Ok, so, my testimony of salvation is, I feel, pretty boring... However, I think all the exciting and revelatory things happened after the fact and many more things are in store for me. So, when I was asked to write a two-page (double-spaced) testimony of my life for the orientation retreat, I was looking at my seven-page-single-spacedbehemoth of a 'life story' and scratching my head, wondering what I was going to do. Well, I did my best to recap it the best I could and got it down to about two pages... I shared it at the retreat and found out later that we (the other adoptees and myself) would be sharing our testimonies with the churches in Korea, so I went back and edited it a little. And here it is as I shared it:

I was adopted from Korea when I was only a few months old. I grew up in Minnesota with my mother, father, and adopted Korean sister. My parents tried to teach me good values by taking me to summer bible camp and confirmation classes, but I didn’t really understand it. They taught me about being from Korea by taking me to Korean culture camp. I never got into too much trouble as a kid. Looking back I believe that God always had a hand in my life and protected me from a lot of the world.

My name is Jeffrey Lee Kane, and I want to thank you for this opportunity to offer my personal testimony. When I was about 10 months old, I made the journey to America to begin my new life. I growing up in the US, I was blessed with many things:

• a loving household
• the opportunity to go to school and to pursue advanced studies
• a community where I could grow in my faith and experience the love of God.

At some point in my life, I realized that we are all adopted children of God. This promise that God makes to each of us is one of the most important things in my life.

I would like to start out by thanking all the Parishioners and also Pastor Park, without your help this trip would not be possible. I am very thankful for the privilege to come to Korea, so on behalf of the group I would like to thank you all for your generosity and support.

Today I would like to share my adoption story with you. I was born on December 27, 1982. My birth mother passed away shortly after I was born, so my birth father decided to put me up for adoption so I could have a better life. I was then placed in an Orphanage for several months.

My name is Krista and I want to share with you a little about my life journey and how God has been with me and molded me as a believer in him, through my struggles of growing up as a cross-cultural adoptee. "
I was born in 1982 near Seoul, Korea. Little is known about my early years in Korea except that I was abandoned as an infant and sent to foster care for several months and then eventually adopted by a family in Minnesota,

First of all, I would not have been able to experience this journey without the scholarship. I was sponsored by Cargill, Inc. of Korea. I would like to thank Elder Kim, Dr. Kim, and Rev. Park, for organizing the whole journey and for making it a very special and memorable event. I enjoyed the food and the homestays the most. I would like to bullet some of my highlights of the trip and things to change or consider for the future.