Things
Spring Break did prove to be a restful time and I came back to school with more motivation and feeling like I could be better at my job again =)
I've got all the travel plans figured out for the summer and I'm really excited to hang out with friends and family again! Now that the tickets have been purchased and we're on the home stretch of the 2nd semester, my excitement is mounting by the day!A bunch of us from church are pretty excited to go to a Hillsong concert next month! There will be many Korean parts of the concert/worship service, but I'm sure I'll hear more English music all at once than I've heard in a long time!
Music 
This is much different than my normal playing because, usually, the whole point is for other people to join in and sing along, and it's a basic list of worship songs that I play. Who knew all those years of listening to FM100 (the easy listening station in Idaho) would come in handy 20 years later?! The folk/oldies tunes are fairly easy to find music for, many don't require a great sense of rhythm or many chords, and the voice I have fits this genre quite easily. I had a great time singing and jamming with my fellow teachers-- it didn't even matter to us that the torrential rains made for tiny crowds and all the outdoor events were moved to the gym on other end of campus. BIG fun! 
Church
I'm in a discipleship class with 3 other foreigners led by our English ministry leader, Pastor Kang. It's been good to go back to the foundations, memorize Scripture, and find out more about my friends and their backgrounds. There's enough homework to keep me busy, but Pastor Kang is a very understanding teacher, so it's doable =)
After sitting in the pew for a few months, I'm now enjoying the opportunity to sing on the worship team for English ministry, so that adds a practice late Saturday nights, but since I have to leave my house anyway, I now go a little earlier to attend the young adult service. (well, we're not so young, but we are all single =) The music and teaching is all in Korean, but my good friend Lydia translates for me. It's yet another flavor of worship service: a more lively and energetic group, the message is more intimate than the large services, and it's a wonderful time for Lydia and I to be together. The whole group welcomes me with open arms and they don't even seem to mind the constant murmur of a foreign language at the back of the room.
Sundays are full to the brim from pre-service music practice in the morning till the conclusion of English practice before evening service (which I don't attend because by 7:00 I'm pooped and there's always a little school prep. to be done before Monday morning =)
The desire for English is overwhelming here! There's no way I could help everyone who drops a hint or asks directly and I feel helpless when I have to say that I have no more time to practice with people, but I'm full up right now =) Pastor Kim (see next post), one of the staff pastors who has given us midnight rides home after Friday night service for months, is needing to practice and improve his English for missions ministry; Sunday&Thursday evenings we have conversations with little mini-lessons thrown in here and there.
One of my Bible study students is facing a difficult university application process which includes interviews in English discussing political issues, so he and I are meeting for a little while before our study to converse and prepare him for that.
The school has arranged for a "critical writing" class for students whose parents want them to have extra tutoring from English teachers; we meet 2 afternoons a week for an hour for some concentrated writing instruction and practice. It's a GREAT extra boost in the income and it's fun to work with my students who begin to see their writing improve through one-on-one editing and instruction. It is "one more thing" on the schedule, but highly worth it for the improvement we're seeing in their daily classwork during the day too!
In a Nutshell...
We have a few members from our English ministry planning to return to their home countries (at least semi-permanently) over the next few months and one of these is the main leader of our worship team. Though we've got a good, steady, team, the second leader is up to his neck in seminary coursework, so they're eyeing me as an additional leader and I'm promising to pray about it. Please pray with me for ears to hear His voice, wisdom galore, and willingness to follow wherever God leads.
For those of you playing along at home and doing the math, it's pretty safe to say that, after only 8 months, I'm as busy here as I ever was back in the states and I'll seriously be considering what to drop if anything else comes up.
Life is good!
God is good!
Finally getting all this blogged is good!
Sleep is good from what I remember... 
After sitting in the pew for a few months, I'm now enjoying the opportunity to sing on the worship team for English ministry, so that adds a practice late Saturday nights, but since I have to leave my house anyway, I now go a little earlier to attend the young adult service. (well, we're not so young, but we are all single =) The music and teaching is all in Korean, but my good friend Lydia translates for me. It's yet another flavor of worship service: a more lively and energetic group, the message is more intimate than the large services, and it's a wonderful time for Lydia and I to be together. The whole group welcomes me with open arms and they don't even seem to mind the constant murmur of a foreign language at the back of the room.
Sundays are full to the brim from pre-service music practice in the morning till the conclusion of English practice before evening service (which I don't attend because by 7:00 I'm pooped and there's always a little school prep. to be done before Monday morning =)
English
My English Bible study for high schoolers has slimmed down to a much more manageable size. It's now only 3-5 students any given week (instead of 20) and I'm still having a blast getting to know them and helping them gain confidence to speak while also diving into God's word!The desire for English is overwhelming here! There's no way I could help everyone who drops a hint or asks directly and I feel helpless when I have to say that I have no more time to practice with people, but I'm full up right now =) Pastor Kim (see next post), one of the staff pastors who has given us midnight rides home after Friday night service for months, is needing to practice and improve his English for missions ministry; Sunday&Thursday evenings we have conversations with little mini-lessons thrown in here and there.
One of my Bible study students is facing a difficult university application process which includes interviews in English discussing political issues, so he and I are meeting for a little while before our study to converse and prepare him for that.
The school has arranged for a "critical writing" class for students whose parents want them to have extra tutoring from English teachers; we meet 2 afternoons a week for an hour for some concentrated writing instruction and practice. It's a GREAT extra boost in the income and it's fun to work with my students who begin to see their writing improve through one-on-one editing and instruction. It is "one more thing" on the schedule, but highly worth it for the improvement we're seeing in their daily classwork during the day too!
In a Nutshell...For those of you playing along at home and doing the math, it's pretty safe to say that, after only 8 months, I'm as busy here as I ever was back in the states and I'll seriously be considering what to drop if anything else comes up.
Life is good!
g'night
May you also find God's leading in all your snippets and peace within your whirlwind!
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