Running the Race Part 4

1 Corinthians 9:24

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

There is more than one kind of prize to run for. When I run the DMZ Marathon in Cheolwon, South Korea on Sept. 9, 2012. I will not be running to cross the finish line first. The prize that I have in my sights is the children in the Asian countries we are tryin

g to reach. Every donation that I receive will go to support the ministry of Kids Worship as they tirelessly work to reach the hundreds of millions of children who have never heard the good news of Jesus Christ.

Please consider supporting the work that we are doing in Asia. Also please forward these updates to any friends you may have that may be willing to stand with us. Join us as we share the Father's heart for his children.

~Barry

Running the Race Part 3

This is who we are and what we do:

Kids Worship

Kids Worship is a ministry based in Seoul, South Korea. Their mission, which my family has been helping with for over six years, is to disciple and evangelize children in Asia. We are currently actively working in South Korea, Mongolia and China.

We make a DVD based weekly curriculum for children’s ministry. We are currently making the curriculum in Korean, English, Mongolian and Chinese. The teaching is made in the native language of the people it is distributed to. The purpose of this version made in the native language is discipleship. The English version is the evangelistic arm of the Kids Worship ministry.

All over Asia there is a hunger to know and speak English. English teachers and English education are in high demand. When a church offers English education for free as a program of their church, many people become interested. Many families that are not Christians will gladly send their children to church to practice English regardless of their religious background.

It takes $$$ to make this happen, hence the fund-raiser. We give the resources that we make away for free. We don't sell this stuff in China and Mongolia. God gave it to us, we add our time and talents, then we give it away to everyone that needs discipleship. Please support this work. Thank you.

~Barry

Running the Race Part 2

Today I will tell you how to give. Then for the rest of the week I will tell you/ remind you of why you should support KidsWorship by sponsoring me in the DMZ marathon.

Pledge Support

To help support KidsWorship I will be asking individuals to support our work in one of two ways.

(1) By pledging a donation- you can pledge $26.2 which is one dollar per mile or $42 which is one dollar per kilometer (if you are feeling generous) or you can pledge any amount, all donations are appreciated.

(2) If you choose I would like to have individuals or groups sponsor each kilometer. Minimum suggested donation for each kilometer is $20. This will help me with the motivation it will take to continue running for over four hours. During each kilometer I can keep in mind and pray for the individuals that are standing with me for the children of Asia. If you want to sponsor a kilometer please let me know via facebook or e-mail me at crazyfins@gmail.com.

I will post a list of the people who are supporting me during this run on my facebook page.

The easiest way to give the donations is to send a check to KidsWorship Inc. 1918 Noah Lane, Statham, GA 30666. Make checks payable to KidsWorship Inc.
Thank you for supporting this effort to make Jesus famous in Asia.

~Barry

Running the Race

Alright my friends, In order to not bombard you with an extremely long post, that no one will read, I have broken these posts down to manageable chunks. Please read! Please respond! 

Running the Race

My family has been in South Korea working with a ministry called Kids Worship for almost two years now. Very soon we will be returning to the United States. We will continue our partnership with Kids Worship from Georgia.

One of the last things that I will do here in South Korea is to run a marathon. The marathon will take place in the north part of South Korea in the Demilitarized Zone. The DMZ marathon will take place on September 9, 2012.

We have started a non-profit company called KidsWorship Inc. to be the vehicle of this new partnership. This marathon will be a fundraiser to help support the efforts of KidsWorship as we reach out to the unreached children of Asia.

~Barry

Mongolia Week 1

After picking up our American friends and serving and Daegu, we all took off for Mongolia (after a 1 day flight delay.)  Mongolia is by far the strangest place I've ever been.  It's the least "westernized" of the countries I've visited.  The sky is incredibly beautiful and the weather is so pleasant, but the city is filthy.  Everything is coated in dust and there is trash and broken bottles are everywhere.  The roads are the roughest I've ever seen. There are literally huge pot holes and piles of rocks all over the roads and the traffic is absolute chaos.  We've witnessed wrecks, fights, etc.  It's quite an adventure!

We arrived at Chinggis Khan Airport in Ulaanbaatar last Tuesday.  It's a tiny little airport and the passengers all clapped after we landed!  I guess they are pleased that we made it safely.  I'm not accustomed to any other outcome...

We are staying in 2 locations.  The Blackmons and Yis are staying in a Russian built apartment building.  It's very run down by American standards, but it has hot water and a place to sleep.  We are very grateful for the hospitality. The Americans stayed at a hotel called "Holiday" (you should ask them about it...) for the first few days and as of today they and the other Korean team members are staying in the university dorms.

We just finished our first camp today.  We spent our days with Korean missionary children here in Ulaanbaatar.  We sang songs, played games, had teaching time and small group times. It was a good camp.  I've had a severe head cold, though.

I've been so proud of our team.  Ross is now a drummer.  He actually played our entire camp here with chopsticks because the drumsticks were too loud.  Erica and Hannah did a great job leading worship, Barry was the overall leader of camp (his first time doing that) and we all had small groups.  It's been good.

We are very blessed to be able to encourage and strengthen our Asian brothers and sisters.  We feel that God has called us to serve and bless them as they reach out and serve here in Mongolia.

Tomorrow we will have a worship service and then regroup for the upcoming seminar.  We will be ministering to 800 to 1000 Mongolians there.  I will lead worship for 1.5 hours a day, so if you don't mind, please pray for this miserable cold to go away.  Also, please pray for the Mongolian people.  Mongolia is a very poor nation in many ways.  It's intense and so visible everywhere you look.  These people are so hungry for the Gospel, but there is such an oppression and a lot of anger and hostility here.  They need a breakthrough.  Thanks for praying with us for God's will!

Summer and then... Home

Hi!

I'm so sorry we haven't updated the blog more faithfully.  Things here have been fantastic and our hearts and minds are staying so full!  It's time to get some of it on paper, so-to-speak.  I'm not even sure where to start, but here goes...

Pastor Kidoong has been asked to be the lead pastor of a new church.  So, every Tuesday we've been meeting together to pray, worship, fellowship and hear the word.  I've been leading worship in English for the group and then the word is shared in Korean.  This particular group is missions-focused.  We have members fluent in Korean, English, Chinese, Mongolian, etc.  The church will be called The Hub and will be located in Gangnam with branches extending to Taiwan, Thailand, the U.S., China, Mongolia, Germany, France, Holland and other nations.  It's a very exciting time and we are thrilled to see how God is building His global church and spreading His harvest nets across the world through people of so many different nationalities and cultures.

We are still actively involved at Youndong.  Barry continues to teach children, middle-school, high-school and young adult classes as well as preaching on Sunday nights and I have enjoyed leading worship for the weekly English service as well as Bible study time with the worship team and teaching a Bible study on relationships for the young adults.  We've also continued to help KidWorship with vocal and film work for their children's English curriculum.

Another project that is underway is the completion of the worship CD for young adults/adults.  We recorded 2 songs for it last January at Tree Sound and we've continued the process from Korea.  We're planning to get that out in September just before our worship tour in Europe.

Right now Barry and I are focusing our energies on preparing for Kids Camps and Seminars this summer.  We will take a break from our work responsibilities (although we'll continue our Sunday commitments) from July through mid-August.  We will put on 12 English Camps/Seminars in 3 different countries.  The schedule will be intense, but the opportunities are phenomenal.  We will be able to teach and train both children and adults in Korea, Mongolia and China.

We are currently writing the curriculum for these camps and preparing for the arrival of the U.S. team members.  I'm also trying to pack and organize a bit so I'm not so overwhelmed in September when we prepare to return to the U.S.

As it stands, we will finish camps/seminars mid-August and then resume our old work schedule for the last 2 weeks of August.  (I don't yet know how the finances will work out when Barry and I are out of work for the 6 weeks of camps and then September, but I'm trusting that God will provide as He always, always has.

In September Barry will run a marathon at the DMZ (I think he's going to incorporate some fundraising for missions so stay-tuned), we will take our first and last family vacation in Korea to Jeju Island (I'm REALLY excited), Barry will travel to Thailand with Kidoong, we will pack for home and then Barry and the kids will fly back to the U.S.  After Barry and the kids leave I will go with Kidoong and a handful of others to the Hillsong Conference in Hague October 2nd-4th and then we will lead worship at various locations in Europe for 2 weeks and then I'll fly home to America.  I'm such a family nut, so I know I'll miss Barry and the kids like crazy, but I'm truly grateful for the opportunity to worship Jesus in Europe.

Barry and the kids will stay with the grandparents for the first 2 weeks of October and then October 15th they will move in to Snow's Mill Guest House for a month or so.  I will join them there when I return.

Barry intends to look for a nursing job when he gets back to the U.S.  Beyond that we don't know what's next other than getting a car and hopefully moving back into our old house before Christmas.  We will continue our work with KidsWorship and next year we'll house some of the Korean team members for a few months and work together in our home on materials.

That's what I know so far.  I'm trying to remember to live in the present.  With so many plans waiting in the future I continually have to remind myself to just be in today!

So anyway, enjoy your "today" and we'll see you soon!

Winter 2012

(This is not an uncommon sight...)

Spring is almost here.  We had snow flurries this past weekend, but we'll get up into the 50's this week.  I hear it's been HOT in Georgia.  I know you all have enjoyed the flowers and the opportunities to be outdoors.

Today is Monday, our weekly day off from school, work and ministry responsibilities.  Barry and Sam went to the local English library and Will's playing a Wii game here at the house.  I've got a cold so it's a good day to just type and think, hence the blog update.

We've had a good Winter.  We're finally settling into the new routine.  I'm home more, which means I can keep up with house work and cooking.  I really missed cooking last year!  I didn't miss the housework, though.  Our relationships and connections here are stronger and more established and we are really enjoying that.  It's so nice to feel at home here.

Barry's birthday is in a couple of days.  He was presented with a cake and a song at the Y.E.S. service last night.  That was fun!  Hopefully, we'll do something unique as a family to celebrate his birthday.  I'm still brainstorming about that.

We're continuing to homeschool Samantha (7th) and Will (4th).  That's going well.  I'm always trying to tweak our schedule to improve things and teach the kids, especially Will, how to manage time and not get overwhelmed with the tasks at hand.  So far, so good.

Barry is still teaching various Bible studies and sharing at the Y.E.S. service each week as well as teaching English to the KidsWorship staff 5 days a week.  He's mentioned lately how much he enjoys teaching the middle school students because of their receptivity and interest.  I'm still leading worship for Y.E.S. and Tuesday night prayer as well as teaching a Bible study on Sunday nights.  The Y.E.S. band is preparing for finishing a CD by June.  Barry and I are also working with KidsWorship recording children's songs and videos for their kids curriculum.  I spoke in Korean for the last one.  Oh dear!  That one's going to be funny...

We're writing curriculum now for our summer camps and ministry opportunities in Mongolia, China and Korea.  We'll have 6 straight weeks of camps and training seminars starting in July.  We'll fly 4 additional team members in from the U.S. for that.

Another project that we will carry over into life in the U.S. is developing more children's discipleship materials (teaching, songs, videos, etc.) with no copy write so that we can copy and distribute it freely in other countries.  Right now we've got open doors to China and Mongolia.  We're also looking at Taiwan and Thailand.

As for when we return to the U.S. right now it looks like we'll spend October in Europe and then come back to the U.S. in November.  Our schedule is always changing, though, so I'm not sure how it will all pan out.

Our house in the U.S. is still being rented out. Our tenants have done a fantastic job paying rent every month and the contract will end at the end of October 2012, which is perfect.  If we come home in November then the house will be ready and we can prepare to move back in.  So, despite setbacks, like having to replace the HVAC, everything is working out.

That's all I can think of to share.  We're just grateful for the opportunity to be here, support His work in the Eastern Church and help share the Word with the Nations.

Love,
The Blackmons