Dear Friends and Family,

When we were leaving Congo, we made three requests to God: (1) no more malaria prophylaxis, (2) good telephone service, and (3) no new language. On July 29 we will be leaving for Kathmandu to start on our 20-week language training in Nepali and orientation for our work in Nepal. Two out of three is not bad! We came to learn that the value of language learning, especially in the country of service, is not only in the functionality we gain, but the relationship it opens up with the people we serve. It seems the more difficulty we have with the language the more appreciative they are. God’s sufficiency is proven in our weakness.

We will be serving through the United Mission to Nepal. Founded by eight mission organizations, including the PC(USA), in 1954, the United Mission to Nepal (UMN) has grown to include 51 member bodies and affiliated member bodies from 17 countries. It was the first inter-denominational, multinational Christian consortium of its kind in the world. Our orientation group includes eight families from five countries. The UMN exists to serve the poor and marginalized in the name and spirit of Christ in the areas of education, engineering and industrial development, health services, and rural development work. You can find more detailed information about UMN and Nepal at www.umn.org.np. We consider a large part of our mission is to share with you the experience of developing new relationships in Nepal, seeing God’s hand in unexpected places, and expanding our worldview to see the love of Jesus in suffering as well as in rejoicing.

Simon will be working with UMN project units to evaluate financial situations and help develop Nepali management personnel to enable orderly transfers of the projects to Nepali people. Haejung will be working with missionary children in their schooling, especially for adjustment of the children from non-English speaking countries. We thought we would be doing something different and unique when we are in mission service, but we are learning once again that God uses the talents that he has already given us and challenges us to use them in ways to witness his goodness.

During the past year we have visited many congregations and made many new friends. Some of them have been supporting us in prayers and in financial support of the church's international ministries. The visits were at times quite tiring, but always uplifting and affirming. We were always received with love and we were able to share our stories in an open and honest manner. We are especially grateful for the opportunity to make new relationships with many Korean Presbyterian congregations and invite them into full partnership with the mission efforts of the denomination.

Many say the General Assembly is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but we were fortunate (?) to participate in two General Assemblies, 2001 and 2002. Simon preached one year and served as a translator the other. Our love and respect for the ministry of the church grew and were overwhelmed by the level of support for mission work demonstrated by all the participants. Should you wish to financially support our mission work, we have some suggestions for projects and how the funds can be properly received at the church. Simply drop us a line and we will send you the information via e-mail. We do not want to lengthen this note unnecessarily

We will be leaving Louisville very early on July 29 to drive to Boston to leave the car for John and Kevin’s use. We will catch a red-eye flight to Paris on the evening of July 30, with a quick connection to Delhi, India. We’ll stay overnight in Delhi for the Kathmandu flight on August 1. All together, about 70 hours! We look forward to seeing Jeff Anthony, a duty manager for Air France who personally helped us to sort out the baggage problem during our trip in January. One never knows when and where a Christian brother will lend a helping hand. We will write as soon as we get settled in Kathmandu, but here is some information for continued communication.

Our current address <Parks@ParkSquare.net> will continue to function in Nepal, we pray. We will have fully functioning Internet service in Nepal. Unlike when we were in Congo, you can send long messages, photos, and everything else you want to share with us. We will also be able to send and receive messages in Korean. If you wish to receive the Korean version of newsletters, drop us a line.

Our mailing address is correct as written at the top of the letter. Or you can send us first-class mail that will be mailed to us monthly

c/o Mission Co-worker Office
100 Witherspoon Street
Louisville, KY 40202-1396

We will be talking to you from Nepal.

Grace and peace

Haejung & Simon