September, 2006

Text Box: BUSY SUMMER IN THE USA Is it me? Or are summers getting shorter every year?  Maybe you have already begun to experience how quickly time can fly past us!   My summer back in the good ol’ USA was a great one, though far too short as usual.   Vicki and I began it by staying at my former boss’ homeplace in East Tennessee.  Bill Flatt was gracious enough to allow the two Kinders and two Mosses (Vicki’s sister and brother-in-law) to stay in Bill’s childhood home for a week back in June.  It was a very relaxing and refreshing week, even filled with the excitement of the Kinders’ first-time whitewater raft excursion down the beautiful Ocoee River.   A few weeks later we headed north to see and hear Brandon’s group, Homer Hiccolm and the Rocket Boys, perform at the annual Cornerstone Festival in Illinois.  Thanks again for all of you who voted for them.  They finished the nation wide contest in second place, not a shabby position to be in.   From there we journeyed further northward to check in on Vicki’s niece’s family in Minneapolis, Minnesota.   I was invited to share information about the Korean work at the Northern Lights Church of Christ there as well.   Upon leaving Minneapolis, Vicki and I decided to make a still further trek northward for no other reason than to say that we had been to North Dakota, our last of the 50 states to place our feet.   We are not sure what this means, if anything, in the vast scheme of the universe, but to Vicki and I, it was a satisfying accomplishment. Then the rest of the summer we spent in Memphis, working around the house, attending the White Station Church of Christ and staying in touch with many of you.  My parents were able to drive out to Memphis, blessing us with a visit the week before I traveled back to Korea.    WITHIN HOURS, TWO NEW CHRISTIANS The flight was long as usual – 2 hours to Chicago and then a mere 14 more to Incheon, South Korea.   I arrived back here about 6 in the evening (4 a.m. back in Memphis), and was met at the airport by Yang Sang Yong (director of the BCC program in Korea) and a young couple from the city of Pyongtaek.   I had first met Sang Young (David) Chung when he had visited Memphis, along with about 24 other listeners of our “Bible English” broadcast, in the year 2000.  David teaches middle school English and was attracted to our program through his interest in improving his own English skills as well as his love for the Bible.   Several of us continued to stay in touch with him and his family these past six years, encouraging him and being encouraged by him.   It was a great joy to find out just before I returned that David and his wife wanted to be immersed into Christ.  Furthermore, they wanted me to be the one baptizing them.    What an honor and joy it was to see them at the airport and then go directly to the BCC Office in Seoul where brother Yang had already filled the baptistery.    To the side you can see a picture of the three of us following the baptisms.   The happiness we all shared that evening definitely offset my usual exhaustion after a long flight.     I didn’t even know I was tired until I took a short nap the next day from about 3 in the afternoon till 10 at night.    NEW CONGREGATIONS WANTED AND NEEDED Along with David Chung and his wife, there are others in Korea who live in cities outside of Seoul where there are no churches of Christ.   Another location is a small town near Busan in the South where several were baptized this summer, but have no congregation to attend.   We discussed this problem at a recent meeting after our worship at the HanMee congregation.   We felt the great need to encourage these new Christians through personal visits.   We decided that at least once a month, several of us will travel to these places after our morning worship here, and conduct a formal worship service in their area in the afternoon.  As we plant these seeds with them, we feel that others in the area will want to be a part of their group.  Thus, new congregations can sprout from the lives of others.    HANMEE GROWS A LITTLE Closer to home here in Seoul, we are excited about new families that have come our way in the past few months.  Two very significant additions are the Eversons and the Kim family.  Ronda Everson and her two children, Samuel and Winter, came to Korea a couple of months ago so that she could teach English at a school in Paju, a satellite city of Seoul.   Through various connections Ronda found out that we were here too.  Now every Sunday, she and her children travel more than an hour on bus to make it to our worship.    Not being content to be a passive observer, Ronda has already begun teaching new songs to our group each Sunday after our fellowship meal. DoYoun Kim, his wife, and daughter, also joined our group at the end of the summer.  Kim initially came into contact with churches of Christ through the international outreach program of the Brentwood Church of Christ in Nashville.   Once again, through various contacts and providence, we believe, the Kims discovered us in Seoul and have begun faithfully attending every Sunday.     KCU CLASSES THIS FALL When I was home in Memphis during the summer, I began my preparation for the fall courses I would teach here at Korea Christian University:  Gospel Studies, Revelation and Pauline Letters Part One.   I have taught Pauline Letters Part Two twice already.  Part Two includes all of Paul’s letters except Romans and Galatians.  These two letters are usually considered a little meatier than the rest of the Pauline group and so a separate course, Pauline Letters Part One, covers these books.   I have not taught this course yet, so I needed a little more advance preparation time to assemble material and notes for it.   When I arrived back in Korea at the end of August, brother Sim Sang Gil, who teaches New Testament at KCU, told me that his teaching load was too heavy this fall, and asked if I would teach one of his courses too.  The class is called “Understanding the Bible,” a very basic course taught every few years to non-Bible majors.   Of course I agreed I would teach it.   My only natural hesitation about it was that I wished I had been given a little more advance notice about the class than just 5 days before it was to begin.   The other part of me is excited because here is yet another way to share the message of the Gospel to many who are not yet Christians.  I ask for your prayers as I make my way through the message of the Word of God to ears that need to hear.   KEEP IN TOUCH One of the highlights of every day here is opening emails from home and hearing from several of you.   I know that you are not only thinking about me and my family, but that you are also actively taking our names before the Father.   The evidence that your prayers are being heard is seen in many ways every day that I am here.   Even though I might be slow in corresponding back with each of you, please know that I think about and pray for you as well. "I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy Phil 1:5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, " Philippians 1:3-5       Home