I was born on February 4, 1951 in a small city in the
south of Korea. It was near the end of the Korean war and I lived with both
my parents until my mother and I were forsaken by my father. When I was six
years old my mother could not take care of me properly so she sent me back to
my father and step mother. But I could not stand the abuse they gave me so I
ran away again. I was just nine years old when I ended up wandering the streets.
That was the beginning of my story.
One freezing cold night, I was kicked out of the Railway
Station where I had been huddling in a corner, shivering and hungry. I tried
unsuccessfully to find shelter inside one of the buses parked at the plaza of
the Station. Eventually I found myself in the beggar's haunts under a train
tunnel begging for food.
One day an American came by and he introduced me to the
New Hope Boys' Home. I can still remember the day I first set my feet inside
the garden at New Hope Boys' Home. It was 27 January 1962. That night, I had
the best meal of my whole life. My sleeping place was unbelievable and I still
cherish the memory of that moment. I also remember the sunrise prayer meetings
and worship services we enjoyed at the New Hope Boys' Home. At last in that
place a lonely and broken little boy began to find the new hope he had been
looking for all his life.
From that time on my life improved dramatically. In 1972
I entered the Korea Bible Seminary in Taejon. I studied for four years all the
while working hard to make a living. Then I became assistant minister at Kajangdong
Church of Christ and I taught at Hansung Technical High School in the evening.
God continued to bless me abundantly and a wonderful opportunity
for me to study at Winston-Salem Bible College and Cincinnati Bible Seminary
in the United States. I received a Bachelor of Arts degree and then a Master
of Divinity degree. In 1987 I was ordained as a Christian minister. That was
when I returned to Korea to teach at Hansung Theological College. I also received
the degree of Doctor of Ministry from Hanshin University in Seoul, Korea in
1994.
When I first sat on a garden bench at New Hope Boys' Home
all those years ago I dreamed that one day, with God's help, I would make some
thing truly worthwhile of my life. My dream has come true. I am now a professor
and also minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have decided my life to equipping
seminary students to become good Christian workers and to helping the Korea
Christian Church continue to grow. I am also publishing Christian resources
to help them.
Right now I teach New Testament at Hansung Theological
College. I am an Associate Professor and Dean of the Academy. But I also preach
at the Love Church of the New Hope Boys' Home where the blessing of God first
began to transform my life. Praise the Lord who has created us in Christ Jesus
for good works. He certainly has made some thing of my life. GOD WORKS IN MANY
WAYS AND JESUS NEVER FAILS!
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