Mission Report by Sarah Barry October 1963

Miss Sara Barry Presbyterian Mission Yang Nim Dong Chulla Namdo, Kwangju, Korea October 2, 1963

Dear Friends,

Since my last letter to you many significant things have happened in our work with University Students.

In our Kwangju work, Mr. Lee and the Council and I found much occasion for rejoicing last semester. During the first part of the spring term, Mr. Lee and I had some serious disagreements about the way in which we should work. By the middle of the term, however, through earnestly seeking the Lord’s will together in prayer we found new strength and unity. By the end of the term the number of campus Bible study groups increased from 15 to 30. Two of our council members made top grades in their respective colleges and one other made top grades in the whole Chosun University. Our daily 5:30 a.m. English Bible class-prayer meeting increased from 5 or 6 to nearly 40. A professor was converted through the witness of one of the students and began witnessing to another professor. The students began to organize small prayer meetings in their respective colleges, some meeting daily, others meeting weekly. These prayer meetings are for leaders and will pray for and direct the work on each campus. Although there is only room for about 90 students to attend our Sunday Afternoon Bible Fellowship, perhaps we are in touch with over 400 students through our Bible Studies on campus. All of us are tasting the joy of seeing the Holy Spirit work powerfully through the Word of God to transform lives. As the term came to a close, we realized the need of our student leaders for more solid grounding in the Scriptures. So we held a 10 day “Vacation Bible School,” limiting the attendance to our 19 council members. I turned my house into a dormitory for the students whose homes are not in Kwangju. We studied Old Testament every morning for about 2 hours and encouraged the students to spend the rest of the time getting up assignments in O.T. on their own and studying in their own fields. We felt that this was a time of real spiritual growth for all of us. In fact, we felt that it was so profitable that we organized another similar class for non-council members and met each evening for a week at the beginning of the fall term.

During the summer our big event was the Summer Conference. A professor from Yon Sei University in Seoul was our main speaker and 170 students from Kwangju, Chunju, Taejon, Cheju Island, and Seoul attended. We planned this conference more for students in other colleges than for our Kwangju students.

In order to prepare for the Conference and strengthen leaders on our own and other campuses, in July we had a “National Prayer Retreat”. We had no special speaker – we just spent a week-end in Bible study and prayer together. The theme of the prayer retreat and, subsequently, of the conference was “footstones of South East Asia” (the literal translation is a little hard to grasp but the idea is to accept missionary responsibility for South East Asia). Seventy-five students attended and we felt the Spirit working among us.

This fall, Mr. Lee and I have turned more and more responsibility for the Kwangju work over to the Council and we have been seeking to follow up and encourage students from other campuses to take seriously on campus their commitment to Christ. Major responsibility for the Kwangju work has been committed to Mr. Kwan Ok Kim, a junior in the Law College of Chosun University and to Miss Coon Soon Kim, a senior in the Liberal Arts College of Chun Nam University.

The first week in September we sent Miss Han Ok Kim, a senior in the English Department of Chun Nam U, as a “baby missionary” to Cheju College on Cheju Island. She spent the week following up the students who attended our Summer Conference, encouraging them to begin studying the Bible together and meeting for prayer on campus.

I am writing this letter from Chunju, where Mr. Lee and I have just finished a week of Bible classes held daily on the campus of Chun Buk University. We are praying that the Lord will raise up one or two bold witnesses who will really work for Him here in this University. Rev. John Folta has been faithful helping and encouraging a small group of students who meet regularly for Bibel Study and prayer in town and on campus.

As we begin to see the beginning and spread of a spiritual movement which could spread throughout the nation, we also see many possible dangers and obstacles. Many other people are beginning to watch our growth with interest – some are spectators, simply waiting to see what will happen – some see only the dangers and oppose such growth, others have caught, with the students here in Kwangju, the vision of a Spirit-filled, Bible studying, praying Student movement which could be used by the Lord to bring genuine spiritual unity and missionary vision again to the Korean Church. Here are many dangers and many adversaries and we need very much your prayers.

Our most serious need now and in the future is the need for trained Korean staff. We are praying about the possibility of Mr. Lee’s spending some time in the States next year getting some much needed training in Bible. We feel that if this is really the thing to do, the Lord will open a way. We are also praying that the Lord will call and provide for the further training of 2 or 3 graduates who have a clear idea of the campus task and have been working faithfully and effectively on campus for the Lord.

Sincerely, Sara Barry Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20070829163858/http://www.ubf-net.de:80/ubf/barry/oct1963.en.htm