For most of you, this letter, detailing the specifics of my trip, is a continuation of an earlier one I had personally sent to you. For the rest of you who happened upon this page perchance, hello(!), and please do read on.
When I packed my bags and left the great city of New York en route to Seoul last September, I was, for all intents and purposes, at peace with the decision. I had been awarded a “once in a lifetime” opportunity, as they say, so naturally I assumed it warranted taking. Initially however, Korea bore no semblance to my past experiences abroad, nor did it live up to the hype with which people spoke of it back at home. In fact, I was convinced it was the worst place I could have chosen to live as an unmarried late 20-something (gasp!), non-aficionado of K-pop/K-drama, externally-so-Korean-but-internally-not-quite woman. Even worse, during a year when I had planned to accomplish so much, I lacked focus and couldn’t really identify why.
It took 7 months of griping, frustration, and being shaken to the core for me to realize God had placed me exactly where I needed to be. He had scooped me out of a deformative environment to shed light on every corner of my life—the idols, pride, self-reliance, cynicism, and insecurities—and remind me that those things did not define me, that I didn’t have to accept them as part of my nature, that I was His beloved.
Everything changed after that. I grew hungry for intimacy with God and plunged myself into the Word and prayer to know him more deeply. I stopped resisting community and hiding behind anonymity and opened my heart to new friendships and serving the Body of Christ. And now, God has blessed me with the opportunity to join 9 other members of Jubilee Church on an outreach trip to Medan, Indonesia this summer. From Aug 25th - Sept 1st, we will be partnering with a missionary couple supported by Jubilee and Food for the Hungry, an international relief and development organization, to do village level children’s ministry and leadership training for FH’s Child Development staff. This is Jubilee’s first time sending a team to this country and we are so excited for all the vision casting that will surely be had.
That being said, we most definitely need to be prayed up and would love your help with this! Indonesia has weathered through a turbulent history of colonialism then democratization, natural disasters, corruption, and rapid economic changes. A predominantly Muslim nation, there is, no doubt, intense spiritual warfare going on there, but there is also incredible potential for redemption. Please pray:
- That God would make Himself known to this culturally rich and diverse land in a powerful way.
- That we would be His instruments in accomplishing Christ’s task of building the Church by meeting people where they uniquely are—proclaiming God as not just a cerebral truth for them to accept, but a spiritually victorious power over their lives.
- For the Lord’s favor upon Ryan and Carolyn (our missionaries) and Food for the Hungry personnel. That the Spirit would renew and protect them daily and that our team would provide them with refreshing encouragement.
- For providence over team unity, health, and logistics.
More personally, please pray that I would savor God and be full of passion for Him as this, according to John Piper, “precedes spreading it in missions.” I can’t commend what I don’t cherish so please pray that I would “delight in God so as to reflect his glory. For God’s glory is most reflected in us when we are most delighted in him.”
Also, we are each required to raise 1.5 million KRW (roughly $1300 USD) to cover all projected expenses for this trip. If you feel led to donate financially, you can use this website to conveniently transfer money electronically (via PayPal for those of you overseas). Any level of support you can offer would be so appreciated.
Thanks for your time and generosity. Let’s continue to live lives which are “saturated with a passion for His global cause” and love others in a costly way!
With love and gratitude,
Karen