IN THIS ISSUE

                Mission First

                Pictures – Pioneer Mission Movement

                Golden Angels

                When Should You Bow

MISSION FIRST

Monday night I returned from a very moving trip to Korea. I had gone for the NSD (Northern Asia-Pacific Division) Annual Council or Year-end Meetings. But it wasn’t just a round of policy decisions, budgets, and actions. It was really a celebration of mission from the start to the finish. Their motto is really what they are doing in NSD – Mission First. I don’t think I listened to a single report, policy, or discussion that wasn’t about their mission to the largest division in the world (by population).

Tomorrow I leave for the second largest country in the world (by population) – India. Again I am going for their year-end meetings and pray that God will use these meetings to help further His work in that vast division (which includes Nepal and Bhutan as well).

PICTURES – PIONEER MISSION MOVEMENT

(Pictures taken by Glenn Mitchell, Associate NSD Secretary)

Over the last five years 44 pastors and their families were sent from their homes (mostly in Korea, but some from Taiwan and Japan) to frontline church planting positions in other parts of the division. They have gone into difficult (and sometimes dangerous areas) of Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Mongolia, Macau, Hong Kong, and other territories (not named). They spend a year learning the language and then begin planting a church in their newly adopted country.

I was privileged to be part of the dedication service for the next group of PMM pastor families. There were 12 of them. Most will again go to various parts of NSD (some to parts I cannot name). One will go to Congo and one to Kazakhstan as well. I was standing in front of the couple going to Kazakhstan and found myself crying during Pastor P D Chun’s prayer (he is a retired NSD President). And I wasn’t alone. We weren’t just sending these young people out on an exciting excursion. We were dedicating them to a life of sacrifice – for some it could be the ultimate sacrifice.

As in the past, many of these will be going as Global Mission Pioneers. Please pray for them as they bravely move into an unknown future, obedient to the call of God to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.

GOLDEN ANGELS

Being a PMM pastor is lonely work, so in 2004 the division formed a singing group of eight dedicated young people from Korea who donated a year of their life to help support the work of the PMM pastors and their families. They traveled all over that vast division to support evangelistic meetings with their singing as well as helping to distribute handbills, visit people, etc. Each year a new group is chosen and some have come from Taiwan, Mongolia, and Japan. They are a powerful group of singers bringing a powerful message to young people like them who thought they had no need of God. Several have gone on to be pastors themselves.

One of the young men who has been a part of the Golden Angels this year told me he can’t stay on another year because he has to go do his military service. Somehow I believe his witness will not stop in the army. And after his two years of service I won’t be surprised to see him again actively involved in some form of frontline mission.

WHEN SHOULD YOU BOW?

Since I am talking about Asia I thought I would include this piece written by Kathy Arnett, one of our volunteers teaching English and Religion in Korea.

She is barely taller than the level of my kneecap with her flowered sundress and matching shoes.  Two pigtails evenly set on her head frame a face that contains her beautiful almond-shaped eyes.  The entrance of the supermarket is in front of her.  A young man smartly dressed in the store’s uniform stands at the side of the entrance, bowing and respectfully greeting those who enter.  Her mother, in a hurry, has already passed through.  But the little girl’s steps have slowed as her attention is riveted on the greeter.  She pauses.  Then, with a look of delight on her face, her hands go out on both sides and she bows a low bow.  It all happens in a matter of seconds, unobserved by most.  But I am privileged to have been a few steps behind, and everything inside of me wants to pick her up and hug her.

The bow.

It comes in all shapes and forms, from a slight nod of the head to a full-on body bend.  You see it everywhere.  It may be two businessmen smartly dressed in suits, a child to an elderly person, someone saying goodbye, someone in church before singing or preaching a sermon, students to teachers or casually among friends as an unnoticed habit.  I have discovered that it is possible to bow when walking briskly down the street, in a crosswalk, or when driving a car.

It always amuses me when one of my students is running up the stairs for class and I am coming down from the 4th floor.  They barely miss a step as they bow, “Hello, teacher!” and continue on, breathing hard from their sprint.  The other day, I opened the door of the classroom to find my students milling about, talking noisily.  Tim, 16 years old and teenager through and through, immediately made an about face and bowed low, laughing at the surprise on my face.

This respectful form of greeting is part of the culture I have come to love, even though it feels odd to have people bow to me.  Stranger yet, I find myself incorporating it into my own ahn young ha say yoh’s (hellos) without even noticing.  So, if next time I see you, my greeting includes a slight dipping of the head, please don’t think I am strange--it’s just the Korean in me.

I took this from an email newsletter being edited and sent out by Jill Walker Gonzalez (WalkerJ@gc.adventist.org). Jill works for us processing applications for Adventist Volunteer Service. She sends this newsletter to volunteers in the field, but if you would like to be on the list I think she would be happy to include you.

And how about you? Would you like to be a volunteer? Would you like to share what you know about God with others? Would you like to see God from a whole new perspective when you see Him being reflected through the lens of another culture? If so, check out our website (www.AdventistVolunteers.org). The experience will change your life.

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The Musings started out as a weekly update for family and close friends. It has grown far beyond that, but is still only sent to those who have requested it. You are welcome to share it with others, and we would be happy to add their names to the list if they ask. If you have received this message in error, or for any other reason feel you do not wish to be included in future mailings, just ask us to remove your name, we will understand. To unsubscribe just respond to this email and say "unsubscribe".

The pictures are of reduced quality for emailing. They will not print well. If you need a copy with high resolution, let me know and I will be happy to send you one. However, each high res picture may be one to two megabytes and could take several minutes for you to download.

Homer Trecartin

Associate Secretary, General Conference

Director, Adventist Volunteer Service

Planning Director, Adventist Mission

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
12501 Old Columbia Pike
Silver Spring MD 20904

301-680-6077 (w)
301-332-5538 (m)

301-680-6635 (f)

Visit our websites at www.AdventistVolunteers.org

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