Brice Rogers is a Teaching Elder of the Presbytery of St. Augustine. His, wife, daughter, and he will embark on a new journey to Korea in September.

Dear brothers and sisters,

Greetings once again from rainy Florida! Although its known as the “Sunshine State,” we have been through a rainy time here during our visits this summer. Most of the USA is suffering a drought this summer, so it is much needed!

As Brice is ending his service as an active missionary with the PCUSA for now, we hope you will enjoy this “final official” prayer update! Of course, our lives and ministries will continue, and we’ll be happy to continue to keep you updated regularly of what we are up to (and certainly request prayers). If you no longer wish to hear from us regularly, do let us know as well!

The past month has been a whirlwind of travel and visits around the USA, telling the story of what God has been doing in Egypt. We had a wonderful time at the New Wilmington Missionary Conference July 20-29. Brice preached both Sundays (at Clen Moore PC and Sharpesville PC, respectively), co-led a “mission lunch” presentation on the Middle East, and gave a kind of Bible study on Egypt one night. Each morning we were invited to speak with a different group of High School students. As God had planned it, they were all female groups! It was an excellent time for Sungmin to share with them about her life before and after meeting the Lord, and to share frankly about the challenges of being a woman missionary. Brice was very thankful that we were able to go as a couple to talk with these groups!

We were very thankful to the conference leadership (under the guidance of Don Dawson) and Rev. David Dawson of Shenango presbytery for handling the logistics of the conference and visits of so many missionaries like us in the area. We had a great visit with the Dawson family and Jim Mohr’s family. Jim also took us on a tour of the Amish community. We had a brief but powerful visit with Ken and Ethel Bailey at their home – Ken is an expert in the Middle Eastern background to the New Testament, and the Baileys are former missionaries to Egypt and many other countries in the region. Chris and Karen Weichman also went out of their way to help us as a family during our time in Western PA.

After catching our breath for a few days back in Jacksonville FL, we loaded up the Rogers family’s PT Cruiser and headed on a trip to Nashville TN and Western NC. Except for a slight case of food poisoning on the way up, we were well protected and safe in all our journeys through highways, backroads and mountain passes. We visited, spoke and/or preached at FPC Columbia TN, FPC Nashville TN, FPC Kingsport TN, and FPC Kannapolis NC. We were blessed to stay in the homes of James and Helen Flemming in Columbia TN, Julius and Florence Scott in Black Mountain NC, and Steve and Betsy Rembert in Waxhaw NC. It was a fantastic opportunity to stay with each family and learn some important lessons in hospitality and serving the Lord. We also were blessed by the coordination of Jeff Ritchie and Ebralie Mwizerwa of the Outreach Foundation (TOF) for helping to arrange many of our visits along the way.

As our last official “engagement” this summer, Brice will preach the coming Sunday at Arlington Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville FL, the church he grew up in.

Prayer Requests
On August 25th we will fly as a family to Seoul, Korea to begin the next stage of our journey together. Brice’s studies through the 2012 Korean Government Scholarship Program will begin on August 30th with an orientation, then it will be off to language school at Inha University in Incheon on the 3rd of September. Brice will be studying Korean during the coming academic year, then if he passes the TOPIK exam (similar to the TOEFL for English speakers) he will continue with his PhD studies at Yonsei. Needless to say, prayers are needed for our safe travels as a family, and for Brice’s language learning skills!

Sungmin has been invited to serve as a pastor to foreign residents by her church in Seoul. She will be pioneering a new ministry to people of all nationalities residing in the area of her church. We are praying about how this ministry should take shape at its inception and when exactly she should begin! Brice will offer some help when able, but it will be a big burden on Sungmin. We invite your prayers for God’s blessing on this project!

Justine should begin daycare and preschool programs a month or so after we arrive. Although she has never met a human being she didn’t like in any country, we pray for her to make a smooth transition to becoming a “Korean girl” after doing so well in Egypt and the USA.

Finally, we hope you enjoy the attached photos. Thank you for your prayers and support over Brice’s 8+ years in Egypt and Sungmin’s 7+ years (and Justine’s 2 ½ years). We hope to keep you all informed of what the Lord is doing with us and through us in Korea in the coming year… and in the future!

Grace and peace,

Brice, Sungmin & Justine