May

Mid-term examinations have come and gone. The students studied very hard and, for the most part, did very well. I really admire them. Can you imagine being required to take a core class in a foreign language your freshman year of college? The KCU kids are the best!

Korea is especially beautiful right now. The last of winter has blown away and we are having fine spring weather. Many of the fruit trees are still in blossom and people are planting flowers everywhere. From my new apartment I can see the Han River and the mountains to the north. The temperature is perfect --- warm enough in the day that you don't need a jacket and cool enough at night to sleep well.

Preaching

Thirty-six years ago Bill Richardson started the Uijonbu Church of Christ and they invited me to speak at their anniversary service last Sunday. It was wonderful to get out of the city and visit the country. Brother Park, a graduate of BCC, preaches for them and I truly enjoyed their hospitality. After worship we had a great potluck supper and I think I ate my weight in fresh strawberries. It was fun to play with the children. (They are all learning English in school.) The kids really enjoyed my digital camera. I could take their pictures and they could instantly see the pictures. It was a big hit! (Click here to see pictures.) Bill Richardson also shared a wonderful story with me that was told to him by the pioneeer Korean Restoration preacher, S.K. Dong. Click here for the story.

The Korea Mission

I have started working with Malcolm Parsely at the Church of Christ Mission. The Mission started so many good works in the 60's and 70's here. Some of you will remember the great works of Haskell Cheshir, Dan Hardin, Sid Allen, David Goulsby, Bill Ramsay, and Bill Richardson. These pioneers founded congregations, established schools and did so many good works. Every time I drink a glass of milk here I am reminded of the "Cows for Korea" program! (At the end of the war there were no cows in this country. Dairymen from the church in the United States sent part of their herds to Korea so the milk I'm enjoying today came from "Christian" cows.)

Presently Malcolm and his staff are working on an international web site, similar to what BCC is doing. (Visit their web site at http://Christ.or.kr)They needed some help with the technical aspects and so I am putting those computer classes I took last year to work. Unfortunately their system was hit by the "Chernobyl Virus" (along with thousands of other computers in Korea). Computer viruses are programs that "infect" your computer system. These malicious programs are written by "hackers" who get their kicks out of destroying other people's computers. Some viruses are just a bother, but others, like Chernobyl, are "deadly." Two of the four computers at the Mission were infected. We had to do major repairs to one and Malcomb lost the hard drive in his personal computer. Imagine a fire burning up all of your sermons and lessons from the last year. It was a great tragedy.

The lesson is the same one you learned in Boy Scouts: "Be prepared." There are two things you need to do to guard against viruses. First, get a virus protection program and use it! (Two great programs are Norton Anti-Virus and McAfee Virus Scan.) Then don't forget to back-up your important files on a regular basis, then store those back-up files in another location. (If your house should burn down and your computer melted, your back-up files would be lost too, unless you store them elsewhere.)

CBS Radio

I am doing more with the radio station now. In addition to my weekly talk, I am reading the daily Power for Today devotionals. I love getting email from the listeners. Here is a sample letter that followed my talk on worship. I stressed the difference between worship and entertainment and pointed out how God is the audience and we are the performers. It is not enough to listen to others worship, we must participate.

Hi!

I could listen to your sermon today. I'm very impressed. Thank you for your words. Sometimes I also think that chaple makes me happy and joy. But today I realize I have to worship, pray, and sing for my God. From now, I will be a real christian of God. Thank for your sermon and thank for your e-mail. I,m looking forward to your e-mail. good- bye

The Korean Military Mission

I edited my first issue of Podowon this month. It is a magazine for young Korean soldiers that is similar in format to Power for Today. It has Korean articles on one side and the English translations on the other. It also includes articles from our BCC correspondence course in English and Korean!

I should begin speaking at military camps soon. Please pray for this exciting opportunity.

Korea Christian University

We are halfway through the semester and overall the students are doing well. We have a lot of fun in class and between classes. I'm discovering that I truly enjoy teaching, which is a good thing since they have me down to teach five different courses this fall!

From July 20 through August 20 it looks like I will be organizing student trips to America. We are trying to find Christian homes for KCU students to stay in to learn more about America. The kids are very polite, speak English, and are crazy to learn. This is a great opportunity for them to learn more about Christianity. If you would like to learn more about hosting one or two students during that time, please contact me.

Personal Notes

I finally had an opportunity to do a little sight seeing a couple of Saturdays ago. President Kim and Sang took me to visit a Buddhist Temple. It was very colorful and very interesting, but sad all at the same time. The people were so friendly, but it was also upsetting. I enjoyed getting out of town and walking on the mountainside, but the idolatry bothered me. When we reached the site, high on the mountain, where a shrine was carved, several ladies offered us some fresh fruit. I noticed, even though we were hot and tired and the food looked very tempting, all of the Christians refused to eat it. Later they explained the fruit had been offered to an idol. (Wow! Paul's letter to the Corinthians comes alive!)

The University has provided me with a new apartment. It is a real change from my home over the church! First, it is much larger and it is much closer to the campus. I am on the 17th floor of a brand new 19 floor apartment building. It looks over the Han River and I can see the mountains to the north of the city clearly.

My little three shirt washing machine has been replaced by a full-size washer in a separate wash room! I even have a full-size refrigerator. Now if I could just cook....