“Better
Late than Never….”
As a Wise Woman Told The Wise Men
Dear Friends and Family,
How time flies! Our annual Christmas letter has become an Epiphany letter! Epiphany (which takes place on January 6th and means “showing” or “revelation”) is the last of the twelve days of Christmas, the day on which the Magi (wise men) reached Bethlehem and saw the Christ child. By the time that the Magi arrived, Jesus was a year old and about to be circumcised. So when Mary received their gifts, she uttered those immortal words: “Better late than never.”
Like the
Magi, we’ve traveled a lot this year. Anthony spent over six weeks on the road
for Friends Bulletin in the US. He also spent two weeks in
Israel/Palestine where he participated in the Compassionate Listening Project.
The stories of this trip can be found in the January issue of Friends
Bulletin, which has been posted online at
www.westernquaker.net.
While
Anthony was in Israel, Kathleen went with her bishop, Mary Ann Swenson, to
Korea. The fall weather there was perfect and the trip was generously hosted by
the Korean Methodist Church to celebrate 100 years of Korean mission in the US.
Kathleen was included in a tour group of high-level Methodists because Walteria
United Methodist Church in Torrance (where she has enjoyed being pastor for 2 ½
years) hosts a start-up Korean mission. Kathleen was deeply impressed by the
hospitality and the commitment of Korean Methodists. The average Korean church
has around 7,000 members, most of whom attend church all day—morning,
afternoon and evenings on Sunday! Hundreds even come to church to pray
at the crack of dawn during the week! She was also excited to be part of the
first group of non-Koreans allowed to go to North Korea to hike the famous
Kumgang-San [Diamond] Mountain. As an added bonus, she spent three days visiting
the parents of our Korean “daughter” in Seoul!
We also traveled to see our family here in the US. Anthony stopped off in New Jersey to visit his sister Elizabeth, her husband Richie, and their two children: Emily, age 9, an avid reader and cheerleader; and Demetrios, age 7, who has memorized facts about US Presidents and is practicing his signature for the time when he will be President. Together we visited Kathleen’s brother Jim, wife Anne, and our 3-year-old nephew Edward (aka “Casey Jones”) in Palo Alto, CA. When we took him to his first feature movie, “The Polar Express,” he was deeply concerned when the train went “off the track”! In Murrieta, CA, we also enjoyed seeing Kathleen’s brother David and his wife Katharine while attending the middle school graduation and the 9th birthday of our nieces, Adriana and Capri. We are very proud of our nieces and nephews!
We went to Missouri for Christmas and visited Kathleen’s father, stepmother and her delightful children & grandchildren. We then headed for St. Louis to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary on New Year’s Eve at their First Night—with free entertainment that included swing, jazz, Celtic, and salsa bands, a French chanteuse, a magician, Chinese dragon and fireworks! It was mighty nice of St Louisians to arrange all this entertainment along with 60 degree weather and clear skies for our anniversary!
Our Asian “daughters” are doing well. Anna Kee has successfully begun a real estate business in Gardena & the South Bay. Hye-Jeong Ahn and her husband Frank Lee have started a music school in Anaheim. Hye-Jeong missed the trip to Korea because they are expecting a baby boy in May! Jennifer Kuo called to say she took time off to care for her ailing father near Taipei. Our Japanese student Hiromi, who lived with us for a year and a half, has moved into an apartment closer to her school. We are pleased that she learned English so quickly—she needs only 25 more points in her TOEFL score to enroll in UCLA’s ESL program! We hope to hear from others of our 16 “daughters” in the upcoming year!
During this year of travels in the ministry, we have been saddened by the violence that darkens our world. We are inspired by the enthusiasm of Korean Christians and by those in Israel/Palestine who are committed to a nonviolent search for peace and justice. We also see signs of hope in the outpouring of generosity that followed the recent tsunami in Southeast Asia. Like the Magi, we find that it is never too late to offer up our gifts and our lives to God’s holy Child, the Light of the World, and the Prince of Peace.
Love,
Anthony and Kathleen