Hannah Im

hannah1Who I Am

I always preface this part with the statement - “it’s a long story!” I was born in Korea, then moved to East Africa when I was less than a year old. My parents are missionaries, so I grew up for most of my life in Nairobi, Kenya. I moved to Michigan for College in 1998 and graduated with a BA in World Politics. Along the way, I got connected with this church called HMCC and my life was turned upside down. After graduating, I spent four years as a terribly confused emerging adult, wrestling with how I wanted to live my life. I came to the conclusion that my life is integrally tied to the local church and felt called towards greater involvement in the church.  I moved to Chicago about three years ago to help out with the HMCC of Chicago church plant and to attend Wheaton Graduate school for a MA in Clinical Psychology.  Since coming here, I’ve graduated from grad school and am working in the city as a part time counselor.

Interests

  • anything that has to do with the inner work of transformation. In other words, I get pumped up when I get to participate in someones journey towards wholeness and spiritual formation.
  • If I weren’t doing what I’m doing right now, I think I’d have become a journalist of some kind. Preferably the type that gets PTSD from visiting and writing about the rogue nations of the world.

Weird Habits

  • I have to read before I sleep
  • I don’t mind wearing mismatched clothing
  • I love to take naps

Goals

  • Participating in the work of healing - whether through healing prayer, counseling, discipleship and small group ministry.
  • More specifically, and obviously because of my own background, I have a heart for missionary families and the particular struggles that they go through while on the field and during transition.

Why I Write

Two things have remained permanent in my life - God’s faithfulness and access to pen and paper. Writing is my favorite form of communication. There’s something about being able to string together words to express something that is intangible. I also like writing because I have more time to think about what I’m trying to say, so I can actually come up with things that are worth thinking about.

Favorite Reads

My all-time favorite - LOTR trilogy + the appendix. You have to read the appendix to get the whole story. Just a brilliant piece of literature!

Currently I’m reading a book by Anne Lammott called “Bird by Bird” - it’s pretty much about instructions on writing and life. I like her sense of humor and capacity to insert moral truths into her vignettes. Very clever!

Favorite Movies

  • I hope I’m not redundant by saying that I love the LOTR trilogy in it’s movie form as well. But it’s true - it really is an amazing work of art!
  • I also like the James Bond series, this is my dad’s fault because he made it a family activity to watch every James Bond movie ever made.
  • Finally, I have to say I love the BBC version of Pride & Prejudice. Anne of Green Gables is a close second.