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The Reverend who waved his hand at the stairs
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Chapter 19 - The Reverend who waved his hand at the stairs
I always had to prepare extra early when I was Sunday high school teacher to get to church by 8:30 in the morning. I had to get my kids up to have them washed and get their clothes on, then get on a bus ride about 30~40minutes and got off at the Uljiro 2nd and put the kids in the back and had to run to church. When it was cold winter or a rainy day I was worried that we might be late.
At that time I was attending the Sunday high school service in the main sanctuary. A lot of high school students had gathered. While I was going around the main gate of the church to get to the main sanctuary, there was a person I always saw at the church stairs. It was the Senior Pastor KyungJik Han. He always stood by the stairs whenever he wasn’t out of the country or gone on a business trip. It was not to punish students or late staffs. But he stood there to greet the people with joy and gladness and say “you are doing great.” He always waved his hand at the staff and students while he passed the stairs past the Bethany Hall or the Education Building.
I can always see Jesus in the personality of Reverend. He was like a kind good shepherd. I was always interested in him because he was the Reverend I look up to. I sometimes saw what kind of gloves he wore in the cold winter. I thought that he would wear a good leather glove because he was always out of the country a lot. But it was a glove made with yarn. Probably his granddaughter made the glove, or gifted by a member of the church, I could not tell but it was made with yarns. During rainy summer months he would have umbrella and in cold winter months would have a fur hat. He would always smile and wave his hands. It’s a thing I always want to see again. I think his passion for education was influenced by SeungHoon (Namgang) Lee and Mansik (Godang) Cho of the O-San Middle/High School.
I always looked up to Reverend Han because he showed how a true leadership should be shown. Reverend Han’s love for youth group was great. He showed special care to those students who were working because they were poor. There is no need to write about how much he cared because he spent many of his small amounts of salary to help those students. But I still want the next generation of readers to know who he was like.
At the time in the main sanctuary of the YoungNak Presbyterian Church was a small offering box for the poor students. No one ever dared to take the offering box despite the time everyone was poor. At one point I was asked by the Layman department staff to help with accounting. So I took the offering box and opened and was surprised. Inside was full of small amounts of folded and wrinkled money inside! While I unfolded and made the bills clean again I was blessed. I knew several of the people who gave the money had no opportunity to learn in their life. I knew some of the offering was from people, who studied and worked hard to gather, and the commitment and the willingness to gather at least with a warm heart. I do not know any of the people who gave the money. But their warmth in their heart to give this much money I still feels it in my hand. I should also live like this and those people taught me how to be like that.
All the Sunday school staffs in the church looks up to the Reverend as a role model, and some of the Sunday school teachers groups wanted to meet him without even planning. Some even wanted to see him many times after the worship even if was tired from preaching so many times. If it was me, I would’ve said I’m tired and seen them later. He was very tired and exhausted but gladly met with Sunday school teacher groups. One time the young adult steering committee wanted to hear a lecture about the evangelism of the North Koreans.
We knew that the Reverend always had a very busy schedule. Not only he had to visit schools for meetings, denomination meetings, and various government organizations meetings he had to visit, but he always had a vision for the young adults. He never rejected any of the requests the young adults had despite his busy schedule and that proved how he cared about young adults. I read an article about him and it was said that he gets up 4 o’clock in the early morning and sing a hymn “The trusting heart to Jesus clings, Nor any ill forebodes, But at the cross of Calv’ry sings “Praise God for lifted loads”…” and start his day. He usually went to bed before 10 o’clock because he was always busy for the next day.
But, the young adult steering committee really wanted to hear his lecture about North Korea mission. He had only time after 8:30 in the evening because of many things he had to do. But the committee still wanted to hear his lecture. Despite the request he still granted and in the Education Hall he gave the lecture even if he was tired he showed no fatigue what so ever. I think he probably went to sleep past 10 that night. After I became a pastor I always wanted to follow like Reverend Han’s personality. When I was in steering committee I called him for some meeting but sometimes he would not pick up. Sometimes the Reverend’s wife would pick up and I usually left a message. He would call back and help with the request. When I had become a pastor I learned to do my best even smallest of all things, respect even the young or poor, and had experienced how hard it is to respect and care. I also learned how tiring it is to prepare and preach and lecture in front of people. I give my thanks to Reverend Han for that.
(2011 January)
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Moving back to San Jose 
The Reverend who waved his hand at the stairs