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Friday, February 17, 2006 

2/20 Update

Greetings to all!

Here we are approaching the halfway mark of our trip. It is going to fast. There is so much we want to do. So many people we want to get involved with deeper. Like so many other aspects of life there are time restrictions. We will continue to cherish the time we have left and use it to the best of our abilities to reach out and show attributes of Christ to all we encounter.

Those loving and serving the Lord in Korea


Frank and Mayra Revak.

Frank is from Miami, Florida (Coconut Grove...native Grovite) and Mayra is from Havana, Cuba (left Cuba when I was 3 years old; raised in Miami, FL)

Mayra is a Kindergarten teacher at Humphreys Elementary School which is on Post. Frank is a substitute teacher at the elementary and high schools, serves as pastor for the English worship services at two Korean churches, leads bible studies at their home and occasionally at the Hospitality House; they also teach English to the Korean children in their village as a form of outreach to their community.

“The Hospitality House (HH) has been a place where we have come to know many soldiers and their families and has made us more aware of their daily pressures and the sacrifices they make to serve our country. We have brought people here who have been tremendously blessed by the faithful servants the Lord has called here. It's been encouraging to see so many step up and serve as they are needed. It's a true house of worship.”

“Please pray for our ministry with the local Koreans; that the Lord can use us to help them come to know Him and to continue discipling those that are new believers. Pray for our families back home; 5 adult children and 2 baby grandchildren....that each one of them may surrender to Christ and live a life that glorifies Him."



Jim is from Detroit (can you tell?) & Jennie LaPorte, IN
Megan and Colin were both born at Ft Campbell, KY

Jim is in the Army. He works as an Armament Officer with the AH-64D Apache Longbow Helicopters. This means that he is a Technical advisor as well as the Platoon Leader in charge of the 40 soldiers who work on the helicopter's Avionics, Electronics, and Weapon Systems of the 30MM Gun, Rocket and Missile Launchers. They also load and arm the helicopters when they fire the weapons.

Jim was stationed in Korea for a one year tour. "We prayed for God's guidance and then decided to sell our home and so our family could be together. After living here six months, we decided to extend Jim's tour for two more years. We will be in Korea until Dec 2007."

"The Hospitality House is a home away from home. It is a safe place to find like minded people. We have been greatly blessed by the many friendships that we have formed at the Hospitality House. God has allowed us to serve Him, mentor, and be mentored. It is a real blessing. "

"Our pray request would be for troop safety. The soldiers train hard here with frequent trips to the field. Our unit has been blessed to not have had too many incidents, but safety is always a major concern."

For our family, our prayer is that we continue to see before us the opportunities that God has granted us by being here. May we always be aware of His prompting and serve where He would have us.

Activities at the HH

This weekend was a highlight. Jim and Bev Feiker arrived from Colorado Friday night. They stayed up in Seoul that night and a bunch of us from the HH drove up to meet them and we all spent the weekend site seeing in the city. It was a long weekend (Presidents Day) for the soldiers so they wanted to do an overnighter. We had a caravan of 4 vehicles. Seoul is approximately 50 miles to the North. Even on a weekend, it takes just under 2 hours to get there. The population of South Korea is around 50 million. It's about the size of Indiana. Much of it is hilly. About half the population lives in Seoul and it's metropolitan area. Even on weekends the traffic is terrible.


Front and back view of the crowd in the HH van. Katie wasn't so sure of my (Brian) driving.



Group shot at the entrance to the Royal Palace in Downtown Seoul. We were in time to watch the changing of the guard.









Inside the temple on Palace grounds. The architecture was stunning. To the right, the older girls were not warm to the idea of getting to close to the Palace guard. Mary could care less. She wanted to get in the picture. After the Palace, we headed across town to a large shopping mall for food and shopping. In the evening we headed down to the Han River for a river cruise. The weather was actually mild (45 degrees) for this time of year. It seems the sun shines here more during winter than back in Michigan.

To the right, the kids were threatening mutiny if they did not get their hot chocolate. Over all it was a great weekend. Through outings such as these, relationships really develop and bond. We got back to the HH in time for Sunday evening chapel. It is very special for us to have Jim and Bev here. They stay until Wednesday and then they're off to Hong Kong.

Please continue to pray for the prayer items identified on the previous post. We'll keep you posted.