Peter Bae’s UK Mission Letter 01

Introduction:

It’s been four months since I wrote the last Paraguay Mission Letter (No. 30) at my son’s house in London last June. This year, we spent most of spring (March-May) preparing to take our leave of Paraguay after seven years of life and ministry there. This summer (July-September), we applied for a 3-year missionary visa at the British Embassy in Korea and finally were issued it last week (4th October). In this inaugural issue of the UK Mission Letter, I will try to answer some questions that readers may have; “UK is a traditionally Christian country, so why do we need missionaries?”, “Is UK also a mission field?”, “Was it easy to get a missionary visa for the UK?”, “Why settle in Luton, north of London?”

“Isn’t Britain a Christian country? Why do we need missionaries?”

UK was the first nation to send the Gospel to Korea. Most Korean Christians have heard the stories of Missionary Robert Jermain Thomas the Martyr and of John Ross, who first translated the New Testament into Korean. However, it has been a long time since this UK has itself become a mission field. Although 51% of the UK’s 64 million identify themselves as Christian (as of 2015), “only 6% of the population attends church once a month.” (July 2022 issue of ‘World Mission Prayer’, Korea Mission Research Institute [krim.org]) This is the reality of Britain today. As is well known, the religion of the British is football.

We got our 3-year UK missionary visas.

Compared to the last time we were in the UK for Peter’s studies (1994 – 2001), we are really seeing the effect of Brexit even in the visa application process. We remembered the visa application processes in Tanzania and in Paraguay, where were relatively straightforward. However, quite unlike how we remembered it in 1990s, there were multiple stages to the application process and we had to prepare more than 20 documentations. After submitting all the required documents, including a medical certificate that required a tuberculosis (X-ray) test (there should be no evidence of having had tuberculosis in the last 10 years), we both received the Tier-2 Minister of Religion (missionary) visas good for three years by the grace of God.

Three surprising ‘coincidences’: God leads us to Luton, England

We experience again that deciding on a mission field must be thoroughly guided by our God of Mission. God has clearly guided us. The Cross Mission UK organisation, which we joined in April 2022, is headquartered in Wales. We didn’t know this, but Cross Mission UK had been praying for the opening of the London branch for the past 4 or 5 years. When we joined Cross Mission UK, we were surprised to find out that the London branch's location was to be in Luton, as the director of Cross Mission UK (Rev. Jung-Hwan Lee) had to relocate to Luton for personal reasons. Luton was special to us for the following reasons: First, Luton was one of the cities that produced the best fruit among the “Prayer Mission” teams that were sent out every year to the UK from Korea (specifically, the Uijeongbu Gwangmyeong Church and Rev. Nam-Soo Choi). In addition, five years ago, when a Prayer Mission team was sent to Luton for a week, my eldest son (Joseph Bae) had volunteered as an English interpreter and participated in the week-long intercessory ministry there. What an amazing coincidence! It is the guidance of the Holy Triune God.

Now Cross Mission UK has invited us to officially join the branch in Luton. It is early days yet, but already a regular early morning prayer has started and is being held five days a week at St. Hugh’s Church in Luton, the very church that hosted the 2017 Prayer Mission team. Hallelujah!

<Letters to my sons> is published (Kookmin Books, 17th June 2022).

My second book was published by Kookmin Books in June. A new book that focuses on children’s upbringing, it is a compilation of the e-mails and letters written to my sons and daughters-in-law from the mission field for the past ten years. The emails that all began with “My dear sons and daughters-in-law,” have now been gathered and published as a book. Instead of a generic instructional book for education, the book aims to capture the ‘something’ that I really wanted to tell my two sons and my daughters-in-law from my heart. Thankfully, the receptions in Korea have been positive so far. We pray that this book will contribute towards a healthier life for the young people of this generation who are more confused than ever in the flood of information.

Praise and prayer at the summit of Cheonwangbong (1,915m), the highest mountain in South Korea.

While serving in Tanzania, we had the opportunity to climb to the top of the Roof of Africa, Mt. Kilimanjaro (5,895m) and lift up our hands in prayer. This was followed by Mt. Halla in Jeju Island (1,947m), and Mt. Baekdu in North Korea (2,744m). During my stay in Korea in 2022, I wanted to raise my hands in prayer at Cheonwangbong, the highest mountain in the Southern Korean peninsula, and pray for my country and for the world. Amid the disturbing news that the Typhoon ‘Nanmadol’ was about to land in Japan, Rev. Yong-sang Park of Seojinju Church and I started climbing Mt. Jiri from the early Monday morning (19th September). Throughout the climb, we felt the moist drizzle in the air due to the indirect effect of the typhoon. At every checkpoint, we recited the Word while praising and worshipping God throughout. Finally, we arrived at Cheonwangbong! At the top of the summit where a tremendous amount of cloud fog and strong winds blew, we offered a prayer for the nation, the people, and for the world. Hallelujah!

The best accommodation for missionaries in Korea: Osanri Fasting and Prayer Center!

When missionaries from overseas mission fields visit Korea, the most difficult thing is finding a place to stay. Although there are many missionary accommodation centres throughout Korea these days, they are still in short supply compared to the number of missionaries sent abroad. We also stayed at such a missionary centre for two months (60 days) in Seoul; thereafter, we could not find a suitable missionary center, so we packed our bags and went up to the famous Osanri Prayer Centre. Compared to how we remembered Osanri Prayer Centre 2-30 years ago, when it was so crowded with people who gathered to fast and to pray, it is now less than a tenth of what it used to be. Our hearts break to see how things have changed so quickly. The following remain unchanged: the amazing sermons and the worship service held four times a day! The 300 prayer caves all over the prayer center! A holy place of accumulated prayer for 50 years! We think the Osanri Prayer Center is the best missionary accommodation in Korea, and we would recommend it to all our fellow missionaries.

“I offer a prayer in front of the graves of Pastor Jasil Choi and Pastor Yonggi Cho. Father, please save the Korean church! Send the prayer warriors of the Korean church again to the holy mountain of prayer! After the pandemic, the Korean church must again stand up on the knees of prayer. I believe that if the Osanri Prayer Center, a symbol of the Korean church’s prayer, lives, then the Korean church will come to life again. O Let it become a ‘Prayer for Salvation’! Amen.”

Conclusion:

We are leaving for our new mission field on 20th October 2022. There is a truth that I have learned while living as a Christian for 50 years. That is, there is no greater ministry than prayer. Prayer should be the essence of both pastoral ministry and missionary work. A topic I have been preaching frequently for many years, I reiterate here. This is the “14-14 principle”:

“The LORD will fight for you; be still.” (Exodus 14:14).
“If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:14).

Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. “The outward man perishes, but the inward man is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). Please remember and pray for us, as we leave for a new mission field at the ripe age of 70. Please pray for us and prayer for the UK!