During my meeting with Pastor Kim the day I got the money to extend my stay in Korea, she gave me her card to keep in touch with her. When I got back to Durihana that night, I e-mailed her to let her know exactly how much that money had meant.
She later responded to invite me to come to YDFC again the following Saturday for a conference Andre Ashby was holding at the church. There wasn't any other engagement that day, aside from a wedding I had to go to in the morning (more on that story later), so I said I would be there.
When we got to YDFC that night, Yoonmi was told she needed to work in the nursery that night, so we parted ways at the seats, and I settled in for the conference, expecting to get a lot out of it.
Notice I said "get," but that couldn't be the case that night.
About 9 years prior, I began receiving Words of Knowledge, most specifically pertaining to healing. However, this was something that hadn't happened in a long time, but the usually way they occurred were that I would get sharp, unnatural pain in a certain part of a body, more specifically, in places I don't even have problems with. It's hard to describe the pain I receive, except to call it unnatural, as in this pain is something I can discern between pain caused by something wrong in my body and these occurrences.
Fast forward to the end of worship service, and all of a sudden I get this same type of pain in my eye. This is the first time in about 4 years that it had happened, and before that, it hadn't happened in 3 years. Yet I knew it when I happened, and actually GROANED at the thought of it.
Whenever it had happened before, it was in Little Chapel Church, a church I feel comfortable in and feel comfortable approaching the pastors in, and have had to numerous times over this. So here I am, in Seoul, Korea, at a church I had only been to twice before, and had only just really met and talked with the pastor of one week prior. Let's couple this with the fact that in Korea, pastors are highly revealed to the point where people view them as unapproachable, and I didn't want to step on anyone's toes, especially with a guest speaker from the States there. Yeah, I didn't want to approach.
But then, after worship, there was a break between worship and the sermon, where music was still being played, but nothing was being sung, Andre was just standing on the stage, and people were crying. He then mentioned, "Let's just wait on God right now, he's healing people physically and emotionally right now." And at that point, the pain intensified to the point where if I didn't approach, I was going to go crazy. Plus, in my time of having this happen, I was batting 1,000 in there being someone there with the affected body part, so I was confident at that point that if I was given the opportunity, that something would happen. I approached Pastor Kim, and told her what was happening, and asked if I could share this with the congregation. She then conferred with Andre about it, who without even hesitating, offered me the microphone.
It was at this point that Yoonmi was halfway listening in the nursery to the TV downstairs, and heard my voice come up on the TV and was shocked. But there I was, conferring to the congregation about this Word of Knowledge, and within what seemed like a split second, a woman stepped out with this eye pain. I began praying for her, and she was instantly healed.
I sat down, thinking God was done with me. Andre grabbed the microphone and said, "Well, Corey, actually, I'm blind in that same eye, can you pray for me?"
I was just stunned. By then I had a lot of faith, and was ready to go, and started praying for Andre in the middle of the service for his eye, and while there was no immediate change, there were flashes of light in his eye that he had never seen before, so there was progress.
I again, thought I was done. Andre started speaking, and gave an altar call. Several were saved that night, then he started receiving words of knowledge for healing, where around 20 people came up. It was at this point where he said "Corey, would you be willing to come up to pray for these people?"
I was overwhelmed. This was NOT what I was expecting that night. I expected my ministry to be pidgeonholed to North Koreans over my time there, instead I was ministering in YDFC? Unreal.
I prayed for people for what was probably 30 minutes, seeing my first of countless slain by the spirit. Even having seen it before, I wasn't sure what to do, but felt in my heart they had what they needed, and moved on. It was just incredible.
Later, Pastor Kim asked Andre to prophesy over people from the church, including me, and he did. The video is here:
https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150318517166438
So at the end of all of this, I was able to spend time after the service in fellowship with Andre, Pastor Kim, and Andre's friend, Eli, and really talk with them. It was certainly a highlight of my time in Korea, and I still look back on that night and think, "Did that really happen?"
Monday, November 21, 2011
My visit to YDFC...
I should reiterate that the term of my trip was as follows:
9:00AM May 30th: Leave Evansville, Indiana, bound for Seoul.
11:00PM May 31st: Arrive in Seoul.
10:00AM July 1st: Leave Seoul, overnight layover in Tokyo.
9:00AM July 2nd: Arrive in Evansville, dead tired.
By the last full week in Seoul, I felt like I had unfinished business, that I was supposed to leave. I continued to work with people, and talk and visit with the group, and do whatever work they asked for, but my heart was breaking. I knew I wasn't supposed to go.
I had talked to people at home, and to Yoonmi, and told them as much, and that I was praying for God's will. And I did, but I broke it down to specifics.
The reason I couldn't stay longer was a lack of funds. I was blessed enough to get the funds to stay the first month, and I was aware of that. But I knew God was capable of anything.
For Monday, I remember really struggling with this. I spent the day crying in prayer. I began to figure out how much I needed to stay one more month. I arrived at 1.2million Won, roughly $1,200. So I told God that if he wanted me to stay another month, somehow that amount would come through, otherwise, I would leave on July 1st. I didn't say I'd leave happily, but I would certainly at that point know that my time there was fulfilled, and it was time to go back to the US.
Tuesday, I went souvenir shopping, and there was various other things we did too. I got to spend time with friends there, got to go back to Namsan with Yoonmi, and enjoy our fleeting moments together.
Now, during the conference, I had been invited by one of Yoonmi's friends to their church, which was Youngdong First Church, the host of the conference. I had been there last year, and was more than happy to go back, but every week was busy.
The last Sunday was my last opportunity to go. So, I asked for permission at Durihana to go to my fiance's church after the afternoon worship session, and when granted, I left right after we finished worship, and arrived at YDFC just in time for their worship session as well, which of course was good.
Then Pastor Kim stood up front, and points to you. I was actually shocked when this happened. She then tells me "God put you in my heart since the conference, I couldn't stop watching you throughout the whole conference." Once again, I'm shocked. She then asked me to come up front and share why I was in Korea.
So I got to tell the congregation that this was my last week in Korea from doing ministry among North Koreans over the month, and she hugs me and tells me we have the same heart. I expound on it, and they pray for me. I sit back down in my seat, and am brought an earpiece for English translation. I no sooner turn it on and I'm hearing the translation of what Pastor Kim is saying: "I feel like we need to take a special offering for Corey and his ministry in Korea."
What?
I'm blown away, and already thanking God, because I had an inkling of what was about to take place.
The sermon is over, and Yoonmi and I are taken to meet with Pastor Kim downstairs. We sit there talking about North Korea, my life in America, how I met Yoonmi. As far as anyone knows at her church, we were just friends. Pastor Kim definitely thought like that. All of this was just time to wait for the ushers to count the offering. When they came back, they gave the envelope to Pastor Kim, and told her the total, then she turned to me.
"Corey," she said, "it isn't much, but this is what was in the offering for you. It is 1,200,000 won."
I almost collapsed on the floor at that very moment. Exactly what I asked God to provide was provided.
So, let's just say that on Monday, Yoonmi and I rescheduled my flight back home to August 1st. And more to come.
9:00AM May 30th: Leave Evansville, Indiana, bound for Seoul.
11:00PM May 31st: Arrive in Seoul.
10:00AM July 1st: Leave Seoul, overnight layover in Tokyo.
9:00AM July 2nd: Arrive in Evansville, dead tired.
By the last full week in Seoul, I felt like I had unfinished business, that I was supposed to leave. I continued to work with people, and talk and visit with the group, and do whatever work they asked for, but my heart was breaking. I knew I wasn't supposed to go.
I had talked to people at home, and to Yoonmi, and told them as much, and that I was praying for God's will. And I did, but I broke it down to specifics.
The reason I couldn't stay longer was a lack of funds. I was blessed enough to get the funds to stay the first month, and I was aware of that. But I knew God was capable of anything.
For Monday, I remember really struggling with this. I spent the day crying in prayer. I began to figure out how much I needed to stay one more month. I arrived at 1.2million Won, roughly $1,200. So I told God that if he wanted me to stay another month, somehow that amount would come through, otherwise, I would leave on July 1st. I didn't say I'd leave happily, but I would certainly at that point know that my time there was fulfilled, and it was time to go back to the US.
Tuesday, I went souvenir shopping, and there was various other things we did too. I got to spend time with friends there, got to go back to Namsan with Yoonmi, and enjoy our fleeting moments together.
Now, during the conference, I had been invited by one of Yoonmi's friends to their church, which was Youngdong First Church, the host of the conference. I had been there last year, and was more than happy to go back, but every week was busy.
The last Sunday was my last opportunity to go. So, I asked for permission at Durihana to go to my fiance's church after the afternoon worship session, and when granted, I left right after we finished worship, and arrived at YDFC just in time for their worship session as well, which of course was good.
Then Pastor Kim stood up front, and points to you. I was actually shocked when this happened. She then tells me "God put you in my heart since the conference, I couldn't stop watching you throughout the whole conference." Once again, I'm shocked. She then asked me to come up front and share why I was in Korea.
So I got to tell the congregation that this was my last week in Korea from doing ministry among North Koreans over the month, and she hugs me and tells me we have the same heart. I expound on it, and they pray for me. I sit back down in my seat, and am brought an earpiece for English translation. I no sooner turn it on and I'm hearing the translation of what Pastor Kim is saying: "I feel like we need to take a special offering for Corey and his ministry in Korea."
What?
I'm blown away, and already thanking God, because I had an inkling of what was about to take place.
The sermon is over, and Yoonmi and I are taken to meet with Pastor Kim downstairs. We sit there talking about North Korea, my life in America, how I met Yoonmi. As far as anyone knows at her church, we were just friends. Pastor Kim definitely thought like that. All of this was just time to wait for the ushers to count the offering. When they came back, they gave the envelope to Pastor Kim, and told her the total, then she turned to me.
"Corey," she said, "it isn't much, but this is what was in the offering for you. It is 1,200,000 won."
I almost collapsed on the floor at that very moment. Exactly what I asked God to provide was provided.
So, let's just say that on Monday, Yoonmi and I rescheduled my flight back home to August 1st. And more to come.
Performance at Songnae
During the next to last weekend I was supposed to be in Korea, I get informed that during my last weekend there, Durihana was set to perform at a church in Songnae, about an hour away from Seoul. This was going to be a benefit for the refugees and the efforts to bring North Koreans from China to South Korea. Obviously, seeing how Durihana was one of the biggest posts for this, we had to be there. There was going to be a choir, accompanied by piano, violin, drums, guitar, and, of course (where I fit in), bass. So for that week, I spent my afternoons with the group rehearsing. We worked hardcore on this, performing a medley of four songs, three of which being Korean translations of English Songs (Once Again, Jesus Loves Me, and Lord I Lift Your Name on High). In fact, it was during a evening practice session between myself, Gwangjin, and Nahrie that we were able to get Gwangjin's story.
Come the Saturday of the performance, we led people in worship, then came the actual concert. CTS (The largest Christian TV station in Korea) was there to record, so this was going to be broadcast throughout the nation. By now, I don't really get nervous going on stage. Other people seemed nervous, but for me, it's not a problem. I've come a long way.
In fact, I was quite confident. I had been given a lot of compliments leading up to this on my bass parts, and I was feeling really good. Yoonmi came to watch, and I was excited to play. But hey, what's God without a sense of humor?
We get called up on stage, and I'm one of the first out the stage door to the stage, because I'm on the opposite side of the stage from the door. And I'm not paying attention, and all of a sudden I feel a "thwack," and my eye is stinging. I have just hit my head on a microphone stand on stage in front of around 1,000 people at this church. Moreover, like I mentioned before, CTS was there, so this was probably seen by I don't know how many in Korea, plus any Korean overseas that has DirecTV could've been watching too. No joke.
Hello humble pie, boy you taste good.
But, aside from being embarrassed, things went well. I have video from the crowd, but I cannot show it, because of the fact that several people on this video cannot have their faces shown in the media, because of family that still lives in the DPRK.
There were more acts, such as Myung-joo (more on her later) and Sul playing a guitar duet, and a girl that plays violin solos while doing choreographed dances, and it was good, but Yoonmi and I left early. It was supposed to be the last weekend we had together in Korea this year, so we wanted some time together.
If that was all of it, there wouldn't be anything left to write about, and I wouldn't have written the previous entry, but obviously, there's more to come.
Come the Saturday of the performance, we led people in worship, then came the actual concert. CTS (The largest Christian TV station in Korea) was there to record, so this was going to be broadcast throughout the nation. By now, I don't really get nervous going on stage. Other people seemed nervous, but for me, it's not a problem. I've come a long way.
In fact, I was quite confident. I had been given a lot of compliments leading up to this on my bass parts, and I was feeling really good. Yoonmi came to watch, and I was excited to play. But hey, what's God without a sense of humor?
We get called up on stage, and I'm one of the first out the stage door to the stage, because I'm on the opposite side of the stage from the door. And I'm not paying attention, and all of a sudden I feel a "thwack," and my eye is stinging. I have just hit my head on a microphone stand on stage in front of around 1,000 people at this church. Moreover, like I mentioned before, CTS was there, so this was probably seen by I don't know how many in Korea, plus any Korean overseas that has DirecTV could've been watching too. No joke.
Hello humble pie, boy you taste good.
But, aside from being embarrassed, things went well. I have video from the crowd, but I cannot show it, because of the fact that several people on this video cannot have their faces shown in the media, because of family that still lives in the DPRK.
There were more acts, such as Myung-joo (more on her later) and Sul playing a guitar duet, and a girl that plays violin solos while doing choreographed dances, and it was good, but Yoonmi and I left early. It was supposed to be the last weekend we had together in Korea this year, so we wanted some time together.
If that was all of it, there wouldn't be anything left to write about, and I wouldn't have written the previous entry, but obviously, there's more to come.
Update Coming, But a Foreshadowing.
I know I didn't get as far as I wanted in my writing while I was in Korea. Let's just say that things got so hectic that it became an afterthought. Needless to say, I have a lot to catch up on.
I will go into as much accurate details as I can, entry by entry, but let's just say the following, and if you don't want to be spoiled on what happened, don't read below this:
1) I'm no longer in Korea.
2) I'm definitely not in America.
3) And I'm undoubtedly not traveling solo anymore.
4) And check the ChipIn widget at the right of the blog.
God bless you guys, and I will update you further over the next few days.
I will go into as much accurate details as I can, entry by entry, but let's just say the following, and if you don't want to be spoiled on what happened, don't read below this:
1) I'm no longer in Korea.
2) I'm definitely not in America.
3) And I'm undoubtedly not traveling solo anymore.
4) And check the ChipIn widget at the right of the blog.
God bless you guys, and I will update you further over the next few days.
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