In Need of Your Grace

Abba Father,

Forgive me for having a prideful and self-righteous heart prior to coming to Korea. Thank you for humbling me in so many ways. Thank You for placing me through trials for seasons of growth. Oh Lord you’ve searched me  and you know my every thought. You know when I sit and when I stand.  Although these past few months have been difficult and rough to the point where I’ve failed to rely on You and rejoice in these unfavorable situations. Remind me how to live in full obedience to Your commands. Father I have  been selfish by placing myself above others. I pray that I will no longer live in bitterness and help me forgive and love those who have hurt and wronged me just as Christ loves and forgives me. Remind me of the Cross on Calvary. Thank you for Jesus Christ and for the blood that was shed for me. Thank you for thinking of me on the cross. Teach me true humility. Test my thoughts and attitudes in the radiance of Your purity. Cause my faith to rise. Cause my eyes to see. Your majestic love and authority. I want to live for You and serve You with my entire heart until my very last breath on earth.

In Jesus Name, Amen.

write them on the tablet of your heart// updates: one room

I no longer live a 10 second commute to school and now a 20 minute walk and a 10 minute bus ride to my school. Moving to a one room in town has been super beneficial for me spiritually. To start off my day I wake up 2 hours in advance to read the Word, memorize Jude, listen to worship songs, pray for others. It took awhile for me to adjust but my days are so much better. Memorizing scriptures has led me to think more about Jesus. Walks from and to the bus terminal.. I can’t help but think of my devos and Jude. By constantly spending time with Him, I think it’s so much easier now to live in obedience to His commands. To surrender my entire life to Him.

Living off campus has given me more opportunities to serve my students. It is almost inevitable to bump into my students now that I take the bus to and from school everyday. I’ve decided to make it a point to buy my students 빵 (bread) after school. I remember how hungry I use to be after school when I went home. But a few of my students go to 학원 (hagwons) so they don’t really have time to eat until dinner time.

 

I live in a one room aka studio.

Below is my bed and failed mosquito net. I live in rural Korea so.. there are tons of bugs and mosquitoes.

 

My washroom. The sink and shower facet are interconnected. I have to remember to switch it or I will get wet.. and it has happened before.

 

The necessities. I love my toothbrush holder! They don’t sell Colgate toothpaste in Korea 😦 so I’m trying to save every bit of it.  I brought one bath and body works hand soap with me… reminds me of home. Running out though 😦 If you want to mail me one hehe..

 

Notice anything different? The washer is below my stove. We don’t use dryers in Korea.. so we have to hang our clothes.

 

Instead of using keys. we have keypads. 🙂  To enter the building we also need to enter numbers onto the keypad.

Think Good Thoughts

The past few months have been super challenging with the whole living situation, lack of community, lack of spiritual discipline, language barriers, a relationship not working out. The easiest way to fix it all up was to drop out of the TaLK program and go home… but I know I can’t quit so easily. Fast forward three months and now I am super thankful for going through these trials because I have learned so much about myself.

Spiritual discipline: I’m defo going to make it a point to do devos every morning and just memorize scripture. Spend time with me and Him 🙂

Friends: I’ve made so many global friends. Listening to a bunch of different English accents and vocabulary used.Like trolley instead of shopping cart, cue instead of line, university instead of college,  cheers instead of thank you, biscuits instead of cookies, chips instead of fries, crisps instead of chips.. pronouncing  the word “data”, “water” differently etc. I have definitely made life long friends that I will keep in touch with and hopefully one day have a reunion to just catch up. It’s so comforting to know that I have friends from all over the world! Stoked! One of my friends in the Gyeongsaman-do province is visiting me in Haenam in a week! 🙂

Community/accountability: I’ve finally found community where I can be encouraged and encourage others! Baking parties, dinners, etc. Talking about Jesus with other fellow Brothers and Sisters in Christ is such a strong bond. I appreciate it so much more now than when living in the states. A TaLK scholar and I are memorizing Hebrews together and meeting up whenever we get the chance to share about what we’ve learned. 🙂 She’s extending so i’m soo stoked! 🙂

Relationships: On Sunday I went to Onnuri with my cousin and the message was on marriage/relationships. I’ve been reading Lady in Waiting and I’ve been convicted about dating lately. The message and the book mentioned that it is not about searching for the right guy but being the right girl. Would I be married to me? Focusing on others and not on myself. I have so many areas in my life where I need to work and grow in. Trusting that He will provide when the time is right 🙂

School: I love my school so much! My mentor teacher says I’m like her daughter. Since we work together everyday, I’ve grown pretty close to her. I love our chit-chats about life and listening to her talk about her past experiences. I love how my school includes me in everything and I know it really depends on the school… but I am soooo blessed. Today we had sports day for teachers and one of the admin drove me back but two ajummas who works at my school rode in the back seat with me and they both held my hand and arm.  (In Korean culture it’s normal for girls to hold hands with girls and boys to hold hands with boys.. I think it symbolizes friendship and bond) They asked how old I was and such. I felt like I was family and I almost teared up knowing that they genuinely care for me. I feel so loved and… praise God.

Housing: 5 more days before I move into my new apartment in town! Yay! I can finally hang out with the CPIK teacher from my school and I just found out that there’s a 7th gen TaLK scholar living in Haenam! 🙂 Wooo!

Vacations: Last Thursday-Saturday our Jeonnam POE (Province of Education) arranged a Jeju-do trip. It was sooo much fun! 🙂 Pictures are posted on facebook! All expense paid for trip!

Things are turning around and wow.. all praise definitely goes to GOD! ❤

Thinking Theologically About Depression: Its Causes and Cures

Thinking Theologically About Depression: Its Causes and Cures.

My field of interest! 🙂 Good stuff. I can’t wait to go back to grad school to study some more!