letter from Missionary Paul Kim

Dear Friends,How are you all doing? I know that the weather in Chicago is starting to thaw, but also remember reading about some snow storm in NY just a few days ago. I know Southern California is always perfect. Thailand is hot now; so if you want to visit, wait till the monsoon season begins in June! We want to thank you for your personal support and interest in our ministries here in Thailand. We also pray that God will help us to deal wisely with the many problems we're facing as a global economy. For myself, I've stopped going out of my way to meet new people and incur more expenses; this way, I'm also saving time for some office work. I actually thought about "faith" and just totally ignoring the current financial situation, and continuing to spend money trusting that God will provide. You can tell me if that's how a missionary is supposed to practice one's faith-- and put your money where your mouth is. Not that God has ever fallen short, but wise stewardship is also an important point to keep in mind. Seriously, it's a very interesting position to be in, to be living off financial donations of others; I feel even more conscious about it than I did when I was a full-time pastor, living off people's donations. But, the theology behind it is that it's all actually God's money. So, even though I'm living off people's donations, socially speaking, within the body of believers, we say that vocational Christians are supported by offerings that are first given to God, and then distributed to the vocational Christians. The thing is, coming to Thailand as a traditional missionary has made me feel that this theological perspective on monetary offering applies to all Christians, not just vocational Christians. Feel free to let me know what you think about that. We are still maintaining our regular ministry duties; I just finished my last lecture for the semester at Global Theological Seminary in Chonburi, and have a pile of papers to grade before summer break starts in a couple of weeks; I'm also excited in preparing for a few teams that are planning to visit us this summer. I'm continuing to lead English Bible studies for OLC (Outreach Langauge Center), in McDonald's, and guest-speak here and there. Sarah and I are continuing our weekly Thai tutoring to improve our language skills. Sarah also continues to lead a weekly group in the afternoons. She's busier now that Timothy's done with kindergarten and is at home all day, excited for homeschooling with his mom. Santosh, who has been a big part of many ministries here in Bangkok, including recruiting me to help lead OLC, has gone back to California to get married. Eli has taken up Santosh's old Monday evening spot, at least for the next two months where he'll be in Bangkok before also going back to California. Look us up on facebook for photos and other updates. And let me know if you want to come here for a year or so! Or, at least a few months of personal missionary service... Besides OLC on Mondays, Eli is actually involved in a wide variety of weekly ministries in Bangkok, including teaching kids in a slum community on Tuesdays, spending all day Wednesdays in Bangkok Refugee Center, Fridays in a ministry for prostitutes (in an administrative position), and these are just his basic weekly duties. He also is an active uncle to our kids, and a blessing to other friends in Bangkok. Thank you so much for your support! We really do appreciate your friendship and your support. Please feel free to share your prayer requests with us. Pray for us, as we include Timothy on our homeschool roster; pray also for me as I travel to Sicap Center in the Philippines to attend and speak at their seminary graduation service. Missionaries Daniel and Ruth Kim had invited me last year, but I couldn't go. God bless!Paul, with Sarah