L'Abri Newsletter, July 2021

July 12th, 2021

Dear Praying Family,

How you are doing in the midst of the pandemic? I am spending my daily life struggling to renew the loneliness of horizontal relationships into a vertical relationship with the attention, love and prayers of prayer family.

We were in high hopes of opening next semester as the vaccination rate rose and government regulations on social distancing seemed to ease, but the prospect of a fourth wave driven by the Delta+ variant has forced us to wait another time. Even in the midst of this, we see God’s perseverance, mercy, and faithfulness as seasonal flowers bloom, the leaves become greener and the fruits are ripening. The calamities made by fallen man are not beautiful, not peaceful, and not alive, but the reality God created gives beauty, peace and life.

Even after the fall of man, God keeps what he created. Even at the time of the Great Flood in Genesis 7, He called Noah and loaded all the creatures by type into an ark. He kept the one family that listened to God's word and followed it. God blessed his family and said to them, “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.”(Genesis 9:1, ESV) He said again like the first time when he created all the things. we see the God still alive, who gave us a rainbow with a promise that he will never give such this disaster, with us through the Bible and nature.

It was not because Noah's family was special, nor did he have honor, ability, power, wealth, or education. There was only obedience by listening God's word and following it. God chose and kept such a family and worked through it. Since Noah’s family had lived a separate life by listening to God’s word, patiently waiting, and carefully examining the situation for 375 days in the ark, they were able to enjoy God’s blessing, beauty, and life again. God performed a miracle on that separate ark.

It has been over 500 days since the Coronavirus pandemic began. It could have been put to an early end, but the pandemic is still with us because of “the structural thinking of the evils of pathological narcissism and the laziness of not wanting to pay the price” (Morgan Scott Peck, People of The Lie). No, it's coming back with more contagious variants. We recognize that this is a time when we desperately need God's mercy, forgiveness and miracles.

Crisis often comes from human greed and sinful nature, but God sometimes uses those times to deliver miracles. He may be allowing this time to save and protect a single soul. I think NOW, this moment is an opportunity for us to cultivate perseverance, the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and it is time to reveal our Christian identity. For this, the prayers of the praying family are desperately needed. Please pray for this.

1. We ask for your continued interest and prayer for the online Christian Worldview Forum (August 13, 14, 20, 21 / 7-10 pm). Young people who are interested in the forum are sending articles on good topics. Please pray for the presenters, listeners, commentators and various technical situations in the online forum. For more information, please visit the L’Abri website.
2. Please pray for the fire inspection. There are many things that need to be replaced, such as installing fire-fighting equipment, updating the legal purpose of the L'Abri house, changing curtains and window shades with flame-retardant materials, and using flame-retardant paint. We heard from Greatham that after receiving the suasion from the fire, they spent a lot of time, money, and manpower in repair, replacement, and installation in fulfillment of the fire regulations. Not long after hearing this news, Korean L’Abri is in the same situation. It’s a little embarrassing. However, we have a miracle hand. God kept us safe from the sunshine, rain and wind with the repair of the roof last year. I believe that this year, He is preparing in advance to protect the inside of the house from fire. Please pray for the necessary expenses, and professional and appropriate people so that the firefighting system is fully established before November.
3. The old gas station and the mountain in the back of the house seem to be on the market for sale soon. Please leave it in God's hands and pray.
4. Please pray for the L’Abri workers. A few days ago, ChangHee’s grandmother passed away. I heard that he sent his grandmother back to heaven in God’s grace. Filled with the grace, His family was able to have the funeral with joy. Please pray for the comfort and peace of the family. InKyung, KyungOk, ChangHee, and I thank God for our daily life and take good care of studying, translating, online tutoring, and preparing forum, so please pray that this will be a time to prepare well for the next task. Also, we ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit to send the proper workers to L’Abri.

In the movie Babette’s Feast, Officer Lawrence said: “Mercy and truth meet together, righteousness and peace kiss each other. Man, in his weakness and shortsightedness believes he must make choices in this life. He trembles at the risks he takes. We do know fear. . . There comes a time when your eyes are opened, and we come to realize that mercy is infinite. We need only await it with confidence and receive it with gratitude. Mercy imposes no conditions.”

Waiting for the time when God’s mercy and truth meet and righteousness and peace kiss, even in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, I hope that we take the opportunity to remind ourselves of our identity as Christians that carry out what we need to do honestly and faithfully, learning to persevere no matter where we are and what kind of pain we may be in.

Yours sincerely,

SamWon