L'Abri Newsletter, June 2012

June 6, 2012

Dear praying family,

I’d never known that the mountains could be so beautiful. Throughout the winter, everything looked dead; but now the trees are so fresh and green that I cannot look around without being struck in awe of God, the creator of this world, whose work nature declares with its amazing scenery.

While taking a walk through the hills, I saw a large pine tree uprooted and lying on its side, very much dead. As I wondered what might have happened to the poor tree, a passerby told me, “A tree might withstand a strong typhoon, but the weight of snow in the winter can easily topple it.” I was surprised to learn that even a tree that survived many storms could be killed overnight by soft, slow snowfall. That tree brought me many thoughts.

Since the spring term began in May, various sounds have filled L’Abri, such as the sound of lawnmowers, axes falling on logs, and lots of laughter. The tomatoes and hot peppers in our garden have already started to bloom. Thanks to KyungOk, the house has become colorful with many types of wild flowers.

Many students and guests have stayed with us. Most of them have needs and personal issues. Young people came to figure out their next steps. One gentleman had recently left a job on which he’d spent a long time, deciding to learn more about God instead. We also met a student who’d given up university to discover pursue what he really wants to do with his life. They worked, studied, watched films, and shared tables with us.

We were struck with reverence when we heard from one missionary who was soon headed to a Muslim country. He talked about the current situation of his that country, and about his vision and ministry, before asking us to pray for his safety. A missionary couple from the United States, who are currently working in Russia, told us about house churches in Russia. Despite their current hardships, they shared with us their conviction that house churches have a potential to evangelize the Russian people.

Professor Schulten and foreign students from Handong University attended InKyung’s lectures on spirituality and salvation, and also took part in L’Abri community life by working with us. Professor Schulten also delivered a lecture on Dietrich Bonhoeffer, not only for his students but also for all the other students and guests.

Eunmi, who served as a helper at Dutch L’Abri, helped us for two weeks this term. Eunmi did a great job cooking and having fellowship with young students. We learned from her some of the differences between Dutch and Korean L’Abri, especially regarding schedules and the role of workers. Eunmi would also like to help us in the summer term.

We are taking a short break from June 15 to July 5, before we begin the summer term. Please pray for us to have a great time of rest and prayer, so that we may be well prepared for the busy term that runs from July 6 to August 9. This summer is planned entirely as a School of Christian Worldview, where we focus on specific topics every week. Please pray that our program will help the students, and please pray that God will send to L’Abri those who need us the most.

Please also pray that there will be enough hands to serve all the visitors during the summer term and beyond. We are still praying for good full-time workers to join our team in the near future. All the helpers, including Barnabas, Sangbeom and Bokyung, and Minhyun and I, have been blessed to serve the guests whom God sent us. We had a wonderful time with them, we have been challenged by their stories, and we have learned many important things from listening to everyone.

Furthermore, please pray for the renovation of the former library to accommodate more students and worker families. The Baek-Am-Dang house also urgently needs an extension because it does not have space for worker families to share meals with students. Please pray that God will provide for these long overdue construction projects.

Oswald Chambers said, “The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and oneness with Him. Rushing in and out of worship is wrong every time – there is always plenty of time to worship God. Days set apart for quiet can be a trap, detracting from the need to have daily quiet time with God.” Today, my prayer is to be a worshipper before God, before being a worker for Him.

Thank you for your prayers.

Sincerely yours,

BoKyung Park

Translated by JunWon and EunHye Shon