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What makes one generation strong in faith?

Ruth Senter

I have lived in South Korea now for nearly four months. My husband, Mark, and I came to Seoul to help launch a new seminary. During my time here, one question I have asked often: What makes the church here so alive?

I think I have found part of the answer.

Today, Mark and I stand in the Seoul Foreigners Cemetery. The wind blows cold on this elevated burial island, surrounded by narrow streets, stacked houses, and congested storefronts. Off in the distance we hear the drone of traffic from a city expressway. But here, all is silent. We are alone, walking through a history of missions in Korea.

I stop beside the grave of Rubye Rachael Kendrick: Born 1883. Died 1908. She was only twenty-five. And her epitaph read: "If I have a thousand lives to live, Korea should have them all."

I pull my coat closer around me.

In a far corner, we come to the children's cemetery—row upon row of small white headstones. Many are engraved with the same last name.

I linger awhile with the children.

At the top of the hill, I find the name I've been looking for—H.G. Appenzeller. I have read of him. He was one of the founders of Protestant missions in Korea. He was in his prime in 1902 when he was on his way north to translate Scripture into Korean.

As his boat neared shore, he jumped into the waters to save a Korean child who was drowning. He saved the little girl but lost himself. And all for a Korean girl-child who, in her day, was cast aside as worthless.

A simple stone cross bears silent witness.

What makes one generation strong in faith?

Certainly, it must have something to do with the sacrifices made by the generation that went before.

I wonder, as I leave the cemetery: What will the American church look like in the generation that follows ours?

Ruth Senter has written ten books, has two grown kids, and travels with her husband, a seminary educator.

Copyright © 1998 by the author or Christianity Today International/Today's Christian magazine (formerly Christian Reader).
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