April Update

The Mongolia trip went great.  Thanks so much for your prayers! They've been felt. 

I'll let Barry share his thoughts about the Mongolia trip when he has time.  He has a trip for China lined up for the week May 4th.

There are so many things to tell (good things!), I don't even know where to start.  It's been so busy and the computers have been down so I haven't had a chance to update here, but I'm going to try to give it a shot here and now.

I guess I'll start with today.  At school I got to teach a song a friend and I wrote last year to two of my 7 year old classes.  We sing English songs everyday in our English classes, but the response to the worship song was very unique.  One student said, "when I sing and raise my hands (there are motions to the song) my heart feels so bright."  Another student said, "I can feel Jesus in my heart when we sing that song,"  and another student said, "my heart feels clean/pure when I sing that song."  It was fun.  That's my favorite thing in the world -- to see people encounter and experience God in an intimate and personal way.

In terms of Sam and Will, they're doing well.  Homeschool and Tae Kwon Do are going great.  Right now, their favorite thing to do is roller blade.  The weather is finally warming up so it's been great for being outdoors.  Also, I've been taking them to Ansley's kids service in Suwon every Sunday so they can have church with some native English speakers.  I now feel like I can identify (somewhat) with those folks in Africa who walk miles and miles to get to a church service.  It takes the kids and I at least 2 hours including walking, subway rides, multiple bus transfers and 1 taxi to get to the church in Suwon.  It ends up being a 6+ hour trip when it's all said and done.  There is no direct route from Suwon to Jongno.  But, the kids are worth it.  We get back to Jongno in time for the kids service at Youn Dong that Barry helps with weekly.  It's back to back practices and services at that point on for me. Sundays are so busy!

Speaking of busy, I've never been so busy in my life.  God is really stretching me and teaching me to just trust him for everything including rest, energy, inspiration, motivation, ect. I think it's against human nature to do that and it wasn't until I had no choice that I began to learn it.

I  was reading Psalm 18 yesterday and thinking of how David, who was a warrior, related to God in terms that made sense for him.  David knew the importance of a "stronghold" and "refuge."  It was the only safe place in times of war.  God was that for him.  In the same way, God is my "teacher" and my "song" leading me and taking care of me in every way and in all that he has given me to do here.

We were created to need Him for everything and contrary to popular belief, it's not a sign of weakness to need God.  It's not foolish to depend on resources that surpass your own, when the Source is Someone who never fails, never abandons, cannot lie, has all power, all knowledge, and loves unconditionally. He doesn't begrudge our neediness!  I believe He delights in it and loves our dependence upon Him.  He calls us His children!  His ways don't often make sense and often aren't easy, but they are always good.  With the wisdom of a father He leads His children in ways that are uniquely suited to bring out the best in and for each child.

I realize that in the States I had more liberty to manage my schedule according to what I thought I needed or wanted and what I thought I was comfortable with and capable of.  (Basically, I did what I felt like doing.)  Here, I have to let Him make the schedule and even when it's tough or messy I have to fall back on His sovereignty and wisdom knowing that He cares more about my life than I do!  He's made a way EVERY time.  Really.  I'm so thankful for that.  God is who He says He is.

In terms of school, I love my co-teachers and students!  It's been wonderful to get to know them all better.  Also, I've enjoyed getting to know my neighbor better and share a little about the One who can take care of our worries.  I've also enjoyed getting past the difficult beginning of forging relationships with the English worship team.  There are about 20 of them.  They are such a great group.  Despite the language difference, God is helping us to connect and really enjoy working together as a team. 

I got the 070 phone up and running thanks to Eunyoung, Chanhye and Iron Tiger.  The only issue is the huge time difference between the States and Korea.  It's exactly 13 hours.  Love and miss you!

Sleep-Overs, Birthday Cakes and Mongolia

Hi from Korea!  We're still rolling along.  I've missed friends and family so much as of late.  The language barrier is insurrmoutable at times.  I'm thankful for laughter, tears, music and prayer as they are universally understood.  I'm trusting that this will be a time for us to grow in relationship with the Lord and together as a family, but I still miss my peeps.  We're still working on the 070 phone thing.  Hopefully, that will be in place sometime soon.

On a positive note, I am forming friendships with my neighbor and my co-teachers at work.  I'm helping my neighbor learn English and I've enjoyed just sharing life with my co-workers.  I'm so thankful for that.  Chan Hye has also been such a great badminton buddy and help to me.

Barry and the kids are doing great.  They are in a great rhythm with homeschool.  Take away your home culture and closest friends and you'll be amazed at what you can accomplish.  (he he.)  Actually, there's a lot of truth to that statement.  I'm  not advising that you hop the next plane to a foreign country, but I have noticed that our productivity levels have sky-rocketed.  I've written more songs in the last 2 weeks than I have in 5 years back in the States.  Barry has summarized and typed up several great books for his discipleship groups, etc.  So, the productivity is up, but the heart loss of friendships and familiarity is still felt and can be very heavy at times (for me anyway.)  I'm such a connection-junky.  I love my people and it hurts not to see them on a regular basis, but there's always a silver lining and I'm excited to have the opportunity to check it out.

San slept over last night.  The kids are all playing Wii as I type.  They've had a great time together.  While they were playing I made Barry a birthday cake.  Guess how much it cost to buy the ingredients?
      ...Nope, higher.        Nope, guess again....      Okay, it cost $70 dollars to make him this cake.  That's a far cry from $2 cake mix in the States!  It is however, an icecream cake with 3 types of ice cream, 4 snicker bars, brownies and crumbled up chocolate cake (cost $20 to make the chocolate cake) that Barry made for a kids church video and some other random and miscellaneous ingredients.  So, anyway, I thought y'all might get a kick out of hearing the price total for the cake.  (He better like it.)  ;)

In terms of ministry travels, Barry leaves for Mongolia April 4th for one week.  He and Kidoong will meet with various ministers to plan outreach for summer and fall.  Chan Hye has been such a help with the kids.  I'm sure that between the two of us we'll have have the bases covered.

Thanks for sending emails and reminding us that we're still in your hearts.  You all are still very much in ours!  Love and miss you!

Tae Kwon Do Day

Saturday was Tae Kwon Do Parents' Day.  Chan Hye and I went to watch Sam, Will, San and their classmates in a special presentation.  Some students were promoted to the next belt. 

The photo below is of Sam breaking a board to be promoted to yellow belt.

Master Lim is holding the board. He was on the Korean National Demonstration Team.  He is the owner and head teacher at this Tae Kwon Do facility.

Below is a photo of Will breaking a board so that she could also be promoted to the next belt.

 Sam is presented with her belt.  Master Lim ties it on.

 Barry the English Tae Kwon Do instructor.  He's so handsome!

 Master Lim introduces Barry to the parents.

More About Life in Korea

Michael Millier, a seasoned missionary, asked a great question, that sparked some thoughts about our adjustment.  Life here is so very different from life back home in the States.

For example, we use public transportation daily.  Elevators, escalators, buses, subways and taxis are all a part of everyday life here.  My GPS on my iPhone has been invaluable for getting to grocery stores and other places.  I just follow the blue dot on the screen.  At times it has taken me past bus stops, underground to subways and then back above ground all to discover that I needed to return to the bus stop I originally came to 20 minutes earlier!  There's a steep learning curve and being able to laugh at yourself, ask questions and make mistakes is mandatory.

Because of the language being so, so different from English, we can't even pay our bills without help.  For example, our cell phone bills just came in the mail and I have NO IDEA how or where to pay them.  All of that to say, we are completely dependent on others for help.  For all practical purposes, we're illiterate in this culture.  I can read Korean, but my vocabulary is so small that it really doesn't do much good when I'm trying to decipher a complicated bill.  I have a hard enough time with the cell phone bills in the U.S.!

So, our Korean friends have been invaluable in helping to get our bank accounts up and running and helping us establishing automatic bill pay for our gas, electricity, water, apartment rent, etc.  There's no way we could do this on our own.  We're so thankful for our relationships here and the time they are willing to invest to help us get our feet under us.

Even after over 2 months of life here, there are still things that need to be set up and taken care of, but we can't do it ourselves.  This has been a stretching time for all of us in terms of having to lay aside our independent tendencies.

Another example, of learning how to depend on others and the Lord:  Last week I was very sick with fever and coughing that kept me from sleeping, congestion, etc.  I still had to work all week and I had ministry responsibilites on the weekend (band practice, childrens service, English service).  Our Heavenly Father is undoubtedly our healer and I have personally experienced miraculous healing on several occasions.  So, when I asked the Lord, "How am I going to sing? How am I going to lead band practice, etc.?  Lord, help."  He gave me 2 Corinthians 12:9.  His power is made perfect in our weakness.  "Okay, Lord," I thought.  When I asked Barry, what he thougth I should do he just reminded me that we're the Body of Christ.  "Let the Body be the Body."  "Okay...  What's that going to look like?" I wondered.

So, I showed up at band practice at 8pm Saturday, hacking violently and barely able to speak, but God was with us.  I didn't have any idea how things would turn out.  What did happen was wonderful.  The Body was the Body.  I couldn't sing, so I told the Korean praise team vocalists they would lead.  I did the best I could to teach them the melody to the new song and then they went into the next room to practice on their own while the band and I practiced the music.

Because I was sick and vulnerable a deeper level of friendship opened up between myself and the team.  They stepped up in leading and they opened up even more in our conversation together.  We were operating as the Body, like we're supposed to!  The Lord was reminding me that His yoke is easy ALWAYS, when we're on top of our game and when we're not.  Sometimes, when I feel strong I think I take too much responsibility onto my own shoulders.  That's not God's way.  It was nice to be reminded that no matter how weak I am, I can walk in His will.  The help we need is always there.

Sunday night before the English Service I felt even worse.  I still had the jarring cough and sneezes, but I had a migraine on top of if, so everytime I coughed my head felt like it might explode.  Again, I asked the Lord, "What are you going to do about this?"  He gave me 2 Corinthians 12:9, again.  I had to keep throwng off discouragment before the service began because I couldn't even think clearly to lead the band.  I couldn't seem to find the words to bark out "chorus," "bridge," etc.  But, I knew the Lord had something special in mind because my physical condition was rediculous.  He clearly wasn't worried. 

Long story short, the Holy Spirit showed up in our service in a powerful way.  I didn't minister through singing, but speaking.  The Lord gave words of knowledge and visited us in such an amazing way.  At the end of service He was commissioning people in a very personal way.  They were down front weeping before the Lord and having very intimate and personal encounters with Him.  It was incredible.  I was stunned at the way He was working in our midst.  The Holy Spirit was having His way.  I felt such a joy in my spirit.  I can't explain it, but it was almost as if in that moment He solidified His call in the hearts of those who came down front and that because of that call there were others who were going to come into the Kingdom.  I really felt His joy about those lost children who were going to hear His message and be reconciled to Him.

All of that to say, it was a stretching time for me to learn that I don't have to be afraid of weakness and responsibility.  The two do not conflict.  I can't really put it all into words, but it was good.  I'm learning.  Trusting God is never easy, but when you don't have any choice, but to trust, it's just a little bit easier. 

So anyway, that's my take on some of the learning and adjusting that we're going through here in Korea.  As far as today is concerned, it's Saturday and we've got the morning off, which is so nice.  Today is "Parents Day" at Tae Kwon Do, so Barry will help out this afternoon with that.  The kids and I will go and the kids will be promoted to the next belt.  Barry will teach at a small group in the evening at the church and I'll have band practice.  That's all for now.

Hi from Korea

Hi!  I'm writing an update just because I can.  I'm at school and have things wrapped up for the week and still have 20 minutes left in the day, so I thought I'd do a little blogging.

First of all, thanks for your concern, but we were completely uneffected by the earth quake.  Wait, I take that back, South Korea did move 2 cm.  We're praying along with the rest of you all for Japan.  What a horrific tragedy.  I'm so glad this world is not our home.  Jesus, did say, "in this world you will have troubles."  Real life will begin for us when we shed these "earth suits" and enter into life as God intended.  I'm so thankful that Jesus died to reconcile us to God so that we can know what life was meant to be. 

Everyday life here?  Well, things here in Korea are going well.  I'm settled in at school, which is nice.  I feel a little like Mr. Rogers with the routine I have.  I kind of like it.  Every morning I wake up and check email, drink coffee, eat breakfast and then hop on the bus to go play badminton with Chan Hye and Jung Hyun.  I ride the bus home, take a shower, have devotions with the family, have some time alone to talk to the Lord, then I put on work clothes, and hop on the subway.  I arrive at work 40 minutes later and take off my street shoes, put them on the shelf and I grab and put on my indoor "slippers."  I go to the English Teachers' office and put my coat in my drawer, turn on my computer, put water in my water bottle, do a tiny bit of planning for the day, eat lunch and then go teach 3 back to back classes.  After that I regroup, tutor a highschooler, give a guitar lesson and then organize and plan for the remaining 30 minutes or so and then Chan Hye comes by to pick me up and give me a ride home.  She drops me off on the curb at Jewelry City and I whip out my security card and run to the door.  I scan my card and the door opens, I hit the elevator button, check the mail and go up to the 10th floor to see the family.  They're usually done with school and I find them chilling playing Wii or legos.

I haven't had this much routine in my life since I was a kid!  It's probably good for me.  I get side-tracked so easily.

Barry and the kiddos are doing good.  Barry is an excellent Korean stay at home dad.  He teaches homeschool, does laundry and dishes and vacuums on occasion.  I'm SOOO thankful for all he does!  He and I both work weekends at the church, but he teaches multiple classes on Sunday whereas I only help with the English Service.  He's really enjoying teaching and discipling students.  He's a very good teacher and I'm glad that he gets to use that in homeschool and on the weekends with kids, highschoolers and young adults at the church.  It's a great fit for him and it's good to see him doing what he's made to do.  He also teaches English "fitness" to kids on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at a local Tae Kwon Do facility.

The kids want to come home, as in Georgia, for a month in the summer.  Barry and I can't go, though, because of work.  So, we'll see how that all pans out.  There's a lot of planning and logistical stuff to hash out before that plan can materialize.  Anyway, we'll keep you posted!

My desk at school:

European Vision Trip

We had the privilege of accompanying a group of about 50 Koreans to Europe.  I never thought I'd see Europe.  I've always wanted to, but I just didn't see that happening.  Well this was our chance.  What an opportunity!  We visited Germany, Switzerland and France.  It was a whirlwind of a trip!  We visited up to 3 cities a day -- Korean style!

The purpose of the trip was to be inspired by real stories of God moving in the lives of His people, it was a time to open the eyes and hearts of the team members to new things and to study the history of the Church in Europe.  We had the opportunity to see the castle and the very room where Martin Luther translated the entire New Testament in 10 weeks from Greek to German, we visited Bach's home, we heard the inspiring stories of Canaan and Taize, we fellowshipped with believers from around the world and worshiped in more languages than I can count, we got to see the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Robert Longo exhibit in Berlin, the Steiff Museum, the tallest church in the world in Ulm, 2 operas, a private concert and talk with one of Germany's finest pipe organists, we visited Weimar, Hitler's 2nd favorite town to speak in and the location of the Italian film "It's a Beautiful Life," and more, I just can't remember it at the moment.

All of that to say, it was the trip of a life time and we're so thankful we got to go.  We paid for our airfare and the rest was provided for.  The group stayed in pensions and youth hostels to keep the cost down and the Koreans brought some instant meals so the group would always have a meal in a pinch.

It was a tremendous trip.  We had times of worship and prayer together and had the opportunity to grow in relationship with our Korean brothers and sisters and well as other believers.  In Taize, Barry and I connected with a group of Dutch believers.  The connection was so strong that we now have plans to visit them with Kidoong and the team next year in Amsterdam and host a worship/outreach event. 

So, that's the Europe trip in a nutshell.  I'd like to post some pictures of everything.  Hopefully, that will come next!

English Worship Service

Wow!  It's been a month since our last blog!!!  Oy!  We're falling down on the job.  Well, things here are going well.  Tonight was our first official English Worship Service.  The Holy Spirit visited us in a powerful way.  It was a wonderful time of worship, prayer and the Word.  We had a turn out of 138, which is a big jump from the 20 they had when they first tried having English Worship 3 years ago.  We thank God for such a wonderful time together in His presence.  We are looking forward to watching what He will do week after week. 

This week God gave me Genesis 28:3.  I think it is a word for this group.  The Father is seeking worshipers who will worship in Spirit and in truth.  As we seek Him in our private lives and grow in relationship with Him, we are preparing the way for Him to visit us corporately where He desires to draw together and establish a community of worshipers.
 
I'm expectant and challenged to cultivate deeper relationship with Him on my own time.  He has made it clear that for me, my relationship with Him is the only thing of lasting impact that I have to give here in Korea.  It's wonderful that the thing that brings the greatest blessing in my own life (intimate relationship with Him) is the very thing that will make the greatest impact while I am here. 

It's also one of the hardest things to pursue.  Seeking God is not easy.  It's hard to be still.  It's hard to fend of the busyness and the distractions and listen for His voice and take the time to meditate on His word.  It's hard to invite Him to search my heart and uncover the dark secrets of my heart so that I can be cleansed.  But, there is no endeavor that will reap a greater return than seeking to know God in the privacy of our own souls.  May He strengthen us to that end!