Meeting more Baptist's and a trip to the sea

    Yesterday I visited Suwon Christian Academy founded by Pastor Joseph Kim. The school has a nursery, primary, and middle school. I was very impressed with what I saw of the children who seemed polite, the ethos of learning that seemed both academic and fun, and the general Christian ethos. I also spoke to the secretary who was very helpful in explaining why so many parents want their children to go there. Firstly, it is not so exam based as other schools. There is an acceptance of subjects like art which isn't so much in other Korean schools. They learn English, which is seen as very useful as it is a universal language. Then of course there is the Christian ethos which doesn't seem so  Conservative as other schools.

   Pastor Joseph is also the pastor of one of the churches that meets on the school premises. It is a Baptist church, which he planted. It has a congregation of 1,500 members and he was the senior pastor. He believed God was calling him to split the congregation off into smaller churches of 300 members so that they have deeper fellowship with each other, and since then these smaller churches have continued to grow and plant more churches. His Father is Pastor Billy Kim, a Baptist minister and was President of the Baptist World Alliance in 2000; the first Asian. He is also the President of Far East Broadcasting Company, which is a sister company to FEBA ( I know some folk at WPBC support that radio station). My friends and I had lunch with Pastor Joseph and his wife Annie. Pastor Joseph and Annie are Korean American and speak good English. They were both educated in America, and seemed interested in the UK and especially Baptist churches there. It was great to spend time with them.

   After that we took the fast train to Busan, and stayed over night. Busan is a big city next to the beach. Today we went on the famous Haeundae beach, and into the sea, at 9.30am the sand was quite hot to walk on. We walked around the cliffs, and in the market. We had noddles, gimbap, and ice cream for lunch before heading back to Seoul. The trip is almost over, and lots to reflect upon, but I am very grateful for the hospitality and generosity I have experienced.