A Call to the Himalayas

It was September of 2007 and our son John who had lived in South Korea for three years teaching English (as a second language) at a private ESL school (Hagwon) for children, had gone on a missions trip to the Himalayas in Nepal, with a group from the church where he attends; Life Church, in Suwon, Korea. They were separated into two teams, one working with the children in an orphanage supported by a mission, Mercy Now, in Katmandu and the other going out into the mountain villages to evangelize and meet and encourage some of the itinerant pastors there. There was a long bus ride and then trekking around some landslides and climbing up the mountain slopes to the small remote villages, high in the Himalayas.

When the team returned from the mountains and joined up with the others at the orphanage in Katmandu, there was a time of sharing and some were asked to give their stories and testimonies of what Christ had done in their lives. John was particularly moved by the testimony of one of the girls from the group at the orphanage who was from Life Church also. He prayed that he would get to meet and to know her personally, She was, Soyon Chun, a MK now living and teaching English in Korea. When John boarded the plane to return back to Korea, his prayer was answered and there was Soyon with an empty seat beside her and then a delay of the flight where the passengers waited on board for some time. The rest is history and on August 30. 2008, my wife and I had the thrill of witnessing John and Soyon's marriage in Suwon, Korea.

Earlier this year John enrolled in the Korean Language Program at Seoul National University, so that he could get a better grasp of the Korean language and culture, intending to go through the program for one year. He was about to give up his teaching job at the private "hagwon" school. Shortly after, some things happened and I'll go now to John's letter below that he posted on Soyon's blog:

The Future Is Now
Our vision and reasons for the Korean Language Program were well intentioned, well thought out, and probably the most reasonable course of action for us at the time.

Then about 2 weeks before I was to start the program, my wife and I decided to take a week and commit it to prayer. At this point our missions training would have to wait a year or two until after the Language program, but that was fine with us. Korea had become our safe home. And we felt that after a year or two in Korea, we’d be better prepared, better educated, and better suited for the mission field.

Halfway through that week of prayer we met a young married couple who had been through part of the Himalayas mission training (at our church). They were about to leave for India and Nepal for the short-term-on-the-field portion of the training. They began talking about Nepal and the fire in our hearts started burning again for Nepal and its people.

At the end of our week it was becoming quite evident that God didn’t want us to delay going to the mission field for two years. My wife recognized it before I did… or more accurately, I didn’t want to recognize it. I was starting University in less than a week, we were actively involved in church and the community, we were developing new friendships with people, we were connecting more with our family, and I was in Judo classes that I really loved. For the first time in my three years in Korea, I really felt like I was starting to connect with and embrace the Korean culture. I love this country and it feels like home for Soyon and me. I certainly didn’t want to give that up.

My wife is awesome! What I love the most about her is her big soft heart. She grew up as an MK (missionary kid) in Nigeria. She loved her time there, but still carries some deep hurts about her upbringing as an MK. If you’re an MK, I’m sure you can relate. Recently I’ve seen God do some amazing things in her life that show that she really is being healed of those past hurts. I think for the first time in her life, she’s feeling some consistency. She, like me, has come to love Korea and call it home. It’s safe and offers her stability, something I was afforded living in a small town for over 26 years, but something she has just come to find. For an MK that’s always been moving around, it’s a new and refreshing change not to up and move around so much. I think she would have been content to establish some roots here and settle down.

But at the end of that week of prayer, God really started speaking to her heart. She listened. She let go of the stability and safety that Korea offers us and suggested we radically change our life and our direction. No more delays to the calling God has for us. It’s time to start the missions training. I saw the change in her. She was teaching me a thing or two about obedience and faith and she didn’t even know it. She still struggles from time to time (like we all do), but she’s faithful and responsive to God. I love her for that!

So here I am with an itch to go back to school and improve my judo throws. I figured it was too late to turn back. I was enrolled in University, tuition was paid, in-laws were so proud of me for learning Korean, we’ve got a nice apartment, sweet car (KIA PRIDE!!!), and great life right here in Suji. Why would I want to give all that up? Why risk all that? It makes no sense.

And then I think about Peter in that passage in Luke. He says, “Master, I worked hard all night and caught nothing. But because you said so, I’ll put down the nets.”

Peter is a fisherman. Fishing is all he knows about. He fished that same spot all night with no success. It made no sense for him to throw the net back out there. But he did. And Jesus rewarded his obedience and faith. We believe He’s the same gracious God and will do the same for us if we just listen to what He’s telling us.

It made no sense, but we quit the Korean Language Program. It made no sense, but we probably offended our Korean family slightly. It made no sense, because I already quit my job a week prior to this…

But because You said so, we put down our nets.

God has since filled our boat!

I was able to quit the Language program with a 90% refund for tuition. I got my old job back and got another great job (2 jobs now) that I’ll work until the end of July, thus allowing us to pay off my school debt (finally after 10 plus years!) in less than two months and save a bit too. It looks like we’ll be able to start the 4 month training for the Himalayas as early as the end of August. Praise the Lord! And miraculously this all occurred in the span of our week of prayer.

We are excited to be starting this new journey and new adventure.

Like Peter and his companions we are astonished at the improbable things God worked in our lives in such a short time frame.

And like Peter, I think, “Go away from me Lord. I’m a sinful man.” I feel so unworthy of it all. I struggle with thoughts of not being adequate enough and strong enough to go to a place so foreign. I feel like I don’t measure up at so many things that the mission field will hold for us. Unskilled, uneducated, unready are we.

And yet the words of Jesus jump out and hit me right in the face. “Don’t be afraid.”

Peter was a fisherman. It’s all he knew. He wasn’t adequate to preach, skilled to teach, educated to witness, brave enough to stand for Christ, or strong enough to go where God called him to. He knew how to bait a hook, untangle a net, and gut a fish. But he pulled his boat to shore, left everything, and followed Him anyway.

We feel like Peter. We know a few things that we are familiar with. But if we leave everything that makes sense and follow Him anyway, God will fill our boats. Sometimes our boats may be full of water and we’ll feel like we’re drowning. Sometimes our boats may be full of the catch of men. Peter failed God miserably and he stood up for God triumphantly. I expect some of the same struggles and successes for Soyon and myself.

God’s plan seems to be constantly changing, refining, and morphing our lives into His perfect will as we seem to be dragging our feet, kicking and screaming, “No. Not yet. Wait for my time God.”

And Jesus says to not be afraid and just follow Him. We’re gonna try.

I read my blog entries from a year or two ago and the plans I had. I think about what’s happened over the past month. I keep thinking, “My, how things have changed.”

Please keep us in your prayers as we start this new phase of our lives we feel God has laid before us.


Read the rest of the story HERE.