Interviews 4/2/09

The whirlwind is over and I'm happy to report that it went very well. We visited Sunday and then Monday and Tuesday were full of appointments, errands, phone interviews and potluck dinner meetings for the potential counselors. Everything fell into place. Thanks, Lord for your grace and help.

Pastor Kidoong and his family and team member were very pleased with the guest house and seemed to enjoy their stay in Athens. We did our meetings there rather than in our home, which took some stress off of us and gave the Koreans the freedom to stay put and just let everyone come to them.

Kidoong and the gang are in Americus right now meeting with the Habitiat folks before they fly out tomorrow morning. His dad is the chairman for Habitat in Korea. Kidoong wants to highlight the founder and his work in one of his lessons for his children's ministry.

The team is firming up well. I've still got some info to collect and a couple more conversations to have before the group is set and we purchase tickets. But, we're closer than we've ever been.

It was so satisfying to see the looks on the faces on the potential counselors as they heard about Kidoong's vision and all the kids he impacts worldwide with his ministry. It's taken me 3 years to wrap my mind around what he does and I'm still learning and seeking God to help me catch the vision so I can stay focused and serve well.

We're just thrilled to get to be a part of our Father's work on earth and we're so exited that it's open for any of His kids to join in! What a good God we serve.

Waiting... 4/4/09

We're in some limbo waiting to hear exact dates from Kidoong and a few bits of info from some individuals before we can move forward. Once we get dates we can run those by the team and make sure everyone is still able to come. Then we'll address the prep work that's going to be involved and give everyone one last chance to bail. THEN we can go ahead and order tickets. After that we'll meet and get things revved up for a great Kids Camp in August.

Yay! 6/29/09

Thanks to God's grace and people's prayers I got the curriculum DONE! Yahoo!!! I sent it all to Eunyoung today. Hopefully it won't need a lot of tweaking after she looks at it. We've got another team meeting tomorrow night and I'm hoping to have copies of all the curriculum to pass out. Unfortunately my printer stopped working today. Nice timing, eh? Oh well. Maybe I'll go to Kinko's or something.

The Final Countdown 8/1/09

Well, here we are, one day away from leaving for our Korea trip. I can't believe it's finally here. This year we're taking a team of about 18 with us, so there have been many more details to handle. Needless to say, my packing job is a lot sloppier than it was last year. I know we're in for an exiting time. Flexibility is the key, the say. We'll fly 14 hours over there and then start camp the NEXT morning. Holy Toledo!!! We are definitely relying on God's supernatural power for this--there's just no other way. Last year I had terrible jet lag, so I'm trusting in faith that God will give us all the ability to love these kids and let the Lord work through us regardless of our physical or emotional state. I'm hanging on to Galatians 2:20. I no longer live, but Christ lives through me.

I'll try to post some things, but there are no guarantees. It's easier to just update facebook status. We'll see. We're super exited. What a wacky couple of year it has been. It's so fun to be able to see the Lord's faithfulness and kindness despite the hardships. He really is so, so good!

Pictures from Korea Trip 8/19/09

http://www.strawsermusicstudio.com/Strawser_Music_Studio/Trip_to_Korea/Trip_to_Korea.html

6/9/11

Huhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...  I think I'm forgetting how to speak English.  I want to be deliberate about making time to write because it's therapeutic for me.

There isn't a lot of time or space for writing or reflection in this season.  It's a busy time, unlike the time when I was injured and I began this blog.  I've heard another expat say that living in Korea is kind of like being rubbed up against a grinder.  Things get knocked off of you violently and in a hurry!  That's definitely what it feels like.

I look forward to being on the other side of this and being able to see some of the things God has done.

Snippets

Yep, we're still here in Korea.  I've had so many fun and interesting things happen.  I'm afraid I can't remember them all.  One day I got lost in the city where my school is.  I walked for and hour and a half!  I wore a hole in my tights.  Ha!  I wore those tights today and remembered my  misadventure.  I now know which exit to take out of the subway and I know my way quite well and haven't been lost (there) since.

I met a Brazilian girl in the subway who is light skinned and looks German -- kinda wierd.  She said her grandparents were Polish and that's why she's so blond and fair.  I also met an African American woman from Maryland.  She's in her 50's or so and named Bessie.  She teaches at a local university.  What a sweet woman.  We foreigners tend to stick out, so conversation with them on the subway always comes easily.  No to mention the English factor.  Hello.  Most other folks don't speak a language that I can readily understand.

I melted into a pile of mush and tears last night when the kids ministry took us out for dinner and then sang a song of blessing over us and then handed me flowers and got Will a birthday cake made by one of Korea's most famous chefs.  (I know that was a ridculously long sentence.  I don't care.  I'm talking, not writing.)

I tried to go into a men's only spa not once, but twice.  The first time I thought it was the subway.  The second time I knew it was a spa, I just didn't know it was only for men.  That was fun and embarassing.

I stayed up til 1am last night moving furniture around.  So cathartic.

Our sweet English worship group bought Will a pair of Nikes for his birthday.  Nice! 

I LOVE the kids I work with.  I do a lot of small group work.  One student in particular can be slain by my ill-attempts at Korean.  She literally falls down on the floor with laughter.  I love it.  Her name is Sue and she makes my day super-bright.  She'll say, "TEACHER, TEACHER!!!  SAY:  blah, blah, blabbity, blah, blah (Korean)."  I do my best to imitate whatever it was she said and she promptly throws herself on the ground absolutely spasmodic with laughter or she gets tangled up in a chair and ends up laughing uncontrollably on the floor.  It's awesome.  I really don't want to know what she's trying to get me to say...

Korea, Here We Come!!! 12/13/10

I'm torn between 2 blogs at the moment.  The new one is designated for our upcoming Korea Journey.  The details are falling into place.  You can see more at:  The Blackmons in Korea

Getting Closer 11/12/10

The moving sale was a ridiculous success.  The Lord blessed it and we made $1200, which brought our savings to just enough to purchase 4 plane tickets to Seoul, South Korea.  I bought the tickets a couple of days ago (wiping out our savings account.)  That was a little stressful and exiting all at the same time.  It was another reminder that our security is not in Navy Federal Credit Union, a paycheck, or any other earthly possession, but only in the Lord.

It feels like we just jumped out of a plane.  We've got our chutes, but aren't using them yet.  We have to trust that they'll open when we need them.  There's no going back.  But, I know with all my heart that the Father will honor His word and give us a safe landing to the place He's calling us to go.  Genesis 12 is a passage that He gave me a few months back when I asked Him to talk to me regarding Korea.  He simply said, "Go to the land that I will show you.  I will bless you and make you a blessing."  It's that simple.

We have 3 details that have yet to come together, so please pray with us that these loose ends will soon be tied up.  1)  Our house.  What should we do with it.  Rent it out?  Well, we'll need a tenant.  We've had a few prospects, but nothing has solidified yet.  2)  Our sweet dog, Lizzy. She'll need a home for the next year and I so want her to have people who will love and enjoy here.  She loves her people and loves to snuggle and it breaks my heart to think of her feeling too lonely.  3) Our visas.  We're working on them now, but we need the details to fall into place for that.  Thank you so much if you've read this and will stand in prayer with us.

I'll keep you posted...

1 Wedding and a Trip to South Korea 7/10/10

We're in the home stretch before our trip.  Barry and I are both in a wedding next Saturday and then we'll leave the next week for our South Korea trip.  I've got our first of 2 band practices tomorrow.  The details are steadily falling into place and the Lord has been so kind to put together such a great team.

It's been a busy time.  The kids just got back from Kids Camp and then last night was a bachelorette party for a dear friend.  Good and busy times!