Report for April 2007

Korea was rocked on April 17 with the news of the massacre in the state of Virginia.  We were, too.  18 years ago David was studying in Montreal when Marc Lepine walked into L'Ecole Polytechnique and shot fourteen women before turning the gun on himself. Because the shooter at Virginia Tech was a South Korean, people here were affected almost as if it had happened in their own country.  David remembers the shock of Canadians on that day in 1989.  It felt much the same this time:  disbelief, pain, fear, confusion.  What could be done?  Since the students of HanShin University were headed into their midterm exams we turned to the members of our English worship service in Seoul.  We decided to hold a special service on Sunday April 29 and invite the larger Korean church to visit a memorial in our worship space.  We also plan to send something to Virginia Tech to express our solidarity.  Thanks be to God who has given us some way to respond.

HyeRan has been very busy this spring with teaching responsibilities.  Among the most rewarding and most taxing of these is her lay women's group down on the southern tip of the peninsula in KwangJu City.  Every other Thursday she boards a high speed train that whisks her down in 4 hours.  She teaches a group of inspired and inspiring women for 3 hours gets back on the train and is whisked away again.  With travel to and from the Seoul trains station included she is 10 hours en route.  It really takes it out of her and sometimes she wonders if it is worth it.  But the women from that remote and under serviced part of the country are so grateful and so needy of some spiritual and intellectual encouragement in the end it is very hard to not go.

Noah and Hannah were skipping through the flowers to school this month.  Azalias, Magnolias, Cherry blossoms, and host of other kinds of flowers have once again painted the mountains, the apartment terraces and the city streets with a variety of pastels.  Noah's new kindergarten class of 35 students almost all reside in our apartment complex.  Noah is now hailed from all sides and our community circle has considerably widened as well.  Hannah attends a pre-kindergarten.  Her teachers are very good and specialize in art for children.  Hannah is learning some English as school along with her Korean and can recite short stories in both languages.  It is very exciting to witness her progress in becoming a person with two languages and two cultures.  It is our hope that, just as Christ was fully God and fully human, Noah and Hannah might someday feel fully Canadian and fully Korean even as they are members of the one family of God that includes all people in every language, culture, time and place.

Peace be to you all,

The Kim-Craggs