Vowe News Letter 소식지

"Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!”  Psalms144:1-4

“Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me. O LORD, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him? Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.”

Psalm 144 is a song of praise from David. As he reflects upon his life, he is reminded of the Lord, who cared, protected, and raised him, even though he is all but a passing shadow. When David stood before Goliath, he was just a small young boy.

When he ran away from Saul and hid in the caves of Adullam, many who were in distress or in debt or discontented came to him, and they were too big of a burden for David as he himself was a fugitive. As a fugitive who did not know what tomorrow would bring, and as a heavily burdened fugitive who seemed to have no way out, the only thing that David could do was to depend on God and pray to Him.

God continued to bless David and made him victorious in all his battles; He protected David from harm’s way and provided helpers around him.

 

Onchon Orphanage / Yongpyung Clinic

Last Saturday (February 13th), we held the 100th Young Vowe prayer meeting. Also on January 16th (Saturday), we held the 94th United prayer meeting; both combined, we had 194 prayer meetings. God has graciously blessed us to hold a prayer meeting every month for the past 16 years. On February 11th (Thursday), we also hosted the 139th Las Vegas prayer meeting and 82nd Victorville prayer meeting.

The ministry of Vowe began with prayer, and we are handling the present-day ministry through prayer, and we will handle the problems of tomorrow also through prayer. In the field of ministry, we are like David running towards Goliath, and when troubles come our way, we are just like David the fugitive, bearing different burdens on ourselves.

Yet we held onto God and continued to pray, and God was ever so faithful in giving us the victory, opening up ways for us to take shelter, and He granted timely help through different people.

Hence, David praises God and confesses, “Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall! Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord! (144:15)” May these words of praise and confession be the confession of Vowe ministry.

Bupori Clinic / Shoes Factory

1) We praise God who trains our hands for war and gives us victory. (144:1)

As the covid pandemic closed the borders and deported many of our ministers from the field of ministry, we could not do anything of our own powers. Every door seemed to be closed and every path seemed to be shut down.

But God provided ways for us to pray together online and so we continued to pray. Through these prayer meetings, we were able to stay connected with ministers in Korea, the US, China, and North Korea, and we were able to handle our portion of the ministry.

As some of our ministers were forced to stay long-term in a limited region, they were able to have a deeper fellowship and be more specific in their partnership, which in turn made our cooperative ministry deeper and wider.

As the covid pandemic lengthens, we feel small and weak, but God does not leave us behind; He continued to care for us, train us, and opens up the way before us. The grace of God is all the more specific and powerful as we move forward. “Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.”

Morning Star Pharmaceutics / Wooahmri Hospital

2) We pray to our God, who protects and guards us. (144:2a)
We prayed without ceasing, and God who hears our prayers continued to protect us without ceasing. This is truly the miraculous testimony of Vowe ministry. In September 2015, there was a great flood that swept through the center of our kindergarten and daycare; yet the Lord protected every person from physical harm.

At the very beginning of our ministry, we made a mistake that halted coal purchase for the fall, and hence, we prayed through tears at every prayer meeting. God graciously worked over this, so that many were able to give thanks for a warm winter. From then on, every winter, we pray that the children and their families in North Korea would have a warm winter in the arms of our Lord.

Even when we may have felt like we were held down by snares of a mighty hunter, God miraculously freed us so that we can proceed with our ministry. “He is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge.”

Haeahn Kindergarten / Bakhak 2. Kindergarten

3) We give thanks to God, who brings the right people for us. (144:2b)

As I see our members who have faithfully prayed and served together with us for almost 20 years now, I can’t help but cry tears of joy and gratitude. I cannot even move my own heart, but God has moved the hearts of these precious partners so that we can serve together.

God had also gathered many of these young ministers who serve together with us. I have nothing to offer to them, but as I see these members who have laid everything down to press on for this ministry, I realize that the only thing I can do for them is to fall face down and pray for them. God even granted blessings of meeting people in North Korea, who were strangers to us before but we have been able to work together until now.

These are impossible on my strength, but God has done great things for this ministry. “You subdued people under me.” The ministry of Vowe is a theater of God’s grace; we prayed with small voices and groans, and God has provided great grace for the people.

Updates and Announcements

Photo Captions: Yet again, for February, there is no photo from the field of ministry. Thus, here are photos from our visit to North Korea in 2015. The year 2015 was a special year for Vowe; the food distribution and clinic ministry expanded greatly and actively, and we also began orphanage vocational training ministry, where many 2nd generation ministers gathered to help our ministry grow.

I personally had to go under surgery for cancer, which helped me to reflect upon my life, and I also had to hand over much of our ministry to younger ministers. Up until then, I visited North Korea about 5 times a year; but after the surgery, I would visit only twice (once in Spring and once in Fall), and I entrusted the rest to the young ministers in China.

These 2nd generation ministers were loyal and faithful in their ministry, which helped our ministry experience healthy growth. Therefore, even when the executive order prohibiting the US citizens from entering North Korea came down, the ministry was able to continue without missing a beat.

Moreover, even when the covid pandemic closed the borders down, each minister was able to handle his own part, therefore continuing to serve as needed. We give thanks to our God, who prepared and trained the right people in advance.

On the cover of the 81st issue, we have a photo of members in Pyungsung Youth Orphanage, where we began the vocational training in 2015. In the photos section, we have 16 photos from the field of ministry from 2015, taken during our North Korean visit that year.

Bupori Kindergarten / Chilgol Church

Food Distribution/Clinic Updates: Funds for the first half of 2021 have been safely delivered, thanks to the 2nd generation ministers who are staying in Korea, China, and the US.

We give thanks to all those who contributed to this. Moreover, the 2nd generation ministers are trying to raise funds for Lunch Box ministry, which will provide for the kindergartens whose overseas support has been cut off.

Orphanage Vocational Training MinistryUpdates:  We are still yet to hear from the North Korean officials in charge of the orphanage ministry, which worries us greatly. In place of this, pastors Justin and Debbie, who were our prayer partners for many years, have started Good Samaritan Ministry.

The goal of this ministry is to serve our neighbors who have been overlooked for many years, and at its core is a compassionate heart for many. Please pray for this ministry.

Hiz Cafe / YUST

Minister updates: Family of Sean&Mina moved their office to Munsan, which is right in front of DMZ. Their family is hoping to handle the function that has been done over in different locales of China here at Munsan. Please pray for the family of Sean&Mina, as well as the families of Jerome&Alissa, E&J, Justin&Eunice, and Matt&Rachel, who have situated themselves at Munsan and have been praying and preparing. Please pray for their families and ministries

Minister updates(2): D. Ku plans to depart from the US on March 30th and prepare for ministry in Korea. From there, he will return to China on April 25th. Please pray for his ministry, and his family who will be staying behind in the US.

Also pray for the family and ministry of Steve&Joy, Mark&Tammy, David&Joanne who are in Korea, as well as the family and ministry of Josh Cho and Paul Lee, whose families have been separated in Korea and China.

Bongsu Church / PUST

Prayer Partner Updates: Pastor Jungwoo Lee in DC, pastor Taeseok Park in West Virginia, and pastor Jungjoo Oh in Maryland are planning to start a prayer meeting to pray together with those that are interested in this region.

Pastor Byung-gul Lee at Las Vegas First Baptist Church delivered a message during the February prayer meeting. Please pray for all our prayer meetings, and also for Bakersfield and Inland prayer meetings.

Vowe Newsletter 81st Issue Updates: We were planning to send out the 81st Issue on January 29th, but the covid pandemic delayed our plans by 2 weeks. Other documents, such as giving reports, have all been mailed out in January as planned. If you have not received your Contribution Report for tax purposes, please contact us.

The 81st Newsletter, along with prayer meeting reports and giving a receipt for February, will be mailed out at the end of February.

Bakhak 1. Kindergarten / Notebook Factory

Prayer Topics

1)Pray for Repairer & Restorer’s Club, 200 Businessmen’s Club, Gospel Runner’s Club.

2)We give thanks to God, for that we have raised enough funds for the first half of 2021. God has also opened up ways for the funds to be delivered safely as well. Please continue to pray for food distribution/clinic ministry, orphanage ministry, and 2nd generation minister mobilization ministry.

3)Please pray for the itinerary of D Ku who will be returning to China, and for his family who will stay behind in the US. Please pray for Josh Cho and Paul Lee, whose families are separated in China and Korea.



4)Please pray for the Good Samaritan ministry, started by pastors Justin and Debbie in our prayer team.

5)Please pray for the family and ministry of Sean&Mina, who have moved their home and office to Munsan, which is nearby DMZ.

6)Please pray for the prayer meeting in the DC area, formed by pastor Jungwoo Lee and other pastors.

7)Please pray that God would put an end to the covid pandemic so that we can gather together in person to worship, pray, serve, and fellowship.

Next Payer Meeting
1) 83rd Victorville Vowe Prayer Meeting, 3/11/2021(Thu), 11:00 am, via Kakaotalk Livetalk

2) 140th Las Vegas Vowe Prayer Meeting, 3/11/2021(Thu), 3 pm, via Zoom

3) 95th United Prayer Meeting, 3/13/2021(Sat), 5 pm, via Zoom

4) 14th Sunshine Prayer Meeting, 3/20/2021 (Sat), 3 pm, via Zoom