Sunday, September 6, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Some Final Thoughts
This past week and a half was indeed memorable to say the least. God has showed me so much through the experience. In the next list of five I'll say number 3 and 5 have never been so clear.
1. God restores those that are broken and tired.
2. God works wonders through some the least qualified people.
3. God ALWAYS provides.
4. Unity is possible only through humility.
5. Spiritual warfare is real!
Overall, this trip was truly amazing and the fruits from the trip are already ripening. Check back for personal testimonies from all the team members. They should be all up by Aug 31st.
Thanks again for your supports,
Daniel Kim
p.s. - i would love to tell you more about the trip when i return home. feel free to ask.
Friday, August 14, 2009
the end. sort of.
We ended the entire week today (Saturday) with a movie and a good old fashioned Pizza Party. All the kids came in the morning and we watched Wall-E while munching on some M&Ms, Ritz Crackers, and Graham Crackers. Then the moms came and watched the kids sing "This Little Light of Mine," "My Strength is in You, Lord," "Deep, Deep," and "Give Thanks." It was really nice to see the moms smiling and enjoying their kids sing (but I guess what parent wouldn't smile when their child is up their with a huge smile?).
Though the VBS and English Camps are over, there is still much to think about. One thing we know for sure is that we know how to pray for this area now. There are some deep issues in the town that not only have and effect on the children, but the relationships between families and the churches as well.
The team will be going our separate ways tomorrow, to travel and visit family.
We ask that you keep us in your prayers.
1. That we be able to take the time to sit and really process what we experienced.
2. Safety in travels.
3. That the enemy does not take away the joy and the blessings of the past week and half.
thank you everyone for supporting us on this amazing trip!
miranda
Thursday, August 13, 2009
A Look at Day 9
Sorry everyone! I missed day 8, no photos for that day. We were extremely busy the whole day so I couldn't get around to shooting much. But here's day 9!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Day 8: God gives us strength...
Hello!
I hope everyone is doing well. It's been raining here a lot, but today, the sun has finally come out.
We started the day, yesterday, going through Colossians 3:12-17. But it was not this passage that spoke to me yesterday morning. A friend emailed me verses from Isaiah 40.
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
At first I thought, "How perfect this verse is for us (the team) right now. The children have been difficult to handle and we end up exhausted at the end of each day." However, as I dwelled on this passage throughout the day, I realized that those verses are for the children. Most of the children come with heavy hearts, with many reasons to be angry, and lacking love from their parents and the neighborhood. The differences among the children who come from a healthy family and those who come from a struggling family are evident. It's difficult to express to the children that there is a God who loves them and will strengthen them and care for them. It hurts, but I can hope and pray that God will take care of them.
Yesterday's VBS was about how God gives us strength to be brave. As I prayed on this point, all I could think was, "God, please give us the strength to love the children, especially the ones that are the most difficult to love."
We've been writing vaguely about how the kids who have been coming to the VBS come from very difficult backgrounds. I would really like to share a story though, about these twin sisters who have been coming to the church after school everyday for a bit of time.
The twins (예 린 Yea-Rin and 예 진 Yea-Jin) are 8 (in Korean age) and are in the first grade. Their father is a truck driver and their mother is runs a restaurant in the middle of the mountains. Since their father is a truck driver, he is away from home most of the time. Their mother basically raised them on her own.
As they were growing up, there were many times when the mom tied the twins' legs to a post while she went to work, leaving them their until she returned. Other times, she would leave one twin on the post while tending to the other. The twins grew up with absolutely no discipline, no guidance, and with a strong sense of competition towards one another since their mom would compare them a lot. All these things are evident in their interaction with other children, adults, and each other.
Pastor Ahn and his wife have been taking care of them after school for a while now, teaching them, guiding them, and loving them. When the twins began coming over, other parents stopped sending their kids to church and stopped coming to Pastor Ahn's church altogether because they did not want their children to be playing with these twins.
However, the twins have been doing very well since coming to the church. When Pastor Ahn or his wife pray for them when they act up, they know that they can calm down. Pastor Ahn's wife really has a way of taking them aside and listening to their woes and disciplining them with love. Many parents have begun sending their children to the Ahn's because of the noticeable change in the twins.
The Ahn's are doing amazing work here and I am so encouraged and blessed by their never ending faith in God to help them and provide for their every needs.
During yesterday's Wednesday evening service, Pastor Ahn's message came from 2 Corinthians 12:1-10. He grew up with many hurts and has scars from his past. He wondered why God wouldn't just swipe clean the hurts, but realized that it is through these weaknesses and scars that he could minister to the families and children, that the experiences he went through, enables him to see the hurts and burdens in others. For that, he is so thankful to God...
Prayer Requests for Thursday:
1. That our love may increase.
2. Continued alignment with the will of God.
3. For JOY to overflow.
4. Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual STRENGTH
Thank You : )
*miranda
I hope everyone is doing well. It's been raining here a lot, but today, the sun has finally come out.
We started the day, yesterday, going through Colossians 3:12-17. But it was not this passage that spoke to me yesterday morning. A friend emailed me verses from Isaiah 40.
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
At first I thought, "How perfect this verse is for us (the team) right now. The children have been difficult to handle and we end up exhausted at the end of each day." However, as I dwelled on this passage throughout the day, I realized that those verses are for the children. Most of the children come with heavy hearts, with many reasons to be angry, and lacking love from their parents and the neighborhood. The differences among the children who come from a healthy family and those who come from a struggling family are evident. It's difficult to express to the children that there is a God who loves them and will strengthen them and care for them. It hurts, but I can hope and pray that God will take care of them.
Yesterday's VBS was about how God gives us strength to be brave. As I prayed on this point, all I could think was, "God, please give us the strength to love the children, especially the ones that are the most difficult to love."
We've been writing vaguely about how the kids who have been coming to the VBS come from very difficult backgrounds. I would really like to share a story though, about these twin sisters who have been coming to the church after school everyday for a bit of time.
The twins (예 린 Yea-Rin and 예 진 Yea-Jin) are 8 (in Korean age) and are in the first grade. Their father is a truck driver and their mother is runs a restaurant in the middle of the mountains. Since their father is a truck driver, he is away from home most of the time. Their mother basically raised them on her own.
As they were growing up, there were many times when the mom tied the twins' legs to a post while she went to work, leaving them their until she returned. Other times, she would leave one twin on the post while tending to the other. The twins grew up with absolutely no discipline, no guidance, and with a strong sense of competition towards one another since their mom would compare them a lot. All these things are evident in their interaction with other children, adults, and each other.
Pastor Ahn and his wife have been taking care of them after school for a while now, teaching them, guiding them, and loving them. When the twins began coming over, other parents stopped sending their kids to church and stopped coming to Pastor Ahn's church altogether because they did not want their children to be playing with these twins.
However, the twins have been doing very well since coming to the church. When Pastor Ahn or his wife pray for them when they act up, they know that they can calm down. Pastor Ahn's wife really has a way of taking them aside and listening to their woes and disciplining them with love. Many parents have begun sending their children to the Ahn's because of the noticeable change in the twins.
The Ahn's are doing amazing work here and I am so encouraged and blessed by their never ending faith in God to help them and provide for their every needs.
During yesterday's Wednesday evening service, Pastor Ahn's message came from 2 Corinthians 12:1-10. He grew up with many hurts and has scars from his past. He wondered why God wouldn't just swipe clean the hurts, but realized that it is through these weaknesses and scars that he could minister to the families and children, that the experiences he went through, enables him to see the hurts and burdens in others. For that, he is so thankful to God...
Prayer Requests for Thursday:
1. That our love may increase.
2. Continued alignment with the will of God.
3. For JOY to overflow.
4. Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual STRENGTH
Thank You : )
*miranda
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Day 7
God spoke to us this morning from Matthew 20:17-29. In the passage, Jesus speaks of serving, as he "gave his life as a ransom for many" and that those who want to become great should serve. The passage goes against the worldly standards of being "great," and urges us to be humbled by what Jesus has done for us. Although we were all feeling pretty inadequate after our first day of vbs here, God reminded us that with our dependence on him, we are all the more equipped to do his work here. I am so thankful to have met Pastor Ahn and his family. God has been showing us a new perspective through Pastor Ahn's family; they bless others with their service, food, and hospitality even when they don't have enough for themselves. They challenge us to serve even the children who are difficult to love through their kingdom perspective and their hearts.
After some changes in yesterday's vbs schedule, the newly scheduled events went more smoothly. First of all, we all took more initiative to make the program flow better even though for some of us, it took more courage to explain and facilitate in Korean. Second of all, we have been getting to know the kids at a personal level, which is very helpful in teaching and leading them. Pastor Ahn has also been filling us in on the history of the kids.
We performed a skit and sang praise songs to help the children better understand the theme for the day, which was to "help others." For some of the kids, it was difficult to explain the theme for the day because they did not understand the meaning of helping others due to their surroundings and their upbringing. Our prayer and hope is that although many of these kids may not be able to help others now, that their lives would be changed by Christ.
The rest of the day went well. We had crafts, snacks, and games. Even though we've just ended day 2, we've grown so attached to the kids here that it will be hard to leave them. God is really working here and we couldn't do it without your prayers and support!
Esther
Prayer Requests:
Our hearts- Please pray that our hearts would grow for the kids here, even those who are difficult to love. We want to embrace them but also teach them discipline.
Townspeople- The people here have been opening their hearts to the church here. Please pray that even when we leave, this would continue.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Day Six
Hey everybody,
We began the morning with our daily devotional by reading 2 Peter 1:3-12. My shortened version: "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness... so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. ...For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." Simon Peter, the believed author of this book, lists many qualities that should always be increasing in a Christian's life. The qualities are listed in this order: virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. I believe that Jesus Christ was the epitome of all these qualities, and for Simon Peter to ask his fellow Christians to grow in these qualities is nothing short of asking us to become more Christ-like, which is what we should all aim to do. In turn, we become more effective and fruitful "in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Today finally marked the day of our first Vacation Bible School (VBS)/English Class. Today was the day that our team had been preparing for for the past two-and-a-half months, and it was ... difficult. We intended to have the VBS mostly in English, but we soon figured out that this method of action was ineffective because the children didn't understand what we were saying. We began to conduct the VBS in Korean, or rather, as best as we could in Korean.
Our time allotment of the VBS day was pretty inaccurate, which is what caused most of the craziness in the day. And although each child is extremely precious in their own way, these children are definitely not the most obedient of children, which also added to the exhaustion of our team by the end of the day. An interesting happening today was when a few of the townspeople who would usually never stop by actually cooked us SamGyupSal (삼겹살, Korean Pork) for dinner. It's really interesting how our team's modest missions trip along with the power of God can bring people together. Actually, allow me to rephrase. It's awesome how God can bring people together.
Also, it turns out that a few other townsfolk have offered to cook us lunch and dinner on other various occasions. Upon hearing this, Pastor Ahn said that God always provides for us, and that this situation where we have more than enough food is much like when Jesus fed the thousands with five loaves and two fish and had twelve baskets of leftovers.
All in all, today was a good day. God is good. I don't know if replying to oneself is weird or not, but I'd like to say, "Amen," to that.
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray that the children here really learn about God and what He has done and can still do for them.
- There are many factions within this town among the people and even within the children; please pray for unity through Jesus Christ.
Thank you for your support,
Daniel Lee
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Day Five
It feels like God has been speaking through a megaphone these past five days. Being with Pastor Ahn and his family has been a most blessing experience. This family is truly special. They know what it means to live each day on daily bread.
Since today was Sunday, there was a church service here at "Still Waters" church (the building which was once used as a pig pen). I wasn't expecting to see a lot of members but to my surprise there was none, besides the family and the Korea Team. But, we still held a beautiful service. Though we were few I feel God was pleased by our worship. The offering basket was passed around and if the Korea Team was not here there would have been nothing in the basket. But still this family manages. Pastor Ahn says they keep no books or records of finances because, honestly, they get so little. He says he doesn't understand how they have enough money for everything. It's a "five loafs and three fish" sort of thing.
After Sunday service, Pastor Ahn goes and picks up a few of the children in the area for a afternoon service. The afternoon service is more of a Sunday School. Today there were about 10 children. Some of these kids stories are shocking, to say the least. A bit too shocking to put into appropriate words for a blog. But, after hearing the stories of the these kids my heart dropped to the bottom of my stomach. It was hard to hear. These kids are so troubled that the other parents of the town don't let their kids play with them. The church sacrifices members in order to help these few troubled kids. Pastor Ahn compares "Still Waters" to the shepherd that leaves a flock of 99 to go find the 1 lost sheep.
Once the kids arrived, Pastor Ahn gave a sort message and the kids ate and played. We played with the kids; talking with them in English. After they left we preped for the upcoming English Camp.
Prayer Requests
1. Unity for the town.
- It feels like Satan has a foothold in this area. There are people that dislike church activities. They consider us a "Jesus Virus." Please pray that the town can one day see the glory of God.
2. For the Children
- the children here are hurting deeply. Please pray that they can recover from past tramas and that God will mend their wounds.
Thank you for your awesome support,
Daniel Kim
Saturday, August 8, 2009
day 4: eating. a lot.
hello everyone!
Day four has already passed, but we (or I) was pretty much exhausted yesterday and I could not write an update.
We have been enjoying our time here very much. We eat very well (please do not say anything if you see us coming back a little plumper).
We woke up yesterday, ate breakfast (frosted flakes!, cream soup, rolls, jam, apples), met more of Dan Kim's family (he has 5 aunts and 1 uncle...), ate lunch (kimchi jjigae, odeng, rice, snails...yes, snails, and other interesting foods), then practiced our skits. At night, we went into another province and ate a VERY SPICY dish called Agujjim. Here's the Wikipedia definition of it:
"Agujjim or agwijjim (Korean pronunciation: [aɡutɕ͈im] or [aɡwitɕ͈im]) is a variety of jjim or Korean steamed dish made with agwi (아귀, blackmouth angler) that originated in the city of Masan, South Gyeongsang Province.[1] The dish is seasoned with chili pepper powder, doenjang, ganjang (soy sauce), minced garlic, and chopped scallions to make it spicy and hot.[2] However, other ingredients such as mideodeok (미더덕, Styela clava), kongnamul (soybean sprouts), and minari (미나리, water dropwort) also play an important role in giving agujjim a refreshing and fragrant flavor.[2][3] "
They apparently ordered the "medium" spicy, but our insides were on fire after just one bite. I was a bit worried about the bathroom situation with so many people living under one roof...but we all took some pepto bismol : )
Before we returned home, we stopped in the middle of nowhere and tried to look at the stars, but since it's the summer, the stars are not so visible. So, we drove home.
Our time here so far has definitely been a joy to all of us. We have yet to begin our VBS, but our first day is tomorrow (Monday). We still have no idea what to expect, how many children will show up, and how they will receive the program, but we have peace knowing that everything is in God's hand.
During our devotion, we read through Philippians 2:1-8:
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!
Please pray that we will have that humble attitude towards one another, the Pastor and his family, the children, and just everyone we encounter. And as we begin the VBS, please pray that we will be "like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose."
Thank you!
*miranda
Day four has already passed, but we (or I) was pretty much exhausted yesterday and I could not write an update.
We have been enjoying our time here very much. We eat very well (please do not say anything if you see us coming back a little plumper).
We woke up yesterday, ate breakfast (frosted flakes!, cream soup, rolls, jam, apples), met more of Dan Kim's family (he has 5 aunts and 1 uncle...), ate lunch (kimchi jjigae, odeng, rice, snails...yes, snails, and other interesting foods), then practiced our skits. At night, we went into another province and ate a VERY SPICY dish called Agujjim. Here's the Wikipedia definition of it:
"Agujjim or agwijjim (Korean pronunciation: [aɡutɕ͈im] or [aɡwitɕ͈im]) is a variety of jjim or Korean steamed dish made with agwi (아귀, blackmouth angler) that originated in the city of Masan, South Gyeongsang Province.[1] The dish is seasoned with chili pepper powder, doenjang, ganjang (soy sauce), minced garlic, and chopped scallions to make it spicy and hot.[2] However, other ingredients such as mideodeok (미더덕, Styela clava), kongnamul (soybean sprouts), and minari (미나리, water dropwort) also play an important role in giving agujjim a refreshing and fragrant flavor.[2][3] "
They apparently ordered the "medium" spicy, but our insides were on fire after just one bite. I was a bit worried about the bathroom situation with so many people living under one roof...but we all took some pepto bismol : )
Before we returned home, we stopped in the middle of nowhere and tried to look at the stars, but since it's the summer, the stars are not so visible. So, we drove home.
Our time here so far has definitely been a joy to all of us. We have yet to begin our VBS, but our first day is tomorrow (Monday). We still have no idea what to expect, how many children will show up, and how they will receive the program, but we have peace knowing that everything is in God's hand.
During our devotion, we read through Philippians 2:1-8:
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!
Please pray that we will have that humble attitude towards one another, the Pastor and his family, the children, and just everyone we encounter. And as we begin the VBS, please pray that we will be "like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose."
Thank you!
*miranda
Friday, August 7, 2009
Day 3
It's me, Esther! I cannot believe we have only been here for 3 whole days. Our days have been such an eye-opening and spirit-filled time. I feel that we should be over our jet-lag, but I am still struggling to stay awake in the later hours of the day.
After breakfast, we had our usual group QT time, which was the first time for me. It was a wonderful time for me that we can be open and vulnerable with each other. We read from 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12. The verses stated that when we do deeds prompted by our faith, God fulfills his purpose. We feel that we are on this mission as our act of obedience to God. We were also reassured that God does the work and that we cannot do anything in our power, but to obey. The passage helped us let go of any fears or hesitations about upcoming events.
The students at the nearby school ended at noon, so we went to promote the vbs. They had their last day of school and I can tell that they were excited. We got to meet a couple of students and learned their names. Unfortunately, there are cliques among the students, so please pray that it wouldn't stop the kids from coming out.
For lunch, we went to a stream nearby to play in the water and to eat. We ate at a "mini restaurant" by the water where they sell chicken and porridge (look for the pictures because it's hard for me to describe the place). More than the food, I loved being right by the water and eating really good food. Later on in the day, we went to the market to get groceries and the rest of the supplies for next week's vbs. After 30 minutes of driving, we arrived at the market, which was similar to a Costco in the US. Surprisingly, unlike how things are sold in Korea, everything was sold in large quantity. One thing worth mentioning is that they sold rotted sting rays. They were cut up like sashimi and we can smell it even from the wrapped package.
Prayer Requests:
-As we prepare for the upcoming vbs, that we wouldn't underestimate the kids and their understanding of God. We want to be bold in our faith.
-As I mentioned above, that God would prepare the hearts of the kids who will come to vbs.
Thanks for reading and supporting us!
Esther
Thursday, August 6, 2009
A Look at Day 2
Hello!
Just pokin' my head in here real quick to say hi!
I'll be taking care of all your visual needs in joining with us on this mission. I'm sure you've seen the first days photo post which is basically what I'll be doing on this blog. Each day I'll setup a little photo-grid, giving you at home a little peek into what we are doing out here. Enjoy!
-Charlie Suh
*The image is originally 1000x1000 pixels so if you want to see the full size just click on the image above, then click on "All Sizes" which is found above the picture.
Just pokin' my head in here real quick to say hi!
I'll be taking care of all your visual needs in joining with us on this mission. I'm sure you've seen the first days photo post which is basically what I'll be doing on this blog. Each day I'll setup a little photo-grid, giving you at home a little peek into what we are doing out here. Enjoy!
-Charlie Suh
*The image is originally 1000x1000 pixels so if you want to see the full size just click on the image above, then click on "All Sizes" which is found above the picture.
Day Two
Hey everybody,
Daniel Lee here. After yesterday's activities, everyone was pretty tired, so I think we all slept pretty well last night (except possibly Miranda who says that Dan, Charlie, and I created "a symphony of snores." Sorry Miranda. =]) This morning began with another great breakfast provided by the household.
Afterwards, we shared a short time of devotionals together, during which we read Jeremiah 1:3-10. The verses are about the call to prophesy that Jeremiah received from God and the call that Jeremiah feared that he would not be able to fulfill because he was "only a child." But I believe that we all found comfort in the words of the Lord when He said, "Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you." I could go on for a while on these few verses, but for the sake of succinct daily updates, I'll refrain. (If you'd really like to converse with me on the topic of the verses, please don't hesitate to e-mail me.)
After the devotional, Pastor Ahn wanted to take us out into the city of DaeJeon to show us where all of the "hip" kids hung out. After getting ready, we first went to the DaeJeon train station in order to meet with Miranda's aunt and uncle and to meet up with Esther (Esther wasn't with us this morning because the night before she went to visit her family for urgent matters.) After we all met and reunited, we visited the underground shopping mall in which they had stores and stores which sold the same kinds of clothes, make-up, and cell phones. (A few of us kept wondering how the stores survive with so much competition with each other.) We then visited a farmers' market-type place at which they sold a variety of items. After the tour of DaeJeon, we headed back to the church and had yet another delicious meal provided by the pastor's family.
Later tonight, we will be preparing for the coming VBS by preparing the supplies and practicing the skits that our team members have created.
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray that God allows our skits to be understood by the children and well-representative of His love and mercy for and to us.
- +Dan's aforementioned requests
Thank you for your support (we wouldn't be here without you!),
Daniel Lee
Daniel Lee here. After yesterday's activities, everyone was pretty tired, so I think we all slept pretty well last night (except possibly Miranda who says that Dan, Charlie, and I created "a symphony of snores." Sorry Miranda. =]) This morning began with another great breakfast provided by the household.
Afterwards, we shared a short time of devotionals together, during which we read Jeremiah 1:3-10. The verses are about the call to prophesy that Jeremiah received from God and the call that Jeremiah feared that he would not be able to fulfill because he was "only a child." But I believe that we all found comfort in the words of the Lord when He said, "Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you." I could go on for a while on these few verses, but for the sake of succinct daily updates, I'll refrain. (If you'd really like to converse with me on the topic of the verses, please don't hesitate to e-mail me.)
After the devotional, Pastor Ahn wanted to take us out into the city of DaeJeon to show us where all of the "hip" kids hung out. After getting ready, we first went to the DaeJeon train station in order to meet with Miranda's aunt and uncle and to meet up with Esther (Esther wasn't with us this morning because the night before she went to visit her family for urgent matters.) After we all met and reunited, we visited the underground shopping mall in which they had stores and stores which sold the same kinds of clothes, make-up, and cell phones. (A few of us kept wondering how the stores survive with so much competition with each other.) We then visited a farmers' market-type place at which they sold a variety of items. After the tour of DaeJeon, we headed back to the church and had yet another delicious meal provided by the pastor's family.
Later tonight, we will be preparing for the coming VBS by preparing the supplies and practicing the skits that our team members have created.
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray that God allows our skits to be understood by the children and well-representative of His love and mercy for and to us.
- +Dan's aforementioned requests
Thank you for your support (we wouldn't be here without you!),
Daniel Lee
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
The First Day
(10:00am - Day Two)
In the evening we had a small worship service at the church we are staying. It was just the Team and the Pastor's family but it was truly blessing. We sang some hymns and read Psalm 23 in English and Korean and the Pastor gave a sermon, within it giving the details and the vision of his church. In the words of Pastor Ahn, he wants to make a "Half-time" church. It's like a sports match. After the first half of the game you take a break. But during the break you don't just sit around and do nothing. The Coach usually gives a motivating half time speech and makes a strategy. Likewise, he wants his church to be some place people can come to rest, be energized, and hear from the ultimate life coach, God, especially for those that are "losing" before half-time. His church, called "Still Water" taken from Psalm 23:2, aims to take in those that are troubled by divorce or just due for a break. Pastor Ahn welcomes these people to stay at the church as long as they want, sleeping and eating at no charge. The only stipulation is that they hear from God. When they are ready to leave he tells these people to NOT contact the church again. He tells them that they are to live moving forward and forget about their pasts because God forgets the past as well.
As I listened to the words of Pastor Ahn, I could hear God's confirmation of the mission to South Korea. I know for myself, and perhaps to the other team members, the comfort of God's promise to provide rest and solace is a great relief.
The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want,
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
for his names sake
Please pray for us in these areas:
1. Alignment - to be aligned to the Holy Spirt and the works He is doing.
2. Worship - to be worshipers of Spirit and Truth
Thank you for your Awesome Support,
Daniel Kim
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
We've made it.
Hi Everyone,
We are here in Korea!
We woke up this morning, had a nice breakfast with DK's family and walked around the town. The town is very GREEN and beautiful! It's considered the valley, but definitely not like the valley we know of in LA. The weather is nice and surprisingly cool.
We will keep updating with prayer requests and what we are up to each day.
Love,
The Team
We are here in Korea!
We woke up this morning, had a nice breakfast with DK's family and walked around the town. The town is very GREEN and beautiful! It's considered the valley, but definitely not like the valley we know of in LA. The weather is nice and surprisingly cool.
We will keep updating with prayer requests and what we are up to each day.
Love,
The Team
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