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.