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My personal battle in the Word

In 2014 we mainly anticipated and hoped for the work of the Holy Spirit based on James 5:7 “Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains.” As a practical application for our hope and anticipation for the working of the Holy Spirit we fought a prayer battle. Early morning-prayer times were very enriching and we spent the first hours of the day with God. On Sundays we held a prayer meeting on campus. Now at the end of the year we realize that our prayer has been almost the only thing that we did for the ministry here in Israel. Because we were weak we prayed even more to hold on to our faith.

Looking at the unchanged condition of the discipleship ministry the past 15 years, prayer before God has been our only comfort. In front of the mountain of evangelism among the Jewish students our faith often grew weak but we held on to God’s covenant and continued praying. Prayer was the only thing that we could do as our mission and spiritual battle. Our battle in prayer was also a fierce fight against Satan. Satan worked daily to take away our faith and keep us from praying. Through various difficulties in our lives and our sheep he tried to rob us of our faith. But the one thing that always revived our faith and strengthened our prayers was the Word of life that God gave us every week. Simply hearing the Word of God gave us faith and we were able to rise up again.

The truth was that no sheep had encountered Jesus personally and no sheep seemed to be a candidate to follow Jesus. This did not make it easy for us to continue to accept the challenge based on God’s covenant and wait in faith for the seed to sprout and grow. Sometimes we felt like dreamers that were far away from reality. To believe in God’s Word and keep it in patience resembled a farmer who hopes for fruit and waits patiently. God trained us who wanted to see fruit right away and doubted. We do not know how long this training will last. However, one thing is certain: that God is with us through his Word and that he helps us.

In 2015 we want to understand the shepherd heart of our Lord and serve the students on campus with his heart. Last year God helped us to see what we lacked when we invited the students, had 1:1 Bible study with them and prayed for them. It was the pure love of the shepherd for the sheep. We realized that we were hoping for a big ministry rather than loving the students and serving them in this way. 1 Corinthians 13 tells us: If we speak in the tongues of angels, if we prophesied and knew all the secrets and revelations, if we proclaimed the message and had a mountain moving faith but had not love, we would be nothing.

We pray that we may be filled with the shepherd’s love of God in 2015 and thus serve God’s work. With God’s love we want to pray for the sheep, invite new students, hold a Bible school and have 1:1 Bible studies. In 2015 we want to serve the gospel work in Israel based on 1 Corinthians 13:13 “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

Through his Word God showed us another thing we lacked: praying and fasting. Fasting will help us to understand God’s heart and to serve the Bible students with his love. Based on Isaiah 58:6, “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?”, we want to pray with tears and fasting for the work of the Holy Spirit so that the sheep may be freed from the yoke and the chain of sin.

God’s working through his word in 1:1 Bible study and Bible school

In 2014 God gave Brother Salamon and Sister Keren his Word continually. As a result the Holy Spirit led Keren to participate at the European Summer Bible Conference.

We met K. two years ago through Brother S. i whom I had invited to have Bible study in 2010 at the Hebrew University. She is interested in the Korean culture and wants to live in Korea. Through Bible study and her participation at the international conference she was a little bit more interested in the gospel but her main interest is Korea and she plans on studying there. We pray that she may encounter Jesus personally and we continue to have fellowship in the Word and serve good food.

We met Brother S. through Samuel Yoo who came to University Bar-Ilan for a short time two years ago. He is an Israeli from Ethiopia. He used to be a believer but he lost his faith and became worldly. When he was asked after Bible study how he would apply it to his life he talked as if it did not have anything to do with him. Yet, he always shows interest in Bible study and likes to listen. When I pray for him God gives me assurance that his Word works in him step by step. We pray that God may call him to follow Jesus and raise him as a shepherd for Bar-Ilan University.

This year we held two Bible schools in April and July on the gospel of Matthew. At the first one we studied Matthew 11. We learned about Jesus who invited people who did not believe in him and rejected him. The message dealt with the problem of the unbelief of Jewish students and we invited them to Jesus who can give them true rest.

At the second one we studied Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection based on Matthew 27 and 28. S., N., A. and K. participated. On this occasion we actively invited students to 1:1 Bible study. S. and K. studied God’s Word with us continually. We pray every day that the Holy Spirit may work mightily among them so that they may encounter Jesus personally and be changed.

Financial Situation and Parenting

By God’s grace I was able to finish the Post-Doc-Program within two years. People advised me to go abroad and do the program there to be able to become a professor later on but I started another Post-Doc-Program to remain a campus shepherd at Hebrew University.

I do not know how the Lord will guide my future but I did want to focus on God’s will who sent me to Hebrew University. I believe that God himself will show me my future and lead me as well. My wife Maria works at the Korean embassy. She goes to campus every Sunday to pray and invite students to study the Word of God. At the embassy she participates in a weekly prayer meeting for employees and prays for the embassy and Israel. Because of her work at the embassy she was not able to do much for the gospel work which is why she became melancholic. In prayer and through God’s Word she realized though that she is somehow tied to the embassy but that the gospel is not tied. Just like Paul served the pioneering work in prison in Rome she can also grow to Jesus’ image in her work place. She is always overloaded and not able to do much but she actively participated in God’s work by loving God’s Word, reading daily bread and praying faithfully.

For parenting we have weekly group Bible studies, worship service and testimony sharing. Through systematic Bible study the foundation for the gospel is laid in their hearts and reverence for the Word of God increases. By writing weekly testimonies they learn to live by the Word of God and lead a prayerful life. Actually the children are our real and faithful sheep. Until now, no sheep has had a personal encounter with Jesus and none of them has decided to live as a disciple. If we look at our children in this situation we see God’s guidance and comfort. When we observe how they grow weekly through God’s Word and worship service to become a man and woman of faith we are encouraged and believe that God will do his wonderful work. They are our real coworkers, they helped us during our Bible school.

We do our best to see them through the eyes of faith and plant God’s Word in them. May God use them to restore the work in Israel.

At the moment we are praying for our second application for unlimited residence permit. May God grant it in 2015 so that we can strike roots in the pioneering ministry in Israel and bear fruit.

Prayer topics:

1. That we can grow as shepherds who love the sheep with Jesus‘ love
2. That Sarah and Min-Gi may have a personal faith in God through his Word and testimony writing, learn obedience and grow in it,
3. That Sarah may pass the entrance exam for the university for her subject according to God’s gift and that she may follow God’s leading
4. That Min-Gi may experience a victory in faith at school (Middle school) and that he may give God the glory
5. That we may continue to faithfully pray with the Jewish students on the Hebrew University campus and that we may build a good relationship with them in order to co-work well with them. And that we may create an atmosphere on campus for our gospel work where the students feel welcomed
6. That we may serve N., S., S., K. and A. with the Word of God
7. That God may raise a born-again disciple of Jesus at Hebrew University
8. That we may be granted an unlimited residence permit
9. That M. Josef Son at his Post-Doc-Program and M. Maria Son at her work in the embassy may experience God’s blessing and leading all the time.