February 7, 2009

Sports update from Korea:
Game 12-Seoul American vs. Seoul Foreign, championship, 4 P.M. Final Score Seoul American wins 46-45! The boys win on a last second 19 foot jump shot by senior Joe McClean! The Seoul American girls won their conference tournament final against Seoul Foreign by 22 points earlier today!

So, as you can see, we have had a very successful day in sports at our school. My friend Steve Boyd is also the head basketball coach, so it was important for me to be there and show my support. Steve is a friend of mine since 1981. We had been separated for 23 years, but this year we have renewed our friendship. He calls me his friend, and explains to his worldly friends that I am his conscience too. Isn't that interesting. When we model a Christian life, our friends who do not have a personal relationship with Christ become our field of ministry.

Some Christians find it useful to go into the streets to minister to total strangers about Jesus, and while there is a lot to be gained from this type of evangelism, I think it is the people we have a relationship with in our work and family, who really represent our "evangelism field". They are the ones who see us when we make choices, who maybe even judge us when we really don't feel like being judged. We can easily conceal our weaknesses with total strangers, but those who are closer to us every day inevitably know us for our weaknesses and strengths. While I am not against others going door to door or walking the streets to find lost sheep or hidden disciples, I think the time we spend with family members and co-workers will more likely determine the type of harvest we will have in our faith. Both are valuable, but the people closer to us are really the ones we must reach. In the word, the apostle Paul says that "five words in an understood language" are better than a thousand unintelligible words. Actions and modeling Christ in our relationships is like the "five words that can be understood." "Cold-calling" or sharing the Gospel on the street can be effective, but for many we meet there, it is like speaking an unintelligible language. Pray for my friend Steve. I really would like to see him be healed and spiritually alive!

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We have been getting a little tired and illness has been a problem for both Susan and myself lately. We know it is only temporary though. We will become healthier again, and we are still looking forward to the rest of this school year. It is flying by quickly though. With a week of February already behind us, we are starting the planning process for our summer vacation in the USA! Talk about a fast year! Soon we wil receive our travel orders, and we will begin the process of completing itineraries, and booking flights. We do not know exactly where we will be staying the two+ months of summer. So far we have very few offers to stay with people. Our house is gone, and we will be in Vassar for at least two to three weeks, so I can help with the Frankenmuth Driver Education program one more time. After July 4, we are considering a trip to Colorado to see our friends and family there. Then in August we will spend some more time in Indiana and Michigan before coming back to Korea.
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My facebook friends is growing. Over 100 people now pop in to look at our pictures. I have enjoyed the pics of my friends too. One of my friends, has some very interesting people in his pictures...Hillary and Bill O'Reilly. I won't mention the name, but you know who you are...I think you have been really blessed to travel so much and meet such influential people. This is because God uses you to do his bidding, and I will continue to pray for your effectiveness in ministry in your difficult work. Another friend is married for the third time, and I think this time she may have hit the jackpot. Your pictures in the great outdoors look really great! May God bless you within this marriage, we all know your deserve a happy life, and I pray this will be your experience from now on.

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Looking forward to many things! Tomorrow is church and we will bring Dennis with us. He is returning from a tour in Iraq. A fine young married soldier from Kentucky. Dennis became a Christian in a Pentecostal church, so I know he will enjoy his stay in Korea. After he gets to know some folks at Yewon, I will go with him to Yoido, the full gospel church of Dr. Cho with 830,000 members. Maybe the Lord will open a door there for me to speak to all of them too. Nothing surprises me anymore...God does his blessing the Koreans with love from the German-American kid from Michigan whenever he wants to. I just go along for the ride, and let the Holy Spirit do the driving! It is not my place to change the church, but it is my place to warm up the friendship between its members. That is really what I think we all need to do. I can still remember the little chorus we used to sing when I was a child, "LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, the Gospel in a word is LOVE, LOVE thy neighbor as thy brother, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE". Now my neighbor is half way around the world, and yet this biblical truth still rings true.

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Susan is still the best cook in the world! I do like the Korean food, but I just cannot get completely away from the American food all around us on the Post. For many non-Koreans who live here, the chance to get Taco Bell on the Post is a privilege. I suppose it makes sense, but I just love to shop and eat on the local economy. Last weekend I got some really super fruit at a grocery store called the "Home-something". The fruit was fresh and delicious. I only paid about 56,000 KRW ( about $40), and I put it into a box in the store, taped it up and carried it out to my car. I also bought a small radio/cd player with speakers there and now I can listen to the Korean Christian radio station in the mornings. I still don't understand it when they tell me, "it is now 5:35 A.M.", but I get the music pretty much. A lot of it is like what we would listen to in the states, just in Korean. They also play a lot more Hymns here than I am used to listening to. I like that. I had missed those 125 year old hymns, there is just something special about sacred Hymns that makes you feel a little closer to God.

One of our dearest friends here, Hyang Ho, has given us "Remnant Journals" to read and write in each day. I am not writing much yet, but I do really enjoy reading them. They also have short poems and stories in them that illustrate the Darak Bang's (Upper Room), theology. I have found it to be sound, and quite inspirational at times. The essence of the growth of small groups here, seems to lie in the simple principal that women form the cells and become the strength of their structures. While we men do contribute a lot, the success and ultimately the growth of the cell group seems to be inspired by the women. It may not seem like a big deal, but think about it. Who, but a woman, knows how to really nuture growth in a small group. Every family is really a small group, and while a man leads, it is the woman who usually makes the group responsive to each other's needs. Women were born to be nurturers,and nothing we have done to them in society has changed that! Thanks Hyang Ho for the journals, and please continue to be a part of our lives.

I have one last prayer request. Would you all please pray for our sons, Josua and Jeremias? We miss them both a lot, but we know they need to be strong and become great leaders themselves. Perhaps for some of you who know them...would you please reach out to them and let them know you care about them. They are so precious, and we know they need to be loved right now. In the summer we will catch up, but for now, some of you could really make a difference in letting them know you love them too.


 
Friedhelm & Susan Illian
a.k.a. Sung-Ho & Su-Ji