Missionaries*

My wife asked me if I would make a “guest contribution” to our blog. I accepted. Specifically, she asked me if I would write about my spiritual experiences here in South Korea. It’s easy for these types of posts to grow in length as there have been many blessings whilst we’ve been here, so I will tend to the brevity of this post as best I can.

I will begin by sharing with you my previous experiences from when I was a Student Missionary on the Island of Yap, three (3) years ago.

While on Yap, I had a very difficult time in feeling that I was making a positive impact on the lives of the students. Most Student Missionary’s prayers go something like this, “God, don’t let me be ineffective as I try to serve You.” My prayer went something more like this, “God don’t let me negatively affect the students, rather, let me be, if anything, ineffective in their lives.”

So my first year out as a missionary wasn’t so much a year of triumphs and spiritual conquests, but a year of spiritual struggle.

To cut many words into few, this year has been a total reversal from my other experience. It seems that spiritual blessings are boundless and countless. The following paragraphs are short examples of people who have been blessed by God while we’ve been here.

Nearer to the beginning of our time here, I prayed a prayer along these thoughts and words, “God, send me someone my way whom I can influence for You. Amen.” Within the next few days, one of my students asked for Bible Studies.

Wow! How many people come up to you and ask for Bible Studies? Does it get any easier? So during the past few months, my wife and I have been studying the Bible almost every Saturday with a young man and his girlfriend. They are our friends and they trust us. As a result, it is much easier to share with them what the Lord has shown to us in our lives. And it seems that every time they ask a question, the Lord supplies us with answers straight from His Word. We have been able to talk about many things: Where do people go when they die? Is Hell eternal? What guidelines should we have in music, movies and media in general? And many other topics.

What’s very positive is that when we talked about how there should be an apparent difference between Christians and non-Christians, they totally agreed! Paul, the student who asked me if he could study with us, said that there’d be no point to being a Christian unless there was a difference! This attitude makes many topics very simple to discuss. Many people want to hold on to all of their current practices (and sometimes, understandably so), but Paul sees that living for God should, and does, bring positive life changes. He is honest with the difficulty of making life changes, but he is also excited to continue walking with God into healthier lifestyles – mentally, physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually.

In addition, we just plain, ol’ enjoy spending time with them. It’s a blast to spend time with a young Korean couple discussing various life topics and how God has great plans to give us more enjoyable lives. In the next few weeks, we hope to see a movie with them, go to a park, and possibly go to an amusement park called Everland.

Another man in his mid to upper 30’s was in one of my English classes. He made it very clear during the term (a 2 month period of study) that he had no interest in God, but, rather, was more of an Agnostic or Atheist. I tried my best to share evidences and logical theories which bolstered the existence of God and the authenticity of His Word, while showing some weaknesses in such beliefs as Evolution and Atheism. The term came to an end. I could do little but hope and pray that God had influenced his life and planted some seeds. So I was excited when, looking at the list of students in my religion class for the following term, I saw his name.

As this second term went along, he had no problem sharing with me that he frequently got drunk. This is a very normal and common part of Korea’s culture and society. However, a large portion of our religion class dealt with wine in the Bible. (Did Jesus make wine? The short answer is…no. Jesus made “wine,” but wine, when translated in the KJV time period, could have multiple meanings – a fermented grape drink, or unfermented grape juice.) So I shared with the class evidence which suggested that God doesn’t actually admonish wine, but rather deters its use. Whether or not this portion of the class persuaded him, he recently told me that he had given up drinking. He said he felt much healthier, had more money, and had more time to spend with his family. He really liked not getting drunk! What’s more, he told me that he was thinking about God more and maybe believing in Him.

I don’t know what the future holds for this man and his family, but it is very positive to see someone willing to consider the advantages of alcoholic abstinence.

In my most recent term, a well-learned (as far as English goes) woman was in my class and frequently asked questions, especially about the daily Bible verse we discuss for the first 5 minutes of each class. This one class and verse in particular had her asking many questions. As I tried to accurately and logically answer each of her questions, she gave no indication through facial expressions, emotions, or answers, as to whether or not she agreed with what I was saying. Thus, I came to the conclusion in my mind that she was probably upset with my answers.

At the end of the class, she approached me with more questions. I again answered her questions as best I could – balancing truth with tact. Though, as previously stated, I expected her to show frustration or disagreement, this was not the case. She shared with me how God seemed more clear, and how the answers made sense to her. With this, I swiftly ran to my locker to make the most of the opportunity (I frequently run to my locker to grab a particular book which I hand out as often as I can). I ran back to her and handed her a book, Steps to Jesus. This is the Korean-English, simplified adaption of the book, Steps to Christ. She seemed delighted.

A few weeks ago, before the end of the term, I asked her if she had had a chance to read the book. She said she had, and, in fact, she had read it the night before, and a particular phrase, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” (obviously said by Jesus) had jumped out at her. God is watering those seeds.

Examples like these happen almost daily it seems. It has been really wild. My wife and I wonder if America isn’t really like this too, but untapped. Maybe one of the reasons events like this happen here so frequently is because we make the most of the opportunities we have instead of letting them slip. Perhaps we do this because we feel it’s our job as “missionaries” to talk more about God. Whatever the reason, we want to take this mentality with us wherever we go. It’s a true adventure to see what God has been doing here in South Korea.

*The term "missionary" within the Christian church seems redundant. Shouldn’t a Christian, by default, be a missionary? How have we come up with this term? What exactly defines a “missionary”? Is it getting paid less money? Is it traveling overseas? If we use these determiners, we could almost classify “vacation” as the same. This is a job. I believe we should all work with the same energy to bless and influence those around us – no matter where we work.