L'Abri Newsletter, January 2021
January 5, 2021
Dear L’Abri praying family,
Year 2020 began with COVID-19, and ended with it finally. The last year must have been very hard and strange to everyone. Whole world experienced lockdown and chaos by such a tiny virus even not seen in naked eyes. L’Abri also had urgent and extraordinary times. Sometimes we had to shut down urgently by the regulation of the government and readjusted the period of term, the number of the guests and the duration of staying to decrease the risk of infection. As you may know, obviously it was difficult to L’Abri because staying, dining and tutoring are essentially required to our work. During this time, God allowed us to do several things we are grateful for.
First, God sent us guests and helpers steadily in this difficult situation. Even though we could not have as many guests as we had done before, we helped a small number of people intensively. Various people come to L’Abri with various purposes. Some people need rest, some people need counselling and comfort, and some people need systemic tutorials of the Christian worldview. Honestly, I, as a new worker, am not sure how much I met their needs. I only enjoyed cooking, meal discussions and tutoring times with a bit of tension. Above all, it was the greatest honor to participate in the great work of God that saves souls.
Francis A. Schaeffer demonstrated and preached that the Biblical and historic Christian faith, called the Reformed Theology, is the true truth. It is a basic principle of L’Abri to do this work in love and hospitality. Please pray that God will continue to use L’Abri and workers in this work.
Second, we were able to do some research and studies which had been put off for a while. We reviewed general philosophy of Francis A, Schaeffer (spirituality, Western ideas, culture, church, politics, apologetics and life) to the guidance of InKyung and studied together
Gratefully, a Christian worldview school will be open on line starting from the end of this month by the request of Jeonju Jeja church. Every Friday and Saturday for four weeks, two hours of lectures will be given by workers and research fellows. I sincerely hope that we can continue to help church in such a way if this difficult time of face-to-face ministry is getting longer. Please pray that God may open new ways of work.
Third, we’re so grateful that we had the roof repair done. At first, only the roof repair of the main building and the removal of the fireplace in the Kim JeongSik Hall (the second floor of the main building) were planned. However, with more gifts from several praying family, we were able to complete large maintenance works such as balcony replacement on the first floor of the main building and the tree house roof repair. After that, I felt God's careful guidance more deeply. Without prayer and support of praying family, it could never have been completed. Furthermore, at the end of the year, a special gift, we have a new air conditioner in HongSeok Hall (the ground floor of the main building). It creates more comfortable atmosphere. Please pray that this old wooden house will serve as a place for those asking honest questions to get honest answers.
In Proverbs 16, there are several passages about human choices and God's sovereignty.
- “To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue.”(Proverbs 16:1)
- “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.”(Proverbs 16:9)
- “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”(Proverbs 16:25)
- “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.”(Proverbs 16:33)
We make choices every day. In fact, no one knows exactly what our choices will eventually result in. Nevertheless, we have to make choices. Sometimes we make rough choices and sometimes we make very confident choices. People think they are making reasonable choices, but in many cases, they taste unexpected results. Realizing this fact, making choices could be very anxious and difficult act.
However, we Christians can move from such anxiety to the trust in God as “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.”(Romans 8:28) We believe that the God of the Bible is infinite and personal. If God is not infinite, He may fail. If God is not personal, He cannot be trusted. Of course, we cannot escape from all the responsibilities for all our choices. However, by believing in the infinite and personal God, we can live in peace without anxiety about our choices.
New Year has begun in the chaos of COVID-19. Vaccines have already been made and several countries have begun vaccination, but it is not certain whether we are able to return to pre-corona times even if all the people of the world get vaccines. Someone says we will never be able to go back. In this anxiety and confusion, where is the Rock on which we can stand unshaken? I sincerely hope that our Rock, the infinite and personal God who is there and not silent even today, will guide all of us this year again.
In Christ,
ChangHee Jo