Rev. Kim Jin-gyu Died in Egypt Bus Bombing; Dreamt of Being Like the Disciple Paul
2014-02-21 11:38
Self-sacrifice by Two Saves Many Lives in Egypt Bus Bombing:
Three Koreans lost their lives in the terrorist bombing by an extremist Islamic group in Egypt. Rev. Kim Jin-gyu was a guide from Korea preparing to become a missionary; Deacon Je Jin-su was a local pilgrimage guide; and both were faithfully carrying out what they felt called to do. The following introduces the noble lives of these two persons, who with their own bodies protected the Jincheon Jungang Church members during the suicide bombing attack by the terrorist.
Early this year, he filled his calendar to the very last page with his tight schedule of missionary training. His wife, their four-year-old daughter, and friends cheered him on in his new beginning. Four days ago, however, the calendar pages stopped turning, and encouragements turned to condolences.
Rev. Kim Jin-gyu (35), who died in the terrorist bombing that took place near the Taba border on February 16th (local time) in northeast Egypt, was planning to be a missionary like the Disciple Paul. In his SNS, he wrote, “I will devote my life toward the day the Lord comes. Please allow me to be with you on the day of the Lord’s glory,” along with “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14)”
Rev. Kim graduated from the seminary of Baeseok University. During the past one year, he served as assistant pastor pf Shinaetga Pureun Namu Church (Rev. Shin Yong-baek), until resigning early this year to be trained as a missionary. Around the same time, he was offered a job as a Holy Land pilgrimage guide. He had many things to prepare before beginning his five-month missionary training at Grace Ministries International (GMI) from March 2. However, he accepted the offer because he thought the experience would be helpful for his training.
Rev. Kim, together with local guide Mr. Je Jin-su, shielded the rest of the group with his body, which received the exploding bomb fragments. Elder Kim Yeong-cheol, the leader of the pilgrimage group, testified on the 19th, “Without the sacrifice of these two people, we all would have been dead.”
Rev. Kim Gwan-seong of Deokeun Church in Goyang, Gyeonggido, who is close to Rev. Kim, said, “He was always the first to help others, and always generous. He learned this way of living from his parents, who devoted their whole life to the church, and from his brothers who went on the road of ministry before him.” The parents of Rev. Kim are known to have been caretaker-deacons for 40 years at a church in Heukseokdong, Seoul.
The two pastor brothers of Rev. Kim went to Egypt to collect the body of their younger brother. They said, “The youngest Rev. Kim used to say he wished to die while on his mission to spread the Gospel. He loved God and his neighbors more than anyone. We hope that his sacrifice will not be in vain.”
Reporter Lee Saya (Isaiah@kmib.co.kr), Yeara Ahn-Park (yap@kmib.co.kr)
Click here for the original article in Korean
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