a great man.

let me tell you about a great man. a man who i am so proud and honored to have known. a man i loved.

a man i called my halahbuhjee.



my grandfather was a soft and gentle man, but he had great presence. he was loving and kind and generous and had a wonderful sense of humor that matched his contagious laugh.

like my halmuhnee, my halahbuhjee was an amazing example of unwavering faith. he truly lived what he believed; he constantly blessed those around him with genuine love and care.

as the hubs was preparing to speak at my grandfather's burial service, my mom shared this story with him from her childhood: one day, my grandfather did not return from work at his usual time and instead came home hours after he was expected. his family was worried sick about him and when he showed up at the door covered in blood, their worry turned to fear. but my grandfather explained that it was someone else's blood. he saw a man that was injured and he carried this bruised and bloodied stranger to the hospital and made sure the man received proper care.

that's the kind of man my grandfather was. a literal good samaritan.

my grandfather was a dentist in korea, but when he moved his family to the states in his forties, he found that he could not transfer his korean dental license to one here in america. undeterred, he worked instead as a dental technician. and though he could have been frustrated and angry that his years of dental schooling seemed all for naught, he worked faithfully and joyfully at his new job. {and kept his dental skills up by checking out his grandchildren's teeth. ;)}

in his early sixties, my grandfather enrolled in seminary, unbeknownst to his children or grandchildren. for several years, he took classes part time. and all of these classes were in english, his second language! eventually, he successfully finished a masters of divinity program. when he was close to completing his program, he shared this news with us, telling us that he felt called to the mission field and that he wanted to be sure he was properly educated before leaving.

upon retirement, instead of moving to a warmer climate and a slower pace of life, my grandfather and grandmother packed their bags and moved overseas and became missionaries. my grandparents served north korean refugees and my grandfather provided free dental care. they loved the Lord and loved sharing the gospel and living it out daily while serving others.

my grandparents served faithfully for nearly 10 years until their ailing health brought them back stateside.

my grandfather developed alzheimer's and we watched as the man we knew lost many of his memories and abilities. each time we saw him, it took him longer and longer to recognize us, and he eventually got to the point where he never remembered the hubs. for the rest of us, he could recognize that we were familiar faces, but often did not remember our names or confused us.

it was so sad to watch a brilliant man become someone who needed constant supervision and care, but the whole time my grandfather suffered, he never once complained. never. and the whole time he suffered, his faith never failed.

one of my treasured recent memories of my grandfather was last new year's day when he was asked to pray for dinner. and goodness, did he pray! my grandfather had little short-term memory and continued to pray the same words and blessings for several minutes. my dad eventually jumped in and finished up the prayer, but i think if he hadn't, my grandfather could have prayed that prayer for hours. as the hubs remarked, it is amazing that even in his condition, my grandfather kept Jesus so close to his heart.

this january, we drove up to philly to celebrate my grandfather's 82 birthday. it was the last time i saw him alive. at first, i was really hesitant about going up because choi boy had only been home for a month and was still a bit weary of strangers (and his car seat), but i am so glad we bit the bullet and took the trip. and though he wasn't up for being held by his great grandfather, i am SO thankful cb got to meet him.

i hope that as he grows, we can tell choi boy about his amazing great grandparents and the prayers they prayed for him. and i pray and pray that choi boy will grow to love Jesus as his great grandparents taught our family to.



rest in peace, halahbuhjee. i hope you are dancing and gettin' your groove on in heaven.