Looking back on the first half of the year 2012

Have you all seen the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire?

The LORD was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people (Exod 13:21-22).
The first half of 2012 has already passed. Are you all living according to the New Year’s motto, “a saint who fulfills the Word of the history of redemption by the guidance of the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire”? I have met several witnesses of the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire that have been guiding our saints at Pyungkang Cheil Church. How exciting is it to ask:
“What did you feel when you witnessed the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire?”

Mary Park: “I still cannot believe it.”
Park Mary is the winner of the 6th “I Love My Country” Speech Contest. She is 16 years old in Korean age this year, and she is in the 9th grade. She grew up in the States and has never seen a Korean style speech before. Her mother, who is a history teacher in Korean School in the States, wanted to teach her daughter about her homeland’s history and its national security.
Since Mary is not proficient in Korean, had she only memorized the script written by her mother, her speech would’ve only brought some laughter like a comedy show. Two days before the contest, however, Mary visited Yeon-pyeong Island during her tour in Korea. She was shocked to see the houses collapsed in the bombing, the overcrowded shelter where the residents probably have stayed in horror, the soldiers, and most of all, the sight of North Korea right before her eyes. After receiving the first prize, she kneeled down to pray as soon as she got back home. She prayed to God, “Thank You God for giving me such an opportunity. Thank You for calling me to this place.” I asked Mary how she had felt then, and she answered that she still couldn’t believe it. She said, “It’s surreal!” She explained that when she fervently shouted out, “Communism must fall! Let’s love our nation,” it was God who made her speak out. She said to her mother, “Mom, there was nothing I did on my own. God did it through me.”
Her visit to Korea guided by the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire ignited her dream. She said, “I will learn Korean and teach Korean history to others. I want to defend my nation. I will become a judge and adjudicate with justice with the Word of God. I will become a global figure to help Korea.”

Moon Yoon-sun: “I prayed so I could receive an award after the training.”
On 29th of June, 2012, during a live broadcast on a joint commission ceremony of the 57th undergraduate class, the 57th class of Woman’s Military Academy, the Judicial Academy and Chaplains Academy, cadet Moon Yoon-sun received an Army Training Officer Award and was commissioned as a second lieutenant.
The award that Yoon-sun received ranks the third place among the 197 female military officers. Before entering the army, Yoon-sun served in Hephzibah Ministry and also worked
as a reporter for True Peace magazine. When I asked her how she felt when she received the award, she answered it was amazing and wonderful because her prayers were answered. When she was in her final year of high school, she paid a visit to Rev. Park after praying for a month on her future career. Rev. Park gave her a vision as a female military officer and she thought it suited her well, so she faithfully spent her 4 years at a university.
She confidently took the exam for the Woman’s Army Corps, but instead of receiving a letter of acceptance, she ended up as the first on the waiting list. She prayed in repentance for her arrogance. Because she entered the military after going through such crisis, she wanted to put her best efforts in the army. However, the 4 months of training were so strenuous. There were times when she was exhausted and grudgeful, but she gathered up her mind. She told herself, “I shall pour my best into training,’ and ‘I must read at least one verse every night before going to bed no matter how hard it would be.” However, there was no adequate place or time to pray.
So, she prayed while she had to walk 40 minutes every day to move to the outdoor training field since there was nothing else to do besides walking. It was enough time for her to pray first for her nation, then for her family, and finally for herself. She prayed concretely that she wants to do well and get awarded at the end of the training although she was very well aware of her insufficiencies. So having received that award, she was very happy to be able to testify that her prayer had been answered. Yoon-sun will be assigned to a unit after the 4-months branch training starting on July 8th. When she first saw the New Year’s slogan at the church, she thought, “The pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire are most crucial in the wilderness. So this means that God will give me hardships this year, and I won’t be able to survive without them.” Being transformed from an undergraduate student to a soldier, she remarks that she had faced many difficulties this year. However, every time she prayed, her prayers were answered and she felt God was leading her. When she gets assigned to a unit, she wishes to become the unit’s indispensable soldier to exalt God’s name.

Song Seo-yoon: “With all my prayers answered this year, I dream for God.”
Seo-yoon didn’t make it into a university last year. But today she is a freshman majoring in business administration. Seo-yoon is called, “Yoona (a famous Korean pop star) of Seoul National University.” This article is based on an interview with Seo-yoon’s aunt who is so proud of her niece:
When Seo-yoon was attending Myung Duk Foreign Language High School, she prayed to enter Seoul National University to major in business administration. But, forgetting what she had prayed for, she applied for another major following her teacher’s advice. However, with an unexpectedly overflowing volume of applicants for the same major, Seo-yoon failed to enter and had to repeat another year of preparation. When I asked her how her life was during her repeating year, she said she was rather calm because she knew why she had failed. Admitting that she did not believe in what she had prayed for, did not trust Almighty God, and her fears got the better of her, she determinately prepared for one more year. During her repeated preparation year, she never missed the first service on Sundays and prayed that she may concentrate more when studying even thought she studied and slept less than others to attend the services,. During the repeated preparation year, she read the Bible every day and hardened her determination. As a result, in 2012 she passed all three universities: Seoul National University (business administration), Yonsei University (business administration), and Korean National Police University. I would like to share Seo-yoon’s dream as she is living the year 2012 as the year of fulfillment of all her prayers and her faith. She says, “I thank God for the opportunity for a greater self-development and good-faith competition with other great students in business administration at Seoul National University. I wish to study further at Law School and become a judge. I want to work for my country like Joseph who became a leader in Egypt and saved many people during famine.” Now, Just in case these stories may sound overly unique, I would like to end with a story somewhat more familiar to us?a story of a father and a daughter I met in Happy Caf? on Sunday morning.



Additional witnesses
A father and a daughter who became the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire to each other

9 AM on Sunday, with the deadline approaching and the originally planned interview being cancelled, I was sitting alone in Happy Caf? with uneasiness. The early hours in this underground caf? are a bit different from lively atmosphere aboveground, with a person studying the Bible and a couple reading newspapers. At that moment, a father and a daughter caught my eyes. At first, a mother was also with them, but when she left, they just sat there without any special conversation. I unashamedly joined them.
The father was looking at a floor plan, and the daughter was reading a Korean/English Bible while listening to music on her own. After having a conversation with this family, I realized that these two were the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire to each other. The father has been passively coming to this church because of his faithful wife. And the daughter who was staying beside this father was his pillar of cloud. She just turned 20 and plans to leave to study abroad for 10 years. And the father wanted to give faith to this young daughter. He hopes that she will overcome hardships through the Word while living abroad. The father is still facing many hardships and his faith needs time to grow more as he divests himself of preconceived ideas. But he believes that the Word is unlike ever-changing men, for it is a nourishment of truth that never changes, and that is precisely what his daughter needs.
In my mind right now, I picture the 2 million Israelites who left Egypt. They are marching toward the land of Canaan which no one among them has seen. It is easier to complain and hold a grudge than to thank in such environment. However, I wish all the saints of Pyungkang Cheil Church will gratefully finish their course for 2012, the year in which the Word of redemptive history is fulfilled by the guidance of the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire.

by reporter Kang Myung-sun