Part Three: Love is Enduring - My Family
	27. My Third Son, Young Hoon and the Cross
	From his early childhood, Young Hoon showed signs of being very talented. I was talking with the other mothers on his first day of elementary school (his school was affiliated with Gyeongbuk Teachers College) when one of them pointed to my son and said, “Look at your son.” When I did so, Young Hoon was singing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” by himself, in front of all his classmates. Young Hoon, as the first or second in his class, often asked his teachers many difficult questions. They were at a loss to think of answers. Since elementary school, Young Hoon went to sleep 30 minutes after dinner and woke up at 3 o’clock the next morning to read the books his brothers had bought. Hungry around 5 o’clock in the morning, he asked the housemaids to give him breakfast, but they just locked their doors tightly and continued to sleep in. He usually finished his homework before breakfast and at school he was always the first to answer the teacher’s questions. His teachers spoke highly of him and told other students, “Study hard like Young Hoon.” One of my principles in educating my children was that I hardly pushed them to study while they were young because I wanted them to have normal childhoods. In their early school years, they didn’t excel in their studies, but usually by the fifth or sixth grades they began to study on their own initiative. They all ended up first or second in their class. Young Hoon wasn’t growing taller, even by fifth grade, so I bought 10 eels, which my father bought for me so that I would grow. He ate one a day and now stands tall at 178 cm. Young Hoon was able to enter Gyeonggi Middle School which selected only the brightest students. In his first year, he was elected president of his class and received the highest honor at a creative writing contest. His homeroom teacher loved him dearly and one day, in all the years he had taught at the school, and having come to our house for a regular visit, he spoke highly of Young Hoon. He said, “I’ve never seen a student with such leadership skills as Young Hoon.” Though that teacher was transferred to other school during Young Hoon’s second year, he sent a telegram to congratulate my son when he graduated from middle school. I could see that he cared for Young Hoon very much. In his first two years at Gyeonggi High School, Young Hoon was elected president of his class, since the student with the best school record was usually elected for the post. In his third year, there was a consensus to elect Young Hoon as the president of the students’ association for the whole school but I advised him not to take the role. His duties would interfere with his studies, I was afraid. During his years at Gyeonggi Middle and High School, Young Hoon was an active member of the Holy Fire Club (a Christian students’ association) and studied the Bible diligently, always meditating on the Word of God. Even after he was enrolled at Seoul National University, he participated in the Holy Fire Club’s retreats and ministered to the younger students about the Word of God. By that time, our second daughter Jung Joo had returned home, being baptized with the Holy Spirit, she prayed hard that Young Hoon would also receive it. At first, Young Hoon couldn’t understand what she meant, but then Jung Joo introduced him to Reverend David Ross. She also took her brother to the Tuesday prayer meetings led by Reverend Ross. While participating in this meeting, Young Hoon also was baptized with the Holy Spirit. I was overjoyed. As a leading member of the prayer group, Young Hoon led many students to that meeting. About 80 students gathered in the beginning on the fifth floor of a clothing shop but before long the place became too crowded and they gathered on the second floor of the KWCTU Hall. I once went to a meeting and it was a beautiful sight to see young people raising their hands and praising the Lord. Young Hoon said to me with gratitude, “I thank God that this building, which was built with your tears, is used for such a good purpose.” Every afternoon, at 5 o’clock, the members of this group, called Jesus’ People, sang hymns and witnessed about Christ in front of the National Theatre downtown. I adored them so much that I invited all of them once to come to our house for dinner after an evangelistic outreach. They came to our house and I was very impressed by their passion for God when they began singing after a brief prayer session before dinner. It was the year Vietnam had lost the war and many ships carrying Vietnamese refugees were arriving in Korea unsettling the entire nation. As I heard the hymns being sung by these precious young people, tears of gratitude fell from my eyes. I gave thanks to God and prayed, “Dear Lord, when I see your dear children filled with the Holy Spirit and praising God, I realize that Korea will never perish.” I was deeply moved when I saw Young-Hoon growing so beautifully in God’s grace. I felt as though I was witnessing a lovely work of art. Later, the Tuesday meeting grew into such a large number, the Temperance Hall wasn’t able to accommodate them all. So they had to move once again, this time using the auditorium of the YWCA. Since the meeting drew over 1,200 people, they were worried about finding the next available meeting place. As I witnessed the fire of the Holy Spirit rising powerfully, I prayed earnestly with faith that the Lord would bless His Church in these last days, according to God’s promise. “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even upon the menservants and maidservants in those days, I will pour out my Spirit” (Joel 2:28-29). One day, Young Hoon was witnessing about Christ to a young man in a coffee shop on the third floor of the Tae Guk Bakery and asked him to come to the Tuesday meetings. But the young man didn’t show up. Young Hoon went to meet him once more. The workers in the coffee shop threw Young Hoon out, not knowing that he was the son of a decent family. One day, Young Hoon was reading the newspaper and said, “Mom, there was a fire on the third floor of the Tae Guk Bakery and 13 workers were burned to death. The only survivor is the young man to whom I had witnessed.” Moved by his words, I told him, “This is a proof that among so many people living on this earth, it is a great blessing for anyone to hear about Christ, even once.” Young Hoon has a beautiful baritone voice. While he was attending Gyeonggi High School, he was chosen to sing a solo at a school concert. After that evening, his music teacher said, “I’m disappointed that Young Hoon isn’t pursuing his studies in music. It sure is deplorable, but I see your son has other potential. When I was hospitalized because of appendicitis, Young Hoon was beside my sick bed singing hymns to me. He sang so beautifully that I fell right to sleep, forgetting the pain left after the operation. I am truly happy when I hear him sing hymns. Whenever we have family worship, Young Hoon raises both of his hands when praising. In the past, we had family worship only in the evening, but after Young Hoon was baptized with the Holy Spirit, we have praise worships three times a day. He also taught me many Gospel songs, sung at the prayer meetings. I enjoy singing them with Young Hoon, experiencing God’s exceeding grace and overflowing joy. I have never heard such a beautiful baritone voice as that of my son, Young Hoon, not even from professional singers. Young Hoon always wore a big wooden cross on his neck. When his eldest sister asked him, “Why are you wearing it? Even pastors don’t wear cross.” He replied, “Sis, we of all people, being blessed as we have been, should glorify the cross. When I wear the cross, many interesting things happen. Many people ask me why I wear it and that gives me an opportunity to witness to them.” Young Hoon always witnesses when he rides the bus. He writes down the address of the people and sends them Christmas cards; some answer them. One young man wrote that not only he, but his girlfriend also started going to church. Young Hoon loves the cross so much that he enjoys giving them out as a gifts; I received one for my birthday and so did his nephews for their birthdays. Before Young Hoon went to the United States, he visited General Woo Joo Chang, then the president of the Hyundai Construction Company, in need of a recommendation letter. At his office, Young Hoon witnessed to General Chang’s son, Soon Heung Chang, who was then working as a secretary. Soon Heung shared that he was also a graduate of Gyeonggi High School and said, “Brother, you must be very bold to witness in this kind of place. I believed in Jesus until I went to high school, but I haven’t been to church ever since. Seeing your passion for God, I have a desire to go to church again.” Soon Heung was greatly blessed by God’s grace and returned to his church, the Ducksoo Presbyterian Church. There, he even participated in the youth group. Young Hoon visited the group one day to support him. At the meeting, Soon Heung testified that the ultimate priority in each person’s life should be to praise God and honor Christ. In the Bible, Jesus said, “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of man also will acknowledge before the angels of God” (Luke 12:8). I pray that we wouldn’t just enjoy the blessings of the Gospel by ourselves, but that we could share the Good News with our neighbors. We would become precious children of God, by putting our efforts together to lead one more soul to be delivered from their sins and be saved. My son needed a recommendation to attend Harvard Business School for his graduate studies.I introduced Young Hoon to Dr. Han Bin Lee, who was then president of Soong Shil University, but had been the previous dean of the graduate school at Seoul National University. Dr. Han Bin Lee was an elder at Hoo Am Presbyterian Church with a reputation for being a very serious scholar. He was known for not easily agreeing to write recommendation letters. Young Hoon went to see him and Dr. Lee wasn’t impressed at all and said, “I’ve already seen one too many graduates of Gyeonggi High School, the College of Law at Seoul National University and too many sons from rich families. He refused to acknowledge Young Hoon’s academic background, but while talking with him, Dr. Lee realized that Young Hoon was filled with the Holy Spirit. He seemed to have been impressed by my son’s character. He talked with Young Hoon for over five hours. Dr. Lee grew to love him and began to care for Young Hoon. Soon he wrote him a beautiful recommendation letter. I was ever so grateful. The Lord blessed Young Hoon with a desire to read. After reading books, he would share with the rest of the family what he had read in such an interesting way and with such ease that we felt as if we were in the story ourselves, watching the whole event happen. My husband, who is also well-read, always join our sons when Young Hoon told stories to his brothers. In our house, there is a big library and whenever my husband needed to find a reference book for his work he would ask Young Hoon for advice. My son would not only pick out the right book among the many there, but also showed the exact pages where the subject of interest could be found. After Young Hoon finished law studies at Seoul National University and his military service, he received acceptance letters from various universities in the States. Young Hoon desired to go to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where his sister studied. The main reason was because of a Christian community there called “The Word of God,” which was known to be anointed with the Holy Spirit. He thought he might have good fellowship with other believers there. He went to Michigan. Living among the Christian community, he led the youth group in a Korean church. Young Hoon received his M.A. in Comparative Law and an M.B.A. While he studied in Michigan, he led many students to Christ. Among them, there was a student named Myung Ho Lee. After her graduation, she married a medical doctor who came to the University of Michigan as a missionary. The couple now works as servants of God. After Young Hoon returned to Korea, he worked at City Bank as an executive for two years. There, with other Christian bankers, he formed a Christian fellowship called the City Cross. Later, he studied for four years at Harvard, first in economics, and then theology, receiving his Masters of Divinity degree. While Young Hoon was studying at Harvard Divinity School, the university celebrated its 350th anniversary. Professor George Williams was asked to research and write about the history of the Harvard University as an important part of the school’s anniversary. Professor Williams, in his attempt to find a sincere Christian at Harvard to work on the project with him, asked Professor Jim and Vera Shaw to recommend a student among the members of the Harvard-Radcliffe Christian Fellowship. They recommended Young Hoon. My son initially refused the offer because he was too occupied preparing his dissertation. But at the persistent request of the professor, he finally agreed to assist him. After spending 50 hours in the archives, he finished his research on the origin and development of the Harvard University. Professor Williams was able to report on the history of Harvard at its 350th anniversary. He thanked Young Hoon for his great research. Young Hoon graduated from the Harvard Divinity School in 1987. In his dissertation, he compared the beginning and the present spiritual situation of Harvard. He pointed out that the university, which had been founded for Christ and His Church, had gone far away from the vision of the founder. He emphasized that the only hope for the future would lie in the true repentance of the sins of the entire school and American society as a whole, leading to their return to Christ. Upon his return to Korea, Young Hoon entered the Daesung Group as a director, and is presently its president. At present, he practices daily what the Word of God teaches, and being led by the Holy Spirit, he fights many good spiritual battles. With the talents God gave Young Hoon, having studied law, business administration, economics, and theology, he does his best to serve his home, society, the nation of Korea, and the Church with God’s guidance. In addition to his pure faith and his skills, God has blessed Young Hoon with a great personality and good health. I am most happy when I see Young Hoon’s daily walk with Jesus, following the guidance of the Holy Spirit for the glory of God. There were two men of faith Young Hoon admired. One is King Alfred the Great. He was a warrior king and theologian, who unified the United Kingdom and turned the country into a strong Christian nation in the 10th century. The other one was John Calvin from the 16th century. He had accomplished the reformation of the church according to piety and science by raising high the banner of the truth of the Gospel. He is said to have proclaimed that we are justified only by faith in Jesus Christ. Just like these two bold soldiers of faith, I pray daily that Young Hoon may be used perfectly according to the will of God not only for Korea, but for the whole church as His precious servant, anointed by the Holy Spirit. “Dear Lord God, I pray that You may use Young Hoon for the reunification of Korea and for the revival of Your Church, and that You may receive all the glory. I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.” Young Hoon married Jung Yoon Kim, the second daughter of Reverend Hong Do Kim, on November 6, 1993. I believe that Young Hoon’s prayer request for woman of strength in Proverbs 31:10-31 has been answered. Reverend Hong Do Kim is a well-known evangelist who began serving the Keum Ran Methodist Church 20 years ago when there were only 20 members in the congregation. After 20 years, his ministry has grown into a large church with 60,000 registered members. Reverend Kim’s mother is also a precious evangelist who has been instrumental in raising all four of her sons to become pastors (Sun Do, Hong Do, Kuk Do, Kun Do). At Young Hoon’s wedding there were 6,000 guests and the ceremony looked like a big revival meeting. The newly married couple, by God’s grace, received beautiful children, Eu Hahn on August 2, 1994, Eun Jin on March 6, 1997, and Eu Jin on October 14, 2000 as God’s gifts for the joy of both families. Young Hoon and Jung Yoon pray together, always doing their best to carry out the precious tasks appointed by God, for them to live as witnesses for Christ. O Lord, who shall sojourn in thy tent? Who shall dwell on they holy hill? He who walks blamelessly, and does what is right, and speaks truth from his heart; Who does not slander with his tongue, and does no evil to his friend, Nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor; In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord who swears to his own heart and does not change; who does not put out his money at interest, and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved. (Psalm 15)
	22. My Husband, Soo Keun Kim, a Successful Businessman
	23. My First Son, Young Tae, Dedicated to God
	24. My Second Son, Young Min, and His Temperate Lifestyle
	25. My First Daughter, Young Joo, Born with a Talent in Painting
	26. My Second Daughter, Jung Joo, Dedicated to Jesus Christ
	27. My Third Son, Young Hoon and the Cross
	28. My Last Daughter, Sung Joo, a Businesswoman
	29. My Mother’s Advice
	30. My Conviction for Children’s Education

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