joy in children

We started encouraging our church to come to our corporate prayer time on Wednesday nights and last night, we had six or so of the moms from our body come to pray for some specific needs. We prayed for healing, mostly, and also some freedom over the people who came for ministry. It was such a blessing to have them join us in prayer and be so honest about their needs so that we could pray for them. I really think that some kingdom ground was reclaimed last night. I sat next to one of the boys whose mom brought him for prayer. We started off with worship and I started crying as I listened to him sing the songs with his sweet little voice. When he first came, he was always grumpy and constantly bugging his mom about when they could go back home, but more and more he is filled with joy and enjoys coming to church. What a work God's doing in him!

Today, my friend Olivia came over to my apartment, then we went to visit her dog together. We were walking around and met two eight year old girls. At first, they were shy, but then we started talking in my limited Korean. Olivia told them they should give me some Korean lessons, so they did. They started with the alphabet and then wrote a word for each character. They even taught me some Hanja, Chinese characters. They were really excited to be doing this. They even gave me grades on my writing and pronunciation! Pronunciation, I got a hundred, but in writing what they told me to write, I scored a 90. It was really fun for me to get to talk with them in my simple Korean and be understood! They wanted to know when we could meet again, but I couldn't tell them anything for sure.

I came back after my impromptu Korean lesson and made some pretty tasty spaghetti for lunch, then came out to the courtyard to get online. The security guard saw me and came over. He asked what I was eating (Skittles). I told him it was candy, and he dipped his hand in to get some for himself. So funny. Now, I'm off to the post office to mail some letters before it's too late, and then to my Korean lesson with Okja.

Greg (Shannon's son) and John looking out from the top of the mountain. Aren't the leaves beautiful? (These pictures are from Laura Canada. She gets the credit for the beautiful work!) 

playing the haha game at Treavor and Alina's apartment. (We were sure to make it MSG- a ministry safe game- by putting the married couple as the link between boys and girls.) 

autumn fun

This morning, six of us went up to the top of the mountain on the edge of Suji. It took us maybe two hours to get all the way up there. At the top, there's a rock face with a thick rope to help pull yourself up and keep your footing and then you get this most magnificent view of both Suji and Suwon, a city near us. It's really excellent, especially today because the leaves are finally changing and the mountains were a mix of green, red, and orange. We made it back down for Laura and Adrielle to get to work just on time. I got to come home, take a hot shower, and make a tuna fish sandwich. Yum. I was about to fall asleep reading when JB called after he got off work to see if I wanted to go on a picture taking adventure with him. At first, we thought we'd go to a secret garden I heard about, but then we decided on the much closer central park of Bundang. It was also beautiful. We got there as the sun was going down, making the red maple leaves glow. (I'll have to get him to email me the pictures, then I'll share.) We walked through the park and then decided to go a nearby Bennigans to have an extra yummy dinner. Chicken and beef quesdillas for me and a Monte Cristo sandwich for him. Living in South Korea is actually quite the life, wouldn't you say?

hard, good questions

Tonight we had dinner and discussion with the group of people who have said they're interested in leading/serving/knowing more about our church. We had the team plus three more foreigners (that means non Korean) and we had six or seven Koreans there. One of the guys, a middle aged Korean guy who has been really gung ho about inviting people, bringing his family, and hungry for more, expressed his frustration that he can't communicate what he wants all the time and he can't always understand what we're trying to communicate. He said if we want our church to grow with Korean leadership (which we desperately do want!), we're going to have to overcome this obstacle. Donnie asked one lady, our first Korean life group leader, to share how she has overcome this, because her English skills aren't at the level where we can talk about deep things with her. She shared how she's being equipped with Shannon through another woman who can understand more. They're hard questions, but it was really good to hear him voice his frustrations, because I know he has a heart for our church to grow through Korean leadership. I know our church will grow through facing the hard questions like these, and that's exciting! Oh Lord, help us!

By the way, if you want to leave me a comment, just remember, I love it when you do! I got an email from a friend this week who said she reads my blog, but I had no idea. Leave me a comment to let me know who you are...I'm more likely to post more often when I know people are reading! :)

isn't he cute? he's only 6 years old Korean age...such a charmer 

my G3 class...I already miss them! 

me and a guy i met on my chusok trip to okja's brother's place...this guy wanted his picture taken with me because he'd never met a foreigner before 

so young and me at a teashop in insadong, the place to go for artsy and antique stuff 

religious freedom

I used to think that there weren't really any places where people couldn't worship God pretty freely like we can. Lately, I've become a lot more aware of how ignorant I was. Check out this article to read about North Korea and other countries where the Christians really need our prayers.

new place

I moved in to my new place last Wednesday, but until yesterday, it didn't really feel like I lived there. I had to work on Thursday, so I had to go back in to Seoul. On Friday, my first day off, I met some friends really close to my old apartment for lunch, then spent most of the afternoon reading and people watching at Seokchon Lake, the spot where I used to go jogging. I hadn't gone there very often to just sit and enjoy the weather and the people, so that was fun. Friday night, I went to study Korean with my friend and then met some more friends to shop at Dongdaemoon, the clothes mall that stays open until 5am! We left at 1am and it was still pretty crowded. Saturday was life group, so I got back on the subway again to head into the city. Afterwards, I bought some fabric for curtains to hang up over my big window, then came back to Suji to watch a movie on Adrielle's new DVD player. Sunday was really nice, because I was already in Suji for church.

Today is my first really free day, and I am totally enjoying it. I went for a little jog around my new place, made some coffee, cut out my curtains and took them to the dry cleaning place to have the seams sewn (no sewing machine, or I could have done it, but it's not too bad to pay a few bucks a curtain and get someone else to do it). Now, I am writing this post at a PC bang (literally PC room - mostly used for people who like to play fancy computer games). I might wait to get internet at my apartment until January, since I'll be gone a lot during November and December.

My new apartment is really great. It has two rooms, sort of. When you first walk in, there's a little bedroom area (with no door, but still separate) on the left. There's a little hallway with the kitchen on one side and the bathroom on the other, and then there's the living room. There's a nice big window at the end that looks out over a creek. There's not a closet (that's pretty normal for Korean houses), so I didn't have a place to put my clothes except for folded up on shelves, but I prayed that I could find one in the trash and I did! God even provided one in the trash at my apartment complex, so there was no trouble in getting it. I asked Clint to help me when he got home on Saturday night, and I was so excited when he and Laura appeared with it at my doorstep! I didn't even have to bring it up. Wow. Such great friends. I'm still praying for a bed and a microwave, among other things, to finish out what I need. God is such a great provider!

there's a last time for everything

Today was my last day to have to travel to Suji for church. That's a good thing! Jason helped me move a few more things over to store at Laura's for the next few days until I get the key to my apartment on Wednesday. I still have too much stuff left here, unfortunately. I am at that point where I'm wondering how I ended up with so much stuff. This happens every time I move. I just came to Korea with three suitcases (one brought by a friend who came ahead of me). And now, it's taking at least three carloads to get it all to my new place. Wow. Is that a blessing or a curse?

Tonight, we had a birthday party for our good friend Jey at Treavor and Alina's house in Suji. I brought out two brownie mixes and a box of Velveeta and Ro-tel that I brought from the States. I think my Dad brought me the Velveeta and Ro-tel when he came. They were all big hits. American food usually is a hit - with both the Koreans and Americans. Alina had made a pin the tail on the donkey game and we played Cranium, too. Fun times. With friends like these, sometimes it's hard to remember we're in a foreign country! (The Koreans who come probably feel that they enter a foreign country when they come to parties with all these Americans and Canadians!)

Tomorrow, I am having a last get together with a few girls at my apartment. It's getting pretty empty and boring looking, but it'll be fun to have one last fling here before I set sail for Suji. I'm gonna cook my two Korean specialties - doenjangjjigae and dduk bokki. Yum!

gonna miss this place

This morning, I was out the door early to be at the immigration office all the way across Seoul by 9 am. I made it in plenty of time - way early, in fact. The office manager from work met me there and we got whatever we had to do done. I really don't even know what had to be done. I just had to show them I wasn't staying in the country on the same visa for longer than 30 days. When I come back from Hong Kong, I'll be on a tourist visa again.

I came back in time to get a few things done at work before the crazy Friday schedule began. On Fridays, we have to work back to back classes (just 5 minute breaks in between each one) for six hours. It's not the best day of the week, but today I had a different perspective, since it was my last one. Yay! By the end of the day, I was hungry, as I usually am on Fridays. I told Jason I wanted some good food and he suggested Chili's. There is one just a short bike ride from where we work/live. I rode by it today on the way home from immigration and a stop at the bank and thought about getting takeout for lunch (since I won't be living so close for much longer!), but decided against it. So, of course, when Jason said that, I jumped at the chance. I had a yummy cheddar ranch burger and ate the whole thing with most of the french fries. Mmmm.

My friend Okja called and said they were meeting to hang out near Namdaemoon market, so I met them there after dinner. They were just finishing dinner, then we went to share some dessert at a waffle house. I didn't know there was such a thing as a waffle house in Korea! I'll have to go back there when I'm hungry. We walked around Namdaemoon together, then went to a norebang (karaoke room). I sang my first whole Korean song! I'm so proud. That's a great way to impress your Korean friends, by the way. The Americans usually stick to the American songs. Actually, I can barely sing those, so singing a Korean song is a big accomplishment. The plan was to go to a bathhouse to spend the night, but we decided we'd rather each go home instead and were pretty sure the subway would get us all home before it shut down, so we decided to chance it. We did all make it home. I rode my bike home from the subway, around the park, and there were still a fair number of people, including a group of women in their upper 60s at least, doing their exercises at 1 am! Amazing.

I'm gonna miss being able to go join some friends at a moment's notice in the heart of Seoul and leave at 12:15 and still make it home by public transportation. I'm gonna miss Seokchon lake at night and being able to go whenever I want. I'm gonna miss the city life of Seoul, but I'm gonna gain a lot by moving to Suji, being a more integral part of the church community, and living close to the people I want to create more community with and minister to. Thanks, God, for the great experiences in both places!

wonderful

This morning, I rode my bike to the subway station. I was on my way to pick up my plane ticket to Hong Kong so I can show it to immigration tomorrow. They are taking away my E2 visa since I won't be teaching English anymore and I have to show them that I am leaving the country in 30 days. Good thing I had planned to do that anyway! Anyhow, I was stopped at a crosswalk and a middle aged guy comes up to me and says "You are very wonderful." I just laughed a little and said thank you. Then, he asked where I was from. I told him America. He said "America is a strong country. You are strong woman." I was thankful the light changed then, but I was really happy to have a fun reason to smile.

big changes!

Today, finally, my school made a decision to hire someone to take my place. My last day is Wednesday - one week from today. They have been dragging their feet on this for a while and have told me a bunch of different stuff, mostly in the span of the past three days, about when I can leave. I really enjoy my kids there, but it was getting to the point where I had my eyes set on moving and being job free so that I can focus more on ministry and relationships in Suji. Plus, I think they got a really good guy. He's a connection I made through NKmissions.com. He wants to volunteer at a school for North Korean defectors while he's here in Seoul. I would also like to do that if my schedule permits now that it'll be more free, but I don't want to get overcommitted again for sure!

On Monday night, I signed a lease for my new apartment in Suji. It's probably about the same size as my current apartment, but it does have a separate bedroom area, so it seems a little nicer. It comes with a washing machine (under the stove) and a fridge, so that's excellent that I won't have to buy those things. I will have to buy some necessary things like a pot, a pan, a clothes drying rack, etc. I was just remembering tonight in prayer that when I lived in Dripping Springs, I needed a few things as a new homeowner. I made a list of the things I needed/wanted around the house and prayed over it. Not too long after that, Joe Gonzales, a friend from church, offered to give me a lawnmower. That just happened to be one of the things on my list! (I told him the story about how he was an answer to prayer and I remember him saying "Well, what else is on that list, Lela?) I love how God works. So, I was thinking about all the things I need as I move and I was just prompted to make another list and pray over it. I know God will provide, because He has a history of doing that!

Well, of course I'm making the time to update my blog when I really have a million other things to do. I need to pack, pack, pack. I took a small load in Jason's car tonight to store at Laura's apartment, just two floors above me. My plan was to be ready for the moment when they told me I could go, but I'm not so much there (other than mentally). So, I'll sign off for now. Tonight is packing and tomorrow morning is calling my real estate guy to get a move in date fixed and more calls to travel agents to try to get a good price on a ticket to Hong Kong in November for the conference I'm going to. Yay! Fun times.

vacation

This week, we (as in most of Korea) had Monday-Wednesday off for Chusok. At the last minute, a group of six of us decided to cram in one car and take a short trip to Seorak mountain, one of the most famous tourist sites in Korea. We left Sunday night after church and drove for 3 or 4 hours to get there. We found a really reasonable place to stay for only around 8,000 won apiece. We had a room for guys and a room for girls, each with their own bathroom and bathtub! Wow. We got up the next morning, found a convenience store for some green tea and crackers for breakfast, and took off to the mountain. We rode the cable car up and then climbed the rest of the way to one of the peaks. They even had a little stand at the top of the rock peak where you could purchase an engraved medal for making it up to the top! Seorak mountain is near the beach, so after we ate lunch and saw a nice waterfall, we spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach where the guys rode ATVs. We ate dinner at a restaurant overlooking the beach, then headed back home.

On Chusok day (a little like our Thanksgiving day), I got up early to meet my friend at the train station. We rode for about three hours to meet her brother in a little country town. We visited a natural mineral spring and an underground cave (like a mini Carlsbad Caverns) then ate some yummy sashimi for dinner. We spent the night at a prayer mountain retreat center, near where her brother works. It's a pretty cool story. He went out to the country ten years ago because he was chronically sick. He thought the fresh country air and water would do him some good. He ended up meeting Jesus there, and was healed. He's been there ever since, working at the hospital at the bottom of the hill from the prayer retreat center. Staying at the retreat center was an experience within itself. The routine there is to get up at 4:30 and go to corporate prayer. They take their prayer pretty seriously and don't hold back a bit. I was awakened at that time by the yells of prayer and worship. That went on until 7am, when everybody breaks for breakfast (this morning, breakfast consisted of stewed eggplant, rice, and beansprout soup!) After breakfast, most people take a nap, then get up again at 10 for more prayer and worship. They have 4 services a day, I think.

I got back Wednesday afternoon and was so hungry for some Western food that I caved in and went to Burger King for a Whopper with cheese set. I usually don't get tired of Korean food, but a few days of nothing but that straight for breakfast, lunch, and dinner got to me. That Whopper was so tasty! If I lived out there in the country, I could really lose some weight and learn Korean much faster!