Winter Olympics 2018: Pyeongchang, South Korea

I approached a family friend and a man I admire and look up to, Scott Seigman, to share a little bit about his most recent trip to Pyeongchang, South Korea for the Winter Olympics were he went to spread the good news. I am very thankful that Scott took the time to share this. Enjoy!

There I was in South Korea sitting in a Bible preaching church, not understanding a single word, but the experience was a small taste of Heaven; Russians, Koreans, Japanese, and a group of Americans were praising God.  There were no politics, prejudice, hate, global competition, or malice over past ills…only love.  What could bring a simple rural Ohio man to the Korean peninsula?  Ah the beauty of answering a question with a question:  What event would bring the world’s nations together in one spot?  None other than the Olympic Games.  If you aren’t a Christian and have made it to this point.  Continue on, I think you will find it interesting.

You see, in 2010 at the Winter Olympics I finally got a full appreciation for 1 John 2:2, “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”  The nations you might say.  At risk of sounding corny, I stood on a street corner on bustling Robson Street, Vancouver B.C. thinking of the lyrics to “People Need the Lord.”  It was then and there my heart broke for the lost at home and abroad.

Fast forward through sharing Jesus at the games in Canada, England, Russia, Brazil, and now South Korea, it is safe to say that God spoke to my heart and I chose to listen.  One sure thing is that this is not about me.  It is about God, His glory, and the joy found in obedience to following His call despite a clear path…sounds a bit like faith, eh? 

If you have read thus far, thanks, and be sure to buckle up because you are about to enjoy hearing about our living, active, and amazing Lord.  I have never written a blog.  Our mutual friend Luke asked if I’d share about the recent Olympics.  I shall do my best; here we go.

God is Amazing:

On the 14 hour flight from Detroit to Incheon, S. Korea I walked to stretch my legs, met a fellow passenger, and the following ensued:  He spoke of his daughter that was on the U.S. Women’s Hockey team.  He shared her name and jersey number.  At the end of small talk, I did the awkward out of comfort zone prayer offering (many of you likely know that is where the cool stuff happens…outside of our comfort zone).  He accepted prayer and chimed in prior with, “We want to win the gold!”  I chuckled and said I would pray for that blessing if it were God’s will.

Later in the trip I started watching the gold medal matchup between the U.S. and Canada.  Two minutes into my viewing I saw his daughter hit the puck, it was redirected off of a team mate and go into the goal. I laughed, shared the story of praying with her father, and said, “I’ll bet his faith increases!”  To my surprise, guess who I saw at the gate for the return flight home at the end of my trip?  Sure enough, there sat Charles.  He recognized me from our initial meeting in the air.  I congratulated him and gifted a gospel pin and Scripture card for his daughter and one for the family.  A seed was planted in the midst of God showing Himself great for His glory.  We are just messengers.  Oh, and apparently it was God’s will for the gold win for the U.S.  I pray that souls draw to the One who can pave streets of gold.

There are many other stories of how God showed Himself amazing, but I will try to keep this short.  It is not the experience, but He that caused it to happen for His glory that should cause us to be in awe.  There was God allowing me to gift a Scripture to a very kind Lester Holt of NBC News.  Standing freezing outside of a train station gifting Scripture, God lovingly blessed me with a husband and wife coming up to me asking, “Do you know of anyone who would like two free tickets to the women’s ski jump final tonight?”  One of the most precious was a simple interaction as I shared the gospel with a S. Korean by pointing at Scripture in his native script.  The power is found in God’s Word. 

The highlight of this recent adventure in evangelism would not be the food.  I am an adventurous eater, but the staple of Korean dining was not a friend of mine…Kimchi.  Fermented cabbage was not a flavor I enjoyed.  The food variety is just something different that I culturally am not familiar with.  God loves variety and it shows in His creation.    

  

One of the highlights would have to be finally sharing the gospel via a text message to a dear friend back in the States.  It took traveling over 6,600 miles from home before I finally shared the gospel including Scripture via text with a dear friend.

It is easy to share the Good News with strangers far away.  Including myself, may we be more attentive to those close to us.  Relationship Evangelism is not healthy if we only assume that friends will see the gospel in our lives.  It has been said, and I used to frequently say, “May they see the gospel in my life, and if necessary use words.”  Folks, I lovingly share that after years of street evangelism I can say that a relationship can be developed in a matter of 30 seconds and words are necessary.  Also, people typically do want to talk about spiritual matters.  I attended an atheist rally in Washington D.C. to share the gospel in a loving way a couple of years ago.  Guess what? In general, the atheists I spoke with were very kind as we conversed despite having opposing world views.  I encourage you to share the truth in love.  We are a mist (James 4:14).  Those we love, such as family and friends, are a mist too.

The people of S. Korea were very kind.  Their culture is one of gift giving.  This maiden voyage of blog- words will end with a question, make that a few.  First, was this way too long for a blog entry? I totally don’t know as I’m 46 and totally out of touch with the blogosphere.  If so, have mercy. 

God has led all who have stayed with me this far for differing reasons. Have you accepted or rejected God’s gift of Salvation?  A gift must be received.  Having knowledge of an intended gift is just that - knowledge of, not acceptance of the gift; there is a difference.  If you haven’t accepted the gift here is some of God’s Word, not my opinion, if you are considering turning from a life that is opposed to God and turning to Jesus: Eph. 2:8-9, Rom. 3:23 and Rom. 6:23, John 3:16, Rom. 10:9-13.  Finally, a respectful thing to do according to Korean culture is to remove one’s shoes prior to entering a room.  If you are a born-again believer in Jesus, do you have beautiful feet? (Rom. 10:14-15).