Elder Park Jong-il
I have felt love from parents, loved ones, and family, but my father passed away early, and my grandmother also passed away early, so I lacked those loving conversations.
However, Pastor Jung Myung Seok would give all the time and words of expression he possibly could to those who approached him. He would even draw pictures for everyone who came to see him—every single one. That surprised me.
I am raising five children now, but I don’t think I ever received a letter from my parents.
For my own five children, I have bought them birthday cakes, but I have never once written them a letter.
Yet Pastor Jung would draw pictures for each person who came to see him, without leaving anyone out. In the pictures, he would write that person’s name, their spouse’s name, and even their children’s names, and then give it to them as a gift.
At that time, he was incredibly busy. Because he was delivering messages online overseas,
there were not just one or two sessions a day, but five or six. He would preach, come down, rest, then preach again, and repeat this over and over, so he was very tired.
There was no separate time for him to draw. He would keep drawing paper and paints ready by the door, and when entering a room, he would draw one picture, and when leaving, another. Because he had no other time to spare. Even so, he became extremely fatigued.
Once, when coming to deliver the Sunday service message, he was two hours late. The place where he would preach was only 30 meters away, yet it took him two hours to get there.
He had become so dizzy from overwork that he couldn’t even take a step forward. Still, when going to see people, he would always bring them a drawing.
When I received a drawing, I was so grateful. It wasn’t just a letter, and it wasn’t some purchased gift. It was a colored drawing he had made himself. I was deeply thankful. I still keep it as a family treasure today. I could feel, tangibly, just how sincere and abundant his love for people was.
I entered Korea Maritime University after taking the entrance exam three times.
I had attended another school for two years, but in order to get into Korea Maritime University,
I quit that school in my second year, first semester, and had about four months left before the new exam.
But the textbooks had changed after two years, and there was very little time. My heart was anxious. If I didn’t pass, I would have to go to the military. I had already received my draft notice for Chuncheon’s 102nd Reserve Forces Unit. There was no time to waste.
For a whole month, I shut myself in a small room, not going outside at all, and studied.
But after a month, something strange happened. It felt like the walls were closing in on me,
and I wanted to break them down. I began to lose my mind.
At that time, I was studying in a place called Taebaek in Gangwon Province, but there was no library there. So I had no choice but to study in a café. I studied there for a whole month. Later, the café owner even turned on a light at my table for me because I was studying there every day. Through that month, I got a small taste of how painful confinement can be.
Yet Pastor Jung Myung Seok, while continuously imprisoned in solitary confinement, would write hundreds of letters a day. He would write messages and use up two ballpoint pens a day. Only those who have written that much can understand how much writing that is.
His love for his disciples is truly beyond measure. I cannot fathom the depth of that love. Even though his body was far away, he devoted himself as if he were right by our side. I have always felt a deep sense of gratitude for the care and dedication he pours out wholeheartedly.