DISCIPLINE...

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:
"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

-Hebrews 12:1-13

SPORTS DAY

Friday was our annual "Sports Day" at school. I guess it is comparable to a field day. In the morning, the students competed in several relay races. They were separated by class. I spent the whole morning in the office, doing lesson planning. It was much-needed and actually, quite relaxing. I also got to talk a little more with some of the teachers that I haven't had many conversations with up to this point. It continues to amaze me how many of them actually know English, yet are just too shy to speak to me! I love it when they finally do start speaking, though!

After a productive morning, I spent the afternoon enjoying the remaining festivities. Each of the second grade (8th grade) classes chose a theme and dressed up in costumes. We had the pleasure of witnessing a lovely parade.


Alice's homeroom students, class 2-10. According to this sign, it's the BEST class at Cheongryang (so I was told).


This is my (somewhat disturbing) Facebook friend again... it turns out he is also in Alice's homeroom. He was really embarrassed to dress up like a cheerleader with his class. He told me that his head was sick... otherwise he certainly would not have been wearing a skirt, nail polish, and make-up! Definitely made me laugh.



Parade pics


This group was from the "Zoo." Do you see the turtles, monkeys, and cheetas?


These are some of the third grade students performing an aerobic dance. I don't remember what song they were dancing too... probably something by the Wondergirls. Two of the boys in the front row here are in my after-school class. I was proud of them (and proud of myself for being able to pick them out)!



Teachers preparing to race their homeroom students. It was a sight to see, trust me! I loved every minute of it (as an observer of course)!!!


The exhibition room of the week. The students worked on several art, science, writing, and craft projects and had them displayed here. I'm realizing more and more that it is SO incredibly meaningful for me to see the creative side of my students - whether through looking at their projects, watching them perform aerobic dances, or cheering for sports relays. I LOVE seeing another side of them - besides bored/rambunctious students in desks in a classroom. Hmm...


After Sports Day, the principal took all of the teachers out to dinner for some Shabu Shabu to celebrate the end of Sports Day (it's a lot of extra work for the homeroom teachers). It was a fun way to end the week.

Sports Day was a lot of fun. I wish we had them more often! :)

Oh... I also spoke with my first parent at Sports Day. I am happy to report that it was not nearly as scary and intimidating as I would have expected. She was very kind and was excited to practice her English with me.

I'll Fight For You Anyday!

It was Thursday. The shoes that I bought a month ago at the subway station were definitely falling apart. Alice had promised to go with me to the little shop where I bought them to ask for a refund/new shoes.

The shoes were starting to get holes in the toes. The saleswoman insisted that it was my fault the holes were there... that I purposely put them there. This made Alice really upset. She insisted that was not the case. Other people passing by got involved. Before I knew it, I was witnessing a HEATED debate (in Korean of course) and Alice did not seem very happy - neither did the saleslady. After what felt like at least 10 minutes, Alice turned to me and asked if I wanted a refund or an exchange. I told her a refund would be fine. The woman scowled when she handed me back my change.

Before we were able to debrief too much, Alice had to hurry off to an appointment, only saying that from now on, when I need to buy something, I should ask her for her help. When I asked her if she was okay (she seemed somewhat shaken), she replied, "Yes, I'm fine. I was angry when that woman said that you would purposely destroy your shoes because I know you wouldn't do that. But don't worry Holly, I will fight for you anyday!" Then she was off.

I was left feeling really loved and cared for.

I'll fight for you anyday.

It's been Awhile...

So I've been slacking on the blogging this week - my apologies! I guess it's just been a little crazy and I've been super-tired this week (more than usual). And... I'm going to be going to bed soon, but decided to just share a few highlights of the week for now:

- Received a sweet reminder Tuesday morning of the hymn Jesus I am Resting, Resting... good timing and good reminder! It's amazing how easily and quickly I forget...

- Reminded of how much I need God's grace... and how much it's NOT about me...

- Been reading Corrie Ten Boom's biography, The Hiding Place. It's definitely a gripping story and I've found myself lost in it several times (I love getting lost in books!). In fact, on my way home one night, I missed my subway stop because I was so engrossed in my reading... and didn't even realize I missed it until four stops later! I have lots to process from reading about Corrie's life experience... so challenging to my heart!

- God is really working through the Tuesday afternoon Bible study. I'm particularly excited about the art teacher that started coming this week. It's cool to see how God is working. Keep praying!

- Continued to celebrate my birthday throughout the week with some incredibly thoughtful packages...

- Alice and I got to play Santa Claus this week with American microwave popcorn. I brought some to school (from one of my lovely packages) and decided to have some during one of my prep breaks. Of course, it's impossible to make popcorn in an office and NOT share (that would be pure torture to everyone else, plus it was refreshing to finally be the one giving rather than receiving). So... we went around and gave some to the other teachers in the office... it was so much fun. Alice and I had a ball!

- New food items tasted this week: fish eggs (didn't realize they were fish eggs until after the fact...), Korean-style cinnamon cakes that I LOVE, acorn jelly, samgyupsal (really tasty pork... basically really thick bacon full of fat and totally unhealthy and completely delicious), fish gelatin, warm tofu jelly-like substance, gunban (I think... delicious roasted chestnuts that warm your whole body when you eat them)... that's all I can remember for now.


More to come later [a preview/reminder for me to write about next time]:

- Alice "fought for me" in the subway station... I'll explain more about that later...
- Celebrated Sports Day at school on Friday and didn't have to teach the whole day. I'll post pics later.
- Had a lovely day trip with Bok ja and some new friends to Suwon today and visited a Korean Folk Village. More to come later (with pics of course)...

The only way is by allowing not a bit of the old life to be left, but only simple perfect trust in God, such trust that we no longer want God's blessings, but only want Himself.
- Oswald Chambers

A Frustrating Monday...

I'm afraid today was a frustrating day... for numerous reasons. I've never liked the whole Oh-it's-a-Monday-so-it's-going-to-be-a-terrible-day mentality... but I have to admit, I'm starting to see a pattern with my Mondays at school. My classes on Mondays are chatty and difficult to control. Since it's the first day of the week, it's the day for testing out my lesson plans (and learning what does and does NOT work). Monday seems to be the day that I find myself feeling most like a terrible teacher... but as my dear friend Sara reminded me... my worth is not based on how well my lesson plans do/don't go.

Today was not as difficult as last Monday as far as co-teachers go. We worked much better today and even though the class was still difficult to control, we worked more as a team, so it was helpful.

No, today was somewhat frustrating because I forgot how much flexibility is required at ALL times. They warned us of this at orientation... it seems that things are never really set in stone in Korea... things change at the last minute SO often... flexibility is KEY. I somewhat forgot this when my co-teacher informed me that I would be leaving school today to visit a demo teaching... and that my class schedule would be re-arranged (taking away some prep time). This would normally be somewhat manageable (and turned out okay) but... I was frustrated because of how it affected my after school class. At first, I was told that it would have to be cancelled (AGAIN), so we informed all of the students of this. Then, I found out I would be able to teach... and that I would get back from the demo teaching with 10 minutes to spare before beginning the after-school class (found out most of this about 10 minutes before we left for demo teaching). Good thing I had my lesson mostly planned. I scrambled to make copies of my worksheets and emailed the ppt. to myself before running out the door. It was slightly frustrating... but I understand that there are times when communication gets fuzzy. For the most part, my school normally does a pretty good job of informing me of when things are going to change.

I guess maybe the most disappointing thing was finding out that I probably won't be getting my own English classroom after all. Alice told me this when we were scrambling to get to the demo teaching on time. It was so disheartening... since I travel to 22 different classrooms each week, classroom management is particularly challenging. On days like today (when students are difficult to manage, seats have to be moved around, and nametags are nowhere to be found, computers may or may not work), I often find comfort knowing that next semester I'll have my own classroom with a computer that works, with desks arranged the way I want before class even begins, and with a much more convenient system for nametags. But... it doesn't sound like that's going to be happening after all. Can you believe I almost wanted to cry when I found out? So silly I guess... but I guess it's a lesson in what I should really be putting my hope in.

I continue to be incredibly challenged by feelings of incredible exhaustion in the midst of teaching, inadequacy, impatience, being unsure of what to do at the exact moment a disciplinary issue must be addressed, frustrated with uncooperative students... I'm learning a lot about discipline. I started off way too easy on my students I guess (should have known... Dr. Spivey warned us of this in Learning & Memory)! Now it's difficult to regain control. I've started being more firm, but it's just so hard to find a balance... and so difficult to be the type of teacher I'd like to be!

Yet... I still like my job and I'm still glad to be here. Difficult days are to be expected, right? I'm learning more about how incredibly necessary it is to depend upon the Holy Spirit...

I have so much to learn!

Birthday Blessings

Birthday Festivities of the Weekend:

Friday night after school, Anna/Kim Yeong Chae (my main co-teacher) took me, Kim Kyung Hwa, Kim Kyung Han, and Alice out for dinner at the Outback Steakhouse (yes we have them here in Korea, believe it or not). It was an amazing meal and the time with my co-teachers was sweet.

Saturday evening, several of my friends here in Seoul gathered together for a birthday celebration.


We met up at Spaghettia's, a lovely Italian restaurant. Pictured here: Millie, Tim, Josie, Zane, Hil, Makeeya, Kay, Sara, Janis, me & Taryn. Unfortunately, you can't see everyone all that well...



Taryn brought me an amazing cake (and a pink HOLLYS COFFEE mug - yes they actually have a cafe here called HOLLYS COFFEE).


Although I really appreciated their incredibly thoughtful gifts (pictured above), it was so meaningful just to have friends to celebrate with!


We walked along the beautiful Cheunggyecheun (stream in Seoul) and stopped numerous times for random and silly pictures (unfortunately I don't have any of those silly pictures on my camera).


Sara bought me a lovely handmade journal on the street... it was perfect timing since I was on my LAST page that day!

We ended up at Starbucks and enjoyed LOTS of laughter (actually laughed until I cried a couple of times) as we shared some of our crazy teaching/encounters with Korean culture stories...it was wonderful. I was really blessed by our time together.

Sunday morning (the day of my actual birthday)... got to skype with some of my lovely family members. Though not all were able to be present, it was so great to see several of them. I opened up the presents that I hid from myself (from my parents) while we were skyping. It was fun. They sang Happy Birthday to me a second time (they sang last week with my Nana and Papu and I actually blew out one of the candles that my mom sent me when they sang... cheesy and fun!)). It was a delightful time to catch up... though those times always seem much too short!

After skyping with my family, I went over to Sara's and she made pancakes for a birthday brunch. Do you know how tasty chocolate chip and banana pancakes are (especially with peanut butter on top...)?! I highly recommend that you all try them if you've never taken the time to do so! ;) Sara and I spent the remainder of the day together: relaxed and enjoyed each other's company immensely, visited a nearby park, went to the 4:00 p.m. church service (why we didn't do this before, I don't know!), enjoyed cinnamon pancake things, had dinner with our friend Zane... and then dessert afterwards at my place. My Grandma found a microwaveable cake that only requires you to add water... it was delicious and ready in five minutes!

Thanks to all of you who made my birthday so special! Whether it was through emails, e-cards, cards in the mail, packages, text messages, phone calls, Saturday night, prayers and/or Facebook messages... such a blessing to my heart... many in ways I can't even fully describe. Because of the time difference, I got to celebrate my birthday for an additional 12 hours via email and Facebook. :-) Know that I appreciate your love and thoughtfulness... and am so blessed to have each one of you in my life!

Mid-Week Update

So, this week is progressively getting better and better.

Monday was a rough day (another one of those teary-eyed days)... had some conflicts to work through with one of my co-teachers. But I think we're both on the same page finally... and I think things will go much smoother in the classroom! She's working on being more involved/attentive/helpful in the classroom and I'm working on being less of a pushover with the students. *BALANCE*

Tuesday morning when I arrived at school, there was a bunch of coffee (and disposable cups) on my desk with a note that read, "Holly, enjoy coffee and my heart. -Mrs. Moon" I love her!!! She is such a cheerful giver. I think I could probably dedicate an entire blog post to her... and maybe I will sometime. This morning, she left a big bag of tootsie pops on my desk to use as rewards in the classroom because she knew I was running low on the Dum-Dum suckers she gave me two weeks ago. Oh, and did I mention that she brings breakfast for us every morning (except Mondays) to our before-school prayer/devotion time? Oh, and she always eats breakfast before that with her family... so she just feeds us and hurries out of the room to do her teacher-stuff. So incredibly generous and thoughtful...

Thanks so much to those of you that were praying for the after-school English Bible Study (on the book of John) with my Cheongryang teachers. Although I had been feeling kind of nervous/anxious about it all, when I woke up Tuesday morning, I had an overwhelming peace. We had eight teachers come and I was so encouraged, especially since everyone was really busy with turning in mid-term grades during that time. It was especially exciting to have them participate in the discussion - I had been slightly concerned that I would have trouble getting them to speak, since many Koreans (though not all) seem to be naturally shy about speaking out. As the Lord continues to remind me, this is HIS study... not my study!

Tuesday evening, Hil and I met up for our weekly Bible study (on the book of John - the theme book of this year for me). We got to know a girl named Cassi, who is brand-new to Korea (even newer than me!). Since she's never had galbi (meat cooked over the fire at your table) before, we spontaneously splurged a bit (it's more expensive) and enjoyed her first galbi experience with her. It was sweet. I'm looking forward to getting to know her better.

Tonight, after chatting with my lovely mother for a little bit, I got to see the beautiful and amazing Miss Sara Nelson! The original idea was to meet up for coffee/ice cream... but we picked a new subway stop (to us) and couldn't find either (rare for Seoul). So, we ended up just hanging out in the subway and had some quality conversations. So thankful for that girl!

On my way home, I saw Mr. Chung (my fruit man) and he stopped me to give me an apple. Of course, he had me wait for him to find the most "beautiful" apple and then shined it for me before giving me a "present-uh." I'm still smiling. Those little blessings are SO meaningful to me!

So many more little things I could write about... totally feel like the Lord has been reminding me of His incredible love in such tangible ways lately (again)! He's so faithful and abundantly gracious.... Time for me to sign off...

Be blessed today!

PASSION SEOUL

What is PASSION SEOUL all about?

"Finding in Christ all we need, and spending our lives to make Him famous in this generation... that's what The Passion Movement is all about and what has attracted hundreds of thousands of university aged young people to Passion gatherings over the past eleven years. Passion is more than an event. Passion is a movement made up of young people who have abandoned the idea of living simply for themselves and are daily giving up everything so the world can see Jesus more clearly. Passion is about the glory of God, inspiring a wave of students to taste and see that He is good and to do something now to change the world in Jesus' name. We've discovered that every major city in the world is a university town, most home to hundreds of thousands, and in some cases millions of students. So, Passion is off on a crazy journey to the cities of the world in 2008, uniting university students around the globe in a story so much bigger than our own."
-Taken from the PASSION website




Yes, Lord, walking in the way of Your truth we wait eagerly for You, for Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. Isaiah 26:8


Our group for the weekend: Tae, David, me, Sara, and Zane. I had such a great time with these guys! Lots of laughter and quality conversations. We also fully enjoyed Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, David Crowder Band, Louie Giglio, and Francis Chan together!


This is pretty much my favorite picture of Sara and me. We were pretty pumped about being at Passion... (I'm SO thankful for this girl... fyi).



Did I mention that PASSION was held at the Olympic Park? Yeah... pretty amazing!






My dear friend Tae...



Saturday morning we had some sweet girl time while we were waiting for the session to begin. Loved it!!!




Highlights of the conference:

• Hearing Francis Chan speak about GRACE... hearing his story reminded me so much of my own. I'm so thankful for God's grace... and that there is NOTHING we can do to earn his love and favor. How often I have to be reminded that life in Jesus is not based on works! Such a refreshing truth... and such a joy to join God in His work - not to earn His love but to bring Him glory!
• I am yours... forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever... There's an unexplainable security in knowing that this relationship with Jesus is going to last FOREVER. Thanks for the reminder, Mr. David Crowder!
  
• Greater things have yet to come, Greater things are still to be done in KOREA... Chris Tomlin's song, God of this City, made me so excited! God has truly done great things... but those great things are certainly not just memories in the past! Greater things are still to be done... here in Korea... and throughout the rest of the world (including Indiana... and China)!

So thankful for this weekend. It was incredibly exhausting, but worth it. We committed to pray for the PASSION TOKYO event (which is happening as I write this I believe). It was so neat to see so many Korean students loving and caring for the Japanese, especially considering the history between Korea and Japan.

Looking forward to the greater things...

Suwon Trip - Hwasseong Palace & Archery Practice

After my lovely field trip on Thursday, I got to take another field trip on Friday. All of the new Native English Teachers from my school district went together. Our district supervisor took us to Suwon (about 1 1/2 hrs. away). We visited the Hwasseong Palace, took a trolley ride up a mountain, and got to practice archery. I enjoyed exchanging stories with the other teachers.

Hwasseong Palace in Suwon


Items NOT for sale... so we were told.






Chinese characters!!!


We kind of got a behind-the-scenes tour. These guys were all dressed up and getting ready to rehearse for some performance for later in the evening.





Target practice


Me attempting archery (too bad I didn't get a pic from the opposite angle... oh well!)

The first arrow that I tried to shoot fell about three feet in front of me and the string from the bow snapped at my hand pretty hard... yeah, archery isn't my sport. I enjoyed it, but definitely not talented with it!

It was a good time...

Seoul Grand Park

Today I visited Seoul Grand Park with the Cheongryang Middle School students. It was a fabulous day! I hung out with the teachers for the most part... and took lots of pictures. :)


Did I ever mention that I LOVE living in a city where I can see mountains incredibly frequently?


Entrance to Seoul Grand Park (It's basically a zoo... and amusement park... and art gallery).


My Facebook friend... I think I may have mentioned him a few weeks ago. He totally makes me smile.


Picture with a few of the teachers... (Alice is in the middle... and Kim Kyung Hwa is on the opposite end of me - I teach with both of them).



Mrs. Moon (bright pink) & Kim Yeong Chae/Anna. Mrs. Moon reminds me so much of my mom... she's always taking care of everyone and making sure people are well fed. She brings breakfast every morning to our before school prayer time. And Anna/Kim Yeong Chae is my main "co-teacher." That basically means that she's the first teacher I met when I got here and she's the one that takes care of all of the official stuff... and is also like another mother to me (I seem to have lots of them here - though they're all great, they definitely can't replace my wonderful mother!). Anna's been really encouraging to me... I'll have to give more details about her at another time.


Apparently, the giraffe on the right needed to give it's neck a rest! We had such a great time observing the uniqueness of the animals. What an amazing Creator we have... It's neat to think that just enjoying and admiring His creation brings glory and honor to Him.


Alice, Kim Yeong Chae, and I all agreed that seeing the baby tigers was our favorite part of the zoo. The tigers were SOOO energetic and played really rough with each other. Not too different from our students...


On the bus...


Alice and I being silly... trying to mimick the statues.


Breathtaking... aren't those mountains GORGEOUS?!!!



One of my favorite things!!! Walking along roads with trees arching over the top, like a canopy. Alice and I went on a short walk and had a grand time together.... great conversations! So delightful!

Time for bed. I've got another field trip tomorrow! :)
And the PASSION SEOUL CONFERENCE tomorrow night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just What I Needed...

Okay, I promise this is the last post for tonight! I'll try to do a better job at not having them all come at once... ;-)

(Another) Break
So, this week I haven't been teaching at all. The students had mid-terms Monday-Wednesday (today). This basically means that I've had lots of "free" time at school. Of course I had super-ambitious plans to roughly plan the rest of my lessons for the semester (I can be so silly and ridiculous sometimes...). Instead, I got one lesson fully planned and another one mostly planned... So, at least I'm somewhat ahead now. It continues to amaze me how many HOURS it takes me to plan a single lesson! Since I'm not using a textbook, I guess it makes sense that it takes a little longer. My teachers keep reminding me that I'm still pretty new at teaching, so it's okay that it takes me a long time. They're so gracious to me!

It's been nice to have some extra time to catch up on stuff, though. Even though I didn't get as far ahead as I would have liked, I was able to take care of lots of little things. It's crazy that my work week is finished now. Tomorrow, we're taking a trip to the zoo (I guess a celebration for the students since they're done with exams for now). Then Friday, I have a field trip with the other Native English teachers in my district. So... that means this week I'm getting paid to sit at my desk and go on field trips. Not bad, huh? :)

A Little Dose of Humility
Yesterday at lunch, Alice was trying to teach me how to hold chopsticks. Although I'm certainly not an expert, I've definitely had no problem managing to get food from the plate to my mouth. It just so happened that the lunch menu items yesterday were slippery - noodles, pickled garlic, fruit drenched in yogurt, etc. So, I struggled somewhat, but not too bad. I was feeling okay with my progress... until Alice volunteered to buy me some "training chopsticks" - ones with grippers that they use for little kids. I felt kind of sad... and had a nice heaping slice of humble pie. It's not like I just got her last week... it's been almost 7 weeks now! :-( I know she's just trying to take care of me... and I love her for it.

A Package from Home!!!!
This morning, I was nearly running late, but saw that the front desk had a package waiting for me. Being unable to contain my excitement, I claimed it and hurried back up to my room to sneak a quick peak at the contents. My dear mother sent me all kinds of goodies!!! I felt like it was Christmas... but it would be more appropriate to say I felt like it was my birthday... because among my requested items (lovely IRS forms, a few clothes, some snacks, BOOKS, etc), she stuck in lots of other birthday goodies. The "goodies:" Reeses, a vanilla cupcake candle (how appropriate), chocolate covered coffee beans, and wrapped presents! I was nearly beside myself with excitement. I had to rush out the door so I wouldn't be late for school, but felt like such a little kid on the way to school. I was SO giddy and excited... I couldn't concentrate to read my book like I normally do each day on the bus. Instead, on my way to school, I decided that I would have to "hide" the birthday goodies from myself so that I can enjoy them on the actual day (self-control required!!!). So, when I got home, I hid them away in one of my drawers that I rarely open. That's where they MUST stay until October 19!
Oh, and I was excited to get the books because I've almost read through all of the books I broughth with me already! Just this morning, I was wondering how I would manage after running out of reading material! So... Thanks Mom, you're the best!

Okay... I think I'm officially signing off for the evening. Thanks for those of you that have read all the way through my blog frenzy this evening! It feels good to be caught up now... :) I'm sure there will be more coming soon. The rest of this week is packed with fun stuff... including the Passion Seoul Conference with Sara, David, & Tae (featuring David Crowder, Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Louie Giglio, & Francis Chan). I can hardly wait! But... more about that LATER!

A Few Thoughts on GROWTH

I guess I'm on a blogging kick right now... Last week I didn't have many blog posts compose themselves in my head. This week is quite different however! This post is in response to small groups on Sunday after the OEM service.

I suppose I need to give you a little bit of background before I tell you about our discussion. Last week I hit my 6 week marker in Korea - the same amount of time I spent in China. While I was in China, I began running consistently for the first time and made significant progress... even started to enjoy it. I also learned a decent amount of basic Mandarin (ordering food, introductions/greetings, directions, etc.) Last week, I started to compare my progress in China (in regard to exercise & learning the language) and felt kind of embarrassed. True, I'm not taking a consistent language course and it's not exactly necessary to know Korean in order to get around for the most part. However, that's no excuse! And... I have a fitness center in the basement of my building... and had only used it maybe twice in the last 6 weeks!

Upon arriving in Korea, I made a list of some areas I hoped to grow in, but didn't really make super-concrete goals on purpose. I wanted to allow room for flexibility/margin/grace. It's such a challenge to find a balance between being TOO detailed/obsessed with goals and allowing room for flexibility/margin. In the past, I've definitely swung from one side to the other.

So how does this relate to small group on Sunday?

We were discussing Luke 2:40-52... the part where Luke writes about how Jesus grew - intellectually, physically, spiritually, and socially. I used to always make my goals according to this passage, but hesitated for some reason this time. I think in the past I always made the goals and tried to accomplish them in my own strength. Since the Lord has been teaching me more about total dependence upon the Holy Spirit (John 15), I am gaining a different perspective on growth. Rather than focusing upon "goals"... I'm praying for growth. I'm not sure if any of this makes sense...

Anyway, I spent some time reflecting and praying about how God might have me grow in each of those areas this year while I'm here in Seoul. It was time well spent, I think. I'm learning so much about how I must rely on the Holy Spirit for all things... including things like getting up earlier to run. So my week started with a renewed focus and prayer for the strength of the Holy Spirit - particularly in regard to learning Korean and exercising, among other things.

Thanks for "listening" to this rambling post of mine...
~Holly

P.S. This afternoon, Alice gave me my first Korean lesson (yesterday we decided to start meeting consistently... and this morning she presented me with two Korean language workbooks).
P.P.S. I've gotten up twice this week to exercise before school!

Apart from me you can do nothing... John 15:5

OEM & Our Life Purpose

I think I promised to give a more thorough update about Onnuri English Ministry (OEM), the church that Sara and I have decided to attend. Thank you so much to those of you that have bene praying for us to find a church "home!" Several of the teachers at my school recommended that I visit OEM (http://www.onnurienglish.org). One of the teachers even connected me with her sister so that I could visit with her.

There are several things I appreciate about OEM (focus on God's GLORY, presence of the Holy Spirit, missions priority, emphasis on small groups, solid & exegetical teaching, etc.). The English service that we attend is a reasonable attendance size - about 200ish, but OEM is a pretty huge church (the Korean membership is 60,000+). I wasn't really looking to join a megachurch, but Sara and I really believe this is where God has led us. There's no doubt about it... He is working here!

This past Sunday, I particularly appreciated the sermon. Pastor Eddie is beginning a seven-part series on the Marks of a Healthy Church. This Sunday's message was about Our Life Purpose. The stuff he preached on is the stuff that makes my heart beat:

1) I am created to KNOW God (Mt. 28:19-20, II Peter 1:2, Mt. 7:20-23)

2) I am created to GROW Closer to God (Mt. 28:19-20)

3) I am created to SOW THE GIFTS of God (Mt. 22:39, Ro. 12:6)

4) I am created to SHOW [share] THE GRACE of God (Mt. 28:18-19)

5) I am created to DO ALL FOR THE GLORY of God (I Cor. 10:31, Is. 43:7, Mt. 22:37, Ps. 29:2 to name a few...)

Truly, there is no greater joy than knowing Christ and making Him known... all for His glory!!!

A Sweet Sunday with Alice

SO much to blog about... I'll have to do it in segments. I've got a couple of pictures uploaded from my time with Mrs. Park on Saturday... and then LOTS of pictures from an amazing time with Alice on Sunday afternoon.

Mrs. Park & I... notice all of the beautiful GREEN around us (a real treat for a girl that lives in a metropolitan city!)


Yes, that's a mountain in the not-so-far distance!


More beautiful GREEN!


So... Sunday with Alice:
After going to OEM (Onnuri English Ministry), Alice and I spent the ENTIRE afternoon and evening together. We had lunch at a cheap, but tasty Korean restaurant in Insadong (a tourist/traditional section of Seoul). I ordered non-spicy bibimbop (which Alice referred to as white bibimbop)... and it was delicious! I also tried anchovies and a few other Korean side dishes.

Following lunch, we walked up and down the streets of Insadong... and I actually took lots of pictures this time!








A little mall in Insadong:


Me with Alice


Yes, I've got the Asian two-finger pose down pretty well...


Alice posing as a model on a magazine cover... too cute!


Another Asian pose that I learned (perhaps unique to Korea... I'm not sure). I think I'm supposed to have my hand closer to my face and kind of covering my chin... it's supposed to make the face look smaller. Some of my friends get complimented on their "small" faces... I've even heard that some people have plastic surgery to try to make their face smaller here. Interesting, huh?


Another one of those tricks to try to make your face look smaller. Oh Alice...


Selling tasty snacks... we sampled several of them!


These guys totally cracked me up! I took a video of them. (Unfortunately, I wasn't able to post it... which is a bummer because I think you would have enjoyed it...) They made really delicious honey cakes - it's incredibly entertaining to watch them. They totally ham it up!


I got a little bit of extra special attention... since I'm a young foreign girl, you know... oh dear! They sure were funny.


This was really sweet. This guy was sitting near the street painting Chinese characters with pieces of wood. There were multiple colors of paint on each piece of wood. It was fascinating to me!


Yeah, those beautiful drawing are really Chinese characters! (The Chinese had some significant influence on Korean culture. I don't know enough of the history yet to tell you exactly...)


Mountain fruit. I'm still learning how to take close-ups with my camera, so I apologize for the fuzziness.


The fruit was mild, but sweet. I liked it. It was the first time Alice had ever tried it too. It's kind of expensive fruit since it is only grown in the mountains. I'm not sure if there is an English word for this fruit. Alice didn't seem to think so.


Posing with Snow White at this super-sweet cafe that Alice took me to. Can't wait to go back again - the atmosphere was amazing, the prices surprisingly low, and memories sweet.


Alice's turn.


You can see a little bit of what I mean by atmosphere... just look behind me!


Alice is SO cute!


We're standing in front of the entrance. Unfortunately, the sign "Cafe de Marina" got cut off. It's totally my new favorite place!!! When we sat down to enjoy our warm hot chocolate/green tea latte, we had the most amazing conversation! I am really growing to cherish my friendship with Alice. We talked more about the service at Onnuri and what it means to KNOW God. She asked me when my personal journey with the Lord began, so I got to share my story with her! We have a lot of things in common, it turns out.



After the lovely cafe, we caught the HiSeoul Music Festival along the Chunggyechun. (I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of the Chunggyechun - a lovely stream that runs through the city). I'll have to take some pictures next time I'm there. It's becoming one of my favorite places in Seoul, thus far. This picture was taken to help me remember the name of the festival (thanks to the back of someone's shirt). :)


This was a really popular rock singer, Kim Chang-wan - famous especially to the older crowd.


These guys were so fun to listen to! SG Wannabe (meaning Simon & Garfunkle wannabe) was great. Apparently, they are a really popular band among the youth (not quite as popular as "BigBang" but almost). Alice told me that these guys were initially rejected as artists several times because they're not attractive by Korean standards. Finally, they got a record signing and are actually popular because of the quality of their music, rather than their looks... what a concept!


So... that pretty much sums up my amazing Sunday with Alice. We had such a sweet time together. I love her!!!