Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Humble Beginnings 6: Krazy Korean: Don Kim





I actually was able to talk to Don before I put this picture up! So he cannot get upset with me....









This is Don Kim, and he was my VERY FIRST bible study teacher! Every Saturday I would take the Red Line "L" Train to the University of Illinois-Chicago (go Flames!) to the Agape House, where we met to study parable after parable. I have to tell you...studying scriptures was intoxicating to me! I kept just studying and studying the Word when we met. I pretty sure that I had at least 10 questions per study. Don was really willing to not only help me understand the Word of God, but everyone else who was being invested in Project I.C.E.
I was about 11 years old when Don led me in bible study. You also have to understand that at 11 years old, we weren't able to discern their ethnicity! Just think, a large group of inner-city Black and Latino youth seeing that Don was "Chinese" because we had no exposure to Asian Culture, outside of your Chinese Restaurant!
We eventually "got it" that Don was in fact Korean American! One of the baddest Korean American basketball players I knew (in his prime of course...I'd smoke him in a one-on-one game right now). He was competitive with us in any sport, which we loved and he became a big brother to us...
I am so indebted to his teaching of the bible to me, it was those very same parables that came to my mind when I gave my life over to Jesus Christ...but that's getting 2 Krazy Koreans ahead of myself.
SO...Susan Paik's obedience to start the bible study gave the opportunity for me to explore my faith, and Don Kim's weekly bible study leading invested treasure into my heart....Next Krazy Korean...Irene Hahn (with Liz Cho and Sharon Bak)...Fearless Korean Women who showed me what it means to have Joy in the Lord!

Monday, June 2, 2008

Humble Beginnings 4: I.C.E., and Koreans


Well, one thing is for sure...I hope Sue doesn't flip out on me about this picture!

This is Susan J. Paik, a PH.D scholar in early Childhood Education (this definitely doesn't do any justice to what she actually does or what Sue has accomplished in her life). Most of the world knows her as a prestigious scholar in the realm of academia, but for me...she's one of the closest people in my life! She's been a big sister/Aunt since I was a middle schooler...and she introduced me to Jesus Christ.

Let me share with you......

When I got to the 6th grade, I was invited to take a aptitude test by my school counselor (she really didn't believe in me as much as I thought at the time, but tested well in a couple of subjects and I think she was telling me to do this as a throw off thing...). Both my older sister and I were brought to the west side of Chicago to the University of Illinois-Chicago (go Flames!) to test in this program. We were given the same test, but I tested high enough to be entered into the program.

The program was called "Early Outreach." Nifty name huh? It was ran by Sue Paik! It was a Saturday program that reached out to kids in the inner city of Chicago, given them "extra" education skills and a college campus experience. Also, let me give you an idea of the size I was at this period of time.


You see how small I was, and this was Freshman year! Here I was 5' 4" and 100 lbs. I WAS SMALLER THAN THIS AT 6th GRADE! Sue Paik always reminds me that, "You were so small then, I could pick you up.....now YOU'RE BIG!" In some ways I laughed, but then I get the urge right afterwards to stop consuming food the expands me.


Susan saw me and other young men and women a part of this program and thought there must be more she can do the help us....enter God! God kept "bothering" for Sue to start a bible study with the youth. As she tells me, she says that "For one whole year he kept asking me to do it and I would say, 'No! It would jepordize my career!'" God was persistent and Sue eventually gave up to the Lord (score one more for Jesus!).

She started a group called Project I.C.E. You ask what is Project I.C.E.? Its the codename for the bible study! I.C.E. stood for "inner-city evangelism." Did I know this at the time? Of course not! I couldn't even tell you if I knew what was evangelism! Anyways, Sue decided to invite me, since I was around her all the time I could be when she showed up to the Early Outreach Program! I was EXCITED! Not only do I get the chance to read the bible, but I made a promise to myself a while ago when I was 6.

Wait a minute! A sixth grader remembering promises at 6 years old? Most of you may be saying, "Tony is one of the most forgetful people I know!" This is true, but when it comes to oaths I make, I try my hardest to keep them! When I was 6 years old, my family and I live with my grandmother. For me, I was happy! My grandmother and I were really close. She is the one who gave me my love to watching (and critiquing) movies. She was also a Jehovah's Witness. Seeing that my mother was a Baptist, and also didn't like my grandmother, we usually lived in a tense relating environment. One time I watched my grandmother and her friends have "bible study." I asked if I could participate, and they said "You can't. This is for us only." I was hurt....deeply! "Why could I learn about God? Why were they able to do so and not me?" I cried at the table by myself, and my grandmother came over and had a "bible study" with me. Just her and me! I loved it, but we could only do it once. I vowed to myself that the next time I get the chance to learn about God, I was going to take it, no matter who was in my way! This was that chance.

Whew! I'll have to finish this one up next time! I'll talk about another Krazy Korean who taught me to study the bible... and play better basketball!

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Humble Beginnings 3: Breaking the Poverty Mentality

So...I'm just going to stop saying that "I'll update weekly!" That doesn't seem to work as well as I hoped it would.





In reading my blog about humble beginnings a year ago, I felt that I left a lot of people by the wayside in talking about Humble Beginnings...things have happened since that time. Alice and I broke off our engagement, my car and laptop was stolen, my mother had a heart attack, and my roommate died while playing tennis...needless to say I have felt "clogged" in writing down thoughts.





Yet I feel it in communicating this pain (and prayer!) that I will be able to give it all to the Lord. Let me continue sharing about the Projects..







Here's another picture of the projects that I lived in for such a deep period of my life. It's not that pretty is it? Everybody in these building lives at or under the poverty line...makes me sad to focus on it...but I press on!

The Poverty Mentality...how do I describe it? To me, its hopeless and nihilistic. Hopeless in the sense that when the economy of your vertical town is rock bottom, you don't much of a prospect of getting out of it. Nihilistic in a sense that you are out of your own well being. You are living for today because tomorrow isn't promised. Sounds good in one sense right? Not really when you think you are going to die tomorrow! The Poverty Mentality shapes how see the economy. Let's say you get a decent job at Burger King (that's actually decent in our area!). You make $5.15 an hour and work three days a week/5 hours a day, that's $25.75 a day and appoximately 78 dollars a week, not counting taxes. Since you get so little, you spent it like its your last, because it is! You invest in external things because the standard of judgment is what you have RIGHT NOW! Investment is practically impossible! Most banks require at least $50 deposit to have a bank account, that's two days of wages! You (the burger king worker) don't see the payoff in putting two days wages into a place for "holding" your money when you can do it yourself! No teaching on building up credit, or that people give differently to people with bank accounts. You get what it? It becomes a cycle!

So how do you get out of this? How do you escape? More important to this blog...how did I escape? Thank you Lord for Korean Americans (how many black people you know would say this?).

To be continued...The Crazy Korean American Women who showed me to Christ!