Last Wednesday, I attended a bible study. I met up with Cathy, a very
friendly Christian girl originally from California, who speaks
english, spanish and fluent Korean. As an aside, I was suppose to have
attended the Bible study two Wednesday's ago with her but I didn't. I
told Cathy I'd meet her in the Subway station. Well, in typical Mr.
Magoo fashion, I regrettably neglected to describe my appearance (but in
my defense she forgot to describe herself as well) and...... I also
waited for her at the wrong exit. She new I was a foreigner so at least she
had that much to work with, but she is Korean along with millions of
other people here in Korea - that didn't help me any. But even if I did know what she looked like, it wouldn't have mattered much, I was, as I said, waiting at the wrong exit. I had my Bible raised in the air for 10 minutes - hoping that would be a sort of spiritual beacon, but, unless she could see through walls, it wasn't much good to her. Anyhow, the study was great. About 16 people showed up. People of all
different backgrounds. Some married, some from Australia, some from
Canada, and some, in fact, almost all were teachers. The study was on
Hebrews 11. Very appropriate, as I am being challenged to walk by
faith right now. My comfort zone is thousands of miles away, but I'm
learning that with Christ I can be at peace no matter where I am (I'll
share sometime soon the many ways God has been encouraging me and
helping me get by - it's so encouraging and confirmational).
The bible study was a lot like C&C back home. People were real about
their struggles and earnest to serve the Lord. We wrote down prayer
requests as time ran out, but it was encouraging to see honesty and
brokeness in the requests. Very refreshing!
On Friday night, Michael, one of my Kindi students, saw me in the mall andshouted out "Hey Mr. Coupland". I shouted back "hey Peter, I mean
Michael." I wish I had got his name right but he was far enough way
I'm hoping that he or his mom didn't notice,especially his mom. It was
the first time I really felt like a teacher. I remember when I was a
kid. Seeing a teacher was like seeing a celebrity. Then I got older
and realized that teachers are flawed human beings like everyone else.
Saturday was great. I speat the day hanging out with Kevin. Kevin,
oddly, is someone I met back in Kingston (he briefly attended Union
Street Gospel Chapel in Kingston). He has lived in Koreal all his life
and he lives only 10 minutes from my place. God has an amazing way of
orchestrating things. In the morning he showed me yet another massive
overcrowed mall - as if one wasn't enough to get lost in. After lunch
we decided against going to a large indoor acquarium in the mall and
instead chanced going to central Seoul. I say chanced because it was
pouring buckets when we left (it's the rainy season here). From the way things have been going, I almost expected sunshine when we got there, and that's exactly what greeted us when we arrived. I mean, I'm trying not to presume on God's mercy, but He's been so generous to me that I'm coming to expect sunshine, metaphorically speaking,
everywhere. I know this could end, and a wilderness may be awaiting -
but at least if I'm lead into one, I'll have the confidence that Korea
is where God would wants me to be for now.
Central Seoul was beautiful. It's like the polictical hub of Korea. There is so much to see and do. A great place to get lost in,
but Kevin, a resident Korean was able to navigate me around like a
tour guide, except he wasn't really sure where he was most of the time
and he relied on a map to find his way around. Ok, so he wasn't a tour
guide, but the fact he speaks Korean was invaluable!! Oh mom,
you'll be happy to know that in this area, there are hundreds of police armed with shields lining some of the streets, ready to quash a protest. Apparently the new president is not being well-received. Don't worry though, after a brief interrogation
while blindfolded, I was let go with only minor brusing... haha ..
just kidding!!!
On Sunday I attended a free performance on traditonal Korean culture
in a theatre near my villa. It was fantastic. Great drumming, singing
and dancing. Before the show started, I was chosen along with 4 others
to come down on the main floor and dance with an elderly, yet nimble
Korean man with a big smile. I discarded my inhibitions and allowed my
body to just move with the Korean music. I attempted to mimic the
teacher, as did the others, but we ended up looking like spastic
flamingos.
Right now, I'm avoiding the mountainous pile of work I've to complete by
Friday. I'm going to stay late, hoping to make a dent in the workload. I
need God's grace. Pray for me. Learning to teach, preparing classes,
marking tests, correcting diaries, preparing syllabi, disciplining
students, and teaching three to six classes in a row with 5 minute
breaks is very exhausting. The weekend can't come soon enough!!
