I have made a discovery. I know its nothing new or original but for me, it's a potent reminder. I have discovered that when your memories get triggered by certain stimuli, it is usually not the ones you think would be very moving or momentous...certainly wouldn't make a good flashback movie. The things you remember are often chores you did day after day, or meals you ate day after day, not to mention the familiar scenery that you were surrounded by for so many years, that seemed so mundane and boring. But what I have found is that in hindsight, you get to see everything with fresh eyes, to watch it from afar and realize that the days you were just living normally WAS in fact significant to your subconscious heart and mind.
For example, I made dinner tonight and it was pancakes and eggs (I don't know what it is about pancakes, maybe because we had them so much growing up). The aroma of the pancakes, syrup, and cooked eggs took me back to Saturday mornings when we had spent the early hours loading up pigs for the butcher, or doing some extra chores like building new animal pens and finally around mid-morning, ravenous and filthy, we would sit down to a late brunch of pancakes, eggs, bacon, and other deliciousness. Usually my mom would have the baby in her lap as we ate and would be doing double duty. Then, Dad would get his Bible out and we would have devotions. Sitting there stuffed and a little sleepy after the morning's work, so many minds being filled up with even better things than we had just filled our stomachs with.
Which brings me to the other example. Family Devotions. I was deciding the other day what to start reading next for my devotions when I decided that I would read through the Psalms and Proverbs just like Dad had done so many times with us. And lo and behold, as soon as I began to read the 1st chapter of Proverbs, I heard my dad's voice reading it out loud. It was so weird and yet so comforting too. I could even remember some of his commentary on it as well. It got me thinking about all of those early mornings we were dragged ruthlessly out of bed to participate in devotions before Dad went to work. I, being more of a morning person than some of my siblings, didn't often succumb to dozing off, but I spent my share of mornings in a rather drowsy, stupefied state. Yet, despite that, I could remember things that my dad had said as I flipped through the pages of Kings, Chronicles, the Gospels, and other books in the Bible. I could even picture us sitting there, still in our pajamas, Dad leaned over one arm of the chair holding his Bible in the light of the lamp. So, I guess what this means is that if you are faithful to keep on doing something, day in and day out, it WILL make an impact and difference.
So, I know most people reading this are thinking, "Ok, we get it, you had a perfect childhood and perfect parents. Enough with the sentimental posts, just give us the facts ma'am." Well, here are the facts: I am here in Korea for some reasons known to me and others that are not. I am here to learn and grow hopefully. And one of the things I am learning is that I should live in every moment as if it were as precious as gold. I am learning that time spent in service to your family is not time wasted but is the thing you remember and cherish most. If I could go back and relive some of those moments, I would view them and embrace them with a completely new attitude. I didn't have a perfect childhood or the perfect parents but I did have a God-filled childhood and faithful parents who sought to instill His truth inside me. Looking back, I should have thanked my parents each and every day for their willingness to do what most people won't but I regretfully did not. SO now, I want to say "THANK YOU MOM AND DAD, FOR YOUR FAITHFULNESS TO GOD AND TO YOUR CHILDREN. YOUR LOVE AND DEVOTION FOR ALL THESE YEARS HAS NOT COME BACK VOID." It is a tribute to my parents that despite numerous challenges and obstacles, they have kept on keeping on.
I guess what I have to say is this: It's the small things done for the Kingdom that will endure. Sometimes when we see a big structure, we admire the smooth lines, the flawless structure. But what we didn't see were the little adjustments made to make it so. A beam moved slightly to the right, a few bricks tapped into plumb, an angle narrowed by a 1/2 an inch. These are the things that ultimately make the building what it is. And so it is with small things done faithfully; they will have the greatest impact on the outcome. It is why they are remembered and cherished. So just as I took encouragement and exhortation from my memories, let me voice some encouragement as well. Keep on being faithful. You may not see the fruit for many years or maybe never at all but I believe that God's promise is true. His Word will never come back void; service done in His Name, no matter how small, will accomplish His purpose and will be rewarded.
Sorry for sounding preachy in this post. I don't want to sound pompous or holier-than-thou. However, this is a blog for what is happening on the inside and outside of my life so I can only keep reporting.
Faithfully, V
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Goodbye August, Hello September!
Hello my Miguk friends and family!
Well, I don't think I've given an actual update in a while (a month I think). I apologize AGAIN, because as I've said before, communication is not my best or strongest point. But here goes my next offering.
I think I sent everyone pictures of the baseball game and church picnic I attended on August 16th and 17th. They were both alot of fun.
The baseball game was kind of organized chaos as it took forever for us to finally get organized, loaded up, and into the stadium. One thing about Korean baseball is that you don't have vendors selling anything in the stands. And there's no food/drink stands inside the stadium. People load up on food sold by vendors outside the stadium and bring it in. There isn't a "no food" policy here. Quite the opposite. Our group got a ton of kimbab and chicken for the munchies.
The picnic was held at a park near Palgong Mountain and had a nice lake and great scenery as well. We played soccer volleyball and regular soccer, badminton, and threw around baseballs. I brought my guitar to play on and I sat under a tree for a good bit playing by myself. We also played Bible trivia and had a drawing for prizes. I got a wodden roller for massaging. All in all, it was a good time of fellowship and fun.
Teaching at the hagwon is going well. One of our ENT teachers (my British housemate) is leaving on the 16th, and so I am going to take over his preschool classes and four other classes of his. That will increase my teaching load to about 38-40 classes per week. I don't really mind too much because usually the more work I get, the better I seem to operate. My schedule will now start at 9:50 am and finish at 7:00-8:00 pm. I'll get a break in between teaching my preschool classes and teaching the PM ones. I am getting to know some of the Korean teachers better and have fun discussing with them the does and don'ts of Korean culture.
Well, my experience at the Korean church service keeps getting better. I am now a part of two small groups. One is the year 84 group that I've mentioned before and we get together about once a month or so. We also divided into smaller groups of around 4 people each to get even more personal. My group consists of Eu-Na, Mi-Sun, Duk-Gyu, and myself. I also became involved in a small group that studies through various passages of scripture each week after the service. They are a very nice group of people and the leader can speak some English which he uses to help me get the gist of what is being said. Everyone in both groups are very helpful in my quest to learn Korean. In fact, sometimes they are so enthusiastic I feel a little overwhelmed. One of the guys said to me "I want you to learn Korean very quickly so we can talk a lot together." (translation) The Bible study small group is going to the countryside for an outing on the 26th so I am very excited for that.
I have been hiking in the mountains a few more times and it is such a great way to enjoy the scenery of Korea. My hiking companions told me I was a very good hiker, so I guess I am doing OK even though I've never done mountain hiking before. Korea is 75% mountain so there is a virtually endless variety to choose from.
I came down with a cold of sorts on the 7th of this month and I haven't been able to shake the resulting cough yet. It's a little annoying but I'm hoping it goes away soon. I've been eating yogurt almost every day here in an attempt to keep lots of good bacteria going in my stomach and so far I think its working. I have enjoyed yet another item of the Korean cuisine, delicious galbi. It is marinated meat (your selection) that you cook up on a small grill that is built right into the table. They bring all sorts of good things to mix and eat with it including onion slices soaked in a brown sweet sauce. MMMHHHMMM! So good!
Well, that's all for now I guess.
Annyong!
Well, I don't think I've given an actual update in a while (a month I think). I apologize AGAIN, because as I've said before, communication is not my best or strongest point. But here goes my next offering.
I think I sent everyone pictures of the baseball game and church picnic I attended on August 16th and 17th. They were both alot of fun.
The baseball game was kind of organized chaos as it took forever for us to finally get organized, loaded up, and into the stadium. One thing about Korean baseball is that you don't have vendors selling anything in the stands. And there's no food/drink stands inside the stadium. People load up on food sold by vendors outside the stadium and bring it in. There isn't a "no food" policy here. Quite the opposite. Our group got a ton of kimbab and chicken for the munchies.
The picnic was held at a park near Palgong Mountain and had a nice lake and great scenery as well. We played soccer volleyball and regular soccer, badminton, and threw around baseballs. I brought my guitar to play on and I sat under a tree for a good bit playing by myself. We also played Bible trivia and had a drawing for prizes. I got a wodden roller for massaging. All in all, it was a good time of fellowship and fun.
Teaching at the hagwon is going well. One of our ENT teachers (my British housemate) is leaving on the 16th, and so I am going to take over his preschool classes and four other classes of his. That will increase my teaching load to about 38-40 classes per week. I don't really mind too much because usually the more work I get, the better I seem to operate. My schedule will now start at 9:50 am and finish at 7:00-8:00 pm. I'll get a break in between teaching my preschool classes and teaching the PM ones. I am getting to know some of the Korean teachers better and have fun discussing with them the does and don'ts of Korean culture.
Well, my experience at the Korean church service keeps getting better. I am now a part of two small groups. One is the year 84 group that I've mentioned before and we get together about once a month or so. We also divided into smaller groups of around 4 people each to get even more personal. My group consists of Eu-Na, Mi-Sun, Duk-Gyu, and myself. I also became involved in a small group that studies through various passages of scripture each week after the service. They are a very nice group of people and the leader can speak some English which he uses to help me get the gist of what is being said. Everyone in both groups are very helpful in my quest to learn Korean. In fact, sometimes they are so enthusiastic I feel a little overwhelmed. One of the guys said to me "I want you to learn Korean very quickly so we can talk a lot together." (translation) The Bible study small group is going to the countryside for an outing on the 26th so I am very excited for that.
I have been hiking in the mountains a few more times and it is such a great way to enjoy the scenery of Korea. My hiking companions told me I was a very good hiker, so I guess I am doing OK even though I've never done mountain hiking before. Korea is 75% mountain so there is a virtually endless variety to choose from.
I came down with a cold of sorts on the 7th of this month and I haven't been able to shake the resulting cough yet. It's a little annoying but I'm hoping it goes away soon. I've been eating yogurt almost every day here in an attempt to keep lots of good bacteria going in my stomach and so far I think its working. I have enjoyed yet another item of the Korean cuisine, delicious galbi. It is marinated meat (your selection) that you cook up on a small grill that is built right into the table. They bring all sorts of good things to mix and eat with it including onion slices soaked in a brown sweet sauce. MMMHHHMMM! So good!
Well, that's all for now I guess.
Annyong!
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