Adventures in South Korea

When I decided that I would be attending the Fourth Lausanne Gathering in South Korea I did not know how I was going to get there; I left that up to God. I knew from past experience that if He wanted me to be somewhere, He would make the way possible and take care of the details. The first detail He had to take care of was the conference fee. There was a discount of $100US if this fee was paid before the end of 2023. I did not share this with anyone, so imagine my surprise when, in November 2023, one of my ministry partners presented me with a financial gift that enabled me to pay the entire registration fee! This was the first sign that God was providing for me to attend this Gathering.

I loved exploring the green spaces close to the Convention
Center before the start of the sessions each morning

Since I knew for sure now that I was going, I started sharing with persons who were close to me about my plan to attend the conference in South Korea. In February when I shared it with one friend, she said that God had laid it on her heart to give me a certain amount of money and she was not sure why; talk about God answering before we even call! I told her that I still needed to pay for accommodation, and I didn't know it at the time because I had not booked the hotel as yet, but the amount she gave was sufficient to cover the cost!

View of the sunrise from outside my hotel window

I started getting excited because now all that was outstanding was the airfare, and I already had one supporter who committed to covering half of the journey. However in March I received a health diagnosis that made it uncertain whether or not I would still be in a position to attend the Gathering. By God's grace, supported by the prayers of the saints and the help of the medical professionals, I was declared fit to travel by May, so my tickets were booked and in September I was on my way to South Korea! (During that period another supporter had offered to pay for the other half of my journey 😁)

Being greeted by some character in the airport at Incheon

Because of the number of participants in the Gathering, we were staying at different hotels which were scattered around Incheon, and I did not know of any of my friends who were staying at my hotel. After checking in and taking my bags up to the room, I went to the basement to get something to eat. It was late, so when I finished I was about to head back up to my room but I felt prompted to stop off in the lobby. Imagine my surprise when I saw my friend Martha from Papau New Guinea whom I had not seen since the Younger Leaders Gathering in Indonesia eight years ago! We had kept in touch over the years and she has been such a wonderful support to me, praying for me and encouraging me in the wee hours of the morning when everyone else in Trinidad was fast asleep.

It was such a joy to see her in person

The next morning we met up for breakfast, and at the table we sat at we met Liliana from Colombia. She had come in the day before, spent the day exploring Seoul, and was planning to go out again to see other tourist attractions. We were very elated to hear this, because we wanted to go sight seeing too but had no idea where to go! She was happy for us to accompany her and took us to change currency and get travel cards and soon we were on the train headed into Seoul.

It was Martha's first time on a train 😊

We didn't speak a word of Korean but thankfully we live in an age of technology 😏 Using apps we were able to navigate to our first location - Myeondong market - which was packed with stalls selling everything you could think of from food to clothing to electronics to jewelry. We browsed and bought souvenirs to take back home. We were also brave enough to try Korean street food and it was really delicious.

Trying ah ting wit de people dem chopsticks

Koreans are so helpful to tourists. After we finished at the market, we wanted to visit the Namsan Tower but the directions were kind of confusing. We asked someone for help but the translation app wasn't doing a very good job in enabling us to understand what he was saying. When he realized we were clueless, he decided to lead us in the direction of our destination, which was in the opposite direction that he was headed in! The Namsan Tower is located at the top of a mountain, which you can either choose to walk up, or take a cable car to get to the top. It was so peaceful riding above the tree tops, and the view from the top was incredible.

Taking in the view at the top

Our last stop for the day was Starfield Library which was located in the middle of a huge shopping mall. This library is popular for its 13 meter tall bookshelves and over 50,000 books and magazines available for reading. After checking out the library we had dinner then headed back to our hotel. It was late when we got the bus to take us to the hotel and we were the last people on it, so we were talking and laughing until the bus driver said, "Excuse me, could you speak softer please?" It was then that we realized that their culture was not as boisterous as ours. It was a good thing we were almost at our hotel because we had to fight the urge to laugh out loud for getting buffed from a Korean bus driver 😂

Escalator in the middle of Starlight library ands
bookshelves all the way to the ceiling!

On the last day of the conference, we had half a day to do some more exploring. This time, Martha and I were joined by Sindy from Guadeloupe. We decided to take a bus tour around Incheon instead of going back into Seoul since we all had early morning flights the next day. One of the volunteers from the conference was very helpful in directing us to where we had to meet the tour bus, and we went to the top deck so we could get a good view of the architecture as we drove past it.

Massive skyscrapers

We decided to get off at the fourth stop which was the beach, and just spend some time relaxing there and enjoying nature. It was a beautiful place to pause and be at peace after the hectic pace of the conference. When it started getting late, we headed back to our hotel and went to a nearby restaurant to check off one item from my bucket list - eating Korean Barbecue in Korea! It was fun cooking our meal, but the serving size was so huge we struggled to finish it all.

Photoshoot at the beach

Waiting for the barbecue to cook

There was a bit of drama the next morning when I was about to leave the hotel to go to the airport. When I went outside to meet the shuttle, I was informed that it was full and there was no room for me, Sindy and a couple others. I was annoyed because I had booked my space in the shuttle long in advance, and I was sure that there were people in the bus who had come at the last minute. Sindy calmed me down enough to help me realize that we had options, so we called an Uber and were able to make it to the airport in  time.

Saying goodbye at the airport; I now have a friend
who lives in France 😁

It was actually more time consuming for me to leave South Korea than when I arrived. First I had to prove to them that I had a return ticket to Trinidad (since I had a Trinidad and Tobago passport but was boarding a flight to the UK). Then there were three sets of lines that we had to pass through before getting to the gates. I am thankful that I didn't take up the hotel's offer of waiting until the airport shuttle dropped off the passengers it had and then returned for me, because I surely would have missed my flight. Initially I was apprehensive about sight-seeing in South Korea because I didn't know anyone to take me around and I wasn't sure that I would be able to navigate on my own but God provided a Colombian, a Papaun and a Guadeloupean to ensure that I was not alone on my adventures there 😊

Dragon design on the Sungnyemun Gate 
which was part of the Seoul City wall

Ten things I enjoyed about the Fourth Lausanne Gathering in South Korea

 1. Reuniting with my friends from all around the world

Although this was my first time attending a multi-generational Lausanne Gathering, I attended two Gatherings for Younger Leaders (under the age of 35) in 2006 and 2016. There were some persons from the Gathering in 2016 that I had remained connected to over the past 8 years, and it was wonderful to reconnect with them to share stories and pray with one another. There is no telling when next we would be physically in the same place at the same time so I valued the hugs and the meals we were able to share together.

Some were missing from this picture, but this group of
ladies will always have a special place in my heart

2. The times of worship

There is something powerful about worshiping with persons from different countries - it gives you a taste of what heaven would be like. During the morning sessions we were led by Keith and Kristyn Getty (they wrote the classic hymn "In Christ Alone") and in the evening sessions there was a combined worship team from different Korean churches. One highlight for me was the evening when three participants started dancing together in a circle; one by one other women joined until there were about twenty of us dancing and enjoying God's presence together.

Hearts united in worship

3. The stories

For each of the main sessions, there were presenters from different countries who shared their experiences in relation to the theme. It really helped the presentations to come alive when we could hear from persons' real-life experiences. It also gave us insight into how we could apply the presentations to our own contexts when we returned home. The stories from those who survived persecution for their faith were particularly powerful and memorable for me.

Panelists sharing how their display Christ in the workplace

4. The volunteers

One thousand believers from churches all around South Korea made themselves available to serve as volunteers for the conference and they were simply incredible! Each morning we were greeted with warm, smiling faces as they welcomed us to the convention center. They kept their cool when directing the hundreds of persons to the dining room for meals, or to the bus shuttles that would take us to our hotels. They worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that we had a smooth and enjoyable conference experience.

You could feel the love of Jesus oozing through them

5. The organizers

To pull off a conference of this magnitude the organizers would have started planning years ago. From selecting a venue to collaborating with hotels and airlines for discounts, securing visas and letters of invitation, renting all the equipment and furniture that was used, printing all the materials, training all the volunteers, feeding the participants twice a day and so much more. The organizers did an exceptional job in managing the logistics to ensure there was a smooth flow for the entire week.

Team working behind the scenes

6. The collaborations

Before the conference started we were invited to choose a gap that needed to be filled if we were to advance the Great Commission. After lunch we met in groups according to the chosen gaps to discuss what was working, what wasn't working, to brainstorm strategies for how we could collaborate to close these gaps. The outcomes from these discussions were uploaded to an application, and participants were encouraged to share about future collaborations that came about as a result of our discussions.

Discussing how we can reach the next generation

7. The new connections

There were so many opportunities to meet and have conversations with participants - from the bus rides between the hotel and the convention center to the meal times to the breaks in between the formal sessions. These interactions were always refreshing; it was lovely to hear about how God was using persons to work in other parts of the world and to learn about their cultures and to share about mine.

We met on the bus on the way to the convention 
center and decided to go for a walk in a nearby park
before the conference started

8. The unity

In our study based on the book of Acts, one of the facilitators mentioned that the early Church grew so quickly because of their unity, and that there is supernatural synergy that is activated by unity. It was tremendous to see persons lay aside denominational differences and focus on what we agree on as we worked together that week. The highlight for me was when church leaders from Japan and South Korea (whose countries were at war 400 years ago) united to lead us in communion on the final night of the congress.

United in communion

9. The diversity

The 5000 in-person participants and hundreds of virtual participants were all carefully selected by the Lausanne selection committee to ensure there was a diversity of countries and ages represented, and that there was a healthy male to female ratio as well. There was also a balanced mix of countries from the various regions who were presenters, which helped to give a beautiful picture of the global church.

My collaboration group was a perfect example of
the diversity that existed in the congress

10. The culture 

I loved the way that the Korean culture was incorporated throughout the congress. During worship, they taught us a couple songs in Korean. They served Korean food during the meal times, complete with chopsticks! On the cultural day, there was a booth where we could dress up in their cultural wear. On one of the evenings, there was a heart-warming presentation of the history of the Church in Korea.

Dressed in a hanbok

These are just some of the things that made the Lausanne Gathering in Seoul so special and memorable to me :)

Let the Church declare and display Christ together!

In September 2024 I had the privilege of attending the fourth Lausanne Gathering in Seoul, South Korea. The first gathering was held in Lausanne, Switzerland 50 years ago. It was started by Billy Graham to bring together Christian influencers who have a passion for evangelism to network and seek ways to advance the Great Commission. The theme of the gathering in Seoul was "Let the Church declare and display Christ together". The objective was to provide a forum where the 5000 participants could collaborate about how we could work together to close the gaps and pursue opportunities in discipling the nations of the world.

T&T was one of over 200 countries represented there

At the opening ceremony we learnt that one hundred years ago the first missionaries arrived in Incheon, South Korea with the gospel, and now it was the gathering place chosen for this congress! We saw how global missions is not just one way, but is now multidimensional, with missionaries from receiving countries now being to sent to other countries. We recognized that the reputation of the bride of Christ needs to be better; there are too many failures of church leaders. We were admonished that, the closer we get to Christ's return, the more vocal and visible evil will be, so the Church needs to become more vocal and visible in declaring Christ. We were encouraged that although the challenges may be bigger than us, they are not bigger than the Christ in us.

Challenge to be intentional about our time at the congress

On Day 2 we were reminded that no mission can be accomplished without the enabling presence and power of the Holy Spirit; this is what enabled the early Church to grow so quickly. The Church has been accelerating exponentially in Africa because God's Spirit is being given room to move. Prayer was highlighted as a non-negotiable to mission, and we were cautioned not to replace fervent prayers with strategies, logistics and plans. We were then reminded that the Holy Spirit is as much active and relevant today as He was in the early Church, so we should repent and pray for revival.

Reminder that the Holy Spirit is still active in revivals today

The focus for the third day was about encouraging the Church to use their strengths to work together instead of fighting each other. We recognized that the gospel was able to advance unhindered in the early church because of the unity of believers. We examined some of the reasons why the Church was declining: unforgiveness, failure to involve the youth in leadership, too many scandals, failure to equip every believer to do the work of ministry. We were challenged to disciple non-Christians to faith by inviting them into our world and exposing them to truth.

With my international sisters dressed in our cultural wear

The focus for the fourth day of the congress was on the persecuted church. We heard how God used suffering and persecution to increase church growth. Someone who lost his home after his village was burnt to the ground by religious extremists made this powerful declaration, "Despite our destruction and loss, the precious thing we still have is our faith". We were told that persecution is a manifestation of love, as it showed the extent of the love you have for someone by how willing you are to suffer for them. Despite the opposition the Church faces, the Word of God continues to spread. Suffering and persecution is not the end of the story, so we should continue to pray fervently for the persecuted church.

Martyrs "lived to be forgotten so Christ could be remembered"

On Day 5 the theme was "Reflecting Christ in the workplace" as we recognized that full time workers only make up 1% of believers, so there is a need to mobilize Christians in the workplace to be missionaries in their context. As the temple of the Holy Spirit, they carry God's presence with them wherever they go, and this has transforming power. We recognized that programs are not going to win people to the Lord, but people will. The Church's responsibility therefore is to train and equip the 99% and send them out to evangelize in their workplace.

Khara from Barbados sharing about how she 
represents Jesus in the hospital as a doctor

On Day 6 we considered the importance of leadership and discipleship across generational barriers. We were challenged to recognize that seeing ourselves as servants is central to our evangelism, and that we should not serve at the expense of family life. We were encouraged to see intergenerational collaboration as necessary, since it allows for more to be done together than what one generation can do on its own. We saw the importance of the older generations taking the time to listen to the younger ones, and for the younger generations to take the advice of the older ones - the value of mentorship.

Younger leader (Khara) thanking an older leader (Las)
 for his role in leading Lausanne in the Caribbean

On the final day of the congress, we were challenged to be prepared for persecution as we proclaim the gospel, and to recognize that God has a plan and purpose for His people in every circumstance of life. We were encouraged to be guided by the Holy Spirit, even when things do not seem to be logical. We were reminded of the process of church growth in a nation; moving from receiving foreign missionaries, to contextualizing faith and making it indigenous, to the indigenous church becoming a mission force. Stories were shared about the rapid increase in bible translation in Africa by Africans rather than involving persons from the West, of Latin America moving from a mission field to a mission force, and of Chinese churches' vision to get the gospel to unreached people groups.

Celebrating Lausanne's 50th anniversary

I am excited to see how God will use the presentations that were shared and the connections which were made during that week in Seoul to advance His Church going forward!