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Might the Uruguayan daffodil be blooming amid the dark nebula

1. Adulterous and sinful generation (Mark 8:33).

The former president of the Uruguayan nation legalized the sale of marijuana to the public under the pretext of defending the right to be happy. You may often see people smoking marijuana on the street. It’s been four years now since gay marriage was legalized. A female student who attended the Sunday worship service said that about one fourth of his peers in high school were homosexuals.

Uruguayan students don’t seem to have the concept of adultery. Due to the frequency of divorce, healthy marriages have become a rarity in society. It is forbidden to preach the gospel on campus. There are many people who consider preaching the gospel as a violation of one’s right to not believe. In Uruguay, that is even more disturbing in this adulterous and sinful generation, and most of all, the most secular nation of all Latin America, amid dark clouds might the Uruguayan daffodil be blooming?

2. Someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go (John 21:18).

I remembered the moment, more specifically 27 years ago, when I worked in the Sahara desert in Libya for a multinational construction project. I felt a lot of pressure when I had to work as a coordinator between the office of project supervisors and site managers at the monthly meeting as an interpreter of English to Korean and vice versa.

 Before a particular meeting, I remember that I prayed in the place where I served as a Sunday messenger of the Sahara church. In the middle of my prayer, John 21:18 deeply touched my heart. I made a vow before God to be a missionary in a place without a name, without light. By the Holy Spirit’s help, I finished the meeting successfully, beyond my linguistic ability. 

I also remember the crucial event in which my coworker’s and my vacation request dates coincided. At that time, my coworker wanted to go on vacation ahead of me. Unfortunately, on the flight from Libya to South Korea, a massive plane crash occurred in which about 50 people died, including my coworker. I remember how God protected the life of this sinner.

It was 10 years, at the age of 46, since I had forgotten my vow to God, but God had not forgotten it, he pushed us by the Holy Spirit. And I came to Argentina as a stranger with two teenage daughters without knowing any Spanish word or South America. Then God brought us to Uruguay by help of the Holy Spirit.

3. The Lord led us to their land (Numbers 14: 8-9).

When the prayer to cultivate 33 Latin American countries was burning strongly, I took a boat to Uruguay on December 12, 2003. I remembered Numbers 13-14. The report of the spies from ten of the tribes brought tears and regrets to the people. On the contrary, the story of Joshua and Caleb testified to the aid of God. How do the ends of their lives contrast respectively in redemptive history because of their faith in God, the Promised Land, the new land? I know very well the result of the tragic life of the ten tribes. I remember clearly that when I had barely set foot on the Uruguayan land I cried out that Uruguay is our bread. On the next year, 2004, I came here with my family, and we offered the first pioneering Sunday worship service on April 25, at a rented house; then eleven years of cultivation passed by. 

4. Remembering the faith of Abraham (Romans 4: 18-22).

In foreign land, the pioneers of faith lived and died by faith, not receiving the things promised, they saw them from afar but embraced them by faith(He. 11:13). When it was not possible for him, Abraham believed in hope against hope and at the age of one hundred did not doubt in God's promises. God, who is faithful, fulfilled His promise. Although my body weakens, I hope that my faith is strengthened day by day as Abraham’s was. I trust in God for whom there is nothing impossible. In Him, even in Uruguay the daffodils will bloom trusting in him.

In 2015, my heart really ached for my grandson's illness. For his parents who were crying from the pain, my grandson remembered the passage from the previous Sunday worship service and comforted them saying: “Don't be afraid. Just believe”(Luke 8:50). His voice still resonates in my mind. Amid the pain, I believe in God’s love and goodness towards my grandson David.

The coming of a Korean shepherdess in 2015 brought energy to our ministry. I had a record of running a 10-kilometer mini-marathon in 53 minutes by the grace of God. In this new year, I pray to run the race of faith fixing my eyes on Jesus with patience remembering the grace given by him. In the year 2016, each growing leader decided to feed a sheep looking at Jesus who endured the cross. I pray that we can feed five sheep of God in 2016.

One word: Looking at Jesus who suffered the pain of the cross.