From left to right: Stephen, Peter, Yura, Tom and me. We’re at Blessing coffee shop, started by one of the local churches. There are more than 14 million Christians in Korea, making up almost 30 percent of the population.

This morning, I am writing from my hotel room in Seoul, Korea about our staff members here using short films to start spiritual conversations. They are energized, our leaders are thrilled and I can’t wait to write  about it.

When we arrived yesterday, three of our Korean staff members arrived at the airport to pick us up. (I’m traveling with Worldwide Challenge photographer Tom Mills). Yura is joining Korea Campus Crusade for Christ as a new staff member after growing up as a missionary kid in the Philippines. She attended a university in Manila, found Philippine Campus Crusade for Christ, and now she’s a new staff member in Korea. Due to my own roots in the Philippines, I like her already. Grateful that her English is flawless.

Stephen, also a new staff member, leads teams of new staff who are successfully using the short films strategy. Last night after dinner, when I asked exactly how the short films strategy works, he whipped out his tablet, found a link to a film called The Black Hole and showed it to me. The premise was funny.

A sleep-deprived worker photocopies a paper that has a big black circle on it. The employee sets his plastic cup on top of the hole, and the cup disappears. He reaches into the hole and discovers he can retrieve his cup. The possibilities for greed are endless. It’s only two minutes long, well inside the length of my short attention span.

Afterward, Stephan asked me what I thought the film was about. Greed. But what about greed? It grows. How did greed escalate? No matter what you are looking for you can never get enough. And then, just as Stephen was getting ready to show me the related clip from the Jesus film, we arrived at our hotel. I agreed to wait for another day to see how the rest of it plays out. Isn’t that the way?

Peter, a pastor through and through and our driver, directs the school that the new staff members attend. Married with three children, he likes to make jokes. Perfect. I like to laugh. But more than that, he serves the body of Christ and equips our new staff members to do the work of the ministry.

Peter joined Korea Campus Crusade, and then he gave up the chance to go to seminary in the United States to attend seminary in Korea and become a pastor. After faithfully serving his congregation, Peter recognized that his true calling is to Korea Campus Crusade, so he rejoined staff. I have about six more questions I don’t have answers to yet.

When I asked him why the short films strategy in Korea, he stopped, thought carefully, leaned into the conversation and told me some wonderful reasons. Next blog post, I’ll explain those. I think his words speak to the heart of the story I’m writing. Biggest challenge? Deciding what the story is really about. So much to write; so few words.

For now, it’s time to wrap this up and meet Peter. He has found a cell phone that Tom and I can use while we’re here in Korea.

Very grateful for his help and for Yura and Stephen. I’m fortunate to call them friends.