As life twists and turns....

sometime near July 30^th:

Another year has passed and no blog entry has been made. Well I’m feeling in the mood to write again, so here’s another entry. Who knows if this is the last and only one for 2011! We’ll see…

Well, as I have communicated in other media, I am moving to Korea – or at least making the plans to. I have secured a job teaching English to Kindergarten kids in a small town just outside of Seoul, but I am still awaiting my documents to apply for my visa. This is definitely less than ideal and I had hoped and planned to have my visa in hand by this point. So I definitely find myself re-evaluating my facts  and motivations so as to discern God’s leading. But I am pretty confident that in the end, I will end up spending a year teaching English in Korea.

My motivation towards Korea is to discern if full-time ministry in Asia is in the near future. I believe that this direction is from God, but I am often surprised at the way things turn out when it comes to following God. For example I applied for and was accepted onto staff with Power to Change and I ended up working one year before I transitioned into an internship position and completing only two more years with the ministry. So always it remains a situation of trusting in God’s sovereignty!

 The small town in Korea is the home of AMI, the ministry GMC partnered with for our mission’s trip this past June. I really enjoyed our time with the ministry and think that I’d like to get to know the ministry better. So I have found their address on their website and applied for teaching jobs available in the area. I have no idea if they accept foreign workers, and a white one to boot! I do know that it was awkward to be the first white person many of the locals had ever met and wonder if it would be a help or a hindrance.

Today my manager finished next week’s schedule and reminded me that it’s my last week there- already! Things have happened so fast and I’m really going to miss my co-workers. I am so thankful for the relationships that I have built there and look forward to continuing them into the future.

My family has been going through a stressful time. I don’t want to go into details here, but I am really anticipating my visit home before leaving for a year. I am thankful for this time to spend with them and time to rest! Strange how I only see my family twice a year even while living in the same country~

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August 3^rd:

Last night I lead training for the future teachers at GMC, and I really got nostalgic about the kids ministry. I am really happy to have completed the policies and procedures that have been in place for some time, but never put together into one document. I am really excited for these women to start brining the Word of God to the kids along side the three other women who are already involved. I started dreaming about where the ministry can grow and go from here. I’d love to see the kids reach out to the community in small ways like visiting the elderly. Or for our community to grow and have more teens call GMC home. They bring such a unique point of view and without them I feel that we’re missing something! I dream towards an Advent Event (maybe singing or acting or some kind of fun!).

So right now, to be honest my heart is stirred to know what God’s will is, and to know what all of these thoughts mean.

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August 9^th:

I have been journaling these past few days, as I try to communicate the decision that I am making: what to do in light of what I have seen on missions.

I think it is best summed up in this:

Dear friends, God is so good and gracious and I am so privileged to seek his face and follow what I sense to be his leading. Of course I am imperfect in my interpretations and am reconsidering my choice to move to Korea. I think the time it has taken for my documents to come has afforded me the time to evaluate my choice and my deep passion and excitement to be involved in the children’s at Grace has really been the key factors. God has leaded me through the journey of submitting my ministry to the families to him as well as the job I have been offered in Korea. And yet I feel a release from Korea but not from GMCKidz. I still have so many hopes and dreams for these kids’ lives, our community, and the shape of this ministry.

I have had a very stressful personal life with work, missions, moving and family. I sense that I need a rest and renewal. I will preserve my two weeks at home to spend with my family relaxing and visiting and return hopefully with a new job that better suits my needs.

My interest in overseas missions remains and yet I doubt that my place is in Myanmar. I admit really don’t know what is going on there, but I’d wager that, as with many things, I have just jumped on an exciting idea with an obsessive fervour and it would be wiser to be still and pray about it a lot longer. I will continue to pray for Myanmar and persecuted Christians and probably write letters through Voice of the Martyrs.

More later!