Peter Bae’s UK Mission Letter 04

Introduction:

Greetings in our Lord Jesus’ Name! After one full year, we’ve successfully made a ‘soft landing’ to life in the UK. As mentioned in previous Mission Letters (1-3), it has been 18 months since we first left our mission field in Paraguay to relocate to the UK. And our God has guided us every step of the process. Like Joshua in the Bible, all that’s left for us is to “be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:6,7,9,18) and march forward. In this newsletter, I want to share the amazing testimony of our LORD Jireh providing us with our dwelling place, and also share our time in Albania-Greece attending an “International Gathering of Korean Missionaries” (11th–20th October).

God provides us with a “wonderful abode” on “Lord’s Hill”, Luton (21st October)

After reaching the age of 71 on 13th October, Peter faced administrative retirement by the Korean church. Our denomination (The Presbyterian Church of Korea) and our sending church (Mokpo Sarang Church in Korea) stipulates that all missionaries must retire upon reaching the age 71. The sending church informed us in September that they would discontinue financial support from end of October, in keeping with the church policy.

We are so grateful for the years of continued support by Mokpo Sarang Church throughout our mission in Paraguay and a year into our mission in the UK. The cost of living (especially rent) in the UK is about five times more expensive than in Paraguay, and we could get by on the same level of funding only because we were living “free of charge” in our eldest son’s house in Watford. It just so happened that my son’s family was moving to Harpenden to a smaller house with no guest rooms, meaning we had to find a rental place of our own, precisely as our main source of funding was going to be cut off: we were “between a rock and a hard place” indeed!

We viewed many housing options (15 places) in the Luton area, where Cross Mission UK is based. With weeks to spare until the move day, we booked the flights for the “International Gathering of Korean Missionaries Conference” in Albania-Greece in October. We even came to the point where our son and daughter-in-law offered to rent a place in their name for us to live in. However, even that option was frustrated when the real estate agents said this was illegal.

Finally, at God’s perfect timing, “LORD Jireh” our Lord Himself prepared “the best house” for us.

Facing a “dead-end” situation, we beheld the living God who helped us. On 7th October 7 (Sat), we moved the first part of our belongings to the house of Peter & Anne on Lord’s Hill. This beautiful house on a hill was the very house that Peter had been long praying for—and now it suddenly became a reality. Hallelujah! (I will introduce Peter & Anne, the angels who gladly decided to host us, in the next Mission Letter.)

“The 7th International Gathering of Korean Missionaries Conference” in Albania/Greece

25 missionary alumni from Peter’s class of Chongshin University Graduate School of Theology gathered in Albania from all over the world. This 7th gathering, long prepared by the Albanian missionaries Lee Yong-beom and Shin Mi-sook since before the pandemic, was a truly international conference, bringing together missionaries from nine nations worldwide (Cote D’Ivor, Russia, Mongolia, Thailand, Laos, Philippines, Cambodia, UK, and Korea).

“As I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum” (Romans 15:19) – Albania, the land where Apostle Paul preached the gospel 2,000 years ago!

As I have always enjoyed studying the Bible, this trip was a precious opportunity to grow further in Biblical learning. After visiting there, I am convinced that Albania is a place that all Christians must study. I want to share three impressions from the 10-day journey:

1. Macedonia, the Philippian church in Greece, and Illyricum in Albania were considered “the ends of the earth” when viewed from the churches of Jerusalem and Antioch 2,000 years ago. To think that Paul’s missionary team traveled this great distance on foot and by sailboat.

2. The current state of the churches in Albania and Greece is shameful. It reminded me of the shock I felt when I visited Turkey, the land of the seven churches of Revelation, 15 years ago.

3. The famous tourist destination, “Meteora” in Greece. Visiting the six Greek Orthodox monasteries perched on high cliffs in Meteora, which means “suspended in the air” in Greek. While touring these monasteries situated on these unique rock formations, I could experience firsthand the evidence of the Eastern Orthodox faith. I was deeply moved by their struggle and by their extreme devotion to preserve their faith.

Visiting Montenegro and Croatia for an overnight trip, the stunning coastal scenery of the Adriatic Sea was an incredible bonus! It was an especial treat for Peter, who always enjoys learning new things and venturing out to new places! However, the rigorous schedule of non-stop traveling through four countries in a minibus was taxing on the body. Unfortunately, 3-4 fellow missionaries could not keep up due to health reasons and had to stay back at the hotel.. what a shame! Some even had to be hospitalised for weeks upon returning to their mission fields.

“Lord! Please help the frail missionaries to regain their health! Strengthen them in Jesus’ Name. Amen.”

Concluding Remarks: Everything is by God’s grace!

Exactly 12 months after re-entering the UK on our official minister-of-religion UK missionary visa, we have settled in Luton!

The day after returning from the missionary gathering in Albania, we finally moved into the “new house” God had prepared for us (21st October). It’s quite remarkable: We officially entered the UK as missionaries on 20 October 2022, and exactly one year later, we have now settled in Luton, where the headquarters of Cross Mission UK are located. It’s a clear sign that God is with us. Hallelujah!

from Luton England, Peter & Esther Bae