In Korea, more than half of the population professes a religion of some sort. Of those, about 50% are Christian, 40% are Buddhist, and the remaining 10% belong to various other religions, such as Confucianism and even some Mormons.
For us, leaving our home in Atlanta, meant leaving behind NorthPoint Church as well. Griffin worked on the IT staff at the church and Valerie had attended NorthPoint or one of its satellite campuses for many years.
We were extremely happy to find Jeonha Church, which happened to be about a 5 minute walk from our apartment. No, it’s nothing like NorthPoint, but we have really grown to love the huge church with a tiny English worship service inside.
On Sundays we begin our service at 2pm, since that’s when our worship area becomes available. We sing the same songs we have encountered at churches back home and have the same general program. But, as you look around the room, you will notice one important thing: diversity.
On any given Sunday at Jeonha Church, you’re likely to encounter five or six different nationalities represented. We regularly meet people from The Philipines, Brazil, South Africa, New Zealand, England and, of course, the U.S. and Canada. Not to mention, our Burmese pastor, who speaks 4 languages fluently.
We have been privileged to meet so many great friends through our church here, knowing that these are friends we will keep in touch with long after we all leave Korea. We are especially close to our wonderful pastor, Azel, with whom we also made the year long journey to becoming Taekwondo blackbelts.
We feel extremely fortunate and blessed to have gotten to attend church here for the last two years, and we hope to visit again in the future.
