I will give you three excuses for my terrible blogging over the past weeks.
Excuse 1: I have been very busy.
Excuse 2: I have an overload of thoughts and an inability to sort them.
Excuse 3: I am a super secret undercover FBI agent on a mission to save the world from complete and utter destruction. Thus, rendering me to be in "super secret mode" and not spare as much as a tidbit of information pertaining to my whereabouts.
Mostly, the first two but I'm sticking with the FBI story because it is exceedingly exciting!
Fortunately for you, I do indeed have some very exciting recent happenings that I would like to share. Where to begin? This is truly a reason for my lack of blogging. Each day and each thought contain so much depth it seems that I have put off blogging. I think it may be more healthy to just get it out there because I am now needing divine intervention to sort through it all...
Let's begin with the B-I-B-L-E. I have been loving Isaiah lately. I am in a Bible study here with a bunch of wonderful Korean women (and one other waygooken). We are digging into Isaiah each week, a few chapters at a time. For some reason it is just now hitting me how incredibly parallel this whole book is to my life. It's about God's people, Israel, claiming to love him but turning to idols for comfort -- then it shows different sides of God's righteousness to their contradicting behavior. God reveals himself as creator, mighty to save, healer, conquerer, friend, savior, and sovereign over all things. He allows the people to be taken to Babylon and to live in captivity for 70 years, but the Babylonians do not go unpunished for their lack of mercy. He calls his people back and promises to rebuild the temple that was destroyed. He says he will bring it up through Cyrus, who was known to be a vicious warrior king. God moved his heart and he submitted to the calling of the Almighty. The people argued, but who can argue with their creator? The God of the universe. God was using a pagan king for his glory. How amazing is that? He can use us when we are most disgustingly drowned in sin. He comes and works in our hearts and he fills us with his spirit, to do things in his name.
Here is my favorite verse from the past few weeks:
"Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you."
Isaiah 46:4
Next let's address the current situation in Japan. The 9.0 earthquake that shook Japan a little over a week ago and triggered a tsunami has been heartbreaking. Thankfully, in Korea we are well-surrounded (even in my coastal city!) and are not at high risk for such a thing. It's completely horrible the effects of such a disaster. I have to say that it has been frustrating to read news reports about how donations have dwindled because of the fact that Japan is so economically well off. Unfortunately, anything along the lines of natural disaster will cause an economic crisis. So please remember that we are called to reach out to those in need. Do not cease in your prayers and (if possible) financial support/donations.
I now would like to say how incredibly thankful I am for the amazing weather that has been coming in spurts. I'm talking we are getting into the 60's on some days! For a place that was so consistently miserable in coldness, I am at least happy for the days we get warmer temps. I went for my first beach run of the spring the other day. It was wonderful and crisp. There's something about the ocean in the morning that is indescribable. Also the cherry blossoms (Japanese flowers the Koreans loved so much they planted to also take credit for...) will be popping out to say hello very very soon so I am really excited about going to one of those festivals!
What I've been up to....
Over the past couple of months I have undertook a serious project filled with fun and technicalities. I am redoing my church's website. It will be iccbusan.org -- but it's not up until the end of the week. So check for it then!
I have also started sort of volunteering at this hospital in another part of town on Saturdays. I am leading and English Sunday school for a bunch of kids whose parent are in a medical missions training program. It is a Christian hospital and many of the doctors are in the program so they can do medical missions in less developed southeast Asian countries -- like the Philippines and Vietnam. Pretty cool to sort of be a part of, I must say.
What's new on the horizon.....
This is another major reason why I haven't blogged so much. I have been stuck in the inbetween of my last 5 months in Korea and what will come after that. I have thought through all the options...
1. Go to the middle East -- this one was outed on account of the constant threat to Americans, especially Christians. Additionally, my poor mommy would miss me far too much.
2. Go home/to the USA -- couldn't go for this one because honestly I have no idea what I would do at home. I have ideas of things I would eventually like to do. But as for now, my passions are elsewhere and I didn't feel a complete peace about it.
3. Stay in Korea -- I have such wonderful friends and a community of believers here that push me to shine for Jesus. I have a comfortable job and I love my kids. The only problem is that I am not passionate about Korea. It's so important to me that I am passionate and completely trusting God with the direction in my life. So after much prayer and thought....
4. I am moving to AUSTRIA!!!!!!! If any of you know me, you will know that I talk about and dream about this place way too much. It all started with my semester abroad learning the language and loving the people. I can hardly believe that I am about to work there. I am going to be a nanny for a family that owns a hotel in beautiful Walchsee, Austria. They have twin boys (7 years old) that love to ski, hike, and play anything outdoors. I will also be able to work in the hotel part time while the boys are in school. I am so excited about improving my German, getting to know an Austrian family, and exploring a part of Austria I didn't have time to see before! T'will be an adventure for sure. More information to come.
As for the rest of life lately, I don't really know what to say. All I know is I am growing and being refined. I am learning so much every day about how life is not about me -- which is completely freeing. You should try it out sometime.
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