Midi and Nathan Update

In case you are looking for information regarding services for Midi and Nathan, a web site has been set up for them at www.folcov.org/mikasas/

Our Church is deeply grieving the loss of our dear friends. Midi and Nathan were key members of our new, young Church. Our service on Sunday was dedicated to their honor and to understanding God's presence in all of this. I was asked to give a short tribute to Midi. Here is more or less what I shared:

"Good Morning. Thank you for the opportunity to share a few thoughts about my friend Midi. I’m honored to do this yet at the same time I’m overwhelmed and intimidated, knowing that there is no way I can do justice to all I feel, appreciate, love, remember and respect about my dear sweet friend. I loved Midi deeply and I miss her terribly already.

As I thought about what to say this morning I kept thinking of a quote I once heard that says, “the worth and excellence of a soul is to be measured by the object of it’s affection.” I want to declare today that Midi was truly an excellent human being because the objects of her love were people and God.

I feel so privileged to have been an object of Midi’s love and affection for the past 15 years. We met while we were students at UCLA and traveled through many stages of life together. We went on a summer mission together as students and that is where we really first bonded. Midi, Andrea, Fina and I shared a tiny room. I have no idea what color the carpet was because we could not see one square inch of it between our sleeping bags, pillows, and stuff. We slept in that little room for six weeks and the four of us became VERY close!! I have so many cherished memories of that summer. Since then, we navigated the transition from college to the working world, singleness, dating, we were bridesmaids in each others weddings, we began raising our kids together and finally this last year- our families came Church together. Partnering with the Mikasas here at Fountain of Life was a big draw for Andre and I when we decided to pack up and move here to Long Beach from Pasadena. Through all of these stages of life, Midi loved me with a genuine, deep, freeing type of love. She drew me out. If I was ever struggling at all, if I saw Midi and she even just asked how I was I would start to cry and pour my heart out to her. She was the type of friend you could do that with. So very deeply caring. I particularly remember a stage in my life when I was still single and I very much wanted to get married. It seemed all of my close friends were dating or married and I was in a lonely place. When I would talk to Midi about it I always felt so deeply understood, comforted, and loved. Even though she was married at the time, she had room in her heart to welcome me in deeply and empathize with me. I’ve always thought of Midi’s friendship like cozying up with a warm blanket. She made me feel safe, known, and loved. Midi’s love for everyone she knew was so evident. I can just picture her now talking with someone after Church, genuinely engaged in getting to know someone new. Even if you only ever had one conversation with Midi, you know that she had a unique gift to make people feel cared for and loved immediately. Midi’s love for her family was also evident and clear to each of us. She loved being a mother of boys who adored her as a princess and a wife to an amazing man whose devoted love first swept her off her feet 8 years ago. She had the utmost respect and love for her dear and devoted parents and was a strong, stable presence in both the Kim and Mikasa families.

But the greatest object of Midi’s affection, and the one that truly made her great was God himself. I’ve always had a deep respect for Midi’s intimate love for God. While in college I watched Midi struggle to shake off some of her past to really fall in love with and trust God with her whole life. Midi’s heart for God was big and she always wanted to know him more deeply. Even with two small boys and a very full life, Midi was always wanting to be closer to God. I remember her recently sharing with me her frustrations at not being able to find the time to be in prayer more but she was so grateful for the fundamental hope and peace she experienced in God whether or not she had had time that day to sit down and pray. She wanted that for her friends and coworkers who did not know God. Her relationship with God is what made her who she is. Her compassion for people is God’s compassion. These last few months my husband, Andre, our son, Isaac and I have had the privilege of joining the Mikasas’ life group. It was like a dream come true for me to get to be in a small group Bible Study with Midi again all these years later. What I did not expect was how much I would be impressed with Midi’s leadership all over again. Midi and Mark welcomed us into their home so hospitably each week. I was also so impressed with how Midi led the Bible studies. She had such a deep understanding and true appreciation for the word that was evident in how she gently led us. Her awe and wonder of God’s character influenced me greatly. And when I prayed with Midi, her heart was always so tender and genuine towards God. You really sensed her love for God and her desire for His involvement in her life.

When asked what the greatest of the commands were, Jesus answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: love your neighbor as yourself.” Midi fulfilled these commands. She showed us how to live and I know that she is welcomed into the kingdom of God. Jesus has said to her, “well done good and faithful servant.” I truly believe that she and Nathan are experiencing an amazing peace and a joy that we have only ever tasted. We will miss Midi and Nathan deeply and we have a tough road ahead as we struggle through our questions and grief and adjust to life without them. We grieve with Mark and Lucas and their families. To Mark and Lucas and to the Kim and Mikasa families, I just want to say on behalf of Fountain of Life that we really deeply love you and that we are in this with you. We are committed to you not just for these next few weeks and months of shock, details, and mourning, but we are committed to loving you for your lifetimes- to your struggles with God, your adjusting to life without Midi and Nathan, to raising Lucas. Please know that our hearts ache with and for you and we are not going anywhere. We love you and are crying out to God without ceasing on your behalf."