Thursday, December 31, 2020

Hello Blog / End-of-2020 Letter

 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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