Grenfell -
Four theology students from Korea have arrived in Grenfell, where they will be joining Reverend Kwon at the Trinity Presbyterian Church for the next six months.
The group will also be acting as teachers' aids at Grenfell Elementary Community School.
Amy Choi is amazed at the difference between her homeland of Korea and Grenfell.
"It's a quiet and peaceful place," she said.
Choi has taught English in Korea for about ten years. She is looking forward to meeting many people in town.
"I hope we can make friends with the church people here."
The landscape is also vastly different from what she is used to.
"It's wide," she laughed. "We are from a small country. Everything in Korea is very graceful, smaller than the things here."
The people of Grenfell have already made quite an impression on her.
"I like the farmers here, especially Bob and Darnell, the owners of our house, they are very good people."
David Jang says that the nature in Saskatchewan is very beautiful, and that he enjoys meeting people here.
Irene Jeong and Alex Jin make up the rest of the group.
So far, Jin is finding Grenfell to be full of "beautiful sights and warm-hearted people."
Reverend Kwon originally started the program when he noticed that many Canadian churches are rapidly emptying out.
"Not many young people want to be ministers in Canada nowadays. That's why churches are dying, especially rural churches.
"I thought bringing some bible college students would be helpful to revive the churches in Canada. That's why I made this kind of program. I am the middle man, a bridge-maker between two countries. I think it works well."
He has noticed that the tables have turned in recent years and that Canada is now starving for people who are willing to carry on the work of the church.
"One hundred years ago, the Canadian churches sent many missionaries to help Korean churches to make a foundation. Now I think bringing some college students and young people would be kind of repaying what they have done a long time ago for Korean churches."
Korea is currently experiencing a very different dilemma, with more aspiring church leaders seeking training than the country has room for.
"Young people are overflowing in seminaries (in Korea) and most of the Bible colleges, so there are too many seminarians and Bible college students. So I thought, we need them in Canadian churches."
Kwon feels that the addition of the students has contributed to the dramatic decrease in the number of empty seats at the Presbyterian Church. "When I moved to Grenfell to this church, just around 25 or 30 people regularly attended. Now, 70 people. Our congregation really enjoy the students, especially their music ministry. They are very talented in singing, and every Sunday they present their special music.
"At the same time, they'll be learning English from the kids and the teachers. They need people who are willing to help the teachers, and (the students) need to learn a new language. So kind of a win-win program. Also, our congregation provides ESL (English as a Second Language) Bible study."
The program accommodates two Korean groups each year, one arriving in September and one in February.
Kwon hopes that their stay in Grenfell will inspire the students to stay in Canada.
"They want to experience all kinds of new experiences so that they may decide to work in Canada as a minister."
Each group is at first put out by the fact that Canadian Christians don't spend nearly as much time in the church as their Korean counterparts.
"Korean Christians, church people, attend church at least seven times a week. But in Canada, most Christian church people attend only one time a week. Most of our Korean students, when they first arrive in Canada, when they first attend church, they're just in shock."
The environment in Saskatchewan is also vastly different to their homeland.
"When they first arrive here, for at least two or three months, they are struggling to adjust to the new environment. The food, the culture, the language - all different," Kwon said.
One of the major differences is the vastness of the prairies, which takes some getting used to after the crowds of Korea.
"Canada, the size is 100 times bigger than Korea, Korea is smaller than Saskatchewan, but the population is much higher than Canada," Kwon explained.
He says that once the culture shock wears off, the visitors are usually captivated with Canada.
"After three or four months, they think, 'Oh, I want to be here forever, I want to live here, because they have adjusted to their new environment. They really enjoy the quietness, very calm and quiet. In Korea there is noise because of the traffic jams. They really enjoy the peaceful environment here. When they are leaving they say, 'I really want to come back again after graduation.'"
Kwon hopes that the people of Grenfell will treat the group of visitors as they would treat each other.
"I felt very isolated when I moved to Canada, not in Grenfell, but in the big city, so I didn't know anyone. Nobody helped me, and I was from Korea so my language was poor. I couldn't explain what I needed, I couldn't ask for help.
"I want to encourage (the people of Grenfell) to encourage new people in town, those students as well as other people who move to Grenfell from other provinces and cities. Encourage them and be kind to them."
