| “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Matt 13:44). |
Dear Friends, June 5, 2014
It has been quite some time since I last wrote. How have you been? I have been preaching at a local Korean church for the past nine months after their pastor resigned abruptly. The church has now completed their pastor search process and has installed a new man as their pastor a couple of weeks ago. I apologize for my lack of correspondence recently, but weekly preaching in addition to my seminary responsibilities and mission work has kept me quite busy.
Thanks to your prayers and support, my colleagues and I have been able to preach the gospel and develop leaders as follows through the winter and spring:
Collegiate Retreat in Pakokku, Myanmar (January) Pastors’ Conference in Gisenyi, Rwanda (March) Pastors’ Conference in Kalaymyo, Myanmar (March) Evangelists’ Conference in Ambo, Ethiopia (April) Baptist Missions Conference in Honolulu, Hi (April)
God gives us amazing testimonies each time we go to the mission field. Of all these, I would love tell you one particular story.
When I traveled to Kalaymyo, Myanmar last March, I didn’t carefully calculate the amount of money I needed to take with me. I carried a financial love gift from a Tacoma church to give to one of the Myanmar evangelists. When I delivered the love gift, I didn’t realize that I had mistakenly included some of my own travel money which was already insufficient. On my first day in Myanmar, I realized that I had only $100 to last me for the next two weeks.
I received an email from the Myanmar evangelist to whom I had handed the support asking me what the extra money was for. Although I was horrified to tell this poverty-stricken Myanmar evangelist that I had accidentally given him some of my money, it was impossible for me to get through the next two weeks with only $100. I swallowed my pride and replied to him that the extra $100 was part of my travel fund which had been mistakenly put into his envelope. Then I asked him if he would mind meeting me at the airport to return the money before I flew on to the outlying area where I would be serving for the next two weeks.
The next day, this man gladly brought the money back to the airport. Without taking time to visit with him, I took the envelope, thanked him, and headed through the security access point to my flight. After I arrived in Kalaymyo, the site of the pastors’ conference, I checked into a hotel and forgot about that money. A couple of days later, I discovered a note on the envelope which he had given me. As I read his message, my eyes were filled with tears. It read:
$100 (Your money) + $50 (My support for you) + $50 (My son’s support for you) = $200 Total Dr. Chung, thank you so much for loving our country and our church. This is our seed offering. We believe God will multiply this seed through your ministry for His kingdom. Our family and the Myanmar Christians pray every day for you, your family, and your ministry.
The average church planter family in Myanmar lives on $100 each month; therefore, this man and his son had both given away half of their monthly family incomes. When I finished my ministry in Kalaymyo and flew back through Yangon, this man and his son received me at the airport. He took me out to dinner and brought me back to the airport because I was scheduled to fly out of Myanmar that night. Several days after I returned to Seattle, I received an email from this man’s son, “Dr. Chung, my dad passed away early this morning. He had an asthma attack on Saturday night and we took him to the hospital. Early Sunday morning, on the way to the hospital, the Lord took my dad to His kingdom. Please pray for my mother and my family.” The picture on the left is the last picture I took with him as he brought me to Yangon International Airport after dinner. You can hear about this in detail at the following link:
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Matt 13:44).
My team and I are holding a city-wide festival and a pastors’ conference in Gisenyi, Rwanda this fall. Would you pray that God will provide both the human and financial resources for this ministry? I will write more about it in my next letter.
Please pray for our family as we have a busy summer.
- My aunt and uncle are here from Korea for a visit. We will also host a friend from Dallas, one of Kay’s former students from China, and an Ethiopian evangelist.
- Grace is completing the eighth grade and will go to high school next year. We pray that God will keep working in her life so that she can mature and fulfill His purpose for her life. We thank God that she has discovered the gift of music while in middle school. She loves to sing and play the flute.
- We received news recently that my almost seventeen-year-old daughter Amy, who has been out of contact with us for the past three years, is struggling. We long to reach out to her, but she does not respond to our attempts. Please pray for God’s protection for Amy and wisdom for us.
- Kay continues to work long hours as manager of Costco Pharmacy in Tacoma. She would appreciate your prayers as well. She loves her job, but finds it difficult to strike the proper balance between her work and personal life.
- My dad’s prostate cancer has spread to his spine and he is beginning to experience some pain.
- I will be teaching a Korean modular course each Saturday in June. And finally, we are seeking a new church home as I have finished my service with the local Korean church.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support in spite of my lack of communication. Obeying the Great Commission worldwide would have been impossible apart from your partnership.
With Love & Gratitude,
David & Kay
