Farewell CJ and Elise

As we sat in our taxi after a farewell party for some of our good friends (one of my dearest in Korea) I was awestruck by the Body of Christ and the hope that we have in our God. What, to some, could feel like a permanent goodbye was not that at all. While we are incredibly sad to see these friends leave Busan, I am thrilled for their next adventures and am comforted in knowing that those of us in Christ will spend eternity together.

This is the first goodbye that has been a really close friend. We knew this would happen...that people come and go here a lot. What we didn't know was that in just less than 9 months time we would have such solid friends. Elise is someone I strongly admire. Her strength, joy, and faith have been a constant source of encouragement to me since we met in the fall.

Today was a pretty emotional day. Elise, Laura, Nikki and I have been doing a Bible Study together for months and have grown very close. For the past few months we have put off talking about this day. And there we sat today in Church, our arms linked together, waiting for the farewell prayer for Elise and CJ. As soon as we all got up front to lay hands on them, the tears began to flow. Honestly, I'm not sure I could even tell you a word that was spoken in that prayer. It was such a sober moment. We know God has great things in store for them as they head to Abu Dhabi after a few months of travel and time back home in Canada, but they were be greatly missed in Busan.

I am thankful for "forever friends."  Today was not a goodbye. It was "See you later."

Laura, Elise, me and Nikki at our final lunch together. 

I will love these girls forever.

Matthew 18:20  For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.

BFS Talent Show

Friday night was our school talent show at the Shinsegae Cultural Hall. We thoroughly enjoyed it and were so impressed by the talent in our school. Below you'll find two videos from the night. The first one is one of Justin's students - Sharin - dancing. She got her hair done just for the show and was so cute! She hardly looked like the Sharin we know. The second video is of Tae Hyun - a second grader - singing Edelweiss. Tae Hyun was in Justin's class at the beginning of the year but eventually moved down to second grade as it was a better fit for him. He stole the show, for sure. I have watched the video of him over and over, and I still love it just as much as when I saw him in the show.

We didn't get too many other pictures, but we had the pleasure of hearing a lot of talented musicians from our school.

Sharin 

Tae Hyun

Tae Hyun getting ready to go on stage. 

PRECIOUS.

Redeemer ICC

Our Church in Korea has recently changed names from ICC (International Community Church) to Redeemer ICC. With that, we now have a new website, complete with sermons (right now there is only one, but more will soon be available).

We are VERY excited about what is happening at Redeemer ICC. If you get a chance to listen to the sermon that's on the website, I encourage you to do so. You'll get a good taste of what we hear each week.

Click below for the new website!
Redeemer ICC Website

Enjoy!

1 Peter 2:9      But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.