Until We Meet Again

Last Thursday, I visited the Arirang (formerly Rose of Sharon) Korean Long-Term Care (nursing home). I rushed over with the parish pastor when I heard that Honorary Hyun Sook Kim Kwonsanym (deaconess) would not make it through the evening. She was born in 1939 and is 84 years old this year. She worked as a nurse all her life, lived alone, and never wanted to cause any inconvenience to anyone. It was seven or eight years ago, but it's still fresh in my memory. She was still in her right mind, but suddenly, she decided to live in a nursing home. She said she was checking herself in ahead of time because her health would only get worse. She told me not to look for her in the future and to forget about her. But how could I forget her? She was always on my mind, and I wondered how she was doing.

Backtrack 20 years ago when I returned from my mission in the Philippines. I wanted to pave the way for promising young Cambodian leaders to study at the Asian Theological Seminary in the Philippines. At that time, deaconess Kim and several church members quietly came forward to help the sponsorship program. Thanks to her prayers and financial support, three Cambodian pastors have returned home with their Master of Divinity degrees and are doing the Lord's work. In the future, they will be leaders in the Cambodian church.

Even though the pastors have no idea who Deaconess Kim is, they know that the sponsorship and prayers of someone like her enabled them to complete their studies. Having received unconditional love, they are now sharing Christ's unconditional love with others, making this world beautiful. In this way, we know that the kingdom of God advances.

 "When I'm gone, don't have a funeral service. Just cremate me and scatter my ashes," she said. She had already made all the arrangements with a funeral director to honor her will. So, there will be no funeral service, cemetery, or tombstone for her. At the long-term care center, we held a final service for her, now lying unconscious in her bed. I thought to myself, “well, here is one life well-lived for the glory of God.” I am confident that the Lord will receive her with his open arms and tell her, "Come to me, you good and faithful servant. I will give you rest."

I look forward to seeing her in heaven. Until then, l want to make sure that my life counts for Jesus, too.

Blessings,

Pastor Minho Song

(A photo taken in 2017, with scholarship recipients in Phnom Penh)