pray for encounters that enable us to make a positive impact, the result is an electrifying and profoundly fulfilling experience. Can you envision the possibilities? It’s not merely exciting; it’s remarkably rewarding.
Is this the only way? Of course not! It’s just a glimpse into where we are at and what we hope to work toward. Every person is presented with different opportunities and paths. With our current situation, how could we not embrace that? With all that said, perhaps we’ll see you on the road!
But God doesn’t call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations we would be in trouble if He doesn’t come through.
Francis Chan