The Ngs
Some weeks ago, I had the pleasure of visiting the Ng home in Los Altos, where I sat down with Bobby and Stephanie for a homemade latte and cinnamon toast. Bobby, Stephanie, Eddie and Tommy have been at Garden City for years, and I was excited to get to know them a bit better.
Stephanie was born in New York, New York to sturdy parents among a diverse community of culturally Roman Catholics. She grew up as an only child until her sister was born 11 years later; there was enough of an age gap that the two sisters enjoyed friendship, but Steph also took her sister to and from violin lessons and other appointments, enjoying a motherly role. When she was young, Stephanie’s parents moved the family to Garden City, Long Island, where her parents still live in the same house. Her aunt and uncle from Maryland were a significant influence, introducing her to the Christian faith during her summer visits. She graduated high school in Garden City with a class of 287 peers, and headed to Johns Hopkins University for a degree in Economics where she’d soon meet Bobby.
Meanwhile, Bobby was growing up all over the place. Born in Plano, Texas, he moved to New Zealand at age 5 for 6 months, back to Texas for a month, then Indonesia for 5 years, where he created most of his childhood memories, and got baptized in the fourth grade. The family moved from Indonesia to Malaysia, then China for some years, before returning to the US for 8th grade. Though he was born in the states, he didn’t know what it was like to live in America, so 8th grade was a bit of a culture shock! He finished high school in Houston (dad was in the oil industry), and went to college for mechanical engineering.
Bobby and Stephanie met during their freshman year, and after some months of dating, he brought her to church. She’d been longing for someone to invite her, and she quickly made her faith her own, excitedly plugging into the community and even attending on weeks Bobby didn’t. His faith was gradually taking root in his heart, with further strength coming with his involvement in Cornerstone church in Ohio, where he took a job for Honda after school. Stephanie and Bobby had dated for over three years, but she was not ready to move to Ohio, so she took a job back in NYC, where she thought she’d stay forever. But after three years of long-distance, they got married in Hawaii and settled in Ohio.
Bobby is comfortable with change, happy to find something fun in any place around the world, because he moved so much to so many diverse places as a kid. But Stephanie had only lived in two places, and found changes much more difficult. They spent a year building a house in Columbus just to sell it and move to the Bay, and since arriving a decade ago, they’ve occupied three different homes because of the expensive cost of living or other unforeseen changes. The frequent change was getting exhausting. Yet, in all their homes, they’ve managed to plant a garden and put down a bunch of literal roots, and they’re glad to look back and brag that God’s kept them here, despite what they thought wouldn’t be possible.
Their worship pastor in Columbus recommended Garden City church, and after visiting some local churches, no other community felt like home. Funnily - on their first Sunday visiting, Stephanie asked Justin how long he’d been coming to the church, because he was sitting in the pew behind them and she hadn’t checked the website yet to recognise the pastor!
Now, Bobby works for a local electric auto startup, putting batteries in semi trailers! Stephanie stopped working after Eddie was born, but she’s worked the important job of mom for 8 years since. She enjoys trying new recipes, and Bobby likes to tend to their extensive outdoor garden (complete with a whole family of chickens). Some of the plants in their yard were uprooted and moved from previous homes! In their vocations, their desires for community, their involvement with the church, and their stewarding of their family, the Ngs encourage us to plant deep roots in everything, because harvesting fruitfulness is a joy that sustains them even across tumultuous moves, and unforeseen changes.
