L'Abri Newsletter, February 2016

February 6, 2016

Dear L’Abri praying family,

Did you have a good time during the Korean New Year holiday? Here in Yangyang, we had heavy snow during the holidays. When it snows, on the one hand, I am worried about snowstorms, but on the other, I thank God especially as I remember the drought last spring. I am writing this from Gangneung, where I’m staying before leaving for the holiday. As I look outside the window of a café in the snowy weather, I realize that it is completely the opposite season from when I greeted you for the first time in a prayer letter. When I sat down to write this letter, I asked myself whether I have done my best as a L’Abri worker. The answer was far from satisfactory, but I will be patient and try to take one sincere step after another.

First of all, I would like to let you know that we finished the School of Christian Worldview wonderfully. At one time I was anxious of the small number of registrants, but God sent us a lot more people than we expected and we eventually had 130-150 people for the three-day event. I was surprised, but at the same time, I giggled to myself as I prayed: “Wow, God, you are not stingy at all! That’s why I love you so much!” InKyung was impressed with the five young adults from Jeonju who never missed one lecture at all, as well as the eight teachers from the River of Life School at Jesus Abbey who asked a lot of questions with a real enthusiasm for the truth.

Although I worried whether people would come to this kind of meeting these days, I was delighted to learn that there are still a lot of young adults who try to seek the truth in the place where they live and work. I also hope that there would be more places and opportunities for people to seek the real truth. We ask you to pray for seekers of this age, and that they would not miss the chance to find the truth whenever an opportunity like this comes along.

I truly realized that how important cooperation is while preparing for the School of Christian Worldview, and I am particularly grateful to HyoYeong Shin and GoWoon Kim, workers of the Christian Worldview Studies Association of Korea who made every effort to make things go well from first to last. I believe they are just as happy as I am that many people came to and studied hard at the School of Christian Worldview. Though I sometimes feel sorry that I might have burdened them with my inexperience, I am grateful that I learned so much from working with them.

I should not forget to appreciate the speakers who made such a great contribution to the School of Christian Worldview. A Christian newspaper reported afterward that both the quantity and quality of lectures were satisfactory. This positive appraisal was only possible because of all the speakers who did a great job without any honorarium. I thank them for covering a variety of topics and areas and for teaching us how to approach them with a Christian worldview. Of course, different speakers presented different ideas, but I think they all agreed on, and very well conveyed, the same idea that we should not only have an intellect and spirituality based on the right Bible viewpoint but also put this worldview into practice in every area of life. Please pray for the speakers who challenged us with interesting stories despite their busy schedule, and for the wonderful fruit that their effort may bear.

Last but not least, I thank the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church for providing us with a place, every participant for being interested in and coming to the School of Christian Worldview in person, L’Abri family members for making a lot of effort for three days, and all of our praying family for spiritual support and encouragement. Most of all, I thank God for guiding us every moment and for meeting every need.

After the holiday, L’Abri family members are going to get together for renovation of the library, for which we have prayed for so long. The project we have prayed for and waited for a long time is finally about to become reality. Although I am anxious about the shortage of funds, I am looking forward to seeing how God will lead us and solve the problem. Mr. Ji-In Jeong, who built us the tree house a few years ago, is in charge of the construction. It starts in the middle of February and will last for a month.

I am already pleased to think about the guests who will stay in the new rooms after the construction. All of the L’Abri family members must cooperate for the month-long construction, because without helping and caring for each other, we will have a hard time managing work of such a large scale. I ask you to pray that all of us will be safe, be patient with each other, and think about the value and joy that we will get from this work. In addition, please pray for construction workers and L’Abri workers so that we can finish this project without any accident and that the necessary funds will be provided.

Please do not forget to pray for our families. JinSeong and Sul-Ah will be busy during the construction, but they are preparing return to Canada. They have been so busy with their visa application, and they are still trying to sort out the issue of their children’s schooling. Please pray that God will give them wisdom and provide what they need as they plan their journey.

InKyung and KyungOk’s family is temporarily staying in the guest rooms, but they will move back into Narnia when the construction is done. Shortly afterward, they must travel to Swiss L’Abri to attend the members’ meeting in April. They welcome every guest with a big smile even if they are tired, even during busy construction work. Please continue to pray for them so that they will have strength and wisdom and not get exhausted with the hectic schedule and heavy burden.

As the workers get together again after a long winter term and short break, our personal worries and concerns gather as well. We might complain about not having rested enough; we might become sensitive in the face of large projects. It would be easy to argue and hurt each other about trivial disagreements. We cannot keep this community going without your sincere prayer and encouragement. Please pray that God will help us to rely on the Holy Spirit moment by moment and to deal with any difficulties with His power. We are always appreciative of your prayer and support. We pray that God will give you wonderful joy and happiness this year that the world cannot even fathom.

On an evening with heavy snow, from a café in Gangneung,

ChungSeong Lee

Translated by EunHa Kim