Winter Frost
At the time of this writing, all the first frosts have turned all the leaves that were once green, gold, scarlet, and orange to brown, and the wind and rains have left the branches of the trees bare for the winter. Out of necessity, I had to figure out how to turn on the ondol floor heating system in the house with the help of Dr. Chung from the hospital English Bible study group.
Harvest
By November, the harvest season is almost complete here in Korea, and families begin making another year’s worth of kimchi on cool, sunny days, people set up their little stands where they sell roasted chestnuts and sweet potatoes, and the farmers get to take a break from working their fields.
Important Exam
November is also the month for the once-a-year Suneung, the Korean equivalent of the SAT exam which seniors take to determine their chances of getting into top tier colleges. Airplanes are grounded during the time when the listening test is given, and churches and temples are filled with parents praying for their children’s success.
Ministry
Our first Bible college semester ended on the day of the Suneung, and the following week Pastor DeVries arrived for a month of preaching, teaching, and ministry. Three days after his arrival, I was on a flight to China to work for a week at the new Christian school there. The second day of my visit, I went on a field trip to a peach orchard with the teachers, students, and their parents. The next day, I was showing five middle school girls how to make peach cobbler and peach crisp, which we ate as part of a Thanksgiving Day lunch where spaghetti substituted for turkey, mashed potato,
and stuffing.
Pray
Pray for the school. The devil would love to shut it down now that the Gospel has brought one student to Christ and is touching the lives of unsaved students and their families.
Pray for our Grace Mission Church members. There are many wives and mothers praying for their husbands and children to either return to church or be born again, and there are families struggling with different issues related to health and relationships, just like any church.
Pray for our doctors who attend the English Bible study class. There are two that I think are close to becoming believers, and they are hearing the Truth week after week and thinking about their inner lives.
Pray for the graduating seniors we’ve been teaching at Yeomyung School. Our last class with them is December 23, and we are pressing home the message of “You must be born again.”
Pray for my ministry to the staff of KONIS. God has me there once a month to edify and encourage and perhaps some other purpose He is yet to reveal.
Pray for a Korean brother named Paul who is struggling with doubts about his faith, that God will show Him that Truth is a person to have a relationship with.
Deliverance
I know that you are praying for me, because I experienced something unusual this month, a deliverance, I believe, that just happened suddenly and powerfully. I attribute it to the prayers of God’s people who are covering me as I sojourn here in Korea.
To God be the glory, great things He has done and is still doing! I was very thankful on Thanksgiving Day. God is SO GOOD!
Dan Dunbar
