“Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Isaiah 40:30-31
I have exciting news I want to share with you! I will be going on my first international missions trip to the Philippines the first week of February 2013 with New Philadelphia Church (newphiladelphiachurch.com). My team consists of Pastors Christian and Erin Lee as well as 3 other servant-hearted people who are all giving up their vacation days and free time to go to this nation and display the love of Jesus Christ.
To give some recent background about our ministry in the Philippines, two months ago, some of our leaders joined the Samonim of Jeilsungdo Presbyterian Church (the mother church of New Philadelphia Church) and ministered powerfully at NPWM Philippines National Youth Conference (NPWM stands for Native Partners for World Mission. It was founded by Rev Hwang and Hwang Samonim, and establishes ministry relationships between Korean churches and native pastors in 20 nations across the 10/40 window). After the conference, the team visited, encouraged, and prayed for NPWM pastors all across the Pampanga region.
Our team will be ministering in Pampanga. When Samonim revisited this region more recently, she strongly felt the Holy Spirit leading her to have Pastor Christian minister at Pastor Bob’s church near Angeles City, a place comparable to the Itaewon of Seoul with most of the economy such as bars and brothels centered around the soldiers and expat community. Pastor Bob’s mother is Filipina but was abandoned by his father, an African American soldier.
In my prayers and fasting for this trip, the Lord has been speaking to me about hope and Immanuel. As someone who lived on the mission field for 6 years, I know all too well how powerful and life giving it is to hope in the Lord. It truly does give us wings to soar like eagles. I also feel strongly that God wants to reveal in a fresh way that His name is Immanuel, which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).
I hope you share in my enthusiasm for the hope He will bring to the Philippines this season. There are two ways in which you can partner with me on this missions trip. First, I’d like to ask you for prayer. If you go to facebook.com/newphilly, there will be daily updates from the field of our team’s progress so you can pray specifically. Secondly, I will be raising 525,000 krw to cover some of the trip expenses.
Thank you so much for your love and support!
I can’t wait to share with you the amazing testimonies that will be written from this trip.
Love in Christ,
Gina Kim