Justin Kim

Home Sweet Home

 

So I've been out of town for awhile.  Actually, I've been of the country for awhile.  My family and I left for missions on January 4th and we just got back the other day.  Boy, it's good to be home again!  And when we came back, there were all these changes that had happened while we were gone. 

Two of my church staff members got engaged!  Congrats to D. Cho & Christina!  Congrats to Jimmy & Gina! 

The Seahawks fired their coach only after one season and hired Pete Carroll from USC.  I was thrilled about this but I'm come to realize that not everyone shares my sentiment. 

My Redskins hired a new coach in Mike Shananan which makes them a definitive front-runner to win next year's Superbowl! 

And then, of course... there were the earthquakes, first in California and then the big one in Haiti.  I had heard about the earthquakes during my mission trip but didn't know exactly how devastating the Haiti quake was until I got to Korea.  Where we were, we didn't get good internet connection and also a lot of the media was censored a bit.  In any case, I'm proud that our church is stepping up and taking real steps to bring aid to Haiti.  We are sending a team of medical professionals, along with other volunteers this coming Friday to Haiti.  We collected a love offering yesterday and all of it will go to help people there.

I was only gone for 19 days but so much has happened in such a short period of time.  My wife and I were talking and it felt like we were gone much longer than that.  It's good to be home nonetheless and to continue our ministry back here in Seattle.  

Baby Baby

Yesterday, my wifey and I went to the hospital to visit our dear friends who just had their second kid.  Baby Kailie is beautiful!  She came into the world weighing just 6 lbs, 7 oz.  Mother, father, and baby are all doing well.  It was fun to be in that small hospital room with 5 little ones.  Noah, Ellie, Ryan, Tabitha, and Kailie.  The nurse came in to check on the mother and she was shocked to see so many toddlers/infants in the room!  But us parents/grandparents loved it!  Yesterday, not long after we came back home from the hospital, I got a phone call from another couple at our church who was in labor.  An hour later, baby Ayane came into the world weighing just 6 lbs, 2 oz.  I hear that mother, father, and baby are doing well.  My family and I hope to visit them later today.  We know of at least three other couples in our congregation who are prego and we are so excited to see the Lord bless our peeps with children.  Children truly are a blessing despite the amount of work that goes into raising a child. 

And it seems like baby news abounds these days.  I lived in Florida for about three years.  I hear many of my dear friends in Florida just had their babies or have one in the oven getting them ready.  It's exciting news for me especially because these friends are very dear to me.  My own little sister is about to have her first in a few weeks.  That means my parents will have two grandkids and my daughter will have a cousin to play with.  Babies are amazing!  I remember reading Psalm 139 often when my wifey was prego with Tabs.  Sometimes I stare at my daughter while she's sleeping or playing and I just marvel at God's beautiful work.  She is a masterpiece!  I look at her hands and feet, her fingers and toes, her eyes when she stares back at me.  I love kissing her hair, nose, ears, lips... she definitely is a reflection of half Justin, half Virginia.  But more than anything, she is a true reflection of our God.  She's beautiful like our God.  What a huge and horrible task we have as parents to protect them, provide for them, and to lead them in the way of the Lord and yet, what incredible privilege, blessing and joy to be given the task!  Jesus said in Mark 10:14 to let the little ones come to him.  He loved children!  He told believes to be like children in the sense of having faith and trust and dependence like they do.  We need to mature and graduate from milk to solid food but in the area of faith and trust, we are encouraged to emulate our children. 

Sometimes I look at Tabitha and I can't help but smile.  She's growing so fast.  Her personality is coming out.  I think she's going to be a handful to her mother and father.  But I love every minute I have with her.  What a precious gift she is from the Lord.  There are moments when I catch myself still amazed and shocked that I'm a daddy... that I have a daughter and a beautiful wifey.  I love it! 

  

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Prayer for Grace

Grace Kim attends my church here in the Pacific Northwest.  She is a wonderful child of God.  She directs our STAR ministry, which is a ministry to the children with disabilities.  On August 19, at 12 noon Pacific Time, she will go into surgery.  Please keep her, her doctors and nurses, and her family in your prayers. 

"Dear Lord, I pray for Grace.  May you speak softly and gently into her ears of your love for her.  Remind her that you do all things well and that no matter what happens, you can be trusted.  More than anything else, Lord, I pray that you would make it known to her that she is loved by you.  She is not alone in this time in the valley.  You are there with her.  You never leave her nor forsake her.  Lord, may she fight the fight of faith and I pray for a complete healing and recovery from all that ails her physical body.  Be with the doctors and the nurses.  Give them your wisdom and your guidance as they treat Grace.  Be with the family.  Allow your peaceful presence to overwhelm them with incredible sense of comfort.  Be with Grace.  Touch her with your healing touch.  More than anything else, may she love you more then ever before. 

In Jesus' Healing Name, Amen!"