Life in Buford, GA (July 2025)

While I am staying at home, I take advantage of an early morning walk. It is the coolest and quietest time of the day. So, I walk, and I also memorize Bible verses and pray. The sunrise, once in a while, paints the sky and clouds orange.  Usually, I also walk in the late afternoon at the Mall of Georgia. Since it is too hot to walk during the daytime, the air-conditioned environment at the Mall is perfect for walking. Thank goodness!

Pretty much every day, I get to see a few hopping friends in the nearby woods. One stopped and took a pose for me to take a photo.

The most significant event we had in July was Kristin's hip replacement surgery. After four years of strenuous efforts to manage her pain, Kristin finally found a doctor whom she could trust. I, as her caretaker after the surgery, joined her for the orientation session. The surgery itself took only 35 minutes, while the recovery time was more than two hours. I still cannot imagine how the doctors could start and finish the hip replacement surgery in 35 minutes. Thankfully, the surgery went well, and Kristin has been recovering well. Praise the Lord!

Our church regularly serves lunch for the daily workers, mostly Hispanic, at two places every last Saturday. I took part in this month's outreach, and it was a blessing to meet some Hispanic friends. Ronaldo, Austin, and Julio come to mind. At one location, there was an ICE raid, and there were only a dozen workers. We sang a couple of Spanish songs and shared a brief gospel message. A pharmacist, who grew up in Paraguay until high school, shared the message. I wish I could preach like him, Lord willing.

We were assigned to a cell group, called Logos Cell, mostly in the late 60s or 70s. The leader couple is Elder and Mrs. Kyung Young Shim. We had a fellowship once over lunch.

We also had the July gathering at the home of one of the members. We enjoyed the meal and bible study time together.

Now I am preparing for a 2-month journey starting from August 1. This time, the journey will involve 17 flights altogether. As I am getting old, I must seek God's travel mercy while being careful in every leg of the trip. - Jeffrey

Life in Buford, GA (June 2025)

After we settled down in April, I had to make a month-long trip to Korea in May. As soon as I arrived at Atlanta Airport on June 1, I went to attend the church service and attended the orientation session for three weeks at a new church we signed up for a membership: i.e., The Servant Korean Evangelical Church of Atlanta. I felt a bit awkward to display my Korean name after not using it for a couple of decades. At any rate, a total of 71 people attended the 3-week training.

One of the primary reasons for us to choose to worship at this church was the Senior Pastor Sunhong Ahn. He is a gifted preacher, and I thoroughly enjoy every sermon he preaches. His sermons are inspiring, of course, with accurately biblical, profound yet clear, and he is authentically humble. Kris said that what he is saying is substantially equal to what I have been saying. I tend to agree. He and we are alumni of Yonsei University.

We sang a gospel song at one of the worship services as a way of introducing ourselves to the congregation. 

We were invited to visit a Mission Training Center, which is also used for a Retreat Center. It was just opened. The Senior Pastor made and served coffee for us.

At one of the Friday worship services, the speaker was an elder. Jungmin Koh, I met at Sae Jungang Church in Pyongchon some eight years ago when I gave a presentation about Business as Mission. It was a joyous reunion. His ministry has grown a lot. Praise the Lord!

In June, there was Father's Day. I received gifts from both our daughters. Joyce sent me chili sauces and a spicy crunch bag. They were delicious!

Amanda sent me a basket of chocolate-covered fruits and cookies. She also sent me a photo taken with Eli and Gabriel. I love it! They are so big now. 

We also held our MB Connect session online, 

while Koomin visited Korea and met with BJ Kim and Jae Chul Chung for mutual introduction. 

I was able to walk almost every morning, while I was memorizing bible passages, and also praying. I have been practicing to say prayers with eyes open while walking so that I may be able to comply with the bible verse of "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). I am so grateful that I can walk in the morning in the neighborhood. I could even see a beautiful sunrise like the one below.

The month of June flew by fast, really fast. Kris has been preparing food and exercising to strengthen her body before her scheduled hip replacement surgery on July 9. - Jeffrey

Lake Lure, North Carolina (June 2025)

We exchanged one of our Timeshare Certificates for a 2-bedroom cottage around Lake Lure in North Carolina. It was a three-hour drive from our new home in Georgia. It was a little old but very tranquil place.  Nestled in the woods, we could encounter wild animals. In fact, I saw a black bear walking by outside our window. Unfortunately, I missed the opportunity to take a photo.

The deck and the view to the woods from it were just beautiful. Kris enjoyed sipping coffee in the morning.

We invited Danny and Haeok to stay with us for a couple of nights. Kris prepared beautiful and delicious meals.

We dined out once, and Kris made an excellent choice of a restaurant located right next to Lake Lure. The meals were delicious, but the view would have been better had the water level stayed at the normal level. Due to hurricane damage, however, they were draining the lake water, so the level was very low.

We made a stop at an ice cream parlor and indulged ourselves with a big scoop of ice cream. It was delicious, but I ended up regretting it once I returned to our cottage. 

While we were staying at this cottage, I still walked every morning. I passed by a small lake, which was so idylic.

Due to Kristin's limited mobility, we could not explore the area further, including a couple of golf courses. Nonetheless, it was a time of relaxing amid our hectic schedule for settling down in a new town. - Jeffrey