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<2008.09> Finding Answers in Korea

  Pauline Huntington | USA     The evening of Sunday 3rd August, 2008, found me sitting on the floor of the JeonJu church. Somehow I had managed to put myself right in the middle at the front of the gathering of local brothers and sisters and their visitors from overseas - mainly the Philippines, but some from Germany, Canada, and the United States. I had to look up to see the face of the brother who was speaking at the front. Above and behind him the ceiling lights forced me to squint, making my weary eyelids even heavier and my efforts to listen far too taxing. I knew that no matter how interesting the meeting, I would embarrass myself by falling asleep if I stayed where I was, so as soon as the speaker had concluded his speech, I quickly relocated to a position at the side - less conspicuous (or so I thought), and more comfortable for the eyes. Perhaps if I had not moved, I would not have been the next to be called upon to speak. So often I have heard other people in that situation begin by saying that they have nothing to say and then proceeding to speak for at least an hour. When I took the microphone and faced the gathering of brothers and sisters that evening, my mind really was a blank. This meeting was not supposed to be about me; I had simply joined a trip that had been organized for our visitors from the Philippines. But now I had been asked to speak about my days of working as a translator with Pastor Kwon and my thoughts about this year's summer conference. I could easily have entertained with a few interesting stories of my days working with Pastor Kwon; I could easily have fished for sympathy with the tale of the health condition that had suddenly come upon me the first day of the conference; but I did not want to pretend in front of my brethren. If I had to say something, I had to be frank. I had to confess, and so, encouraged by the warm, smiling faces before me I began. The first thirteen and a half years after my salvation I spent in Korea. Those were years of pure experience in the fellowship - countless meetings and sermons, working with brothers and sisters, clashing with brothers and sisters, loving and hating brothers and sisters, and all the time the fellowship going through a continuous string of hardships and persecutions. But then about ten years ago, I found myself living and working in the barren lands of the United States. It wasn't quite England, but I could pretend. From a physical point of view, I had not had it so comfortable in years, but at first I missed the brothers and sisters in Korea so very, very much.The years passed very quickly, aided by frequent - almost monthly - evangelical trips to countries across the world. That is, until just a few months ago when, all of a sudden, I found myself homesick for England as I had never been in my life before. What was I doing spending all those years away from my family and friends? The children in the family have all grown up now and I missed most of their childhoods; my brothers and sister are growing older and they are not saved; I even feel a stranger in my own country when I go back there now, and having lived a life so very different from that of most people, I have a hard time relating to my compatriots and knowing what
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