The Strongest City

So here are my thoughts.

I have been growing a lot this past week.  I am learning who I am in Christ.  I have been learning that I am not disgusting, not shameful, not despicable, and not able to call myself these things.  I am God's child, and I need to start acting like one.  I need to stop believing the lies of the evil one, and I need to start living in the redeeming grace and authority of God's love. I AM GOD'S!  He is patient, and what he declares clean, no one can call unclean.  So my past sins and even current struggles are covered.  Anytime I feel guilty or "screwed up" (as I like to say)...I have to remember that God tells me who I am...and I have no right to argue.  I am HIS!

You know that with this past couple months, I have struggled with depression and anxiety.  The evil one was stealing my joy.  THINK OF IT THIS WAY:  An enemy doesn't attack a weak little city in the middle of nowhere.  An enemy will send his army to the capital city or the strongest city in a nation.  That is how the war is won.  As for me...he attacked my joy.  This was my strength and I didn't even know it.  Satan attacked my joy because my joy is a gift to myself and others.

Here is an excerpt of a note written to me by my teammate from my mission to India (before all the stuff with the attacks when down): "You are one of the most kind, caring, and genuine people that I have met.  You have such a servant's heart and truly put the needs of others before your own.  You have been an encouragement to me this whole trip!  Always giving free back-rubs and your bubbley personality is so contagious."

I remember reading over this in my lowest points of depression.  I was so mad, so disgusted with myself.  I always said that I was not that girl anymore. BUT THAT WAS A LIE!  Satan stole my joy and lied to me...told me that my greatest strength was no longer mine.

I declare the truth!  That my joy is my strength.  That the girl who served in India is still here and she is as amazing as ever (not on her own strength but on that of the Lord's).

I want to encourage you!  The thing that you struggle with and feel you will never have.  THAT IS YOUR STRENGTH!  Claim it and stand on that truth!

Running, Running, and Running around.

I have been doing a lot of running lately in preparation for my upcoming 10k. It's actually very good for me.  We all carry around a pharmacy in our heads and running activates the anti-depressants.  :-)

So, needless to say, I am feeling much better about life.  But, with all the running and the usual running around, I have been so tired lately.  Everyday this week was taken by something (usually somethings-more than one), and my Saturday was busy too. So this Sunday morning I slept in ALOT!  I got out of bed at 10:00am compared to the usual 7:30am.  It feels so good but I feel like I have wasted some of my day.  Perhaps it was needed though.

Anyway, I want to tell you about my yesterday.  I woke up, had my Skype date, did Zumba and then went to a Orphanage to volunteer a bit.  This was my first time here, and it was an all boys home.  Boys are soooo much fun.  They are rough, but awesome.  I spent the morning teaching them the card game, SlapJack, and they loved it!  They got so into it...and they want me to comeback so they can try to beat me at it. :-P  In the afternoon, we played basketball.  Earlier in the week, hyper-extended my arm and playing B-Ball was probably not the best thing I could do....but, my team won!  And we were two western girls and two middle school boys, verses the highschoolers.  WHAT!?!?!?  WE ROCK!

I am so blessed that God has given me the opportunities that I have.  And sometimes I take them for granted.  But, I am just trying the best I can.  Thanks friends and family at home, I appreciate your prayers.

"You're killing me, Smalls!"

So if anyone knows the movie "The Sandlot", then you know that famous line that occurs during the S'mores scene.  Our lovable kids are exasperated by Smalls' lack of grasping the simplest of all concepts....the S'more.

And as for me, I spend a good deal of time exasperated.  According to the online dictionary that means,  I am made very angry or impatient; annoyed.  So quite often when I am alone in an elevator or at my desk, I mouth "You're killing me, Smalls!" to the sky in the the "Why Me, God?" fashion.  (Secretly I mean, you're killing me Korea)

Plans are not coming to fruition, lessons are failing, I am as homesick as ever, there are racists mocking me on the bus, and the co-teachers don't understand what in the world is wrong with the crazy foreign girl they hired.

I am overwhelmed.  And overworked.  And over demanded.  And overly tired.  And ready to sleep...right here at my desk.  But I can't, because I have a lesson in six minutes.  Wish me luck friends because I sure need it.

"YOU'RE KILLING ME SMALLS!!!!!"

Photo Update

 So this is our Photo Update.  Eliza and I have sure been busy.  Check out all that we have done this week.


To the left, you can see us during our day trip to the city of Gyeong-ju, (the old capital during the Shilla Dynasty).


Behind us is Bulgoksa temple.  It's a UNESCO world Heritage Site.










To the right, the Jagalchi Fish Market.  This place is famous for it's fresh caught fish.  Together we enjoyed some very nice fried fish, eel, and rice.

We also happened to be walking in the market during the second typhoon of Eliza's stay.  Eliza was hit by a leaf...it was sad.

Here we are enjoying dinner at the restaurant owned by one of my co-teachers.  Eliza is improving with her Chopstick skills!  This was her first time to try Quail Egg, Pig's Feet, and Marinaded Octopus.

You grab the meat and wrap it in the leaf, then enjoy.

Sunset at Dadaepo Beach

After a long day of hiking, we came to the South Gate of the old fortress of Busan.  Eliza took this awesome photo from the ramparts of the South Gate.  You can see the recently restored city walls complete with flags.  So nice!

Eliza loves me!

At Seokorim Grotto Eliza got the opportunity to ring the monk's ceremonial bell.  She had to lift this really really heavy log and let gravity do the rest.  The bell continued to ring for quite some time afterward.  And you could feel the vibrations.  So cool!

Lastly, we visited the beautiful Summer Palace at Anapji pond.  Can you just imagine visiting as royalty one summer night and seeing this?  Ooooh!  So jealous.

The Palace was designed to have a perfect reflection off of the pond after dark.  And I think they were definitely successful!

ELIZA!!!!!!

Caroline: Did I mention that we had a Typhoon?  Yeah...we did.  And it just happened to be the same day that Eliza (my friend from the States) was flying in to visit me.  I had been nervously tracking her flight, and bugging my co-workers all the time with my questions about the weather.  And, there I sat at the airport 1.5hrs early staring at the arrivals board and worrying my little head off.

As it turns out, every flight on the board was either cancelled or delayed, EXCEPT for ELIZAAA'SSSSS!  :-)  Now that is a God thing.

Eliza: OMG I was so excited to visit Caroline!! but I was also very nervous at the same time.  This was my first time flying outside of the United States.  My airport experience has been traveling with a friend to Maine and with a group to New Mexico.  Now, I was traveling to South Korea all by myself!!!  I would never imagine a year ago that I would be doing this!!  Everything went well for the most part.  I got really worried when I was waiting in Tokyo for my flight to Busan because I was told that it may be cancelled or may have to land at another airport.  That darn Typhoon!! Like Caroline said, my flight came without any real trouble (we had to wait about 10 minutes to land).  I was pretty lucky!!

Caroline: I waited at the arrivals gate for those extra 10mins...still worried.  But Eliza came through the doors and I gave her many many hugs.  Then I, just maybe, maybe, had a teeny tear...that came in multiples....maybe.

Eliza: Yeah, she cried...it was intense.

Caroline: ANYWAY, we got safely back to the apartment.  I prepped lunch for school the next day and we hit the sack.

At school, Eliza is quite popular.  I think I have only taught half of a class since she's been here (minus my Business English Class every morning.)  Manly the kids love having "Free Talk English" with her, which means Q&A.  But it's good practice for them to be vocal in English.  And Eliza is a good sport about it all.  :-)

Eliza: I am so happy that I did have any jet lag! I went to Caroline's classes thinking and planning to sit in the back.  Yeah, didn't happen.  All the girls wanted to talk with me.  It was fun though, I really enjoyed it.  I was getting a big head due to the fact that they all were talking about how beautiful I was.  It feels nice to feel pretty lol.  Everyone here is really nice from the students (though many are shy) to Caroline's co-teachers.  Everyone has been very welcoming!

Caroline: After school yesterday, my best co-worker Kim took Eliza and I to YongKung Temple (the dragon temple by the sea) and out for a traditional Korean meal.  It was so nice.

Yongkung Temple

Eliza: Kim is great!  I have never been to a Buddhist Temple before and it was beautiful!  It is so hard to describe the intricate details of the temple by the East Sea (known as the Sea of Japan).  I loved the traditional dinner even though one of Caroline's co-teachers laughed at me because of the way I used my chopsticks.  I need more practice but I had so many new foods like Kimchi (fermented cabbage), Pacheon (seafood and green onion pancake), Bibimbap (mixed veggies and rice), Patbingsu (shaved ice with redbeans, fruit, and condensed milk), and many more!  I love eating new foods! :)

Caroline: The plan for tonight is to go to Nampo-Dong (our international shopping area) to look around and get some gifts for the folks back home.  Also, dinner at the famous fish market, and some much needed time at the spa.  Lastly, we want to pop by Busan Tower (because it's famous...well in Busan it's famous.)  :-P

Anyway...you will hear from us soon...with photos and smiles.  :-)

Back into the Swing of Things

I am safely back in Korea sitting at my desk at work.  I am reminded of how confusing life is here...but luckily, I have prepared myself this time.  I still don't know what is going on around me.  I have two different teachers and a coordinator giving me three different schedules.  I am not sure exactly what I am doing.  But I have lesson plans to last me until tomorrow.  Hopefully I will know more by tonight.

Great Ocean Road

These are some more photos that my team leader took in Canberra.  Sorry that they are so late...but ya know!

Anyway, we are planting trees here....  This is one of the hills in Jerrabomberra.  :-)









So Now in the lovely land of Geelong.  As, I said in my last post, I was going to the Great Ocean Road.  And believe me...it is GREAT!  The place is so beautiful.  We are working on a hillside with a view outside the city of Lorne.

We are weeding out a few invasives, including Potosporun and Broom Bush.  These are harder to get, so though we can hand pull the smaller ones, we have to use "Loppers" (hedge trimmers) and poison.  I try to avoid poison where possible, but you have to do what you have to do.  We want a healthy bush full of native Australian Wildlife.

The weather here is dreadful though.  It has rained everyday...but it's okay with me.  Because that rain made me a beautiful rainbow right over one of the beautiful beaches on the Great Ocean Road. Trust me..there will be photos to come.  :-)

I am slightly bummed that tomorrow is my last day with CVA.  I head to Melbourne on the train after work.  Then I will fly to Korea on Saturday Morning.  I will miss this place.  I really enjoyed Western Food, English Language, and Countryside.  This place makes my heart ache for home.  But, only 2.5 more months in Korea.  I can do this.  :-)