Mongolia Outreach

A few months ago I was asked by the Youth Pastor to participate as a staff in a two week outreach to Mongolia with thirty of the youth from the church. For someone who can't stay in the same country for more than a year, I immediately obliged and jumped on board this team for another opportunity to explore and serve in a new land. We're going to be staying at the YWAM base in the capital city of Ulanbator where we'll be spending the first portion of the outreach and then traveling out into the countryside where we'll spend the second portion. Personally, my main focus will be serving the youth in their various ministries as well as running an 'English Camp' for the Mongolian youth.

I think Mongolia is one of those countries that most people might have heard the name of but don't really know anything about or where or it is. Where is it you ask? Well, Mongolia is a landlocked country in Central Asia with Russia at its North and China at its South with a population of just over 2.6 million people.



What I know so far is Mongolia's major struggle of poverty and harsh climate that has recently claimed many lives and as much as 1/3 of the livestock in their last winter season. As we continue to pray for this outreach we feel God leading us to be a source of encouragement and hope in their difficult times.

I feel fortunate to be able to come along these youth in their first experience of missions as well as the opportunity to impart the love, joy and peace of Jesus to the Mongolian people. Please partner with me in this next month leading up to our outreach (August 3-13). That we would be prepared to serve and empowered by the Spirit to speak the Good News in a country that tells them their misfortune is "karma" (Mongolia is dominated by Buddhism). I am expecting great things!

I'm looking forward to learning more about the culture and people in these next few weeks. I'll be sure to fill you in!

English Class

This week marks the end of the first semester of English Classes and the beginning of summer vacation. It has no doubt been an interesting past few months of learning how to effectively teach my own language to a group of Korean speaking people but I've begun to take up my own style of teaching that fits my personality and strengths so I think this has made for a comfortable and free atmosphere for learning. Since most of my students get intimidated by learning the English language I try to make class times as enjoyable as possible with games, discussions and skits. It's been neat to get into discussions with my students about how Canadian culture is different from Korean culture; they're always interested in hearing personal stories about what my life was like growing up in Canada and how my experience of living in Korea is going. It's always amusing for them to hear of the different things I've eaten since I've been in Korea...Usually the laughter is at my expense but I let them enjoy it :)



Also, since most of my students are from the community and are non-believers, English class has been a great place to build a small community of friendships through study. Like I've said, learning English is no small task for these people and so those who have committed to enduring through this semester have been able to watch each other grow in the language while being able to share in each others lives. I'm so proud of their progress and happy to see friendships and a community being built reminding me once again the craving every one of us have for relationships and a safe accepting community to express ourselves. Two of my students (and their families) are now coming to church as a result of this! I'm so thankful for these English classes and the windows of opportunity I get to share testimonies of God's interventions in my life.

I'm convinced that, as believers, we carry the peace and joy of the Spirit in our lives and that this fruit is contagious!
I would just ask that you stand by me in prayer for these students, that they would taste and see that the Lord IS good through the joy and freedom that comes in a community of faith.

Because his love is better than life - Psalm 63:3

The Armor-Bearer

In 1 Samuel 14:1-13 there is an incredible story of how Jonathan, through a righteous indignation confronted and killed many of Israel's enemies. Although Jonathan's bravery and passion for God both inspires & challenges me, I want to talk about his Armor-bearer. When Jonathan approached his Armor-bearer to basically ask "are you with me in this", his Armor-bearer responded saying "Go ahead. Do what you think best. I'm with you all the way." (1Sam14:7msg) I was struck by the willingness of this young Armor-bearer to follow Jonathan in, what would seem like a suicide mission - yet because of this partnership they were able to attack one of the Philistine outposts & kill around 20 enemies. (2 men vs. 20 enemy soldiers!)

"I'm with you all the way"

The reason why I was so impacted by the Armor-bearer in this story is because, upon reading this story I immediately thought of my friend Sung-Jin Park. Nine months ago while attending a School of Worship in Montana USA I met Sung-Jin where we instantly became close friends. Not only that but he eventually took the place of my mentor, someone who has been genuinely interested & deeply invested in my spiritual growth as a person of faith. When he heard that I was planning on serving for a season in Daegu, South Korea (his home country), he felt that God had called him to come along with me to help with adjusting to the culture & church life. Since I arrived in South Korea, Sung-Jin has been nothing less then a selfless, humble example of Christ in my life & a present day Armor-bearer who's motivation has been "to be with me all the way".

The funny thing about this story is that the Armor-bearer doesn't get very much recognition. This reality has helped me come to the conclusion that, without the Armor-bearers in my life, I would not be where I am today. Jonathan would have been killed that day if not for his Armor-bearer. In my ministry in South Korea I tend to attract a lot of attention. People see me as a hero for being willing to leave my country and live in a completely different culture. The truth is, without the support of people like SungJin, family, friends and supporters behind the scenes, I wouldn't even be here.

In my selfish nature I tend to wish other people would be this kind of friend to me but I want to make it my goal to be an Armor-bearer friend to the people God puts in my life. To be there when it matters & support them in whatever direction they decide to go.

I just want to say thank you to all those who have invested in my life this far. You're a blessing!

"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" Galatians 6:2

North - South

As you may have seen on the news, the conflict between North and South Korea has escallated through the recent attack of the South Korean 'Choenon' navy ship killing 46 soldiers. It was concluded that this attack was, in fact instigated by North Korea.

As a way of punishment, the South Korean president Lee Myung-Bak commanded all trade ties between North and South Korea to be halted. This will no doubt increase the already, hostile relationship between these two nations and cause Koreans to question how this situation will unravel. Many people I've spoken to here feel as though this has been a burden of uncertainty on their shoulders, not knowing what & when North Korea will do if forced into a corner.

The main factor in all this is North Korean President Kim Jong Il who is worshiped by all his followers. If you don't know much about North Korea, know that it is probably the most closed nation in the world right now, with some of the most devastating conditions, including mass malnutrition/starvation, concentration camps & re-education camps (with an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 prisoners) for any sort of political dissenters & their entire families, & almost no freedom of expression, religion, press, or movement even within the country.


I would ask that you join us in prayer as we intercede on behalf of North and South Korea. That the same God who humbled the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar would also humble the foolish pride of North Korean president Kim Jong Il. Pray that China would not come to North Korea's aid but will join with the UN in hopes of denuclearizing this world threat and that the South Korean President (a Christian man!) would be given godly wisdom in how to approach this issue. We need to pray that North Korean threat would be smothered & that the North and South would one day unite as one as a nation dominated by God's word.

I'm confident in God's activity and capability to intervene. It's a privilege to be caught in the middle of what breaks God's heart and participate in prayer for a peaceful resolution to this threat. Let's believe in the power of prayer!

"But that day the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites." 1 Samuel 7:10

My Korean Friends

Don't give up!

The Next Generation!

Things are heating up quickly in Daegu now that May has arrived. SungJin and I went to turn on the AC today only to find it broken so we're hoping the church will provide a new one so we don't melt away in our stuffy apartment. Let me just say that heat over here is a lot different from heat back home in Canada. People here always assume Canada to be a place of ice, snow and polar bears but I have to explain that we do actually encounter a decent amount of heat in the summer and so this is always surprising for Koreans. The only major difference with the heat here is the high humidity levels. As I experienced living in Taiwan last year, humidity can be a suffocating reality in the summer months and so I'm preparing for another intense summer season here in South Korea. Theres nothing better then coming home drenched in sweat with the AC set to 'North Pole'. Looking forward to getting that AC...

I've been experiencing a lot of great community in these last few weeks as SungJin and I have opened our apartment up to the youth and University Students in the church and area. This has been such a refreshing time of growth for me, being an 'expressive introvert' (someone who appears to be an extrovert but is secretly an introvert..shhh!) and having people hang out at my place all the time, eat my food and sleep in my bed with me has been a good test for me but I'm really learning a lot about valuing community and investing in the youth here in being a source of encouragement and stability in their lives. The other night at 2am one Korean buddy comes into our house, turns on the light and says "can I sleep here?" Half asleep, annoyed and concerned I half muttered him to come in and so he jumped right into bed with me and slept the rest of the night. This 'open-door' policy definitely has its moments but praise God that these youth can have a safe place to come and hang out. We will provide this for them.



We've put on our wall a map of the world with the hopes to inspire the youth to get a vision for where in the world God has called them to go as well as big pieces of paper where we write down our prayer requests, visions and every-day things we're thankful for. This has made for such a encouraging and empowering atmosphere to have vision and gratitude a constant reminder in our times together.



Learning to value community in Christ,

Jer