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!!
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