Counting Stars --

Nathan  age 4

     Hope is the best gift that one can ever receive.  This story touched me deeply when I heard it:

     Paul Shin returns to Korea after 50 years, and the memories of the past flood his mind.  He was 4 years old when his mother died and his father left him.  He lived with his grandmother until he was 6, then left as he felt he was only another mouth to feed, so he ran away.   He lived alone as a urchin on the streets of Seoul and slept at the train station.  His way of falling asleep and not thinking of his hunger was to count stars.  He missed his mother, so he would count stars.  Because he was so lonely he counted stars.  Because he felt hopeless he counted stars.  By counting stars, he began to see dreams and hopes of a future.  Then a real star came into his life.

     A young dentist (Ray Paull) in the United States army hired him as a house boy for 7 officers as a young teen.  Even though there were hundreds of other destitute youngsters available.  Ray inspired him and gave him hope.  He had never been treated with such kindness in his life.  They became friends.  Ray taught him the gospel and gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon.  Paul didn’t speak English but wanted to read the book so he learned English through a Korean/English dictionary.  He read that book 5 times the next year.

     Their relationship became as a father and a son.  In 1962 Ray decided to adopt Paul, but because of immigration delays it took over 3 years for him to come to America.  Paul had never spent a day in a classroom but wanted to be educated, with help from his new family and ward members he studied and passed the high school equivalency exams in 1956.  Soon after he went to BYU and graduated and then went to the University of Pittsburgh and received his Doctorate in history from the University of Washington.

     Despite the bitterness that could have been his, he has also found forgiveness.  Then in 1988 he served as mission president in Korea, he sought for and found his biological father, living in poverty.  After many awkward conversations, Brother Shin asked his father why he left.  With great emotion, the older man said that at the time he was being sold as a servant and could not take his son.  “I had condemned him”  Poverty is not a crime.  So he apologized to his father and said, “Pack your bags.”  He brought him to live with his family in Washington for the rest of his life.

 Speaking of the effect of the atonement in his life, Brother Shin said:  “Without that, you couldn’t forgive." I had a harsh life. The world was hostile, but the gospel has softened my heart.”

When the world says, "Give up,"
Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."
~Author Unknown