Dear Friends, March 6, 2008
Time has flown so quickly since our last newsletter! We wanted to catch you up on the latest news of DCMi and our family.
From David:
On my first trip to Ukraine in 2002, the Lord gave me a burden for helping develop church leaders in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union countries. In obedience to that vision, I have worked to help evangelize that part of the world.
My latest ministry trip to Ukraine, Jan 19-31, was made possible at the invitation of the Church Planting Department at Kiev Theological Seminary (KTS) where I taught Evangelism to 13 students in the Church Planting Department.
Students who are admitted to the KTS Church Planting program must promise to plant a church BEFORE they graduate from their four-year program. Most of these students are serving as pastors
and a couple of them have already planted several churches.
One of the greatest challenges of cross-cultural ministry is to find a good interpreter. I owe so much to my interpreter Sergey Bochkof for enhancing the quality of my class with his dynamic interpretation. Being a church planter himself, Sergey pastors a church which he and his wife planted in Kiev three years ago. Somebody said, “Evangelism is not taught but caught.” It was my pleasure to see the students to actually share the gospel with people on the snow-covered streets of Kiev one Saturday. Pray with me that God will use these church planters to transform Ukraine and Russia through the power of the go
spel.
After the ministry in Ukraine, I flew to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan where I stayed for four days. The beauty of the snow-covered Kyrgyz mountains was literally breath-taking. Traditionally Muslim, the Kyrgyz people had to embrace communism for the past 80 years as citizens of the Soviet Union. As a result of missionary outreach in this nation since the fall of communism, however, God has birthed a few Christians in Kyrgyzstan.
Worshiping God with these Christians was the highlight of my trip to Kyrgyzstan. I was so moved by the way they worshipped that I wanted to take a picture, but the missionary pointed to the sign in Russian, “Do Not Take Picture.” Isn’t it amazing that an innocent picture can be a serious threat to the security of these faithful believers living in a Muslim world?
Looking at the Silk Road penetrating Bishkek, I envisioned the day when Kyrgyz believers will spread the gospel alongside this road throughout Central Asia and even to China. Please pray with me that in His time Kay and I will return to Kyrgyzstan to help train leaders and bring about spiritual revival in Central Asia.
In March and April, I am scheduled to teach Hebrew I and II to the Korean students at Faith Evangelical Seminary. Pray for me that I will do well in developing these students as superb Bible expositors. I have the great privilege of delivering the Easter message at Grace Community Church, Auburn, WA where Kay and I are members. After Easter, you can listen to my Easter message at www.gccauburn.net. Would you pray for me as I try to listen to the Lord’s heart in preparation for the Easter message? You can read more about my latest ministry either at www.david-chung.net or www.kievkonnection.com.
From Kay:
As you can see from all of David’s activities above, I stay busy trying to keep up with him and Grace and keep the home front running while he teaches and travels. I am still working 3-4 days per week for Wal-Mart Pharmacy, traveling to different stores in the area. My biggest challenge is to know how God would have me to spend my time, which seems to be my most precious commodity. Would you please pray that I will be an effective manager of my time each day?
God has really been convicting both David and me about the need to take better care of our bodies. It seems that everywhere we turn, people are talking about eating right, exercising, getting enough sleep, etc. David and I are realizing that without good health, it will be impossible for us to carry out God’s work. I must confess that I have neglected this aspect of life for quite some time! We have begun to exercise regularly and are doing our best to eat more nutritiously. Since moving to the “Coffee Capital of the World” a few years ago, I have really developed a taste for coffee. My 3 cup-a-day habit is down to about 2-3 cups per week which is quite a feat considering how many coffee houses and latte stands I pass by every day! We ask your prayers for us to be good stewards of the bodies God has given us and to honor Him in how we maintain His temple.
Grace is in second grade now and will turn 8 years old in May. You probably remember that she was diagnosed with autistic disorder in early 2006. She continues to make improvements for which we are so grateful. It is always encouraging when other people who haven’t seen Grace for awhile tell us how they notice a difference in her eye contact, ability to communicate, etc. She is our little princess and even refers to herself as “the princess”! She is still taking taekwando twice weekly and also attends a speech class. She enjoys reading, playing board games, working puzzles, and dressing up.
We will spend a few days with David’s daughter Amy in LA over spring break in April. Grace dearly loves her big sister and is excited to see her again. We have had some really good visits with Amy, but it is difficult to develop and maintain a close relationship with her from such a distance. Please pray that God will continue to bring us closer together.
We enjoyed a short trip to Canada last week with our friends David and Shirley Smith from Arkansas. We spent a few days at Whistler, BC which will be the site of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. I am always amazed at the breath-taking beauty of the snow-covered mountains. What an artist our God is!
In closing, we thank you again for your prayers for us and your generous support of DCMi. Without your partnership, it would be impossible for DCMi to reach out to the world with the gospel. Please let us hear from you.
With love and gratitude,
David and Kay
