Thursday, December 15, 2011

The Experience of Abraham (Conclusion?) - In America

I'm back at home for break, yet I'm busier than ever. Anyhow, this may or may not be the last post on the Abraham series. I feel that this series has helped me secure my dad's experiences into my brain more. However, as we inch closer and closer every week, it's been getting a bit hard to write. Like, I'm not writing for the sake of making it a biography or get something out of it, but even in writing biographies, it can be pretty awkward in writing it when the person is still alive and the events had happened the day before. And plus, I haven't had the precious opportunities to hear my dad's recent experiences as much. Many of the past blogs, my main sources were times of fellowship over dinner with other saints who had asked how my dad had come into the church life. Maybe another time in the future, I can have another opportunity to hear both of my parents' experience in the 21st century, and blog that as well.

To sort of give you a sense of direction, after this blog, I guess I'll mainly focus on (not trying to be conceited or anything) my personal experiences of enjoying Christ. A lot will be happening in the next few weeks, so it'll be a combination of posts regarding the past and the recent past. Anyhow, just in case for the sake of those who may have missed earlier posts, I'll add a little insertion in the end on the importance of our Christian heritage - the portions of Christ acquired by those who have gone before us.

Anyhow, my parents basically came to America to follow the vision and the ministry they had seen in Chile. Giving up futures, finances, and comfort, it has been a long journey over two continents in a span of time a bit longer than 3 years. In America, they started working. My mom worked in various kindergarten and preschool places. My dad jumped around in various occupations ranging from almost being a pool-man, food deliveries, book distributing, to burger shops. His original intention was to enter the Full-Time Training in Anaheim (yes, I also asked him "HA. At your age?") after 3 years or so of working and learning English. Anyhow, that desire in itself shows that my dad was serious in following this ministry. Well, shortly after we arrived in the US, it was announced in one of the international gatherings that the Middle Age FTT was being opened up to the Korean-speaking saints. From then on with some direction from the Lord and the Body, my dad begun to serve the Lord ful-time. My mom followed later, after my sister and I both left LA, to also be trained.

And now a little insertion regarding the importance of the experience of those who have gone before us. My original intention in writing this was to share my enjoyment and experience of the most wonderful person in the universe, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the embodiment of the Triune God. But I felt like so much of my experience had to do with what my physical and spiritual parents have gone through. I feel like I would have been a totally different human vessel if I didn't go through some sheltered hardship and suffering by following my parents.

This is also seen in the Bible. The first family in the Bible is of Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel. We all know the story how God was pleased by Abel's offering of animal sacrifice over Cain's sacrifice of his produce from the field. Well, how in the world did Abel know that he had to sacrifice the firstling of the flock? It must have been because he listened to his parents. Adam and Eve were supposed to be sentenced to death, but God made coats of animal skin to cover them (meaning that He killed an animal in their stead). Same thing with Noah - he was one who followed the patterns of the generations before and enjoyed what God had reveal to those before him (Adam's way of salvation, Abel's way of proper offering, Enosh's way of calling on the name of Jehovah, Enoch's way of walking with God). Without the experiences of those who had gone before him as pioneers, Noah would have had to start from the starting mark.

Same picture seen with Abraham and Isaac. Abraham suffered much and had to leave his own country and cross many rivers and experience much hardship to get to the good land. Isaac, on the other hand, because of what was done prior to him, just very happily received all the enjoyment.

My point here is this: we stand on the shoulders who have gone before us and thus, we should appreciate and receive much from those who are before us - our parents, the saints who are our parents' age, our serving ones, and even those who are just a few years older than us. We thank the Lord for all our spiritual fathers that fought for the testimony of the Lord, beginning from the apostles who have physically met the Lord and were martyred, to many who fought with blood and tears to fight the opposition from within and without. We thank the Lord for those who stood according to the revelation seen by the Word - that justification is by faith, baptism by immersion, church grounds, and against the Nicolaitan work of the clergy-laity system. We thank the Lord for those laboring to translate and safeguard the Bible to make it so available today. We thank the Lord for the brothers who have given up their entire life for the proper interpretation of the Bible.

Without them, we would be at ground zero in bringing the Lord back.


Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Recap of the Quarter - I'm thankful for...

Three months ago, I couldn't believe I was halfway through college. All that complaining, whining and crying has definitely been worth it :) Maybe I could have done it without them, but anyhow, it really hit me that I was almost done with college. On one hand, I do regret some of the things I've done and some of the choices I made or didn't make. On the other hand, however, I thank and praise the Lord for all the experiences He has given me, especially for the negative ones. I would never trade my experience here at Northwestern and Chicago for anything else.

Anyhow, that was three months ago. I can't believe that the fall quarter is already over, and that I'm over the 50% mark. Well, at the end of the quarter, I have always had a time of giving thanks to the Lord for the things that had happened in the quarter. Of course, some are extremely personal, and you probably wouldn't want to read them anyway, but in this post, I'm going to post a few in my list that can probably benefit every one of us and also, recap the quarter.

This quarter, I'm thankful for...

...the Bible. Thank the Lord for the Word. This is a shame to say, but I have to admit that I have never been an avid reader of the Bible till now. I really thank the Lord for really speaking regarding this matter of the Word. It took me a while to catch on with the burden, but in a lot of the conferences this year and in the college training, there was a burden to be recovered back to the Word. Now, I'm enjoying this book as never before. We followed some of the college students in Athens, Georgia, in what is called the Bible Reading Challenge. Basically, read the Word in a consistent manner (around 1 or 2 chapters a day). This has assisted in me being religious about reading the Bible. As Christ-lovers, we don't want to do things as a ritual or a religion. But if there is one thing that we should be religious about, it's eating. The Word is our nourishment, and every time I opened up my Bible this quarter, I felt like I was fed. Do you want to find God? His address is the Word. I thank the Lord that He has made Himself so available and concrete for us to touch. When we read the Word, we come in contact with a Person, and in His words, you can touch His heart's desire. My encouragement to all, and especially those younger, is to read the Word in a consistent manner, whether it's a verse or day or 5 chapters a day, something that can be carried out for eternity. These habits are precious. Oh, and I have to say, reading the Bible in a consistent way takes care of 95% of your problems.

...the Bible again, specifically in this matter of reading it in prayer. I said above that if you wanted to meet God you have to come to the Word right? Well, John 4:24 says that God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit. You can come to Word Avenue, but without the use of the proper faculties, you may end up knocking on the garage instead of the front door. I really enjoyed coming to the Word and chewing the Word in prayer. Many times, especially with a schedule, we want to do finish it really quick and check it off. I really enjoyed taking the time to "chew the cud", praying a verse in a very slow way to the Lord, and then re-doing it -- like a cow does with its four stomachs.

...companions. How could I have gone without the brothers this year? I thank the Lord for all the brothers He has placed me with in Northwestern. I enjoyed all the dinners, the car-rides, the banana smooth-shake nights, and times of prayer for each other. I really the Lord for my roommate this year, and the daily habits we built in going through the morning revival book and reading the Bible. The Christian life is a corporate race, and it's so much easier to run when you have someone to take care of, and someone to take care of you. I really enjoyed the spontaneous singing that would pop-out in the middle of our studying together.

...gatherings in the homes. This is a big thank you. You can see God's heart's desire and His eternal plan, but I have to tell you, they can't be accomplished without the homes. I do have to say that much growth occurs through personal contact with the Lord, but I have to admit, you can't sustain your personal contact with the Lord by yourself. You need the encouragement of all saints! In the homes, there is the proper cherishing of the soul, and nourishing of the spirit. The homes are the New Testament pattern of the church life! Day by day, house to house meetings are the way to go!

Thank You Lord!

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

First Table Meeting in Cincinnati Recap

I'm going to take a brief hiatus from the Abraham and Isaac series this week to add this quick insertion and another, an end-of-the-quarter recap, possibly tomorrow.

So, this past weekend, I had the marvelous opportunity to go to Cincinnati, Ohio for the first Lord's table meeting there. First of all, I just have to say that it was a wonderful experience.

The trip began Friday night - a short trek on the Chicago el to attend Conrad and Karen's home meeting in the UIC area. I need to re-visit this home meeting again, so wonderful and enjoyable! After the meeting, I got to spend the night at Dion and Emily's so we can drive down to Cincinnati as soon as possible. The next morning began early and we bustled around packing and eating breakfast. I think we left the house around 7:30 AM-ish. All four of us (Mora, their greyhound tagged along) got in the beige Honda CR-V to begin our 6-hour trip to Ohio.

I won't get into too much detail, as the meat lies in Cincinnati, but we stopped by Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky, with much fellowship on the ride there. I had heard Dion's testimony many times beforehand, but I never had the chance to hear Emily's story. This is the real gem in road trips - hearing the stories of different saints. Anyhow, one particular thing that really touched me and resounded within me in this car ride was the story how Emily ended up in Chicago, which she had no affiliation with whatsoever. Somewhere in that story (you'll have to ask her for the details, as this is just a tangent) there came upon an intersection where she had to make a choice. And this is relate-able in our daily lives. We come upon decisions all the time. Rather than praying to the Lord, "Lord, which way should I go?", we should pray "Lord, I want Your heart! If I have Your heart, I have everything. Doesn't matter which way I go, as long as I have Your heart's desire." That wasn't exactly the way she said it, but somewhere along that line...

So, we arrived at Cincinnati some time around 8 PM, Eastern time. Our first destination was the Garcia's, a couple from Texas that had migrated to Cincinnati. They had a wonderful apartment, where the Grosse's were going to spend the night. I, on the other hand, was dropped of at the brother's house in Cincinnati, where EJ and Travis (both who are students/going to be the students) lived. They were renting out a really nice house with plenty of space for a price that is unheard of in Evanston! Anyhow, another brother from Texas, Alex, was also staying overnight with us.

I wouldn't say that anything special or spectacular happened, but I would definitely have to say that I felt right at home. There is something about being with brothers, that just feels so home-y. I've met EJ through a few conferences and trainings, but probably never got to converse with my brother for over 10 minutes, but it just felt like we've known each other since we were little. Same thing with Alex and Travis. Those brothers were so dear, and I wish I didn't have an exam at 9 AM on Monday, cause, otherwise, I would have stayed in Cincinnati longer to hang out with these brothers.

Okay, let me fast forward to the meat. We spend the night at the brother's house on Saturday and Lord's Day morning, we get up to some awesome breakfast burritos that Alex made. The table was being held at the Marriott hotel because there were going to be a LOT of saints coming over. And indeed, there was. I think there were around a 180 saints in total in that meeting room.

Again, nothing spectacular,  I just felt right at home in Cincinnati breaking bread and praising the Lord just like in LA or Chicago. Brother Tym Seay from Austin also came to visit and shared a bit regarding "Oneness." And if you don't mind, I would like to share a little bit:

God is one. Oneness is His nature (Deut. 6:4). Furthermore, God has a plan, which is to make Himself one with man (1 Cor. 6:17). For this reason, He placed man in front of the tree of life, suggesting man to eat Him so that He could get inside of man to be one with man. We also see through the gospels, that the Lord Jesus Himself desired for His disciples to be one with one another. So, here we see a lot of onenesses going on.. One oneness. God is one with man, and we are one with each other through this same oneness that we are one with God.

So, we see that God is one, and desires to be one with men so that men would become His corporate expression. To express God whose nature is oneness, His corporate expression must also hold to this oneness. His corporate expression is the church, and the church stands upon a ground, which is the genuine ground of oneness. The church can only be built on the ground of oneness. Built upon other ground, it is impossible for the church to stand (or stand properly).

A little insertion here to describe this -- A brother once told me how important the site (ground) is in relation to building a structure upon it. It is so important in fact, that an architect has the right to terminate a contract if the site is changed.

The genuine ground comprises of three things: the unique oneness of the universal Body of Christ, the local ground of the locality, and the reality of the Spirit of oneness. Our God is one, and just like any normal human head also has one Body, God has one Body. This is the universal Body of Christ, which expresses God's nature of oneness by itself being one. This universal Body of Christ, comprises of all the believes in the world. Practically, for distance and time reasons, the believers meet as the Body of Christ in their respective localities as the believers did in the New Testament. And this does not mean that each localities are separate now because they meet in different cities. No, it's one, just practically manifested in various localities. Look at the moon. There is one moon. The moon in Cincinnati is the same moon in Chicago, but in both localities there is a local manifestation of that moon. Thirdly, we need to have the reality of the Spirit of oneness. We are all under the universal Body of Christ. And we can meet in the local ground of oneness, but without the Spirit of oneness, we are all dead. The Spirit of oneness is like the pulse, the life-flow of the Body. Without it, we'll just be a corpse. Praise the Lord for another city where the universal Body of Christ is locally manifested with the Spirit of oneness flowing!

Anyhow, just a brief recap above. I have to confess I need to get into this matter more. I lack the utterance that brother Tym had. Lord, I want to see this matter more!

After the table, we had lunch back at the brother's house with some of the saints in Louisville. Then started the 6-hour trek back to Chicago, where I got to pleasantly sleep/study next to Mora :)

Thursday, December 1, 2011

The Experience of Isaac (Part 6) - Leaving Chile

I don't really know how exactly this happened. I don't remember if I wasn't made aware, or if I had known it but hidden it from my friends for a time. We were leaving Santiago.

This was going to be an exciting year, I felt. I had finished two full years at SEK, and I was seemingly getting adjusted to this Asian kid in Chile life. For the fourth grade, we got to move to another part of the school, and I always enjoyed having a change, so that alone felt exciting. It was good to see a lot of my friends again and I was glad to be able to start playing basketball with my buddies.

The next thing I know is that we are leaving for the airport. Why did my parents not let me know? Or if I did know, why was I hiding it from my friends? That will forever be a mystery to me. 30 minutes before leaving our old-blue apartment, I knew I only had time to make one phone call. I called my dear friend Glen, who was at school at the time (I skipped class that day to go to the airport). His mom picked up and was kind of wondering what in the world I was doing calling her at this time of the day. And it was hard to explain what I was doing. Since Glen wasn't there, all I could do was to leave a message. I told Glen's mom to tell Glen that I was going to miss him, and wanted him to let the rest of our classmates know that I was heading to... the Estados Unidos de America.

She was kind of in shock, and I could tell she didn't really know how to respond to that. I believe she just said that she would let him know, and we ended the conversation. All I remember doing after is getting into someone's car to be dropped off at the airport. It was just my mom, sister and I that were flying. Dad was either already there, or waiting to come.

America was so different.. and going through customs was the hardest thing ever, as a child. So much tension. So much hustling around. Carrying heavy luggages. A foreign speech. Just when I thought I was settling into life for good, we moved again, this time over the hemisphere.

I still remember that lady who was talking to us being.. so mean. No emotions, no smiles, no expression. Those are the moments in life when you just feel your childhood being taken away. Especially, when you are the one who has to talk to her. There was nobody at the booth who could speak Korean, so we had to speak Spanish to her. I had to translate for my mom, and all those words coming out of her mouth that formed a question just seemed like a test that we had to pass, that we had to answer correctly, or we would be sent back home to Chile. Anyhow, let's fast forward this dramatized moment. We miraculously get in. Mom says we were going to get in anyway, but I think she was saying that our of faith. It just seemed like there was no reason why we should have been given access to come in.

So anyhow, life was a new start, again. I take a look outside and again notice that the streetlights are different shapes. This gives me the awry feeling I felt three years ago when I exited the airport in Santiago. Something about them streetlights... from the familiar to the unfamiliar again.

We settled down at the Kang's. Again, like the Jung's in Santiago, it was a family of three kids, with the two elder kids being girls and the younger being a boy - Ashley, Esther, and Joshua. They lived in a nice part of Los Angeles called La Brea, which is right in front of what is now the Grove. The first few weeks of American life was pretty solitary for me. I had no friends, and no way to communicate.. since I did not speak the language. I had to communicate to the kids in my broken Korean, only to realize that they did not speak any Korean, nor understood any. During the short period we stay in La Brea, I remember struggling because I wasn't home. I was in another person's house, and although that family welcomed us as much as possible, it was still relatively new to me so I just had to grit it out.

This brings in mind to me what it is to be like God, homeless. I wrote a little bit regarding this in my Kankakee post,  but I'm going to write a little bit more again, because this matter can never be repeated enough! I can most confidently and bravely say that this is the meaning of my existence in the whole universe, and the focus of my life. So, let me take a look really quick and read the Kankakee post so I won't be repeating myself too much.. I'll be right back..

Okay, I'm back. Great. I haven't written regarding Genesis 28. Just to let you know ahead of time, I'm probably going to speak again regarding Gen. 28. One of my fave chapters in the Bible. But to be brief because I wrote so long already, and just to drive the point: Jacob had received the blessing from Isaac that was supposed to be Esau's. Warned by Rebekah, he has to leave his own house, away from the comforts of his family, where all his resources -- food, shelter, and fun -- were. He is kicked out of his own house by the threats of his own blood brother to kill him. He basically trades the comforts of his bed, to the bare floor outdoors, and substitutes a stone for a pillow. You must be very desperate if you cannot find anything else to be your pillow. No hay? No mounds of sand? No folded clothes? Shows you what kind of situation Jacob must have been in.. Anyhow, it was in that kind of situation that God revealed to Jacob, His heart's desire, Bethel (translated the House of God).

Strange how God would reveal it to a tricky person like Jacob, somewhere in the middle of Genesis. Wasn't Abel was a really good kid? and wasn't Adam the first man on the earth? God revealed it particularly for Jacob because he was under a certain condition, a homeless one. He was in a state that matched God's situation of being homeless, and only in this kind of state, was man able to sympathize with God.. I'm not saying we should all end up becoming homeless to experience what Jacob experienced. These times will come eventually, a sudden transition in life from the familiar to the unfamiliar. I just like to encourage you to read Genesis 28 in a prayerful way during that time. Jacob received this clear revelation in his homeless condition. (I'm also not saying that being in this state is the only way to know God's heart's desire regarding His house).

I'll end it here :) Didn't want to end the entry with just me, me, me, so had to add this small addition. I don't know what I'll write next week.. I might move back to my dad's side of the story again, or continue on my line.. Check back next week..

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Thanksgiving Conference 2011 Brief, Brief, Brief Recap!

So you struck gold this week!

I will be posting two entries because this past weekend there was a marvelous conference in San Jose that I didn't get to go, but got to watch all the messages through the webcast.

First of all, let me say that this thanksgiving break was both awesome and sad at the same time. This was the first year that I was not able to go to the Thanksgiving Conference live, because it was too far. The last few years it's been at drive-able locations, Columbus and Indianapolis, but they took it away from us :( The good part was that I got to spend quality time with the families in Chicago. It was a great time hanging out with the Barker's, the Robert's, the Yun's, the Johnston's, and the Hall's. We ended up having 6 Thanksgiving meals in total.. a record in my life which I hope I never, ever dare to attempt again.

Anyway, enough of myself, time to focus on the conference! The general subject and the burden of the conference this year was: the focus of the Lord's recovery.

To be honest, going in, I had no idea what this phrase meant, or what it could possibly mean. So, let me do some assisting work for you. First of all, defining the words:

fo·cus

[foh-kuhs]  noun
 
a central point, as of attraction, attention, or activity: The need to prevent a nuclear war became the focus of all diplomatic efforts.

If our Christian living is a road, the center will be the stripes that divide the incoming and outgoing traffic. This conference made me realize how much of my living is in the outskirts, the edges of the road, if not even further, on the dirt on the side of the roads. Well, it's good to be re-calibrated and re-focused!

The Lord's recovery, is not the name of a group, nor an organization, nor a movement, it's something God has been doing ever since Genesis 3. After the fall, God has been doing a recovering work, bringing man from his fallen state back to the original state He had planned in Genesis 1 and 2. In Genesis 1 and 2, we see God's heart's desire and eternal purpose.

In creating man as a vessel in the image of Himself (Gen. 1:26) , God wanted to fill man with Himself. For what purpose? For the purpose of gaining His expression. This is consummated in Revelation 22 with the New Jerusalem. You look at the materials that compose the New Jerusalem - they are all pictures of the Triune God! The golden streets, the jasper walls, the precious stones... No time for me to get into those..

So, knowing the definitions of these words, what is the focus of the Lord's recovery? It is the testimony of the Triune God, which is simply a corporate expression of the Triune God, the testimony of Jesus.

Man failed in Genesis, and continues to fail throughout the Scriptures, and man's failure is constantly seen again and again carried out in our daily lives. Even in the midst of all the men who failed, there is one man who has fulfilled God's original desire, that is, the man Jesus! The Father calls this one His delight, and we should hear Him and see Him only. Jesus, in all His human living, lived for the Father's will and expressed the Father in His thoughts, feelings, intentions, speaking, and living. So you can say, that God's purpose was accomplished in one man. However, God doesn't just want a single, perfect (perfect in God's eyes, not ours) man. He wants a corporate expression - many ones who are just like Jesus.

This man went through a process of death and resurrection, to become the life-giving Spirit to enter into our spirit! He did this to make Himself available to us whenever and wherever. Now, when we contact this One in our spirit, to enjoy Him and partake of Him, we become Him. The phrase you are what you eat (John 6:57), is really true.

Anyhow, my prayer after this conference is "Lord, thank You for recalibrating me!" Also, I am encouraged yet again to read in prayer, Paul's prayers in Ephesians 1 and 3. And also, I really want to get into these messages again. I have to say, the few paragraphs I have put up here is very short, maybe 3% of all the riches in the conference. There is still much left to dig. Anyway, praaaaaaaaaise the Lord!

Monday, November 21, 2011

The Experience of Isaac (Part 5) - A Boy's Life

Oh SEK. How I miss thee.. You have to remember that this was the time I really began to remember things. I know I had friends in Korea during my kindergarten years, but Chile were the years I spent my adolescence. If I had to choose between Korea and Chile, I would visit Chile. Anyhow, I'll try to condense 3 years into one post, to make sure I wring out all the boring details and just give a good story line.

There were both negatives and positives that occurred in Chile that have shaped me to who I am today. I've encountered much racism as a kid, being the few yellow-skinned kids running around the school among faired-skins (Chileans are more European-like). Many times, I've been taunted for who I was, and how I spoke. Pronounciations were always things that kicked me in the rear. Anyhow, I feel like this really created an inward motive in me to excel academically and socially. I wanted to prove to my teachers and my friends that a different color made me no different. I had trouble in Language Arts, but that was excusable. However, everything that ranged from Math to Art, Sciences to Physical Education, I competed for the best spot. And it wasn't just about getting it done right and scoring high. It was all about getting it done right and scoring high AND being first. That was where all the social glory resided. Being the first one to get up from his chair and proudly walking down the aisle while everybody else watches you in the middle of the test was what I sought for. This may sound pretty competitive, but I made a lot of friends this way and gained a lot of respect from teachers and classmates. My best friend Christian and I would always compete to be in first in class and basketball, and we had this mutual respect for each other. The only person that I counted acceptable to finish before me was Christian, and vice versa for him as well. I guess this kind of environment really translated to the high-speed work I like to be under in the present. Anyhow, in elementary school, we were so guile. We gained popularity by being the smartest kid in class, not by being the rowdiest.

This kind of competitiveness translated onto the basketball court as well. Basketball was not the main sport in Chile, it was obviously futbol. But I somehow found a liking to this sport. Being at a young age, skill wasn't obviously evident, so being a hard-worker was what distinguished you in practice. I pushed and pushed and pushed, and was further encouraged by the coach who admired hard-workers. I quickly ranked to be the captain of the team, but sadly, that didn't turn out to mean much... I was never able to go to the games. The games were always so far, and not having a car or means of transportation, I never experienced the thrill of the competition. I would always be jealous to hear the stories of my teammates, but of course, these were just small exhibition games that kept no score.

The following year, I wasn't able to join the basketball club because of finances. My dad after giving up his pastorship, took up a job as a store manager with my mom selling needles and threads. It wasn't like we were starving, but needs were barely met. Coach would take me out of class to talk to me about joining the team again and again. I was ashamed to tell him that I couldn't join because of finances. I made excuses that we were going to move away soon, and other non-sense. He offered to cut the cost of the club in half, but even then my parents told me it was hard to afford. That was a heart-wrenching experience for me.

Another highlight of my time in SEK were marbles. This was a huge trend that all of a sudden skyrocketed some time during my stay there. There was this wall where there was a bunch of water fountains in front of the cafeteria. On the other side, there would be a line of kids lined up with their backs against the wall, with a certain formation created with their marbles. Other kids would come to challenge them. They would use their marbles to hit the marble formation. What you hit was yours. What you missed became theirs. I still remember very vividly those rowdy walls.

--

I want to talk about two more stories that are actually one whole story that was a big piece in my Chilean days. Outside of school, I went to Korean school. Surprisingly, Chile had a good number of Koreans - a good number to create a Korean Saturday school every week with every grade and teachers for every grade and even a principal. We used to take the bus in downtown which would take us to this worn-down property that had worn-down buildings. It was in Korean school that I met another dear friend of mine by the name of Sang-Hoon. I honestly don't know how we met, but we somehow met. He visited me in LA, a few years back, and from hearing the recounts, apparently, he thought I was really smart, and thus took notice of me. I did skip a grade in Korean school, since I came from Korea and spoke Korean with my parents. But honestly, I thought those grade levels were a joke.. Anyhow, he noticed me and then somehow, my mom and his mom somehow got in contact with each other. And then, the next thing you know is that I'm getting excited to go over to his place and to sleep over and hang out.

There are two experiences I would like to share with SH. The first is that I really miss those creative activity sessions we used to have. Of course, we didn't call it that. We were just explorers that made use of benches, swings, sand, grass, skateboards, scooters, walls, pavements, sticks, and anything we can find outside the apartment complex. These were awesome times that, of course, anybody who is older will look down at. But I believe these sessions constituted in me an eternal kid-heart that loves crazy ideas. Our adventures would be part-Pokemon, part-Digimon, part-pirates, and mainly-whatever. We would jump over hedges, sleep in benches, heal fake wounds, destroy enemies, find and hide treasures, and a bunch of other crazy stuff. Anyhow, I know it's silly, but I really account these times with Hoon to the perpetual kid in my heart that can come out whenever he wants to. Growing up, I'm learning to balance this.. and I believe it's an extremely useful skill.

Another account I like to share is very negative actually, but an extremely rewarding experience that benefits me to this day. Sang-Hoon was very rich. His parents owned a very good clothing business that had several(?) stores in Chile. So, he would always get the latest Pokemon cards and the best of the shiny cards. I, on the other hand, couldn't really afford to buy any Pokemon cards. All the cards that I owned I got through trading or by having it handed down to me from older kids that didn't play anymore. One weekend, I slept over his house, I took a few of his shiny Pokemon cards and put them in my deck. I thought he would never notice since he had so many, and I could just hide them in my room. If it came to the point that he wanted to search my room, I would sell them, and buy new packs of Pokemon cards (yes, I am really evil). Well, he called me the night after I went home after the sleepover and asked me if I had accidentally taken his pokemon cards. Of course I lied, and pretended to not know about anything.

I thought the plan went accordingly and I was all safe now. But of course, I didn't think it over thoroughly enough. What if SH told his parents who then would end up telling my parents about it? And of course, that's exactly what happened. My mom denied it at first, not willing to believe that I would do such a thing. She came home, and asked me, and of course, being in shock and not knowing what to do, I lied. At this point in stage, it was easier to lie to continue my storyline. Otherwise, if I told the truth, I would have looked like a loser to SH, whom I orginally told that I didn't steal his cards. Anyhow, my mom let my dad know about it and when they both confronted me, I had to lie again. Man, one event in sin just brings in another and another to an endless cycle... I think it must have been a Saturday or a Sunday, or some time during the summer, because I remember we were eating lunch when they inquired. And lunch time that day was awfully quiet. Too quiet that I can hear my own heart pound, and my conscience speak. I guess before that I unconsciously knew that I had a conscience, and experienced it. Whenever I would lie, or hit my sister, I felt this painful moving in my heart that told me that I was did the wrong thing. But, oh man, never this clear. That experience definitely brought me to a definite experience of my conscience.

Soon enough, I couldn't help it. The guilt that was building up, the awful feeling of my conscience crying out, and the silence in the dinner table. I went to my room and brought the stolen Pokemon cards and showed them to my parents. My parents were in shock and angry at the same time. I was punished (which I won't go into details) and it was good that I was punished. I, for that short moment of time of stinging punishment, hated my parents. If only they had given me money to buy Pokemon cards, this would have never happened. Looking back, I appreciate and treasure this expereince. That same day, we went over to SH's place, where I made my entrance of shame. To my surprise, SH forgave me really quickly, and we went back to playing again. Oh, kids.

Anyhow, I would never trade this experience. This matter of listening to the conscience is so crucial in the Christian race. Also, having and bearing to have a soft heart to be forgiven is also essential. It's easy to forgive others; but to be forgiven is a galaxy away. (Of course, this situation varies depending on which side of the equation you are in...). Anyhow, enough dwelling in all this philosophical talk. I like to give you a verse! 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness!"

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Christians on Campus Kankakee Outing - November 12th, 2011

Last Saturday, November 12th, 2011, we had our first gathering of all the Christians on Campus clubs throughout Illinois & others. And I just have to insert this: it was awesome! So good to blend with other fellow brothers and sisters in the other campuses!

The topic of this time was the Lord's recovery of His Building.

Here's a tidbit of what I enjoyed - Our hearts can be very complex, because our living is very complex, and some times (or rather most of the times) our complex living causes us to lose sight of why we are really here on earth. I have somehow entered that kind of condition, and this weekend was very timely in bringing me back. Did you know that our God is a homeless God? Isaiah 66:1 says "Thus says Jehovah, Heaven is My throne, And the earth the footstool for My feet. Where then is the house that you will build for Me, And where is the place of My rest?" Isn't this striking? Even the lowest king on earth probably had a throne and a footstool. He probably also had a house where he can rest and dwell. But God Himself, the greatest and the highest One in the universe, asks, "Where is the place of My rest?"

What the Lord is after today is His house, His dwelling place. Speaking of a house, what is a house exactly? It's not just a rectangular formation of bricks that surround a space that contains your bed, your desk, your fridge, and your furniture. In fact, it's a place where you can throw up your feet on the couch and nobody can say anything. It's a place where you can have your bed upside down, and nobody cares. It's a place where you can be you. It's a place that expresses who you are. So, when we say that God is looking for His house, we are likewise saying that God is looking for a place where He can have the final say in the arrangements to fully express who He is.

So, what is His house? Christians throughout the centuries have had this desire to build something for God. King David is referred to by the Psalmists in Psalm 132 "How he swore to Jehovah and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob: I shall not go into the tent of my house; I shall not go up onto the couch of my bed; I shall not give sleep to my eyes, slumber to my eyelids; Until I find a place for Jehovah." What a sweet prayer. I was very touched by this verse, and a song that was written from this verse that we sang during the time:
  1. Recall how David swore,
    "I'll not come into my house,
    Nor go up to my bed,
    Give slumber to mine eyelids,
    Until I find a place for Thee,
    A place, O Lord, for Thee."
    Our mighty God desires a home
    Where all His own may come.
  2. How blinded we have been,
    Shut in with what concerns us;
    While God's house lieth waste—
    Lord, break through, overturn us;
    We'll go up to the mountain,
    Bring wood and build the house;
    We'll never say, "Another day!"
    It's time! We'll come and build!
  3. O Lord, against these days,
    Inspire some for Your building,
    Just as in Ezra's day—
    A remnant who are willing
    To come and work in Your house,
    Oh, what a blessed charge!
    Your heart's desire, is our desire—
    We come, O Lord, to build.
  4. Within those whom You'd call
    Put such a restless caring
    For building to give all—
    These times are for preparing;
    The gates of hell cannot prevail
    Against the builded Church!
    The hours are few, the builders too—
    Lord, build, O build in us!
  5. (Repeat the last four lines)
You can here the tune here in the link below.
Source: http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/1248#ixzz1e0cFngAG

Anyhow, as I was saying, Christians throughout the centuries have been wanting to build a house for God, and in good intention, built beautiful cathedrals that tower above the skies with jaw-dropping features and stained-glass. But is that really God's house? Isaiah 66:2 says "But this kind of man will I look, to him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word."

What God is after today is not a physical building, but man. In fact, Ephesians 3:17 says "That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith." God, who is homeless, is knocking in the door of my heart, asking for us to let him in. What is our heart? You can say that our heart is composed of our conscience, mind, emotion, and will. Our mind, emotion, and will are the faculties of man's soul that expresses man. Man thinks about something, loves that something, and chooses to do that something. Well, does God have the final say in your thoughts, feelings, and intentions?

To be honest, I was very much exposed how much I'm consider just myself, myself, myself, and become too busy to think about God's need, God's longing, and God's purpose. Well, I guess to kind of cap off the topic, I just want to repeat some practical application points some of the brothers shared:

To start off, here is a principle - the amount of heart-space a particular person of thing occupies, hinges upon the time spent on that particular person/thing. If you spend time playing, thinking, talking about basketball, your heart is full of basketball. I was encouraged and reminded, this last weekend, that I need to spend time with God!

Here are some practical ways you can give God more space in your heart: (1) consider your ways - confess your sins. You know, David had a heart to build a temple for God, but he wasn't able to build it. It was his son, Solomon, who became the one to build the temple. Do you know how Solomon came about? Here's the divine equation: man's transgression + man's repentance + God's forgiveness = Solomon, who built the temple. Nothing of ourselves can build God's house. (2) spend time in the Word! The word is where God resides, and you are sure to find Him there! After the children of Israel returned from captivity in Babylon, they needed a reconstitution of the Babylonian mindset, culture, tastebuds, and living. Ezra, a scribe that was skillful with the Word of God, was able to lead such a recovery in constitution.

Anyhow, we not only listened to brothers sharing, but also had a variety of activities - the weather was good enough to play ultimate frisbee, football, and volleyball. I really wish someone would post pics of that time. I would love to see them.

Another matter that I really enjoyed, was the singing and the exercise of our entire being - body, soul, and spirit - to enjoy the Lord and love the Lord (Mark 12:30)..

And I heard some rumors, that there could be another Kankakee some time this academic year. Awesome!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

The Experience of Abraham (Part 8) - Transitioning

The following weekend, my dad was ready to give his last sermon as the pastor of the Baptist denomination in Santiago.

I probably wasn't there, as we children would usually be running around upstairs after children's service had ended. I wish I was there. I wish I could hear what was said during that time -- what really made my dad give up his pastorship and follow this ministry, almost blindly.

I guess having heard it second-hand is pretty swell. I hope hearing it third-handedly for you guys hasn't watered down the original event. Anyhow, from what I remember hearing from my source was that my dad basically shared what I have been sharing with you guys for the last few weeks. All the events - kicked out of Korea, establishing something in Santiago, finding the Life-Studies, fasting for a week, etc... As he shared this, he basically told the congregation, that he had found this way and that this was the way he was going to take. He didn't coerce anybody from the congregation, nor uplift this way that he was going to take. He just left it open for the assembly.

 Apparently, it was a half-split. Half of the congregation followed my dad to meet with the Church in Santiago, while half remained.

I think from here I'm going to transition into my side of the story again.. I'll post some time soon as this post was fairly short.

The Experience of Isaac (Part 4) - My Turn Again

Okay. So I think I've moved enough with my dad's story to come back and catch up with mine. Being only 8 years old, I had no idea what was going on at that time. I did recognize how we moved from a nice 2-bedroom apartment to a 1-bedroom apartment, and then to that old-blue apartment I talked about a few weeks ago. I did remember how we had a car once a upon a time, and then we didn't all of a sudden. But yet again, I don't think I've lived life too long... I just thought that all this was part of life.

Anyhow, I want to devote three more series on my part to Chile, and then it's time to move on. I'm sorry if I've been boring you guys with personal details... The first one (this one), I'll talk a little bit about the church life in Santiago and some characters that really influenced me. The second one, I'll talk more on a human level with what happened at SEK (school life), and the third one I'll talk about the journey to America.

Since we no longer had a car, we had to journey ourselves to the meeting hall of the Church in Santiago. It was like an hour's worth of walking+train+more walking. I remember walking those hot, dry streets of Santiago that resembled nothing like something. Old buildings, untrimmed grassy areas, broken sidewalks filled with black gum patches. Anyhow, my parents, my sister and I would walk to the subway station (or was it a bus?) and after getting off somewhere we would walk for another half-an-hour to this one building structure. It had no cross or some symbol that resembled a church building. It was literally a box shaped structure that had a rectangular opening that was closed by one of those  steel roll-downs. No door. Just the roll-down. It was a very interesting open area that was still going under constructions. There were no long benches you find in large cathedrals that were grounded on the floor, just those single, white, plastic Sterlite chairs arranged in a neat semi-circle. No cross. No decorations. No statues. No flower arrangements. Just a simple gathering. For the most part, I went to the younger elementary group, which met upstairs right as you walked in the rectangular entrance. There we participated in a lot of the crafts and story-telling they do in a youth group. Except it was no longer all korean kids. Actually, we were the minority group.

In fact, for the adults, the Korean saints that followed my dad must have been quite a surprise for the Chilean saints. One day, this group of Koreans just decided to join the fellowship and they would sit at the right hand side of the gathering because most of them needed translation. One person would kind of sit in the middle as everybody would listen to the live translation.

Anyhow, we did this every week. And I really liked it. I don't remember much of what I did or what I heard. The few moments that still kind of remain vivid in my head are: that one craft where they gave us a pack of this clay material and we had to chip it with spoons till we "dug" out the dinosaurs in the middle (I thoroughly enjoyed that craft), the first day of moving up to the upper elementary class - we were moved to another room way in the back, in a creaky wooden upstairs room. One of my best buddies Manuel played the guitar and for a kid his age, he was really good. And we would sing together with our teachers some scripture songs. That one time when I kind of started realizing how competitive I was - we went out to the park to play soccer (or futbol) and I was paired with Esteban and I scored and we were up 1-0. Esteban wasn't as athletic so he would be kind of slow, and the other team scored the next two points. I was FURIOUS. I was so mad that I cried, screaming at Esteban to play some defense.. Thank the Lord that when my teacher saw this, he called half-time and we rested a bit to drink some soda. I calmed down. And I guess my screaming at Esteban kind of made him realize that I was pretty serious about winning. He started playing some more D and he stopped all the other team's goals in the second half (to this day I feel terrible for screaming at him). And being small and uncoordinated, it was hard to go through two defenders. I remember this one play though, through a combination of mostly luck and some coordination, I was able to pass through both defenders and score to tie the game 2-2. Then time ran out. I was a bit sore that we couldn't win, but I was elated by that one play that tied the game and Esteban's unheralded defensive abilities.

Two more events that are vivid in my mind -- we had a gospel trip once to a even more rural town than Santiago. The whole church participated in this week-long trip? We would stay in these hostel like commons while going around town to pass out tracts and preach the gospel. I was scared. But even at such a young age, I was surprised to see the openness of the people. We would travel in this huge bus that would carry all of us. It was so packed that sometimes, we little kids had to sit on the steps of the bus. Good way to get to know the bus driver and torture him to death by asking him how much time we had left on the trip.

It was during that time I met Jose, who has become a personal role model to me to this day. He was in the sixth grade, and was also really tall. To me, I thought it was going to take me ages to get to where he was going to be in height and in age. I thought he was the coolest kid ever. And he would take care of us. We stayed in the same room during our trip and we had so much fun playing tag. During the bus rides, we would ride together and just talk. He was an exemplar model, and I told myself, when I grow up, I want to be just like Jose, take care of kids younger than me, listen to them, play with them, and spend time with them, cause I feel very cherished and I want others to feel loved like I did. He even introduced me to cheese! When I first got to Chile, I hated cheese. It was everywhere and I didn't like the taste of it at first. I was grossed out by all the kids who ate Cheetos, and I kept loyal to my Frito Lays. Anyhow, we were on this bus trip going somewhere, and we had just stopped by this place. It was midnight so I was falling asleep by every step. Jose was getting hungry and he had prepared a snack for himself -- white cheese on bread, microwaved. I woke up by the smell of food and realized how hungry I was. I was hungry. He offered me melted cheese. And ever since then I have fallen in love with cheese. (It took me some time to break into Cheetos though..)

So the saints in Santiago had a few huge gatherings like these through our tenure in Chile. They were fun. Once, we went to this ranch where we had everything from horses to ping pong table. Anyhow, I've written a lot today.. I think. Please spare my fingers...

Thursday, November 3, 2011

The Experience of Abraham (Part 7) - Faith vs. Finances

My dad was a pastor even before I was born. He had worked here and there in other jobs before he became a pastor, but this was what he had gone to school for and have been doing for all his working life. I remember when we were still in Korea, I would go visit my dad's workplace at the edifices next to the denominational building. It was an office space full of cubicles and in one of those maze-creating boxes was my dad's cubicle. In his office were two picture frames of family pictures, a computer and a bunch of random things. When he was pastoring in Seoul Baptist, he was also an editor for the church newspaper, but besides that, not much else... maybe except for farming, since that's what my dad studied in college. But anyway, what I'm trying to say that giving up his pastorship meant giving up everything we have -- including our income and means of living.

As a pastor, my dad received financial contributions - a stipend, an apartment for us to live in, and a car. That was how we were able to maintain our living in this foreign land of Chile.

Wait, sorry, I don't think I explained why he needed to give up his pastorship. He continued to read materials from the ministry of Brother Witness Lee. And just to make a correction from last time, I think the points regarding local churches (one church one city) came from Revelation 2 & 3 for him, not Acts (although Acts also speaks regarding that matter as well). Anyhow, minor detail. The bible never mentions this matter concerning having a pastor. It mentions apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers, but not pastors. Maybe you are thinking, isn't a pastor and a shepherd and a teacher the same thing? In a sense, yes, a pastor does shepherd his flock and teach them. But on the other hand, you don't need to be a pastor to do that. The Bible, however, also speaks sternly concerning the works of the Nicolaitans. It mentions specifically how much the Lord hates the work of Nicolaitans. What the Nicolaitans did is what is commonly known as the "clergy-laity" system -- having an organizational hierarchy of ones being over others. Pastors probably started out with good intentions, but I feel that just having this title of being a pastor you unconsciously put yourself over others, and others unconsciously put you above themselves.

I do believe on one hand, we need to be under the care and leading of older and more mature brothers before us. On the other hand, God doesn't want a man to mediate His relationship with His own people, does He? Hebrews 4:16 says "Let us come forward with boldness to the throne of grace..." In the Old Testament times, Jehovah established some ordinances with Moses because man had become sinful due to Adam's fall. When man entered into God's presence with his present condition, the glory of God would consume him, because he would not match God's holiness. This is why there was one high priest who could enter the Holy of Holies once a year. However, now in the New Testament, the Lord had rent the veil that separated the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. Through the Lord's redeeming death, we now have the position to come to God, with no one but Christ as our Mediator.

I do also have a question regarding pastorship in today's society. When you go through seminary, do all your graduation requirements and write your thesis and turn it in to finally get your diploma and the "right" to teach the Scriptures, who is it that approves you? God? or the human panelists that review it?

Anyhow, I tangented again. So, my dad having realized this came upon a serious dilemma. Here was his family - a wife and two children - that he brought half-way across the globe to settle down in a foreign culture. Here was his job as a pastor that was putting bread on the table for his family and sending his children to school. But here was this reality that he had found and knew that this was it. Nothing else compares to this and comes close to this. In no other denomination or Christian group would he find such. This was truly the Lord's Recovery.

So my dad fasted.

And growing up back then, this period of a week or so still is very vivid in my mind. First of all, dad wasn't home. Second of all, I remember visiting him one day - walking down the steps to the meeting room of the congregation, seeing my dad kneeled on the floor with his face planted upon his hands on a foot-high raised platform. Seeing him and how he was unshaved, and hearing my mom saying "drink some water." Prior to coming in, I had some snacks in my hands that I was eating, but mom told me to leave them upstairs because the smell would have made dad feel hungry.

Of course, I had no idea what was going on at that time. But when I heard this part of the story from my parents later on, I really appreciated what they did. After a week's worth of time, my dad was finally made clear and had the peace to the direction he was about to take. He flew out to Korea, went to the head-pastor of the Seoul Baptist and basically, quit. I thank and praise the Lord, that despite of the fact that he had a wife and two children to feed, my dad chose the path of faith over the necessity of finance. Same with my mom, who knowing this was probably not a very wise decision from the point of view of the world, stood in oneness with my dad and followed his vision all along. 

Thursday, October 27, 2011

The Experience of Abraham (Part 6) -- Found but Confounded

He found it.

This was it.

My dad had borrowed the Life-Study of Revelation from the older couple and began to read it. Revelation upon revelation. What has been previously discouraged from digging before have all been excavated for him to enjoy.

Remember how I recounted previously that through the study of the Word, it was revealed to my dad what is commonly known as deification (a.k.a. God's Economy) -- God becoming man to make man God in life and nature but not in the Godhead. Well, this revelation was so common with Brother Lee's writings - he spoke it in such a conversational manner.

So my dad began to dig deeper, get into these truths that Brother Lee opened up so that others may enjoy...

-- I'm going to add an insertion here, because I have been enjoying this lately and I really want to share it with you all. It's the principle of ministry as revealed in 2 Timothy 2:2. In this verse is the principle of ministry, and it reveals five generations. Here's the verse:

"And the things which you have heard from me through many witnesses, these commit to faithful men, who will be competent to teach others also."

So, you can see that "the things" that Paul refers to here is the New Testament vision which was given to him. And like I said, five generations:

1st generation: "me" - referring to Paul
2nd generation: many witnesses
3rd generation: "you" - referring to Timothy
4th generation: faithful men
5th generation: others

What we see is the principle of ministry, which is that the work of the ministry is the passing on of a vision. Paul's ministry was to pass on the vision to many witnesses, through whom Timothy received it as well. Now, Paul encourages Timothy to continue passing this on to faithful men, who will be faithful to pass it onto others. The point that I'm trying to make here is that in our studying of the Word and the truth, we cannot forsake the generations before us. The way we see further is by standing on the shoulders of the generation before us. Their experiences, their studies, their constitution is so that we can stand on their shoulders so we can see further, and if needed, we may be those whom the generation after us may need to stand upon to see the final piece.

God has given His members gifts as revealed in Ephesians 4:12, and to ignore these ones is to reject God's gifts. What does this mean? It means that it's not scriptural that we interpret the Word by our own selves. Note here that I didn't say read or study -- what I'm trying to point out that all our studies and personal interpretations need to be checked by those who have gone before us.

Beginning with Martin Luther and the foundational truth of justification by faith, many church figures in between, the brethren, and others have gone before us. Many like to dispute this, but I have to confess that I have received much help from the ministry of Brother Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. This is because they have stood on the shoulders of others, and have given their lives to have others stand on theirs. I recently read some small portions from Brother Lee's "Four Crucial Elements in the Scriptures?" (can't remember the title exactly), but the gist of it is that in the Bible there are four main elements: Christ, the Spirit, life and the Church. Many others like to put emphasis in minor details - how should we baptize people, what about the presbytery, head-covering, sitting arrangements. NO! The emphasis in the Bible is Christ, the Spirit, life and the Church. In the beginning you have Christ, in the end you have the Church, and in between you have Spirit and life. Without Brother Witness Lee, I probably would have been stuck in the minor details of the Bible ( who is the greatest apostle? what was Paul's background? etc...).

-- Sorry for the tangent. Back to the story. Now I see how and why my dad was able to make the decisions he made. What decisions, you ask?

So he found this ministry and the more he read it, the more light he received. Even in the areas regarding the ground of the church. In Acts it is revealed that the for every city there should be one church. I won't go too much into details here because I have to admit that I am not fully constituted and knowledged to speak on this topic (it's on my list). It was also exposed to my dad that denominations are divisive through their names and practices. As the church, you are the wife and bride of Christ. Yet, many denominations name, categorize, and differentiate themselves as Baptist, Presbyterian, or Adventist. It's like if I had a wife, her name would be Mrs. Bang. Yet, she wants to be called Mrs. Baptist or Mrs. Adventist. You get the point. Anyhow, I have nothing against my fellow brothers and sisters who are members of the Body of Christ. I just hate the system that divides the Body. So my dad decided to rename our denomination. I forget what it was, but it was probably something like Santiago Baptist Church or Korean Santiago Baptist Church? Anyhow, change that to just the Church in Santiago as revealed in Acts and elsewhere (the Church in Antioch, the Church in Ephesus). Simple enough right? Just change the name and we'll be standing in oneness with the universal Body of Christ.

Except, it wasn't that simple. My dad wasn't peaceful. And he kept dwelling on this sense for a period of time. The longer he dwelt on it, the more uncomfortable it became. Well, it happens to be, that there was already a Church in Santiago meeting in the local ground of oneness. So by renaming our congregation as the Church in Santiago, was just a change in shell, not the kernel.

I forget how my dad got in contact with the brothers in Santiago (from the real church in Santiago). It must have again been through that old couple who had ties with the Korean Gospel Book Room. It happens to be, that KGBR had close ties with the Living Stream Ministry (LSM) in Anaheim, California. LSM was founded by Brother Lee himself, and publishes his and Watchman Nee's materials.

Now, isn't this even better!? Finding the source of the flow of riches! Well, there was only one hindrance. My dad had to give up his pastorship.

Friday, October 21, 2011

The Experience of Abraham (Part 5) -- Still Seeking


So, if you haven't caught the last blogs, here they are. But they were both my side of the story. I think it's time to return to dad's side now. 

Dad went to Chile before we did. In fact, the last Christmas we had in Korea, he wasn't there with the fam. I guess it wasn't such a big deal since we didn't celebrate Christmas anyway. I don't remember why he had to leave early, but I think he went to sort of scout the land. There was a small number of Korean Christian families in Santiago, Chile, and about the time my dad got into all this trouble, they have been contacting the head pastor of the Baptist church for someone to come and take care of the work in Santiago. So, seeing there wasn't much of an option, and believing that this was the Lord's way, my dad left for Chile before us. I think the original plan was to stay for a few weeks in Santiago, and then if well attested, move with the family for some extent of time (can't recall the exact number.. but it wasn't supposed to be a permanent thing). Well, they liked my dad so much, that they didn't just want him to have him back, they wanted to keep him. 

Thus begins our family's move to Chile - a country of a language unknown and far alike from Korean, of foreign food and culture, and far away from the comfort of familiarity. 

In the experience of Isaac series I'll explain the details of what our family went through and stuff, but in this series, I'll just kind of zero in on dad. 

So, he began to minister in Chile - establishing the Baptist Church in Santiago that consisted of a few Korean families. The congregation owned a piece of land and some property that barely resembled a building. Most of the families in the congregation were pretty wealthy. They had all established some kind of retail business (clothing, glasses, carpet, etc...) and were enjoying the no-competition market and faring well in this foreign country. So, financial support was no biggie for our family. We had an apartment, a car, a stipend and many other benefits supported by the members of the congregation. 

I'll describe very briefly four families (that I remember) that play an integral role in the story that is about to be developed:

I forget the surname of the couple, but I think it was they that really pushed for my dad to come and to stay in Chile. They were the main financial contributors to our families.

Then, there is this other older couple that I still remembered very well. Whenever the husband would pray, he would pray, very, ver-y, ve-r-y slowly. He prayed as if every word he spoke was being prayed into being. They owned a shirt-pressing-printing business. I don't know if that's what it's called, but they basically pressed logos or brands into plain shirts and sold them. They once printed a picture of a pokemon on a t-shirt and gave it to me. It was one of my favorite shirts, since none of my friends were able to find anything like it. 

Then, there was Miri's family. I think their surname was Jung. They had three children, one was older than me, and the other two younger. I think the dad owned some glasses business.

There was Esteban's family. The dad was a mediocre Christian who obviously cared about his business more than his faith. Nevertheless of who he was, I was good friends with Esteban. We would love hanging out together and playing GameBoy together. They would always lead in having some recreational activity. One summer, I remember we went to a summer house together. It was a very nice house with a fireplace and a pool (where we found a mice that fell one morning). Funniest thing. One day we were getting bored and tired of all the physical activities, Esteban's dad went out and buy a TV so we can play Nintendo games. I always thought it was so strange of him to just go sporadically buy a TV in the middle of nowhere. But anyway, it kept us well occupied.

--

So my dad continued to pastor and minister the Korean families in Santiago, Chile. My sister and I were still attending that first school I described earlier in the Isaac series. I can still recall the transformation of the building we used to hold the sunday services. We would meet in the basement. Since there were so many under-developed rooms in that property, it was a ton of fun for us. There was always adventure everywhere. The only bad thing was that there was no one to play with. The youngest boy of the Jung family was the only boy, and he was far too young for us to get along or play sports. Everybody else, being a girl excluded me from their gossiping and girl plays (not that I was interested).

Anyhow, even in Chile, my dad still labored in the Word and in the truth. And one day, my dad recounts, he went to visit the older couple who owned the shirt-printing-pressing business. They lived upstairs of the store they owned, and we would walk through the entrance of the store, go in back where they stored all the things, and climb a set of stairs to reach upstairs. Now this brother was quite a seeker himself and he had somehow gotten his hands on some wonderful Bible expositions/commentaries. And, he had somehow gotten in contact with a Korean Christian publisher by the name of the Korean Gospel Book Room and on a wonderful set of exposition called the Life-Study of the Bible by Witness Lee. I personally have read some of these books and these are eye-opening, life-altering books that have helped me grow in my Christian life.

Anyhow, at that time (and I still believe at the present) the book of Revelation was not opened to those in the Baptist denominations (and I also believe to many other Christian groups). But this Brother by the name of Witness Lee had it down. You have to read his testimony (http://www.witnesslee.org/witness-lee-testimony.html), this man was truly a seeker, and one who had so much earthly potential, but sacrificed so much that may others would be benefited through him. Anyhow, he had the book of Revelation down. While many groups  were getting confused more and more by this book, Brother Witness Lee received revelation from the book of Revelation.

Let me give you a brief glimpse - the only way to interpret the Bible is by the Bible and because the entire Bible is God's speaking, and there is 66 books, no book can stand on its own, and thus you have to look at the Bible as a whole. The first two chapters of the Bible (Gen. 1, 2) and the last two chapters of the Bible (Rev. 21, 22) are the only chapters in the Bible were Satan is not present -- either not entered the scene, or have been cast out to the lake of fire. In these two books, we can find God's original purpose. In both of these two beginning and end sections, we find similarities. There is the tree of life, and a river of life in both of these sections. There are building materials in Genesis, and there is a built building in Revelation. There is Eve in Genesis, and there is the Bride in Revelation. And so much more. Well, through these items you can see that God's original intention is that man would partake of life! -- the tree of life is for eating, the river of life for drinking -- and this would issue in the individual materials that are meant to be built together as the New Jerusalem, which is His Bride. This is a very, very brief glimpse of the help  I have received through the ministry of Witness Lee.

And this is what my dad had found..

Thursday, October 13, 2011

The Experience of Isaac (Part 3) -- The Journey in Chile Continues

Sometime in the middle of attending that school, my parents felt it was best for us to get the best education possible. Apparently, the free public schools in Chile are not that great. The government doesn't fund education as much as the States do, and thus, a lot of resources were short. I realized that the school I attended was composed mostly of those in the bottom of the pyramid. Well, of course, I didn't realize that when I went there.. only when I went to another school did I realize that.


For the second grade, I started attending a school called S.E.K. a private catholic school nearby the commercial area of Santiago. The school campus was really nice. It took an entire block that was gated with green posts and tall bushes. On the south side of the school, was a reddish-colored track with white lines, the gymnasium and the swimming pool. If you go up north of the track, you run across the giant stairs, which separated the field area from the cafeteria and the outdoor basketball courts. There were three full-sized courts, one standard size and two that were shorted to accommodate kids like us who were not so tall at that time. On the northern-most and eastern-most parts of the campus, there were classrooms, ranging from kindergarten all the way to high school. So, in a sense, it was a pretty big school, but on the other hand, it was a small class of maybe 60-70 kids per grade.


In Chile, you don't walk to different classrooms for different classes - instead, the teachers come to you, and you just stay in a single classroom for the rest of the year. Nice blue carpets, new polished stone desks that had storage underneath, and brown-wooded cubbies where we put our workbooks for every subject. The buildings were made with spanish-red bricks that towered like castle walls often interrupted by glass windows. If you walked outside, there was a little garden area like a little plaza. The walkways were covered by green rooftops that protected those walking from sun and rain, held by green posts that we use to spin around in.


And then there were the uniforms. Black v-neck sweaters or cardigans, charcoal gray slacks, white-shirt and a tie. And okay, it's not that I'm a fashionista that I remember such things. Let me explain. Since it was only a year that we were in Chile, my parents did not know any Spanish. So in things that parents should be taking care of such as applications, financial forms, school letters and mailings, my sister and I had to take care of them all. And to this day, an application scars my adolescence persona.


Applications steal away the fiction from a child. It demands one to know facts. It demands one to quantify. It demands one to be realistic. It's good to fill out applications and start learning to bear your own responsibility, but I felt that I was exposed to applications a little bit too early in life. To be honest, I was always scared of filling one out because I knew I had to turn it in, but I didn't know what to check, to bubble, or to scribble in those boxes beyond Name and Address.


Sorry, I went off on a tangent. Anyhow, uniforms. I had to tag along with my parents when we had to go buy uniforms. I'm pretty sure I was like the only kid there at that time. I don't blame my parents for taking me - they spoke no Spanish and needed a way to get around. But seeing the price tags on those private-school standard uniforms and the look on my parent's faces, that was dismaying. I must have been 8 or 9, but even at that age, I knew that my family wasn't the richest, and I knew that however much those articles of clothing cost, it definitely wasn't miniscule.


Anyhow, enough of the negative – let me end this post with something positive. This part of my life was very crucial, a gem. These beginning parts of my adolescence, I treasure them to the utmost even despite all the negative environments. I don’t remember too much of what happened in Korea, except for a few snapshots here and there. But Chile, I do remember very, very clearly. These were the days  I started having best friends, watched my favorite cartoons, played my favorite sports and GameBoy games, collected my first pokemon cards. These were the days.


I miss Christian – we were study buddies that shared much in common. We worked hard and always competed against each other on who would get the highest grade in class as well as who would score the most in the basketball court. He wasn’t the fastest because he was a heavy kid, but he had a pretty nice shot for a child of age 8, 9. I couldn’t afford GameBoys, so I drew my own Pokemon games on a sheet of graph paper. It was a maze that you played with a dice, you can choose which direction to go, and you picked up items like pokeballs, potions, or cash, or you encountered wild pokemons that you had to fight and catch or run away from. Whoever ended at the finish line first would win. I started that craze at school, and Christian was my Robin to my Batman like escapades from boring class lectures.


I miss Tapia. His first name is actually Michael, but we called our Michaels by their last name because there were just too many. One time, I totally forgot about that and I called his house and asked for “Tapia”, his parents picked up and asked “Which one?” I may have struck blank for a couple seconds. He was one of the fast kids in our grade, and we would always compete who can run the fastest. Like many of the kids in school, he lived about a half an hour drive from the city in a rich suburb. I would go over to his huge mansion like house often during the summer. We would swim in his pool then go into his game room and play video games all day long. He was one of the few kids in school that disregarded the fact that my family wasn’t so affluent.


I miss Glen. He lived fairly close to me and during the summer, I would always walk over to his house to hang out. Actually, even afterschool, I would go hang out at his place. I remember his mom would always give us chocolate milk and salami for snack, for which some reason I still can remember the taste.. It wasn't the greatest, but it was funny combination of something salty and something sweet. We would have adventures. On our bikes, with our Pokemon cards, roaming around his apartment complex. Glen was a bit socially awkward, and I think he really appreciated the fact that I hung around with him. I didn't mind him being so awkward. In fact, I would truly say that although Glen wasn't my favorite friend in school, he probably was my best friend. We spent so much time together, he was the one I had to call before leaving for the airport. I'll explain that story later..





Friday, September 30, 2011

On the Other Side -- First Time Serving at the Summer School of Truth

So, I know I haven't wrote in a while, and I should be writing some of the more entertaining blogs on the Abraham and Isaac series, but I've been holding on this one a tad bit too long. So I wanted to write it.

This past summer I had the privilege to serve at the Summer School of Truth. The Summer School of Truth is, as the name states, a time where junior-high and high school kids get together to learn items of the truth -- the Triune God, the Bible, the Church, the Two Spirits, God's Full Salvation and Life. Not only is it a school where you learn, but an awesome time where you get to be with other Christians growing together.

I lived in Los Angeles my junior high and high school years and I got to attend these truth schools every summer. It was definitely the highlight of my year and something I always looked forward to. Personally, I would have to admit that most of my spiritual growth during my pre-college years came out of these truth schools.

The first one I ever attended was on the Triune God -- I understood nil. But I just remember having a great time singing and releasing our spirits pray-reading the Word and getting to hear everybody's portion during the overflow time. Although I was too young to understand such a complex topic, the experience of being around Christians that were your age, a few years older than you, and a lot older than you was encouraging. I could envision where I should be in a few years, as well as in a few dozen years.

The second year, it was on the Bible, and during that time, the full Recovery Version bible (OT + NT + footnotes) had just come out. There was a challenge that year that whoever memorized all the subjects of  all the 66 books of the Bible and could recite it all at once, would be awarded the full RV bible. A few other young people and I really pushed and set aside time to do this. And we got it!

Anyway, I can ramble on and on regarding my experience in the Summer School of Truth. If I could sum it all up in one word, it would be awesome!

Well, the summer I graduated high school, I went to the College Training and Poland YP conference which were good substitutions for the truth school. But this last summer, I was able to attend another summer school of truth, but from the other side -- the side of a serving one.

It's really interesting, but when you serve the young people, you receive a double portion of enjoyment. First, the portion that you receive by being there, and second, the portion of seeing the young ones enjoy their portion. I would have to say that the latter is so much more precious than the former.

By the way, for those who have never heard of the term "serving one" it basically is someone who is a tad bit more mature than the ones you are "serving" to guide the young ones. Like the name states, it's not one who lords it over, but one who serves. Simply put, a servant.

Anyhow, every truth school is different, and the Summer School of Truth in Chicago was two weeks long in two different places. The first week was in a small local church in Streamwood, while the second week was at a Christian camp called Camp Grow, by Green Lake, Wisconsin.

To fill you in in some details, we had just finished the College Training in Fairborn, and literally as our wheels rolled into Chicago, we headed up north to Streamwood. Anyhow, I feel like I can write a whole blog on a single day.. which I should have done.. sigh..

I just want to conclude with what were my experiences as a Serving One. First of all, it's not a huge, spiritual role. It's simply being a pattern of enjoying the Lord in front of very hungry young people. If you want to find the Lord's blessing, this is the place to come. The Lord always had a heart for the little children, and I don't find it surprising that the Lord is very present in the awesome sight of precious young people who have consecrated a whole two weeks of their summer vacation to enjoy the Lord. Being a serving one also really forces you to take down the material. The few times I had the privilege of sharing, it always consisted of having myself thoroughly cleansed to be a channel for the Lord. It always forced me to go before the Lord to really inquire what the Lord's burden was and drop my own thoughts.

Anyhow, I wish I can talk about all the fun we had during week 2, but for now, I'm going to have to cut it.. Till next time!

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Busyyyyy..

Sorry, I've been busy.

I have like five minutes or so before I have to run, so I'll make this quick. Like this quick.

P.S. I promise to blog soon.. today or tomorrow..

Thursday, September 22, 2011

I'm still alive!

Hello blogger-world.

Yes. I am still well and alive. Just haven't really had the time to post much, but that's all. Unfortunately, school has started, but I think that will only help me post more often, since I will be under a pretty regulated schedule. I have so much I want to talk about, yet so little time. Maybe I can spend the blog writing a list of what I will be posting the next few days..

Oh, and on a side note. I need to learn more about blogger... I'm sorry if you've left comments or said something and expected an answer but didn't get it.. I don't know how to do that..

Anyhow, here's the list --

Summer School of Truth 2011 (wow. I can't believe I didn't write about that..)
*The Experience of Abraham (Part 5)
*The Experience of Isaac (Part 3)
Serving the Lord as a living
Constitution
Christians on Campus on Wildcat Welcome Week.
The Bible Reading Challenge
The Progressive Dinner
Small Groups
Classes this year
Living with Stephen Chow (this will be fun to blog on)

I think that's a lot on my plate right now.. In fact, if you would like me to blog on a particular one first, let me know!

*The Experience of Abraham and Isaac, in a gist, are a series of my life story as a Christian. I recommend starting from the first one :)

Friday, August 26, 2011

The Experience of Isaac (Part 2) - My First Year in Chile

Picking up from where we left of from last time, I was on board on a plane headed halfway across the globe. Chile was a country I never, ever dreamt of going. All I knew about it was that it was a geographically skinny country on the west side of South America. I knew nothing of the culture, the language, the people, etc...


At that time, I was only seven. I was still a bit clueless at that age, and I just thought this is what life was. On the other hand, it must have been really hard for the rest of my family. My dad, of course, was being sent away for reasons mentioned in previous blogs. I truly appreciate the fact that my dad stuck with the truth he saw in the Bible, rather than conforming to what other pastors in their concepts thought was right or wrong. Mom always took me to cool places in Korea. Growing up, I remember going to a bunch of museums and afterschool programs that involved raising caterpillars, legos, math classes, etc.. She was always looking for ways to allow my sister and I to have the best educational experiences. Well, going to Chile meant forsaking her aspirations as a educational mother. The language and the culture in Chile, I must say, it's totally upside down than from that in Korea (maybe the opposite hemispheres account to that). My sister, who is four years older than I am, left Korea in the middle of elementary school. I believe she must have had it harder than I had, because I entered Chile with a blank slate. Her, on the other hand, had to basically give up everything she learned in Korea.


First time I set foot in Chile I was fascinated. The street lights were very different from those we found in Korea, and there were these roads called one-way roads that allowed cars to travel only in one direction. That puzzled me for months. I always wondered how the cars would reach a certain destination. We moved into an apartment called the "Monte Carlo's." They were nice 2 bedroom apartments that had a swimming pool across the street.


I still remember my first meal in Chile. In Santiago, they would bake fresh bread every day. It was a kind of round loaf that was a bit hard to chew on. Dad, on our first few days or so, brought a whole bag of them home. Now, I really don't know what made him do that. I'm guessing he probably didn't know that bread was baked every day in Chile... Neither did I know. Anyhow, I have to account my love for strawberry jam to that bag of bread. Even if life was as hard as those loaves, there was something sweet you can spread to get you through it.


In the Southern Hemisphere, it's summer when it's winter in the Northern Hemisphere, and vice versa. So I got to enjoy going to the swimming pool every sunny day.. till school started.


My sister and I were enrolled in one of the few public schools in Chile. In fact, most of the schools in Chile were private with some Catholic affiliations. They required students to wear uniforms in school, if which I remember correctly, they were pretty stylish. You had a tan overcoat, charcoal slacks, a white shirt and a red tie, if I remember correctly.


Anyhow, I remember going to school without having any idea what was going on. I remember going to school and being introduced to the first graders in school. I swear that I was kind of in this weird state where I heard noises here and there but had no clue what they meant. It was pretty darn confusing. We had a spelling quiz the next day though, and I remember studying so hard for that quiz. I don't know what motivated me, but I just felt the need to prove myself out there. Well, hard work did pay off as I was the only kid in the class who got a perfect score. I still remember my teacher being so proud of me and congratulating me in front of the whole class. In Chile, 7 was the highest score you can get in an assignment, and there was this joke that went around that there were some Korean parents who were very disappointed because their child was receiving 7s only (thinking that 10 was the highest score). Anyhow, I was proud of my 7s.


Well, many things happened that year in escuela. I made many friends and began to be the top student in my school. I remember how my mom would pack me this cereal + yogurt combo pack for me to take to school, and how it would always spill on to my coat when I opened it because of the difference in pressure. I remember how I had my first ankle sprain as I was walking back from the restroom back to class. I walked it off and eventually it felt better, which I think caused me to think that walking it off would make every ankle sprain better. I remember how I was first introduced to basketball in P.E., and how we tried to make a shot in that once-impossibly-tall rim. I remember how we had this end of the year performance where we danced a Chilean traditional dance, and how onlookers were awestruck that a korean kid was dancing so well. (Okay, I don't mean to boast or anything, but it was a really simple dance..). I remember my best friend Thomas, we would always hang out together and how I went to his birthday party. I don't remember too much of the party, except that my parents came to pick me up pretty late. When they finally arrived at Thomas' place, they had a little chat with whom I originally thought were Thomas' parents. Well, I found out that they were his grandparents, and that Thomas didn't have a mom and a dad. I was still too young to understand life at that time, but I remember my heart was very sorrowful that night.