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L'Abri Newsletter, August 2024

Dear praying family,

This is Hyun-ji Kim. We, my husband Tae-yoon and myself with our 7 months old boy worked as helpers this summer. Until yesterday, I was busy preparing meals for guests, but I am grateful now to sit calmly in Baekamdang and write this prayer letter. Although my writing skills are not the best, I hope my words will convey the ministry work at L’Abri, the dynamics of the many people who visited, and, most importantly, the presence of God.

This term, under the scorching sun at Yangyang, there was no shortage of passionate young visitors. The halls were always filled with people from all over the world, including Jesse from the United States and Akiho from Japan, each with their own questions and concerns. These days, it is said that there are many popular places in Yangyang for surfing and other entertainment. When I see visitors who come to this remote, mountainous area of Yangyang and not the other “hot spots,” I naturally recognize God’s guidance in bringing them to L’Abri. In fact, I would like to say that L’Abri is a “hot spot” more than any other place.

During the first Bible reading session of the term (we started the Book of Judges), a girl asked, “Why do we read such cruel and violent stories? I’m reading the Bible again for the first time in twenty years, and it’s uncomfortable.” In the conversation that ensued, various ideas were shared about why we were sitting together and reading this passage from Judges. Today, we are no different from the Israelites who did what was right in their own eyes (Judges 21:25). Let us think about the importance of a good leader and what God, the most trustworthy leader, would want us to realize. That evening was a time to think about what is right or wrong and to consider Francis Shaeffer’s words, “Honest answers to honest questions.” It was a great question to open the term of L’Abri with.

Personally, I have come to believe in God after wrestling through difficult intellectual questions, but as time goes by (although rational understanding based on reason is important), I am beginning to find that there is something beyond that in Christianity. It is said that we can better understand ourselves and the world through stories that depict a complex combination of many elements such as reason, experience, intuition, and emotion. In the last prayer letter, InKyung introduced narrative apologetics as a method of evangelism. There is a part of the book I am enjoying reading these days that emphasizes the importance of narrative apologetics, so I would like to briefly quote it.

“Paul Fiddes argues that narrative plays a particularly important role in showing that faith is not an abstract system of thought but a living historical reality. Christianity is about living a real life, not just thinking about certain things. The narrative contains a concept of truth that demands revelation rather than logical verification, and invites the audience to ‘participate in the story of the Trinity.’” (Alister McGrath, What is Apologetics, p. 219)

This term, many guests shared their life stories during their visit, which ranged from as short as two nights and three days to as long as one month. Conversations did not stop at the dining table, which is the pride of L’Abri. Many people had time to organize their thoughts in response to a basic question asked by someone, “Why do you go to church?” Another time, everyone shared honestly about “areas where they lack self-control.” One guest even asked a provocative question: “Why is watching porn a sin?” Another evening, I once left the dinner table as if I were being kicked out because the answer to the question “Is there a reason we need to believe in the Christian God?” got too long.

Though we had an American and a Japanese guest, language was not an obstacle. Since we used Google Translate to dive into questions about life and faith in English, Japanese, and Korean, there were nights when dinner lasted for nearly three hours. There was a lunch when we sat across from each other and wrestled with each other to the point of getting headaches and even drawing pictures on paper, all in order to try to understand each other's inquiries. I also remember tea time when Seong-jin and Gwang-sik sang a song they wrote themselves.

I also cannot leave out how, on our day off every week, all of the guests went on a short nature trip to enjoy God’s creation. This term, many guests and Jun-ho walked L’Abri’s dog Deokbae every day, so I think memories with Deokbae will stay with us, too. There are so many more stories I can share about! I’m sure there are plenty of small moments I am forgetting as we painted stairs during work duties, moved piles of dirt behind the old gas station house, prayed for each other during prayer meetings, and sat in conversation in the study room whenever we had time.

Of course, there will be some who regretfully walk away, still holding onto unresolved questions and concerns. There may still be people who go back helpless, unable to find any motivation or will. Nevertheless, am I being too optimistic if I believe that the short time spent here will ultimately become an important part of the great story that God is writing? “All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

We also had lectures on the following topics: ‘Ambition and Vision,’ ‘Servant Leadership,’ ‘Creation-Farming-Food,’ and ‘What is a Church?’ Helpers and guests did seminars, too. Aren’t you curious about the content just by reading their titles like ‘Bible Study with Pictures,’ ‘The Meaning of Every Moment as Seen Through a Camera,’ ‘The Bible on a different horizon,’ and ‘What God Allowed Me to Witness’. Those topics with the Christian faith like warp and weft, and all were a gift of wisdom from God to L’Abri this summer.

Although it was not originally planned, two guests also had a special seminar at the end of the term. Seung-ju read C. S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letter and presented his thoughts. It was a great time of discussing how Satan tries to make Christians helpless through the lies of ‘Wormwood.’ Jesse did another seminar under the theme ‘Life in the Desert,’ which was a time to deeply share the meaning of ‘suffering’ as a Christian. The question-and-answer session that followed the several seminars was also very interesting and informative, and I regret not being able to include all of it here.

I would like to introduce some particularly memorable guests and ask for a few prayers. First, I think of two female college students who came to visit only after finishing their first semester. When they visited at the end of last year, ahead of their high school graduation, they seemed to be the smartest and brightest students in their school, but less than half a year later, upon entering college, they began to doubt their faith and feel helpless. They were heartbroken and wanted to visit L’Abri again. This is proof that the world we live in, including at universities, is not an easy place to maintain our Christian identities.

If the situation is like this for these students who studied at Christian alternative schools, how terrible will the confusion that students who have been baptized in secular public education be? Nevertheless, I cannot tell you how grateful I was that they took time to visit L’Abri to raise hard questions about the basis and validity of their faith. Please pray that the young people of the Korean church can live vitally with the Gospel, which is the true, total truth, and will be well-prepared to “answer the question to anyone who asks the reason for hope” (1 Peter 3:15).

Please also pray for the evangelization of Japan. Akiho is a Japanese graduate student who returned home after studying Korean Language and the Bible diligently for a month. The Christian population in Japan is less than 1% of the total population, and I was very surprised to learn about the reality of local churches. As a specific example, it is difficult to gather three young people to share about their faith. This is why Akiho’s comment was so striking: “It was so good to meet various young Christians at L’Abri.” Compared to Japan, Korean churches provide so many things to young people that I even thought it might be a problem. Please pray that God would use Akiho as ‘light and salt’ and that Japan would turn away from various idols and become a nation that truly believes in the living God.

For the first time in a long time, I was very happy to see guests going back and forth between Narnia, Baekamdang, and the old gas station house during every mealtime. Looking from the window, I saw people leaving on time, leaving a bit late, and leaving early. We are thankful that God has sent several helpers to L’Abri so that we can take turns enjoying meals in the three homes. Gwang-sik and Nam-jeong held barbecue parties twice on the lawn created last year between Baekamdang and the old gas station house. Even in the sweltering heat, helpers prepared meals, cleaned inside and out side, did laundry, mowed the lawn, and more. Please pray for helpers and as well as for me, Tae-yoon, and our son Aru. I hope that even when we go back to our daily lives, we will be able to take what we have learned at L’Abri and create a small L’Abri in our own places.

Please continue to pray for InKyung, KyungOk, and Haejin who are at L’Abri. Although the summer term is officially over, groups of guests are scheduled to visit until mid-August. Hae-jin has been strained by interpreting book studies, sermons, lectures, and prayer meetings in English and Japanese throughout the past month. Please pray that all three of them will not collapse from exhaustion in the hot summer and that they will be able to serve our guests with a healthy mind and body. And please do not forget to pray that God will send good workers L’Abri.

Lastly, L’Abri is currently considering installing solar panels. To this end, Gwang-sik is looking into many options and doing a lot of research. This summer term alone, there were several power outages throughout L’Abri. The amount of electricity use is high, and the cost of electricity bills is enormous. In the long term, a shift to renewable energy could benefit L’Abri’s operations and finances. However, there are hurdles to overcome, such as high initial costs and difficult procedures. If we end of needing to install solar panels at L’Abri, please pray that the finances and circumstances will work out well.

Our 7-month-old boy, Aru, who couldn't even crawl when we came to L’Abri a month ago, started crawling here, then sat down, and is now able to hold onto anything and stand up. Recently, he keeps escaping from his bed and the room, so I'm busy trying to catch him. Now it's really hard to make sure my eyes don’t leave him even for a moment. My body grows more and more tired, but I think about God's heart as I look at my adorable child. He, too, can't take His eyes off us. And yet, He is patiently waiting for us, hoping that we will grow into something more beautiful, helping us more appropriately than anyone else, all depending on our needs. These days, there are many times when I am overwhelmed by the fact that God loves me with a love that is incomparable to the love I have for my child. I end this letter by praying that stories of being overwhelmed by God's love will unfold in abundance in the lives of our praying family.

Yours,

Hyun-Ji Kim

Translated by Ye-Jin Ahn

A special lecture by Dr. Lindholm

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