BUSY WEEKEND

Busy weekend again this week. Saturday was the Christian Women's Meeting for several churchs throughout Korea. It was held at Faith Baptist Church which I have been attending. It was great to meet other women both Korean and American sharing the same values. The main guest speaker was Mrs Dutton, who has spent the last 30 years in missionary service with her husband, Pastor Dutton. They have just retired and moved back to the states, but made the trip over to be here for the event. She gave a very interesting and inspirational talk on women as the backbone of a Christian home. Fellowship was great! The food was great! And the men served our lunch and cleaned up. We got to enjoy the day. I really enjoyed meeting other teachers from KCIS Kunsan as well as the pastor and his wife from the Haven in Kunsan. In fact, I went to church today at the Haven with Jodelle and Eauni. The Haven has been in existance since 1971 in Kunsan and is pastored by Mr Stewart and his wife Linda, missionaries of 28 years. It is located just outside the Kunsan Air Force base so is attended by many service men stationed there as well as teachers from KCIS Kunsan and Koreans. English is used exclusively there.
After the service, Eauni, a new Korean friend, drove Jodelle and I to the nearby beach to take a few pictures. It's still a bit cold to really enjoy the beach, but it was wonderful to walk around and enjoy the scenery and nature. There is a ferry there that will take you out to some islands offshore. Many people were there with tour buses to go over. This is a growing area which will be a popular resort area soon. I really enjoyed it. We stopped at another fabulous restruant on the way home for a Korean meal. Always good and always healthy!

SHOPPING AND PRAYING

Jodele (another teacher at my school) and I went to the open market after church today. It was an interesting experience. So many kinds of fish. Many I've never seen. All kinds of foods, fruits, and vegetables. And mushrooms in all shapes and sizes. It was amazing. I found some great plants at much cheaper prices than you find in the shops. I bought a nice palm type which the vendor put in a nice pot for me. It was so heavy I had to buy a shopping cart to move it around. It did fit in the taxi thank, goodness. I've been plant happy this week. I also bought two citrus trees. The cumquat tree has fruit on it, and the other I'm not sure what fruit it is because it's still in blossoms. I couldn't understand which fruit it was. They look great in my apartment.
This weekend I spent quite a bit of time at church. Saturday volunteers went in for Spring cleanup. I painted almost the entire dining hall. It looked great today. The santuary was also sparkling. I had an interesting talk with the pastor at lunch yesterday. I had questions about a few things from their perspective. Pastor Adam can quote the passages backing up his claims. I'm still having a bit of trouble with some of them. He explained to me how a person will change after finding faith and how you continue to change with reading the Bible and discovering the truth in God's words. The Bible study and sermon today was totally based on our conversation.
It was very inspiring. He assured me that I was being lead by God, and I only needed to continue asking for His guidance. Amen.

MY HEAD BEGINS TO CLEAR

I finally got my computer set up in my own apartment, and I'm loving it! Now, I can download pictures, as well. I've had a bad week as I've been sick from "yellow dust" from China. That's to say, I've got a sinus infection. I finally went to the doctor who prescribed a multitude of pills including antibiotics. I'm feeling much better everyday. As a matter of fact, today was the best day I've had yet. My head seemed clearer, and I was able to concentrate on my teaching. My classes went very well today. Over the last week I've given 7 tests. That means grading and a multitude of other chores. My voice is back so I can even sing the songs I've been teaching the kindergardeners. I lost it for about 4 days last week.

I want to talk a bit about the church I'm attending--Faith Baptist Church. It's a very small Korean/American church. The sermon is spoken in both Korean and English. The pastor is an American who is married to a Korean. I'm feeling very comfortable there. A huge lunch called "pot blessing" is served every Sunday after church. It's been great socializing with everyone. I've met several other American teachers as well. I'm slowly developing a small network of commrades. I've started attending an adult Bible study which meets the hour before the service. It's very interesting. I'm discovering many new truths. I bought a new Bible. It's Korean and English--King James Version. Pastor Adam does a great job of picking apart the details. I'm learning! This Saturday is the annual church cleanup. I'm going in for that. It's an all day affair of cleaning and painting. I'm spending more and more time at church. Next, I guess they will have me out "soul saving" in the park. I do find the family atmoshere very soothing.

I moved into my apartment this Sunday. I really love my little place. I have an extra room with a desk where I'm setting up shop. I'll send pictures after I decorate. Can't help it!

This has been a very busy and tiring week for me, but progress I have made. I went to the Faith Baptist Church last Sunday for my first exposure to a Korean Church. Carrie goes here as well as a couple of other Americans. The pastor is American but has a Korean interpretor. This little church was started several years ago by another English teacher at KCIS. It originally started as a Bible study and just grew. After church, it is the custom here for everyone to eat a meal together at the church. The food was great, and the fellowship was wonderful. The Koreans are always ready to socialize with you. I really enjoyed it.

My teaching week was very hectic and confusing. However, things are looking clearer now. I just finished my lesson plans for next week, and I'm finally making some sense of things. I have 13 classes and no two are at the same place. But my worse problem is the "singing". Not MY Bag! Yet, I have to teach and sing songs with my 4 kindergarden classes. I had no voice at the end of the week. Speaking of the kindergarden, we took them all to the park Friday morning. It was really great fun. They are just too cute-- lines of little China dolls marching in unison.

Mrs Kim took all us teachers to dinner Thursday night to celebrate Jodelle's 40th birthday. It was very nice. Mrs Kim encouaged us American girls to eat the "hamburger steak" as it was made special for the "western taste". (Secretly, we all wanted to order the pork cutlet which is especially good) So out of respect to her we did. It was meatloaf! Not that it was bad, but she ordered the pork cutlet, and it was delicious. Afterwards, we toured her new church which is very modern and very large and always open. We played a few games of ping pong. None of us were any good. It was a nice evening in which the Korean and American teachers were able to bond.

Saturday we all had to go in to the school to meet some of the parents. Mrs. Kim introduced us all, and they talked with us later. Several mothers took us out to lunch afterwards. Koreans are very friendly people. The restruant had low tables, and you sit on the floor. I had a very hard time getting down there (my ankle has been swelling). There was food everywhere--so much food. I couldn't get up when we were finished.