Yomitan Church, Japan

Lee EunJeong (Pastor Kim KwangSung’s wife)

I had this desire to meet people.  I wanted to meet their needs and be their friend.  This led to the opening of a Korean language class, which now has 23 students in three groups.

I thought it was necessary for me to get a degree in Korean language education before teaching Korean myself.  Korean is my mother tongue, but it would not be easy to teach foreigners how to speak it if I did so without basic teaching concepts.  I had to spend quite some time preparing the lessons because I was poor at Korean in my school days.  I also prayed this prayer whenever I prepared a lesson: “Dear God, who gives me wisdom, grant me the gift of teaching and help me to meet my students’ needs so that they may be led to You.”

Class time itself was not long enough for me to become friends with them.  So I got acquainted with them by making kimchi and having meals together after class.  We performed a play in Korean, kept a diary in Korean, sang songs, and made a presentation to the invited guests of the students.  It led all the students’ friends and families to step into the church.

Most of those that had attended the Korean language class for two years eventually attended church meetings.  One of them got baptized, and another one, who has attended church every Sabbath for several months, is now expecting to be baptized.  I have several friends that I can invite whenever there is a special event in church, and they will come without any hesitation.  I prayed to God from the bottom of my heart when I recruited students for a new class last April: “Please help me recruit those You have chosen.  Let me have students who will not only learn Korean, but also be led to You.”

That’s how eight people were recruited.  They were able to read a little Hangeul (the Korean alphabet) after a month.  The class met once a week, and it usually took us three months to read a book.  So I said to myself, “A group that prays fervently gets better results.”

This year, we started a Korean worship service once a month on Sabbath afternoon in order to connect with the church members.  It is a wonderful opportunity for those who want to speak in Korean.  It is such a precious time for them to pick up the Bible and proclaim the Word of God, even in their poor Korean.  Sometimes they would memorize memory verses in Korean.

This may be a passive approach to spreading the gospel, but I’m pretty sure God, who knows my situation, will bless every work that I do.  My belief is that God, who has started His work, will finish it in due time.  I pray that I may be a faithful worker and fulfill the tasks that God gives me.