Last Wednesday was my last day at my school for the semester! Time definitely flies by quickly.
Because I’m on the Seoulmetro and I have a few minutes to blog without getting motion sickness.. I decided to update you all on my whereabouts since my past update.
Thursday I left for Seoul to meet up with Sharon. We got to catch over a Patbingsu for a couple of hours. We last hung out in Jochiwon orientation and we have gotten to catch up here and there over Facebook. She is such an encouraging sister in Christ and just being able to talk to her really amazes me to see the amazing plans that God has for her in Korea! Love you!
Friday I got to spend the day with my dear Jochiwon roommate and her church member’s family. They’re adorable. They’re Americans who have lived in Korea for the past six years. Their apartment is super westernized. Cotton bedding, blinds, wooden furniture, English movies, Orville popcorn, welches grape juice… Oh yeah! Made me realize how much I was homesick
Saturday, hung out with a few talk scholars. Our last goodbyes. Watched a baseball game. The batters are not very good. So many opportune chances to score. We were rooting for the Lotte Giants, but they lost. While I was taking the metro, it was super crowded and we were crushed like canned sardines. And after standing for thirty min a seat was opened for me and I sat and I looked up and saw this ν λ¨Έλ (grandma) standing and I was sick and exhausted and was hesitant on giving my seat to her. But I gave it to her and when I did she grabbed my bag to carry the load off of me and said thank you and we had a brief conversation with the limited Korean that I knew. She then opens her bag and gives me a piece of candy and a few sample facials from her pack. Wow I was so touched by her by just how people can make a difference by the simple things. I’m glad I met her. My friend from home and i had a convo about how God places people that we need in our lives and not people that we want in our lives. God is just so amazing and constantly humbles me and reminds me to live in humility.
Wow, it’s 3am at the moment, so I’ll keep it short. I want to briefly share with you on what I have experienced and struggled especially while living in Korea. Language barriers, lack of family and friends from home made/makes it so much more difficult to overcome the battle of loneliness. Transitioning from going to university and spending so much time/ interaction with people on a daily basis to spending little to no contact with English speakers in my town was a huge shocker for me. For the first few months, the feeling of loneliness and isolation was so challenging that the only immediate response I had in mind to temporarily fix the situation would be to cry. I felt so weak but the fact I couldn’t talk to anyone or even hang out for weeks at a time with people drove me off the ledge. I was surprised after sharing with others what I’ve been going through to hear that they too had similar struggles. But I am reminded that Christ has been by my side since the day He chose me. He has placed me in Korea for a purpose and it is definitely not to self-pity myself but rather to live my life to glorify God. The best way for me to overcome this battle of loneliness was to ultimately spend time with God.. the God who created me. It has truly been an adventure with God in Korea.. the only one who understands my situation completely is God.. and awesome part is I am never really alone because He has been by me all this time.
Jesus, I love you. Thank you for the cross.
Songs on my playlist for the week. π
I just want to thank you family and friends from home who have kept in touch with me. Thanks for the care packages, emails, skype messages, leaving comments on my blog, prayers, and Β fb chats and comments! I really appreciate you and miss you! See you in February! π
Being in Korea has helped me develop a greater appreciation for community. I am sooo encouraged right now and I want to share with you why I am so in awe with what God is doing! On Friday, I left from school to go to Gwangju and caught the bus straight to Jeonju to meet up with Jessica. It was a 3 hour bus ride from where I live to Jeonju.. but I’m really use to long bus rides to go see friends. So I’ve never been to Jeonju before and we had planned to stay in a hostel. I was debating if whether or not I should take the cab or bus in the rain. I really wanted to take the bus and I had no idea where the bus stop was. Eventually, I decided to just take the cab and was dropped of near the hostel. I took out my iphone and navigated through the instructions and found my way to the hostel! I think the idea of getting lost when I came to Korea freaked and stressed me out.. but recently, I’ve been a lot more relaxed and chill about getting lost. Not that I enjoy getting lost, but I think the whole process of trusting in God even in these situations allowed me to worry less. Also, I’ve become a lot more independent and less timid about being in uncertain circumstances. Going to go with the flow. Anywhos, I waited for Jess and we caught up. The last time we’ve had an in depth conversation was during Jochiwon. I am so encouraged by her and her love for God. π On Saturday, Blaise, Jessica, and I walked around the park and toured around the village. It was sooo pretty! Perfect day to go to Jeonju! Just looking at the blue sky and seeing patches of clouds with lily pads and flowers…. wow.. We went paddle boating and got our work out from that and to reward ourselves from the hot weather.. we went to three cafes and split 3 patbingsoo in totall! π We ended off the day with Jeonju’s famous bibimbap! π
Favorite patbingsoo out of the three. Girls and desserts.
Korea cafes are unique
Raw meat bibimbap!
Cafe #4 of the day. Jess’s drank.
Woke up at 6:30am today and left for Gwangju and went to morning prayer. Although it was just the three of us… we got to talk and pray for Korea, church, and personal prayer requests. One of my friends just messaged and shared with me about an answered prayer tonight. After praying earlier today.. a prayer has been answered! So crazy how instant God sometimes answers prayers! I am reminded that prayer is POWERFUL! The message was on community and how we should encourage one another. I have decided to commit to this church and go to this church every week and serve. Still praying to see if it’s God’s will for me to watch and take care of the little ones during service or after service so parents can fellowship. We had lunch at Pho Bay and it was alright… Not as good as the pho place in SF Chinatown… I miss real pho. Afterwards, fellowshipped some more with a few sisters in Christ. Emily and I got to catch up and share about our experiences in Korea and what God is doing in our lives. Emily is so passionate about God and it is sooo contagious! π I want to be bold for Jesus!
I’ve been memorizing and studying Jude! π Being spiritually disciplined to read the Word was hard at first, but I defo having accountability helps a lot. I feel so much closer to God nowadays and I don’t want to lose this thirst and hunger for the Word! π
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Before I came to Korea, I was meh about being Cantonese and didn’t really care to learn the language. And when I spoke Cantonese I felt like my language comprehension was not good enough.. which is why I stopped speaking it. Spending time with a couple Cantonese friends has inspired me to improve my Cantonese. I stopped going to Chinese immersion school when I was in third grade and my Cantonese vocabulary has gotten butchered over the years of not using it. So recently I’ve been watching tons of MC Jin (who is a devout Christian and rapper! He’s legit.) and Carlosdouh’s youtube videos! They’re awesome! Check out his youtube video!
MC Jin feat. KT ( 7-11: There are so many convenience stores in Korea! π I can actually understand more Cantonese than I am able to speak it.
MC Jin (Sincerely Yours)
Carlos Douh (ε ¬δΈ»η aka Princess Sickness: Apparently Koreans also a similar name and term for this “sickness” 곡주μ λ³ Geung Ju Eui Byeong)
Ecclesiastes 1
English Standard Version (ESV)
All Is Vanity
1 The words of the Preacher,[a] the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 Vanity[b] of vanities, says the Preacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
3 What does man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?
4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens[c] to the place where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
7 All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
8 All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there a thing of which it is said,
βSee, this is newβ?
It has been already
in the ages before us.
11 There is no remembrance of former things,[d]
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things[e] yet to be
among those who come after.
Tiffany in Korea 