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I SAW A VISION OF EUROPEAN UBF 

Dr. Peter Chang

Last week I took a challenging mission trip to Eastern Europe. I wanted to celebrate the birth of Suah Kang, the fifth child of Missionary Petra Kang in Macedonia UBF. I wanted to express my gratitude as I celebrated my 41st wedding anniversary with Missionary Sarah as well. We were able to complete the 4500km journey with the help of Shepherdess Heidi who accompanied us. We also had a lot of conversation and resting time together.

I thank God for his grace and the European missionaries' hospitality. Carrying out the task of evangelizing Europe and the world seems like a stepping stone. Despite this, I pray that my house church may not forget God's first love but be faithful to God's calling of campus mission to the end with prayer and full devotion.

We visited the UBF house churches that were sacrificially serving world mission in the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Austria. It was a long journey, but it was a time full of joy and vision to meet again with our mission coworkers. While passing by Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Serbia, I remembered each of the mission coworkers and house churches there in my prayer. I thank and praise God for giving us a safe journey to Eastern Europe for a week and for spiritual fellowship with our precious missionary co-workers in his grace.

Visiting Czech UBF

On Monday morning, we started a mission trip to Eastern Europe with gifts in a small van. Ten hours later we had a break in the Czech Republic on route to Bulgaria. We rested in a good hostel with the invitation and consideration of Missionary Hanna Shin and enjoyed a dinner prepared by the second gens missionary family, David and Anna Rebecca Shin. We enjoyed fellowship with Missionary Hanna's first grandchild, third gens missionary Paul Isaac. He was one year old at the end of January and was growing well with good health.  He was indeed a source of joy and happiness to the Shin family.

By God's blessing "Shinfood" business has grown into a small business that serves 40 to 50 employees. I pray that it will be used as a self-supporting tool that feeds not only the Czech Republic but also the eastern and western European countries. I realized that God has blessed the business and ministry because of the spiritual co-working of David Shin with other missionary co-workers. They rented a big house for the Bible Center and were using it for community living, Bible study and worship. Missionary Joshua and Maria Kang's house church has embassy jobs and runs a Korean language school. Missionary Samuel Park's family is doing business together with M. Hanna. Missionary Peter Jun's house church is also serving the self-supporting mission working at the embassy. The campus mission and the discipleship ministry are actively taking place in Prague through the work of five families in their spiritual co-working.   They are earnestly praying for Shepherd Alesh to establish a house church this year with God's guidance and blessing.

M. Hanna Shin has been praying for the next gens missionaries in Europe with a burning heart and the assurance of God. We also need prayer support for the new European UBF Coordinator, Missionary James Kang.  I believe and pray God will abundantly bless the spiritual co-working among us and bring the revival of the work of the Holy Spirit in Europe.

Visiting Bulgaria UBF and Mission Center Network

I left the Czech Republic on Tuesday morning and drove 15 hours to arrive at Sofia in Bulgaria at 3am the next day. With the care of Missionary John Jung who is working at KOTRA in Bulgaria, we stayed in one of the best hotels in Sofia for an inexpensive price and had good rest as our visit schedule changed. In the evening, we first invited Bulgarian UBF II to meet with M. John and Maria Jung, Shepherd George and Heather's family at the Center, praying for the Bulgarian Campus ministry.  After prayer, we had an eating fellowship in Christ with them and their children (Elijah, Daniela, Samuel; Jini, Chani) at a Bulgarian Chinese Restaurant.

I was sorry I could not meet with Shepherd Rutz's family, Katie, and Hannah Jr. because M. James Kang's family of Bulgaria UBF 1 was not there due to their visit to Korea. I just prayed earnestly for them. Missionary John Jung is one of the leading missionaries in his late 40s who can lead the UBF ministry of Europe in the future. After having the fellowship with the Bulgarian UBF II Mission Co-Workers, I attended the Mission Center Network Meeting held in Bulgaria as scheduled. There were about 20 pastors and missionaries who were serving mission works in the Balkans, Germany, Egypt, and Ukraine. The Network was for pastors with mission centers or a vision to have mission centers so that they could learn how to serve mission while being self-supportive and sharing know-how. I thank God this network does not rely on support from Korea, but has a spiritual vision to be self-supporting in each mission field, creating a mission base camp to do independent mission.

It is encouraging that our UBF ministry has been introduced as a good model of self - supporting ministry, and that pastors and missionaries have a vision of it through UBF's laymen mission. The next day, with the guidance of Pastor Kim Ael, who was in charge of the Open Balkans, we explored Sofia to experience the God of Bulgaria and the Balkans.

Visiting Macedonia UBF

I set out for Macedonia on Friday morning. Five hours later, we arrived in Macedonia, a mission field Missionaries Barnabas and Petra Kang are serving as laymen. A month and a half ago, M. Petra Kang gave birth to her fifth baby girl, Suah, in God's grace and blessings. (1. Sarah, 2. David, 3. Andrew, 4. Anna 5. Suah). Both the mother and Suah looked healthy, while M. Petra was very happy and felt spiritually stronger.

When God gave the fifth child Suah to them, he also provided them with a good apartment for a family of seven as a gift of grace. I saw God blesses and comforts those who live by faith in many ways. Five of their children were growing up as their spiritual co-workers like local shepherds, and M. Barnabas and Petra Kang were filled with God's vision along with the joys of having a new child and their children's spiritual growth.

M. Petra Kang is a professor of Korean language at the University of Skopia in Macedonia.  She was just back from the school after finishing her schoolwork when we visited her house church.

They plan to move to a new apartment at the end of March and are praying for children's education and discipleship ministry with God's blessing on more effective self-supporting resources. They are praying for an increase in campus sheep, campus ministry, and spiritual leaders among them while teaching the Korean language on campus.  I thank God for answering our European missionaries' prayers for raising fruitful house churches in Macedonia.

Visiting Austria UBF

We made our way back to Germany. After breakfast at dawn in Macedonia Hotel, we arrived in Vienna around 7:30 pm through Serbia and Hungary. It was a 12-hour trip by car. The night view of Vienna in Austria was very beautiful. At the invitation of Dr. James Han, we had rest and relaxation with special dishes like Viennese schnitzel in the traditional Viennese restaurant Les Drain.

There are also two UBF centers in Austria: Vienna 1 served by Missionaries James and Sarah Han, and Vienna 2 served by Missionaries Daniel and Daniela Yang.

In Vienna I M. James' first daughter, Lydia, and second daughter, Sarah, are studying medicine and pharmacy respectively, inviting students from their schools while co-working with their parents faithfully and sacrificially. They are also serving the next generation of Korean students studying at the Vienna Boy Choir in various ways and are working with the Korean Austrian community for the gospel ministry. It seems certain that they are great bride candidates! Dr. Missionary James Han has been working at an Austrian battery company for self-support and has filed two patents related to battery. He is now serving John's gospel study and M. Sarah is serving one-to-one ministry co-working with her children (third, Lois; fourth, David; fifth, Paula) at Wien campus. The Wien UBF Center is right next to Wien University and is being used very effectively.

Visiting this Eastern Europe UBF, I saw a vision of European UBF while having spiritual fellowship with young European missionaries in their 40s. I earnestly pray that these precious mission co-workers may co-work well with the new European UBF Coordinator Missionary James Kang and serve European Campus missions more effectively. I pray that God may bless the faith and communication spirit of M. James Kang to prepare well for the 2018 American International Conference and the 2019 European Conference as well.

I thank God for allowing us to share the precious gifts we had received from other chapters with M. Petra and Barnabas' house church in celebration of the birth of Suah. Thank God for enabling us to share the spiritual gifts with each other in the countries we have visited and to form the body of Christ among us. 

Dr. Peter Chang