The Been Briefing

9:42pm

so i just found out from mrs. kim that our school is not doing a winter program. Hallelujah.. halle - hallelujah! LOL.

however, a few new students have joined my classes for the month of vacation, so i may have to divide the classes by ability... we'll see how it all pans out. anyway, i'm SO thankful that mrs. kim didn't succumb to the societal pressure to have a winter program just so that our hogwan looks like we're a happenin' place.

10:00 am

the other night on the subway with lauren i began thinking aloud... why is it that some people face struggles and they overcome, while others crumble? part of it could be the nature of the struggle itself. or is it the character of the individual?

the reason for these thoughts is twofold. my freshman year of college i took my first ESL course, during which i was required to research ESL in a certain country and prepare a 10 week sample lesson plan. i chose south korea. since ESL is a new field, one of the few places to find resources is on the web, but when i began looking i found perfect horror stories from teachers who came to korea. i did my research, prepared my lesson plans and presented my tri-fold board to my professor, but i had pretty much made up my mind that i would never teach ESL in south korea. LOL. you have to admit, the Lord does have a sense of humor.

since coming here, however, i have seen a mixed bag of experiences. some love it, some have very nebulous feelings and aren't sure if they want to stay longer, and still others (a fair number, actually) don't even make it through their 12 month contract. why is that?

and the other part (remember, i had two reasons.) was when i saw the Lion, the witch, and the wardrobe on new year's eve. i thought a lot about the children's individual attitudes and the way they responded to the repercussions of their father at war as a reflection of their personal character. lucy had that wonderful childlike faith, but edmond was sullen and chose to take offense at everything. in comparing that to korea, it would be very easy for a westerner to look down on korean ways of life. even to be sullen at being bound to this culture while living and working here under contract. and while i understand completely some of the cultural challenges being difficult, i do not want to have the edmond-like character qualities in facing those differences.

so all these thoughts were in my head as i went to church yesterday morning. pastor bob spoke from joshua 1.

5"No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. 6"Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7"Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. 8"This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. 9"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

i am reminded to take heart and be strong and courageous here in korea. to take heart and to spend more time meditating on the Word. i love the conditionality of God's promises. (ok, so it's a slight digression, but bear with me: God is incredibly logical. if you repent, I will forgive you. if you read my Word and do what it says, I will bless your life. incredibly logical. i love it! everything makes such sense!!) anyway, pastor bob also spoke on numbers 13, which narrates the story of the 12 spies who reported to moses and the people of israel on what they'd seen in the land "flowing with mild and honey." only joshua and caleb spoke with courage: we can overcome these people! the other ten did not believe.... and so did not see the Promised Land. only joshua and caleb lived to see their people subdue the land and live there.

may i not be like the other ten, who did not have faith, but to be like joshua and caleb (whose name, btw, means "bold")... please pray for me to have eyes and a heart of faith while i am here in korea, that i would grow in all the ways the Lord desires and that i would have an overcoming spirit. and please pray that my times with the Lord would be incredibly rich with His presence and His Spirit.

thank you!!!

today i start back at teaching. bummer. LOL.