My roommate and I still really haven't been too different places around Daegu, we have really only been to downtown. One of our church members offered to take us near the American Army base so that we could check out some braiding shops for us to get our hair down at the end of the month. Tahia (my roommate) and I felt that we could go downtown and meet with our friend with no problem.
There we are at the bus stop. The trip from our nearest bus stop to the main street downtown is less than 20 min. My roommate tells me that we should get on the bus that pulls up (bus number 305). Those who know me well know that I have no, and I mean no sense of direction so I usually depend on those around me to get around. We get on the bus and everything was normal...until... the bus keeps going straight when it was supposed to be going the other right. I didn't think much of it because most of the buses we had gotten on eventually ended up downtown... the longer we were on the bus.. the stranger the buildings got... eventually I thought we had reached downtown because I saw familiar restaurants. We had the hope that the bus would finally turn into the main street in downtown... but it never did!!!! Apparently the bus we were on only went around the outskirts of town... of course we didn't know that... so for over 1 hour we road on the bus trying to look for things that were familiar... but couldn't find anything... We almost made it to the end of the bus route!!! We were able by God's grace to get off the buss and transfer onto another bus that we knew for sure would eventually take us to downtown...
Now the problem with all this if you forgot was that our friend was waiting for us downtown. We had no phone we had no one's number on us :S We kept on praying that she would not be get tired of waiting for us and that she would get too worried. (She had been waiting for us for 2 hours by the time we finally reached downtown)
When we finally reached a place that we recognized we praised God and got off the bus and found her pacing and waiting for us, she had actually gone walking around to see if we had ended up somewhere else and she kept on calling the house and calling everyone that we knew in town, and she kept on asking people around town if they had seen 2 black girls LOL! adventures! now we know on what bus not to get on :S
We also had the chance to visit The Loving Hut, a vegan restaurant chain that that they have here in the city. Long story short a lady walked in not knowing that it was a vegan restaurant and she was surprised because the place looked so clean and so different. She had been in America for some time so she started asking us some questions and she started telling us about some of her problems and we were able to share with her The Love of God and why I was a abstaining from drinking and from eating meat. It was a real blessing as you read this please pray for her, her English name is Jenny.
One more story :D
Yesterday I ran into 3 of my students, they told us to go with them to eat across the street at a soup restaurant. (Food here Korean food at least is very cheap) So we told them that we had to go get our wallets. When we came back they had already ordered for us. They ordered a special soup that wasn't on the menu ( u know because they knew that I didn't eat meat) My roommate and I were given from their soup to taste it was a Sesame seed soup, it was very good, ours was some kind of basic leek soup. We were enjoying our time when all of a sudden my roommate nudges me and shows me the bowl where they had given her the sesame soup to taste and it was full of clams.... I STOPPED COLD.... I was like hmmm maybe it was in the sesame soup that they gave us to taste... I didn't want to be rood so I hoped that I didn't have anything in my soup..all of a sudden I felt something clank at the bottom of my bowl....THEY WERE IN MY SOUP TOO!!! I STOPPED COLD...AND DROPPED MY CHOPSTICKS. (Yes I'm learning ;) I prayed that I wasn't allergic to seafood, my dad almost died because he didn't know that there was seafood in his salad once... yeah didn't want that to happen to me... can you imagine... not knowing korean...and can't breath...not a good mix LOL.
Everyday here is an adventure :) Please keep all the missionaries here In Korea in your prayers... this is a serious work and there is soo much to be done. Miss u my friends :) GB!
miércoles, 9 de junio de 2010
miércoles, 2 de junio de 2010
Teaching Juniors
When I was in college my mother always told me.."Martha, why don't you take some classes in Education?" I would always respond.. "If I wanted to be a teacher I would have majored in Education". Maybe 3 years later I was a teacher at a small church school in Augusta, Georgia. I have been teaching on and off ever since. Mother always knows best ;)
Teaching the Juniors here in Korea has been a real eye opener. I do think that I have a special place in my heart for teaching elementary and primary. The kids here are very sweet and very smart.
Here in Korea children are expected to learn, learn, learn. South Korea has one of the highest if not the highest percentage of teen suicides... They are pushed to the max. I understand that the only thing that the parents want to do is secure a good future for their children, but everyday I question if they understand what they are doing to them. My youngest student is around 5 years old. They go to their regular classes in the morning, it might start at 7am or 8am the go they might finish classes by 3pm. They then take a bus to their first afternoon activity. Some children might have up to 2 or three activities in one afternoon. They are pushed to learn learn learn English because it is what is going to get them good jobs.
Some of the children do not go to sleep until 11pm or 12midnight. By 6pm some of the children are dozing off in their seats. When test day comes around the panic, some start crying some forget everything. They have so many club activities sometimes that they don't have time to do their homework.
My coordinator was just telling me that one of his students from his 7pm class starts her day before 5am and finishes it at midnight... you tell me...how many hours that poor child gets of sleep.
During one of my tests I took it upon myself to make a little survey. I asked every child in the class when his/her day started and when it finished. Of the 18 students in the class 2 went to bed before 9:30pm the rest went to sleep at 11pm. One of them said she goes to sleep at midnight. Most of them start their day at 7 or 8am.... It breaks my heart. Then you wonder why when they have some kind of freedom in college the go wild drinking and partying. The average jr high school and high school student spends over 15 hours a day studying...
I asked my coordinator if any student from the SDA language institute had ever committed suicide. He said yes. In one school a teen and his girlfriend killed themselves on the same day... Can you imagine the pain those parents must have gone through! Lord have mercy.
I try to take it easy on them and help them as much as I can during their test time...some of them do everything perfectly. It breaks my heart. Their truly is a big work to do here in Korea... Please keep me and these children in your prayers.
Teaching the Juniors here in Korea has been a real eye opener. I do think that I have a special place in my heart for teaching elementary and primary. The kids here are very sweet and very smart.
Here in Korea children are expected to learn, learn, learn. South Korea has one of the highest if not the highest percentage of teen suicides... They are pushed to the max. I understand that the only thing that the parents want to do is secure a good future for their children, but everyday I question if they understand what they are doing to them. My youngest student is around 5 years old. They go to their regular classes in the morning, it might start at 7am or 8am the go they might finish classes by 3pm. They then take a bus to their first afternoon activity. Some children might have up to 2 or three activities in one afternoon. They are pushed to learn learn learn English because it is what is going to get them good jobs.
Some of the children do not go to sleep until 11pm or 12midnight. By 6pm some of the children are dozing off in their seats. When test day comes around the panic, some start crying some forget everything. They have so many club activities sometimes that they don't have time to do their homework.
My coordinator was just telling me that one of his students from his 7pm class starts her day before 5am and finishes it at midnight... you tell me...how many hours that poor child gets of sleep.
During one of my tests I took it upon myself to make a little survey. I asked every child in the class when his/her day started and when it finished. Of the 18 students in the class 2 went to bed before 9:30pm the rest went to sleep at 11pm. One of them said she goes to sleep at midnight. Most of them start their day at 7 or 8am.... It breaks my heart. Then you wonder why when they have some kind of freedom in college the go wild drinking and partying. The average jr high school and high school student spends over 15 hours a day studying...
I asked my coordinator if any student from the SDA language institute had ever committed suicide. He said yes. In one school a teen and his girlfriend killed themselves on the same day... Can you imagine the pain those parents must have gone through! Lord have mercy.
I try to take it easy on them and help them as much as I can during their test time...some of them do everything perfectly. It breaks my heart. Their truly is a big work to do here in Korea... Please keep me and these children in your prayers.
martes, 1 de junio de 2010
Adventures in Downtown Daegu...
Walking around in Daegu is a true adventure... especially if you don't speak the language LOL!
My co-workers took us downtown on the bus so that my housemate and I could learn how to go downtown. By God's grace the 2 times that we have ventured out by ourselves God has placed one of the students on the bus and she lets us know where to get off. On one of those occasions we got on the bus not knowing where we were going... all we knew was that we needed rain boots and tennis shoes... We got on the bus and God blessed and one of the students was there and she came along with us and even called one of my students to come with.
During that outing we stopped at a beauty shop because I needed to buy something. I had been told before that in South Korea the women bleach their skin so that it can be lighter...(keep that info in mind ;) So we walk into the store and quickly the sales lady starts trying to sell me everything that she could. I found what I needed, she keeps on spaying things on our faces and giving us things to smell. All of a sudden she takes my hand and dabs some cream on it ( I thought it was lotion) she then tells us not to take it off for the next 3 minutes. My mind starts racing, no one else was thinking much of it. I was like "hmmm"... it's not lotion because if it was lotion I could touch it... it's not cleanser... what is it..." Then I remembered! IT'S BLEACH!!!! NOOO!! Please take it off! The sales person first took my housemates off when she got to me it was already starting to burn ( I have sensitive skin) I have no a slightly lighter patch of skin on the top of my hand :P
Walking on the sidewalks in South Korea is walking on the side of danger...LOL ok so maybe I'm stretching the truth a little. Here is the only place that you have to look both ways to walk on the sidewalk! Be careful or you will have a bike, scooter, or even a car honk at you if you are in their way while walking on the sidewalk. Never think that as the pedestrian you have the right of way... nope ;) I have seen people trying to cross the street and have a car back into them. When u go downtown, there are some areas that have brick roads. You would think that these shopping areas are for pedestrians only...no they are not, and be careful because cars will come flying down the street and you will have to jump out of their way. Right after the bleaching incident, we were looking for tennis shoes. We went to cross the street to go to another store in the shopping area, we stopped for a a second in the middle and all of a sudden these cars were coming at us and I had to pull my student out of the way...Talk about running for your life. To go shopping is a dangerous thing..LOL
This is without mentioning that my housemate and I stick out light sore thumbs here LOL!
I'm learning though to understand that looking both ways before you cross is a whole lot important here then anywhere else... It can cost your life... ;)
My co-workers took us downtown on the bus so that my housemate and I could learn how to go downtown. By God's grace the 2 times that we have ventured out by ourselves God has placed one of the students on the bus and she lets us know where to get off. On one of those occasions we got on the bus not knowing where we were going... all we knew was that we needed rain boots and tennis shoes... We got on the bus and God blessed and one of the students was there and she came along with us and even called one of my students to come with.
During that outing we stopped at a beauty shop because I needed to buy something. I had been told before that in South Korea the women bleach their skin so that it can be lighter...(keep that info in mind ;) So we walk into the store and quickly the sales lady starts trying to sell me everything that she could. I found what I needed, she keeps on spaying things on our faces and giving us things to smell. All of a sudden she takes my hand and dabs some cream on it ( I thought it was lotion) she then tells us not to take it off for the next 3 minutes. My mind starts racing, no one else was thinking much of it. I was like "hmmm"... it's not lotion because if it was lotion I could touch it... it's not cleanser... what is it..." Then I remembered! IT'S BLEACH!!!! NOOO!! Please take it off! The sales person first took my housemates off when she got to me it was already starting to burn ( I have sensitive skin) I have no a slightly lighter patch of skin on the top of my hand :P
Walking on the sidewalks in South Korea is walking on the side of danger...LOL ok so maybe I'm stretching the truth a little. Here is the only place that you have to look both ways to walk on the sidewalk! Be careful or you will have a bike, scooter, or even a car honk at you if you are in their way while walking on the sidewalk. Never think that as the pedestrian you have the right of way... nope ;) I have seen people trying to cross the street and have a car back into them. When u go downtown, there are some areas that have brick roads. You would think that these shopping areas are for pedestrians only...no they are not, and be careful because cars will come flying down the street and you will have to jump out of their way. Right after the bleaching incident, we were looking for tennis shoes. We went to cross the street to go to another store in the shopping area, we stopped for a a second in the middle and all of a sudden these cars were coming at us and I had to pull my student out of the way...Talk about running for your life. To go shopping is a dangerous thing..LOL
This is without mentioning that my housemate and I stick out light sore thumbs here LOL!
I'm learning though to understand that looking both ways before you cross is a whole lot important here then anywhere else... It can cost your life... ;)
The Dust Is Settling On This Whole Teaching Gig...
I have been in Daegu for a month this coming Wednesday. Only by God's grace have I been able to make it this far. The more I teach the more I realize that God has brought me here for a good reason, to reach His children.
Before I came to Korea I had been told that drinking was a big part of the Korean culture. Being raised in a home where I can barely count the times I saw my parents drinking, it is something that is not to easy to fathom.
Walking around the city of Daegu (Taegu) I have seen many bars. I was also told that it is quite normal to see youth drunk in the streets. In my classes the sweetest looking girls, when you ask them what they like to do, one of the first things they will tell you is that they like to get drunk with their friends. All they do is giggle and smile... I understand that not everyone understands that harmful effects of alcohol on the body and mind...but still...One of my female students accidentally slammed her finger in the door of a Hof (where people do most of their drinking and eat cheap food).
The blessing about being in the SDALI is that you never know when you are going to have the opportunity to witness to your students. As English teachers we have a very structured routine for the everyday classes. The last 30 hour of every adult class is conversation. All the students rotate every certain time and speak on different subjects each day. On a specific day during the conversation I was able to speak to witness to 2 of my students. Everyday for the first 5 minutes of class we go over a bible verse and we say a thought on the days verse.
One evening I only had 2 students in my 8pm class. They are level 3 so I am able to converse with them more freely. They were really tired so we just had free conversation. I don't know how we ended up on the subject but we started to talk about how drinking is a strong part of the Korean culture. They (2 guys) told me that the fathers are the ones that teach the Korean young men how to drink. There is a specific way that it is done. I was also told that it is very hard to be a business man and be a christian. Pretty much what an individual thinks is irrelevant, what matters is what the group thinks. If your boss ask you to go drinking you have to go. If you boss asks you to go to a club you have to do it. It is very hard to be a christian man in Korea. I was able to ask them what they think when girls or guys get drunk and they both said that it didn't look good. I was able to share with them why as a Christian I don't drink.
My bible class has also been very special. I praise The Lord for the opportunity to be able to share with my ladies God's love. They have so many questions. Its a blessing to see a little twinkle of interest in their eyes when you mention a new concept. So many of my regular students are non religious. Here is when I have truly been able to see that God has His children everywhere and that He wants us to share with them His Love. It's not about what you can and can't do, it's about showing his love and trying to understand their culture and their mindset.
One of they things that they find hard in my religion class, is obeying God over their parents... so please pray for me as I continue to share God's love here in Daegu, South Korea :)
Before I came to Korea I had been told that drinking was a big part of the Korean culture. Being raised in a home where I can barely count the times I saw my parents drinking, it is something that is not to easy to fathom.
Walking around the city of Daegu (Taegu) I have seen many bars. I was also told that it is quite normal to see youth drunk in the streets. In my classes the sweetest looking girls, when you ask them what they like to do, one of the first things they will tell you is that they like to get drunk with their friends. All they do is giggle and smile... I understand that not everyone understands that harmful effects of alcohol on the body and mind...but still...One of my female students accidentally slammed her finger in the door of a Hof (where people do most of their drinking and eat cheap food).
The blessing about being in the SDALI is that you never know when you are going to have the opportunity to witness to your students. As English teachers we have a very structured routine for the everyday classes. The last 30 hour of every adult class is conversation. All the students rotate every certain time and speak on different subjects each day. On a specific day during the conversation I was able to speak to witness to 2 of my students. Everyday for the first 5 minutes of class we go over a bible verse and we say a thought on the days verse.
One evening I only had 2 students in my 8pm class. They are level 3 so I am able to converse with them more freely. They were really tired so we just had free conversation. I don't know how we ended up on the subject but we started to talk about how drinking is a strong part of the Korean culture. They (2 guys) told me that the fathers are the ones that teach the Korean young men how to drink. There is a specific way that it is done. I was also told that it is very hard to be a business man and be a christian. Pretty much what an individual thinks is irrelevant, what matters is what the group thinks. If your boss ask you to go drinking you have to go. If you boss asks you to go to a club you have to do it. It is very hard to be a christian man in Korea. I was able to ask them what they think when girls or guys get drunk and they both said that it didn't look good. I was able to share with them why as a Christian I don't drink.
My bible class has also been very special. I praise The Lord for the opportunity to be able to share with my ladies God's love. They have so many questions. Its a blessing to see a little twinkle of interest in their eyes when you mention a new concept. So many of my regular students are non religious. Here is when I have truly been able to see that God has His children everywhere and that He wants us to share with them His Love. It's not about what you can and can't do, it's about showing his love and trying to understand their culture and their mindset.
One of they things that they find hard in my religion class, is obeying God over their parents... so please pray for me as I continue to share God's love here in Daegu, South Korea :)
lunes, 24 de mayo de 2010
May 3...Teaching Day 1
It is the first day of class. There are a lot of questions in my mind, I'm not sure exactly what to expect. My first couple of classes are really nice... I feel dumb because I'm not sure of what I'm doing in there, and I start re-thinking the whole teaching English in Korea (ignoring the fact that it's too late for me to think that way LOL) It's funny because we were supposed to only do introduction, but my students quickly said their names and then it was time to do something with them...
That wasn't the bad part... After that it was time for lunch. We still hadn't been able to get anything in regards to food so we decided that we would try and eat downstairs considering that we had eating there yesterday so maybe that would remember what we could and couldn't eat. My roommate and I head downstairs and we sit at one of the tables and we wait...and we wait...and we wait... and we wait some more. At first we thought well, you know it's a busy time of the day ( the place was completely full) So we waited some more... but still no one would even look at us. We had bought some English Korean books in Seoul, I had brought it with me to the store to see if I could show them just in case they couldn't understand. Finally I worked up the courage to ask someone being that it wasn't busy anymore and no one was looking at me. To make a long story short, the worker I went to ask was cleaning one of the tables she looked at me she looked at my book and she more or less pushed me out of the way! I was in shock... She motioned that I should go to the area where they made bi-bim bop, so I went but it wasn't any better. I went and sat down with my roommate and finally just got up and left... i was soo frustrated with my inability to communicate that I wanted to cry. We then went to the bakery and tried to by something but we ended up buying things that we couldn't even eat.
When we got upstairs the pastor of the institute was sitting and eating and he shared some of his lunch with us. I think just this past week I finally understood why the people didn't even look at us. 1) of course the language barrier, 2) I guess the norm here in Korea is that when u walk into the small restaurants you automatically call out what your going to have and then they bring it to you... we would've waited there forever...
Interesting things to learn on your first day... It was quite frustrating to say the least.
The next day we decided that we were pretty homesick so we went to Costco to see if we saw anything that would remind us of home. We saw many things that we wanted to buy. Then we went to buy pizza because we knew that the pizza was the same one that they make in the states. As we are inline... I say to my roommate... so how do we even order a pizza?!!! LOL!!
So as the line gets closer to the register, we still have no idea. Finally we see this couple of guys (yes they were a couple) and we asked them and they told us to say Cheese Pizza Han Pan and to make a circular motion with our hands. We ordered the pizza and then we saw that everyone else would move to another line (yes we felt like we were in a amusement park) obviously everyone else can ask if they order is done... could we.. nope... one of the workers took pity and she took our receipt on 2 occasions and she finally got our pizza for us... that sure lifted our moral for the day and actually it was on of the best things that had happened to us :)
That wasn't the bad part... After that it was time for lunch. We still hadn't been able to get anything in regards to food so we decided that we would try and eat downstairs considering that we had eating there yesterday so maybe that would remember what we could and couldn't eat. My roommate and I head downstairs and we sit at one of the tables and we wait...and we wait...and we wait... and we wait some more. At first we thought well, you know it's a busy time of the day ( the place was completely full) So we waited some more... but still no one would even look at us. We had bought some English Korean books in Seoul, I had brought it with me to the store to see if I could show them just in case they couldn't understand. Finally I worked up the courage to ask someone being that it wasn't busy anymore and no one was looking at me. To make a long story short, the worker I went to ask was cleaning one of the tables she looked at me she looked at my book and she more or less pushed me out of the way! I was in shock... She motioned that I should go to the area where they made bi-bim bop, so I went but it wasn't any better. I went and sat down with my roommate and finally just got up and left... i was soo frustrated with my inability to communicate that I wanted to cry. We then went to the bakery and tried to by something but we ended up buying things that we couldn't even eat.
When we got upstairs the pastor of the institute was sitting and eating and he shared some of his lunch with us. I think just this past week I finally understood why the people didn't even look at us. 1) of course the language barrier, 2) I guess the norm here in Korea is that when u walk into the small restaurants you automatically call out what your going to have and then they bring it to you... we would've waited there forever...
Interesting things to learn on your first day... It was quite frustrating to say the least.
The next day we decided that we were pretty homesick so we went to Costco to see if we saw anything that would remind us of home. We saw many things that we wanted to buy. Then we went to buy pizza because we knew that the pizza was the same one that they make in the states. As we are inline... I say to my roommate... so how do we even order a pizza?!!! LOL!!
So as the line gets closer to the register, we still have no idea. Finally we see this couple of guys (yes they were a couple) and we asked them and they told us to say Cheese Pizza Han Pan and to make a circular motion with our hands. We ordered the pizza and then we saw that everyone else would move to another line (yes we felt like we were in a amusement park) obviously everyone else can ask if they order is done... could we.. nope... one of the workers took pity and she took our receipt on 2 occasions and she finally got our pizza for us... that sure lifted our moral for the day and actually it was on of the best things that had happened to us :)
1st Day...in Daegu
Sunday May 2...
We were put on a 3 hour bus ride to Daegu, South Korea. That is in the southern part of South Korea. Daegue is the 3rd biggest city in South Korea. It is not as crowded as Seoul, and that is something I praise God for. I haven't been pushed since I got here ;) This city is known as the Fashion Capitol of South Korea.
Ok enough small talk :)
OK so I live in what are called Villas, it is an apartment building but it only has like 3 or 4 floors. I am next to the East gate of one of the famous National Universities. The apartment is like a 20 minute walk from the Institute. It's not a bad walk, except when you are dog tired from a long day.
Our first night the pastor of the Institute told us to walk back to the Institute to make sure that we knew how to get back, if not he said we might not be able to make it on time the next morning for our first day of classes. My roommate and I did as we were told. We hadn't eaten anything and we had no idea where to go or even how to say to anyone what we needed. By God's grace when we got back to the institute one of the Korean Jr teachers was here, here name is Luna, and she was here with another one of the Jr teachers. That was a blessing because she took us downstairs and she ordered food for us. (not easy being vegetarian in a place that you can't speak the language...)
As my roommate and I are walking back... you won't believe what happened to her... We are walking and minding our own business when out of the corner of my eye I see a lady walking up behind us... (the interesting thing was that we had been warned about what was about to happen, but we never thought that it would actually happen!!) All of a sudden... the lady starts touching my roommates hair..(my roommate has dark curly hair)... when the lady is done touching my friend's hair the lady proceeds to touch my friends BUTT! she actually starts patting my friend's butt! While she is doing all of this she continues to speak in Korean, of course we can't understand a word of what the lady is saying! We just start laughing because we can't understand what is going on. Finally the lady is able to say "Beautiful!" She walks ahead of us but has to wait at the same light as we do... we were actually worried that she would try talking to us again... LOL!! can you say amazing first few hours in Daegu!!
We were put on a 3 hour bus ride to Daegu, South Korea. That is in the southern part of South Korea. Daegue is the 3rd biggest city in South Korea. It is not as crowded as Seoul, and that is something I praise God for. I haven't been pushed since I got here ;) This city is known as the Fashion Capitol of South Korea.
Ok enough small talk :)
OK so I live in what are called Villas, it is an apartment building but it only has like 3 or 4 floors. I am next to the East gate of one of the famous National Universities. The apartment is like a 20 minute walk from the Institute. It's not a bad walk, except when you are dog tired from a long day.
Our first night the pastor of the Institute told us to walk back to the Institute to make sure that we knew how to get back, if not he said we might not be able to make it on time the next morning for our first day of classes. My roommate and I did as we were told. We hadn't eaten anything and we had no idea where to go or even how to say to anyone what we needed. By God's grace when we got back to the institute one of the Korean Jr teachers was here, here name is Luna, and she was here with another one of the Jr teachers. That was a blessing because she took us downstairs and she ordered food for us. (not easy being vegetarian in a place that you can't speak the language...)
As my roommate and I are walking back... you won't believe what happened to her... We are walking and minding our own business when out of the corner of my eye I see a lady walking up behind us... (the interesting thing was that we had been warned about what was about to happen, but we never thought that it would actually happen!!) All of a sudden... the lady starts touching my roommates hair..(my roommate has dark curly hair)... when the lady is done touching my friend's hair the lady proceeds to touch my friends BUTT! she actually starts patting my friend's butt! While she is doing all of this she continues to speak in Korean, of course we can't understand a word of what the lady is saying! We just start laughing because we can't understand what is going on. Finally the lady is able to say "Beautiful!" She walks ahead of us but has to wait at the same light as we do... we were actually worried that she would try talking to us again... LOL!! can you say amazing first few hours in Daegu!!
miércoles, 19 de mayo de 2010
Ok so it has been forever since I have been able to update you guys... here is an effort to put you all up to speed :) As you read please keep me in your prayers! Miss you guys very much!
My current location is Daegu South Korea, this is the 3rd largest city in South Korea. I'm a little over 3 hours away from Seoul( the capital of South Korea). Orientation was a total of 2 and a half weeks. I met some of the coolest people God has placed in my path. We had great times starting the adaptation process to this different culture. I was praying hard that God wouldn't send me too far from Seoul because I wanted to be close to Elsie. But I was also praying that He place me where He saw that I would do the best work for Him. As I was being trained my eyes were opened... I was like wow, you can really do sooo much for God over here for these people.
While I was in Seoul, I mentioned before that I had to get a medical check-up. My last week in orientation, Leo ( one of the big dogs in charge ;) pulls me aside and starts asking me some interesting questions (1. Have you taken any medications... and you can imagine the other ones along those lines.) I was like hmmmm....why do you ask? Apparently something had been found in one of my tests. Before your mind starts racing :P I had taken a Benadryl, apparently that contains some substances that are illegal here in Korea... I was like man... I just got here and I have to go... but God is good :) They still haven't called so I guess everything is ok ;)
Right before I left I was really getting tired of being pushed around by all the masses that you see in the capital.
While I was in Seoul, it was a blessing to see some friends from college that I hadn't seen in years some 4 years others up to 8 years. But it doesn't matter how much time goes by, I love the fact they regardless the time and the distance if you went to UAA you will forever be family :) I got to see Ito, J, Edgardo, Wilson and Carlos :)
I arrived here in Daegu May 2, and classes started May 3. No time to really settle in... And those first 2 weeks... MERCY! were those some first 2 weeks :)...to be continued...
My current location is Daegu South Korea, this is the 3rd largest city in South Korea. I'm a little over 3 hours away from Seoul( the capital of South Korea). Orientation was a total of 2 and a half weeks. I met some of the coolest people God has placed in my path. We had great times starting the adaptation process to this different culture. I was praying hard that God wouldn't send me too far from Seoul because I wanted to be close to Elsie. But I was also praying that He place me where He saw that I would do the best work for Him. As I was being trained my eyes were opened... I was like wow, you can really do sooo much for God over here for these people.
While I was in Seoul, I mentioned before that I had to get a medical check-up. My last week in orientation, Leo ( one of the big dogs in charge ;) pulls me aside and starts asking me some interesting questions (1. Have you taken any medications... and you can imagine the other ones along those lines.) I was like hmmmm....why do you ask? Apparently something had been found in one of my tests. Before your mind starts racing :P I had taken a Benadryl, apparently that contains some substances that are illegal here in Korea... I was like man... I just got here and I have to go... but God is good :) They still haven't called so I guess everything is ok ;)
Right before I left I was really getting tired of being pushed around by all the masses that you see in the capital.
While I was in Seoul, it was a blessing to see some friends from college that I hadn't seen in years some 4 years others up to 8 years. But it doesn't matter how much time goes by, I love the fact they regardless the time and the distance if you went to UAA you will forever be family :) I got to see Ito, J, Edgardo, Wilson and Carlos :)
I arrived here in Daegu May 2, and classes started May 3. No time to really settle in... And those first 2 weeks... MERCY! were those some first 2 weeks :)...to be continued...
viernes, 23 de abril de 2010
2nd Sabbath In South Korea
So we are still in the Main Institute. Today was a special. They were giving plaques to those that were finishing their term here. You might think what is so special about this, being that it is done every 2 months. What made today special was the fact that of the people that were going back the majority of them have been in South Korea as English teachers for more than 10 years... that is a lot of time. There is one gentleman that has been here for 15 years... They were crying and making all of us cry. It's also a blow to the school being that there are more people leaving then there are people to replace.
I pray that I can have that same dedication for the people of Korea, and that I may learn to love them like my own people so that they might be able to see Christ in me.
I pray that I can have that same dedication for the people of Korea, and that I may learn to love them like my own people so that they might be able to see Christ in me.
miércoles, 21 de abril de 2010
What Happend Durring My 2 Months @ Home?
Ok so there was a big gap between my initial entry and the current one. I still remember my shock when I was called and told that I wasn't going to be able to come @ the date that I was hoping ( Feb.) Looking back I praise The Lord for His blessings.I couldn't understand why he wanted me to stay for so long in PR...The Lord has really been teaching me to trust Him in the big and in the little things.
So I was called on a Sunday night and was told that I wouldn't be going to Korea until April, I think the very next day my friend Ivy (from College) Randomly asks me if I would be interested in going to Chicago to her church and to Danny's church :D (my best friend from College). I was so amazed at how The Lord works... if I had actually been able to go to Korea in Feb. like I wanted to I wouldn't have been able to go to Chicago and share The Lord's word :). It was a woman's week and it was such a blessing! ( I will give more details in a little bit)
While I was at home I was able to learn a lot of lessons in regards to my family that God wanted me to learn. My mother was only there for the first 2 weeks and then she had to go to Houston for a month because her brother was very ill. So I wasn't able to spend time with her like I wanted to but I was blessed because I was able to spend time with my brother and with my dad.
The other special thing about staying at home is that I was able to go to different churches and share the medical missionary message. I went to the Regional GYC that my friends are trying to establish in PR and gave a seminar. I was even able to help with a mission trip that went to PR (Javier another friend from college asked if I would be able to help being that I was free and on the Island.)
My mom got back right before I left for Chicago the last week of March, right before I left her brother passed away.
While I was in Chicago I was able to get my visa for Korea. (It was a blessing due to the fact that I was told that I was going to need to get the visa on my own and I truly had no idea how I was going to do that being that we have no consulate in PR, but as you can see I am here ;) and God opened the door like he always does for His Glory :D)
It was a blessing to be with Danny and his fam. to see Rico and finally meet his babies :) and see Rocio. It was also a blessing to finally see Ivy's babies as well :) Seeing some of the UAA crew was also a blessing :) The Ladies from the church were sweet. I was able to meet one of the ladies... she actually passed away like a week after I got back to PR :(
God opened the door and while I was in Chicago I was able to visit my good friends in Cali. It felt like good old times @ wildwood. Just chilling with the fam, THANK U MAMA FOR ALL U DID!!! (my friend Erin actually raised enough money to pay for one of my plane tickets out to cali :) that is one of the nicest things anyone has done for me :) Time went by to quickly :(
I was home for less then a week and then off to atl ( you already read that story LOL) and then bound for the ROK :)
I still struggle in trusting God... I don't know why... when I look back He has done things better then anything I could ever do... Thank you God for being my loving God :)
martes, 20 de abril de 2010
Living in Seoul
I've never seen so many people in my life in the same place!!... Just thought I would open with that statement LOL.
This past Sunday was my first big adventure :) Elsie was finally able to come and visit. We were supposed to meet up with Ito. In my head I thought that he was going to come pick us up. Well as we are walking off, Elsie is like no we are supposed to meet him... I was like... uhhhh.... what do u mean. Long story short. We got on the subway all by ourselves LOL!!! First we got on the wrong way and we had to get off and ponder how to go back to other way. It was pretty cool we actually started walking like we knew where we were going LOL! Before that we had gone into a store, and well lets just say that my vocab goes as far as Hello, Thank you, and no meat please LOL. So u can imagine the look on our face when the lady at the register was trying to tell us that we didn't have enough money :D
We did meet Ito and didn't get lost :D by God's grace. We also ventured out further and went to one of the many Cherry Blossom Festivals.
Another memorable moment was when we were going to get our medical check up for our visas... I was held back from being with the rest of the group and didn't see where they were going for the check up... so imagine my confusion when I was walking into the Hospital and didn't understand a lick of what was in the signs LOL. I finally found them but only by God's grace. A lady went to sit next to me @ the eye doctor, I tried to say thank u and then she started going on in Korean!! U should've seen the look on my face LOL. I had a little book from english to korean and I kept on trying to show her but she gestured that she couldn't see (obviously... we were @ the eye doctor LOL!!) she kept on patting me on the back LOL and trying to talk... LOL!! Adventures I tell u LOL!
Last night was the first night I was actually able to sleep the whole way through! Praise The Lord :) I wonder what adventure The Lord has for me today :) Keep me in your prayers!
This past Sunday was my first big adventure :) Elsie was finally able to come and visit. We were supposed to meet up with Ito. In my head I thought that he was going to come pick us up. Well as we are walking off, Elsie is like no we are supposed to meet him... I was like... uhhhh.... what do u mean. Long story short. We got on the subway all by ourselves LOL!!! First we got on the wrong way and we had to get off and ponder how to go back to other way. It was pretty cool we actually started walking like we knew where we were going LOL! Before that we had gone into a store, and well lets just say that my vocab goes as far as Hello, Thank you, and no meat please LOL. So u can imagine the look on our face when the lady at the register was trying to tell us that we didn't have enough money :D
We did meet Ito and didn't get lost :D by God's grace. We also ventured out further and went to one of the many Cherry Blossom Festivals.
Another memorable moment was when we were going to get our medical check up for our visas... I was held back from being with the rest of the group and didn't see where they were going for the check up... so imagine my confusion when I was walking into the Hospital and didn't understand a lick of what was in the signs LOL. I finally found them but only by God's grace. A lady went to sit next to me @ the eye doctor, I tried to say thank u and then she started going on in Korean!! U should've seen the look on my face LOL. I had a little book from english to korean and I kept on trying to show her but she gestured that she couldn't see (obviously... we were @ the eye doctor LOL!!) she kept on patting me on the back LOL and trying to talk... LOL!! Adventures I tell u LOL!
Last night was the first night I was actually able to sleep the whole way through! Praise The Lord :) I wonder what adventure The Lord has for me today :) Keep me in your prayers!
lunes, 19 de abril de 2010
The Never Ending Trip :) Part 2
Ok, so I left off arrive at Chicago. All that know me know that I hate planes... with a passion. I know they are safer then cars but I still hate the fact the someone I know has my life in his hands. The layover in Chicago O'hare was around 2 hours... so there I am trying my best to make my last few calls from my phone and send my last few texts. As I'm sitting at the gate I start to wonder... Lord how many of these people are also going to the same place I am. ( It turns out that at least 13 of my now fellow new teachers where at that same gate with the same question in their head.) I was also thinking on the flight and asking The Lord to give me strength and to help me trust in Hiim. I talked to my father and said by when I boarded but wasn't able to talk to my mom that made me pretty sad. Finally the plane doors where closed and we were off... It was 12 hours from Chicago to Narrita, Japan. It was a good flight... the food was ok... I didn't say a word for 12 hours, the people next to me spent most of the time with headphones or sleeping... I couldn't sleep because we were in front of the Screen and because I couldn't really get comfortable. We made it to Japan, i had met a nice lady at the gate in Chicago and we sat next to each other at the flight from Japan to Seoul. I was so sleepy and groggy it was crazy. The flight to Seoul was also a good one. I was dying to finally get into a bed. By that time (9pm Seoul time) I had already been traveling for over 20 hours. Not counting the flight from PR to atl.
I was able to get through immigration with out any problem and Finally got out the doors to meet the people from the SDALI, it took us a whole other 2 hours or more to get to the house we would be staying at. I wanted to just sleep but we had to wait for our luggage that was being brought in a separate car. I found out now from first had experience that floors in Korea are heated by water. I finally was able go to sleep, but like all of us in the house woke up around 3am... and it took me a while to fall asleep. ( Every day since we got all in the house get up at 3am even though we fall back asleep)
Finally I was here... In Korea... I couldn't believe it but all the signs in characters and all the native Koreans let me know that I am here and for a while :)
I was able to get through immigration with out any problem and Finally got out the doors to meet the people from the SDALI, it took us a whole other 2 hours or more to get to the house we would be staying at. I wanted to just sleep but we had to wait for our luggage that was being brought in a separate car. I found out now from first had experience that floors in Korea are heated by water. I finally was able go to sleep, but like all of us in the house woke up around 3am... and it took me a while to fall asleep. ( Every day since we got all in the house get up at 3am even though we fall back asleep)
Finally I was here... In Korea... I couldn't believe it but all the signs in characters and all the native Koreans let me know that I am here and for a while :)
The Never Ending Trip :) Part 1
Ok so I am a little behind on my blogging... not used to this thing :) So I have officially been in South Korea for the last...5 or so days. And so far it has been an adventure. I actually started traveling Tue. 13, I was able to get a overnight layover in atl :) That was a blessing because the girls were able to visit me from Wildwood. It was such a blessing to see them. Even though it was only a few hours, not enough to truly spend quality time with all of them I was so happy to see each and everyone of them.
My flight came in around 8pm and The girls kept on getting lost so they didn't actually pick me up until 9:30 pm. The ride to Elvir's house was an adventure to say the least. We missed a few turns had to do a few strange maneuvers in the airport (Raven :P) but then finally we were on the road. I asked if we could go to Taco Bell so that I could eat my last 7 layer before I left the country ;) We did hung out for a little bit. Then when we were leaving right when Val was about to get on the main road ( we were on 2 different cars so that we could all fit) She gets pulled over by a cop!! Mind u it was like 11pm so we all got very scared! They pulled into a parking lot and the girls in my car we started praying for the Lord to give Val the right words. In all honesty we didn't know why she had gotten pulled over. After a few min. the officer walks back to his car with what seemed like Val's Id he then returned it to Val and got back in his car and left. We didn't hear the story of what happend( a good one at that)until we reached Elvi's house. Then again we were off. As we continued on our way ( we only had like 5 min left before we reached Elvi's house) we kept on seeing more and more police cars, we felt that something was up but we didn't know what. Then we run into A ROAD BLOCK!! YES!!! MORE COPS!! They asked for Yudelis's ID and then we all continue on our way... We were getting close to a light when Val moves over to the right lane. Yudelis was about to move over as well but she is stopped by what she saw in the review mirror. It was a high speed chase heading straight for us!! We all start screaming in our car because Val is in the lane that the cars are speeding in. She slightly moves over and the 2 cars invade her lane without touching her! It was as if they hadn't seen her. Again, all you hear is us girls screaming in the second car. Val and Elvir didn't know how close it had been until we were able to tell them.
We finally get to Elvir's house we say hi to the family and we finally head off to one of the rooms to just spend some time together talking and what not. Then we get to hear the Val's story. When she got pulled over it was because of a brake light. When the officer ask her for her Id she starts looking for it in her wallet. She looks and looks and doesn't find it... ( the girls in our car while that was happening were saying that she might not have her ID. I was like naa she can't be that crazy come all this way just to see me with no ID!!) She finally tells the officer that she doesn't have the ID, and she continues to tell him that the reason why she is in atl is because she had come down with a group of friends to visit their friend that was heading off to South Korea as a missionary (me :) When she says that he says really my wife was a missionary kid when she was growing up, and that leads to Val saying well actually all of us are medical missionaries... long story short the officer only asked for her date of birth and let her leave with a warning ( that he never actually wrote up). CRAZY!! God's protection was something fierce!! After those incidents I totally new that The Lord was with us and that he was with me on my trip to South Korea.
We finally went to sleep around 2 to then get up around 5am and I was at the airport by 6am and off to chicago to catch another plane to Narrita Japan. Aleady In just the trip in the states I was already seeing God's hand. The Lord had also allowed me to see my best friends from college and from wildwood before I left ( as if saying enjoy cause your going to be in the desert for a while)...
My flight came in around 8pm and The girls kept on getting lost so they didn't actually pick me up until 9:30 pm. The ride to Elvir's house was an adventure to say the least. We missed a few turns had to do a few strange maneuvers in the airport (Raven :P) but then finally we were on the road. I asked if we could go to Taco Bell so that I could eat my last 7 layer before I left the country ;) We did hung out for a little bit. Then when we were leaving right when Val was about to get on the main road ( we were on 2 different cars so that we could all fit) She gets pulled over by a cop!! Mind u it was like 11pm so we all got very scared! They pulled into a parking lot and the girls in my car we started praying for the Lord to give Val the right words. In all honesty we didn't know why she had gotten pulled over. After a few min. the officer walks back to his car with what seemed like Val's Id he then returned it to Val and got back in his car and left. We didn't hear the story of what happend( a good one at that)until we reached Elvi's house. Then again we were off. As we continued on our way ( we only had like 5 min left before we reached Elvi's house) we kept on seeing more and more police cars, we felt that something was up but we didn't know what. Then we run into A ROAD BLOCK!! YES!!! MORE COPS!! They asked for Yudelis's ID and then we all continue on our way... We were getting close to a light when Val moves over to the right lane. Yudelis was about to move over as well but she is stopped by what she saw in the review mirror. It was a high speed chase heading straight for us!! We all start screaming in our car because Val is in the lane that the cars are speeding in. She slightly moves over and the 2 cars invade her lane without touching her! It was as if they hadn't seen her. Again, all you hear is us girls screaming in the second car. Val and Elvir didn't know how close it had been until we were able to tell them.
We finally get to Elvir's house we say hi to the family and we finally head off to one of the rooms to just spend some time together talking and what not. Then we get to hear the Val's story. When she got pulled over it was because of a brake light. When the officer ask her for her Id she starts looking for it in her wallet. She looks and looks and doesn't find it... ( the girls in our car while that was happening were saying that she might not have her ID. I was like naa she can't be that crazy come all this way just to see me with no ID!!) She finally tells the officer that she doesn't have the ID, and she continues to tell him that the reason why she is in atl is because she had come down with a group of friends to visit their friend that was heading off to South Korea as a missionary (me :) When she says that he says really my wife was a missionary kid when she was growing up, and that leads to Val saying well actually all of us are medical missionaries... long story short the officer only asked for her date of birth and let her leave with a warning ( that he never actually wrote up). CRAZY!! God's protection was something fierce!! After those incidents I totally new that The Lord was with us and that he was with me on my trip to South Korea.
We finally went to sleep around 2 to then get up around 5am and I was at the airport by 6am and off to chicago to catch another plane to Narrita Japan. Aleady In just the trip in the states I was already seeing God's hand. The Lord had also allowed me to see my best friends from college and from wildwood before I left ( as if saying enjoy cause your going to be in the desert for a while)...
lunes, 15 de febrero de 2010
2 Months Back Home!!! NOOOOOOO
Ok.. so Here was the original plan...I was to go home only for 2 weeks and then I was to go off on This grand missionary adventure. Then reality struck... the deadline was yesterday... I was going to have to wait until the Middle of April to go... Lord... and what am I going to do at home for 2 months!!??? It took me a little bit to leave this in The Lords hands. When I finally accepted the truth from Rom. 8:28 that all things work for our good...that Is when I started to see a glimpse of what The Lord had in mind for my "vacation".
My prayer was: "Lord please don't let these next 2 months be in vain... Lord please keep me busy so that I can truly see that you have a reason for me to stay home for so long... I promise If you want to be kept busy in His work... He will keep you busy :)
My prayer was: "Lord please don't let these next 2 months be in vain... Lord please keep me busy so that I can truly see that you have a reason for me to stay home for so long... I promise If you want to be kept busy in His work... He will keep you busy :)
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