Dear Friends:
Greetings from the heart of Kwangju City! – It has been five months since I moved here from our quiet hill in Yang Nim Dong and opened the Christian Student Center. Although we are eagerly awaiting the time when the Dave Rosses will finish language study in Seoul and come to Kwangju to work with students, we felt that we could wait no longer to move into the tremendous field of opportunity that lay before us among the students of the two Universities, the Teachers college, and the some 15 high schools in Kwangju. The opportunity is proving even larger than we had anticipated.
Many significant things have happened recently which indicated that the Lord is at work in this place. Last June, our co-worker, Mr. Chun, was called into the Army. It was with real regret that we saw him leave, because, as a college and seminary graduate, he was particularly qualified to do this work. After our waiting and looking all summer, God led us to invite Mr. C.W. Lee, who is also thoroughly qualified, to join us in the work. He felt a real call to Student Work here and at personal loss, accepted the call. Although he has only been here for a week, he has shown real faith, zeal and imagination in plunging into the tremendous task that is before us.
The English Bible Classes for College Students here in the Centre have been well attended and from the searching questions and penetrating discussion it is evident that many students are interested in more than just English.
Last week we received permission from the English Department to open an English conversation centre on the Campus of Chun Nam University. This gives us opportunity for informal contact with more students and an opportunity to begin, indirectly, an on-Campus witness. Mr. Lee and I are going to try to keep this room open every afternoon, Monday through Friday. Mrs. McBryde, John’s mother, who is visiting the McBrydes for a few months, has promised to help us out.
In addition, this term, I am teaching 4 hours in Chun Nam University – 2 hours of English Conversation and 2 hours of Biblical Literatures.
Our contact with Chosun University is through an organization called the Foreign Culture Association, an extra curricular organization of 30 to 40 members, who have invited me and other missionaries from time to time, to teach them English Bible on their campus. I also occasionally attend, by invitation, the SCA meetings on both campuses.
We have been praying specifically that God would raise up in each college at least one Christian student who would feel his responsibility to begin to pray and witness on his campus. We have been taking every opportunity to encourage Christian students to be Christians on the Campus. (Most of them seem to confine their Christianity to activities in the church). God has began to answer our prayer and one student, Mr. Kim, of Chosun University, who has made a decision for Christ since his contact with the Centre, is praying definitely for and seeking to lead a fellow student to Christ. Mr. Kim and 2 non-Christian students are meeting with me from 5 to 6 o’clock each morning for prayer and Bible study in Korean, followed by a brief study in English.
Please pray for our English Bible Classes and pray with us that a vital Student witness may soon be established on each campus.
Sincerely,Sara Barry
Received at Nashville, Tennessee, September 27, 1961 Address: Miss Sara Barry (as above indicated) Air mail folders may be purchased at the Post Office for 11¢
Commentary: This is the first time Barry official introduces UBF founder Chang Woo "Samuel" Lee. She uses his initials and calls him by his last name.
She claims that Lee is "thoroughly qualifies" but never explains nor states why. In fact she never tells us the story of how she met Lee in the first place. Barry makes it seem like he just popped out of heaven which is not the case.