Hi-Dong Chai

Sustained By Love Through The Wars Hi-Dong Chai

I hate war. War kills. War maims. War orphans. And it leaves a deep scar not only on the land, but also in the hearts of those who are affected by the war. I am one of those who carry a deep emotional wound to this day, more than sixty years later. During WWII under Japan, my father was imprisoned because he was a Christian minister, who refused to bow down to the picture of the Japanese emperor. My elder brother volunteered to join the Japanese military in the hope of having his father released from the prison. He left home as a vibrant 15-year-old boy and returned home as a worn-out, injured, 18-year-old man; he died a year later. He was my best friend. During the Korean War, North Koreans took my father away. He never returned. Sustained by Love through the Wars is a story of love, sacrifice, faith and suffering all wrapped in one package. The heroine in the story is my mother. Mother prayed without ceasing. Through her unceasing prayers, she was able to walk through the dark tunnel of trials and tribulations and lead us onward with love and grace, and absolute faith in God.