The Goodwin Family of America

History told by Soon-hee Kim Suh

OUr grandparents' fourth child was our father, Bong-kuk. Being second son, our father seemed to be more competitive and independent. When he could not get much of his family's support for his schooling he went out on his own to find work and earn his education. He left home in his high teen years to pursue his future and his ideals.

          Kim Bong Kuk, Our Beloved Father                 His Christian Faith

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures,
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul,
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
For thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff th ey comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies,
Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
- Psalm 232, A psalm of David

The above is our beloved father's favorite psalm, and he truly believed that every word and every phrase of the psalm precisely described his life and his faith in the Lord. He, as head of a large family, had faced numerous dangers and crises throughout his life. But he always believed the Lord protected and led him to the green pastures and still waters in the end. He said "His life is the testimony of his Lord's goodness and mercy" and he could not have overcome many imminent dangers alone all his life. Until the end of his life he no doubt he will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Our father believed he was chosen to be a Christian and called from his native Bak-chun, Hwang-hae-do, just as Abraham was called from his land of ancestors to become the founder of his nation in Canaan. He likened himself as the shepherd, David, who later became King David. Our father, who was a pioneer of dairy farming in Korea in the 1930's and also a harbinger of modern farming in later years, was convinced that he was chosen, protected and led to fulfill his vocations, as God chose David to whom he provided green pastures and still waters for his sheep.

There were many events, incidents and episodes occurred in his lifetime which he attributed to God's calling, grace and love for His chosen. The following are some of his testimony:

He was born as a second son and the fourth child in a poor farmer parentage. Being born in a poor family was a blessing to him and he was sent to a small private school that was run by the village church, where he met minister Lee Yoon-young (who became the first prime minister of Korean government after Independence in 1948) and his brother-in-law, Lee Kuen-hee (who was an activist for Korean independence). In the school and the church he not only learned elementary school education but also met his role-model mentors whose influence and guidance led him to become a Christian. Minister Lee's recommendation letter made it possible to go to Pearson Bible School (which later became Korean Theological University) in Seoul. Our father believed, that was God's calling for him to leave his native town and to live the rest of his life as a Christian, a pioneer and forerunner of many fields in agriculture.

During 89 years of his life he came, so many times, close to life threatening accidents and events. He was bitten by a copper head snake in Manchuria; h e was drafted by Japanese army to be sent to World War II (luckily, he could get away); he contracted typhoid fever (no antibiotics available then); he was hit by a fire engine when he was commuting to his pharmacy by a bicycle in Seoul (luckily he landed on top of a parked truck); he was threatened to be executed several times during the Korean War by the communists, being a rich farmer; his ferry boat was capsized crossing a river on his way home from a trip to buy food for his family during Korean War; he was revived several times from diabetes shock in his eighties, etc. He could walk through these near fatal events which were the valley of the shadow of death because he was chosen by God. He believed whoever chosen by God would never be abandoned but his grace and love would always guide him to the green pastures and the still waters. He could not have survived these dangers without God's goodness and mercy.

He also counted countless blessings he received all through his life. He and our beloved mother raised 10 children, 3 sons and 7 daughters. They put 8 of them through college and one through technical school. He always said that "I don't know how I raised them. God helped me." He was certainly blessed for not losing even a single child when he was living through high infant mortality era and two horrible wars. He and mother not only celebrated Hwan-kap (60th birthday) and golden anniversary, but also Hoe-hon-nyun (60th anniversary) in 1991. Hoe-hon-nyun is celebrated only when they are in good health and all children are alive. It was a rare event and all his children who were spread half way around world got together first time in 32 years!

Since he was chosen by God just like Abraham and David were, he believed he met many friends, mentors and teachers who lived, shared and cared together in the Christian faith for all through his life. He met in Pearson Bible School his dear friends, Lee Chan-kap and Ahn Hi-kuk who became life long friends. Our father was always grateful for Mr. Lee who was like his older brother and mentor. Mr. Ahn visited our father many times when father was hospitalized before he passed away. They were friends for over 70 years. Their friendship lasted so long because they were friends in faith.

One of the events our father though the most grateful occurred in 1945. In early 1940's he was operating a large scale dairy farm in Manchuria (now part of China), just across the northeast border of North Korea. During 1944-1945 season, he faced several serious problems with the farm. Many cows were lost by some infectious disease and a stud bull was lost in a swamp and it was hard to send kids to school from such a remote country. The life as a pioneer farmer was rough and difficult, especially for our mother who already had six young children. So they sold the farm and moved to South Korea. That was June 1945 and they received all the household goods which were shipped via railroad in July. A month later, the war ended, and Japanese were retreating to Japan. Then all government, social and commercial structures were in chaos. Who could have timed the move so perfectly? Our father believed it was God's work. God loved him so much He gave him manifestations through the misfortunes of the farm. Our father knew it was done that way because he was chosen by God.

Believing in God he lived all his life with honesty, trust and compassion. Throughout his life he donated a lot of money to his valued causes, such as several Christian fellow organizations, poor fellow Christian friends as well as some social organizations which helped the poor. One thing he was lacking was a calculating mind. Often, his heart was bigger than mind. So he gave money away without calculating his family's needs and his family had to bear the sacrifices. But he truly, truly believed, "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of thine enemies" and "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life" in Psalm 23.

Our father was a humble man and expressed his opinion straight forward, often very undiplomatic (lacking a calculating mind) and didn't care much if some one criticize him becuase he had trust in God who knew his true mind. He always wondered why the gracious God chose him who thought himself unworthy and thanked and praised God singing his favorite hymn: "I know not why God's wondrous grace..."