Week two

My first week of teaching went well =) I taught a four-part newspaper class to a group of thirty 5^th and 6^th graders. I had a blast with the kids and we did everything from making a nature page (drawing and describing a piece of nature we scavenged from the front lawn), to writing about our dreams. This week we made rough copies of everything and next week we will make the actual book with our finalized information. The students are having fun as the classes are filled with an ample amount of word games, acting, and group competition.

Because this week was the beginning of a program called VIP (Vacation Intensive Program), my schedule for the next month varies from the norm – I still work 1-9 days, but now I work Sunday through Thursday. For the next tree weeks, my weekend will be on Friday and Saturday. The only disappointment in the schedule change is that I cannot go to church for the next few weeks.

That said, I joined a bible study here in the village so that was a blessing. There are around ten or so people in the group and it was nice to meet and converse with a few fellow Christians. I am the only US resident in the group so that is interesting – everyone else is from South Africa or New Zealand =) Right now we are listening to sermons online, discussing them, sharing prayer requests, and praying as a group. Although I do not work the same shifts as most of these people, I am excited to be connected with them whenever possible.

Not too much else is happening – I found my way to the gym so that made me happy =) I also sucked it up this week and paid outrageous amounts of money for fruit – six apples and six nectarines for about ten American dollars! Ugh! You better believe I am relishing every bite of that fruit =)

I am heading into Seoul tomorrow and Saturday to meet a few Korean friends so that is also a blessing. I am excited to see a familiar face and hopefully we will have time to walk around so I can get more familiar with the city. Either way, I plan to have a great time re-connecting with friends I have not seen for four and five years. God is so good like that. =)

One of my most memorable moments thus far - last week I rode the bus into Ilson with a few friends. For about 20 of the 25 minutes we were on the bus, we drove along the border - within fifty feet of the DMZ between the two countries. It filled my heart with sadness to think of such hardship that close yet, so far out of reach. Since it was dusk, the lights from the north reflected on the water that separated a once peaceful nation. I believe I will never forget that experience.