THE BIBLE IN MY LIFE August 27, 2007 Issue

A KOREAN VISITOR EXPLORES CHRISTIANITY

CINDY ROEMER

WHILE IT CAN BE INTERESTING and rewarding to approach the Bible from a scholarly perspective, what I most appreciate are the universality and simplicity of its message of God's dear love. I see it as a guidebook for people everywhere.

A few years ago, I participated as a tutor in our public library's English as a Second Language program. Once a week for 18 months, I met with Kim, a young South Korean mother whose family was temporarily living in the United States while her husband worked on an international project.

In the beginning, we didn't always understand what the other was saying. We would puzzle over words or sounds. Occasionally we had to write out words, because pronunciations alone didn't guarantee understanding. Sometimes I drew pictures. Often we laughed when we finally got it!