L'Abri Newsletter, November 2025

November 15, 2025

Dear praying family,

“Will you frighten a driven leaf and pursue dry chaff?” (Job 13:25 ESV)

For the first half of the fall term, the Lord has sent us various guests from Korea, America, Australia, and local villages. When the guests arrive, I used to worry that I may not be able to provide honest answers, but nowadays I worry that I may have deepened their wounds and disappointed their questions. I do struggle to be patient with dishonest questions that are not actually waiting for an answer. However, I earnestly pray that the Holy Spirit, our "counselor and comforter," will help those who need answer and comfort to those who need them.

For the past twelve weeks, KyungOk and I have had the privilege of helping Suri Church in Yangyang. At the recommendation of the former and current executives of the Yangyang Christian Association, we have been assisting with Sunday sermons and lunches while the senior pastor and his wife are on sabbatical. We found it a very helpful time to hear and learn about the real conditions of the local church.

And L’Abri Chapel continues to worship at Jeongdaun Village Center on Sunday afternoons and conducts online Bible study on Wednesdays. Recently, we baptized Jeong Hae-chan, the son of Jeong Ji-man and Lee Se-han. Please pray for Pastor Lee Sang-Ki, who is serving without pay, and for Kim Jin-hyeong, who is preparing for the elder examination next spring.

For the second of the fall term, from November 18 to mid-December, high school seniors who have completed their college entrance exams will visit. This year, approximately 43 students, including students from Byeolmuri and Somyung Schools will visit in groups of ten for a two-night, three-day trip. While the thought of prospective college students fills me with anticipation, my heart also feels heavy as I consider how I will interact with and connect with these students, who carry the burdens and fatigue accumulated over the years. Yet again, please pray that the Lord will continue to shape and grow both our students and our staff.

After learning that some students have read Francis Schaeffer's Escape from Reason, Hae-jin is preparing a lecture on interpreting the zeitgeist through art and critiquing it with the Bible. Seong-jun and Mi-ra, who have been helping us since the summer, are preparing both a talk on how to withstand the intellectual and spiritual challenges awaiting students at university and play a haegeum performance Dr. Dohyung Kim, who is deeply committed to worldview education, is preparing a lecture on how teenagers can cultivate resilient hope in the midst of challenging circumstances

KyungOk would normally be busy preparing meals and lectures, but unexpectedly she is currently awaiting lung surgery on November 28th. During the national health screening in September, doctors suggested further examinations. After endless tests and careful discussions, surgery was determined to be necessary. It is shocking news for all of us. But we are relieved that the cancer has not spread all over the body and the operation date for KyungOk is fixed so soon.

Please pray that my wife will be able to undergo the surgery with peace of mind. I also ask for your special prayers for the attending surgeon and all the medical staff, as well as for her stable rest and care during the recovery period.

Because this came so suddenly, we considered canceling the students’ visit. But thankfully, Seong-jun and Mi-ra offered to help wholeheartedly; Yue-jin is willing to come down from Seoul; and even Ki-Jin and Eui-jin would come to help with meals on behalf of their mother. For these reasons, we decided to proceed as planned. Please pray that everyone, empowered and guided by the Holy Spirit, may work together in unity to care well for the students.

Aside from visiting the hospital with KyungOk, my daily routine is to rake fallen leaves. Yesterday, torn between the romantic desire to walk barefoot on the maple leaves and the frustration of not being able to swipe the rain-soaked persimmon leaves properly, I suddenly remembered a conversation I had with my mother, who passed away last winter.

Me: “It seems like the leaves will all fall down before the persimmons ripen.”
My mother: “For delicious persimmons, the leaves on the tree must mostly be gone. That way, they can receive plenty of autumn sunlight and ripen well.”
Me: “I thought trees shed their leaves in preparation for winter; I didn’t know that persimmons need to lose their leaves to ripen.”
My mother: “That’s not all. If there are too many leaves, the autumn wind will scratch the persimmon skin, making it look bad and taste worse.”
Me: “Are you saying that fallen leaves not only make permissions sweeter but also make their appearance beautiful?”
My mother: “That’s right. Life is like a fallen leaf. In the spring, it wears a bright orange dress and looks stylish. Then, come summer, it changes into a green uniform that doesn’t stain easily, and it provides cool shade to many. In the autumn…”
Me: “In the autumn, just like a mother who toiled to raise her children, it bears delicious and beautiful persimmons in yellow, red, and green without even realizing that its own body is withering away, and then it falls alone like a leaf.”
My mother: “Well, it’s time for me to die like leaves, but I don’t know why I haven’t even died yet, even though I’m over ninety years old. I long to die, but the Lord won’t allow it yet.”
Me: “You speak like Job, Mother. When he was sick, he complained to God, ‘Will you frighten a driven leaf and pursue dry chaff?’ and lamented, ‘to those who long for death that does not come…’ (Job 13:25; 3:21)
My mother: “Perhaps Job lived a life as difficult as mine.”
Me: “He lost his children and all his possessions overnight and suffered to the point of scraping his skin with tiles. Yet, he understood God's will and shared it."
My mother: “Please read one verse of what he said.”
Me: “I will read Job 13:25, ‘Will you frighten a driven leaf and pursue dry chaff?’”

I cannot compare myself to Job, but I feel like a mere leaf or dry straw blown away by a strong typhoon wind. It is because of my wife’s cancer diagnosis, but I find myself growing weary of my own foolishness—of asking questions and requesting prayers without any real willingness to hear the answers. However, even amidst the shock and anxiety, I hold onto the Lord's hand, stronger than any typhoon. Please pray that until the last days, KyungOk and I may share the gospel more clearly and warmly with each person the Lord sends me. Thank you for your prayers and offerings.

Yours respectfully,

InKyung

Translated by Ye-Jin Ahn