His first move

At noon of April 21, 2023, I received a text from an unsaved number. 

"Hi Mina! My name is John Choi and I'm Canada's GMMA RC! ... So I was just wondering if it was possible to maybe have a Zoom call to figure out the curriculum planning?" 

I was in a period of my life when I felt very productive. I replied minutes later, 

"Hi! Yes, definitely!"

***

That day, I entered the Zoom call on the third floor of my church 30 minutes before praise practice. It felt weird because I had never been asked for help from others like this, especially not from an RC and not someone from Canada. It was also refreshing and crazy to have someone who wanted to hear what I had to say even though they had never met me before—even though I was just a student!

I left the meeting feeling like I globbered on and on about random things, but one thing was for sure: he left an impression on me that day. Wow. What a humble guy. 

***

The next time I met him was at the Leadership/Officer Retreat in August. To be fair, my mind was a little preoccupied with another person at the time, though it was also a story that was coming to a close. We didn't have too many interactions, and I don't really remember much other than talking with him on the ride back to the hotel (it was a 2 night retreat) about how his May mission trip went (it was difficult but still rewarding) and later when all the other Canadian students were leaving early. Both of my roommates were Canadian students, Lucy and Linda, so honestly I saw him as the mom of Canadian students. To be very fair, I remembered Paul the most out of all Canadians I met that weekend, because he came up to say hi after our last night of prayer and encouraged me. 

***

Fall semester came and went, and it was time to go to the winter mission trip. I begged Dr. Jo, one of our lead mentors, to take UVA to the jungle during the retreat, and it happened. Our trip was scheduled for January, and right when training was about to begin, a familiar name joined our team: John. 

I would say the rest is history, but I think it's crazy to think there were so many ways this might not have happened, so many ways we might not have met, and yet we did. What can I say but be thankful to God for this relationship?