Led by His Hand: How God Brought a Korean–French Family to the United States

A Testimony of God’s Guidance, Provision, and Perfect Timing

People often ask me why we are here at this church or what made us come to the United States. There seems to be a natural curiosity—why a Korean woman married to a French man would choose to plant their family in America. The short answer is this: we are here because God brought us here. But the long answer—our journey—is a story that only God Himself could have written.

I will share it with you, not to highlight us, but to testify of God’s faithfulness.

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A Shared Calling Before We Understood It

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps” (Proverbs 16:9).

From the beginning of our marriage, my husband and I shared a deep, unexplainable desire to live in different countries. We did not fully understand it then; it was something placed gently—but persistently—inside our hearts. Our hearts aligned effortlessly in this one thing: God would one day send us out of France.

We often said to each other, “If God has put this desire in us, there must be a reason He put us together.”

So we dreamed.
We prayed.
We imagined ourselves in Canada, Australia, Korea, South Africa, Norway, New Zealand… so many places. Whenever job postings opened in those countries, we applied with excitement and expectation. But every door remained closed. Not one opportunity moved forward.

As the months turned into years, I grew frustrated. I often asked the Lord, “When will it be time for us to leave France for a new adventure? Why did You put this desire in us if nothing is opening?” Yet even in disappointment, I believed God would open a door—in His time.

But His time was not soon.
It took more than fourteen years before God opened a door—
a door we were not expecting,
not praying for,
not even wanting.

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An Accidental Click That Became a Divine Setup

Our story shifts the day my husband was researching information about a different country we were considering. While clicking through websites, he saw an advertisement for the U.S. Green Card Lottery.
Out of pure curiosity—not desire—he wanted to understand why America offered such an opportunity to foreigners. What was the purpose? Why did the U.S. do this?

The website required him to enter his name and phone number to continue reading the explanations. Without hesitation—because he had no intention whatsoever of applying—he typed in the information just to satisfy his curiosity. When the questions became too detailed, he simply closed the website and thought nothing of it.

The next day, the phone rang.
A voice claimed to be from the U.S. government, insisting that he must continue the application process “if he ever wanted to visit the United States—even as a tourist.”

My husband was shocked and irritated.
He insisted it was only curiosity, not an application.
But they pressured him, insisting he must continue.

We talked about it.
America was not on our list at all, but we did want to visit one day as tourists.
So reluctantly—and only so we would not be barred from entering the U.S.—we completed the process. And yes, we even paid the application fee.

They told us the selection results would be announced the following May.

When May 1 arrived, we checked the official website.
Our name was not selected.
We laughed it off and said, “Well, now we know never to click on Green Card websites again.”

And we moved on with our lives.
No more thinking about America.

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Five Years Later—A Phone Call I Didn’t Believe

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways… My ways are higher than your ways.” Isaiah 55:8–9

Years passed.
One ordinary day, I received a phone call from the same organization that once claimed to be from the U.S. government.

“You have been selected for the Green Card,” the person said.

I hung up immediately.

The phone rang again.
And again, the person insisted, “You have been selected.”

I replied firmly, “That is impossible. I never applied. This must be a scam.”
I hung up again.

The third call came.
The person said, “Five years ago, your husband agreed to a five-year contract. We apply on your behalf every year. This year, you were selected.”

I demanded proof.
They provided a confirmation number, and I checked it on the official U.S. government website.

There it was—
my name.
Selected.

My mind could not process it.
We didn’t want this.
We didn’t seek it.
We didn’t even pray for it.

And yet… it happened.

But then came the next surprise:
We would have to pay a significant amount of money to continue the immigration process.

I simply hung up.
We had no desire to pursue something we never wanted in the first place.

When my husband came home, I showed him the results.
We stood in disbelief.
But after praying and discussing, we decided to pursue the process—not because we were convinced, but because we wanted to see what God would do.

Several months later, at the end of October 2016, our entire family received Green Cards.

Everything happened quickly.
So quickly that we were unsure:
Was this God?
Or just a strange stroke of luck?

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A God Who Confirms the Path

“Call to Me and I will answer you, and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3

We didn’t want to step forward blindly.
One Sunday morning, on our way to church, my husband prayed silently, asking God:

“Lord, is this truly from You? Or is this just a coincidence? If it is You, please confirm it to us.”

The service ended.
Then a pastor—visiting from another church—took the microphone and said he had a Word from the Lord for someone in the room:

“There is someone here who has been asking God whether the new door opened for them is from Him or just random luck.
The Lord says: It is I. Do not doubt. Step forward. I will be with you.”

My husband and I froze.
Tears filled our eyes.
God had answered clearly, directly, and lovingly.

That day, our hesitation melted into excitement.
God had spoken.
We accepted His call and began preparing for America.

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Seattle or New York? A Battle Between Desire and God’s Direction

“What He opens, no one can shut, and what He shuts, no one can open.” Revelation 3:7

As soon as we knew we were going to the United States, we looked at the map—all fifty states laid before us like a blank canvas.

My husband dreamed of Seattle.
I didn’t oppose him, even though I didn’t feel peace about it.
When we visited Seattle, the city was beautiful, but my heart simply could not settle there. Something inside resisted.

Two months before departure, my husband came home and said:

“It isn’t fair for you to leave a job you worked so hard to get. Let’s pray again about the city. Maybe God wants to direct us differently.”

Around that time, I discovered an open position in New York with my company.
But it seemed impossible:
I had only been with the company for three months. Normally, to transfer internationally, one must work several years. But still—we prayed and decided to apply, surrendering the outcome to God.

One month before our departure, when we still had no direction, the email came.

The New York office offered me the job.

It was a miracle.
A door only God could open.

For us, it was a clear sign.
We were meant for New York, not Seattle.

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Leaving France With Nothing But Faith

“My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:19

We planned to sell our house to fund our move.
But the market was difficult.
Our home was unique, not easy for buyers.

We prayed.
We waited.
But no offer came.

Finally, the departure date arrived.
We had no sale.
No money.
No financial cushion.

We left France anyway—
with suitcases,
children,
and faith.

We trusted that if God called us,
He would provide for us on the other side.

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A Miracle in New York—A Home We Could Not Afford

When we arrived in New York, we stayed in a small hotel for a week in New Jersey.
Nearby, we found a church filled with young people. The worship was vibrant, the sermon biblical and powerful. We felt drawn to that community. So naturally, we looked for an apartment in that neighborhood.

We found a two-bedroom apartment—small compared to our home in France—but at least within our limited budget.

I called the real estate agent and asked if we could visit on that Sunday afternoon.
He hesitated—he had family plans—but finally agreed to meet us at the end of the day.

We visited the apartment and decided, despite its size, that we should take it.

Then came the shock:
The upfront cost was nearly $10,000
—two months’ security, first month’s rent, and the realtor’s commission.

We didn’t even have $1,000.

We explained honestly:
“We love the apartment… but we have no money.”

The realtor stared at us with disbelief.
Surely he thought we had wasted his time.

He left to speak with the landlord.
Minutes passed.
Maybe an hour.
We waited nervously.

When he returned, he said something none of us expected:

“I don’t know why… but I want to trust you.
The landlord agrees to let you move in without paying anything upfront.
You can pay little by little each month.”

We were speechless.
This was not man’s generosity—
this was God’s provision.

This was God making a way in the wilderness (Isaiah 43:19).

In that moment, we knew:
We were exactly where God wanted us to be.

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Looking Back: God Was Always Ahead of Us

From the very beginning, God was preparing the way:

• He planted the desire in our hearts before we understood its purpose.
• He used my husband’s curiosity—an accidental click—to write a part of our destiny.
• He opened a door at the perfect time, after fourteen years of waiting.
• He spoke clearly through a prophetic word.
• He redirected us from Seattle to New York through miraculous provision of a job.
• He sustained us when we arrived with nothing.
• He gave us a home we could not afford.

Every step of the way, God whispered:

“Do not push the doors. Stand before them. I will open them for you.”

We have learned that obedience is not about striving—
it is about trusting.
It is about believing that the God who calls also prepares the way.

And we hold onto His promise:

“I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD,
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29:11

And today, as we serve the Lord in this church, in this community, in this country, we know with full certainty:

We are here by God’s hand, for God’s purpose, in God’s timing.