Seeing Ministry Friends, Seoul, Korea (May-July 2024)

Another joy of visiting Korea is seeing ministry friends because we are fellow workers for the Kingdom of God. Fellowship with them also excites and encourages me. 

One of the most precious gatherings was with Pastor Dongho Kim and Elder Kyoung Sup Kwon. Not only we served together but also we played together, in Korea as well as in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It is always a pleasant fellowship to spend time with them. A ministry opportunity popped up out of this meeting: i.e. serving Dankao Village people in Cambodia. More to be discussed later.

We had a short-notice gathering when Tae Hyoung Kim from Thailand visited Korea. This type of impromptu hangout is common in Korea.

I was invited to visit a start-up to serve airlines with ground services. This venture was started by one of the SfK BMT graduates and MB Connect members. After meeting in the office, we had lunch at one of the Korean traditional restaurants. The food was really tasty, but the number of side dishes on the table was amazing.

I made an overnight flight to Ulsan, a city located in the south close to Busan, to attend an IR (Investor Relations) presentation and meet with presenters. Out of this trip, we have developed a report with an Ulsan-based Accelerator. This initial relationship is likely to develop into a business relationship. 

On the way back to Seoul, I made a stop in Daegu where I met up with Drs. Park and Baek who were on their sabbatical leave from their service in Rwanda through Nanuri where I used to serve together. They are both medical doctors and have been serving Rwandans through a medical center. It was a joyous reunion. 

I had a gathering with Steven Baek, CEO of a private equity fund. He is deeply interested in helping people manage their wealth as God's good stewards. We share many common views and each time we meet, we rejoice. 

I also met up with Dr. Kang Rak Lee, CEO of KR Consulting. He is one of the lecturers for SfK BMT and has recently joined the SfK Korea board. His partnership and friendship are greatly appreciated.

Even while I travel, I do not miss our monthly MB Connect online gatherings. I participated in the June gathering.

I spent time together with Hyun Jeon, a Hope missionary and a member of SfK MB Connect. He is scheduled to go and serve in Senegal, but one of his children is deficient of growth hormones and they have to stay in Korea for the baby's intake of hormone injections five times a week for a whole year. Many times, waiting is a vital element of serving God's Kingdom. He is handling the Korean edition of the SfK Newsletter. 

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I spent time with Jong Choon Park. He is now EVP of JB Holdings. He holds CFA and CRA certifications from the U.S. At the same time, he holds master's and doctorate degrees in Islamic Finance. He is searching for God's guidance for his education and experiences. He is also serving as one of the lecturers for SfK BMT and also as a member of the SfK Korea board. I am grateful for his service.

I met up with Rev. Changsun Moon who is actively serving the migrants living in Korea. He leads WiThee Mission which collaborates with SfK in receiving donations for the ministries. He also shepherds a local church that started with insurance compensation for his late daughter. The church's name is Living Hope Church. Indeed. 

Rev. Chung got me introduced to Mr. Park who is serving through the crowdfunding platform for missions and a few others. We explored the possibilities of working together. 

I was introduced to three young businessmen who would like to sign up for the SfK BMT program. Our gathering was short but we covered a lot for potential collaboration in the future.

I met a retired pastor who has been running a Christian publishing company for his entire life. He was interested in developing relationships with Korean churches to introduce them to Smart Vote all SfK Korea is planning to market. We will see how it goes.

I had a brainstorming session with Steve Baek, as discussed earlier, and Bong Rae Lee, CEO of Hesed Holdings who serves with SfK Korea as well. We explored several possibilities for establishing the Kingdom Impact Fund. I am looking forward to witnessing what the Lord has in store.

SfK has been working on establishing SfK ITAM (IT As Mission) in Thailand. There have been four people involved in the initiative. We met several times online and we finally met in person in Young Jong at Jungwon Community, to be discussed later. There still are a lot of issues to sort out, but we are making progress.

One of the members could not make it to our brainstorming session, but I met up with him separately on his business trip with Thai delegates. There are a lot of potential opportunities, but I am not sure how to proceed with people of different personalities. 

These are not all gatherings I had, but these are with photos to explain about. Anyway, seeing ministry friends is always a great encouragement to me. - Jeffrey