Text Box: DISCUSSIONS FOR GROWTH AT HANMEE CHURCH OF CHRIST This month we held a business meeting in which our primary agenda was advertising.  Meeting as we do on the 7th floor of an office building provides adequate space for our current size of about 20 members, but keeps us hidden from the community.  Our desire is not to be secluded, but known in the neighborhood.  Professional signs placed in the windows or on the street level of our building would be far too expensive.  So we thought about the possibility of a less expensive, but still visible sign, and an upcoming advertising day where our members will assemble at the building for a Saturday breakfast, followed by a few hours of passing out flyers on the street. Our last potluck reminded us that we all especially enjoy our fellowship and food time together.   Unlike a previous month when I forgot that the first Sunday of each month is potluck day, this time I remembered to bring food.   For over an hour I (painfully) peeled potatoes and then combined my efforts with enough butter, salt and milk to make some delicious mashed potatoes.   All the Koreans seemed to enjoy this American treat, and I left the experience much more appreciative of my wife and mother whose cooking skills always make a hard job look so easy.  VISIT BY FREED-HARDEMAN PRESIDENT ON KCU¡¯S BIRTHDAY One of the highlights of this spring semester was the visit of Freed-Hardeman University¡¯s President Dr. Milton Sewell and his wife, Laurel.  On April 17, Korea Christian University celebrated its 48th anniversary of its founding in 1958.  Since this was the Sewells first visit to Korea, we wanted them to enjoy their stay here as much as possible and return to the States with several great memories.  On one of their days when they were not asked to speak to a special group, one of our faculty took them to the DMZ, the heavily-armed military border between North and South Korea.   Another day I was pleased to be their guide to the Korean Folk Village, a re-creation of Korean life as it was in the past.   It seems it was also the day for many elementary schools¡¯ field trips.  At the entrance were hundreds of small children, all pressing in on these tall American tourists (including me) and asking for autographs. During his speech in our special Founder¡¯s Day chapel, Dr. Sewell reminded the faculty, students and guests of the purpose of a Christian education in today¡¯s world.  He told the assembly of about 300 people,  Life, after all, is about far more than a good career. It¡¯s about having faith, stability, integrity, healthy lifestyles, peace of mind, friendships, family – and these are all values and principles found in the Bible. These are taught as part of a good Christian education.  (Click here to read entire text of Dr. Sewell¡¯s speech. Laurel Sewell met many Korean preachers¡¯ wives and spoke at a special dinner, reminding these wonderful ladies of their great influence on those around them In 1958, only the wildest of dreamers could have envisioned this small preacher training school nearly 50 years in the future.  Today our total enrollment in all of our programs is nearly 1800.   Our largest major continues to be our Bible department, training young students for all kinds of church service, from missionary, minister, future elder, to local Bible class teacher. Every summer sees a number of our students spending a few weeks in a foreign country, such as Bangladesh or Russia, doing mission work or making an educational visit to Israel, Turkey, or Egypt. Our exchange agreement with this sister university in the States continues to reap promising benefits.  KCU has already sent to Freed-Hardeman University two students.  This fall, another student will continue his education there, as well as one professor who will visit FHU as an exchange scholar.                AGREEMENT WITH OKLAHOMA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY On July 7, Dr. Mike O¡¯Neil from Oklahoma Christian University will be in Korea to sign an exchange agreement with Korea Christianity University.  This event is the culmination of a couple of years of correspondence and conversation between our two schools.  At times, the process lagged because of other issues which can naturally rise to the forefront, but I kept pressing our schools to continue.  Once signed, this agreement, as with Freed-Hardeman, will allow 2 qualified students per year from KCU to attend OCU on a full-tuition scholarship basis, thus opening more opportunities for training in Christian ministry and service.        MOON SERVES AS KCU¡¯S INTERIM PRESIDENT Dr. Byung Ha Moon is now acting as the interim President of Korea Christian University.  The board is still considering the permanent replacement for Dr. Joon Seo Kee who retired on February 6 of this year.   Dr. Moon graduated from Freed-Hardeman University, and completed his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees at Harding University Graduate School of Religion.   The board of trustees will be meeting sometime in the summer to consider keeping Dr. Moon as the permanent President or seeking another individual.  Pray for their wisdom in this very key decision.   CHANGING CULTURE SEEN IN ATTITUDES TOWARD SEX A recent leading Korean English newspaper (Korea Times) had this story: ¡°2 in 3 Youths Liberal on Premarital Sex.¡± The following is an excerpt from the article: Two-thirds of college students expressed a positive attitude about having sex before marriage, reflecting an increasingly liberal mind-set among Korean youths, a survey said Friday. Bien-Aller, a Seoul-based matchmaking company, conducted a survey of 528 male and female college students nationwide about premarital sex, between April 25 and May 27. It reported 67.4 percent of respondents said having sex has nothing to do with marriage, while the remaining 32.6 percent said either they will never have premarital sex, or sexual relations are acceptable only if a couple plans to marry. About 35.3 percent of 249 male students said it is okay to have sex with someone they love, whereas 28.1 percent said they are willing to have sex without love. Only 12.9 percent said they would have sex only with someone they plan to marry. Of 279 female students, 27.2 percent said they would have pre-marital sexual relations only with a person they plan to tie the knot with, while 17.6 percent said they will never have sex before marriage. This disturbing trend reflects the rapid change of society here in Korea.  As more and more Western culture (especially that from movies and pop music) comes to the East, at the same time come new attitudes toward marriage relationships and home life.  So far, the migration of these ideas has not produced positive results.  Korea is now number 2 in the world for the highest percentage of divorces, following only the United States.  The need for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to work in the lives of Koreans is becoming more and more evident.  Please pray for my work and the work of others who are here. BRANDON¡¯S GRADUATION On May 13, our first, best, smartest, most gifted, most handsome and most creative son graduated from Abilene Christian University with a double major in Bible and History.  Through the years many of you were key people in assisting Brandon in getting to this point in his life.   Thank you.  Not only were you his teachers, mentors and friends, you were praying for both him and his parents.  Thank you.  How could I let being in Korea stop me from being at his graduation?   I had finally accumulated enough frequent flyer mileage to obtain a free round trip ticket from Korea Air Lines.   I left Korea on May 11 to fly to Memphis and then drive with Vicki to Abilene.   5 days later I was back in the air returning for my last month of the semester in Korea.  Though there was a little jet lag both ways, I was at graduation as a proud parent with a son, full of dreams and ambitions.   Where is the little boy I carried?  When did he grow to be so tall?  Wasn¡¯t it yesterday when he was small? SHAMANISM BENEFITS LOCAL FURNITURE SEEKER Since my current apartment supplied by KCU is nearly double the size of my previous place, what little furniture I possessed left it looking very spacious and quite empty.   This spring, however, I have discovered several great treasures outside in local garbage areas.   Koreans, it seems, are still influenced by Shamanism in a number of ways.  One area that seems to benefit this local furniture seeker is the belief that a new piece of furniture will bring a household a better blessing from the mysterious forces of nature.   Thus, when Koreans move to a new dwelling, they often will just leave their old (still functional) furniture on the street and purchase new pieces for their new apartment.  In the past few weeks, my roommate Bobby and I have found a beautiful wooden cabinet, two dressers, 2 kitchen chairs, 2 vinyl chairs and a top to an office desk.   Here is a photo of our two new comfortable green vinyl chairs in our living room.      ODDS AND ENDS In April, the Bible majors spent two days at a retreat center away from Seoul.  This is always a great way to bond students and allow the professors to get to know better those on the other side of the teaching podium.  In May, I spoke in chapel to about 200 students.  My subject was ¡°One Foreigner to Another.¡±  I shared how God advised Israel to treat the foreigner in the Old Testament.   Because Israel had once been a foreigner in Egypt, God¡¯s people were admonished to never forget the foreigner in their own land, but to treat them with kindness, feeding them, respecting them, and even loving them.   I told the students that I have had that same positive experience as a foreigner working in Korea.   I finished by reminding them that according to the Bible, every Christian is really a foreigner on the earth, whether American or Korean.  Classes continue to go well.   My busiest days have been the middle of the week.   These are the days when I teach ¡°General Letters of the New Testament,¡± ¡°New Testament Theology,¡± ¡°Gospel Studies,¡± ¡°Basic Christianity,¡± and ¡°Acts of the Apostles,¡± as well as serve 10 hours in the International Zone.   Monday and Friday are definitely preparation and prayer days. Though it is not good for me to visit other congregations on the Lord¡¯s day, since our church is still so young and small in size, occasionally I accept an offer to speak elsewhere.   For the past 3 springs I have been invited to speak to the HongJae Church of Christ here in Seoul.  The minister for this congregation is a graduate of Harding Graduate School and now has over 100 members.  Following my morning message there, I was treated to a great Korean lunch. Other invitations:  It seems that English is the rage here in Korea.  Everyone sees it as a way to secure a good future for their children and thus the nation.  On April 9, I participated as a visiting judge at an English song competition held at a church here in Seoul.  Then on May 26,   I spoke to an afternoon outdoor children¡¯s English worship service.  The papers had predicted a 90 percent chance of rain that afternoon.   I guess the Lord does not read the paper.  The clouds parted and we were treated to the sun and blue skies. GOING BACK TO THE STATES Tomorrow begins our week of final exams.  I give my last final on June 14.  On June 15, I return to the States.  Please pray for my flight and my activities throughout the summer. I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy  because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,  being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.                                                    Philippians 1:3-6                                   April-May, 2006

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