Meet the Newly Illumined: Kim Family

Sarah, Yuna (Lucia), and Kuanu (George) Kim were welcomed into the Orthodox Church through the Sacrament of Chrismation on Sunday, March 24. Here, we illumine the Kim family and their journey to Orthodoxy (as told by Sarah) and invite our readers to get to know them better!  

What brought you to Orthodoxy and the Resurrection parish?

Through homeschooling I have met and become friends with other mothers from many different faith backgrounds. Some of these women, including Carleen Armstrong, were my first exposure to Orthodoxy. I had attended Protestant churches my entire life and always longed for a deeper faith. I tried to find that in what seemed to me to be the more traditional worship services with hymns and Bible based sermons. Over the past few years, the church we were attending was becoming more and more focused on a message of love and acceptance that felt superficial. There was little support for what I would now call Theosis. When Carleen became Orthodox at around the same time as a college friend of mine, I was curious about what had drawn them to Orthodoxy. Then finally, it got to the point that I knew we couldn't return to our former church, and we would need to find a new church. That thought was overwhelming - I thought of Carleen and decided we would start our search by going to her church. 

Who/what inspired you to get involved in the parish?  
At first, the  Divine Liturgy was strange and foreign to us but it very quickly became something that we started looking forward to. Never in my life have I felt such a pull to be at church. The Resurrection parish has embraced our family and we are so glad to be home. We want to be involved.

Which of our ministries do you enjoy participating in?
Yuna and I volunteer with the Food Pantry as much as we can and I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to serve in this small way with her. We have also very much enjoyed getting to know the other women in the parish through the Women's Ministry events. Kuanu enjoys all the GOYA events and has also felt very welcomed by the other youth. 

Do you have a favorite Saint?
I very much admire Saint Monica, the mother of Saint Augustine, for her steadfast prayers and tears for both her husband and son and their eventual conversion. Kuanu
admires Saint George's courage. As for Yuna, when we looked through the two children's books we have on Saints, she asked me both times to read to her about Saint Lucia, even though the pictures in the two books were quite different. I don't know what drew her to Saint Lucia but something did. 

What’s your favorite bible verse?
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."  
‍(Proverbs 3:5-6)

"Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."
(1 John 4:4)

On a Personal Note
I was born in Canada and my family moved to Hawaii when I was 14. My husband was born in South Korea and moved to Hawaii when he was 12. We met in high school in Hawaii. Kuanu has played both piano and violin since he was 6 and Sergei Rachmaninoff is one of his favorite composers. Yuna was born in the car on the way to Alta Bates, somewhere on Telegraph Ave!

Our family is almost always together. My husband and I both work from home in the tech industry, Kuanu is home schooled, and Yuna plays at home with anyone who can spare a moment. 

I love to read and have a side business I started with five other women called Biblioguides that helps homeschooling families find quality books for their children. That takes up most of my spare time but I also love to walk and hike and be outside as much as possible. Kuanu loves cars and competes in the go-karting teen league at K1 Speed in Dublin, and Yuna enjoys puzzles, walks, and playing at the park.

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