by Grace Wu

How did you two first meet? When was your first date?

Jinny: We met at UCLA. I was a freshman that needed a ride to church and Peter was the church ride contact at KACF [Korean-American Christian Fellowship]. He ws the one who drove me to church. Our first official date was to a church banquet in Malibu.

For the unfamiliar, what ministries do you serve in?

Peter: I’m an elder, the church treasurer, I teach FOF, and I was a former Flock shepherd.

Jinny: I support Peter [laughs].

With Peter as an elder and serving in so many areas in church, how do you manage to spend enough time with each other and family?

Jinny: It’s been hard to balance. Something practical was when the Flocks structure changed, it freed up our Friday evenings and we made it Family Fun Night. There is no homework, no extracurricular activities, and no meetings. It actually doesn’t always happen that we get to have fun together. When Peter comes home for dinner, the kids have to go bed an hour and a half later, so it’s not that much time to spend with each other. We also have date nights.

How often?

Peter: It varies a lot.

Jinny: Sometimes even once every four months, but during the summer once a week, which is rare.

Peter: It really depends on other people’s availability.

Who are your family members at church?

Peter: Pastor John’s family; Carol [Lim] and her two girls; John and Grace [Lim]; and by marriage, Steve and Lynnie [Kim].

Peter, what is it like to go to church and serve with all of your siblings?

Peter: It’s the most wonderful blessing. Now that we’re doing this as grown-ups, it’s different from when we went to church together as children. We do it purposefully; we chose to be here, not just because our parents are making us go. There’s a duty to this because God has blessed us to be at the same church together. There’s a concerted effort to be a blessing to others because God has blessed us so much. I give credit to my mom because she always prayed that this would happen.

Did you ever think that it would actually happen?

Peter: We did! We thought it would be in LA, but it turned out to be in San Diego.

How often does the entire Lim family at LBC get together as a whole?

Peter & Jinny: Not that much actually. Every three months or so for birthdays. A lot of the times the children’s birthdays are grouped together because some are just within days of each other. [Jokes] Us adults can’t do things like that anymore.

Jinny, what is it like to raise all three girls?

Jinny: They’re so sweet, they really are. With my girls, there is so much affection shown. And stereotypically, there is a lot less roughhousing than if they were boys. They can show each other tenderness and it’s heartwarming. And because they’re girls, there’s a built-in “best friends system.” They may not realize it now, but they will as they get older. There is so much to teach them, stuff I wish I had known when I was younger. It’s a heavy responsibility.

Peter, what is it like to live with four women?

Peter: I understand females a lot better now than when I was single and that girls are normal people [laughs]. I thought I would miss out on having a boy but it’s not even a second thought.

Is having Matthew [John Lim’s son] as your nephew like having a son?

Peter: No, actually. I don’t get to know my nieces and nephew as much as I would like to because we’re all so busy serving in church.

Jinny: We’re at church to minister, not to huddle in a family clan and exclude others.