March 12, 2011

March 12, 2011

9:15 PM:

With a soft, melodious piano and saxophone, a strong, sincere voice sings quietly about love. In the silent coffee shop, it feels as if the artist is whispering his thoughts in my ear. Around me, the wooden decor makes this corner coffee shop in Seoul, warm and welcoming. On the shelves, beautifully made wooden serving trays are on sale. Empty wine bottles on the shelves, make me think about the conversations these bottles heard late into the night, but can never utter. The ambience is just perfect. Above incandescent lights illuminate the room just enough to read, casting a shadow of my hand, with pen in hand writing this entry in a notebook first. The sound of the espresso machine, with it's whirr and clank, brings me back to the Java House in Iowa City. The Java House, where I spent many hours studying, or conversing with old friends. But unlike the Java House, this place is silent. Out of the patrons that are here, they are respectful, talking quietly amongst themselves.

This has been one of the few times, that I have not been at work. And I absolutely treasure this moment. At times, the soft jingle of the bells on the entrance door remind me that I am still at a coffee shop, because here it is so easy to be lost in my thoughts, and to forget about where I am, or what I should be doing. I just heard "Oh, Oh let's get lost..."

Recently God has been challenging me to love more. Work has been quite challenging in terms of hours spent, and just the initial distance of the children. The first couple of days were really hard, I was so frustrated because I could not understand the children, nor could they understand me. I realized during the first lesson, it would be more difficult to teach, children with no English background then I thought. But the end of the week was refreshing, it was energizing. Most of the children felt more comfortable with me, and I have started to gain their trust. But no matter how difficult or exhausting work is, God has told me to persevere, to love, and to do everything, and anything to help this business, to help this family, and to just to develop a servant's mind here. God has truly brought me here for a reason, and that is to train to for whatever the future beholds.

Recently, I have realized my parent's love more and more. I keep remembering how much effort they made to spend time with me. And truly I appreciate those moments more and more. It seems that lost memories, suddenly manifested themselves in my mind. I remember trips to the ski resort with my father, or time in the garden, the hours spent reading and studying with my mother. So in my heart there is only love, and gratefulness fo their love when I was young, even though they were surely busy.

What a relaxing time. Hopefully I will be back here again.

Dajeon, China, Korea

Just a thought about Christianity. Perhaps the power of Christianity, and a close Christian community is in our words. Each one of us have our opinions about other people. Let's be honest whether you state it or not is besides the point. And at times we want to share these opinions. But from the teachings of Christ, most of us try to at least not speak, and pray about the situations between people. (Let's just say, I have been guilty of the opposite many times, but still trying to change) But once a bond is felt, is created - through prayer and patience, some Christians will speak their mind, with love and sincerity. And hopefully the other person, humble and open to the thoughts of their brother or sister in Christ, will listen attentively to those thoughts, and really think about changing their life according to the advice received. And with this, within a community of Christians there is change and more love for one another. (This comment is not intended to take away from God's power to change us, but I believe a process of change is above) But the flip side of this, is that within a community of Christians, more often than not there is mistrust, dishonesty, and people pretending to be people they are not.

****

One thing that I have absolutely come to admire about Korea, is it's recycling program. I have been told it is the law separate paper, plastic and biodegradable items in the trash. That is not the admirable part, but everyone here I have met, and the trash they produce - truly try their best to separate the three categories to make it easier for the workers whom I suppose pick up the trash, and recycling. Even if such a law is enacted in the United States, very few would actually follow and obey the law. The simple matter of recycling I think is a reflection on the whole country in general.

Comparing China and Korea, now both developed nations, I truly enjoy my time in Korea more. As of now, I have spent more time in Korea than China, after I moved away from China when I was five years old. But each time, I have went back to China, I see chaos. As people board the bus, the subway, the train, I simply see chaos. Arguably China has more people at those places, but many times in the Seoul subway system, or bus system there I believe is a similar density of people at all needing to board a bus or subway. In China, there is only a hectic rush and push and shove into the bus. But here in Korea, there also is a rush, but without the hectic rush. No one is pushing, no one is yelling, no one is being sandwiched between two people.

****

I went to Dajeon yesterday by bus, for a seminar for work. I was pleasantly surprised at the ease at which it is to travel between cities here. It was only 10,000 won from Seoul to Dajeon, and a nice 1.5 hour nap. The bus was clean, the bus was not crowded, and the view of the countryside in Korea was refreshing. Comparing the country between China and Korea, there seems to be not too much of a difference, but to my surprise, along the way, I saw two castle structures in the middle of the country - but to my disapointment both structures only said motel.

In Dajeon, the seminar was at a small church. At the seminar, I was told it was a gathering of 12 small churches. They were gathered to learn about Christian education from my director. Yesterday, I observed two important things. The first being the passion, the director here has for Christian education. During the seminar, I really saw in her face, her passion and her willingness to sacrifice for this mission. Although, to be honest, the mere amount of stuff that needs to be done everyday is not the best for her family. I respect her passion and sacrifices nonetheless. And second observation occurred over the past month here. We hear a lot about the large super mega duper churches in Korea. But while attending a small church, and seeing many more small churches, I believe the heart of Christianity here in Korea are in these churches. To see so many people gathered yesterday, passionate about bringing change in their own churches, and really changing the community around them was so encouraging. These pastors cannot possibly earn much money, or any at that, but it is a life of faith for them.

****