Sorak and Sokcho, Korea (September 2018)

I made a trip to Korea in September for 17 days. One of the primary purposes of this trip was to attend KBM Global Gathering. Including this time, I have been attending this event for the past five years out of seven years. The format has changed over time, but basically it is an informal gathering for current and prospective BAMers to learn, to listen and to share among all participants. Approximately 50 people attended the gathering this year.

Paul Sydnor was one of the main speakers. He is involved in the refugee ministry. Paul is an American but has been living in France for the past 20 years. He is affiliated with Refugee Highway and International Association for Refugees (IAFR). We agreed to follow up to see if there is an opportunity for collaboration in Africa. Juan Lee, originally from Argentina and living in Los Angeles, acted as his interpreter. He is a pastor working hard to be a BAMer.

Luis Morales was another guest speaker. He is from El Salvador, but has been living in Boston in the U.S. for the past two decades or so. He is a pastor shepherding the largest Hispanic church in Boston. At the same time, he is an entrepreneur. Personally, he runs 3-4 restaurants. Also, through his church, he is engaged in running 11 radio stations in the U.S. and 4 eye clinics in El Salvador. Moreover, he is interested in Geisha coffee farming, plastic block manufacturing, aquaponics, efficient wood stove business. After a breakfast meeting, we agreed to meet up again in San Salvador in December. Again, Juan acted as his interpreter.

Other speakers included Harry Kim, Dongho Kim, Jae Jung Jang and myself. I talked about Overview of Missional Business and SfK Ministries.

Each participant shared his/her story briefly. It was interesting to hear their stories.

For each session, we had time to praise. Harry Kim's church praise team includes children and they played a pivotal role in leading the praise time, as usual. Well disciplined children performed in perfect harmony. Wonderful! 

The Gathering was not filled only with talks. It also included a mini concert performed by Sing a Song Writer and Pastor Woong Jae Han, a famous professional gospel singer and Hee Jung Kim, the wife of Harry Kim, who played flute. A few other teams also sang and danced, just for fun and laugh.

For each day, there were some leisure activities, including hiking to Ulsan Rock, outing to the beach, foot bathing, and dining out to Sokcho City.

 Various snap shots were taken during the gathering time.

Overall, it was good to be back to KBM Global Gathering after skipping last year. - Jeffrey