Hello again blog and blog readers. It has been ages, and a lot has changed. For one, I'm married and not living in Pohang (my Korean hometown) anymore. I hope to resume writing again, using this blog as the place to do that. My first back-to-blogging post is an end-of-2020 letter from my wife and I to our friends. Here it is.
For Jina and I, the year of 2020
has brought, as for all of us, unfamiliar challenges and opportunities. The
COVID 19 virus changed the way we live, work, and worship this year. While
these changes were difficult to adjust to at times, we were also blessed by
them. We were challenged to question what we value and what we spend our time
and energy on. And we were challenged to trust in a God who is in control of
our world despite our inclination to fear the destruction that this virus has
brought.
Here in Seongnam, South Korea, our
church’s English ministry was a source of encouragement and guidance in the
call to live Godly lives during this epidemic. For Jina and I, the efforts of
the church and our service in the children, youth, and adult ministries have
helped to keep us grounded in Biblical truth throughout this time of
uncertainty.
For our family, the big news of the
year came in July when we learned that Jina is pregnant with our first child.
Now, Jina is in her 8th month and our daughter continues to grow
into a healthy baby. We praise God for this incredible blessing that will
surely change our lives dramatically in 2021. Recently, our excitement level
has surpassed our nervousness level as, with the help of friends who have
recently experienced it, we start to picture what giving birth and raising an
infant will be like.
As for our jobs, we have been
blessed to have stable work. Jina works as an inhouse counsel lawyer at one of
Korea’s biggest video game companies. In the recent months, she has worked from
home much of the time, which, incredibly (to me), has not affected her
diligence in the least. I am teaching a group of bright fifth graders – mostly
Korean - at a local American school. I enjoy teaching as much as I ever have,
and I look forward to teaching my kids back at school, not online, as soon as
the virus cases in our area go down.
These days Jina and I have been
spending more time with Jina’s grandma and dad while her mom visits Jina’s
sister in Germany. In March, in time for our baby to be born, Jina’s mom will
return with Jina’s sister and brother-in-law, as well as Jina’s niece and her
newborn nephew. Our daughter already has two wonderful cousins to greet her
when she arrives.
It is our prayer that God is working in your lives as He is in ours. We hope that 2021 might bring more opportunity to travel and see each other in person. Until then, do not hesitate to contact us.
In
Christ,
Jina and Michael
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