It was the Easter Sunday of the year 2013 when my family first set foot at the Yoido English Ministry (YEM). My older son, LeRuof, was 6 years old and fresh from our 1 year stay in the Philippines where his spirituality took roots. He would blurt out questions that I didn’t have the confidence to answer even though I grew up a Catholic, spent my childhood and graduated in a school run by nuns.
My husband and I agreed that we were not enough. We needed help in terms of our children’s growing consciousness and relationship with God. My husband searched for a church and we have to admit that our primary consideration was convenience. As Paulo Coelho aptly put it, “when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” In our case, God, YEM and the Mapo Bridge conspired to give us the convenience we needed in order for us to belong to a Church.
This video reminded me of the reason why we got into YEM:
The distance between Trapalace, where we used to live, and YEM was just the whole span of the Mapo Bridge.
Our search for a Church ended on our first attempt. On our first day, we listened to the self-deprecating humour of the pastor. We laughed and we still do. This Easter Sunday will be our 5th year here in YEM, thus this post.
More than the laugh we get out of the sermons, my family got our own core YEM family, thanks to our cell group. Our cell members have seen our children grow. The twins that we saw for the first time in their twin strollers are now lovely girls in first grade and are good friends with our cell leader’s daughter who, my husband fondly calls Jellybean. A young family has moved to another country but we continue to keep in touch and see them when they’re in Seoul.
Families have come and go. Members have been added and many have left. But that’s the way this ministry was designed to be. We know we are bound to leave… when the right time comes.
My own faith has always been a work in progress. I am a hard one to evangelize. But my sons’ relationship with God has considerably grown stronger. They are the anchor of my faith.
My younger son constantly reminds me to read the bible passages from a bible phone application and this has served as his lullaby. I struggle to diligently do this but his persistence is admirable.
In one of our dinners with guests here in the house, he asked us to pray before our meal. Knowing that our guests didn’t pray, my husband asked my son not to do it. And that struck a hard cord in us.
We could be respectful of other people’s beliefs without compromising our own. Our own son made us realize that. Both boys have taught us lessons without meaning to. And we continue to learn.
We thought we will be ending our journey here this year, but we submit to His plans. Apparently, we are still here to stay:-).
So, we are looking at another year with our YEM family and we are looking forward to this Easter Sunday to mark our 5th year.
To know more about the Yoido English Ministry, check its Facebook page: Yoido English Ministry
How to go there?
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I was a regular church-goer in America, but I lost the habit after living in Korea for so many years. But eventually I found a nice church in Daegu. It was harder to maintain attendance in a foreign country because, at least for me, I found there were many more distractions in daily life.
The strong faith of your children is a beautiful thing.
I get you. We can’t go to all the Sunday service, too because of these distractions:-). We have children’s activities (yes, even on Sundays) and some trips to go to.
I think the coming and going nature of the church is pretty common for most groups geared toward foreigners. In Korea it seems more like temporary expats and fewer people settling in to make a life commitment. I think asking questions and searching for your own truth and beliefs (regardless of what the people around you believe) is really important, so it’s nice that your son has started on that journey at such a young age. And definitely praying at meal times is something you should do if that’s your habit and what you want to do– as long as you’re not forcing others to join you or making them feel guilty, it’s fine. Respect should go both ways.
Your son tells you to read verses from the Bible App? Thats too funny and totally 2018! While not a fan of churches, I can see how it would be helpful (especially in a foreign country) to connect with others and to form some close connections through something mutual. Happy Easter to you and your church family!
IKR? lol… There’s this app called ReadScripture downloadable to your phone. It’s convenient and yes,… very contemporary.
I don’t go to church, but did as a child growing up. It’s nice to see a family that values attending, and that your children are getting exposure to learning about God.
I have a friend who attends the Yoido English Ministry. From what I hear, it’s a great church! I’m so glad your family was able to find a church so quickly after moving to Seoul. It took my wife and I several months and a lot of church hoping before we found a church for us. Now we go to New Harvest Ministries in Gangnam!
This is very useful. I have a lot of blog readers who ask for a church with English service. I often recommend Myeongdong Cathedral, and the church in Hyehwa. I’ll add this to my list. What time does the worship service start?
Ahhh I almost went to this church on this Sunday. My friend has been inviting me for almost this whole year lol. I’ll take this as a sign as you also quoted from my favourite book “The alchemist” 🙂
And when you do, pls say hello:-).
I am not a church goer but it is good to know that there is an expat friendly English church in Seoul that I can recommend to my friends. Hope you had a good easter!