awww...

I just ran across this very fun post and picture - about dating and finding the one.
Check it out if you're a bit mushy.

new phone!

After a year of using a HUGE PDA phone (it might sound cool, but it was an old model, and actually quite ugly...I had a friend who called it the dinosaur), I got a new phone yesterday. It's a normal size folding phone, and it has a mirror on the front. That makes it really Korean. There are mirrors everywhere you go in Korea, so it makes sense to need another one on the front of your cell phone. It also has a camera built in, so I can now participate in the traditional Korean custom of taking pictures of myself on the subway, or maybe even taking pictures of other people. My friend Koh helped me. He's the translator for the messages at our church. He was great. We went to Techno Mart, a huge 10 or so story mall with all the electronics you ever wanted. We went from booth to booth, comparing prices, and I finally decided. Yay.

Last night, my friend Kelli had a birthday party at Sizzler. It was so tasty. They have a buffet with a taco and burrito station that was near heaven. We went bowling afterward and took up four lanes -that was after some people went home! One guy, who just got to Korea a week or so ago, said "Who would have thought? I come to Korea and on the weekend, I go to Sizzler and then bowling!" It was a lot of fun.

kimchi

Jim Bob called tonight to tell me the news - he ate a lot of kimchi tonight for dinner...and enjoyed it. I, in turn, had equally bad news. I bought my first bag of kimchi from the grocery store tonight. It's one thing to eat it when you go out. It's quite another to keep it in your own fridge. It gets worse - when I got off the phone with JB, I wanted to eat some, so I cut the bag open, got the chopsticks out, and started eating it alone. I don't think Koreans do that. They always eat it with rice, at least. I'm sure it won't be a regular craving...I hope it won't be! I told JB we might need to consider going to KA - Kimchi Anonymous.

prayer

We have a group of people that meets together on Wednesday nights for prayer. At first, it was really small, sometimes just me or just me and JB and maybe someone else. This summer, Treavor and Alina started coming and they brought us a change from CD worship. That's been so excellent. Now, most of the team usually comes and sometimes someone else will join us. I was just thinking this morning (we met last night) how good it is to agree with others in prayer. We have a prayer list to guide us, and also remind us through the week, what the needs of the church are. It's so good to have people to relax and worship with and then pray what's on your heart with. It's so good to speak your own prayers and allow them to be woven with the prayers of the others in the room, and woven into God's heart. If we're hearing God, then the threads we pray are from the warp and woof of God's heart to begin with. It's so good to be able to pray with others for the country of North Korea, for the passion of our church body, and to minister to those who are in need of God's healing, His protection, His covering and touch. God, thank You for providing a place like that for us...will You continue to grow us in You that we can hear Your heartbeat clearer and respond to You?

God is love

"Is it true that God is love to me as a Christian? And does the love of God mean all that has been said? If so, certain questions arise.
Why do I ever grumble and show discontent and resentment at the circumstances in which God has placed me?
Why am I ever distrustful, fearful, or depressed?
Why do I ever allow myself to grow cool, formal, and halfhearted in the service of the God who loves me so?
Why do I ever allow my loyalties to be divided, so that God has not all my heart?"

That's good stuff from J.I. Packer's book Knowing God, the end of Chapter 12: The Love of God

last week's recap

Had a good week last week. Tuesday is my life group. We now how have three life groups meeting at Whoever coffee shop (great name, huh?) in downtown Suji. This sorta happened without us planning it, but maybe we'll build a good relationship with the people of Whoever. Whoever they are. A few new people came and we started looking at a chapter a week from The Purpose Driven Life. I haven't read it before. It's pretty popular here in Korea, too, and one of the girls who comes wanted to read it together. At that rate, it'll take almost a whole year, but I guess that's OK. Afterwards, some of the girls from my group met up with the guys and went to the bathhouse. It was our first time to go in a while. Always a fun time!

Wednesday night, we have prayer together for the church. Most of the team comes and Treavor and Alina, our new friends who have started leading worship at church, come too. It's really good to have all those people there. This week, one of the faithful women from church came, too. It's so good to have all those people (last week it was 10 people) come together and agree. Not too long ago, it was just me and Jim Bob, or a really small group.

Thursday, I went to Once Upon a Blue Moon, a jazz bar, with my friend So Young. I hadn't seen her in about a million years, so it was good to catch up. We got to meet the singer, who wanted help understanding the lyrics she was singing, so that was fun.

Friday, I rented my first two DVDs in Korea. I was in the mood to stay home, order pizza, and watch movies, so I took advantage of a free Friday night to do it. I watched The Last Samurai and cried. Such a good movie. I also rented a Korean movie that won awards at the Cannes Film Festival, Old Boy, but it wasn't a good movie. Too bad.

Saturday was life group at Kyungwon, then lunch, a little shopping for a phone (no purchase yet) and then barbecue at Jim Bob's. This barbecue was so good because the weather has been nice and cool and lots of friends came over. Fun times.

Sunday, had lunch with Alina, then church and dinner. Some of the guys decided they wanted to walk around Seokchon Lake, the lake near where Jason and I live. So, they came to our building and we walked around with them. While doing that, one of the guys got a call from a girl another one of them likes, and we were asked to join them at a nore bang (karaoke room). We did, as a favor, and it was fun, but again, we Americans were outclassed by the seasoned veterans of the norebang. They all sing so well. Someday, I am going to go by myself just to practice so I can be in their league. :)

Today, a full day of work, and now I'm just hanging out at home. I have a lot I need to be doing, though, so I guess I'll go now. I just felt the need to update you on what you missed last week!

The Aquariums of Pyongyang

I just finished reading The Aquariums of Pyongyang, by Kang Chol-Hwan. It's an absolutely necessary book to read, in my opinion. I sat, glued to the pages, for the better part of this evening, to finish it. It's about a boy who was sent to a North Korean prison camp at age nine because his grandfather spoke out against the government. He spent 10 years there, and was then released. He had to escape North Korea eventually because he was under suspicion of listening to South Korean radio in his home. Reading his first-hand account really changed me. I went to my map of Korea when I read the last page and started praying like I haven't in a while. Lord, I want more passion for the lost and those who have so little chance to hear about You! The author says:

"We liked listening to the Christian programs on the Korean Broadcasting System. The message of love and respect for one's fellow man was sweet as honey to us. It was so different from what we were used to hearing. In North Korea, the state-run radio and television, newspapers, teachers, and even comic strips only tried to fill us with hate-for the imperialists, the class enemies, the traitors, and who knows what else!"

I am just reminded that I have so much to give as a Christian, even the simple message of love and respect is powerful - even to people in such dire circumstances. God, thank You! I have that and so much more to give.

It started raining this afternoon and it's still going. I really like it. I have my air turned off and my windows open for the first time in a month or two. It's a little hot, but nice to hear the rain and strangely nice to hear the sounds of city community that I can't hear with the windows closed. I talked to my boss again today, and she still doesn't want to let me go early, but she does understand what I feel is a calling to spend more time in Suji, close to the church, and learning Korean at a nearby university. She started crying when she told me these things and said she had heard I have a heart for North Korea. She wondered how that can be true for an American when so many Koreans don't even think about North Korea. So, pray with me that God will provide someone to take my place at my job. I'm believing that He will.

one year here!

I realized today that I passed the one year mark yesterday. The rest of the team passed it about a month ago, and I am finally with them in saying "I've been here a year!" when someone asks (which is a common question when you meet someone.) I celebrated my one year anniversary (without knowing it) by working from 11-6:30 (Fridays are the longest days), then making myself some dinner and cleaning up the apartment, then reading a bit before going to bed. I consider nights spent at home to be valuable, because they don't come so often.

Today, we had the university life group. Tonight was Treavor's birthday. Treavor and Alina came to work with the homeschooling section of NCD and have been coming to church with us. They recently began leading worship at church, which has been SUCH a blessing. We finally have a worship leader! So, we got to celebrate Treavor's birthday at Donnie and Shannon's apartment, hung out for a while there, and then Alina gave us all coins to go play arcade games at a local arcade. I'm not much of a video game person, but it was fun to see everybody getting into the games. I even played a few myself. Good times!

our friend jey and the moon 

junseok let us make a sand girl out of him on the beach 

breakfast in the condo - orange juice, rice, and kimchi jjigae, a korean stew! 

a traditional restaurant where we ate naengmyon - cold noodles 

Jason and Johnny got old man hats! 

hottest summer

People are saying it's the hottest summer for Korea in 10 years. I just looked at the highs and lows, and it's as hot as in Austin, but there is a big difference here. First, I think it's a little more humid. Second, air conditioning has a different meaning here. There is no such thing as central air. Some apartments do have air conditioning, but if they do, it's a wall unit or perhaps a standing room unit. My apartment (thank You, Lord) has an air conditioner. I used to just turn it on to get cool, then I would open the windows to get the air flow going in the evening. Now, i just come home, turn it on full blast, and then turn it down when all my sweat dries and I am cool. At school, we have air conditioning units that are shared between rooms using a sort of vent system. That means the first room gets cool and the second room gets sorta cool. When you go out in the hall, though, it's like stepping into your car that's had the windows closed on a hot summer day.

Monday was the last day of summer. In Korea, you're supposed to eat watermelon and/or chicken (especially the traditional chicken and ginseng soup) on the first, middle, and last days of summer. I haven't obeyed that on any of the three days. Maybe that's why I sweat so much. There have been a few breaths of fresh air, though - on vacation, we got away from the city and it was so nice and cool at night. On the mountain on Saturday, it was nice and cool, too. I can't wait until fall!

saturday fun

Yesterday after life group, we ate our usual late lunch together and then decided to watch I,Robot in one of the labs at the university. Most of the guys who come to the group are electrical engineering majors (or graduates who still have access to the lab). They apparently do this often. They borrowed a projector, hooked it up to a computer, found a blank whiteboard "screen" and set us up with some chips and cokes for the screening. I justified watching it (it was my second time) by reading the subtitles and writing down Korean words and phrases I learned as I watched. One of their professors even walked in while we were watching and encouraged us to have a good time. Much different than what would happen at a university in America, I think, in the same situation. They even have a mattress and a rice cooker in the lab - for some, it's like their home!

After we finished watching, four of us drove (in Jason's car) most of the way up a nearby mountain at dusk, then walked the rest of the way and sat on an old fortress wall to take in a beautiful view of the south eastern section of the city at night. We even got to see a fireworks show at the amusement park near my house from where we were. It was pretty cool. The air up there was fresh and cool and we could even see the stars. It was excellent. We ended the night with a late dinner of samgyopsal - pork cooked in front of you with onions, kimchi, and beansprouts warmed up on the edge of the "grill." Mmmm. The Korean guys commented that we Americans were eating more kimchi than they were. :)

some new pictures

I got Courtney to burn me the rest of her pictures onto CD and I finally got around to looking at them. Enjoy a few below from the team dinner we had at Korea house - with a buffet of Korean food and a performance featuring many kinds of Korean dance. Now that Courtney and the summer team are gone, I am going to have to start taking my own pictures again!

a traditional korean drum dance with the hat streamer dancing man 

crane dance at korea house...i personally thought this crane costume was way cool 

the performance at korea house 

a lantern at korea house 

North Korea says South Korea “kidnapped” defectors

This came from an intercessory prayer update email.

Two South Korean chartered flights carried more than 450 North Korean refugees, who had been holed up in a Southeast Asian nation after escaping their impoverished homeland, to South Korea on Tuesday and Wednesday, July 27, 28.It was the biggest ever mass single defection case reported since the 1950-53 Korean War.The South Korean government has declined to identify the nation from which the refugees where airlifted but activists involved in the defection said they came from Vietnam.

Up to 300,000 North Koreans are said to be in hiding in China according to some estimates and hundreds are believed to be gathering in various Southeast Asian nations. Most are awaiting a chance to reach South Korea.About 5,000 North Koreans have defected to the South since the Korean War ended in 1953. Most have done so in the past three years. More than 1,000 have reached South Korea so far this year.

how a bike ride changes a mood

Back to work today after a much needed week off, and I was irritated at the end of the day. I wasn't irritated at the kids at all, but just about being there, I guess. I am looking forward to getting out of my contract early, but the problem is that I haven't brought it up with my boss yet. I am waiting for gumption on my part and the right time. Things are complicated by intensive session starting today, so things were busy, and two people quitting in the last month because of people in charge not treating them right. It's hard for me to say I want to quit when they're already going through so many changes. Another complication is a communication barrier between me and my bosses. Overall, it's a good place to work, but I need and want to get out because I need to move back to Suji and I want to study Korean more.

I went to Burger King after work cause I was hungry and it's one of the closest and easiest options without much hassle. I got a Tex-Mex whopper, which turned out to be just a whopper with some tabasco sauce, but it was good. I came home and fell asleep reading a book online written by a guy who lived for a year in Pyongyang, North Korea in the 80's. I woke up after a short nap and read another chapter about his long, cold, lonely winter. Even though it's the middle of a hot, humid summer here and I'm not really lonely, I started to feel sad reading it, so I decided I needed to get out. As soon as I got out on my bike, I felt a million times better. I rode around the lake to my bank to get some cash and took in the happy couples, the sweet smell of trees and water, and the liveliness of Koreans out at night. I watched a dog get caught on the low picket fence he was trying to jump over and laughed with his owner, passed by a man attempting to increase his candy cart sales by wearing traditional Korean costume and beating a drum, and listened to the screams of kids at the amusement park in the middle of the lake. Good times.

community

It's Sunday night and I have to start intensive classes in the morning at work, but I am feeling refreshed for some reason. It's a combination of a little vacation and having some good prayer time last night, I think. I got to have dinner with Cecilia Belvin tonight, to talk about the direction of the prayer ministry here, so that was really good too. God has been giving me more pictures of how He wants to build a community here in Cypress Church Korea. I seem to get some kind of picture every time we have corporate prayer. Cecilia said tonight that she would love to see our church build a community that is a refuge from the busy, fast paced world of South Korea...and that is the same thing that God has been teaching me.

I have been reading Nehemiah, and didn't really make the connection of rebuilding the wall with the call to community until my walk home from the subway station tonight. When Nehemiah was called to lead the rebuilding of the wall, worship at the temple in Jerusalem had been reestablished (Ezra tells us this), but the walls, the community, had not been restored. Even though we have worship in the church, and it is pleasing to God, He wants us to rebuild the walls of community, of safety, of belonging. In order to do this, we are going to have to be unified and we are going to have to be rooted in prayer (Nehemiah 4:9) and ready to do a little battle, too (Nehemiah 4:17). Thanks be to God that He calls us to wholeness, to belonging in Him, and He will supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus! (Philippians 4:19)

camp, then vacation

I haven't been online so much the past week. From last Saturday to Wednesday, we had the first annual English camp at two different locations, both schools who let us use their facilities for free. Everything went really well. We had a great time with the kids and the parents kept telling us how glad they were that we were there. Wednesday night, we had a little performance for the parents and then a few of us took off on a little vacation! We had to say goodbye to the girls who came for the summer before we left on vacation. They left on Friday.

So, Scott, Jason, six Korean friends and me went to stay in one of the guy's family condos in a resort town not too far from the beach. It was really great. We left as soon as we could after camp ended on Wednesday night. While the rest of the gang was waiting on us, they went shopping for groceries for the three days we were there. They bought a few things from the bakery for us Americans, but most of the food money was spent on a 5kg bag of kimchi, a bag of rice, meat for grilling Korean style, water, and a few snacks. We were really amazed when we saw the huge bag of kimchi, but we ended up eating almost all of it - it was served for breakfast and dinner (we ate lunch out). The first night, we were getting ready to cook the meat, so somebody opened the fridge. I walked in the room and smelled something - I thought they had started cooking already, and I said "Something smells good!" Well, it turned out to be just the smell of the open kimchi bag in the fridge. Jason and Scott made fun of me for that. It is a little scary to me that kimchi smells and tastes so good now! I told Jason I might be addicted, but he said that since I still haven't bought any for myself yet, I definitely have nothing to worry about.

The first day, we went to a national park "cattle ranch." It was really pretty - not anything like a Texas ranch -lots of green, rolling hills. The best thing about being there, though, was to watch our friends be so picture happy. They took lots of pictures of each other, and then asked "how did I look in that one? is it ok?" The funny thing was they took a lot of pictures of themselves - even though there were many of us available to take pictures, they chose to hold the camera up in front of their face and take their own picture - sometimes many, until they got one they were satisfied with. After the ranch, we went to the beach for a few hours. That was a lot of fun. We went to another beach the second day that was a little prettier and a little less crowded.

This morning, we got up and packed up. We had kimchi jjigae (kimchi soup) for breakfast. All of us Americans even ate it, but maybe not as much as the Koreans did. That's a pretty monumental step - to be able to eat kimchi, especially kimchi jjigae for breakfast. We took off towards Seoul and stopped at a Buddhist temple along the way. It was really crazy for me to watch people bowing devotedly to the huge gold Buddha statue and then offer money to it. Wow.

Tonight, Jim Bob had a little barbecue for the team on the deck/roof of his apartment. It was really excellent to just hang out with everybody and relax. It was our first barbecue in Korea! Meat is pretty expensive here, and barbecue pits are hard to come by, but JB worked it all out and it was a really great time. Bob and Cecilia Belvin are here. They joined us and we got to pray together some at the end. It was excellent.

Now back to real life. As Jason and I rode back into Seoul tonight, I was a little sad about coming back to the city, but I really do like it here. It's just that a little vacation in the country with all the great scenery can spoil you!