by Jennifer Shin

If there are two people at our church who always wear genuine, heartfelt smiles on their faces, they are Eugene and Sallie Yang. Though they usually serve behind the scenes, those who know the couple know that they serve faithfully at church and joyfully invest in people’s lives. Sallie and Eugene have been married for over five years now, thanks to God’s sovereign plan for them and a little assistance from Sallie’s youngest brother, David, who attempted to set up a group ski trip for the two to meet. The plan didn’t go accordingly because Eugene wasn’t able to make the trip, but Sallie did get to meet him that weekend at church. The following summer, Sallie came to San Diego for an internship at Sav-On and the two got to know each other better and started dating before she left for school. Eugene and Sallie invested in this long-distance relationship and were married on September 7, 2002. Eugene stated, “When I reflect back on our initial meetings, I’m always grateful for David making the effort to introduce us. To have a guy to want to set me up with his sister – well – that was an experience I’ll always be thankful for. A few LBC folks were involved as well in the early days, like Jin and John Yi. Thanks!”

Through their marriage, they see how God has blessed them. Sallie mentioned that in being able to grow, be challenged, and learn – she now has someone to share these things with. “Eugene is such a great support, and he leads by example,” she stated, “We have a lot of fun together.” Eugene agreed, stating that it’s a tremendous blessing to have a lifelong partner by your side. “Sallie has been so supportive and encouraging,” he said, “Even when external circumstances are tough, it has been a source of great comfort knowing that I can return home to my loving wife.” Though there is a countless number of blessings that come with marriages, they admit that there are challenges that come with it as well, ranging from balancing work and playing out the role of being a wife to taking blessings in marriage for granted to fighting against focusing on themselves to reflecting on and investing in making sure their marriage is on the right track of honoring God.

It is an exciting time for this married couple as they are expecting their first child later this year. Sallie said, “I’m so very thankful and happy for this amazing opportunity to be parents. It still hasn’t fully hit me that I’m pregnant. But, I do love it. It’s exciting but also kind of scary as everything will be new for us. I know that my trust and dependence on God will greatly increase.” Eugene replied, “I’m excited too, but the reality of it hasn’t really set in yet. I still can’t quite comprehend what life is going to be like! I’m grateful though, for the example and support of the many other parents at LBC.” Let’s keep the Yangs in our prayers as they move on into the next stage in life and welcome the new addition to their family!

Fun Facts:

Sallie on Eugene: “Eugene loves golf. So, with any opportunity he gets, he’ll start practicing his golf swings with his imaginary golf club. He’ll take a few swings, and then look for a reflection somewhere so that he can see his swings. I’m thinking this is common among golfers.”

Eugene on Sallie: “In our bedroom, we have a ‘clapper’ hooked up to our lamp. You know, ‘Clap-On, Clap-Off…the Clapper!’ Well, the routine had been that right before it’s time to go to sleep, I would gaze at my lovely wife, and then clap twice to turn off the light. One day Sallie decided it would be fun to make faces at me while I was trying to turn off the light. So now, every night before the light goes out, I get to see a different funny face before it goes dark.”