Hanoori Church

My latest fan club:

There's always something good that comes out of something bad. At least according to an optimist... {wink, wink} For me, that something has been a fan club. Seriously. Well, at least kind of seriously...

After my original host family kicked me out, I temporarily moved in with Soon Jae, a Korean English teacher at my school. She is likely one of the most gracious people I know. We've been sharing just about everything over the past few weeks: work, home, weekend activities.

Three weeks ago she introduced me to her church. That's where I met my fan club. I am a great curiosity to them. They are fascinated with me because I am tall, white, and speak another language. (They were surprised to learn that brown is my natural hair color.) And they treat me like a star. But that's not why I go to church there now.

I go there because Soon Jae's church, Hanoori (“one flock”), fascinates me. They meet in a multi-story apartment building in an upper room with a white walls and blue cushions on the floor. There is a large shoe rack by the door where everyone takes off their shoes at they enter. It's Korean tradition, but as I remove my shoes I can't help but wonder what Moses felt like as he took off his sandals to stand on holy ground in the presence of God.

The people at Hanoori sit in a large circle on the long wooden floor. Children come and go from a smaller room off to the side, and several mothers have their laps full of baby. Everyone else balances a songbook or Bible on their knees. People look at each other as they worship, and they laugh at the babies and smile at the latecomers. The musicians take turns calling out numbers to songs, and the big circle of people tends to sway back and forth depending on the rhythm. Music seems to have the same rippling effect on them as when the wind blow across fields of soybeans in the Midwest.

There is no pastor in this church. The people take turns speaking and sharing what God has been transforming in their lives. They pray for long periods of time, and sometimes everyone prays out loud at the same time. The sound of everyone speaking different words to God seems so real. One of my co-workers calls it popcorn prayer. Voices pop out of different corners of the room. And they are hungry for God.

After the worship service is over, smaller groups of people meet to teach and pray together. They talk about being a church with an apostolic ministry and wanting to follow God more than anything else in their lives.

Meanwhile, a group of married women prepare lunch in the kitchen. When lunch is ready, everyone fills their plate and sits together in bunches on the floor around small tables. Then coffee is brought out and more visiting begins. That's when my fan club decides to grab both my hands and drag me off to play. We play all sorts of games.

Hanoori is not a big church. It just started a few years ago as a church plant from another church in a different area. But it's the real deal. And I'm guessing that they might not stay small for long. :)