Dear Enews Friends,

Ministry in Korea has always been a challenge for me and this time was no exception. The cultural chasms between our countries are much wider than most casual observers would discern. Beyond that, the church in Korea is deeply divided on many fronts. Where this gets tough for the WCA is that we do not clearly fit in any existing camp. The older traditional churches think we are too far on the contemporary edge. The liberal churches wonder why we take the Bible so seriously and the charismatics wonder why we don't experience more miracles in our meetings. The last two times I have been here I have been seeking out the younger, more innovative pastors in order to try to make a deeper investment in them. I really do believe that they represent the future of the church in Korea. The good news of the last two days is that we had hundreds of these "young Turks" in our meetings and their response was very encouraging to me.

Speaking through a Korean interpreter is always a bit unnerving for me. I say a few sentences in my normal conversational style, and what comes out of my interpreter's mouth is often a barrage of high pitched staccato noises that sounds like he just told every body to snap to attention and stand there like robots or he will beat them mercilessly! The next words I say I make extra sure sound kind and reassuring only to have my interpreting friend sound as though he is giving the crowd one last warning before he unleashes the pit bulls. Imagine my surprise at the end of the messages when pastors tell me that what moved them most was the tenderness of my heart! Go figure! All in a day's work I guess.

Speaking of a day's work, I have been overwhelmed with all the positive reports of the work going on back at Willow. I have heard raves of the teaching that John Ortberg has been doing on weekends, and almost every day I receive an email from a leader somewhere in the church who informs me of a breakthrough that is paying huge spiritual dividends in the lives of seekers or believers. While these reports bring me great joy they also make me miss Willow like crazy and remind me how much I love being your pastor. As I have told you many times before, I am more than willing to ride airplanes now and then to serve other churches in the WCA, but whenever I am gone for any length of time, God renews the certainty of my first love...which is Jesus Christ and the church He gave birth to in a movie theater in Palatine. Even now as I sit in a non descript hotel room in Pusan, South Korea, I feel so much emotion for my family and friends at Willow that I have to fight back the tears. Funniest thing, you rag tag group of redeemed sinners, you have had my heart since day one, and twenty-seven years later you have it still.

I will begin my journey home soon. Your prayers have sustained me once again and I am in your debt.

Blessings,

Bill

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