Choi Choon-Sun Story

Today I came across to an amazing documentary made by Kin Woo Hyun. The story is about a korean Choi Choon-Sun - The Grandfather, a father of five, all educators. Choi was saying that we all have a calling on this earth, and his was to spread the word. He lived in Han-nam Dong. Every day he was going to the subway, barefooted, even on a freezing day. He is pleased of the unexpected visit of the reporter. The reporter asked him, "Isn't a cold day today?" he answered "I don't feel the cold...thanks to the God's grace." On a side alley, facing some kids, he said that "A good child is better than the President, a good child is better than a university president." Kids are not scared of him. Besides being a friendly person he was an extremely generous man. He refers to his wife as an angel, "My wife would jump into the water to save a drowning person; She is a life-saving angel; She's something for putting up with a person like me." At that moment in January 2000 Choi was a very poor man. The reporter asked, "How do you make a living?" he replied, "Thanks to God's grace, everything is good." He had a serious and peaceful appearance. He was truly a different breed of person. He created posters of magazine pictures, posters that can not be found anywhere else (Our heaven-there is no salvation other than in Jesus' blood.) He lived in such a nice house. People thought that he must have lived in a shack somewhere. On the walls were posters he had made. To the children in this neighborhood he was not a crazy old man. A poster reads, "Even though the whole world abandons me, my Lord Jesus does not forsake me." He offered the reporter the best cushion on his house and then start serving him many things. He said, "When we entertain well, we are happy. How thankful I am." Going beyond the appearances, Choi was a generous person of warm heart and deep faith. Sitting at his desk wrote a New Year's card on the spot. It was an encouraging word from 1st Peter, Chapter 2 about a royal priest, "May you be successful in your life as a royal priest." Choi mentioned that he had a calling since he was 22, but he has not been that loyal and have been disobedient, "Truly, I am the chief of sinners. However, His mercy is so deep, so wide that He leads me. That is why daily, with thanks giving, with joy, I win!" In 2000 he was 80. Even though people still saw him as an crazy old man, the reporter started to understand the confusion in other peoples understandings. In a world full of counterfeits, Grandfather appeared like a prophet calling out alone. The reporter asked, "How do you feel when people are calling you crazy?" he replied, "Well, I feel pity for them." Some other time the reporter revisited his house. He was home together with his wife. Like a child, Grandfather kept praising his wife earnestly. They sheltered numerous orphans in their house. They used to own a lot of land and then they give it away to refugees from North Korea. They kept giving and giving. The son of a wealthy family, Choi, after understanding the God's grace, divided all he had and give it to the poor and sick neighbors. Words on his wall, "A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor - proverbs, chapter 22; All you need to do is to laugh, You are Me, I am You-There is no other person in the world." He studied in Japan, "My father made me study a lot. He send me to Tokyo." His own words, "Absolute peace, absolute eternal life, absolute freedman, independence, freedom, peace, eternal life." Grandfather has been going his way as a solitary witness to the world. His words, "Because of my mother's prayers and God's grace, I give thanks to Him. How glad I am that there is no one in this world to be afraid of. There is no one that I don't want to see. No one that I hate. How thankful I am. The one who envies no one, he is the richest man in the world. The one who has no one that he hates is the most powerful. Richer than worldly kings, is the one who hates no one. Though Truth be alone, it grows bolder day by day." Again in September 2001 he has been seen in the subway saying, "Our God is love, our God is patient. He rescues drowning people..." He smiled at the reporter with recognition. He never complained about his health. He said, "Loyalty is one of the Fruits." Then like someone living on a long journey, the Grandfather waived his hand along with a big smile on his face. That was the last time when Choi Choon-Sun was seen. He was received into the bosom of his loving Lord soon after that last encounter. The Grandfather used to buy bread everyday to feed the homeless and beggars. He volunteered, working hard in many places. Some of his last words, "It is not living, to be a slave. Having proclaimed precious freedom and liberty, he returned to His home. For ever, for ever, in God's unending love they live."

Oh how many people like Choi Choon-Sun we need around us in this world. God Bless, Tiberius Apavaloaie