Goodbye Pastor!

If you can imagine God can do it (Dec 27, 2015)

 Scriptures : Lk.1:37 Mk.9:23 Eph.3:20 1Cor.2:9-10

[Matthew 1:18-25] Experiencing God as Immanuel (December 20, 2015)

 

Season of change has come

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ from around the world,

For the last 6 years, we have had a joyful journey together in the city of Daejeon.  And at last, time has come for a change in our journey.  Each of us has a call from God, and each of us has a journey to complete in fulfilling that call in our lives.  Yes, many of us have left Daejeon quite a long time ago; some of us are in touch while others have found better friendship somewhere else in fulfilling the call God placed in our lives.

My wife and I have been privileged to be your pastors for the last six years, and at times find it hard to imagine that soon, we shall be in a new place, forging new relationship, touching new lives, facing new challenges, and hopefully bringing many sons and daughters into God's kingdom and at the same time missing you all; missing our time here, missing our friendship and fellowship we enjoyed so very much.  It is our desire that you would keep us in your prayers and thoughts so that we would experience God's grace in establishing a new ministry in one of the most religious cities in India with countless temples, shrines and mosques.  If you would be interested to keep in touch with us, do let us know your intention so that we could put you in our mailing list.  Or, simply facebook us now and then so that we know how God is working in our lives.  We still have two Sundays to go and grateful to God for the opportunity to celebrate Christmas with you!

We are also thankful to God for bringing a new brother who will lead OEM from January 2016.  He comes from Ghana and currently pursuing his theological education in Korea.  He comes with a rich experience of ministering in various multicultural settings.  Pray for him so that God will give him grace and wisdom in navigating OEM during this transitional period.  Yes, there will come times of difficulties in adjusting the new change, but with grace and wisdom, we can overcome them all.  Be patient and trust God so that in time God will do his work in and through us.  Above is Brother Enoch's sermon he preached last Sunday.

OEM Fall Picnic

We will have a fall picnic on October 17, Saturday (from 10am to 5pm).  The place will be announced soon.

Please keep this day free so that we can all enjoy a time of fellowship and sightseeing with beautiful autumn colors somewhere near from Daejeon. More details will be announced on this and the following Sunday. This will probably be our last outdoor activity with Pastor's family.

So Long, Farewell!

Seasons come and go, years come and go and so are many things in life.  There is time for everything; a time to welcome and a time to say goodbye.  As a pastor in an expatriate church, I have had the privilege of welcoming and bidding farewell to many brothers and sisters from around the world.  Yes, as much as I have enjoyed welcoming, I have also agonized in saying goodbyes.  It takes times to get to know each others but the nature of our stay in Korea (wherever for the case of an expat) is such that just about the time we get to know and enjoy each others' fellowship, we must move on.  Life has to go on and certain things must be left behind in order to move forward in life.  Friendships and fellowships are also victims of such a state in life.  Having had the opportunity to befriend many, I can only count a handful with whom I still enjoy this deep sense of fellowship long after they moved on from here.  Thanks to the world of social media; I can still see some glimpses in the lives of others that are still connected in that medium.  Maybe I am equally guilty of not pursuing active fellowship with friends that have found themselves in other parts of the world doing what God intended them to be doing.  I guess a few of these friends appeared to be glad to have gotten rid of me so that I would not poke my nose into their business.  

My heart is also filled with joy for the friends that have stuck with me quite sometime now in this city.  I think they have nearly discovered my strength and weakness and have decided to tag along with me as long as I stay here and that means a lot to me.  The privilege of worshiping the Lord together; to read his word, to preach and teach his word in the company of these friends have enriched my social and spiritual life more than I could have ever experienced without them.  They have tolerated my inadequate knowledge of the western world/culture/language.  They have taught me that in a country like Korea, racism can be overcome and prejudices can be corrected.  I hope they stay with me until I leave this place.

But today, my heart is deeply moved as we have to say goodbye to a few committed members of our fellowship.  Katie has been with us a long time now.  When she came, she had friends with her but they all kept moving but she remained faithful in our fellowship, sang in the choir and she always brightened the face of our worship. Saree and Male made our fellowship much richer with their unwavering faith in the goodness of the Lord and their indomitable spirit of love and joy in serving the Lord by serving his church.  Ever since they were willing to lend their hands, never once did they shy away from fulfilling their responsibility, never did they complain for not having a friend.  When Saree first came to our fellowship, I did not notice anyone particularly befriending her.  She sat and stood alone a few weeks but that did not stop her from serving the Lord.  She stepped forward and began to build friendships.  When Male came in, Saree took her under her friendship as she did to many others.  Once she leaves, there is going to be an empty hole there in our fellowship.  We are glad that Male will still be in Korea and hoping her to visit us once a while.

Change in inevitable and change is better than stagnation but at the same time it can be challenging and fearful.  May the Lord continue to guide the steps of these precious sisters in the Lord so that they may live their lives for the glory of God.  May the Lord open doors for them and make ways before them.  May the Lord bring right kind of people to fill in the gap they will be leaving behind.

Everything Will Be All Right!

Summer is a season of change for OEM. Many of our dear friends will leave Korea and many new ones will come. Let us pray for one another. Some don't have clear picture of what they will be going to from here and those who are coming might also not have a clear picture of what they are coming to.

Yet, because we trust in a God who promises to go before us, we can step out in faith, knowing that everything will be all right. Everything will be all right!

Wonderful outdoor fellowship

After the worship on Sunday (17th May), we went to Maninsan, an hour drive from Daejeon.  Had a sumptuous dinner in Herb Cafe Restaurant just before reaching the hiking spot.  Five minutes drive from the restaurant, we took to the hiking trail.  Taking about 40 minutes under the woods, we got back to our starting point where we had a great sunset view between the mountain...eating hotdeok and chatting for a few minute before heading home.

Thanks everyone for making that day a memorable one!  The beautiful thing about a church of our size is that we get to enjoy the fellowship of one and everyone.  May the good Lord continue to bless us even as we seek to glorify him in our daily walk with him.  Click on the link below to see some of the snapshots of our time in Maninsan...
Daejeon Onnuri English Ministry Picnic

Matthew 6:33 How Do You Seek God's Kingdom?

Hello! It has been a while since we updated our blog

Hi everyone!  Trust your week is progressing well.  

OEM's aim is to be a church where we can worship, we can invite people who are looking for a church that they can feel at home, and also become God's instrument in introducing Jesus to those who don't know or don't want to know.

If you have any suggestions or creative ideas in bettering our fellowship, please feel free to share with us.  We have had a wonderful church experience for the last five years.  But this year as Pastor Bhatta was planning to move to India and begin a new mission work; our leadership team was bit not sure which way to go forward.  However, as of now, Pastor Bhatta will be staying in Korea until the end of this year, let us once again get together in forming a team of worshipers in Daejeon. 

Let us also seek God's wisdom and guidance for our upcoming Spring Retreat next month!  See the place where we will be staying; the place is wonderful for quiet reflection...
www.baekhwawon.co.kr

Luke 2:1~20 Seek the giver not the gift_December 28, 2014