Having worked diligently for almost ten years, my body and mind were fatigued. I reconsidered the option of studying abroad, something I had seriously deliberated when I first began working, and decided to come to London and use this time to recharge myself. Even after receiving an offer, I hesitated and postponed coming here for a year. But it occurred to me that if I don’t take this opportunity now, it might not come again, so I took time off work and came to London, where I completed a Master’s degree and a PhD right after. Almost five years have passed since I came to London.

As I am preparing to leave London, which has been my home for such a long time now, many things come to mind. Memories of the past, people I met whom I value … Since I spend a lot of time at home these days, I had ample opportunity to sort my thoughts in peace and I’m thankful for that. I found this church online back when I was starting my Master’s degree and decided to become a member here because its central location seemed convenient to commute to uni. I joined Deacon S.J. Kwon’s cell and I believe the love and prayers I received helped me start and adapt well to my new London life. When I look back, there had been many ups and downs, I lost my phone for instance (which had a much greater impact on me than when I lost my wallet …), and my laptop got stolen when I was writing my Master’s essay while simultaneously writing a research plan for my PhD, which put me into a foul mood for several days; but in the end, I successfully completed my postgraduate studies.

I believed that God has guided me through my PhD, which had seemed so impossible to me when I first started it. So, with the desire to dedicate myself more to our church, I became a cell leader and served this position for almost three years. In the beginning, I felt like I wasn’t competent enough and leading a large cell group had its difficulties. Still, I felt very thankful when the cell members shared their hardships and what they were struggling with. I felt for them, praying for them and cheering them on; so much that I wondered whether this is what God feels like when He sees us struggle in life. There isn’t much time left for me to serve as a cell leader and I am really thankful that I am able to pray for each and every individual cell member.

Looking back, the past five years seem to have passed quickly. There were difficulties and unexpected things happened too, but I am thankful for the fact that I didn’t fall apart or waver in heart and made it this far. As I am approaching the time when I am to leave London, the memories I made here seem more valuable and I think I’ll miss most the time I spent at God’s Vision Church, living a life of faith. I must confess that the relationships that I could most rely on and that are most valuable to me since I came to London were the people I met at church. The Bible study sessions for cell leaders which Pastor Lee led, deeply resonated in my life and brought reform to my life. It gave me joy to interact with the young but mature cell leaders and other church groups. I also think fondly of the time we met to plan and prepare for the Bible Tour for the British Museum. All the individual members of our cell also come to mind, whom I’ve shared my joys and sorrows with, spending every Sunday evening together, who are like a family to me.

If you ask me what changed most about me since I came to London, I wouldn’t say it’s my English skills or even my postgraduate degrees (even though I still have to finish my PhD thesis in Korea). What changed most about me is that I got closer to God as I lived my life of faith and my life’s purpose has become clearer. As I spent time living alone in London, I thought a lot about the time I first met God back when I was doing my undergraduate studies in Seoul, away from my family. Just like then, my recent time in solitude has allowed me to meet God in private and speak to Him, which opened my eyes to my shortages and showed me that no hardship can’t be overcome through prayer. Returning to work feels like going back to war, but it gives me great comfort to know that whatever I do and whomever I meet, God is watching me and knows about my situation. I return to Korea with the hope that I will live a life even more pleasing to God.