Igidae Park

My Korean co-worker and friend, Ms. Han, invited us along with Laura to her house for lunch this weekend. She made us a fantastic Korean noodle and vegetable soup with some typical Korean side dishes. After lunch she drove us over to Igidae Park.

Igidae Park is a scenic trail along the coast with beautiful views looking back towards the Gwangan Bridge and Haeundae. It was a great walk and very refreshing to feel "out of the city" for a bit.

Looking back toward Haeundae

Gwangan Bridge and Marine City with Jangsan Mountain in the background (the mountain we see from our apartment)

with Ms. Han and her younger daughter, Ludia

Damyang Bamboo Forest

This weekend we had two extra days off for Children's Day and Buddha's birthday. We took advantage of the extra time by getting out of Busan for two days with our good friends Erik and Breckan. We booked bus tickets to Gwangju, a city 4 hours west of us, and from there took another intercity bus to a small town where there is a bamboo forest. We walked around the forest and surrounding area for a bit and even tried bamboo ice cream!

 

 

 

 

 

Playing traditional Korean games

 

Our "hotel" was an adventure all on its own. Since it was a holiday and we were planning this all last minute, it was difficult to find a place to stay. I eventually found this hotel that I thought was right in the same town as the bamboo forest. Nope. It was yet another 40 minute taxi ride away. Thankfully we got there without any problems.

This "hotel" quickly became our favorite part of the weekend. We each had our own little cabin/hotel room with a beautiful view of the mountains.

Our little cabin in the woods

 

Space TV

 

The view from our room

 

Food options were limited, and of course we were there in time for dinner. After Erik spent several minutes speaking "hanglish" (Hanguel + English) on the phone with a lady who spoke broken English and was translating for the Korean man at the hotel, we discovered that we couldn't walk anywhere (too far!) and no one would deliver. Therefore our options were "mud chicken soup" or a whole chicken. We opted for the whole chicken, but we were definitely not anticipating the pterodactyl-looking pot of "food" we were served. We hardly got any meat off the thing, so thankfully we had brought plenty of snacks! It definitely made a great story that we laughed about a lot the next day (once we had eaten a real meal!).

We're pretty sure our whole chicken was broken into a bunch of pieces and thrown into the pot to be cooked.

Disgusting. Breckan deemed these pterodactyl feet rather than chicken feet.

We spent hours playing Ticket-to-ride, and Breckan and I graciously let the boys win a few games so they could book their self-esteem. HA.

The next morning we got ourselves back to Gwangju and took a bus back to Busan and then made tacos together for Cinco de Mayo.

Erik and Breckan :)

 

A very successful, fun weekend indeed! We are cherishing our last few weeks with these friends and are so grateful for them and are blessed by their friendship!

How Korea Has Changed Us

Justin and I have been talking recently about ways in which living in Korea has impacted us. There are dozens more, for sure, and some we probably won't even realize until we're gone, but here are a few!

1. Garlic
Yes, you read that right. Garlic. One of our first days in Korea, the director of our school along with the vice principal, took us to an amazing beef barbecue restaurant.  They recommended several times that we try these whole garlic cloves, and finally, when I couldn’t avoid it any longer, I reluctantly ate one. As I prepared myself for the strong flavor and oncoming pain, I suddenly was reaching for more. Both Justin and I were amazed at the incredible taste of that grilled garlic. It has become one of our favorite things to eat at restaurants and at home!

2. Lasik
You can read about our Lasik adventure here. It is wonderful to never have to take out contacts or even think about where to pack solution and glasses for a plane trip. Enough said.

3. Church/Relationships with God
We praise God for all of our experiences in Korea. Our church here has been an immense blessing to us and we have both grown in our Faith - it's difficult to put it into words, but we are going to have a hard time saying goodbye to all of our brothers and sisters in Christ here!

4. Career Experience
So many employers want to hire people with experience. Coming to teach in Korea has not only given Justin two solid years of that experience, but has taught him how to work with all sorts of different situations and kids. For me, not wanting to necessarily teach has a career forever, I have found that I just adore young kids. Not that I didn’t like them before, of course, but I have learned how to relate to them so much better! We will always remember the kids we had during these two years and how they have forever impacted us.

5. Life-long friendships
We truly believe that we have built friendships here that will last a lifetime. This is yet another great reminder of how God always provides for us.

6. Savings
This list continues to really just describe ways in which God has provided for and blessed us. We didn’t come to Korea to save money, but for Justin to gain teaching experience and because we felt strongly that this was where God called us for this time in our lives. Being able to save for our future has been an added blessing along the way!

7. Family Relationships
We have amazing relationships with those in our family. Being away has made us appreciate them so much more, though. They have sacrificed for us even while we’ve been here – travelling, giving up time and money to help us and visit us.

8. Walking
We have gotten very used to walking everywhere – to work, the subway, to go to the grocery store, virtually everywhere – and we love it. We definitely miss our car and will be very thankful to have it back, but being able to walk to the ocean or a mountain within 20 minutes is priceless!

He is Risen!

This Easter was possibly one of the most memorable we'll ever have. Our church had a sunrise service on Haeundae Beach at 5:15am where nearly 25 of us gathered to sing praises to our risen Savior. There was a mixture of songs, Scripture reading, and a short sermon from Dan. Even though it was too cloudy to see the sunrise, it was a beautiful morning that really started the day well and focused on the Resurrection.

At the end of the service, Nikki got baptized. What a beautiful moment to witness! She shared how she came to know Christ and then braved the extremely cold waters of Haeundae Beach with Dan to be baptized.

Nikki's Testimony

 

Getting baptized!

Pure Joy in the Lord!

I was fortunate enough to get another hour or so of sleep before going to church mid-morning. My Korean friend and co-worker joined us for the first time and brought one of her daughters, so that made the day extra special as well.

Since the New Year, our church has been meeting in a smaller space, and on most Sundays we nearly run out of seats, but not nearly as full as it was on Easter! There were so many new faces!

After church, ten of us headed over to our friends' (Erik and Breckan) house for lunch and games. Justin, Nikki, and I ended up staying until 9pm! As un-eventful as some of this may sound, our day was spent fellowshipping with our brothers and sisters in Christ, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. We are beyond blessed with the friendships we have made here, and even though our time together in Korea is quickly drawing to a close, we know that we will have eternity to worship our Lord together. Easter Sunday was just a small glimpse of what that will be like.

Matthew 28:6   He is not here, for he has risen, as he said.

2 Corinthians 5:15   And he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

A Day in the Life of a Waygook

Many of you wonder what our life is like in Busan. Our life here is GOOD. But keep reading below to hear how that’s been challenging me recently. Here’s your chance to see a typical day for us!

At 6:30am the alarm goes off and we are up and getting ready for the day.

7:30ish is when we head to school. If we hit all of the stoplights right, it takes about five minutes for us to walk there.

8:20 the bell rings and the school day begins. I have lunch at 11 and Justin comes in with his class at 11:30. The end of the school day is 3:30, and we stay at school working until at least 4:00 (usually later for Justin).

We visit our small grocery stores almost daily to pick up items for dinner. They are all very close and quite convenient, and each offer some different foods. We have figured out which store is the cheapest for certain things. Lotte Super is where we find tortillas, cheese, and chicken. Home Plus Express is our stop for rice, pork, and lactose-free milk. Nuri Mart is my personal favorite, with the cheapest store-bought produce, bread, and the best snack selection, including mint oreo-like cookies that almost resemble thin mints, but for only 80cents. We also have a few fruit/veggie places we can go to get fresh produce – the fruit truck and a shop right above Nuri Mart.

In the evenings we are often just relaxing by ourselves or with Laura and Nikki. We often share meals with them. Wednesdays are Staff Meeting days, so we work until at least 5:00 on those days. On Thursday nights we host a Church Community Group at our apartment that we lead. Friday is pizza night for us!  On Saturday we often spend time with Laura and Nikki or with our good friends Erik and Breckan. We spend hours together eating food, chatting, and playing games. Sometimes we get a hike in on Saturdays as well.

As much as we love our days here, I can’t wait to see what a day in Eternity is like. Life seems so comfortable right now. So easy most of the time (yes, even in Korea!). Yet we are told in Psalm 84:10 Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere.

A thousand days. That’s less than 3 years. One day in the Father’s presence is better than three years of life on Earth. If that’s not a strong reminder of what we’re living for, then I’m not sure what is. We’re living for Christ. For eternity in His presence. Not for fleeting joys of this world that will be here one day, week, month, or year, and pass the next. We’re living for the joy set before us – Christ, who endured the Cross for our sake.

As we have been studying Hebrews in church (you can find sermons online at www.redeemerbusan.org), something that stuck out to us recently, and has stuck with us ever since, is that what sin so desperately desires is to convince us that it can offer something better than Jesus Christ. And in the words of one three-year-old PK, Asher Collins, “You can say that again!” What sins in our lives are keeping us from experiencing Christ on a daily basis?

So what are you living for? Eternity or today? Who are you living for? Christ or yourself? Where will you be when this life passes away – dancing with our Savior or in the depths of despair? I will be with my Father. I pray you will be too.

Spring Has Sprung

Spring is in full swing in Busan, and that means the Cherry Blossoms are out along with flowers galore! One Saturday morning we took a trip over to the other side of the city where there are lots of Cherry Blossom trees, Rape Flowers (I didn't believe the name at first!), and other beautiful flowers. It was a beautiful day!

Pansies

Streets lined with Cherry Blossoms

Daffodils

Rape Flowers

My favorite Brit, Nikki

Mugunghwa Flowers

Rosa Gallica - the coolest, prettiest flowers, maybe ever

BFS's Got Talent!

Last year the school talent show was one of our favorite school events of the entire year, so we both had high expectations for it this year. We were not disappointed! My class told the story of "Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes," and one of our preschoolers also sang a solo. Justin had several kids in the show as well - from singing to playing various instruments and even a skit. It was a blast! Below are some photos and clips of our kids and their impressive talents!

 

My students getting ready to do Pete the Cat

GaHyun and TaeHyun

Ksenia

Ian

 

 

Pete the Cat

 

He is such a ham! He's 4 years old!

 

TaeHyun singing "You Raise Me Up"