Listen to our 2025Q2 Ministry Update
(Written & Read by Anna Kim – Produced by Kyu) ~ Download Printer Friendly PDF ~
Since the fire, it’s been a week and half. We’ve gone through both Christmas and New Year’s festivities. And it was hard. We shared Christmas Eve with friends from our local church, exchanged a few gifts (that were thankfully well-covered at the time of the fire, and therefore salvageable) in a hotel room, and moved into our friends’ apartment on Christmas Day as they left for 3 weeks of travel.
We received a couple invitations for NYE, but opted to stay in and watch a movie together. It hasn’t been a typical holiday season at all, yet… Our faith is anchored, while emotions and physical exhaustion come in unexpected waves. We feel like we’ve told the story of the fire too many times to count at this point.
Snippets of 2 Corinthians chapter 4 keep popping up: “we are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair…struck down, but not destroyed” (8-9). Dropping down to verses 15-18, Paul says, “All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
We are incredibly grateful – so many people have been praying, checking in on us, and giving to help cover the costs of sorting and cleaning our burnt, soot-covered belongings, replacing immediately needed items, and renting a furnished apartment for the next couple of months.
Thank you for walking through this process with us, with your prayers, kinds words, and gifts. As we shared last week, Team Kim had already been planning to spend 6-12 months in the US, a time known as Home Ministry Assignment (HMA). Our original arrival in Ohio was slated for July, but we now pray and anticipate that we will be departing Colombia in late February or early March. Reestablishing an entire physical home for only 6 months makes little sense, and we feel God is leading us to wrap up all our current ministry roles as soon as possible.
Praise report – We have been amazed and encouraged by the kind responses of our neighbors. As we (mainly Kyu) visit the apartment every couple of days, we run into people who offer help and check how we are doing. We’ve received some money, offers to use vacation homes, invitations for meals, and opportunities to testify of our hope in Christ.
A few have specifically remarked how impressed they’ve been by our faith, watching how we’ve reacted to the fire, and cared for one another, and continued to press in to do what is right and needed. We’ve been praying for years to reach our neighbors with a testimony for the gospel of Christ, and because of our involvement in some of the community clubs (including hosting a weekly Bible study) and this loss of our apartment, many families have heard our testimony of God’s goodness and reference our local church.
The Hard Realities – Our apartment and its content really are a near total loss. I (Anna) currently have one pair of usable shoes—the ones I was wearing Sunday the 21st. I was able to recover and clean a pair of flip-flops to use as “house shoes,” but the rest will likely need to be thrown away. So it goes with the rest of Team Kim.
As a homeschooling and missionary family, we have accumulated hundreds of books since 2019. Covered in toxic soot, the majority are simply too difficult or risky to salvage. This weekend, I’ll need to determine how to proceed with homeschool for the next two months.
We are only now being permitted to begin the actual work of disposal of furniture, appliances, goods, clothing, etc. It will be difficult and must be done in short periods, due to lingering toxic fumes, which induce headaches when we work in the apartment more than 30 minutes.
The fire chief warned us on the day of that fire that we would feel like we were on a roller coaster over the next few months. And we do! We are dealing with grief and loss, feeling untethered, feeling nervous about transitioning to the US, dreading the cleaning/disposal process for the apartment, and needing to say goodbye to our entire life, community, and ministry in Colombia.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. – 2 Corinthians 4:16
What Our Days Look Like – Waiting. Nearly every formal process depends on the publication of the fire investigation’s official report. After that, insurance assessors and clean-up companies will need access to the apartment to determine coverage and estimates. We are grateful for the different lodging options we’ve had through the generosity of others, but of course being there doesn’t feel like home to us. We are attempting to live with very limited personal belongings, in anticipation of our upcoming international move. Next week, we plan to move into a furnished apartment down the block from our [former] home, which should help with quick access and better logistics for concluding our time in our neighborhood.
How You Can Help?
Pray with us as we continue to process, mourn, and work through the logistics of closing our time in Colombia before heading to Home Ministry Assignment in the US.
- Pray for favor in the legal/formal processes.
- Pray for wisdom and endurance for making so many difficult decisions in a short time.
- Pray for our faith to be continually strengthened.
- Pray for our unity and kindness to one another as a family.
- Pray for physical strength for needed tasks.
- Pray for rest (sleep has been difficult) and continuing peace.
Reach out to us with words of encouragement or written prayers. We may be slow or even too overwhelmed to respond, but these messages mean so much to us!
Re-equip us through your giving. We experience unexpected loss of tools that facilitated not only life, but also ministry. Your giving isn’t only helping us, but is also investing in people, evangelism, and discipleship. Your giving helps re-equip our wardrobes/equipment/books/personal items once we arrive in Ohio so we can prepare for our next chapter of missionary work.
How can you give?
Most direct and immediate for us to access: PayPal @kyu4232 or Zelle (740-482-0810)
Through our account at Avant Ministries: LINK (Missionary Account # 84815)
Send a check (addressed to Anna Kim or Kyubum Kim) to Anna’s parents, who can deposit it in our bank account. For checks, please email us for further details.
Questions? Email us at kkim@avmi.org
Team Kim for Colombia 