Christmas 2000

Dear Friends,

The other day as we were walking up the driveway to our house, we found ourselves amid a riot of color brought on by the autumn leaves on the hillside. There were bright golden yellow gingko leaves, flaming red maple leaves, rustic brown oak leaves, and delicate pink leaves of a creeping vine. It was a glorious sight to behold, but a sight that we usually passed by in haste as we drove off to classes each morning. On this particular day, however, we were walking home after completing some nearby errands and were able to really see and enjoy the beauty that surrounds us. This experience was so vivid that it has caused us to pause and give thanks for those blessings and joys of life that we so often take for granted.

One such joy was gathering together with a group of members from the congregation of the Chonju English Church for dinner in a traditional Korean restaurant in late November. We came from five nations, five different denominations, and represented such varied occupations as a bus driver, several students (both undergraduate and graduate), an English teacher, university professors, a nurse, and a college president. We shared not only weekly Sunday afternoon worship together, but also special times of fellowship

On Thanksgiving Day we invited several Korean friends and colleagues to our home for a dinner of roast duck. As we talked together and enjoyed each other’s company, we gave thanks for the blessing of our Korean brothers and sisters with whom we work.

Several days ago one of our faculty colleagues dropped by our office to chat. He is in the final stages of his doctoral work in the United States and will be returning to the U.S. in January to finish writing his dissertation. Dan taught him English a number of years ago, which made it possible for him to go abroad to study. As we reminisced about the past and looked forward to the future, we thought to ourselves: what a blessing it is to work with such dedicated colleagues.

Another faculty colleague often joins our Tuesday afternoon English chapel services for the international students. He came to Hanil University the same time we did and is one of our closest Korean friends. We often have supper together, give each other gifts of food for lunch, and always talk over the events of the day and the activities of the school. For a number of years now we have been team-teaching a course on Reformed theology. What is perhaps most interesting is that we have theological viewpoints that differ considerably, yet in Christ we are one and work fully together. What a joy!

Early in November, while Dan was out of town attending a board meeting for the Taejon Christian International School, a couple from a country church dropped by the house and had lunch with Carol. Like most country folk, they did not come empty-handed, but brought to us some fresh farm produce as a gift. The wife was one of our former students who hopes to begin studying for the ministry next year. Many years ago, before her marriage, she was our student assistant and we have followed the events of her life with great interest. Her husband is pastor of a thriving village church and is currently working on a degree in social welfare at Hanil. We often visit their church and it brings joy to our hearts to see how God is working in and through their lives.

Then there is a young man who graduated from Hanil and is now studying to take the entrance examination to enter the seminary program and prepare for the ministry. For four years now he has served as our assistant. He phones us every night to see if we are in good health and asks if we need him to help with anything. We’ve been teaching him English and he sometimes reads the scripture in the Chonju English Church. It is a blessing to have someone upon whom we can depend should an emergency or other need arise.

Finally, several days ago a student from Myanmar (Burma) to whom Carol is teaching Christian education, brought for Carol a beautiful gift of a handmade wrap-around skirt in a traditional tribal design. The material was woven by the student’s mother and it took her about six months to do all of the work by hand. As she presented this precious gift to Carol, we could see in her eyes an expression of appreciation for the opportunity for graduate education that was being made available to her at Hanil. Surely it is one of God’s blessings to be teaching here.

And so at this holiday season, we have found that the autumn leaves have served as a reminder to us to take note of the joys and blessings that are all around us and so often taken for granted. As we wish each of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, do take the time to give thanks to God for the blessings and joys that, like the autumn leaves, enrich our lives so much.

Yours faithfully in mission,

Carol Chou and Daniel J. Adams

P.S. Dan has written an article entitled "Christianity in Korea: Early Beginnings and Prospects for the Future" for the fiftieth anniversary edition of the Korea Times, Korea’s oldest English language newspaper. If you would like to read it, check out www.koreatimes.co.kr and then click on "Fiftieth Anniversary Contribution" and then click on the name of the article from a list that will appear. If that does not work, check the "Archives" for November 1, 2000, and search by the name of the article or the author. We hope that you will find this article on Christian history in Korea to be of interest.