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My Father Missionary John Lee’s Life of Faith and Vision by Joseph Lee( HanyangUBF)

Key Verse: John 11:25,26

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’”

John Lee was born on February 27, 1951, in KwangJu, Korea. His father was a farmer. He went through the abrupt period of the Korean War and the years of famine, it was the most poor situation in Korea. He graduated from ChunNam University majoring in mechanical engineering. He got a job and settled in Seoul. He became associated with the Jongro 5 chapter in July, 1977, which had been pioneered by Samuel H Lee.

He always had served others in his life. However, after he came to UBF, he received wonderful love and serving from his shepherd; so he was really happy. He accepted God’s word from Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” He accepted God’s calling to him as a shepherd of the campuses around the world. At that time, he was working in Daewoo. He taught the Bible for many colleagues in the dormitory. He grew up as a shepherd, and he served as a speaker for the Romans Bible Academy in February, 1978. He married Okhwa Kim in April, who was very popular in the chapter. Samuel H Lee, who helped them to get married, vividly recalled that John Lee was so joyful.

After that time, John Lee was used as a coworker for the pioneering ministry in Hanyang University. He was used in constructing the Hanyang center, and he directly served as the director. It was a good experience for him, and he could construct the center for Paraguay from that experience. God blessed him to live as a Bible teacher for Hanyang University for ten years and as a servant of prayer until he was sent as a missionary for Paraguay in 1988.

He had a burning desire to become a missionary for Australia in 1978; however, one day, he received an invitation card from a sister of Mary Lee (Okhwa Kim) in Paraguay. He and his wife just decided to get passports, and everyone at the Hanyang Chapter began to pray sincerely for them to be sent as missionaries for Paraguay. They were embarrassed by the prayer, but they accepted it as the direction from the Lord. They stopped going to the English Academy, and changed their plans to go to the Spanish Academy. John Lee resigned from the Bank of Korea, which was a really good workplace, with the burning desire for World Mission. They took an airplane heading for Asuncion, Paraguay with their family on August 18, 1988, right before the Olympics in Korea. He was about forty.

Paraguay is on the border between Argentina and Bolivia. It is a continent country in the middle of South America. There is a lot of rain so there is an abundant source of water. It is a very blessed country. It is two times the size of Korea, with a population of five million people. Living space is plentiful; there are good forests and fresh water; there is various fruit that is produced according to the season; people in the country are nice; and the cost of living is low. John Lee had been accustomed to Korean culture, but he always loved Paraguay so much. He gave thanks to the Lord for the land—which was so broad, vast and full of honey and milk—by remembering the confession of Isaac, “Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land” (Gen 26:22b).

When it came to the spiritual environment, however, it was like a barren desert. By 1992, Catholicism was the national religion, and Catholic culture was deeply indwelled into their lifestyle and perception. single mom and street children problems were big issues in the country because people lived according to their physical desires. Intelligences, graduated from the universities, lived without the specific vision, satisfied with various pleasures, such as hanging around the soccer stadium, volley ball stadium, and disco clubs. Surveys indicated that their satisfaction level was very high due to their lives of pleasure. However, a poor civil layer was formed and society there has become increasingly unstable. John Lee saw it as an environment in which the good news is necessary.

After he got into the country, John Lee visited the national campus every day, and built an altar of prayer. He also began his sales business that sold refrigerators and TVs. However, he did not consider the hard days in his early mission life as one of the difficulties, because he had a vision that he would have a mission report after he had raised up twelve disciples in three years. Sadly, the vision was not accomplished by the time of his passing away. It has remained as a prayer topic until now. John Lee acknowledged that the mission is an endless struggle, like digging in a barren desert, trusting in God continually, even though one would feel very tired of making disciples.

John Lee spread out the seeds of the good news for a number of brothers and sisters for twenty four years. John Lee was sure that these seeds of the word of God were not worthless. He had pioneered Catholic college of Paraguay from 1991 to 1995. Candido and Venancio received disciple training, living in the center for three years, during the period of pioneering. John Lee loved and took care of them like his son. He served them not only with the word of God, but also by providing them with food. He could not give me money, but he prepared delicious food for them. He could not come to my brother’s elementary school graduation celebration, so we had to wait for my father after the celebration, enduring the chilly and rainy weather.

He pioneered Asuncion National University in 1996. We moved to a place near the university, and I had to wake up 5:30 a.m. every day to go to school. Here he served many people, and Sara Patricia, Enrique, Daniel, and Tadeo grew up and became leaders. Even though they left UBF, I believe the work of the word of God began. John Lee also served many missionaries with the word of God. He served shepherds who were sent to Paraguay as missionaries, Korean ambassadors whom he met in Paraguay, and the university students, such as Joseph Kim’s family, who first came to Paraguay as an ambassador and then became a missionary to Ethiopia by the word of God; DK and HK ; Mark Kim and Ruth Kim, who were the missionaries in Argentina; David and Elisabeth Kang who pioneered Honduras; Andrew and Anna Heo in Paraguay; Huan and Rocio Hwang; and Pastor Paul Koh who is the father of Yechan Koh.

Rocio, Oscar, and Sergio are serving as the shepherds in Paraguay. I pray that they may continue to grow, whereas their faith is now weak. Hilda, Ferando, and Miriam are attending the Sunday worship service continually.

Rocio graduated from Pharmacy school in Asuncion National University and married Huan Hwang in 2006. Oscar began studying the Bible with John Lee during his freshman year. He slowly but continually grew, and he was the student president during his college years. He finished his master’s degree, and now he is a professor shepherd. One day he left the ministry, but his faith was restored after John Lee was shot by a gun and fell down. I am reminded that his gunshot wound was used as the tool of restoration for many people’s life of faith. Sergio graduated from the college of liberal arts and sciences in Asuncion National University and is working at a nuclear power research center in the school.

Two thousand and seven, which marked the 20th Anniversary of John Lee’s going to Paraguay, was a very special year. Early that year, he was in the hospital because of severe high fever. It was a very dangerous disease and the chances of survival are less than fifty percent. He was wounded by a gun shot on March 8, which was surprising to coworkers around the world. The day was very regular one. After he finished his early morning prayer, he headed for the farm. His farm was loved by neighbors because of his personal treatment for his workers; many people came to get a job from him. One man came, who often had come to the place to work. He came with a gun. He threatened him asking for money. Eventually he shot the gun, and then he was wounded. After that he wrestled with him and snatched the gun from him. And then, even though he was bleeding, he tried to drive but crashed into the wall of a supermarket. He became unconscious because of the shock from the hemorrhage. He was carried to the hospital, but there was no doctor who could perform surgery on him. He was not able to have surgery for eight hours until he was transferred to the capital hospital. Even if he had died then, it would not have been an abnormal thing. It was so marvelous that he did not die. It was because God’s time did not come yet.

At this time, he lost all the blood from his body from the hemorrhage. He had many blood transfusions; but because of this, he became infected with pernicious anemia cholecystitis. However, his body could not fight against it, and blood cancer occurred.

He was repeatedly hospitalized and discharged for two and a half years. He was supported by the prayers from many coworkers around the world, and many of them donated money to him. He was healed thanks to their help, and it became an opportunity to meet Jesus deeply again. He became healthy. He also could help his three children in their life of faith, and two of us were able to get married.

He was so sorry because of raising us poorly during his mission life. God knew his agony and postponed his life when he was wounded. God added to him four more years, and helped him to sincerely serve John Lee Jr., Hanna Lee, and myself. He helped Siwon to study the Bible at the Jongno chapter in 2008. He helped my brother to get married in 2010. He helped my sister, who struggled a lot because of the difficulties of American life, to be restored. Now she is studying the Bible very faithfully and she was restored significantly.

John Lee was fairly well restored in 2010, so he visited Paraguay to finalize the work there. He felt like he was returning to his hometown; it had been two and a half years. Missionaries, who were struggling so much, welcomed him with so much pleasure and the neighbors did so as well. Leaders who had not kept their faith were restored and began to attend the worship service. Oscar was one of them. He accepted the calling of God again, and he served the International Conference in Bolivia as a messenger. Seeing the work of God, John Lee decided to go to Paraguay as a missionary again. He was sure that God had healed him for this mission. John Lee decided to again visit people who needed him so much. He went to Paraguay as a missionary again based on Acts 16:9, “During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’”

John Lee was so looking forward to be sent out as a missionary. He helped me and my brother to get married quickly in two weeks, and he left for Paraguay to serve the mission in Paraguay on June 17, 2010, even though our sincere desire was for him to not go there.

He served the international conference and the mission in Paraguay again, but his disease reoccurred and he returned to Korea again on December 22, 2010. He was very proud of the grace of God, because God granted him a one year treatment period and God used this as a restoration period for the relationships in his family. His health was progressing steadily; however, suddenly all of the white cells in his body died. His immune system stopped working and he felt painful suffering from the Peripheral neuropathy. Anonymous varied cancer cells were developing. However, when he saw visitors, he welcomed them without the expression of pain, rather with smiling. He always worried about other people, not himself.

Eventually, he got pneumonia on December 1 and he received God’s calling and passed away after two days on December 3, 2011.

God, the governor of our lives, so loved his servant that he only had to suffer for two days in pain, and then God carried him to the Heavenly Kingdom. After John Lee was moved to ICU, he prepared his last days sticking to the word from John 11:25-26, “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’”He blessed his three children to become a source of blessing. He blessed his daughter to study the Bible well and to get married by faith. He cried when he said to Mary Lee saying that he was sorry about leaving her with many crosses to bear. Mary Lee comforted him, and she asked him to prepare the heavenly house after he went to the Kingdom of Heaven. John Lee laid down everything and he met his end.

When I am reminded of the past four years, it was a life of blessing which God granted to John Lee. God gave him life so that he could finish everything he had to do, and God blessed him to enter the Kingdom of Heaven in which there are no agonies, tears, or sorrow. I could see that he not only went to this world according to God’s will, but also went to the Kingdom of heaven according to God’s will.

When I first came to Korea, leaving behind my parents, John Lee gave me direction from Hebrews 12:1-2, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” John Lee practically became the witness of faith. He always endured the race of faith which was given to him, and he went to Jesus who is at the right side of the throne of God. I sincerely pray that I can follow in the spiritual legacy of John Lee by repenting of my sin and following the word of God.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (2Ti 4:7,8).

“For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands” (1Co 5:1).

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1Co 15:58).