May 1999

Pentecost

Dear Friends,

During this season of Pentecost we are reminded of the words of Revelation 21:5—"Behold, I make all things new." The newest thing in our lives is a Samsung refrigerator that made its way into our kitchen on 12 May. In our 29 years of marriage we have lived in 17 different houses and apartments (nine of them in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Korea) and we have never owned a new refrigerator. This is our first! Our house here in Chonju was built by missionaries almost 40 years ago, and our ancient secondhand American refrigerator was about the same age as the house. In those days everything was imported into Korea and the house and all appliances were American. So, when the new Korean refrigerator arrived some major adjustments were necessary. Korean appliances are tall and narrow to save precious space, so some cabinets had to be removed. Korean doors are wide to accommodate frequent moves, so to get the refrigerator into the house the front door had to be taken off. But now that the new refrigerator is humming away and the old transformer which converted 220 volts into 110 volts has been discarded, we find ourselves quite happy. No longer will our refrigerator be the butt of jokes by Korean friends who refer to the "poor missionaries who still use a 40-year-old appliance."

On 14 May, just two days after the new refrigerator arrived, something else happened that was also new. Carol received a phone call from the dean of the Asia Pacific Graduate School of Theological Studies asking her to translate for a visiting lecturer from China. The Rev. Su Deci from Shanghai and the China Christian Council was going to address the international students, and he needed someone to translate his lecture from Chinese into English. In the past, most visiting lecturers came from the West and translation was almost always done from English into the Various Asian languages such as Taiwanese, Chinese, or Korean. Much like housing styles and appliances, theological ideas were imported from the West. And, just like our new refrigerator, translating from Chinese into English was a first for Carol. In theological education there have also been changes and adjustments much like the removal of kitchen cabinets and front doors. Curricula have been revised and academic programs have been redesigned to focus on the needs of Asian Christians. Asian theology is emphasized, and all students are required to take courses in Asian history and culture. Visiting lecturers now come from Taiwan, India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, and China. As our students from four different countries listened to the Rev. Su speak about church life in China by way of Carol's translation, we found ourselves quite happy. No longer will our students be the butt of jokes by Western friends who refer to them as "theological bananas—yellow on the outside, but white on the inside."

Yes, Pentecost brings the Spirit of God into our lives in new and exciting ways. Whether it is sharing in an outdoor worship service and picnic with a rural congregation served by two Hanil graduates, leading a class discussion on the importance of our Reformed confessional heritage for the life and work of the church with M.Div. students, or leading worship and preaching to an ecumenical and international congregation in the Chonju English Church, we find those words from Revelation are always appropriate, "Behold, I make all things new."

As we look toward the coming summer months there will be new masters theses to read and correct and probably reread and correct again and again, new articles to write and new sermons to preach, new courses to prepare, new student applications to process, and new books to read. There will be new joys and sorrows, new accomplishments and challenges, and new occasions for celebration and for disappointment. Whenever the new comes, the old must undergo change—kitchen cabinets and front doors, curricula and academic programs, and even those of us who teach theology and Christian education. We give thanks to God that we do not face this change alone, for God's Spirit is with us and Christian brothers and sisters around the world are supporting us in so many ways. We thank you for your continued prayers and faithful support, and we pray God's blessing upon you in this season of Pentecost.

Yours faithfully in mission,

Carol and Daniel J. Adams