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 :)