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Faith and Spirit of Early Pioneers |
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Faith and Spirit of Early Pioneers |
Now we want to review the background of this movement. Korea was liberated from Japan but after the Yalta Conference among superpower nations Korea was divided into two and the people were also divided into two: pro-Americans and pro-Communists. Then the Korean war broke out in June 25, 1960 and 2.5 million people were killed. Still, Korean people did not know why Koreans should kill each other. Students held demonstrations against the long-term government of President Seung Man Lee. Finally through the revolution of April 19, President Lee's government collapsed. Students were hoping to establish a democratic government. To their disappointment, a military government took over. Their dreams were broken and they were in deep despair. In 1961 Kwangju Southern Presbyterian Mission appointed Pastor Chang Woo Lee (the late Dr. Samuel Lee) as the pastor of campus mission. From then Pastor Lee began campus gospel work together with Missionary Sarah Barry, a missionary from Southern Presbyterian Mission.
Since the gospel work began, students began to gather one by one. While listening to their stories, Dr. Lee was greatly shocked. Their despair was too deep. They despaired because Korea was divided into two apart from Korean wishes, because Korea was ruled by ideologies of two superpower nations, because Korea was ruled by a military government, because Korean churches was helplessly controlled by Western missionaries, because they were too poor to eat and clothe themselves properly, and because they felt inferior and fatalistic as local university students. Dr. Lee and Missionary Sarah Barry had broken shepherd hearts for these despairing students and began to think about how to help them: What kind of hope to give them; how to inspire them to be future leaders; how to help to pioneer their future creatively. They decided to help the students with prayer and Bible study.
Dr. Samuel Lee loved college students like his own children. He always took brothers with him on his motorcycle. The students were moved by his love. Dr. Lee supported himself and graduated from Chunnam University majoring in philosophy and Seoul Presbyterian Seminary majoring in theology. He wanted to study further until he could obtain a Ph.D. But he gave up his dream for students. He was a man of great vision, but he helped students one by one with all his heart. He emphasized that we must pray with tears, be friends to our Bible students and help them as one of Jesus' sheep. Through his love and teachings, many servants of God were born and they are serving campus students in Korea and around the world.
In UBF history, Missionary Sarah Barry's love and devotion cannot be omitted. She was born as the only daughter of a rich father in Mississippi, USA. She could have enjoyed worldly glory and lived comfortably. But during her college days, she accepted Jesus as her Savior and decided to live as a missionary. Then she heard about Korean people who were poor and hungry after the Korean War. She had a broken shepherd heart for them and came to Korea as a missionary in 1954. She became a kernel of wheat that fell to the ground and died for Korean students. At that time, most American missionaries in Korea lived in a white house built on top of a hill of a beautiful green park in Yanglim-dong, Kwangju. They had a Korean security guard, cooks and secretaries. But Mother Barry lived together with Korean college students in a rented room heated by coal and served them, eating soy bean soup and kimchi. Often other America missionaries hated her because her poor and sacrificial life of faith contrasted with their way of living. They encouraged her to come out of her rented room and live like them. At first Dr. Lee thought that she really liked Korean food. But as soon as she came back to America, she has eaten only American foods. Then Dr. Lee realized that she ate Korean food out of her broken shepherd heart for Korean students. She offered her life as Dr. Lee's spiritual coworker and secretary. She gave up her marriage and served students until she became 30 years old. She must have had a dream of having a sweet home. But she seemed not to agonize over this marriage problem. Suppose we ask a hundred persons, "Can you give up your marriage for God?" All of them would probably answer, "Absolutely Not!" But she gave up her marriage without a second thought in order to be a spiritual mother and shepherd for poor Korean students. Her beautiful love toward Korean students and devotion toward Jesus moved students' hearts greatly. Especially many Korean women decided to give up their dreams and live as sacrificial shepherdesses. Through her influence and exemplary life of faith, God raised sacrificial shepherdesses such as Shepherdess Sunji Jun and Missionary Esther Chung as well as all UBF women.
In UBF history, the first student shepherd, Dr. John Jun's pure zeal and love also cannot be omitted. Dr. John Jun lived together with his medical school classmate Kyu-hae Chung (presently a missionary in Chicago) at his house. Through him, out of 80 medical students at Chunnam University, 60 students came to study the Bible. Missionary Esther Chung was the recording secretary at that time. She wrote about Dr. John Jun, "He gave his life to UBF work. He devoted his zeal, time, money and all he had to helping fellow students. After working hard for his medical studies, he came to the UBF center and looked for those who were in need of prayer. He even took care of administrative matters and went home." He loved the work of God in UBF so much that he often declared, "Even if all, including Dr. Samuel Lee and Missionary Sarah Barry, leave UBF, I will not." When Dr. Samuel Lee went to America as a missionary, he asked Dr. John Jun to be the director of Korean UBF. Dr. John Jun decided to give up his medical license and accepted God's calling to be the shepherd of Korean UBF. His broad-mind and humble shepherd life became the foundation of Kwanju ministry and a good example to all those who came after him.
Besides these, all the ancestors of faith poured out their sacrificial love. On Nov. 12, 1964, Kwang-ok Koh said in the student meeting, "I will be in UBF until I die" and decided to dedicate his youth to Jesus. Kyu-hae Chung said, "I felt so much painful in my heart because of fellow students. Even if I pray for many of them, I am most happy when one soul is found. Let's agonize and pray for others and our nation." The first world mission treasurer, Sunji Kim (Now Sunji Jun) became the example among women disciples. On Mar. 15, 1966, it was recorded in the student meeting, "Sunji Kim and Keumja Chung, two beautiful princesses in our Lord, came to the center, soaked in the rain. Every day Sunji sat down quietly at her desk and joyfully checked her world mission record book. Her faithfulness was the expression of her purity and true inner beauty."
Moreover, the ancestors' broken shepherd heart moved them to work hard for sheep. At that time, there was only two bus routes in Kwangju. Most people did not have telephones. Therefore, we always had to run in order to visit sheep. Sungman Chung attended the school of pharmarcy at Chosun University. His nickname was "locomotive" because of his hard-working spirit. His sheep grew and became "locomotive Jr." just like his shepherd. In fact, all the ancestors were hard-working like locomotives.
The ancestors did not give up on their sheep but tried to help them to the end. Nowadays, shepherds do not visit their sheep but call them on the phone. If they are rebuked by their sheep's parents, they are ready to give up on helping their sheep. With this kind of easy-going spirit we cannot carry out discipleship ministry. Therefore, it is important for us to inherit the ancestors' broken shepherd heart. This shepherd heart is the heart of God and the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ. May God help us to restore and inherit the ancestors' broken shepherd heart in us.