December 6th was the end of my sabbatical that our church graciously has allowed me to have. I had total of 3 months off. During that time, I was able to visit Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, Israel, Turkey, Greece, and Texas. Our children joined us for going to Asia and the rest was for my wife and me. It was a great time of rebuilding our ethnic root and spiritual roots as we traveled to these wonderful places. I am rested and I am ready to run 10 more years doing ministry (Lord willing).
As we traveled with our entire family for 5 weeks, we got close and found out about each other in greater depth. We got to spend that precious time with each other before marrying off our daughter. We learned about each other (what they like or dislike) and most importantly we were able to build some ethnic root in Korea and Macau as I am Korean, and my wife is Chinese. Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery (click here) was one of our favorite places we visited in Korea. This is where many foreign missionaries and their family members were buried. The guided tour and the Yanghwajin Hall experience was very impactful knowing the sacrifices of many missionaries. I think every Christian living in Korea should visit this place and soak everything in to understand the cost of making disciples of all nation.
When we visited Israel, the Bible came alive. We expected that to happen, and it surely did happen. Even now, when we read the story about Jesus, Paul, and others, I suddenly remember the places and do feel like I am in the holy land again. I kind of wish our children would have gone to Israel, too, but I am hopeful that we will get to go there again with our children later.
When we did 2-week internship at Houston (Seoul Baptist Church and New Life Fellowship) we Learned a lot about House Church Ministry. Being immersed there for 2 weeks, I gained another level of understanding of how those 3 axes function (they function together) to make disciples of all nations. I saw how these disciples sacrifice for Jesus in loving the VIPs (non-Christians). I heard a testimony that one couple loved on a VIP couple for 13 years before this VIP couple becoming Christian. House Church Ministry is not a church growth program but disciple making program from the Lord according to the Bible by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We also got to visit some friends in Austin and Dallas. We also visited some cool places in Texas. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed the weather in Texas. It is usually really cold in the mornings and evenings in California, but it was very comfortable all day long in Texas and I didn’t have to wear a jacket in the morning or in the evening. It was great visiting friends who are pastoring in Austin and Dallas. They are all doing well in the Lord and they are working hard for the Lord to make disciples. It is great to see them share about our ministries. Knowing that they are praying and cheering for me and vice versa encourages me greatly to run this race.
It was goodness of God that we were able to do everything we did. Traveling to Israel during the time of conflict, we experienced God’s protection. We experienced God’s provision through Lilly clergy renewal. We experienced God’s providence in meeting new friends in Israel and meeting old friends in their ministry places. We experienced God’s Spirit teaching more about House Church Ministries so that we can continue to lead our church to make disciples. Surely God is good all the time!
-young su mccann-