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 Is it because of global warming? Usually we worry about the cold at the end of the winter, but instead we are worried that it is too warm.  Our lifelong friend Pastor Kim Young Heon visited Saemter from Gwangju and brought along Deacon Lee Seong Yeon and his son Paul. They installed folding windows before they left. After a long time, it was a joy to hear their sweet southern dialect. Pastor Kim’s irony always made us perplexed and Deacon Lee was all-powerful as an engineer. We had a drought- there were no EMT’s since Yoondeok, at least not until our new EMT friend Paul arrived. With a tall stature and a bright face, Paul is handsome, but whenever he opened his mouth, sweet dialect shot out and we wanted to laugh, but we couldn’t laugh to his face, even though we felt like dying. Anyway, the three guys left with nice folding doors installed, bam! They left their traces behind. Now the ground floor café shall be called “Storyhouse II.” Storyhouse in Gwangju could be called the main branch. Anyway, Pastor Kim said he will make a wooden signboard saying “Storyhouse II” so we are waiting.   


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Steadily, helping hands have come inconspicuously to Saemter. Banseok helped his father with electric work. Seeing the electric wires extending like a spider web, we imagine the beautiful scene of a father and son working together. When the house is finished, if you could see the invisible inner parts, you would agree that they are more beautiful than the visible parts. When Daniel and his wife Priska from Germany visit Saemter, he helps with construction and she helps Mama Song with Korean paper crafts at the Gongbang house. Before and now, Daniel seems like a cute, kind elementary school student. This guy, already married, brought his blue-eyed wife to visit his homeland.



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Since the end of last year, we have a joyful day every month at Saemter. It’s just a day for eating and playing. The Frontiers and four neighboring families have decided to go beyond solidarity and be united. So once per month we will take one day to eat and play together. In front of Gongbang we made a pot of boiled country chicken soup. Personally, I don’t like boiled chicken soup, but this time it was really sweet and delicious. We celebrated Nona, Yeongyeong, young Surin and also other members, and when we cut the cake that Sunhwa brought, the children swarmed like zombies and all hell broke loose. The cake was fresh and big and everyone ate their full and had a joyful good time.  (The cake was from German Bakery, of course, and it was really big.) 

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Last week at Prayer for the World, we heard from brother Sohn In Bae about his peace tour in Northern Ireland, which has the scars of long conflict with England. We had question and answer time until late at night talking about what kind of meaning for reconciliation and unification we can find in their conflict and troubles, divided between north and south.


















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 Prayer requests:

     1. For Saemter to be a peace community: for whoever may be suffering
     from the pain and sadness of conflict and troubles
     (whether it is our members or others),
     that Saemter community can experience reconciliation and peace.

      2. That our community members can proactively respond to conflict
       places in the world.


  3. 
That Saemter construction can be completed safely.