A letter from Art and Sue Kinsler in Korea
November 18, 2008
Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.
- John 1:46
Dear supporting Friends around the world,
Art and Sue with Ms. Jang and Ms. Cho of the Lighthouse staff with containers of desperately needed food shipped on November 7.
Many say of North Korea, “Can God be doing anything good there?” And Sue Kinsler says, “Come and see,” as she takes people to see how God is using her Lighthouse Foundation to feed the hungry—orphans, young children—and help people with disabilities. The North is the most reclusive country in the world, and Art had hoped to go with Sue in September but they said that it wasn’t a good time for an ordinary American.
For her September visit to the North, Sue said, “Come and see,” to Pastor Jang, Kyeong-Deok and his wife, of the Canaan Church at Boondang, south of Seoul. They were happy to see the enlarged building now used for the bakery/milk plant with its two ovens and two soymilk machines, which their church had provided by a large gift. This now feeds about 3,000 people, those with disabilities and their family members. Two pastors named Lee and another named Jeung, all retired from Ulsan in southwest Korea, were along on this trip to the North as well. They started a branch of the Lighthouse Foundation in Ulsan.
Invited by our Ulsan Lighthouse friends, Sue and Art spoke this fall in four churches in Ulsan City to tell the story of mission to North Korea and gain support for the work. The churches there had meaningful and up-to-date worship services. (All the churches in Ulsan Presbytery had decided to use the new Protestant hymnbook.) We found the most interesting church to be the one for retired pastors and their spouses, where Art found several of his old friends from the days when he had done factory evangelism in the 1980s. Sue had just returned from her busy schedule after a quick trip to Seattle to see her mother with cancer in nursing home.
A student practices sign language in the Kangwon Province School for the Hearing Impaired.
“Although you can’t visit the North, at least come and see the $250,000 worth of flour, soybeans and more—a gift from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) sent through Lighthouse along with other supplies bound for North Korea. Together the gift fills 18 twenty-foot containers, which were unloaded at the docks of Incheon,” said Sue to Art. Half the food went to the Korean Christian Federation’s Bongsoo Noodle Factory and half to Lighthouse projects for feeding young children and the disabled people in partnership with the Federation for the Protection of the Disabled. The other supplies were mainly to rehabilitate an orphanage and buildings for the disabled.
Sue said, “Come and see,” in November to three architects, who flew with her from South Korea to check out the site so they could design the building for the Pyongyang General Welfare Center for the Disabled. They decided where to dig a well 70 meters deep. Groundbreaking is scheduled for April 2009. May God move people to provide the funds and keep things favorable in the North!
But South Korean citizens could not go with Sue when she visited the Provincial School for the Hearing Impaired in the North’s Kangwon Province. She was glad to see the help that Lighthouse has provided them: a tractor for farming, soy milk, noodle machines, medicine, and equipment to help feed the 130 students in the school who receive vocational training in sewing and beautician and barber-shop work. They also learn sign language and regular subjects.
The gift of musical instruments by the Lighthouse Foundation resulted in a band that gives moving performances by children who are vision impaired.
Sue also went to the Taedong School for the Vision Impaired an hour and a half northwest of Pyongyang. Twenty of the 100 students had formed a band with instruments gived by the Lighthouse Foundation. Their performance brought tears to Sue’s eyes because God had worked to make disabled persons into able young persons. In Christ we can do all things because he gives us his power and various kinds of healing!
If you came with us today and saw something meaningful, drop us a line or click on “news” and “activities” at the Web site of the Lighthouse Foundation, since God supports us through you.
Serving Christ and others for you,
Art and Sue Kinsler
The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 101
