Trip to New York (April 2021)

 After we settled down in Greer, SC in February, we made a road trip to New York in April. Kristin flew to Dallas and came directly to Newark where I picked her up to stay at a hotel in Fort Lee.

The primary purpose of the trip was to clean up and close the storage we have kept for more than 12 years since we left for Rwanda in 2009.

Pastor Harry Kim was visiting New York to spend time with his two sons. He invited me to a small apartment in Manhattan and cooked a nice meal. Jacob who served in C country was also there and we had fellowship together.

The storage did not have a lot of stuff, but I still found a lot more books than I anticipated. But, anything that could not fit into our Nissan Murano was discarded. Ji Bae came with a big SUV and took some, including an art piece made by Joyce. It is always a great joy to see him.

We had dinner with Jay Yoon's couple and Mrs. Choi. Mr. Choi passed away not too long before our visit after a 4-year long struggle with lung cancer. We had a good time given the situation.

I also had dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Hong, Sungeun. It is joyous to meet up with this couple who are humble and kind. Mrs. Hong has recovered a lot from a traumatic accident in Belize. 

Unfortunately, we could not meet up with Kristin's brothers due to our short stay.

I also met up with Pastor Jang of NJ Harvest Church and Senior Pastor Minson Ahn's couple separately. This church was helping out significantly with the sale of dried mango and palm sugar products. The time of fellowship with Pastor Ahn's couple always brings joy and insights to us.

Also, I spent time with Mr. Paul Lee who purchased a palette of dried mangoes and palm sugar to try out with his customers in the New York area. He agreed to function as the distribution center for the North East region. I sincerely hope that our relationship will expand over time. Praise the Lord!

On the way back to Greer, we stopped over in Philadelphia to worship at Jubilee Presbyterian Church. After the worship, we had fellowship with Pastor Steve Park and his wife Mona over dinner at a golf club. It was a joyous time. The church helped sell the mango and sugar products to the church congregation members. 

We also met a young couple, Danny Kim and his wife. Danny is a member of Jubilee Presbyterian Church and a professor at Wharton School of U Penn. He looked like a brilliant man and because of his strong interest in BAM, we spent a good amount of time at the church and later online again. I am not sure what the Lord has in store, but we will see.

We drove down further to stay overnight and continued driving the following day to return home. When this trip to clean up and close the storage in New York, we have gotten rid of two money-draining unnecessary expenses for the storage spaces. Praise the Lord! - Jeffrey