Hey Emergo, I'm a 26 year old engineer in Houston, so I can kind of see where you're coming from. As much as the commute sucks, it's probably financially better than moving close to work (due to your really low rent at home). It sounds like you've got a good grasp of English, but maybe not an "advanced" grasp required to talk about all of this financial stuff at the moment.
Since you don't know exactly what you're doing yet, I'd recommend boosting up your 401k to about 10% of your pay (someone at HR should be able to help) and put it in one of the funds someone above recommended. In the meantime, read up on what an Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, and 401k are and how they work. Google is your friend! Once you've read up more you can come back here with more detailed questions and get some helpful advice. I like 20somethingfinance.com and getrichslowly.org for info on stuff like that.
The basic rule for retiring is that whatever you have invested you can withdraw 4% per year without the investment decreasing (the gains in the investment offset what you're taking out). That means you can take your yearly expenses and multiply them by 25 to find out what you need invested to live off your investments.
If you live off $20,000/year, you need $20,000*25= $500,000 invested to "retire." If you live off $30,000 you need $750,000. If it's you and a family, and you're taking care of a parent or family member, and donating to a church, you're probably going to be spending over $40,000/year ($1,000,000 needs to be invested)
From the sounds of it, you want to retire early, but also want to help out family and your church. While that is admirable, those goals are working against each other for the most part. For example, that $440/month you tithe adds up over time. If you invested that money every month for 10 years you'd have $76,000 (assuming 7% interest). That's enough to buy your dad a house. If you invested it every month for 20 years you'd have $230,000. If you invested it every month for 40 years you'd have over $1,000,000.
http://www.moneychimp.com/calculator/compound_interest_calculator.htm is what I used for the calculation.
As for buying your dad a house, I know it's a cultural difference. My girlfriend is Chinese and there is a bit of an expectation that the kids take care of the old parents. There are all sorts of arguments as to whether that is beneficial overall, but it is what it is. You have the unfortunate position of being in the "bridge" generation where you're considered responsible for your dad's retirement, but will also be responsible for your own. I recommend having a talk with your dad about what he expects, and before making any promises run all of the numbers and see what's doable/worth it to you.
Caring for your aging parent and supporting the church will move back your retirement date significantly. If you get married and have kids, your future spouse will have a large impact as well. If she's the type who likes big houses, fancy clothes, and nice cars, you'll probably be working until you're in your 60's. If she's frugal and your dad doesn't have any large expenses (which he very well might), you can probably quit in your 40's.
Also, don't discount things like restaurants as not being a big deal financially. Small expenses add up over time.
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/04/15/getting-started-3-eliminate-short-termitis-the-bankruptcy-disease/