Peter Bae’s UK Mission Letter 02

Introduction:

Winter in the UK has been exceptionally long, from November to March. The winter of 2023 saw some heavy snowfall and 2-3 bouts of record-breaking cold weather. It is harsher on the elderly. In this second UK missionary letter: Cross Mission UK family retreat; a new early-morning prayer that began in London’s Bushey Baptist Church following Luton’s St. Hugh Church; the news of the passing of fellow missionary colleagues in Tanzania; and the harsh “entry rite of passage” that Peter had to go through since mid-November last year.

UK Cross Mission Family Retreat (15–18 December 2022)

The CM Family Retreat was a jam-packed getaway weekend! God blessed us with three keynote speakers (Pastor Soo-Jung Moon, Pastor Dong-Ho Song of NOW Mission, and Missionary James Joong-Hwan Lee of CM), even sending two speakers our way from Korea especially for the CM Retreat.

Rev. Moon is the ‘Deborah of this era’ who stays up all night at Samgak Mountain praying and interceding for the country and people of Korea. We could see that she was a pastor who accurately ‘reads the times’ (1 Chronicles 12:32) and who is diligent in her prayers and studies. Her session on “The Feasts of the Old Testament and Jesus Christ” elucidated the Gospel hidden in the Feasts of the Old Testament. We shared our testimonies and enjoyed the joy of fellowshipping together.

Pastor Dongho Song is the number one figure in the BAM (Business as Mission) movement, which is attracting the most attention in the mission world. His clear lectures on “the changing world mission field and BAM”, “mission and the harmony between work and ministry” were a fresh challenge for the CM family. In particular, what I was personally grateful for was the gift of his recently published book, “Workplace: God’s Design” (Published in 2022). I’m currently working on a review of this book.

Visiting the Hanover Church (known for Missionary Robert Thomas) and the Moriah Chapel (known for Evan Roberts) in Wales

The highlight of the CM family retreat was visiting the Hanover Church of Robert Thomas, a 19th century missionary in Wales. Missionary Thomas, who had already preached his first sermon with the text of Hebrews 13:8 at the age of 17 in the auditorium where his father, Pastor Thomas had been ministering for 37 years, was the first martyr to give his life for the Gospel in Korea! Currently, Pastor Jaeyeon Yoo (Presbyterian Church of Korea) has been pastoring the church for 10 years.

The epicenter of the 1904 Welsh Revival, St. Moriah Chapel was a church pastored by Evan Roberts, known as ‘John Wesley of Wales’. Listening to the lecture of missionary James Lee, who had been in charge of a Church of England congregation in Wales for a long time and studied the Welsh revival movement in depth, the CM family cried out loud together in prayer at the historic site. “O Lord! Pour out the same Holy Spirit of prayer that Evan Roberts had when he prayed for one thing for 18 months, that ‘100,000 Welsh men and women would come back to the Lord’! May the CM team be the priming water for a second revival in Wales within a fe years!” Amen Amen.

The news of the deaths of Missionaries Lee Young-kwon and Kim Ji-yeon of Tanzania, our first mission field.

Nowadays, I often hear the news of the death of a missionary and of my classmates. On January 8 of the new year, I was shocked to hear the news of the deaths of two fellow missionaries who we worked with in Tanzania. In the barren and hot Tanzania, we dreamed of the Kingdom of God together, carried out joint ministry centered on Calvin Theological Seminary (CTC) under the name of Korea Church Mission (KCM), and shared joys and sorrows like a family for over five years. “Ah, my friends! How can you leave so heartlessly without saying goodbye?”

A harsh “entry rite of passage” for Peter

I feel this ‘rite of passage’ to re-enter the UK has been too harsh for me. I lived in the UK for 7 years back in 1994 (29 years ago), so I thought I was used to the British weather and that I would adapt well here. Is it because I am now used to the tropical weather of Tanzania and Paraguay for the past 20 years? Or has the weather in England changed in the time I was away? Is it purely a physical health condition? Or is it Satan’s hindrance to test Peter, who has just entered the UK to focus on God’s work here? These are the questions that race through my mind as I sing seven hymns during each morning prayers and (more often than not) the severe chest pain comes. After multiple trips to the hospitals, the NHS doctors still don’t know what the cause is.

“Grampa! Are you okay?”, “Don’t be sick, Grampa!”

Sophia-Joyce, my 7th and the youngest grandchild (aged 2.5 years old), who often witnessed the sick grandfather clutching his chest, looked especially worried and prayed, “Please heal Grampa!” I believe that sooner or later the prayers of this young pure soul will surely be answered. amen

Conclusion:

“Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail, In Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail.”
(Fourth verse of Hymn 67 of Korean Hymnal)

I would like to share with you the amazing grace of this hymn “O worship the King, all glorious above” (W. Keith, 1561) that I enjoy singing in the mornings. For me, early morning is the time to sing seven hymns with ‘the heart of the lyricist and the spirit of the composer’ and offer up my praises to God. The first three verses of this hymn are taken from the words of the 104th Psalm vv1-4.

Verse 1: O worship the King, all glorious above And gratefully sing His wonderful love
Verse 2: O tell of His might, and sing of His grace, Who’s robe is the light, whose canopy space.
His chariots of wrath the deep thunder clouds form, And dark is His path on the wings of the storm.
Verse 3: The earth with its store of wonders untold, Almighty, Thy power hath founded of old;
Established it fast by a changeless decree, And round it hath cast, like a mantle, the sea.

Oh, what a grand cosmic King of kings, Lord of lords! The glory of the Cross! My Lord, and my God! The last verse, “Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail, In Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail” often makes me shed tears these days.

Dear readers of this Missionary Letter, we sincerely thank you. I pray that you will all come to enjoy the “deep peace that I never had known and a joy this world could not offer” (Hymn 335 of Korean Hymnal) every morning before sunrise, since the great and wonderful Lord is always in our hearts. Indeed, our reality is as “frail children of dust, and feeble as frail.” To all our readers, please don’t get sick. Let us trust in God, for He will not fail! Hallelujah Hallelujah!!

from London England, Peter & Esther Bae