I am preparing to launch JOY's third site in Manhattan. For those who wonder why we would want to do that, I write this blog entry. A year and a half ago, we began looking for a second site to provide room for growth. That search led to the Edgewater Site. However, what began as a simple search for physical room to grow led to a total paradigm shift of how we would do church. As the congregation prayed for one month concerning the decision to have a second site, God began to give us confirmations via many people. One verse particularly struck me: "Jesus went through every city and village, preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God" (Luke 8:1). This is a most simple verse describing Jesus' ministry, but it struck me hard. Until then my paradigm of doing church was : build it as large as you can and have people come to you. However, this verse showed a different picture: Go where people are and build churches. Jesus did not put up a large tent and gathered people from all over the country; he went to people and preached the gospel. Thus, before we launched the Edgewater Site, we had changed how we would go forward. We would look for places where churches are needed--especially places where concentrations of Asian-Americans live without Asian-American church presence--and build churches. As we started the Edgewater service, we were already planning for the third site for the fall of 2009.
I thought the third site would be near Parsippany. I never thought of going into NYC. What a wild idea! How daunting it looked. However, some people shared with me their impressions from God that the third site would be in NYC. These were unsolicited; therefore, I began to mull over this possibility and inquired what other people, especially those who live in NYC, thought. The responses were enthusiastic: "We need JOY in NYC. People want to come to JOY but cannot because it is in NJ," etc. Thus, we began seriously thinking, and it made more and more sense that the third site would be in Manhattan--where massive number of Asian-Americans live with limited church presence. Julie and I also visited the Redeemer Church and The Journey Church and came back more convinced that JOY will have a role to play in NYC.
The Manhattan site launch will not be as Edgewater launch. It will be much more limited. Edgewater launch was a passive structural change: 70-80 people coming out to start a new service. For Manhattan site, I expect 20-30 from JOY to come out. While Edgewater was a like division of forces in half, Manhattan will be like sending a special force.
Therefore, we are looking for mission-minded people, people who look forward to the hard work of tilling a new soil, people who want to begin something for the sake of many. Already a good number of mission-minded people have signed up. If you are interested, please let me know. We need people who will lead TLC's, ministries, and worship band (for worship band, please talk to Kevin Jun if interested kevinjun@gmail.com) . If not, please assist us with prayer that many will be brought to God's Kingdom through this new site.
We will be duplicating what we are already doing at Tenafly and Edgewater. I think the service will begin at 4:30pm, somewhere midtown. I will preach. TLC will take place immediately following the service, just as at Tenafly and Edgewater.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
A Lesson from Old Soviet Republic
In 1991 the seemingly impossible happened. The feared, powerful Soviet Empire collapsed in a nearly less revolution. Only after the seemingly impossible took place, the facts began to emerge for the general public. The Soviet System was dysfunctional and had been crumbling for decades. The collapse created a panic throughout the Soviet state.
But for Christians, the collapse of the evil empire created an opportunity like never before. Previously, Christians had to smuggle bibles into the country. Followed by KGB, once captured, a Christian could be imprisoned, or at least deported. But when the empire collapsed, the Russian people began to seek Christ, not in hiding, but out in the open, even aggressively. The Christians who visited the Red Square during those years would testify how Russians would clamor around anyone seemingly Christian and ask them to tell them how to be saved. Once Christians had to risk all to preach the gospel, but now the iron curtain of darkness was lifted, and people sought the gospel. Many became saved, and churches were born.
The open window however did not last for long. Within 10 years, the nation began to clamp down on missionaries. More important, the inundation of the western materialism possessed people's hearts, and the once spiritual hunger lost its sharpness. The window of opportunity lasted only a short while.
In America today, we face perhaps the most spiritual open season in our life time. The collapse of the financial system has brought desperation in people's hearts. Christians, this is the time to share the gospel. It is no time to share in the same fear, but show our reasons for hope and bring others to this hope.
I wonder what steps you are taking to throw a lifeline to your friends or co-workers? Do you ask them how they are doing, and share how you are doing--that you are confident because of Christ? Do you share your testimonies of how God miraculously met your needs? Do you invite them to church? Do you initiate prayer meetings at work? (I tend to think it is the best to start a company prayer meeting. Who would object to "Let's start praying for our company and one another?)
Like Russia, the window will not remain open forever. In life, there always is a season of opportunity and it closes. We must step into it. There is no time for fear or hesitation.
In the same vein, I believe this is the right time to start our new worship site in NYC. We have 15-20 people interested but are looking for more. If interested, please send me an email (dannyhan@joychurch.com).
But for Christians, the collapse of the evil empire created an opportunity like never before. Previously, Christians had to smuggle bibles into the country. Followed by KGB, once captured, a Christian could be imprisoned, or at least deported. But when the empire collapsed, the Russian people began to seek Christ, not in hiding, but out in the open, even aggressively. The Christians who visited the Red Square during those years would testify how Russians would clamor around anyone seemingly Christian and ask them to tell them how to be saved. Once Christians had to risk all to preach the gospel, but now the iron curtain of darkness was lifted, and people sought the gospel. Many became saved, and churches were born.
The open window however did not last for long. Within 10 years, the nation began to clamp down on missionaries. More important, the inundation of the western materialism possessed people's hearts, and the once spiritual hunger lost its sharpness. The window of opportunity lasted only a short while.
In America today, we face perhaps the most spiritual open season in our life time. The collapse of the financial system has brought desperation in people's hearts. Christians, this is the time to share the gospel. It is no time to share in the same fear, but show our reasons for hope and bring others to this hope.
I wonder what steps you are taking to throw a lifeline to your friends or co-workers? Do you ask them how they are doing, and share how you are doing--that you are confident because of Christ? Do you share your testimonies of how God miraculously met your needs? Do you invite them to church? Do you initiate prayer meetings at work? (I tend to think it is the best to start a company prayer meeting. Who would object to "Let's start praying for our company and one another?)
Like Russia, the window will not remain open forever. In life, there always is a season of opportunity and it closes. We must step into it. There is no time for fear or hesitation.
In the same vein, I believe this is the right time to start our new worship site in NYC. We have 15-20 people interested but are looking for more. If interested, please send me an email (dannyhan@joychurch.com).
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Unnecessary Fear of the Unknown
We live in the most fearful of our lifetime. We feel a heavy, dark cloud hang over us. Most of us are doing OK. We still have our jobs, and houses, but the fear is palpable: "Am I next? Will I be OK?"
As we face these dark times, I want to share with you a few truths.
1. Do not fear the unknown future. Remember that God has already gone ahead of you into your future and waits for you. There is nothing to fear. The future is unknown, but our God is not unknown. He is good. He is working out His good plans for you through the dark times, and He is sovereign. Do not fear the future.
2. If you have been at JOY for a while, you have been prepared for such a time as this. We have talked extensively about the time of God's judgment, and in the time that was coming (which is upon us now), it is not what we know that matters, but who we know. You should know God and Christ now, that He cares for you and that He is sovereign. If you do not know Christ intimately, this is the time to seek God, even now.
It is no time to panic. It is God's time.
1. If you do not know Christ intimately, this is the time to seek Him. Do not panic; instead, seek Him earnestly. Come to Marveling Place or Morning Prayer, and seek Him. Worrying will not help you; intimate knowledge of God will help you. You will know you are secure in Christ.
2. If you know Christ, realize this is God's time. We have been praying for the spiritual repentance and revival of this nation, and the great spiritual harvest. This is such a time. Those who know God must lead the way and tell others about Christ. Share with others the confidence you have in Christ and how they can know Christ also. This is the time we have prayed for. Now that the time is here, do not lose the opportunity.
As your pastor, I am not worried about your future. God is in control. He cares for you. He is even through what is happening working out His wonderful plans for your life. We will look back at these times one day and give thanks to God for what He accomplished.
As we face these dark times, I want to share with you a few truths.
1. Do not fear the unknown future. Remember that God has already gone ahead of you into your future and waits for you. There is nothing to fear. The future is unknown, but our God is not unknown. He is good. He is working out His good plans for you through the dark times, and He is sovereign. Do not fear the future.
2. If you have been at JOY for a while, you have been prepared for such a time as this. We have talked extensively about the time of God's judgment, and in the time that was coming (which is upon us now), it is not what we know that matters, but who we know. You should know God and Christ now, that He cares for you and that He is sovereign. If you do not know Christ intimately, this is the time to seek God, even now.
It is no time to panic. It is God's time.
1. If you do not know Christ intimately, this is the time to seek Him. Do not panic; instead, seek Him earnestly. Come to Marveling Place or Morning Prayer, and seek Him. Worrying will not help you; intimate knowledge of God will help you. You will know you are secure in Christ.
2. If you know Christ, realize this is God's time. We have been praying for the spiritual repentance and revival of this nation, and the great spiritual harvest. This is such a time. Those who know God must lead the way and tell others about Christ. Share with others the confidence you have in Christ and how they can know Christ also. This is the time we have prayed for. Now that the time is here, do not lose the opportunity.
As your pastor, I am not worried about your future. God is in control. He cares for you. He is even through what is happening working out His wonderful plans for your life. We will look back at these times one day and give thanks to God for what He accomplished.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Bylaws and Elders
This Sunday we will take a congregational vote on the bylaws. This is a big step and according has raised significant jitters. The core of the fear concerns eldership. Most people have witnessed bad eldership cases where churches have split, and many question, "Do we need to have elders," "Are we ready to have elders," or "Is anyone ready to become an elder?"
Why do we need eldership? Much work happens behind the scene at church as in any organization. Let's compare the church to a secular organization, a store. For the store to look immaculate and function well, we know that many people work furiously to keep everything in good order in the backroom. Likewise, many things happen in the background to keep the church minister to people. Over the years, the present board--me and the elected lay leaders--have found the present system of board structure no longer sufficient. Average congregation members do not feel the strain the old system increasingly put on the staff and the board, but for those who work day-to-day, the strain had become tremendous. Thus, we embarked on searching for a new system and came to the conclusion of having eldership . Ultimately, it is a biblical even if we had bad experiences with it, and we decided that the should be redeemed rather than discarded. I ask you to trust the leaders that you elected to consider the welfare of the church and their decision to choose eldership.
Are we ready? In some ways I wish our congregation was older. Because most people are still in their 20s and 30s, they are busy building their career and raising young children. Eldership requires great sacrifice, and it will be a very difficult choice when people are still so young. However, if the question is about maturity of our members, we have to counter the question with another question. "Will we ever be ready?" Is anybody ready to get married and bear the burden of marriage as he/she is supposed to? Is anybody ready to become a father/mother? No one should be so proud to say that they are ready. Lord have mercy on the person who thinks he/she is ready. Rather, we humbly enter marriage or parenthood and become competent in the process. We all need to be humble--those who will become elder--and the rest must help those who will become leaders to grow into those roles.
If there is anyone who should be most concerned about eldership, it should be me. When the eldership falls apart, the one that pays the highest price is the pastor. Churches have split, pastors have suffered under pressure and even been kicked out. Initially I had significant reservation, but I agreed for a couple of reasons. First, I trust in God. Joy Christian Fellowship is not my church; it is God's church. If the worst happens to me, and I get ousted, that's really OK. It's not the end of God's church or my life. Second, I trust in the fundamental decency of our leaders. I have worked with many leaders now. It has not always been easy, and we have not always agreed, but I have found all of them good people seeking the best of the church without personal agendas. So, in that sense I believe we are ready.
Is anyone ready to become an elder? is another question that people ask. A long time ago, a young lady came to me and asked if a certain young man who was seeking her hand was fit to be her husband. At that time, she was far more mature in faith and like most women she had hoped for a man who would be her spiritual leader. I told her that she should look at 1) the fundamental character of the person, and 2) potential of the person. Is he a fundamentally good person, and does he have the potential to become the kind of man you would like to have as husband one day? He had both qualities. They married and the man has become a spiritual leader. Therefore, we should look also not for people who are completely ready--when will that come--but look for people with fundamentally good qualities, qualities like gentleness of spirit, humility to genuinely listen to other people's views with whom they disagree, and sacrificial love for Christ and His church. Personally, I believe we have many people who will become great elders.
This Sunday is an important vote for our church. Please pray for the church, vote, and pray some more.
Why do we need eldership? Much work happens behind the scene at church as in any organization. Let's compare the church to a secular organization, a store. For the store to look immaculate and function well, we know that many people work furiously to keep everything in good order in the backroom. Likewise, many things happen in the background to keep the church minister to people. Over the years, the present board--me and the elected lay leaders--have found the present system of board structure no longer sufficient. Average congregation members do not feel the strain the old system increasingly put on the staff and the board, but for those who work day-to-day, the strain had become tremendous. Thus, we embarked on searching for a new system and came to the conclusion of having eldership . Ultimately, it is a biblical even if we had bad experiences with it, and we decided that the should be redeemed rather than discarded. I ask you to trust the leaders that you elected to consider the welfare of the church and their decision to choose eldership.
Are we ready? In some ways I wish our congregation was older. Because most people are still in their 20s and 30s, they are busy building their career and raising young children. Eldership requires great sacrifice, and it will be a very difficult choice when people are still so young. However, if the question is about maturity of our members, we have to counter the question with another question. "Will we ever be ready?" Is anybody ready to get married and bear the burden of marriage as he/she is supposed to? Is anybody ready to become a father/mother? No one should be so proud to say that they are ready. Lord have mercy on the person who thinks he/she is ready. Rather, we humbly enter marriage or parenthood and become competent in the process. We all need to be humble--those who will become elder--and the rest must help those who will become leaders to grow into those roles.
If there is anyone who should be most concerned about eldership, it should be me. When the eldership falls apart, the one that pays the highest price is the pastor. Churches have split, pastors have suffered under pressure and even been kicked out. Initially I had significant reservation, but I agreed for a couple of reasons. First, I trust in God. Joy Christian Fellowship is not my church; it is God's church. If the worst happens to me, and I get ousted, that's really OK. It's not the end of God's church or my life. Second, I trust in the fundamental decency of our leaders. I have worked with many leaders now. It has not always been easy, and we have not always agreed, but I have found all of them good people seeking the best of the church without personal agendas. So, in that sense I believe we are ready.
Is anyone ready to become an elder? is another question that people ask. A long time ago, a young lady came to me and asked if a certain young man who was seeking her hand was fit to be her husband. At that time, she was far more mature in faith and like most women she had hoped for a man who would be her spiritual leader. I told her that she should look at 1) the fundamental character of the person, and 2) potential of the person. Is he a fundamentally good person, and does he have the potential to become the kind of man you would like to have as husband one day? He had both qualities. They married and the man has become a spiritual leader. Therefore, we should look also not for people who are completely ready--when will that come--but look for people with fundamentally good qualities, qualities like gentleness of spirit, humility to genuinely listen to other people's views with whom they disagree, and sacrificial love for Christ and His church. Personally, I believe we have many people who will become great elders.
This Sunday is an important vote for our church. Please pray for the church, vote, and pray some more.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
2009: Hope to the Hopeless
2009 started 26 days ago, so this entry is very overdue. In this entry, I want to lay out the theme and main goals of 2009 for our church. We--the church--prayed for a month in 2008 and felt that the theme for 2009 would be "Hope to the Hopeless." It is a phrase from Chris Tomlin's song "God of the City." The message of hope would have largely two dimensions: First, God is our hope. We will find our hope of our hearts in Jesus Christ. Many find hopeless situations, whether with their jobs, marriage, addictions, etc., but we will find hope in hopeless situations in Jesus Christ. Second, once we find unfailing hope for our own hearts, we will be able to give hope to the hopeless, whether in Wall Street, or the Streets of poverty-and-AIDS-ravaged Zimbabwe. That is the gist.
I have set five bullet points goals for our church for 2009.
1. Continue to build what God has started. We do not abandon what God began to build to pursue novel goals. We continue to build. So we build intimacy in our hearts through Marveling Place or Morning Prayer. We build community through TLC, serving hearts through ministries, knowledge through New Life Institute and compassion for the poor through various mission involvement.
2. Hope Center. Our church has worked to build the house of the Lord, which would be the Hope Center, for a couple of years. We will continue the work, and Lord willing, find a place this year. Many have given sacrificially for the purpose of building a house for the Lord. We will continue this work joyfully. If the Lord prompts your heart (Exodus 25:2), I urge you to give and make pledges.
3. Hope for the Poor. Our church has been involved me missions from the beginning. At the end of last year, we reviewed our mission involvement and decided to bring focus and concentration on a couple of mission fields. We will continue our mission support to some 30 missionaries all around the globe, but focus our church's effort on 2-3 areas. We chose the places to be Paterson and Zimbabwe. We feel especially called to bring the whole gospel to the poor both preaching of the gospel and the need to meet the needs of the poor. We feel that the needs of Paterson and Zimbabwe fit what God has given us--not only finance but the professional knowledge in many fields. We are in the process of developing plans to connect the haves (us) and the have-nots (Paterson and Zimbabwe). We will make at least one more trip to Zimbabwe (projected date, August; please inquire Melanie Kim, hmelaniekim@gmail.com, especially if you are in medical, IT or education field), and are looking for right ways to connect more deeply with the community in Paterson.
4. Third Site in Manhattan (?). When we started the second worship site in Edgewater, we believed that God gave a paradigm shift. Instead of trying to build a mega-church, we will build churches wherever concentrations of Asian-Americans exist. The first such place was Edgewater. When we began the service in Sept 2007, we already planned to start the third site in the fall of 2009. I have had a couple of unexpected and unsolicited prophetic counsel that has led me to think Manhattan as the third site. This was completely unexpected for me, because NYC is not a place I would think of starting a service, and I thought the third site would be in the west, like Parsippany. However, after receiving the counsel, NYC makes much sense with its many young professionals and college students. Although great churches like Redeemer or Time Square Church exist, community-based, Asian-American churches like ours do not. The launching of the third site would not be as exhausting as launching Edgewater; we are mainly duplicating what we already have--same service, TLC ministries, and pastoral care. However, we will need core people to start this new work. If you are interested, please contact me @ dannyhan@joychurch.com. If the Lord confirms this is right--by sending the right people to start the work--the preparation work will begin in March.
5. Recovery Program. One of the most hopeless experiences is addiction whether , gambling, , etc. For several years we have watched our brothers and sisters struggle with addiction without being able to help them effectively. We have begun the research about church-based addiction recovery program (thanks largely to a couple of our church members whom I would not name here, but thanks). We will explore more, and hope to launch a recovery program that will give hope to the hopeless this fall.
That's the gist of it. If you are interested, please contact me (thrid site) or Melanie (Zimbabwe).
I have set five bullet points goals for our church for 2009.
1. Continue to build what God has started. We do not abandon what God began to build to pursue novel goals. We continue to build. So we build intimacy in our hearts through Marveling Place or Morning Prayer. We build community through TLC, serving hearts through ministries, knowledge through New Life Institute and compassion for the poor through various mission involvement.
2. Hope Center. Our church has worked to build the house of the Lord, which would be the Hope Center, for a couple of years. We will continue the work, and Lord willing, find a place this year. Many have given sacrificially for the purpose of building a house for the Lord. We will continue this work joyfully. If the Lord prompts your heart (Exodus 25:2), I urge you to give and make pledges.
3. Hope for the Poor. Our church has been involved me missions from the beginning. At the end of last year, we reviewed our mission involvement and decided to bring focus and concentration on a couple of mission fields. We will continue our mission support to some 30 missionaries all around the globe, but focus our church's effort on 2-3 areas. We chose the places to be Paterson and Zimbabwe. We feel especially called to bring the whole gospel to the poor both preaching of the gospel and the need to meet the needs of the poor. We feel that the needs of Paterson and Zimbabwe fit what God has given us--not only finance but the professional knowledge in many fields. We are in the process of developing plans to connect the haves (us) and the have-nots (Paterson and Zimbabwe). We will make at least one more trip to Zimbabwe (projected date, August; please inquire Melanie Kim, hmelaniekim@gmail.com, especially if you are in medical, IT or education field), and are looking for right ways to connect more deeply with the community in Paterson.
4. Third Site in Manhattan (?). When we started the second worship site in Edgewater, we believed that God gave a paradigm shift. Instead of trying to build a mega-church, we will build churches wherever concentrations of Asian-Americans exist. The first such place was Edgewater. When we began the service in Sept 2007, we already planned to start the third site in the fall of 2009. I have had a couple of unexpected and unsolicited prophetic counsel that has led me to think Manhattan as the third site. This was completely unexpected for me, because NYC is not a place I would think of starting a service, and I thought the third site would be in the west, like Parsippany. However, after receiving the counsel, NYC makes much sense with its many young professionals and college students. Although great churches like Redeemer or Time Square Church exist, community-based, Asian-American churches like ours do not. The launching of the third site would not be as exhausting as launching Edgewater; we are mainly duplicating what we already have--same service, TLC ministries, and pastoral care. However, we will need core people to start this new work. If you are interested, please contact me @ dannyhan@joychurch.com. If the Lord confirms this is right--by sending the right people to start the work--the preparation work will begin in March.
5. Recovery Program. One of the most hopeless experiences is addiction whether , gambling, , etc. For several years we have watched our brothers and sisters struggle with addiction without being able to help them effectively. We have begun the research about church-based addiction recovery program (thanks largely to a couple of our church members whom I would not name here, but thanks). We will explore more, and hope to launch a recovery program that will give hope to the hopeless this fall.
That's the gist of it. If you are interested, please contact me (thrid site) or Melanie (Zimbabwe).
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Zimbabwe Trip
This will be a long entry. I hope you will read through.
Peter Shin and I embarked on a scouting trip to Zimbabwe on Jan 9. Our goal was to investigate the possibility of developing a long-term (10-20 years) partnership with a local pastor, Tatenda Gonguow, in holistic mission, that is, a community development via education, job-creation as well as preaching the gospel and care of orphans. Feeding the poor and care of orphans do not provide long-term sustainability. Only holistic mission can. Peter and I went to see if such relationship would be possible.
Zimbabwe is currently one of the poorest nations in the world. What once was the bread basket of the southern Africa has disintegrated to quadrallion percentage (that is three zeros to billion) inflation in one year. People travel to neighboring countries to buy the basic necessities of life. Intellectuals and skilled people, whether doctors or engineers, have fled the country, and the naiton has been in a free fall, especially in the past decade. Interestingly, I found out during this trip the president Mugabe had his officers trained by North Korea! Being a Korean-American, I somehow feel I share in the responsibility even more.
Our trip met an immediate road block. When Peter and I arrived at the Newark Int'l airport, we discovered that our reservation had been cancelled. My agent had booked our flight the day before he left for vacation before Christmas and handed the case to another agent, and he had neglected to notify us that the airline had cancelled our flight. So, Peter and I stood at the airport with large bags--those large vinyl bags Koreans used when they immigrated to the US--filled with underwear for the orphans and medicine with no flight. I called the agent. He told us to go back home. No seat available on the flight! We could not do that we said; all schedules were booked. We were to meet different groups of people in Zimbabwe, some from the US, etc. The only flight that he could find was a different airline at a different airport, JFK, in three hours. But, we had only a confirmed flight from JFK to Nairobi. No tickets were confirmed from Nairobi to Harare, Zimbabwe, or the return ticket back home. We asked the agent to book our flight to Zimbabwe and back to JFK by the time we arrive in Kenya, and took a cab from Newark to JFK. Thus, our adventure began.
The trip brought several unexpected fruits. First was the taxi ride from Newark to JFK. The driver, a Haitian, picked up on our conversation. When he found out that we were Christians, he told us to pray for his family and friend. We were able to encourage him and his family to find a church and commit themselves to it instead of getting anxious about finance. Right there in the car, he called his wife to tell her the same. Secondly, in the flight from JFK to Zurich, Peter sat next to a radiologist from Monclair, NJ, a non-practicing Catholic. They talked the whole time for nearly 7 hours, and Peter led him in prayer right in the plane. The man was moved by our mission, he gave $100 for Zimbabwe, which we later passed to Pastor Tatenda. Finally, when we got to Nairobi, we were picked up by Dr. and Mrs. James Jongdo Lee, 13-year-missionaried who run a Bible college in Kenya. This contact was made at the last minute also the night before we left. We had to stay overnight to catch the connecting flight, and did not want to risk getting a cab and being driven to some scary place, and had been searching for a contact in Nairobi. What was supposed to an overnight stay turned out a two-day stay. Had it not been Dr. Lee, our time would have been wasted. But because of Dr. Lee, who also is involved in holistic missions, we learned what to avoid in missions. Further, through him we met with a key person in World Vision, whose headquarters for the entire Africa operation is in Nairobi, only about 30 min. away from Dr. Lee's home. Dr. Lee knew some key people in World Vision, and Peter and I were able to set up an appointment and ask the World Vision director important questions about community development, in which World Vision is one of the leaders. When we finally arrived in Zimbabwe, we were able to do all that we planned to do within the shortened stay. Had we arrived earlier, in fact, Peter and I agreed, we would have had complications. Thus, the nervous detour, I am convinced was planned by God. It was not our plan, but it seems clear that it was His.
Throughout the trip, Peter and I experienced closed doors every step of the way, which opened up at the last minute. First was the ticket from JFK to Nairobi. When we arrived in Nairobi, we discovered the agent had not found us flight from Nairobi to Harare. He left for the weekend in utter irresponsibility and made himself unavailable through cell phone either. We waited for two days, and when we could not reach him, we bought round trip tickets to Harare--we had no choice. We found late night flight--departing a few hours after the time we bought the tickets. Had we not found the late night flight, we would have never met the group that we were supposed to in Harare, so another door opening. After spending time in Harare, we boarded the flight back to Nairobi, without the assurance of flight from Nairobi to JFK. The agent had booked us for Jan 20 tickets. Even in doubt, Peter and I proclaimed that God would open doors. When we got to Nairobi, we found out that our desired flight was completely booked, and we would be wait-listed at numbers 19 and 20! Not a good sign. We might have to purchase expensive one-way tickets back, which we did not want to. The agent at the airport turned out to be God-sent, an angel. She nogotiated with the airline and moved us within 45 min. from numbers 19 and 20 to 3 and 4. Still not good enough. We waited longer. Within next 30 min. we had boarding passes. We were on our way home!
The experience taught me a few lessons:
1. The mission to Zimbabwe would not be so easy. It will have many obstacles. We will see closed doors. We will have to pray much.
2. But God will come through. If we believe, and keep on believing, the door will be open, often at the last minute.
3. The unplanned detours are planned by God. In those detours we encounter people and experiences that God had planned for us, that we need. The detours are a part of God's divine plan.
Presently we are planning a return trip with a larger group in July/Aug. We want to bring a team of medical personnel, computer trainers and teachers. So many are sick, and when they hear about a doctor coming, people gather in masses. Seeing a doctor is like seeing Jesus for them. Computer personnel will help the local church train trainers. Finally, we want to bring teachers who will teach the orphans a week-long intensive English and/or Math. Hospitals, and schools have mostly shut down. Even a week of training will do so much for them.
If interested, please contact Melanie Kim @ hmelaniekim@gmail.com.
I am also looking for people who will go long-term. They are so desperately needed.
Thanks for reading.
Peter Shin and I embarked on a scouting trip to Zimbabwe on Jan 9. Our goal was to investigate the possibility of developing a long-term (10-20 years) partnership with a local pastor, Tatenda Gonguow, in holistic mission, that is, a community development via education, job-creation as well as preaching the gospel and care of orphans. Feeding the poor and care of orphans do not provide long-term sustainability. Only holistic mission can. Peter and I went to see if such relationship would be possible.
Zimbabwe is currently one of the poorest nations in the world. What once was the bread basket of the southern Africa has disintegrated to quadrallion percentage (that is three zeros to billion) inflation in one year. People travel to neighboring countries to buy the basic necessities of life. Intellectuals and skilled people, whether doctors or engineers, have fled the country, and the naiton has been in a free fall, especially in the past decade. Interestingly, I found out during this trip the president Mugabe had his officers trained by North Korea! Being a Korean-American, I somehow feel I share in the responsibility even more.
Our trip met an immediate road block. When Peter and I arrived at the Newark Int'l airport, we discovered that our reservation had been cancelled. My agent had booked our flight the day before he left for vacation before Christmas and handed the case to another agent, and he had neglected to notify us that the airline had cancelled our flight. So, Peter and I stood at the airport with large bags--those large vinyl bags Koreans used when they immigrated to the US--filled with underwear for the orphans and medicine with no flight. I called the agent. He told us to go back home. No seat available on the flight! We could not do that we said; all schedules were booked. We were to meet different groups of people in Zimbabwe, some from the US, etc. The only flight that he could find was a different airline at a different airport, JFK, in three hours. But, we had only a confirmed flight from JFK to Nairobi. No tickets were confirmed from Nairobi to Harare, Zimbabwe, or the return ticket back home. We asked the agent to book our flight to Zimbabwe and back to JFK by the time we arrive in Kenya, and took a cab from Newark to JFK. Thus, our adventure began.
The trip brought several unexpected fruits. First was the taxi ride from Newark to JFK. The driver, a Haitian, picked up on our conversation. When he found out that we were Christians, he told us to pray for his family and friend. We were able to encourage him and his family to find a church and commit themselves to it instead of getting anxious about finance. Right there in the car, he called his wife to tell her the same. Secondly, in the flight from JFK to Zurich, Peter sat next to a radiologist from Monclair, NJ, a non-practicing Catholic. They talked the whole time for nearly 7 hours, and Peter led him in prayer right in the plane. The man was moved by our mission, he gave $100 for Zimbabwe, which we later passed to Pastor Tatenda. Finally, when we got to Nairobi, we were picked up by Dr. and Mrs. James Jongdo Lee, 13-year-missionaried who run a Bible college in Kenya. This contact was made at the last minute also the night before we left. We had to stay overnight to catch the connecting flight, and did not want to risk getting a cab and being driven to some scary place, and had been searching for a contact in Nairobi. What was supposed to an overnight stay turned out a two-day stay. Had it not been Dr. Lee, our time would have been wasted. But because of Dr. Lee, who also is involved in holistic missions, we learned what to avoid in missions. Further, through him we met with a key person in World Vision, whose headquarters for the entire Africa operation is in Nairobi, only about 30 min. away from Dr. Lee's home. Dr. Lee knew some key people in World Vision, and Peter and I were able to set up an appointment and ask the World Vision director important questions about community development, in which World Vision is one of the leaders. When we finally arrived in Zimbabwe, we were able to do all that we planned to do within the shortened stay. Had we arrived earlier, in fact, Peter and I agreed, we would have had complications. Thus, the nervous detour, I am convinced was planned by God. It was not our plan, but it seems clear that it was His.
Throughout the trip, Peter and I experienced closed doors every step of the way, which opened up at the last minute. First was the ticket from JFK to Nairobi. When we arrived in Nairobi, we discovered the agent had not found us flight from Nairobi to Harare. He left for the weekend in utter irresponsibility and made himself unavailable through cell phone either. We waited for two days, and when we could not reach him, we bought round trip tickets to Harare--we had no choice. We found late night flight--departing a few hours after the time we bought the tickets. Had we not found the late night flight, we would have never met the group that we were supposed to in Harare, so another door opening. After spending time in Harare, we boarded the flight back to Nairobi, without the assurance of flight from Nairobi to JFK. The agent had booked us for Jan 20 tickets. Even in doubt, Peter and I proclaimed that God would open doors. When we got to Nairobi, we found out that our desired flight was completely booked, and we would be wait-listed at numbers 19 and 20! Not a good sign. We might have to purchase expensive one-way tickets back, which we did not want to. The agent at the airport turned out to be God-sent, an angel. She nogotiated with the airline and moved us within 45 min. from numbers 19 and 20 to 3 and 4. Still not good enough. We waited longer. Within next 30 min. we had boarding passes. We were on our way home!
The experience taught me a few lessons:
1. The mission to Zimbabwe would not be so easy. It will have many obstacles. We will see closed doors. We will have to pray much.
2. But God will come through. If we believe, and keep on believing, the door will be open, often at the last minute.
3. The unplanned detours are planned by God. In those detours we encounter people and experiences that God had planned for us, that we need. The detours are a part of God's divine plan.
Presently we are planning a return trip with a larger group in July/Aug. We want to bring a team of medical personnel, computer trainers and teachers. So many are sick, and when they hear about a doctor coming, people gather in masses. Seeing a doctor is like seeing Jesus for them. Computer personnel will help the local church train trainers. Finally, we want to bring teachers who will teach the orphans a week-long intensive English and/or Math. Hospitals, and schools have mostly shut down. Even a week of training will do so much for them.
If interested, please contact Melanie Kim @ hmelaniekim@gmail.com.
I am also looking for people who will go long-term. They are so desperately needed.
Thanks for reading.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Pray for North Korea. Attend a Concert
Eight people from JOY are leaving for NK this afternoon: Carrie Choi, Jacob Chung, Julie Chung, John Hwang, Jeanie Kwon, Mihae Song, Soo Bae and Jason Suh. They will minister at an orphanage in PyongYang and also do some medical missions. As of now, John Hwang does not have his visa, so please pray for that.
On the other hand, there is a free concert at Manhattan School of Music (corner of Broadway and Claremont Ave., north of Columbia University) by a North Korean defector pianist. The concert is at 7:30pm. He was a son of a high official but fled for freedom. Now he teaches at a university in S. Korea and travels in the US and Korea, raising the awareness of the plight of NK defectors living in S. Korea and USA. If you cannot go to NK with the team, you may want to come out to the concert and learn about NK.
On the other hand, there is a free concert at Manhattan School of Music (corner of Broadway and Claremont Ave., north of Columbia University) by a North Korean defector pianist. The concert is at 7:30pm. He was a son of a high official but fled for freedom. Now he teaches at a university in S. Korea and travels in the US and Korea, raising the awareness of the plight of NK defectors living in S. Korea and USA. If you cannot go to NK with the team, you may want to come out to the concert and learn about NK.
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