Good & Perfect Gifts from the Amazing Giver

I will praise God's name in song and glorify Him with thanksgiving. ~Psalm 69:30

Since I moved in to my new apartment, there have been several things that I've needed. I made a list and asked God to provide for me. Shortly after that, my teachers asked me to make a list of the things that I needed...

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! ~Matthew 7:11***

I recently received a sofa from a fellow Cheongryang teacher. When he heard that I was looking for one, he just so happened to see someone getting rid of quite a nice one in his apartment building. So, he decided to drop it off at my apartment. When I tried to pay for the delivery, he refused and told me it was a "gift from God." He also dropped off a hot water pot so that I can save money and boil my water instead of having to buy it all the time.
*Both my co-teacher and I were completely in awe of the way God provided for me through this dear Christian teacher. I think we had our own little worship service to the Lord over the phone as we went on in amazement of how God provided for me in such an incredible way.

Another co-teacher heard that I needed a microwave and spent over an hour and a half cleaning out her old microwave. She then hauled it to school for me and kindly taught me how to use it. Still another teacher blessed me with a lamp (that just happens to match the sofa perfectly) and iron. Even more, my school is letting me borrow four chairs, a table/desk, full-size mirror and bookshelf for my apartment this year.

To be honest, I was so overwhelmed with all of these gracious gifts, I was practically beside myself (being able to sit and read on a couch was one of the things I missed most last year). The Lord quickly reminded me that my worship is to be directed to HIM, the GIVER of these wonderful gifts - nothing else! I'm also thankful that I can use these gifts to practice hospitality with the people that God has placed in my life here.

In addition to all of the physical/material gifts that the Lord has provided, I've noticed a lot of other gifts from my gracious King and Father. I had several random conversations on the bus with a girl whom I found out is my neighbor. Her and her husband are quickly becoming good friends. God has also been blessing me with some encouraging conversations and interactions at school. There have just been so many reminders recently that this truly is a season to cherish. I'm thankful that He's been giving me extra time to soak in His presence, time to feed off of His words of life, time to rejoice in song... truly the Lord is my Shepherd and HE restores my soul!

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. ~James 1:17

***I am not, in any way advocating the prosperity gospel. I only want to praise God for His generous provision that He's demonstrated to me during this particular season of my life.

Lovely Lisa

Last week, as I was leaving school, I saw one of my 3rd grade students, Lisa. She told me that she would be making "mayonnaise cookies" after school. I told her I'd never heard of them before. I was a little skeptical about the taste. She assured me that they taste wonderfully and promised to bring five cookies for me the following day.

Lisa made good on her promise... and even added a special note!

The note reads:
Hello~~
I am Narnia class Lisa~
I am pretty girl.
You too.
I love you very much.
I miss you [tears]
Thank you <3 -Lovely Lisa


I absolutely love having Lisa in class! Although she's by no means fluent in English, I love that she's not afraid to make mistakes and has a great sense of humor. She's definitely found her way into my heart (even before the cookies)!

So thankful for encouraging students like Lovely Lisa...

Loans Celebration

My dear friend, Sara Nelson treated me to an evening of celebration last Friday night, due to the fact that two of my college loans are completely paid off (one BIG one left to go)! Praise the Lord! I was treated to a delightful dinner of delicious kalguksu noodles, followed by Starbucks, a lovely walk through Jamsil, and a movie (My Sister's Keeper) with popcorn. She also surprised me with a few small gifts and card to commemorate the occasion.


Definitely cherishing this season of life with this girl...




It was definitely one of those types of evenings that I will cherish for years to come!

On My Knees

I was a little bit nervous about getting back to teaching after having such a long break, but it's been a good transition. I've learned that it is NOT an option to leave my apartment without spending time placing the day (and my classroom/students/teachers) in the Lord's hands.

Recently, I've been asking Him for creative ideas with my students. It's been a blessing to see Him answering that prayer...

Last Friday, I found myself actually on my knees, literally begging my half-alive third-graders to speak in audible voices with a little bit of intonation. After some very exaggerated and animated maneuvers, I finally caught their attention and was even rewarded with a few smiles and giggles. Even greater, they practiced the dialogue and used expression! It was one of those incredibly rewarding teaching moments that just made my heart overflow with joy and energy...

My Sanctuary

I've been thoroughly enjoying the park that is quite near my apartment. Since I didn't have anything like it last year, I've been trying to take advantage of it as much as possible - taking evening walks/jogs, going to read/journal/think/pray... it almost seems like a sanctuary to me!

A few pics that don't quite do it justice, but give you the idea. I'm looking forward to seeing the leaves turn colors in a few weeks!










I am realizing more and more how much nature seems to refresh my heart and makes me feel closer to the Lord. I guess it makes sense, since it is His creation!

So thankful for this precious gift from the Lord...

Collecting Stories

I've had several mishaps recently... and it all chalks up for experience and laughter!

Bus Misadventure
My first day back to school, I accidentally got on the wrong bus (even though it was the correct bus #, I didn't know that you have to check the sign in front to make sure that it's not going back to the bus garage...oops). After five solid weeks of vacation, I had hoped to get to school extra early so that I would have time to make copies for my lesson before seeing all of the teachers again during our Monday morning meeting (I had been asked to give a brief greeting upon my return to school). In effort to avoid being late, I had even practiced going to school the week before, but apparently failed to practice both of the bus numbers that I can take! Fortunately, my co-teacher helped me out when I called her somewhat frantically from the bus garage. The vice principal and principal were both understanding and laughed it off when I finally arrived to school (which I was quite thankful for)!

Sae Tahk! Sae Tahk!
During my first week of living in my new apartment, I was somewhat startled in the morning when I heard a woman calling through the halls, Sae tahk! Sae tahk! I was somewhat annoyed and a little concerned. Could it be that she was calling out to her ancestors (or maybe even other spirits) through our hallways? As time has gone on, I've noticed that this woman walks through the halls every morning, calling out Sae tahk! Sae tahk!

Curiosity finally got the best of me and one day, I approached the woman and asked her (in my incredibly broken Korean and hand gestures) what she was saying. She pointed to her clothes and said, oht. I knew she was talking about clothes and assumed that she was trying to sell clothes in our apartment building. My thoughts were, Really?! At 7:30 in the morning?

I relayed my experience to my co-teachers at school. They started laughing and told me that the woman wasn't selling clothes, but collecting clothes for dry-cleaning/laundry! Apparently it's quite common for this to happen in most apartments here in Korea. One of my co-teachers even made a copy of a few pages from one of his cultural English books about Sae Tahk. He left a few extra books with me so that I would be more informed about Korean culture. I couldn't help but chuckle through it all. Another one of those stories...

Stove
This past Saturday morning, I decided I wanted to make an egg for breakfast. It seemed simple enough. However, lighting the gas turned out to be quite a challenge. After over twenty attempts (I wish that was an exaggeration), I gave up and decided to just push down on the gas while trying to light the burner and cook my egg over the heat since I couldn't get the burner to stay on. It was quite a frustrating experience!

Upon discussing this problem with my parents, my dad cautioned me to get it checked out (which I was planning on doing) and told me that I could have caused an explosion with the way I decided to try to cook my egg. Oops...

So, on Monday, the maintenance man came to check out the problem. He walked over to my stove and turned it on - with absolutely no problem! I was so confused... and embarrassed. Apparently, I just didn't have the timing down correctly for when to push down on the burner and when to let it up, etc. Definitely felt like the classic stupid foreigner. The ajahshi (older man) was gracious enough and told my co-teacher that if I have any other problems to let him know.

I'm pleased to report that I successfully made spaghetti on my stove that very night. Yes (Dad), humble pie was on the menu as well.

Wondering what story I will be adding to my collection next...lol!

I want to praise God for...

• A great first week of teaching!
• Lesson planning ideas
  
• Wisdom with my schedule this semester
  
• Furniture provided by my school
• Coffee from East Timor (one of our teachers went on a mission trip over the vacation and made sure to bring back some coffee for me)
• Opportunities to share with students and teachers about my wonderful time at home
  
• Blessing our City Hall Small Group in exciting ways... and answering several prayer requests!
• The beautiful park near my home!
• Motivation to exercise four times this past week (at the beautiful park).
  
• Creative ideas in the midst of teaching low-level third graders who sometimes make me wonder if they are alive and have a pulse.
  
• Blessing me with great co-teachers (a couple of new ones this semester).
• Time to finish decorating my apartment - I just love turning it into a home!
  
• Beth Moore's book Breaking Free
• Lots of intentionally built-in margin!
  
• Sara's eagerness to rejoice with me over having two of my college loans paid off (one big one left to go!). She treated me to a wonderful evening of celebration on Friday night - dinner, Starbucks, a lovely walk, and a movie (with popcorn)!
  
• My Saturday morning Korean class at OEM - which I am loving more and more each week!
• Sweet and refreshing times with the Lord this week
• Confirmation that this is where I'm supposed to be right now

They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. - Isaiah 61:3b

My New Apartment

Finally, I'm (somewhat) ready to post pics of my new apartment. I am still waiting for some more furniture from my school. Then I will hang up more decorations. For now, things are somewhat sparse, but spacious and CLEAN. =)


Welcome!




You may notice that there is actually glass separating the shower from the rest of the bathroom - somewhat unique for bathrooms in Korea.


The stairs are currently serving as shelves for future decorations.


TWO burners on the stove this year!!! (100% increase from last year)


The loft - still not exactly sure what I'm going to do with this space. (Some teachers stopped by earlier this week to bring the blankets and helped me take care of settling-in business.)


The other half of the room is empty - thus no picture!



This is my view from the window - pretty sweet, huh?



So far, I'm thoroughly enjoying my new "home." Although I'm much further away from downtown (where I was last year), I actually get to see trees and grass and mountains and blue sky! It's a refreshing place to live. I'm also looking forward to hopefully having lots of opportunities to be a hostess (especially since I have more space for guests this time around).

Highlights from Home

I think I've been putting this post off for awhile because it's just too hard to sum up how meaningful my four weeks at home were. There are so many stories to share... but a few pictures will have to suffice.


Such a comforting sign!!!


Silver Beach, St. Joe, MI - ALL together for an entire week!


Gorgeous sunset


Mom's amazing homemade pizza - the food I missed the most!


Mom & Dad's surprise 25th wedding anniversary party


Loving each other more than ever...


Making a Korean meal for the fam...


Got to help Sara with a completely surprise visit to her parents!


Visit to Chicago - also checked out the Shedd Aquarium


Had an amazing visit! Hope to spend a few years here in the somewhat near future, Lord-willing...


Cassie surprised me with a mini-fondue set to take back to Korea for chocolate parties!!! =)


Of course, we had to test it out... ;)


Egle 101 roomies


Our Jana Alexis got married!!! (and I had the honor of being a bridesmaid in her wedding!)


Re-connecting with WONDERFUL friends - Charity, Nora, and Marissa


Visiting Kate in Toledo!


The starter decided not to work when it was time for me to leave Toledo, but my Dad willingly came to pick me up! =)


Had LOTS of great times with this girl... (who is now taller than me!!!)


I'm spoiled with an amazing and loving family...


Pedicures and manicures with my mom. =)


My family trying to pose like Koreans...

I'm so thankful for my four weeks at home in August - such a gracious gift from the Lord. Totally blessed and overwhelmed with the amazing people God has placed in my life...

Back in Seoul

So, I'm back in Korea and just got internet connected in my apartment this afternoon. I like my new apartment and area a LOT.

Besides moving in, cleaning, and organizing, this week has been pretty chill (and refreshing) since my school doesn't want to risk having me teach and potentially carry the H1N1 Flu after traveling and being in the States and all. No complaints here! I do have a bit of a cold, so it's nice to have some built-in recovery time.

Goodbyes were hard and I'm of course missing my family. So thankful for Skype... and thankful for God's Sovereign Hand.

This year is going to be a lot different from last year, which I'm mostly pretty excited about. More to come later with more updates and pictures...