L'Abri Newsletter, December 2010

December 6, 2010

Dear Praying Family,

Thank you for your prayer and sending reply mails sharing your updates with us. They have certainly been our encouragement and comfort to go on. As you may have read from our last letter by EunHa, we had five students and a couple of visitors in the beginning of our second fall semester. Except for one who left earliest, everyone departed on the same day 10 days ago. The rest shared so much fun together on their own; so they all decided to leave on the same day. Some of them were supposed to stay with us until the end.

Workers faced utter failure for not having been able to control this too much “intimate” atmosphere that makes students inseparable and unanimous in what they do and think. We are trying to find answers about what we could have done to prevent it and learn from it. Ever since then, there has been no student. Before we end this semester, however, by this Saturday, we are expecting many visitors everyday. Pray for the winter term and the Lord may send us the right people we can serve by His choice.

While EunChol and EunHa’s family is looking for a next step after L’Abri Korea, GaHee and HanHee have successfully done the skit show organized by their school. In absence of InKyung and KyungOk for the past 3 weeks, EunChol and EunHa have served marvelously in managing L’Abri Korea in delegating students and preparing for workers’ meetings. Please continue to pray for EunChol and EunHa’s family in their future career and children’s welfare.

ChunSung and SuYeon’s family has been very busy as usual. ChunSung with L’Abri’s work with miscellaneous duties and SuYeon with her newly added job description as a librarian at school on top of her current jobs at school, L’Abri, and home. I am amazed to see how far their abilities can stretch. JiHo and JiMin have not skipped cold this time though. But they are so vigorous that they have overcome cold with healthy appetite. Please join us in prayer for them to have enough rest and health spiritually and physically.

Although I spent a year as a worker, there is so much improvement to be made in a wide range of areas including tutoring, cooking, managing the property, and others. To instill L’Abri’s spirit and enhance critical mind to new workers like me and local youth leaders, InKyung organized a weekly leaders’ meeting. At this meeting, we read papers on various subjects (e.g. forgiveness, honesty, plastic surgery, etc.) and discuss our thoughts. I would be grateful if you pray for this meeting to have an impact on our lives, attitudes and thoughts to be geared toward God.

Thanks to your prayers and support, InKyung and KyungOk are safely back with us. They arrived in YangYang yesterday and shared their stories from Rochester and Canada. We are joyful to have their presence among us. What a blessing they had! Wherever they went and whomever they met, they were well taken care of in every way. We thank you all who have showed such a great hospitality to this couple. Most of them were delightful news but it was heart breaking to hear HaeJin’s physical condition was worse than we had known.

With tender and utmost care by her brother, Kijin, HeaJin has been able to cope with demanding classes and lonely life as a foreign student in Canada despite her aching back. Needless to say, your prayers and financial support have helped HaeJin for what she is today. We all hope and pray that HaeJin and KiJin will carry on arduously towards the goal. EuiJin has coped well without his parents for 3 weeks; he took a good care of himself and L’Abri pets.

InKyung has a list of lecture, sermon, and meeting appointments from this week on. We ask you to pray for InKyung for a speedy recovery from jet lag and health. The same applies to KyungOk as well as she will naturally work on year-end-to-do-list involving L’Abri housekeeping work.

We have wonderful news to share with you; MinHyun Baek and BoKyung Park are moving to YangYang at the end of this year and to start helping L’Abri next year. JoonWon and EunHye, who are known to be L’Abri couple for having met each other at L’Abri as students five years ago, are planning to live in YangYang next year. JoonWon already has a job offer from Terra Rosa Café in Gangneung and hopes to start working from March.

We are at the end of the year 2010. We did not lack big news whether they are domestic or international. Especially, current attacks by North Korea on the western sea border have heightened the tension between South and North Korea. This tension forces us to see the reality of how vulnerable our state is no matter how advanced we are in economy, technology, and status quo. C.S. Lewis once quoted that pain was God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world.

Yes, some of us are already occupied by year-end-parties, alumni gatherings, and Christmas preparations that usually fill our December calendar. In the mist of this busy-ness, I sincerely ask you to have time to stand still and tune into God’s shout. May we not be forgetful but remember and count God’s blessings that God has generously poured on our lives. If there is anything that we should repent and be sorry for, let us humble ourselves and ask for forgiveness.

"So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God." (Hosea 12:6)

With Love,

Mokyung