February 2, 2009

Dear Friends,

Brice and Sungmin with friends from Korea, Egypt and Venezuela.

It has become a well-known saying of late that “the only constant thing is change itself.” As the tumultuous year of 2008 has given way to 2009, we have seen nothing but change in the world (like the economic crisis and the U.S. elections), in Egypt (as prices and population both continue to rise), and in our own lives! As we face change and challenges on so many fronts, Sungmin and I feel blessed to have grown up as part of a generation in Korea and America for which change was a constant experience and brings a kind of strange comfort and familiarity. This helps us to give support to people who are struggling to define and understand the meaning of the changes they are facing.

Brice serves Communion in Kom Ombo, Egypt..

In our own lives my wife and I have faced an increasing number of changes and uncertainties. As some of you know, we are facing a change in both my “pattern of service” and job description, as I prepare to leave the volunteer position I have held at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo (ETSC) for the last five years and move into a salaried position in the south of Egypt. In this newly developing position I will be working with the leadership of the churches in the southernmost presbytery of Egypt (al Ulya) to help them build the capacity for the ministries they hope to develop. This position will encourage me to sharpen my Arabic skills for greater direct involvement in preaching, teaching, and getting to know the dynamic communities in which these churches find themselves. Sungmin is looking forward to helping me in this effort, as well as doing some work of her own with local women and children in ways that are still taking shape. We are very excited about all the opportunities this new venture will offer the two of us, and I’m ready to be out of the office a bit more! Please join us in praying that a suitable replacement for me can be located to assist in the ongoing work of ETSC here in Cairo.

Sungmin at a visit to the Cairo book fair..

Another change has come into our lives of a more personal nature: we are looking forward to the birth of our first child! This is relatively recent news (less than two months at the time of this writing), so many things are as yet unknown to us. Please keep us in prayer during this joyous—and scary—new phase we are entering.

In the coming months we are praying about the actions and steps we should take. As things look at the moment, we will likely be in the U.S. this summer during June and July to visit with some of you (conditions permitting), and possibly afterwards to Korea to have our baby at a hospital run by Sungmin’s cousin. It will be a great blessing to us if we can have the baby there to be near Sungmin’s family, but at the same time this puts us far from our future place of service and delays the preparations that need to be made for our move (such as finding a place to live, furniture, etc.). All the same, we are both looking forward to the adventure, and I hope to use the time there to both study classical Arabic and pick up a bit of Korean, as well as getting to know Sungmin’s side of the family better.

Given all of the above, we welcome your prayers for all the unknowns in our lives! We are sure of at least a few thing things: there will always be changes to look forward to, and our God is the Lord of all change and with us in the midst of it.

Grace, mercy, and peace to all of you!

The 2009 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 344

Contributions to my ministry from individuals may be sent to:

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Individual Remittance Processing
P.O. Box 643700
Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700

Please write the title and ECO number on the subject line of the check (Brice Rogers #E074031) and on your cover letter as well. Churches should use their normal receiving sites.