My Tribute to EM Members

Below is my tribute to my EM members who went on the retreat:

Thanks, folks, for your participation not only in the retreat but also in assuming responsibilities. God was present at the retreat and he spoke to us and showed us what we can be like as EM congregation. God truly blessed us through His mouthpiece, Pastor Jon Choi. He exposited Ecclesiastes Chapters one and two and told us how life can be meaningless, which means transient, temporal, futile, a breath, and mist, without God. No matter how much we gain, accomplish, and succeed, it amounts to nothing apart from God. He also highlighted the fact that we are all destined to die once and after that to face judgment. Pastor Jon challenged us to examine our lives and see where we are and what we should do with our lives. His great sense of humor along with his close relationship with many of you helped better connect with him and benefit much from his messages.

I thoroughly enjoyed the many interactions and brief and long conversations with y'all. I am sure you got to know me a little better and I got to know you a little better too. I hope I came across amicable and friendly. If not, please give me a little more time and you'll know I am personal and easy to talk to. Toby and Mike, thanks so much for leading the praise. Although there were a few moments when you were not in sync musically, you were in sync spiritually and relationally. You helped us come before God readily and stay there for long. Please keep up the good work. Also Toby, the T-shirts you designed were excellent. I could see your creativity as well as aesthetic quality. You made sure everyone paid the fees (Is there still anyone who didn’t pay?). Job well-done. My gratitude also goes out to our wonderful sisters who worked hard behind the scenes and in the kitchen making sure we’re well-fed. Joan, Lisa, April, and Young, you’re the stars. Thank you for your service and care. I am also grateful to our warriors who kept things going. Mike, you kept the fire and praise going. Jung, you kept our fellowship going by bringing us nectarine, ramyun, corns, and a few things, let alone taking pastor Choi to the airport. Joe and George, you kept the retreat going by ensuring the kids are okay by cleaning up. John Chung, you kept us going by your presence and mingling with the youth. Nam, you kept the whole thing going by contacting the prayer house, picking up pastor Choi, and making sure everything is in good order. I greatly enjoyed our talks around the campfire. It was a good eye-opener in terms of getting to know you better and getting a better feel of our EM as well as our KM. I enjoyed the baked corn, ramyun (I heard Jung had two bowls of ramyun and I know what happened to him on Saturday morning), and marshmallow. Everybody pitched in when the retreat was over by cleaning and our sisters fixing lunch for us. Yes, it was a good retreat. However, if there is anyone who disagrees with me or felt bad about something, please give God and us a second chance. I look forward to the next retreat. God is awesome. Our God is awesome.

EM Retreat

It was my first EM retreat, so I wasn't sure how the EM congregation would have their retreat. On the way to Mt. Hermon where the World Fasting Prayer House was located, I had to experience a heavy traffic due to a car accident, it was past 6 p.m. by the time I got there. Some of the members were already there. One thing funny was that they had to keep the prayer house gate closed so that giraffes won't enter the properties. After dinner we had our first session. Mike and Toby led the praise, and I got to pray before the speaker, Pastor Jon Choi, shared his message. He preached from the book of Ecclesiastes and he was a good communicator using illustrations from his own experience. Since he grew up with some of my EM members, I think he connected well with them. It was a blessing for me to be able to rub elbows with a veteran EM pastor. After all, it was Pastor Jon who recommended me to FKCC.

When the first session was over, it was 12:30 a.m. We went to the campfire place and there we ate marshmallows, chicken, and nectarines. I got to talk with Jung, Nam, and Joan about the church and heard past stories. Being an EM pastor working with a Korean Senior pastor is a challenge, but I believe God will work something out for our best.

I went to sleep around 4 a.m. but woke up around 6 a.m. due to someone snoring so loudly. I couldn't go back to sleep, so I decided to take a walk. I ended up going up a hill, and there I prayed loudly. Even though I was sleep like crazy, I went over my sermon outline for Sunday. Later we had morning session and dinner and headed home.

It was a time well spent with Pastor Jon and my EM members. I got to know my members a little better.