Let’s get personal for a moment…
I’m the second of four children born to Mal Sun and Andrew R Moses, Jr., the result of the union of two very different people–and cultures.
My father met his future wife in the late 50’s during his military service in Korea. It was love at first sight and he pursued her through frequent interactions that entailed purchasing whatever he could afford and as often as he could at the PX where she worked. Persistence ultimately paid off and she reluctantly agreed to a date.
But it wasn’t all hearts and flowers in the beginning when both the U.S. Military and her family discouraged the relationship. When circumstances began to take their toll she fled to the mountains to get away from it all, but Private Moses followed–an act of devotion that unquestionably defined his feelings for her. Their petition to the Korean government and U.S. Military to marry was ultimately granted and they were wed 57 years ago on December 7, 1960, in Korea.
Their first child, Andrew Robert Moses III, was born in Seoul Korea in January, 1962. I was born in Tacoma, Washington, and my brother Brett followed in Southern Florida. Cherl, the baby of the family was born in Germany. That’s four children and three countries, a Korean mother and American father. Life was an adventure as we moved from place to place, yet remaining as close as a family could be.
In the early 70’s our family suffered a tragic loss when my younger brother Brett drowned while swimming in the Gulf of Mexico. It would be many years later when my elder brother Andy would pass away from melanoma (in 2004) leaving my sister and I as the surviving siblings. Sometimes all you can do is wonder what might have been, and yet be thankful for what still is!
Being a Korean-American and from the South made life interesting to say the least. My long-gone southern accent seems to magically return when around my Floridian relatives, so I guess you never really lose such deeply ingrained characteristics. I grew up with a stay-home mom until I was in sixth grade and a very limited understanding of American culture (that took a while to overcome) and to this day I still refer to the remote as the ‘TV changer.’ We were brought up on delicious Korean food that I won’t even try to spell. Family get-togethers often resulted in some culturally-derived albeit humorous misunderstandings, and a whole lot of great Korean and Southern cuisine.
My American Grandmother, Elsie, was always there for us no matter what continent we were living on! The way she lived and treated others was a testament to her devotion to our Lord and growing up I was told by many family members that we were very much alike. Robert, my American Granddad was a sweet and kind southern gentleman. But every now and then he would do something Grandma didn’t like, and when she said his name in a certain way while quickly approaching him it meant business–and we all knew to get out of the way. They enjoyed a long life together in Florida, passing away just 7 months apart.
My Korean Granddad passed away when my mom was 7 years old and living in Japan, and when the Japanese government forced Koreans to leave they moved back to their native country. Korean Grandmother Sin, raised 7 children on her own and never remarried. She came to the States when I was in High School and remained here until passing away in the early 90’s.
Grandma Sin barely spoke any English and I really knew little about her other than that she was a strong woman, which was evident by the way she ran her household. Mom has many of her physical traits and cooking skills as well, although Grandma made the best kimchee, a spicy, pickled cabbage with a very pungent smell, that I have ever eaten! I consider it a delicacy although many may consider it an ‘acquired taste.’
I’m an Aunt to twins born on April Fools Day. They are incredible children and already developing a strong Christian faith. Others dear to me include Jasmin, a seven year old min-pin mix and an Internet Miniature Pincher rescue. I became her adoptive mother on May 8, 2010, and we bonded instantly. Initially she didn’t like anyone else, not even the kind man who rode with me to Cincinnati to pick her up and held her on his lap rubbing her belly for the entire ride back to Cleveland. But that all changed after staying with him while I served as a missionary in Kunming China.
Jasmin has been staying with my parents since they lost their 18 year old miniature pincher ‘Harley Flash’, My parents have grown rather attached to her, and Jasmin to them, and I’m not sure when I will get her back. I do have visitation rights while visiting my parents.
My faith is central to my personal and professional life, and has compelled me to spend much of my free time in Christian ministry. A biblical verse I try I strive to live by is Matthew 22:37-39: And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself (English Standard Version).
14 years ago I accepted Christ as my savior, and for the next 2 years focused on studying and understanding salvation. In 2004 I felt a desire to serve the Christian community and began as a Sunday School helper for two-year-olds, with teaching shortly after. After a couple years I decided to follow my group of children and remained with them until they were six. During this time I also served as a leader in the 35 and older singles group at my church, and worked to create activities that would interest those 45 and younger.
Eventually I felt a new calling: to mentor juvenile delinquents, many of which were afflicted with psychiatric disabilities and mental handicaps, through True North Ministries. It wasn’t easy to reach them and every interaction presented a unique challenge. But I enjoyed my time with the dedicated missionaries that I worked among side with and looked at the experience as a time of personal growth.
For some time I longed to go on a short term mission’s trip, and in the summer of 2010 that dream finally came true when I represented Parkside in service with the Go and Love Foundation in Kunming, China.
The people and children were gracious, kind, and so very curious about all Americans. To our surprise the Principal and Vice Principle were Christians, and some of the children’s parents were even Chinese pastors. It’s important to understand that China is a closed country to Christianity, and we had to be very careful with what we said or did so the people who invited us to their school were not persecuted or harassed after we left. Yet in spite of the cultural and religious difficulties our time there was rewarding in so many ways–and an experience I will carry forever. A gallery of photos from my mission’t trip is available here.
Other personal activities include tennis, which I began playing about 5 years ago. I used to play competitively for USTA (United States Tennis Association) as a Women’s 2.5 rated player, and also as a Women’s Combo 5.5 player (where a 2.5 and 3.0 player are combined to form a 5.5 doubles court). I was the Captain of a Western Reserve Tennis and Racquet Club Women’s 5.5 Combo team, and enjoy matching up contestants for competitive play. For me it’s not only about fun and exercise, but also strategy. I see competitive tennis as 10% athletic ability and 90% strategy. I may not have won a lot of matches, but every game is an opportunity to learn about the sport and myself.
I have taught Business Communications online for two years, as an adjunct instructor at Tri-C, and my course received Quality Matters™ Recognition in 2013, which was made possible with the original course content from Danielle Budzick and help from a great Instructional Designer, MaryAnne Nestor and Artist Carl E. Nestor (carlnestor.com). My course also uses digital badges, which are rewarded after successful completion of each step of the Capstone Project. I taught to stay connected to the students I served, and to also learn from them.
To celebrate my mother’s full recovery from a brain tumor, she and I traveled in 2013 with friends to Punta Cana, where we had a wonderful time. We enjoyed the food, the sun, the weather, and the Caribbean side of the Island. I had always wanted to swim with a dolphin and I did, as you can see in this photo of me being kissed by Oreo the dolphin. We took this trip to remind ourselves that life is short, and you have to seize the moments when you can.
My Uncle Larry Moses (my Dad’s brother) recently passed away, and because of his estate, myself and his partner, now a dear friend, went with another friend on a 13 day cruise around New Zealand over Christmas this year, and ended our vacation in Sydney, Austrailia for New Years. We do this in honor of a great man, Willam Lawrence Moses, who was kind and loving to every person he met, and our only regret was he was not with us physically on this trip of a lifetime.
Now you know a little more about me. I value and enjoy my ministry work as much as my professional work. And in-between all of the activities, commitments and obligations I strive to maintain a sense of balance. I think that is truly the biggest challenge of all.