January 27, 2007

Dear Friends,

We are now in Korea. We’ve had a very busy January. On the January 9, Sariah and Kevin exchanged their wedding vows in front of 14 family and friends at the Stony Point Center in New York. We moved to Dallas, and 80 people crammed into Richard and Patricia Carson’s house for a meaningful and fun celebration on the January 13. The celebration continued another day due to the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport’s storm-related closing. Our departure for Korea was also delayed by a day, allowing us to see all the guests off before we left on a long trip to Korea, our new base.

The trip itself was unremarkable except for the length: We left the hotel on Tuesday morning at 6:00 and arrived in Daejeon at 11:30 at night on Wednesday, 26 and a half hours (time change may confuse your math). We spent the first night in Talmage House, which is named after the second president of this university, a PC(USA) missionary who served for many years in Korea. The house was built in the 1950s and recently renovated for use as the guest house for the university. We have the fortune and honor to be the first occupants.

We look forward to continuing the missionary tradition of opening the house for visitors and the local community. During our travels around the world, fellow missionaries have welcomed us into their homes and shared their family’s lives. This was much more than just providing room and board—they shared the riches of God’s blessing. We learned how to thankfully receive the hospitality, and now we have the opportunity to share what we have with God’s children whose journeys through life intersect with ours. While we rejoice in the new joys and challenges, we also have to complete the mundane tasks of setting up house again. The few pieces of furniture we shipped should get here next week at the same time the new pieces purchased by the university arrive. We know where we can buy grocery items, but for now have to depend on the generosity of friends for transportation.

We received our residency visa without much difficulty, and began our lives as members of this community. Through the experience of settling into a new community every two to three years, we have learned that joining a new community requires a journey through three stages. The first is the euphoric early days, with the joy of finally arriving at our destination when the new culture is interesting and exotic. Even the inconveniences are interesting experiences; many of you experienced this as tourists in foreign countries. Then comes the second period, which is characterized by depression, in which nothing works, unfinished business back home require attention and the new community is putting up more obstacles than we knew existed. That’s when we question the decision to come, believe the local folks are purposefully ganging up on us, and God is on vacation. This time around, we knew better than to argue with the phone company when they refused to sell us cellular phones because we are foreigners. We simply borrowed the name of a colleague and friend who now has three cellular phones to his name. We have not solved the problem of not having a credit card, also refused by the bank, but learned not to get upset. We have not even touched upon getting driver’s license and finding a car properly registered with insurance coverage. There will be many things that make us regret that we ever came here. But this time we know that the period of despondency will also pass. Finally, in time we will understand, accept, and appreciate the local values, cultures, and practices. We still go through these phases but we are less anxious than before because we know now that we must go through these growing phases, and know God is with us through all of our travails. We also learned that a healthy dose of humility and a sense of humor is the oil that makes the transition bearable.

Haejung is getting to know many people whose efforts have made our life more comfortable, and in turn she is exploring ways to make their lives more abundant. Haejung will introduce herself to the students during a chapel service inviting students to her ministry of compassion and care. Simon is also scheduled to share the story of commitment with the youth of this city, some so young their grandparents might be younger than Simon. This is truly a new challenge. Imagine giving a children’s sermon for half an hour and holding their attention throughout. Pray for us, that we may be equipped to share God’s love in the spirit of Christ.

It has been an activity-filled ten days. Much was accomplished and there is still a lot to be done. At times we feel we are spending too much time on ourselves rather than doing the work for which we are sent. Then again, we know proper preparation is necessary for a long journey.

From Daejeon, Korea

Haejung and Simon

The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, 259