President's Report
President Kyung Za Yim
October 6, 2006
Transcript of the President's Report
Click here to download this Speech (PDF format)
It is good to be together again, seeing you face to face. During the last couple of months, I have been swimming in the sea of emails, phone calls and letters. I don't ever recall receiving this much communication in my entire life? Who says that we lack communication in the Women's Division?
In each of the communication pieces that I have received I witnessed so much passion and communication from all levels of our constituency, including the general church. It was a powerful sign that the Women's Division does really matter in the hearts and minds of many people, and that we have a significant role to play within the church.
Tonight I stand before you to let you know that I'm not drowned. In fact, I have been enjoying the swim because I had the opportunity to travel to a different sea. From September 7 through 18, 21 sisters from United Methodist Women traveled to Cambodia on an Ubuntu Journey. There I witnessed what United Methodist Women is all about in our passion for God's mission.
The suffering and the poverty of the Cambodian people that I have seen are beyond words. It is a country rich in natural and cultural beauty, but it is a country that has been devastated by the insidious war of the rich and the powerful both from inside and outside the country. In the dumpsites where children scavenge for anything to fill their stomachs, our missionaries were doing fantastic work there. It brought me to tears when they said, "Mission is love in action. Mission is to love our neighbors as ourselves." When I heard that, I know to the core of my being while I am a United Methodist woman. The Ubuntu sisters from the United States found our sisters in Cambodia. We experience together true sisterhood in the sharing of our stories and resources. We were partners in mission.
I came back home to the same reality of emails, phone calls and piles of paperwork for our board meeting, for re-organizations and for the search of our new deputy general secretary. Our world situation has not changed either. As we will be hearing from presenters this weekend, anti-immigration forces continue to fight hard to put into place state legislations banning citizenship for immigrants. We have seen violence and destruction continue through he war in Iraq, Lebanon, Darfur and other places around the world. North Korea is threatening to test its nuclear bomb. Earlier this week, we have seen violence and destruction play out in out own country where innocent children were executed in Lancaster, Pa.
The circumstances of our lives have not changed. My reality as the president of the Women's Division has not changed. But after my trip to the other side of the world, my view of the same reality has changed.
I have to confess that I was really overwhelmed by the task before us after our time together in August. In Korean, the word "crisis" is made of two words: Wie-Ki. Wie means danger and Ki means opportunity. The many facets of transition in Women's Division this year looked like crisis. When in danger, we are driven to fear. It is hard to trust anyone or anything when we are in fear. But from the dumpsites of Cambodia, I saw the tenacity of human life-from a child to the elderly-that it is love that brings faith and hope in the midst of fear for survival. For us Christians, it is our love in God and love for our neighbors that always brings us back to the reality that "all is well in God."
I have great trust in each one of you as the Directors of the Women's Division, as officers in the organization and as staff of the Women's Division. I have seen your passion and commitment expressed in every possible way during our meetings and our individual communications. I have been so encouraged by your in-depth thoughts and knowledge on where we should be and what we need to do. One thing clear is that we are all on the same boat, and we are journeying together. We just have our differences on the route to take. Our differences have made us talk more with each other, and we have come to know each other more. Dialogue-open dialogue-always enlightens us to know ourselves better, and when done in love, it brings us closer to each other.
We have a great opportunity before us. With less, we can always do more because we become more focused on what we are about. In the dumpsites of Cambodia, where there are piles and piles of garbage, hungry children can spot out what is edible. Whatever challenges are before us, it may be God's blessings in disguise if we are willing to view it that way.
So let's have fun in creating the new, for God is guiding our way. Let's rejoice and enjoy all of our meetings with our invited guests. Let us celebrate that we are together on this wonderful cruise to the world of new explorations. So, every one of you, come on board!
We are taking off! Are you ready? Let's Go!