Vowe News Letter 소식지

"By Faith”  Hebrews 11:1-3

“1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”

By faith, we can stay awake even during the darkest night, looking forward to the daylight that is coming. By faith, we can give thanks, pray continually, and rejoice, looking forward to that day. By faith, we can depend on the hands of our mighty God who created the whole world out of nothing, and therefore we can serve others with only our bare hands.

By faith, even though we are on a lonely path of pilgrimage, we can look forward to the coming kingdom and tell others about it, so that they too can partake in the blessings of this kingdom. By faith, we know that tomorrow will be brighter than today, and therefore we can endure through today’s troubles and march on.

These verses from Hebrews 11:1-3 are words of hope from God, as I walk into a road never traveled before. In the midst of confusion, where the normal becomes abnormal and the abnormal becomes the new normal, the Lord calls me to look to Him alone, and run towards the goal, being held in His hands.

The message of Hebrews 11 spoke to me like a ray of light from the Lord when I had lost all hope and felt like I should give up. These words gave me new hope so that I can rise up and continue to run the race again.

Koinonia at Schabarum Park

Yet the situation still feels dark and suffocating. In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are floods, hurricanes, wildfires, and border closures that continue to bring up words such as closure, cut off, deserted, etc. to my own heart. I miss children at our kindergartens, who greeted me with bright smiles, yet it doesn’t seem like I will be seeing them anytime soon.

I can still hear the voices of our orphans who followed me saying, “grandpa, come back soon,” but the night doesn’t seem to let up, as our tears and sighs continue. I want to see so many things and hear so many voices, but I am all but an old tree stump, feeling stuck. However, while I was feeling stuck, I heard the tragic news from a female factory worker in North Korea who passed away, and through this tragedy, God allowed us to prepare winter supplies for 170 families who are in similar circumstances.

And through this fundraising opportunity, God encouraged and strengthened me again; for instance, pastor Sungwoo Cho in Louisiana, whose family and the church has been damaged greatly through hurricane Laura, sent his offering with a note saying, “all things have fallen and damaged, but thank you for showing a way for even us to help in small ways.”

JY, who does kindergarten food distribution ministry in the same region like us, also participated, saying, “all roads seemed closed off, which made me sad, but thank you for opening up a way to contribute.” We all are going through very tough times, but we cannot see everything in this world through our own eyes, and we certainly do not hold everything in our hands. If we look away from our narrow vision, we are able to see the wide vision and blessed reality that God opens up for us.

Let us meditate upon Hebrews 11 and trust the Lord who still speaks to us, and let us prepare, pray, and serve by faith, giving thanks to God for the ministry He entrusts to us.

Koinonia at Schabarum Park

1) Let us prepare by faith (11:7).
By faith, Noah was warned concerning events yet unseen and prepared the ark with reverence. Noah did not know what a flood was, nor did he know how the ark could be used, yet because the Lord told him, he built an ark preparing for a flood. As a result, he was able to save his household and please God.

I am sure Noah received glares, heard whispers, and received criticism from many, but he persevered for many years and continued to build the ark; this is such a beautiful example of faith that we all should seek to imitate. We should look to the day when North Korea will receive the gospel and God will be rightly glorified in the land, and we should look to the day when the next generation of North Korean youth will grow up to be gospel warriors, delivering the good news to many.

We should look to the day when North and South will be reunited to enjoy true freedom in the Lord, and it is this day that we dream about and pray for. When God gives us a vision, He will surely make it come true, even though the when and the how are in His hands. God has given us the ministry of kindergarten and daycare, orphanage vocational training, and second-generation mobilization ministry.

The fruits we will bear through these ministries are all in God’s hands, and we are called to obey Him in whatever we can handle. Whether He opens or closes the doors, we trust and follow Him.

Koinonia at Schabarum Park

2) Let us pray by faith (11:30).
Jericho was an unpenetrable fortress, yet it was the main gateway to the land of Canaan, which meant that the Israelites had to conquer the city. How would they be able to destroy the city? As the whole world held their breath watching the Israelites, God presented an incomprehensible strategy to them.

He told the people of God to circle the city once a day for six days, and on the seventh day, they were to encircle the city seven times and blow the trumpets; God told them that the walls of Jericho would fall afterward. In obedience, the priests took the lead, carrying trumpets made out of ram’s horns, then the ark of covenant followed, with the soldiers in tow, and they circled around the city each day, without saying a single word.

Bible records that the people of Israel obeyed the word of God, and when they encircled Jericho for seven days by faith, the walls of Jericho fell down. Many people present different ministry strategies for North Korean missions, but the most certain way God gave us is to not lose heart and continue in prayer without ceasing.

We do not have much to boast before other men, but we can present to the Lord every detail of our lives, as we pray and eagerly await for the day to come. Our circumstances indicate that our journey around the city is nearing the seventh day, which gives us hope and excitement; on that day, the trumpets will sound and we will be told to shout.

The day of loud shouting and joyful dancing is ever before us.

Koinonia at Schabarum Park

3) Let us continue to serve by faith (11:31).
In our human eyes, the prostitute Rahab is the least worthy to be saved among the people of Jericho. But the Bible records that only Rahab and her family were saved during the destruction of Jericho, and Rahab is also recorded in the genealogy of Jesus, which shows that she had a vital role in carrying out the salvific history.

Hebrews says that Rahab the prostitute, by faith, gave a friendly welcome to the spies, and thus she did not perish with those who were disobedient. Rahab, by virtue of her vocation, was able to meet with many people and hear different rumors. She did not let these rumors slip through but took them to her heart, and when the right time came, she was able to confess her faith and move into action.

The people we are able to meet within North Korea are very limited in number and status, but we need to constantly visit them and visit them often so that they can naturally hear the word of God from us. We need to tell them about the good news of God and tell them of His grace which He showed in our lives.

We need to talk about how God parted the Red Sea before us, and share with them about miracles that took place during forty years in the wilderness, as well as drying up of the Jordan River, which God used to lead us. Even if only one of them were to obtain the faith of Rahab, wouldn’t that mean that the battle of Jericho is completed?

Let us meet with them, serve them, tell them about the grace of God, carrying the fragrance of Christ, until that day comes.

Updates and Announcements

Photo descriptions: Explanation on Photos: Yet again, for this newsletter, there are no photos from the field of ministry. Hence, I am sharing pictures from our picnic that took place at Schabarum Regional Park on August 20th (Thursday), and also pictures from China Vowe prayer meeting.

The picnic in Schabarum Park was a sendoff meeting for the ministers who were grounded in the United States due to the covid pandemic, as they were planning to leave to Korea and China. We were able to have a time of fellowship, encouragement, and prayer, and the photos from that meeting are on the cover and photo section. The family of Matt&Rachel was not able to attend on that day, but they sent a family photo to us, which is inserted here.

When we first began this ministry in 2004, God led us to General Choi in China, which led us to start the China Vowe ministry. General Choi is a Korean-Chinese woman, whom we met to help us with entering into North Korea, meeting with people there, and keeping in contact with them. She fell on an icy patch as she was coming in and out of NK, and we prayed for healing; through God’s grace, she was healed, and that led us to meet with her younger sister who was suffering from stomach cancer.

We were able to pray and fellowship with her, during which the sister came to faith, and because she shared the gospel with her family before she passed away, General Choi was also able to receive Christ. Then the senior pastor from the church where I attend was able to visit China and baptize General Choi and her husband, which was the beginning of the China Vowe prayer meeting.

The prayer meeting became a recurring meeting when Paul Park moved to China; and here in this newsletter, there are four photos from the early stages of the prayer meeting and four photos from when the meetings became regular.

China Vowe

Food Distribution/Clinic Updates: The frozen borders of North Korea seemed to open up for a bit, but had been closed off once again, which keeps us on the edge. We heard from the official in North Korea a few days ago, who told us that kindergartens are on breaks and that coal purchase for winter preparation is proceeding as planned.

Please pray for the children and their families, the teachers, and the residents there, so that they would be held by loving hands of our God and endure through this winter well.     

Orphanage Vocational Training MinistryUpdates:  There is still no news from the officials in North Korea, which worries us, and besides, the family of Paul Park (who is in charge of orphanage ministry in China) has been impacted greatly by the hurricane.

Thankfully, even though these difficulties, Paul is still worried about the orphans in North Korea, and he is praying for ministers in Korea and the US. Please pray for the officials in charge of orphanages, and for Paul, his family, and ministry.

China Vowe

Updates on fundraising for Blue Ocean: We are still raising funds for families of 170 employees of Blue Ocean and their families. Our goal is to purchase two tons of coal and salted radish for each family; we want to raise $60 for each family, and as of September 24^th, we have raised about half of our target amount.

It may be a bit too late to buy coal for them, so we plan to wire $12,000 on October 1^st, and also send $3,000 from Seoul Vowe to purchase rice. Please pray for them and participate in this fundraising.

Minister updates (1): Family of D Ku plans to stay in the US and take a sabbatical for a year. Please pray for their daughter Heidi who is going to college, as well as Hiz Café and JM Store ministry which he left behind. Please pray for Steve, his family, and ministry at Spine Research Center, as well as the family of Paul Lee and his ministry at Sports Ministry.

We plan to have a meeting to welcome the family of D Ku on October 1st (Thursday) at Schabarum Park. Please pray for this meeting.

China Vowe.

Minister updates (2): Family of Jerome&Alissa moved to Seattle instead of Seoul, starting a new ministry. The family of John&Helen is in Monroe Center at Seattle, where they plan to stay until December. Family of David&Grace are serving in worship ministry at Monroe Center, and they say that they have been spending each day with prayer and thanksgiving.

The family of E&J plans to visit LA on October 9^th (Friday) and stay for lunch and a quick time of fellowship, then move to Seattle and join with the family of Jerome&Alissa.

Prayer Partner Updates: The coronavirus pandemic has given all of us a very difficult time, but it has also allowed a great blessing of uniting our families. Even the families that have been isolated from one another had been gathered under one roof, and God gave each family a time to restore conversations between parents and children. Each family was able to share their visions and dreams, and also share prayer requests to pray together with one another; it was such a blessing time.

China Vowe

Prayer Topics

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

2)Pray for children in the food distribution and clinic ministry, their families, teachers, and the residents there. Also, pray for the ministers who are devoted to this ministry and their children. This area has been hit hard by the hurricanes, please pray that God’s hands of protection may be upon them, so they all may be safe and healthy.

3)Pray for the orphanage ministry and the orphans there, for the officials involved in this ministry, as well as friends and ministers who are dedicated to this work. We haven’t heard from them for a while, which worries us greatly.



4)The executive order prohibiting the US citizens from entering into NK has been extended for another year, and as the borders remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, much of our ministry continues to suffer. Please pray that our ministers in different regions may not lose heart but continue to hold onto the Lord, so that they may be strengthened to run towards a new vision from the Lord.

5)Please pray for prayer meetings that take place in different regions, as well as our partnering churches.

Next Payer Meeting

1) 78th Victorville Prayer Meeting, 10/8/2020 (Thu), 10:30 am, at Geumja Kim’s home

2) 135th Las Vegas Prayer Meeting, 10/8/2020 (Thu), 6 pm, at Youngmin Chi’s home

3) 98th Young Vowe Prayer Meeting, 10/10/2020 (Sat), 6 pm, at Pastor Hun Jung’s home