...life in korea thus far...

Ok, yes, this is a much needed update. It has been a long time since I have posted...for many reasons. First, I got really sick, then I got off the honeymoon stage and was just sort of depressed and didn't want to talk about how sad I was and how much I missed my family and friends back home and how lost I felt, and then I just got really busy. So much has happened in these last 6 months (almost 7) that I have been in Korea. And I will tell you what, none of this could have been possible without God right here with me. Ever since I got back from the Philippines, it's like my heart has been completely changed. Gumi is really feeling like home now, and I am not just comparing it to how much I miss Seoul (although I still do). This is home to me now. I have started to learn where some of the cute shops are here in Indong (my town in Gumi): where to get the best cup of real coffee, where I can sitting on cute swinging chairs and sip yogurt smoothies, where I can get a good Italian meal, where I can find the BEST kimchi mandu, where I can do dry cleaning, where I can so salsa dancing or take Kpop dance classes, where I can find my favorite hoddeok lady or the guy who always sells me the best tasting mandarins, where I have foreign and Korean friends now, and where I have a church family I love...Indong (/Gumi) really has all I need. Sure, I can find bigger stores or places with cheaper clothing or better options in a bigger city like Daegu or Seoul, but I am becoming content exactly where I am. Daegu is only a 30 min train ride from Gumi Station (an hour from my house in Indong), and I go down there every Friday for Korean tutoring at the YMCA with a teacher that I love.

Now...life in Korea has not been without its ups and downs, too. I will take this time to share some hard times, so you are not completely shocked when you come here and it's not all peaches and cream. Let's be honest with each other for a moment. Not complaining, just observing.
When I first came to Seoul, I was so sad because I didn't really have any friends and I missed the ones from back home. I finally found a group of friends and started to like life in Korea, and then I had to move 3.5 hours away to Gumi, the factory city, hosting all the factories like Samsung and LG and others...and then all I could think about was how much I missed life in Seoul and couldn't wait until I could move back. But what do they say...the grass is always greener on the other side, right?

1. "Soju, drinking, girls, and sleeping..." 

I was offended by Indong: I felt violated everytime I walked along the streets. My town is filled with "love motels" and business clubs, and I cannot walk down the street without seeing gigantic, billboard size signs every few buildings of close to naked women. Every time I see those things, my heart just breaks. My heart breaks for those women who find there is no other way. I think of who they might be: is one of them a mom who is willing to do ANYTHING to provide even food for her children? Some might condemn these women, but my heart find compassion. We all might say we would NEVER do something like that, but I ask myself this question: If I were a mom and looked everywhere to find a job and couldn't get one anywhere...well, as a mom, wouldn't IIIII be willing to do ANYTHING to make sure my child had food and his or her needs met? Even if it meant I went without food, I don't think I could, as a mom (not that I even have any idea, since I don't have children yet), not do everything in my power to protect my little babies.

And my heart also breaks for the children in town. IIIII don't even want to see these signs, but then I think of all my students. Seeing these things isn't strange for these children: it is what they have grown up seeing. For some of them (or maybe many, seeing as how many of these places there are), this is where they stay because their parents own the motel or business club or whichever. I just want to cover their eyes and shield them from such a loss of innocence. My heart aches for them.

And lastly, my heart breaks for the men that go to these business clubs or then later take women to love motels (I will also write another post on love motels...it's not just bad things going on there, as you might be thinking... It's also a cheap way to stay when traveling!). But as for these men, my heart breaks that they see this as life. A comment from my friend Bianca's class encaptures this idea. In her company class of adults, she was asking them about their top 4 favorite things they like. One student says this: 1.Soju, 2. Girls, 3. Partying, 4. Sleeping.

This sounds really sad and maybe not quite what she was going for, but for many men in Korea, this IS life. Drinking is such a part of the culture here(*), that for them, it is a way of life. I just think: what if these men had Jesus? God has a plan for Gumi, let me tell you what!

2. "You are my Shy, Shy, Shy Boy...Oh, Oh, Oh My Boy"

If you say "shy boy" in Korea, the first thing to come to mind is the band Secret's song 샤이보이 ("Shy Boy"). This idea doesn't hit too far from home for most Koreans, though, I would say. Koreans as a whole are very shy toward foreigners. I am sure there are many factors that go into this including their culture and also a fear of not knowing English or being bad at it and the fear of even trying to communicate. Take this commercial, for example, which was on TV here. To translate, it's basically saying DON'T BE AFRAID OF FOREIGNERS! (English-, Chinese-, and Japanese-speaking examples are in the commercial).



Needless to say, with such as it is in Korean culture, it has been hard to make close relationships here with native Koreans. Before I came, I told myself I wasn't going to be one of those expats (foreigners) that only hangs out with other foreigners (like I would often see on people's blogs or seeing things online). I can hang out with English speakers whenever I want. I am here IN KOREA...why would I NOT want to form close relationships with the Koreans?

Well, come to find out, it is easier said than done. Sure, in bigger cities like Seoul or Busan where there are innumerable groups and meetups and clubs and activities mixing foreigners and Koreans together in cross-cultural learning and language exchange, it's unheard of here in Gumi. In spite of what my previous blog posts say about me not knowing a stranger, it was hard to form DEEP or meaningful relationships with anyone. Sure, I can say I'm friends with the ahjussi (older man) who sells fruit down my street or the ahjussi who works at the convient store across from my apartment or even the people working at the cell phone stores or shops I walk by everyday, but all that defines our "relationship" is saying hi to each other and the occasional attempts at communicating with each other in a mix of basic Korean and English, if we ever get past the "hi." I wanted to keep telling myself I had all these "friends," but in my heart, I was missing those close relationships I had back home.

In spite of this, God was merciful and brought me to some foreigner friends (some of which ARE internationals from South Africa lol ^.~ and some Americans too). Actually, from my previous post about the BBQ I went to after church that one day...yes, those friends from the rooftop BBQ are now some of my closest friends here. We have prayer and worship night every week, go to church together, share with one another, encourage each other, share our burdens together, go on mission trips, and have hearts after the Lord. This group of friends has been such a blessing. We seek a vision for Gumi and changed hearts and lives here! We pray for AWAKENING in Gumi!

And so...after returning from our mission trip to the Philippines, God was moving (and of course, Satan was right there trying to tear us away from God's magnificent work~~thank God for prayer!). I had a couple Korean friends (actually, those guys from the naeng myeon restaurant I told you about before? Yes, they sort of invited me into their "group" of friends and now I have girl and guy friends to hang with every now and then. Those two have been such a blessing and great help in so many ways. What great friendship I have in those two.) before, but after coming back from the Philippines, in a matter of a couple weeks, God brought so many new Korean friends into my life! After all those 6 months of prayers, and now I have the joy of sharing in its fruition. I have a whole new group of friends: from a sweet university student I met while trying to order deokkbokki from a new street vendor, to two Jehovah's Witnesses friends, to new friends from salsa dancing (duh! I knew from the beginning that dancing is where I wanted to find a Korean family~~look what dancing in the States got me! My two best friends and sisters and family, Evelyn and Clara!!! Love you, ladies!). A couple of them are even good at English. One lady even lives in Indong and gives me a ride downtown (about 30 min by bus) to my lesson each week. And last week, those two ladies asked me if I would lead an English conversation group on Monday nights for some of the dancers in our group. Of course, at 9-930pm, I am thinking of cuddling up in my apartment and getting ready for bed and it will make for a LATE night getting home before waking early to teach BUUUUUUUT I know God put these people into my life for a reason and is giving me this opportunity for a reason, so I am going to be obedient and follow HIM (rather than my fleshly desire to rest).

~~Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. ~ Romans 8:5-6~~

3. "You say po-TAY-to, I say po-TAH-to"

Another hard thing-ish (or at least just something I want to share with you all thinking coming to Korea or living abroad) is grocery shopping. Or, more specifically, can I just say how much I miss WAL-MART?? It's just that I miss knowing exactly where everything is and how to ask for what I want and know where to find it. Sure, it was sort of fun the first couple of times, standing like a buffoon in the middle of the aisle trying to use my phone to translate basic words like salt or eggs or flour or seasame oil or soy sauce (all of which I know now lol) into my phone's translator and hoping the translation makes any sort of sense. I completely know how my international friends felt when we would go grocery shopping to make some traditional meal. It is like~~you know what it looks like (or at least what that kind of vegetable is supposed to look like in your country), but you don't know the word for it, so you just walk around until you hopefully see it. Yeah, this is me in the grocery store just about every time. lol

I will never forget one time during the time I was really sick that I was trying to figure out what meat to get to make bulgogi since my co-teachers and the 6th grade teachers were coming over for the first time the next evening. Being sick and trying to grocery shop in America is hard enough, much less in Korea! (As a note: I was so sick but I felt even worse to cancel on the teachers since they were going to take time to come over out of their busy week (it was the week before a HUGE showcase of our school).) Anyway, in Korean, I am telling the lady I want to make bulgogi for the other teachers at my school and want to know what meat to use (you must also note that I pretty much NEVER cook meat in the USA, so on top of this, I don't even have the slightest idea about cooking meats either!). She points to two different meats. I proceed to ask her which is the best? She just looks at me dumbfounded...proceeding in me looking at her with a confused look as well. I try repeating myself again. I know that this word means "best" because it was one of the first words I learned here. AhhH! I was so sick and then stressed and I couldn't communicate and I didn't want to screw it up for my co-teachers and here I am in the store about in tears...and this lady is just looking at me like I am an idiot! I even did charades (as an expat's life in Korea can be defined by...one never-ending game of charades), pointing at her, then uh "this one," "this one," uh which (miming balancing scales and which was higher), and ending with my hands in a heart shape. And.......Nothing. I would up walking away with whichever one was closest to me. Ohhhh boy! Haha, now it wasn't that I was mad at her, don't get me wrong~~I was mad and upset that I didn't even know enough Korean to communicate my point and it just really got me down while I was already feeling down. lol Just lost in translation!




And yet, despite all of its many ups and downs, I am happy with life in Gumi. This has been one of the biggest adventures in my life, and I have no doubt God brought me to Gumi--to Indong--for a specific purpose. And I mean really, GUMI???! Of all the places in Korea I could have gone, I would have never picked this place for myself. If I had it my way, I would have been teaching in Incheon. I can't imagine being at another school with other students or in a different city right now. I've known in my heart that God brought me here to Gumi for a reason, and I've just been praying and praying for Him to reveal even a little bit of His purpose for me here. Slowly, but surely and in His PERFECT timing, the veil is being lifted and a piece of the puzzle is being revealed. My next thought is this: am I ready for that purpose? And when it is revealed, am I ready to do what it takes to fulfill that purpose?

~~From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. ~ Luke 12:48~~

I will write again soon on what God has put on my heart and what has been weighing on my heart since returning from the Philippines (on New Year's Eve). Here's a look into something that has been pulling on my heartstrings (Please read Isaiah 61):

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
   because the LORD has anointed me
   to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
   to proclaim freedom for the captives
   and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
   and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty    instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
   instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
   instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
   a planting of the LORD    for the display of his splendor...

^korean salsa dancing...when in korea, do as the koreans do^

I haven't posted in awhile, this is clear (do I really need to mention that? lol), and I do want to do a recap post soon of the last few months for everyone, but for now, before I start class, I want to write a funny post on salsa dancing in Korea. Mainly, I am writing this because I just HAVE to share this with you all (special shout out to my latin dancing community!) because I don't think this is something to keep to oneself. I wouldn't exactly call this a "faux pas of the day" (although I have definitely had many more of those in the last months), but it IS sure something to laugh about! Enjoy sharing this experience through these words! ^.~


Ok, to catch you up, I have gone salsa dancing in Korea maybe just a handful of times. Maybe 3 or 4 times in Seoul and once in Busan (yes, on the beach!). A Korean friend of mine found out how much I love salsa dancing and told me that there was actually a salsa dancing club here in Gumi! No way?! I went to one dance in December and the teacher asked me to come to lessons. Now, sure, I have fun dancing because really, it's me~~how could I NOT? But I didn't really know about learning salsa on 2 (most all of Korea dances this way. Annnnd~~like how they do most things, they are SERIOUS about dancing. Very technical and to a T. Needless to say, the first time I saw salsa dancing in Korea, I was shocked, scared, impressed, and felt like MY salsa dancing didn't have a place there. It's like watching Dancing with the Stars when you watch them dance. haha) Ok, anyway, back to the story. So, I finally decided that, what the heck, I might as well do something fun and experience salsa dancing in Korea. Starting two Thursdays ago, I had my first salsa lesson on 2. I felt like a baby again, haha, having to learn the "basics." AND...the basics that I had learned on 1 were NOT the way he wanted it done for on 2 (err...or on 2, Korean style).


Which brings me to yesterday's lesson~~


We are about halfway into the lesson (he is leveling the lesson because I pick up on it all after a couple times because I already know it from salsa on 1, and the class is for absolute beginners. He wants me to come a different day, but I can't make it at that time because of school, so he said he would do this for me. Thanks, Teacher!). Ok, so as I was saying, we are about halfway through the lesson, and I am told, "Um, Laura, hips..no." (This is the basic translation I am getting, being as though the lessons are taught in Korean). Me: "Umm, what??" And the basic of it was pretty much, again, NO HIPS. Ok, I think, how am I supposed to balance? How can you NOT have hips when you are stepping anyways? You know, in this culture you kind of don't question your authority, but my mind was just dumbfounded and I just blurted out, "Um, but why?" The first thing he says is that when you are doing these moves and turns and such, you can't have hips. Ok, people, STILL not convinced. Sorry, but what ever happened to Shakira's 'Hips Don't Lie'? He can obviously tell by my face that his explanation didn't suffice, and so THIS came as the bottom line, said to me with pride...


"Korean men are just not strong enough to handle a woman when she dances with hips!"


hahahaHAHAHAHhahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Ok, my friend, THAT convinces me. It's NOT that this is what Salsa on 2 is~~it's that Korean men are too weak to handle the tension created by settling on your hips! Ok, friend, let's roll with that. I mean, ok, "When in Rome...>"  ^.~

너무 너무 아파요~~neo-mu neo-mu a-pa-yo~~

너무 너무 아파요~~neo-mu neo-mu a-pa-yo~~very very sick. T.T

...So for the last 3 weeks and counting, I have had this running cold. The first couple weeks it was just a little cough and congestion....then, after 2 weeks, it turned into a REALLY sore throat, fever, SUPER congestion and sinus problems, coughing, blowing my nose constantly, losing my voice, and not being able to breathe well. Sounds great, I know. Just when I thought it should be over, it just got WORSE. I finally went to the doctor Monday. I figured it was just a cold, and 'what could a doctor do for me, really?'...but I went anyway because after feelings REALLLLY bad on Monday AND being at school teaching all day (while my CT and I BOTH didn't have voices too!~~Interesting lessons, needless-to-say), I decided that if I was going to get through the rest of the week and still teach, maybe going to a doctor couldn't hurt...and here is my experience at a Korean doctor's office:

Walk right in. Hand them my "insurance notecard thing I got from the school" (just a piece of cardstock paper that I only have to show once. It is not like in the US where you must carry around an insurance card. My CT told me that those are even just for foreigners. Koreans don't even need to show anything. They just show up at a hospital, and the information is there. Man, Korea has it down!) Anyway, after they check it and my ARC, I am told to go to the actual office of the doctor. It's not like a US office where you sit on your hospital bed of crinkly paper and wait for them to check your vitals. In Korea, it is like walking into a business office. I sit down across from the doctor's desk, and he asks me questions. I tried by best to get across what was going on (being as though I had no voice). He thankfully spoke some English and tried to help. He was very kind, at least. One of the first questions was to ask what's wrong. Then, why am I here. I thought to myself, well, hmmm, did my coughing and lack of a voice, fever, and congestion NOT give that reason away? Um, because I'm sick?? I wasn't sure what answer he was wanting so I simply tried to say that my friend told me to go there. The only "medical check" he did was to take my temperature. Other than that, he didn't check my heart/lungs/ears/nose/troat.....nothing. And then he said, "Ok, I will give you this paper to get some medicine."

Ok...how do you even know what is wrong without checking? How am IIIII supposed to be my own doctor, and you just trust what I say and believe me? So different, let me tell you. Ohhhh....but it gets better. I walk back out to get the paper and pay. In Korean, he tells me 500 Won (~45 cents!). I knew exactly what he said, but I said, "What?!??" (in Korean) with a confused look and my mouth hanging open (I mean really??!!~~~How can it only cost 45 cents to see the doctor??? CENTS??!?!?!) So they proceeded to say it in English. I responded in Korean how yeah, yeah, I understand~~it is just really, really cheap!

I take my Rx to the pharmacy and pay a mere 5,000 W (less than $5.00) for my medicine. I was given the typical Korean packets of meds (picture to come) to take 3x/day for 5 days, along with cough medicine. I proceeded to go home, take the meds, and go to sleep.

It was not until the next day that I thought to myself, 'Oh, that's weird...they never asked me if I was allergic to anything. ...and I have absolutely NO idea what this random pills are in these packets. That's weird.' (This was after taking 2 doses of it already.) I was so sick Monday night and loopy off of the decongestant I had gotten over the past weekend in Seoul that I had not really thought about that little problem until AFTER taking the meds. ...and taking these meds didn't help either. They make me drowsy and a little out of it. ...but when it was all said and done, when I got to school, I asked my other CT if she knew what the pills were. She called the pharmacy for me to find out what was in them. Turns out I WAS allergic to the Codeine in the cough syrup, so I quit taking that. Thank goodness I had not had enough to do anything. If it had been Sulfa, I MAY have had a little problem. Thankfully, it was not.

...And so here I am~~it is Friday, and I am still not feeling well. I am definitely feeling better than Monday, but still sick. The doctor told me that if I didn't get better after these 5 days of meds, I had to go to a bigger hospital. (Oh, I should stop here and explain: in Korea, going to a doctor's office is called "going to the hospital." There is not the distinction we make about just a doctor's visit and a hospital visit.) I wonder if I will go to a bigger hospital. Maybe if they are open Sunday evening, but I am so busy this weekend toO! Saturday I will leave early to get a train to Daegu to go to an Asian Pop Song Festival!! Woo hoo!! ~~~And my "boyfriend's" band, Beast 비스트, will even be there!!! Ahhhh!! Too bad I can't scream! But I am so excited nonetheless! This is a Pop Festival of Asian Pop Stars from Korea, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong. It is sure to be awesome! And best of all~~it is FREEEEEE!!!!!!  (As a side note, I was super sad yesterday that T-ara and MBLAQ and Everland all came to Indong (my neighborhood in Gumi), OF ALL PLACES, and gave a FREEEEE CONCERT LAST NIGHT!!!! The one time something cool ACTUALLY happens in Indong, and I am in Daegu for Korean classes. Oh well, maybe sometime something cool will happen again....maybe.

Address!

Hi all! I don't have much time to write because I am actually about to head to my Saturday classes. This will be my first time teaching 1st/2nd graders on Saturdays...AND it's by myself! Goodness, gracious! These kids are so young they're still working on their Korean, muchless knowing ANY English. This will be fun. I guess I'll have to cave in and whip out some Korean for these kids. ^^ Oh, and did I mention, I also found out yesterday that a guy from the POE (Provincial Office of Education) is coming to check out the Saturday classes at our school???? If I wasn't already nervous about just teaching 1-2 by myself for the first time, I get that lovely surprise! >.<  But I know God is good, and He will be merciful to me. He is good in so many ways. He has provided me with a loving Church family, as well as other believers to encourage me/for me to encourage. I will also have to share in another blog post soon about God's amazing work with opening the door for me to go to the Philippines to work at an orphanage there over the Christmas holiday. I really have been blessed with one of the best schools in Korea, let me tell you. You just wait until I tell you the amazing work that happened there to allow me to reach these people in the Philippines. ^^


Well, before I head off to class (which will be ending with an ice cream social after they sum it up with practicing colors and numbers on ice cream scoops to make one big ice cream cone to display), I will be heading to Busan for a weekend of relaxing on the beach and hitting up a jjimjilbang and trying out the famous Fish Market. Ohhhh....and our first experience meeting up with fellow CSers (Couch Surfers). Can't wait! 


Final point, and the main point I wrote this post was to finally remember to post my ADDRESS!!! I posted it in my profile's About Me section. Also, if you want mail sent to you (and I would LOVE to send mail!)....PLEASE EMAIL ME YOUR ADDRESS (use the email on my profile!)!!! ^^


I will also post my address here: 




Indong Elementary School
#400 Inui-dong
Gumi-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do 730-320
South Korea

I don't know a stranger

Can you believe it?? Two posts in a week?! Maybe it will be a trend??? Lol, keep crossing your fingers on that one. ^.~  I have a little extra time before I have to head to school, so I thought I would share a little from my last night's adventures...


So, my friend, Erin, who teaches in Sang-mo dong (in Gumi, too) was going to try and come out to Indong again. As we had somewhat figured out the bus schedule/system (thanks to some help from both our co-teachers (CTs)), she made it here! We were on a hunt to get her a cell phone. A lot of people have been having a hard time getting one yet since we don't have our actual Alien Registration Cards (ARCs) yet. We have all applied for them now, but it will take some time to process...until then, most cell phone stores (from what I have heard) will not issue cell phones. I, for one, found this strange since so many of us got pre-paid phones in Seoul (some of my friends only staying for 5 weeks).  It might have been because it was Seoul and they have more "global" stores/get it a lot more? Either way, I was DETERMINED to get her a phone, no matter what KIND (even if it was just a pre-paid one and not a smart phone), by the end of the evening. I was armed with my minimal Korean and my cell phone dad's number in case we needed reinforcement lol. 


First store I pick out, I walk in and start attempting my Korean, and the next thing you know, we walk out of the store with some new friends (teehee, I'll be back for my iphone 5 from him in October! Weeeeee!!!! yay!!!!) AND a new smart phone for her! SUCCESS!!!


And theeeeeeeen~~~~~


By this point, it's after 7pm, and I didn't want her to have to make the trip back to Sang-mo without eating, so we decide to walk around downtown Indong in search for a good restaurant. We both decide we want noodles (yay!!! I've been DYING to have mul naeng myeon~~cold noodles~~since the last time I had it in Seoul. Seriously, I thought Bi bim bap was my favorite food (and I told all my students this too), but now I am reminded that there is NO WAY naeng myeon can be second place. Bi bim bap doesn't hold a CHANCE against naeng myeon~~it's just sooooooo good! My FAVORITE!). Sooooo....I figure~ I don't really know any restaurants around here, so what better way to find the best place than ask a local, so I walk up to some guy in the street and ask for where the best naeng myeon is, and he proceeds to walk us around to find one. Find out he works for LG (Gumi is the city of factories~~Samsung, LG, and some others are all here...just to let ya know since I haven't made the post about my city yet), and he has only been here for 5 months, so he is not too sure of the best place, but he says he is determined to help us, and since Gumi downtown is not too big, it is certain he can find a good one. Woo hoo! Another new friend. ^^ And he DOES find us one and we are SOOOOO happy! And the food was ABSOLUTELY delicious! I'm pretty sure I could have been drooling all over myself at this point. haha


And you know, I really don't think I know a stranger. .... because there I go again~~ Start talking to the store owners there and make some new friends. They knew a little English, so pairing that with our basic Korean, we had a simply wonderful evening. Great food (they even gave us some yummy free mandu and then my yummy favorite Maxim Mocha Gold coffee to end it off), great conversation, and great new friends. It was so cute, the owner even offered to make us some hamburgers hahaha I didn't get why, but it was cute nonetheless (Oh, I should preface this by saying this is naeng myeon shop, and they literally only serve 3 dishes~~mul naeng myeon, bi bim naeng myeon, and the mandu...so I didn't even understand what he was saying when he said he could make hamburgers lol).  my new FAVORITE restaurant in Indong...will be back to visit again, for sure. ^^  (I will have to add pictures for sure sometime~~next time I'll take some. ^^) 

A Tale of God's Faithfulness

Ok~~so I have not updated in so long, and I have soooooooo much to tell~~from my trip to Japan to EPIK Orientation in Jeonju to my first week as a teacher. I do hope to get to these things soon (except for Japan~~those notes are on my ipod, and it is unfortunately broken at the moment).....BUTTTTT.....I HAD to interrupt and write this post about God's faithfulness.


I have had one of the most wonderful and merciful days today, and it is completely due to the Lord's guidance, mercy, and blessing. I started off by going to an English service at a Korean church in downtown Gumi (about 15 min drive away from where I am in downtown In dong). Another foreign teacher and I were going together, and we did not even know how to get there, and it was quite a feat trying to get the information on the church from her co-teacher. We were not even sure the name of it until about 30 min before it started. Buuuuut~~~trusting in the Lord's faithfulness, we took a taxi (and he knew where it was, thankfully, even after trying to get us to call our friend for more information, with no response). Satan would have liked us to just go back home and "try" again next week when we had more details such as a bus to take, service time, etc. Honestly, neither of us had been given our entrance allowance of 300,000 W (a little under $300.oo) yet, so we did not even have the money to spend on a taxi. BUT, trusting in the Lord and realizing that He would bless and honor our obedience and provide for us ("I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."~Phil. 4:12), we spent the money for a taxi and made it there. It was a blessing to be in the house of the Lord. Although it was much smaller and different from the worship style of the service I attended in Seoul, it was still a blessing to be able to worship God and be surrounded by fellow believers.


After this English service, my friend went home, and I stayed for the Korean service as well. I made a couple new Korean friends there. And get this....once again, I met a Music Major!~~this time a Vocal Music Ed major. God is so good! It was hard to sit through such a long service while they were speaking SOOOOO fast in Korean~~although it was cool that I could understand some of it -.~ There were four new people to the service today, and we all had to stand up in the front and introduce ourselves. I was the only foreigner (go figure haha), but every was kind as I tried to speak in Korean, telling them who I was and what I did/where I taught. After our introductions, the whole church sang a song of blessing and welcoming over us. It was sooo cute and heart-warming! <3 Then, I met a few more people after service, and I cannot wait until I go back in two weeks (because they don't have service next week because of Chuseok (like a Korean form of Thanksgiving. I'll do a later post on that for you all)~~why they don't have Church because of that, I am still uncertain about, but I guess I'll go with it. 


Anyway, after church service, one of my new friends, Gloria (the Vocal Ed friend) and her boyfriend drove me back to In dong. Her bf is also a Vocal Major and even has his own Academy~~how cool! Can't wait to hear the two of them sing! I tried to get them to sing in the car, but they wouldn't do it. Next time lol -.~


On my short walk down my street back to my apartment, I ran into a foreigner! First one I had seen in In dong besides my friend, Brittany (who went to church with me and is a teacher through EPIK at the Middle School). Come to find out this girl's name is Bianca, and she is from South Africa, having lived in In dong for 6 months now. She is sooooo kind and welcoming and offers to show me around sometime and help me with the bus system and show me the best coffee shops, etc etc. WOW am I so lucky! God is soooooo faithful! Someone who has been here for awhile to help show me the ropes. .....And it GETS BETTER!!! She asks me if I live nearby, and I say yes, and then she asks me where I was coming from, and I told her how I was just getting back from church. Turns out, she goes to the other English church service in Gumi and is on her way to meet up with some of them for a little BBQ (shoot, I forgot the name for it in South Africa haha~~something with a rolled "r" lol), and she invites me to come along. Ok, wow! Only in Korea~~I LOVE IT!! So I hop in a taxi with her, and we go over to another couple's apt. There were five of us there in total, and it was some of the most encouraging, BEST fellowship I have had. I really cannot even BEGIN to describe how wonderful these people are~~and with such hearts after the Lord. I absolutely do not deserve this, and yet, God is sooooo completely faithful. (OHHHHH and I forgot to mention, I was asked if I would play my flute at church for an earlier service in the Korean church~~GOD, you are SO FAITHFUL!! Ohhhhh, AND it was MISSIONS SUNDAY at the Korean service. I mean, really~~~)

Kyle and Jade (is that spelled right?) with the rooftop BBQ

Jade, Haley, and Bianca~~check out this BEAUTIFUL view they have from up here! ^^

Yummmmmmmy!!!

My heart has been so completely filled today, I feel like it is going to BURST!


On top of everything, this group of new friends I made tonight does a Wednesday prayer meeting in their apartment each week. Wow, another answer to prayers. And really, here is another instance in God's divine appointments. If I had not gone to the Korean church and come back at that EXACT time, and if Bianca had not been running a little late for the BBQ, NONE of this would have happened. GOD IS SO GOOD!!! PRAISES TO HIS HOLY NAME!! Can I get an AMEN!! And get this~~at their last prayer meeting, they were praying for all the new foreigners coming into Gumi. We were an answer to each others prayers. Now you CANNOT tell me there isn't a God out there! 



"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says,

   'In the time of my favor I heard you,
   and in the day of salvation I helped you.'
   I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation."

~2 Cor. 5:17-6:2

my very own lotus flowers ~~~<@

Nothing much to write on today's post~~~just wanted to upload a couple photos (untouched) I took of my own lotus flowers~~~from outside the Jamsil Stadium, of all places...But oh so beautiful! I'm proud of these photos ^^  

Stay tuned tomorrow for my adventures with Yurika to the Hello Kitty Cafe!!! ^.^