October 2001

Thanksgiving/Advent/Christmas/New Year/Lunar New Year

Dear Friends and Colleagues in Mission,

Here in Korea, as throughout the entire world, we are shocked and saddened by the events of 11 September in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania. When we first saw the vivid images on television our thoughts immediately turned to our niece who lives not far from the World Trade Center. Unable to reach her be phone, we finally made contact by e-mail. She and her husband were OK but she did hear the explosions as the two planes hit the towers of the World Trade Center and later smoke and debris came through the windows of their apartment as the towers collapsed. In a later phone call to a relative in Taiwan we were shocked to learn that a cousin worked on the 92nd floor of the South Tower. When his parents in Taiwan saw the television news they assumed that their son had perished in the collapse of the building. However, when our cousin heard the explosion in the North Tower, he immediately thought it prudent to leave the building. He did not know what caused the explosion, but he and a fellow co-worker started down the stairs as fast as they could. At the 52nd floor his friend could run no further, so they decided to take an elevator the rest of the way down. As they prepared to enter the elevator, the second plane hit the South Tower on the floors above them and the elevator stopped working. Realizing now that they were in imminent danger, they literally ran down to the ground floor and out of the building. Within minutes the building collapsed, killing virtually all in the office. He quickly phoned another relative who then phoned his parents in Taiwan and told them that their son was alive and well. In talking by phone with relatives in Taiwan almost three weeks after the incident, we found them still in a state of shock and literally trembling as they spoke.

Here in Korea there have been prayers, special memorial services, and offerings taken to aid victims and their families. In classes with the international students we have had intense discussions concerning these terrorist attacks. Our students all come from the developing world—Myanmar (Burma), Vietnam, India, Congo, and Kenya. Their experiences with U.S. foreign policy and with Islam have been varied. The Vietnamese student grew up during the war in Indochina, and he knows from firsthand experience what war is really like. The African students have experienced a militant Islam, which is rapidly gaining influence throughout much of Africa and posing a direct threat to Christians. The students in Myanmar come from minority tribal groups that have been in a state of war against the central government for years. They have also experienced the results of U.S. economic sanctions against Myanmar. The student from India, officially a non-aligned country, comes from a background of advocacy for the poor and disadvantaged and has strong reservations about U.S. cultural imperialism in South Asia. He pointed out that in India Christians and Muslims are united against a common enemy, a growing Hindu fundamentalism. It was a learning experience for us to listen as these church leaders expressed their feelings and perceptions concerning U.S. foreign policy and influence.

Of course, they all strongly condemned terrorism, and they joined with others in the Jeonju English Church as we prayed for the victims and their families and took up a special offering for the PC(USA) Trauma Fund. But they also expressed concern about the ways that the U.S. government acts unilaterally on so many issues of global concern. They wanted to know the reason that, in response to these terrorist attacks, Americans are asking "Who?" and not asking "Why?" They wanted to know why the U.S. uses so much of the world’s natural resources while thousands die each day in other areas of the world from hunger and disease caused from such simple things as drinking polluted water. They were concerned with the Western media’s negative portrayal of Islamic fundamentalism while ignoring an equally dangerous Jewish fundamentalism (which is never called by the pejorative term "fundamentalism" in the Western media). They expressed a deep fear that the U.S. response to the events of 11 September might unleash a war between "the West and the rest" or between "the West and Islam" as suggested in Samuel P. Huntington’s book The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. And they said, "Now Americans can feel the uncertainty and fear in which so much of the rest of the world lives every day." These were sobering words, and they have made us aware once again that it is important for Americans to listen to our Christian brothers and sisters from the developing world. It is important for us to understand that not everyone sees us as we see ourselves.

As we approach Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas, and the New Year holidays, we are naturally filled with expectation and the hope for new beginnings. But this year our celebrations will be tempered by what happened on 11 September. Sin and evil are very much with us, and we Americans are perhaps aware of this in a way that we were not prior to that date. International mission is urgent in these times, and it is important that the world hear, know, and experience the triune God—the love of God, the grace of Jesus Christ, and the peace of the Holy Spirit. We remain committed to proclaiming this good news in word and deed. Let us pray for one another, and for the world even as we give thanks that God does indeed, dwell with us in Jesus Christ.

Yours faithfully in mission,

Carol Chou Adams and Daniel J. Adams

The 2001 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 181