February 14th is Valentine’s Day in the U.S. In Korea, however, February 14th is known as Red Day. On Red Day the girls give the guys a gift. The guys return the favor one month later on March 14th. This is known as White Day. (Men, if you forget, try it Korean style and give a gift in March).
In a related vein, Korean culture is different from America when it comes to public displays of affection. Koreans do not show much affection publicly, including holding hands between spouses. This will be quite an adjustment coming from America.
January has been a tremendous month in many respects. On the ministry front God gave us tremendous meetings. It is always exciting to see His people encouraged to move forward in reaching the lost. We were privileged to be in a few supporting churches and enjoyed getting reacquainted with some of our supporters. During one of those meetings we received a special blessing: they knew Rachel’s name even though they had never met her. When I first presented the ministry there ( a year and a half ago), I was alone due to the upcoming delivery of Hyae-Lan so Rachael was at home. When we walked into the Church, many people greeted her by name and knew our kids. It was a special encouragement to our hearts.
On the home front everyone is well. We have enjoyed the extra home time and we will get back on the road refreshed and ready to go. The kids have enjoyed playing hide-and-seek, playing “throw the pillows off the bed” with grandma, and eating all the snacks and dessert grandpa can sneak their way.
On the spiritual front, we continue to see God working in our children. During our family devotions, the boys continue to memorize more scripture verses, and find great enjoyment in repeating Bible verses they are just beginning to memorize. They get excited at their accomplishments, and we’re very proud of them. Please continue to pray for Yae-Sun and Hyae-Lan’s salvation.
January has also brought a greater fervor to serve the Lord and enjoy a closer, intimate walk with Him. We’ve also committed to studying the Korean language (via a free online program), and maintain a healthy body, so that we will be able to do the work of the Lord for many years to come. We would love for you to pray specifically for these goals. Lord willing, we will leave this Friday for 5 months on the road. We can’t wait to see how God will use us for His glory! Please make note, in your records, of the change to our e-mail address to korea4christ@gmail.com this is linked to our jfacenda@baptistworldmission.org
We are rejoicing in several new supporting churches we have picked up in the past two weeks. Please pray for 20 more churches to partner with us at $120.00 per month. Please pray for our continued spiritual growth. God is working, and we desire to continually grow closer to Him. Please pray for Hyae-Lan’s feet. She may have 2 ingrown toe nails. Pray that we can get the issue cleared up quickly.
In Him and for Korea
Jonathan, Rachael, Yae-Chan, Yae-Sun, and Hyae-Lan Facenda
