Dear friends,
We ask for your indulgence for this letter to be a little different from usual, with a focus solely on the home front. The reason for this will become obvious as you read.
Order
Throughout Scripture the Lord establishes order, from the creation of the world to the positioning of the tribes of Israel as they marched. Our God is a God of order. Paul pleaded with the Corinthian church that all things should be done decently and in order (1 Corinthians 14:40). So, we are finding ourselves in a time of change, and are asking the Lord for His order in this new season.
The Joshua Team
We have been praying for some time for the next generation of Nations leaders. Much of our previous prayer and effort has been outwards, to help new missions start – which is the core vision of Nations. However, realising that our present leaders are in their sixties and seventies, we know we must act if Nations is to continue.
Both our Llanelli and Wellingborough leaders are actively seeking the way forward, and the Llanelli group has instigated the ‘Joshua Team’. This is made up of the present leadership,
the other members of Nations, and the leaders of the two Korean movements still based in our Llanelli Centre. We also have advice and help from the leaders of DestiNation, one of the first Korean missions we helped to start.
Our goal over the next two years is to take leadership decisions together, and disciple the younger members into taking on the vision and leadership of Nations from then on. The present leaders will still be available as mentors, and continue their ministry as the Lord leads them.
We are praying too for a couple more British people to join us. At present the newer leaders are all Korean or Eritrean, though some have lived in the UK a long time. However it is always helpful to have people of the home culture to navigate through the intricacies of the legal and administrative British systems.
St Elli
One of the first major decisions this group has taken is what to do with the money that we have received for the sale of St Elli House to Frontline Nations (FLN). FLN is one of the mission movements that we helped to start. They are now thriving and have no need of us, but did wish to continue to base themselves in the area. For years it had been mainly their students using St Elli, which has 20 bedrooms and a newly-developed top floor 3-bedroom flat. They helped us to pray in the money for the original purchase. Due to these factors, our asking price for the property was only £200,000 and we have now paid off three interest-free loans and are left with a little over £178,000.
(We would like to thank all of you who were involved with us in prayer and giving for the purchase of St Elli. It has served us well for ten years, and is now enabling FLN to launch as a fully-fledged mission movement with its own charity. It also enables Nations to reinvest and further our own aims.)
In recent weeks there have been different ideas about how best to use the money for the accommodation we need now, and for the teams as they grow and new works start. However, the Lord has brought us into one mind. Our priority will be to develop the back part of our International Centre, which once belonged to the family of Robert Jermain Thomas, the Christian missionary and martyr in Korea. This will likely take all the money we have and more.
Notwithstanding this, we are praying that we will also be able to buy at least 25% of one house, getting an interest only mortgage for the remaining 75%. One of our staff families would live in this house, and pay us rent. This would help support the running costs of the Centre, which, as we are all aware, because of the global situation, are only likely to increase. We don’t want to leave the next generation of leaders with huge financial burdens.
So, again we are on a faith journey regarding property. Pleasingly, the day after all the Joshua Team came to one mind, the finance for the sale of St Elli came through into the Nations bank account.
We would like to introduce you to Hyunil’s family who have been working with us for about six years, and are taking on a lot more of the responsibility for Nations as part of the Joshua team.
Gemma and I learned about mission administration and mission support while studying missiology at university. Then we had a lot of experience and learned practical wisdom about mission administration through the ministry of headquarters for more than 10 years in Wycliffe Korea. In addition, we could learn and understand the life and ministry of missionaries and various missions.
After that, we came to Nations, and we've been here for around six years. In Nations, we have been learning more deeply about partnership and mission through new relationships. The mission administration we seek is to help trainees, potential missionaries, and missionary groups constantly through our talents. Also, as worshippers, we always want to prayer for the nations. Thankfully, God led us to Nations and opened the way for us to continue the administrative ministry we have dreamed of. Now we are going down that road with our two best fellow workers, our two sons, Sieun and Siun.
Please do pray with us for :
- A British couple, or couple of British people to join the team. If you think you may know someone suitable do put them in touch. Please note, all of us work on a voluntary basis, so there is no salary involved.
- The Joshua Team two-year transition
- Finances to enable us to build up our Centre and buy 25% of at least one house.
Thank you for your support and understanding in this changing season. We would welcome any insights you may have.
With love in Christ,
The Nations Team
