Giant Apartment Buildings

In Korea, there are scores of these huge apartment buildings, all over the place! They’re in Seoul, Daejeon, and every other city that I’ve been to. They all look the same, and there are literally rows and rows of them. The first time I came to Korea (from the suburbs of Lompoc), I was very intimidated by all these buildings. It seemed eerie, that most of the population all lives in these buildings. (like something out of a science fiction thing, or something.) Now I am more used to them. That’s just the way things have to be.

See, Korea has a big population, but has such a small amount of space. I’ve been told that there are more people who live in Seoul than there are who live in Canada! Wow! So instead of building outward and taking up precious land that could be used for farming and whatnot, they build up, and use less ground space to make more housing. (Of course, that makes parking a problem…)

And yes, I do appreciate the amount of free wilderness space it opens up! Oh yes!

But what you don’t see are all the smaller buildings that these apartments hide. Many of these smaller buildings look different and are unique from one another, so don’t go feeling that Korea is full only of buildings that look alike.

Here’re some pictures depicting the Yuseong area of Daejeon. Look, there are many different sorts of buildings you can see!

New Faces In Sunday School!

We’ve got some new kids that have started coming to our Sunday school. In this picture, the two boys on the right, Dave and David, have been coming from since I’ve arrived in Korea. Lately we’ve had a few other girls, two sets of sisters, start coming to the Sunday School class. They are, from the left, Holly, Jenny, Ginny, and Ka Young. You can tell who is related to who.

After some songs of worship and then a time of Bible teaching in English, Mike usually busts out some game. Sometimes there’s a quiz game where the children have to find something in the passage of scripture that we had read that day, or something like that. Mike keeps score and we see the winner at the end. The games are fun, I think.

Lance is a teenager who helps out each week with the Sunday school. Sometimes he provides some translation when it is necessary. I always appreciate his help and participation—I think that helps the kids to get going and participate, too!

 

Keep trying to win the quiz game, Lance!

John-Michael Has Arrived!

 

Raised in Florida, straight from CCBC Okinawa, John-Michael arrived in Korea to come and help out at the church alongside the rest of us. As I’ll be heading back to California shortly, he’ll be helping out by leading worship and doing bible studies, and all the rest of the ministry we do here. He’ll be here for December and January, then plans to head back to Okinawa for another semester of Bible College!

It is wonderful, for God provided for us a worship leader while I’m out of the neighborhood. The Lord always provides for our needs, in His timing and in His way. It’s always important to give thanks.

John-Michael’s forte? It’s piano! (no pun intended.) It’s actually been a blessing to be able to have him play piano with us during worship—it really adds an extra element, beyond just guitar, cahon, and voice.

We took him hiking his first or second night here up on the hill. It was really dark, but still a little visible, and fun!

Here he had to give us a convincing speech to persuade us how useful he’d be. His daily food rations would be calculated according to how well he convinced us. We do this for every newcomer.

Just kidding! He gave a small devotion for us on Saturday as preparation for some bible studies he’ll do here.

May the Lord bless you, John-Michael, and guide you by His Spirit as you lead the church in worship, and serve Him in all things in Korea! May He build you and use you to bless and build up others in the most holy faith.

Yes, It’s December: Snow #2!

Who likes college applications due on the last day of November? That’s what I was doing on the last day of November. Finishing those applications just on time (I had a bit of extra time—I had ‘till 5pm December 1 when California hit midnight on the last night of November), I could finally emerge and enjoy December and the Christmas season, celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.

At our M.E.L.T. English talking session, Iza explained the whole deal with the candy cane to some of the guys at melt. Now, I am not sure if this is what really was the case, or if it was just some added tradition that happens to fit very well, but here it is: now the curve of the candy cane, flipped one way, looks like a “J” for Jesus, and flipped the other way, looks like a shepherd’s staff, representing the Good Shepherd. The white symbolizes the purity and sinless nature of Christ, “Who knew no sin”. The red stripes represent the literal stripes Jesus incurred in all His suffering, His back being whipped and shredded-- “by His stripes we are healed.”

Whether a symbol of that divine event

Happened to be the original intent

Ff he who candy cane did invent

It’s interesting, nonetheless.

More Winter Welcome: Snow!

And yes, last week, we had another shower of snow. Awesome!

This time, it fell harder and more than before! Check it out!

There had been a little bit of snowfall before this point, and then it instantly became beautifully clear. And it all hit again!

You can totally see the snow this time from the picture on the right!

Is that not enough? Then here’s another (short) video!

Reading The Word With Peter

Once a week, if he isn’t busy, Peter and I get together at our favorite stomping grounds, Holy Cross Coffee Shop, to read the Word. Right now we’re reading in the Gospel of John. We read through a small portion, study it, and discuss it. Let me tell you, each time I come with an open heart to receive whatever the Bible has, to really look into the scriptures, I find God’s word burning within me! Many times coming to the study, I find myself tired and sometimes not feeling in the mood for Bible Study, but when we dig in deep, what zeal and passion arises from discussing these written words! If I am willing, my attitude changes, and I see real changes in my actions, as well! Oh, that I would spend such time every day, looking into the word, really seeking to find the treasures of wisdom that change my life!

“My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God.”

Proverbs 2:1-5.

Thanksgiving Day!

In Korea, they don’t really celebrate the Thanksgiving Day in November like we do in America. But wait! Don’t feel bad for us! Koreans have their own thanksgiving celebration of similar holiday caliber, which they celebrate at a different time of year. Remember Chuseok in October? Yeah, that’s the one! We celebrated then.

Even so, we didn’t just do nothing.

Before and during Thursday Night Bible study, we busted out some delicious food for those who came. Here’s a picture of some of it. Cobb brought an amazing 7-layer dip which was simply delectable! Jake, that is something we’ve gotta try to make sometime soon! It’s like, super bean dip for tortilla chips! And then, an interesting mix—the combination of cheesecake and pumpkin pie to make pumpkin cheesecake! It was good.

 

That was just part 1.

After Bible study, some of us went to an art museum, or some sort of concert hall in the city to watch and listen to an orchestra play in concert! A friend of ours was able to procure for us free tickets. Alright! Quite wonderful, to hear all those stringed instruments working together, under the sway and authority of the conductor’s baton, making a melody which stirs your mind!

I wasn’t allowed to take a picture of the orchestra playing, but here’s everybody outside in the lobby.

After that, we ate at a cool burger place called Kraze Burger.

They were pretty good burgers—really good, in fact!

So, It was a nice to do something on Thanksgiving. Was it able to replace all my family back home? Of course not!

Thursday Night Bible Study With Cobb

We here in Daejeon break the mold and do a Thursday Bible Study in lieu of a Wednesday night study. Anyhow, Pastor Cobb, a military retiree, comes down from Calvary Chapel Cheonan and teaches those who come. Right now we’re studying through the book of James. There are quite a few hard lessons that are found in the book of James—it doesn’t necessarily “tickle the ears”. But still, important and necessary it is for our growth and walk as believers. Regardless of whether it’s a happy, fun message or not, it’s recorded in the Scriptures, and it’s something God wants us to know! Even so, it is wonderful to study this book.

Even so, everybody looks jovial! Perhaps because some of these pictures were taken on Thanksgiving Day?

There’s No Gettin’ Off This Train We’re On

Recently, I was late—very late. So late, I had to take a very late bus downtown, and missed my ride to Cheonan city to help with an English class and a couple Bible studies. Not only that, but I also forgot my handphone—err, cell phone. (Handphone is the term they use in Korean.) The worst mistake was forgetting my phone, because though I was a bit late, I could’ve called the pastor and coordinate meeting them as they drove out of town. Since I didn’t have my phone, I had to go all the way back home to get it. (it reminds me how important communication is, with one another, and also with God.)

So I took a train. Woooo! It was a decent price, too--like 5 bucks or something. Never before have I rode on a full-fledged train (the subway doesn’t count!), so I was pretty excited! The interior was a cross between a commercial airliner and a bus—just without the noise. So silent, so speedy, such a splendid seat!

I took the K-Rail. Yes, it went pretty fast. I also got to see some very industrial areas that I was not privy to see taking the highway expressway.

I do hope to take the train again sometime soon. Just not under the same circumstances.

Trains are awesome, so are boats,

if you miss the bus, don’t forget your phone!

The First Snow in Metropolitan City Daejeon

You heard it right.

Snow.

Last Sunday we had our first snow of the winter season! Woo! Yes, it snows in Daejeon, I had heard, and now have witnessed. This time, the snow was very light, and it all pretty much melted right away when it hit the ground.

What do you mean, “What snow?”

It’s hard to see in this picture. Fine…

Here's a video. You'll be able to notice it much better with this.

You know what? The snow is hard to see in the video, too. Not good enough quality on the blog.
But note the amazing commentary I give in the video! Being from Lompoc, California, we don't see much snow--no, we don't see any. The closest we get is frost and hail. So you can understand my excitement.


By the way...Does seeing snowfall make anybody else want to sing that song, "Indescribable"?

Discipleship! Wednesday Night!

Here, there are wonderful opportunities to meet with individuals or in small groups to study the Bible and have discipleship time, and just grow as brothers in the Lord. One such meeting we’ve been having lately is reading the Word at a coffee shop or a burger place (called Lotteria) with John, Mario, and Dave!

As you can remember, John is an American here serving the Lord as he works as an English teacher, and Mario is one of the Koreans here studying both the Bible and English, while Dave is here serving for the time being until he goes back to Okinawa! It was a cool time reading the Word and discussing it with all these guys! We read from John’s Gospel today!

Please continue to pray with me for wisdom regarding meeting with other Christians, as well as with non-believing friends, so that we can bring to Christ those who may not yet know the Lord, and build up those who have trusted in Him. May God by His boundless wisdom and grace provide the opportunity and the necessary care and compassion within!

Wii Fellowship Returns for a Day—With A Vengeance!

This recent evening, we had no English meeting with the kids, so we had a rare opportunity to resume what we’d like to call Wii Fellowship! We’d normally have it on Friday evenings for a little bit after the Bible Study at the Institute across the street. During this time we’d play some games (like Wii Sports or Mario Kart), eat snacks, and just talk with people. Fellowship! It’s a nice way to introduce people to the church in a comfortable setting, plus also to build friendships with new people we meet at the Bible Study at the English Institute. Since we hadn’t done it in a while, everyone stayed extra long!

But, alas, once again it remains cancelled until further notice. Until next time!

Hakata Ramen

If you remember my previous post about Fukuoka, you’ll remember I mentioned an area of the city called Hakata. Yep. Well, Hakata Ramen is one of the local specialties of Fukuoka. Unfortunately, due to my getting lost (and just simply not having enough time!), I wasn’t able to sample some Hakata Ramen.

Well, lo and behold, after one of our Bible studies, a few people from the church took us to dinner at a local Japanese restaurant—which served Hakata Ramen! I was very happy to try some. It was delicious. Now is it authentic? I honestly cannot say. But I was still excited to have some! Yeah! It is interesting how God chooses to bless us in small things, too.

 

In the top picture, we have another foreigner from California, John, who commonly teaches English here in Korea. We also have Gloria, who, with her family, loves to bless us! In the bottom pic we have Hae Young and Jisu, who attend the church.

Bible Study At The English Institute

Every Wednesday and Friday we’ve been having a Bible Study at a nearby English institute. People come in and we start with a little bit of what Pastor Mike likes to call “Free Talking”. We chat, ask questions, and make conversation.

Then comes the song. We usually like to introduce a new worship or praise song (either new for us all or new to them being in English). We read through it, someone explains the song, and any difficult words or phrases (because textbooks    don’t     always      teach what creative writers put to the page), then we sing the song!

Here’s Canadian Mike excellently explaining the song. He comes up with great examples to explain obscure words and phrases for the learners! Lately, usually Iza or myself would play and lead in songing the sing. Here Iza leads in Hallelujah Jesus.

After that comes the Bible Study. Many times Pastor Mike would teach, or he’d have one of us teach, and lately we’ve tried breaking up into groups and doing smaller group Bible studies, since right now we’ve so many foreigners (English speaking natives) here to help.

Some people get introduced to us and the church via the Bible Study at this English Institute. That’s how we met people like these siblings, Jun Yong (the boy) and Ha Yong (the girl) ! These two are cool!

 

Awesome. I’ve said it before, but in South Korea, there’s a lot of people who know English or are learning English as a second language. English is big here. What’s great is that there are already a lot of people we can give the Gospel to and teach the Word of God to, even though we don’t know Korean. (Of course, that doesn’t mean we aren’t learning or needn’t learn Korean!)

We do know that some come to church or Bible studies merely to learn and practice English (we’ve heard from some by their own admission, heheh). Even though some come only for English, it is fortunate that they do listen to what we have to say, and are exposed to the Word of God, sharper than any two-edged sword, and get to hear the Gospel. While it may be beneficial that English draws people, we don’t want to compromise Christ for English. We’d like to “keep the main thing the main thing.” And that’s Jesus. So please pray for us, the church, those serving, and especially for Pastor Mike, that God may continue to grant wisdom and guidance in matters such as these. Also, please pray that God would give motivation and opportunity to learn Korean for every foreigner serving over here, in order to become even more effective when working with Koreans.

 

*Thanks, Dean, for some of your older pictures!

Welcome Dave!

 

Dave Redondo has recently come to visit us in Korea for a little bit. He’s a missionary to Okinawa, Japan, and works with Calvary Chapel Ginowan (the church that the CCBC Okinawa functions out of). He’s got a heart for the Lord and a passion to win lost souls—he teaches evangelism at the Bible College. (He’s also been teaching me about evangelism, too!)

It looks like the immigration office in Japan gave him some trouble when trying to return, so he’ll be staying with us until they issue him a missionary visa for Japan.

Please pray for Dave! Pray that God willing, he would receive his missionary visa quickly, and that God would encourage, strengthen, and give him patience and wisdom in this time of waiting, and that he’d be led by God wherever the Spirit pleases.

God bless you, Dave, as you patiently endure and continue to serve and trust God in wherever He leads you!

CCBC Okinawa Missions Team

A Packed Weekend

In earlier/Mid October, we were visited by a group from Calvary Chapel Bible College in Okinawa, Japan (the school I used to attend, remember?)

Here’s the group, minus Pastor Tom, the director of the Bible College campus, with us Korea missionaries added in. We’ll for this time, everyone here is a Korean missionary! Yeah! Kapshida!

They came out to help serve with us for a little more than a weekend.

It was a pleasure and a joy for me to see them, for I knew most of these people from when I was at Bible College (up until last May).

In this picture, we’ve got, from left to right, Eder (in the back), Josh, Christina, Ana, and Steven. I met Steven and Christina over at the campus in Murrieta. Eder was a fellow student with me in Okinawa. Josh and Ana are new faces. But they’re all sweet people!

And here’s Pastor Tom and his son, Zack. Of course, I know them from CCBC Okinawa!

What sorts of things did we do that weekend?

Free-Talking Saturday

With more English speaking foreigners, that means it’s more fun for all Koreans who come and want to practice English and have a good time! This is where we mix up the English speakers with the English learners. David and Lance are ready!

So are Tom and Zack—the Korean Tom this time, mind you!

We made two competing teams—the Kimchi Krunchers and the Unified Unicorns (ahahha). After making team cheers, we each set out on a scavenger hunt in the surrounding area to find what we could find.

Tom wore this guy’s glasses for the picture. The stranger had no choice but to comply with our dema—polite requests. We really did ask nicely.

The Koreans here knew easily where to find this cow. Do you?

It was neat to have some extra time to mix it up with the Koreans, have fun, and get to know each other better. I pray that we can keep on building friendships with the Christians (as well as non-Christians) here and then build them up “in the most holy faith.” A difficulty, I find, is that it’s very easy to stick with those with whom I am most comfortable, and neglect to reach out to those who are on the outside, and need to be drawn in. The easy thing is to stick to oneself—stepping outside of our “comfort-zones” to touch the lives of strangers, is, well, uncomfortable! So please, remember us in prayer!

Church Barbeque

On Sunday, we had our first sort of church barbeque. It was a blessed time of fellowship at the park by the Gapcheon river. Quite a few people came from the church, and there was a lot of good food!

 

On the left there’s Pastor Mike’s parents in law. And on the right is Mr. No. Yes, That’s his name!

On the left is Daniel Kim, a college student, and on the right is John from Southern California.

They played some sort of Korean version of Volleyball/Soccer/Tennis. It looked like they were playing Tennis with a soccer ball, with soccer rules, meaning you hit it only with your feet. It’s called Chogo or Choco or something like that. We also played some classic dodge ball! Dodge ball is so fun! Too bad we can’t play it more often. If you have an opportunity to play dodge ball right now…you should! You know who you are!

[What’s that in the background???? Something out of a Sonic game? No, it’s Expo Park! The science-based amusement park of Daejeon.]

Sunday Evening Service

Yes, yes, let’s just keep on packing as many people as we can into this small room! The more the merrier! Sunday evening is always our biggest service.

Daedunsan (Daedun Mountain)

 

On Monday, we all visited this mountain called Daedunsan. It was a wonderful hike with a beautiful view, as you can see. The adventure package also included a cable car, two bridges, and meeting old ladies that wanted to make you eat some silkworms! The silkworms weren’t too bad.

Bridge one. Nice and long, not bad at all.

Bridge two. Quite different from bridge one. It’s more like a giant step ladder. Just look at the angle of ascent on this thing! (You’re looking down it, not across it.)

 

At the very top is an amazing 360 degree panoramic view of the surrounding mountains. Absolutely beautiful, breathtaking! Seeing all the curves and crevices of the mountain ranges—God’s handiwork is amazing!

 

Peace Out! Fly Out!

The next day, it was time to for me say goodbye to them all as they headed off for Seoul for a day, then to return to Okinawa to keep studying and serving. I got to talk to them quite a bit, and see what sorts of things are going on over in Okinawa. It gets really difficult over there being a student, for there’s study and serving that gets done all the time. With all there is to do over there, it can get overwhelming. They need plenty of prayer! I was definitely refreshed by their visit, and I’m sure that they were refreshed as well by their visit—it is always wonderful to meet others again after you haven’t seen them in a while. I pray that I could visit CC Ginowan once again, as well.