Dear Friends and Family,

We hope this finds you blessed with good health and in good spirits.  It’s good to have someone like you with whom we feel that we need to send our greetings.  Often we find ourselves in the debt of love more than in the caring for others.  We thank you for your thoughts and prayer for us.

The year of 2001 has been an eventful year to us with two terrible losses and two terrific gains!

Youn’s father who had been suffering from a stroke and many other illnesses for eight years passed away in April.  We miss him dearly.  He is survived with his wife, three daughters and three sons, and their spouses; plus six granddaughters and six grandsons.  Youn being the first child, Miriam and Isaac are also the first granddaughter and the first grandson to him.  We all received unceasing love from him and Youn’s mother.    We were fortunate to take Miriam, Brian, and Isaac to Seoul June of last year before his passing.

Miriam met Brian 14 years ago in college and finally got married on July 7 this summer at Stanford Memorial Church.  Miriam is done with 25 years of schooling this year and is working for the Bancroft Pediatric Medical Group in Oakland area.  Brian is finishing up the last year of his three-year fellowship training in infectious diseases at Oakland Children’s Hospital.  The wedding was truly a blessing for the couple and our two families of the Lees and Rhews.  What a terrific gain we received, a new son.  Because of the distance we refrained from inviting many friends and relatives.  So, we beg for your understanding. 

One of Youn’s brothers, a cardiac surgeon, visited from Korea to attend the wedding with his whole family.  Two of his college age children stayed in Eugene to attend the University of Oregon American English Institute for the summer term.  We enjoyed traveling with them this summer.  Also one of Ki-Won’s brothers visited us from Korea with his wife.  It was another blessing to travel with them.

Another bit of tragic news hit us hard a couple weeks after the 9.11 national tragedy.  Youn’s youngest brother of 42 years old suddenly passed away.  Anyone who met him loved him.  He was a very kind, bright, loving husband and father of a 12 year-old son.  No words can express our sorrow of losing him.  Even in his short life, he had done a lot for this world.  He spent six years selling semi-conductor products for LG in Europe and returned to Korea to become the head of a sales team for Hynix Semi-Conductors in North American and Asian markets.  Despite the loss, we were comforted by learning of his faith in Jesus before his return to Him.

We will enjoy another blessing soon.  Isaac met Gloria seven years ago at Stanford and they will be married in Seattle on the last Saturday of the year.  Overlapping worlds of campus Christian fellowship activities and music seemed to bring them together.  Isaac has been working for Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research.  Gloria is in her third year of University of Washington School of Medicine.  We can’t thank enough to our God for giving us this new daughter in addition to a new son this year.  Again we beg for your understanding for refraining to invite friends and family because of the distance and timing.  We trust that you will bless their marriage and counsel them when the need arises.  Of course, we will welcome you if you can attend the wedding.  Just give us a call for detail.

We have concern for our mothers’ health.  Ki-Won’s mother has experienced significant memory loss and Youn’s mother has difficulty walking as well as trying to cope with the loss of two loved ones this year.

Youn is still working for Manley Administrative Services as their controller.  Ki-Won enjoys commuting to Corvallis daily.  He works for Summit Information Systems, a major software developer for financial institutions, as a strategic information analyst. 

Since the merger of the Oak Hill and Cascade Presbyterian churches, we have enjoyed making new friends.  It’s good to make new friends as well as keeping in touch with old ones.  Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."  Friends are that much important.  Since he laid down his life for us, we are his friends and we spend the Christmas with full of wonder and gratitude.  May our Lord, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace fill you and your home with new hope and blessings in the coming 2002!

With many thanks to you,

Ki-Won and Youn-Keun Rhew

With Brian and Miriam, and Isaac and Gloria