A letter from Dong Ho and Sook Nim Choi serving in Indonesia
March 25, 2015 – Settling In
Dear friends and family,
Greetings! We pray you are well and prospering.
We have been in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, for almost four months. Thanks to the support, guidance and help from many, we rented a house in a safe and bustling neighborhood not far from Duta Wacana Christian University (where we both serve), bought a used car, and even found a gym for keeping in shape. As expected, initially we had to deal with the (hot and humid) weather, unfamiliarity with local ways and customs, and difficulties in moving around and communicating. But we are happy to report that, after the initial shock, we have settled down and are able to move freely and communicate with limited frustration (together with our efforts to acquire and exercise the local language, our body language skills have been put to remarkable use!). That being said, we are still searching for community and looking to establish a balance of outer and inner life.
Indonesia declared its independence from the Netherlands in 1945 after enduring more than 400 years of colonial rule. The brand of Christianity of the European colonizers had met a local matrix suffused with Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism—which had swept through the islands in previous waves of migration and exchange during pre-modern times—and with local animist cults, which together to this day give form to the worldview and everyday lives of peoples in this archipelago nation of 250 million souls. As much as Indonesia is shaped by its past experiences, it is also informed by its forward-looking expectations regarding its life and place in the global community.
A letter from Myoung Ho Yang and Ji Yeon Yoo in the U.S. prior to serving in China/Hong Kong
April 2015 – Building Relationships
Before we came here we couldn’t expect that there is winter in Hong Kong. But there is! Of course we had no snow here and the temperature was not that low compared to the cold winter of the East Coast in the U.S. But it was cold enough to shiver, perhaps because of high humidity. Many students and professors, including me, suffered from flu this year. Finally spring has come and now is blending into summer.
Since we came here, every morning I have gotten up with thanksgiving and great expectation. I believe that it is God’s grace and will that I am serving here at this school. Our partner, the Divinity School of Chung Chi College, plays a very important role in training spiritual leaders of Hong Kong, China, and other Asian countries. While the population of Christianity in China is rapidly growing, there is a huge lack of theologically educated leaders. Thankfully, the number of students from mainland China is increasing every year at this school, which is the only institute where they can get theological education in Hong Kong. They have come from many different areas of China. Some of them will train church leaders while most of them will serve as local church leaders or evangelists as soon as they finish their studies.
