Well, the Annual Dongshin picnic was held at Yulha Sports Park for the first time and was a great day in the sun. Around 40 people enjoyed Subway sandwiches, played some team games like kickball and sat around on the grass. The morning had some traditional relay activities like the 3-legged race, water balloon toss and challenges like a human pyramid. After lunch, we also had a tug-of-war which was a hit with the participants (see photos on the Facebook group ‘Dongshin past and present’).
On June 16th we held the Leader’s Retreat at Chimsan Village. This was a great opportunity for the members of each ministry to get together and unify with a clear vision. Pastor Leon who will be taking over from Pastor Andy next month delivered his thoughts for the year ahead and outlined the goals for our church summing it up with the Dongshin One-liner:
“To see English speaking people in Daegu connected to Christ, built up in His ways, and equipped for service in His kingdom.”
If you are interested, you can read the vision statement https://dongshinenglishservice.com/vision-statement/
(or click on English Service from the home page / you can also read about our new pastor here https://dongshinenglishservice.com/ministries/)
In the month of July, we say goodbye to our pastor Andy Gilman and his family (HyunJin, Sienna & Shane) as he is heading to Covenant University to finish his Masters of Divinity in USA. His leadership and stewardship as the first fulltime pastor was outstanding and he put structures in place to create a church organisation that was much needed. His attention to the different ministries has created many areas for people to serve and also has produced a sustainable model as English teachers are traditionally employed for 1 year (so there are less long-term congregants). His preaching was backed up with countless hours of study and prayer. He could explain bible passages easily and then provide some practical application to our current situation which is important for glorifying the kingdom of God. We thank Andy for his dedication and commitment and will be having a special farewell ceremony of June 24th.
Also, we will say farewell to another longterm family “the Prodger’s” who have been serving here for the past 6 years. Karl along with his wife Narina and their girls (Grace, Lily and Isabella) will be moving to Australia in July and their presence will also be missed. Karl has been responsible for co-ordinating the service as well as running the events. He is currently a Deacon along with Ben Trowbridge and these two have always shown a willingness to help as well as connect people in the service. We thank Karl for his dedication and can-do attitude.
Finally, this month we are having the Annual Duckboat Race at Suseong Lake @ 4pm on July 15th. This has been an epic challenge each year and we hope you can join us for some thigh-busting / energy sapping / fun-loving time (watch out for the rowboat pirates). See the events page for further details and we would like you to sign up yourself and friends before the 15th to help with catering. Cost is 10,000 for boats and refreshments.