A letter from Myoung Ho Yang and Ji Yeon Yoo serving in Hong Kong
March 2016 - A Vast Vineyard of God
Dear Friends,
Greetings from Hong Kong! It is hard to believe that two years have passed since we were called to serve in Hong Kong and we are approaching the end of our first term. We are blessed to have this opportunity to participate in God’s mission in Hong Kong. We give thanks and praise God for these “years of joy.” It is our real joy to be a part of God’s mission, and we have experienced God’s grace while serving in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is quite a small place—we can reach anywhere in Hong Kong within an hour. But it plays a significant role in world mission. It looks like a small vineyard of God, but through this small place we can see the vast land of China and other Asian countries that are connected to Hong Kong. We would like to call it “a vast vineyard of God” that expands from Hong Kong. Thus, our hearts are leaping as we imagine God’s heart and vision for this “vast vineyard of God.”
Our partner, the Divinity School of Chung Chi College, where I am teaching, has been playing an important role in training workers and equipping future leaders for this vineyard. One of my students says that the number of Christians is increasing in Cambodia, but shortages of trained leaders are very severe. He has served as a pastor for more than 10 years, but he had to educate himself with the aid of Internet resources such as YouTube before he came to this school. Another Chinese student, who has a passion for serving broken families in China, came to this school for his Biblical and pastoral studies because master-level theological education is not available in China except at one seminary.
As we look back on these past two years of life as mission co-workers, we also would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude for your walking with us. Thank you very much for your loving care, your prayers, and your financial support. At the end of every two-year term of mission service, we are asked to visit churches in the U.S. to share about how God has been working through us in God’s mission. We call this visit and sharing an Interpretation Assignment, and we are preparing for this season with great excitement! We will stay in the U.S. for four months from May to August 2016. We would love to visit your churches, presbyteries, synod, and other groups and gatherings if you would consider inviting us. We’ll be also very grateful if you could help us connect with other churches or groups.
If you’re interested in inviting us and helping us connect with others, please let us know so that we can work out a schedule. We can participate in worship services, small group meetings, or other activities. We would be delighted to work with you in planning our schedule and format (preaching, giving a “minute for mission,” etc.), whatever would best suit your situation. Here are some ideas, but these are definitely not the only possibilities.
Possible settings:
• Worship services (Sunday, Wednesday, Friday, etc.)
• Special church event (any kind)
• Prayer meeting
• Fellowship or cell group gathering
• Mission committee meeting
• Youth group
• Young adult group
• Bible study group
• Campus ministry
• Presbytery or synod meeting
• Or any other special events
A note on expenses: The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) pays our salary while we are on Interpretation Assignment, so we neither need nor expect any kind of honorarium. Travel expenses are not covered, however, so we will need your generous support in meeting those needs. To lower the travel costs, we will try to group visits by region and share the cost among several churches or organizations where possible. If you would like to invite us but cannot provide for our travel, please consider working with other churches or groups in your area to combine activities in the same week and share costs. If that is not possible, please let us know and we will look for other ways to cover those expenses.
We are very grateful for your partnership with us in this ministry. Thank you for your faithfulness in supporting us with your prayers, encouraging notes, and financial gifts, which make this ministry possible. Please continue to walk with us so that “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Hab. 2:14). We are looking forward to meeting you and sharing our stories with you.
In Grace and Peace of Christ,
Myoung Ho and Ji Yeon
[It is easiest to reach us by emails (myoungho.yang@pcusa.org or jiyeon.yoo@pcusa.org)]
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