The post you've been waiting for...picture post!

Yes, its true! I have finally taken some pictures of my classes, the kids, and a few random shots of Korea. I have no idea how to put them on here. We'll see how it goes. Here is the link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2028510&id=1404165545&l=6fdaa1876a

So, to update on the news. I have pretty much been doing the same things for the past two weeks as I was doing before. Teaching, Korean class, church, tutoring at the orphanage, etc.

In Korean class, I now have a vocabulary of about 30-40 words and some conversational phrases. Interesting tidbit; in Korea they have this saying "Please be nice to me" which you might use with a superior at work or to someone you meet because you're a foreigner. Transliterated it sounds something like "jal bu tak heyo". The girl I was working with laughed when we learned it and said she had never used that phrase before. She said the younger generation didn't use it and if I were to use it, "use ONLY with older people." I was told on Saturday by at least two people that my accent sounded very good and that I seemed to be doing well at learning a language. I hope they're right!

Teaching is going well. I now have two more classes I'm teaching. One is a special class on Monday nights for two higher level girls and the other is a brand new beginner class. There are three little girls ages 6 and 7 in it and I got the opportunity to give two of them their English names so I named them after Erika and Hannah, my sisters. They are so much fun to teach.

Saturday the 18th was tutoring day and I tutored the same little boy named Dong Min. He's really quite funny and has a great attitude. We had a birthday cake for two of the kids and then played some baseball, soccer, and football with them afterwards. This coming Saturday we are taking the kids swimming at a rec center and then the next Saturday we are taking them to a baseball game. It should be good times.

This past Saturday, I went to Outback Steakhouse (yes, they have one here!) with some people from church to celebrate the birthday of one of the church leaders. After a shockingly westernized lunch, four people of the younger, single set and I decided to go downtown and hang out. We ended up going to an arcade for awhile and playing lots of games and then Sam, the native Korean guy with us who spoke phenomenal English, asked if we wanted to go billi-bowling. I had never heard of it before but all the others had played so we went so a place called Billi-bow's for some action. It turned out the game was a combination of billiards and bowling. The alley was up on tables and you shot the billiard sized ball with a cue stick down the alley to try and knock over the miniture bowling pins. It was lots of fun but frankly, I didn't show much of a knack for it. We also played darts and I fared better there. All in all, it was good times and good fellowship.

Well, I will wrap this up. Next post should be less boring. I have a few days of vacation coming up and I am planning on going hiking on at least two mountains and going to an amusement park. There is also a very tall tower in the park that has a rotating restaurant at the top and a bungee jump of sorts for those so inclined. I think I might just do it for the experience.

Till next time!

Bigah Sue

There is a little girl
Her name is Bigah Sue
Her eyes and smile capture
When she looks at you

Always up to mischief
Always on the run
But if and when you catch her
She'll make your life so fun

With eyes of sky
And hair of corn
And skin as fair
As the day she was born

Some people love her
Who've never even met her
And some people wonder
At our luck to get her

But I know it was not
"Luck" that stepped in
It was God and His plan
That made her my kin

The day she was created
A huge smile was what He wore
As He looked at the clay in His hands
And saw something so much more

"Oh my child" He breathed
And then He laughed with delight
"You will be a joy to create
A magnificent sight"

"A heart as innocent
And pure as gold
With a sprinkling of cheekiness
To keep them on their toes"

"A smile full of sunshine
That lights an entire room
And enough love in your heart
To pierce the darkest gloom"

"I will keep from you the knowledge
Of mens' cruel greed and malice
And through you bring the world
Affection without prejudice"

"The world will call you defected
Unfit to live or be born
But they cannot see you are perfected
Unblemished and untorn"

"I will place you in a family
To flourish and to grow
And as they wait for you
They cannot even begin to know"

"The love you will give
The joy you will be
The blessings you will bring
To their happy family"

"These are the gifts I give
For you are MINE
And you are special
An image DIVINE"

So with an almighty flourish
On July 27th, 2003
He fashioned the life
By spoken decree

And I'm so glad He did
Such a miracle that day
A little sister to love
To laugh and to play

So Happy Birthday from Sessa
My little Bigah Sue
You are my white-haired angel
And I will always love you.

Pancakes and Memories

If you want to get nostalgic in a hurry, just move to South Korea and make yourself some buttermilk pancakes with strawberry preserves...at least this is what I have found works anyways. I went to the store tonight and purchased all the necessary ingredients for pancakes (which was NOT an easy task let me tell you). I just wanted to sink my teeth into some good old-fashioned hotcakes smothered in lots of maple syrup. Well, I found out that maple syrup is impossible to find here so I settled for strawberry jam, which in my opinion, is just as good anyhow. SO when I got to my apartment, I whipped up some batter, measuring out by eyeball as we don't have measuring utensils here. It turned out looking pretty good so I poured the cakes and got cooking. I sat down with a plate of strawberry covered cakes minutes later, itching to taste them melting in my mouth. But I was not prepared for what hit me at the first bite. Don't misunderstand. The pancakes were awesome (not to brag, just stating facts) but it was the smell and taste triggering memories that knocked me for a loop. I just sort of froze for a second with my fork in my hand as I remembered.

See, pancakes with strawberry jam is what my daddy made for me the first morning I started driving for UPS and also what he made the first morning I started college. And he also made me french toast the morning I left for Florida. I don't know if he remembers those mornings but I do. I know it seems like nothing much but I know that my dad was showing his love for me by making me a good breakfast. I even remember him saying the morning of UPS, "You need to eat cause you're gonna need all the energy you can get" and I was too nervous to eat much of anything. My dad has always been an early riser and often makes breakfast on Saturdays for the family. I realize now that its just one of the many ways he shows love to us. He doesn't have to do that and he didn't have to do it for me on those occasions but he did because he loved me and wanted the best for me. Making breakfast was just a way for him to express that. So, thanks Daddy, for breakfast and for loving me enough to make me pancakes at 5:30 in the morning. I love you more than I can say!

THE DAEGU NEWS BULLETIN "A rather blustery day"

Annyong! Today is very windy, with a smattering of sprinkles and general cloudiness. However, if it wasn't so blustery, the air would be be totally saturated with moisture. As it is, the mugginess is bearable. That's it for the weather report, now for the top headlines!

Well, it appears not much is happening at the moment besides the usual weekly activities of teaching, Korean lessons, and church. Today's top story involves the college and career Korean worship service. The sermon, while not understood very well by one worshipper in particular, was excellent and in summary was about how our lives are changed by Jesus Christ and that through difficult circumstances, we should be mindful of that change and praise Him. Regretfully, a foreigner who was in attendance came down with a headache and could not participate in small groups afterwards. In the weekly news, 3 classes were given oral tests by their Mingugin teacher and all did very well. And now, time for sports!

In the sports world, a few new developments are taking place. First, a certain foreign teacher was spotted this morning at Duryu Park taking advantage of some newly purchased roller blades on the skating area. Then, she was seen getting in a 2.5 mile run afterward. All of this activity in the extra humid weather produced an enormous amount of sweat but it did not seem to deter that teacher. In the coming week, it is rumored she will start Taekwondo lessons again. It is also known that this teacher intends to find out how to become a member of her in-apartment gym so as to take advantage of the very nice weight equipment. And as we leave the world of sports behind, we will now enter the world of the arts.

Topping the news of the arts is the recent acquirement of new skills by a guitar-playing teacher. She had now learned a new song which in difficulty, has proved somewhat of a challenge to both strumming and finger work. However, now that she has worn new blisters on her fingertips by constant practice, the song and the confidence gets better every day. Moving on, it looks like there is news on the food watch.

On Saturday, a few ladies and their foreign friend from the English Bible Study went to a local Chinese restaurant for some delectable cuisine. On the menu was Dyong Bon (the spicy soup from last Sunday) and chunks of fried pork smothered in a sweet, sticky sauce. It was delicious and was enjoyed by all.

Well, we hope you have enjoyed our broadcast for this evening. We hope you'll join us again next time for the latest news and happenings in Daegu city. Till then, annyong i kaseyo!

"This Is Not Forever"

So, this is not my song. It is the lyrics of a band which shall remain nameless but of whom I am a fan. The words really spoke to me and I hope they will to others too. We live in such an instant gratification society that it is hard to endure struggles both spiritual and physical without crying out for immediate relief. If we don't walk (not run) through the testing that God has for us, we will never learn the lessons He has for us or see the beauty that results from the lesson. Sometimes we have to crawl through or, as this song puts it, be taken or pulled through, but in the end, it is NOT forever and it IS worth it. Because we get to see and know more of God. And just that little glimpse more is worth any amount of suffering.

Hope is, getting through this night
Life is, not dying in this fight
Begging You, to deliver me
Confused why, You won't take this pain from me

My steps never felt so hard
The end never looked so far but
If You won't take me out
Then please take me through this

Stay with me, so I won't leave
Make me see
That this is not forever
Cause all I need, is Your love
Pulling me

What is, the reason for this night?
Is hope found, in moments with no light?
Does strength grow, in our greatest fears?
God I pray
Something good will come of this pain

My steps never felt so hard
The end never felt so far but
If you won't pull me out
Then please take me through this

Stay with me, so I won't leave
Make me see
That this is not forever
All I need, is Your love
Pulling me

With You here, I know
I don't go alone
I am Yours and so
Through the fire I'll go


(copyright BG 2009)

Me and my new friends

I promise this will not be a long post...just an update about today and what happened. When I thought things couldn't get better, they did!

I went to the English service this morning again at Dongshin Church and we had communion which was very refreshing since I haven't partaken since I was in Florida. Then a man named Pastor Ken gave the message out of Acts 8:27-36. It was on evangelism and the Holy Spirit's role in it, as illustrated by the story of Phillip and the Ethiopian eunuch. It was a little odd for a big African-American guy to be preaching to a mostly Korean audience but the seeming incongruity only serves to give more evidence to the fact that we are all one in the Lord.

After that service was over, I was taken by a young woman named Choun to the college/young career service downstairs. This service is all in Korean so I didn't understand harldy any of it but the worship was fantastic. The young people are SO enthusiatic in their worship, both singing and in preaching. They were constantly amening the preacher and at the end song, the whole room burst into spontaneous prayer. It was like nothing I've ever experienced.

When we were done with the service, everyone broke up into small groups according to age. I am two years younger than Choun, so I was placed in the year 84 group (everyone in it was born in 84 and in Korean years that means they are 26). It was a little awkward at first because they were a bit intimidated to speak their very broken English around me but once we all were introduced, they quickly warmed to me. Two guys in particular could speak English a bit better than the others so they tried to act as my interpreters though I still had trouble understanding at first. They talked a bit about mission team needs and prayer groups and then they asked if I would like to eat a meal with them. I said yes of course and they ordered in. They asked me if I wanted chan pon (sp?) and I said sure, not knowing what the heck I was getting. Turns out, it was a spicy version of ramen, only with spaghetti noodles. It also had squid and various vegetables. I really liked it and they kept exclaiming how surprised they were at my obvious enjoyment of the food. After dinner, they then asked if I wanted to go bowling. I said "I would love to!" Ju Chan (my main interpreter and a very nice guy) and Ji, one of the girls, drove with me to the bowling alley. We had a blast! Despite all the language barriers, this is one fun group of young people who know how to make a Migugin (American) feel very welcome. We all laughed at each others gutter balls, cheered stikes and spares, and took silly pictures to boot. They ended up calling me 'Ne-SAH" after they asked what my nickname was, so when I went up to bowl a couple of times they chanted "Ne-SAH, Ne-SAH". It was so funny. They also have this cheer that comes from the English word fighting but when they say it, it sounds like "Pighting!" It means "we can do it, or buck up, or cheer up" My team would gather up and put our hands in and say "Sam, ran, han, Pighting!"

I really enjoyed getting to know and hang out with people of my own age who all got my phone number and were so genuinely happy that "Ne-Sah" is part of their group now. I don't mind the language barrier so much any more. I think it will just create an even better incentive to learn the language faster.

Well, I promised this wouldn't be long. Or at least not too long.

Pighting!!

What one day can hold

Annyong haseyo everyone! Also, Happy Fourth of July!

I am writing this blog post with a very happy and full heart. I feel like I have a new family (again). It is truly amazing to me the way the body of Christ extends beyond all cultural and language barriers to unite people with one single thing in common-the passion for God's glory and the spread of His fame. How true the verse is in the Scriptures that tells us if we give up family and friends for His sake, he will increase our family one hundred fold and more. I am humbled and grateful to our Lord for being faithful above and beyond to His promises and providing me with so much more than I dared to ask or think.

Today I went to Dongshin Church for my first Korean lesson. My lesson last week went well but this one was even better. Everyone there had their own tutor who provided them with correct pronunciation and a conversational partner. My partner's English name was Gloria. She was very nice and told me that I was doing extremely well. She asked how long I had been in Korea and if I had already had some lessons and was amazed that I had only had been in the country a little over two weeks with only one lesson. We learned the alphabet sounds again and then how to ask a person's name and how to give ours. We also learned how to say "It's nice to meet you" and "It's so hot!". After repeating the alphabet sounds a few times, my tutor said "Ah, you learn so fast!" so then she taught me a few other phrases like "How much is this?" and "I like it very much". After the lesson, we exchanged numbers so that she could call me or I could call her and we could dialogue and review the things I learned.

Then, as I was getting ready to leave, Gloria asked if I would like to go to lunch with her and another ENT named Rob who was there at the lesson as well. I gladly agreed and we walked to a Pop-Eye's to have fried chicken. While we were eating, I found out that she and Rob were going with a lady from another church in Daegu to an orphanage on the city's outskirts to give free English lessons. They asked if I would like to join them and of course I said "Yes, I'd love to!" So we met the woman whose name was Clara (English) and rode to Ansim district. The orphanage was clean although very spartan, and the children seemed happy. I helped tutor a little boy whose Korean name I cannot recall, and he was so tickled about the funny English words and the funny English teacher that he kept cracking jokes and bursting into spontaneous laughter. I couldn't help but laugh too, especially when Clara translated what he was saying to me! All in all, it was a great time and I loved every minute of it. Then, when we were done, Clara gave me a ride back to the church to go the Bible study there. She also gave a ride to a young woman from her church who was also going to the Bible study. Her name was Young-Shin and she spoke English fairly well. Young-Shin is only a year older than I am with a very friendly personality. We conversed in a limited way in the car and I hope that we will become friends in the future. I gave Clara my phone number so she could call me about the orphanage again and then Young-Shin and I went to the Bible study. Grace, the lady who welcomed me so warmly last week is the moderator of the study and she was so excited that I came. It was a very good study that lasted over 2 hours. We talked about the 17th chapter of Acts and Paul's approach to Evangelism. I actually added quite a bit of input and they expressed appreciation several times for what I had said. They were curious to learn the methods of evangelism in the US and also how I believed reaching young people was possible. I said that I believed that young people needed to be shown that following Christ was not about following rules or what they could or couldn't do or should and shouldn't do. Evanglism is about showing Christ to be the greatest treasure that they could ever find; the One that fills the void of their hearts; the only way to obtaining supreme happiness and joy and peace in this life and in the life to come. It was truly a wonderful time of fellowship and discovery. I have had a longing for good Christian fellowship since I got here and I sensed today that sweet scent of the body of Christ which filled that longing.

After we were done, Grace took me and another Korean girl, whose name I cannot remember in English or Korean (because I learned so many today!) to a Korean place and treated us to dinner. It consisted of kimchi mandu, gul mundu, tuna kimbab, kimchi kimbab, and anchovi soup. So good! During dinner, they told me about the college age service at the church which is in Korean but has many young people there who speak some English. So I decided I would go to that as well tomorrow so as to absorb more Korean and then to the small groups afterward.

When we were done, we parted ways, they going back to Grace's car at church and me to the subway. I stopped off in downtown and wandered around a bit. I found the Daegu train station which is helpful and also went to a coffee and waffle house where I had what I consider to be the best cup of joe I've ever tasted and this amazing waffle that was topped with strawberry and lime ice-cream and lots of fruit, whipped cream, and chocolate drizzle. I wish I had my SD card for my camera so I could've taken a picture. But I'll probably be going back so not to worry!

All in all, this has been an extremely good day for me and the week before wasn't bad either. I am now using what I learned in Florida to good use and playing my guitar for the kids in class. They LOVE it! They were so excited when I brought it in to class and repeatedly asked "Teacher, guitar....teacher, guitar?" When I said yes, they all went "Ahhh" and then "Play?" I said yes again and they all went crazy and started cheering and jumping up and down! Of course, when I took it out of the case, they all wanted to touch it and strum the strings. So far, I've used it in all my classes and have sung "If you're happy and you know it" "Looby lou" "The more we get together" "My Bonnie" "Is there any cookies in the cookie jar" and "Row, row, row your boat". I also had to learn and teach "Let It Be" by the Beatles to my high level class. That was quite interesting. All the Korean teachers are eating it up and asking if I can play every class. I told them "Sure thing! I think I enjoy it almost as much as the kids do!"

Well, this has been a very long post but I can't help saying PTL for all the goodness He has given to me here so far. I also want to say thank you again for all your prayers! They are availing much!

Annyong i kesejo! (Literal translation-Please be safe and healthy at home)