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By Faith Sinja Hwang
I was born in Japan to Korean parents in 1941. My father was taken to Japan to work in the coal mines during the Japanese occupation of Korea. Our family was not affected by World War II as we lived in the far south. After Japan’s surrender, my parents returned to Korea with us two children—my younger brother, born during the war, and me.
Upon our return, Father went to work for a railroad company. He was grateful to be out of the coal-mining labor with its hazardous environment. Mother opened a small grocery store, cared for our new baby sister and sent us older children to school.
Our family was Buddhist in name only; my parents never went to the temple to worship. They did not believe in any god.
When I was 15 years of age, my mother suddenly passed away. She had suffered with high blood pressure. Father remarried soon after. We lived with our stepmother for several years. Although our stepmother treated us well, my brother and I felt she did not want stepchildren around, so we decided we all should leave. We thought we were getting out for Father’s sake. We loved our father very much; he was a good man, never arguing with anybody.
I was 19 years of age, my brother, Kuk, was 17 and my sister, Suk, was 15 when we left. I went to work to support the younger ones. They, too, worked—before and after school hours. After high school my brother studied civil engineering at the university. Sometimes when my brother could not pay his tuition, he turned to Father for help. But Kuk was a very hard worker, sometimes working till midnight. He existed on as little food as possible, so he was malnourished. Late one night he collapsed (fell) from exhaustion and severely injured his head. An ambulance took him to the hospital where he later died. He was only 22 years old. I took care of my sister until she went on her own to run a small business.
At age 31 I married a man whose family were strong Buddhists. I became a Buddhist for his sake. We visited the temples and bowed down to worship the idols, but we didn’t really have strong Buddhist teaching. Two years after our marriage, our son, Sangyon, was born.
We immigrated as a family to the United States in February 1976 to live in Washington D.C. Since our relatives were all far away, we were very lonely. A kind neighbor reached out to us and invited us to attend church with her. We went with her since there was no Buddhist temple to attend.
As we listened to the sermons, the Word of God had an effect on me. Gradually faith in Christ, the Son of God, was born in my heart. I confessed Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior in October 1976 and was baptized.
My husband began losing a lot of weight, so he went to see a doctor. The doctor found that cancer was the problem. A Korean pastor faithfully visited my husband in the hospital and led him to faith in Jesus Christ. In his grave illness, my husband had the Lord’s comfort. My situation was very stressful and painful because of my husband’s terminal illness and his death. We had been in America just nine months.
After my husband’s passing, a relative in the city of Philadelphia invited me to come live with her. After just three months in our new location, my son became ill. He complained of stomach pains and was unable to breathe. We took him to the hospital and were told he had diphtheria. When the hospital decided to operate, it was too late. Sangyon did not wake up after surgery. He was only four years old.
I was in shock and prostrated with grief. Despair filled my heart. I had been attending the First Korean Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, and my pastor comforted me with many Scriptures. He told me my son was in heaven. Then he said, “A human being’s life is in God’s hands.”
I trusted what he said. Immediately, I felt the comfort of the Holy Spirit and my faith in God was restored. I realized that God is living in me also, and my life is in His hands. The pastor continued to minister to me by taking me with him when he went to preach in the homes of the Korean people. Watching many people respond to the gospel to invite Jesus Christ into their hearts and lives, matured me in the Lord.
I prayed much at this time. I felt so alone and so empty. I had lost everything in my world. I realized I had only one person left in my life, Jesus Christ. I said, “Lord, I have only You. You are my everything. You are my husband. I want you to live in me. I give myself totally to You to serve You.” The Holy Spirit gave me comfort, increased faith and the assurance that I was His child.
Although I worked as a seamstress to support myself, I soon became involved in almost all the church activities. I had many temptations as a young widow and many proposals of marriage, but I determined to remarry only as God guided me to someone. I prayed for five years that God would bring me a good Christian husband.
A friend in the church told me she had a brother, Ki Soo Hwang, who was coming soon from Korea. She said he wanted to remarry, also.
I corresponded with Ki for a couple of months. He wrote to say that his business had failed and he had nothing. But money was not important to me. I wanted someone who was a good Christian. Ki’s sister told me her brother was a strong Christian. His letters seemed to confirm that. I had confidence that God was leading me to marry Ki, even though I knew he was bringing his two daughters and mother who would live with us.
After we married, his two teenaged daughters gave me a stressful time. Now I was the stepmother! It wasn’t easy. I thought that Ki loved his daughters more than he loved me. And I was sure my mother-in-law loved her son too much. However, through it all I realized I was in God’s will and that He was working out His purposes in my life for my good. I saw that I needed to have patience and endurance. Sometimes I thought I had made a mistake, but God would assure me that I was in His will. Several years later, the girls left for college and the situation eased.
We were busy making a living, Ki as a contractor and I in my grocery business, and we were active in the church. As Ki matured in the Lord and began to serve Him in missions, I was convinced that God had truly led us together.
I had made a total commitment to the Lord before remarrying; now as a couple we share this same dedication. We are now both one in the Lord, desiring only His purposes in our lives. I praise the God that we can be His servants to preach the gospel to all the peoples of the world.
We have served our Lord by ministering to underprivileged and exploited children in an Asian country devastated by war. Besides teaching the young people the Word of God, we taught them practical skills that enabled them to support themselves and help their families. We remembered the words of our Lord when He said, “Inasmuch as you have done it to the least of these my brethren, you have done it to me” (Mat. 25:40).
We retired from the above ministry a few years ago, only to find the Lord leading us to take part in church planting in the same country. We are amazed at the goodness of the Lord in allowing us to “still bring forth fruit in our old age.” (See Psa. 92:14.) What a mighty God we serve!
A word to widows and orphans:
God is in control, especially of widows and orphans. He tells us so in His Word. “He defends the cause of the fatherless and widow...” (Deut. 10:18). “When you are harvesting your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands” (Deut. 24:19). “The Lord watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and widow” (Psa. 146:9). “Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor” (Zech. 7:10).
The Lord exhorts His people to care for you widows and orphans, but you must have faith and trust in Him, the living God, know His Word and walk with Him.
The key Scripture in my life is Psalm 23. I have memorized it. I share it with you so you can memorize it too.
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