God’s Plans

A Letter from Myoungho Yang and Jiyeon Yoo, serving in Thailand

Fall 2021

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Dear friends,

Greetings from a small town in New Jersey,

Jiyeon and I are having a great time seeing beautiful colors of Fall that we missed for the last seven years since we lived in Hong Kong where we saw green all year round. These days we feel the cold more than we did before because we have already become accustomed to Hong Kong weather. We might even be able to see snow this time while we are here.

As we leave Hong Kong after seven years of ministry, one Bible passage comes to my mind. It is Ruth 1:22. It says, “So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.” It seems to simply inform us that it was the barley harvest time when they arrived in Bethlehem. I like this passage because it clearly implies that God already prepared their next step when it says, “arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.” While Naomi and Ruth left Moab without knowing what their next step would be, God was already preparing the second chapter of their lives. Their new chapter began in Bethlehem at that time of harvest when Ruth went out to that barley harvest field. Ruth could go out to the fields to collect the leftover grain and meet Boaz, her new husband, because it was time of harvest when they arrived. We might say it was just a coincidence. But for them, God was making this ordinary time a special time. I think that’s why the writer of Ruth did not forget to add that it was time of barley harvest when they arrived even though it did not seem to be such an important piece of information. But it was a perfect setting for Ruth and Boaz. God had a plan for them that they couldn’t conceive of.

Jiyeon and I didn’t imagine what our next steps would look like when we left Hong Kong. But we were praying that God would lead us to arrive “in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning” if we may borrow the description of Ruth 1:22. So, we could leave with excitement and hope. And as we arrived in the USA, we found out that God already had a plan for us. We are now reassigned to serve as mission co-workers in Thailand. We greatly thank God for calling us to join God’s mission in Thailand.

I am going to teach courses on worship at McGilvery College of Divinity, Payap University in Chiang Mai. We are preparing to leave with great excitement. Once we get there, we are going to learn Thai first. Learning a new language is not an easy task. But we are excited about it because we like learning new things including language. It will be challenging but exciting.

We thank you for your walking with us thus far in our ministry in Hong Kong. Please continue to pray for Hong Kong and Mainland China as you have been doing. We would like to walk with us as we move on to our next step where God leads. We invite you to witness what God is doing and will do in Thailand. As we begin our new journey, we would like to share our favorite Bible passage. “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14)

In Grace and Peace of Christ,

Myoung Ho and Ji Yeon

Please read the following letter from Sara P. Lisherness, the interim director of World Mission:

Dear partners in God’s mission,

I don’t know about you, but daily my heart grows heavier. News about the pandemic, wars, wildfires, gun violence, racism, earthquakes and hurricanes cloud my vision. It’s hard to see hope; our world is in a fog. Yet we trust that God’s light and love transcend the brokenness of this time.

God is at work transforming the world, and you, through your prayers, partnership and encouragement, are helping us share this good news. Thank you for your faithful and gracious support of our mission personnel.

How can we see through the fog? What will the church be after the pandemic? Could it be that God is doing “a new thing” and is inviting us to perceive it? Through all the uncertainty we know that God’s steadfast love and care for all creation will prevail and that God’s Spirit is at work in each of us.

We all have an integral part to play in fulfilling God’s mission. As we seek to grow together in faithfulness there are three important steps I invite you to take in supporting our shared commitments to God’s mission:
Give – Consider making a year-end financial contribution for the sending and support of our mission personnel. Your support helps mission personnel accompany global partners as together they share the light of God’s love and justice around the world. Invite your session to include support for mission personnel in its annual budget planning.
Act – Visit The Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study to delve deeper into the work God is doing through the PC(USA) and its partners in ministry around the globe: pcusa.org/missionyearbook.
Pray – Include our mission personnel, our global partners, and our common commitments to share God’s grace, love, mercy and justice in your daily prayers.

Thank you for your faithfulness to God’s mission through the Presbyterian Church. It is my prayer that you will continue to support this work with your prayers, partnership, and financial gifts in the coming year. We hope you will join us and our partners in shining a beacon of hope throughout the world.

In the light of hope,

Sara P. Lisherness, Interim Director
World Mission
Presbyterian Mission Agency
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

To give please visit https://bit.ly/PCUSAmission

You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16