Giving Up the Reins

Lately I have been struggling with my place in this world. I know God has a place for me and I know I am living in South Korea, but are those two places the same? Did God send me to Korea to serve him or did I force myself into a foreign country because I was searching too hard. This question has been bouncing through my head for a couple of months, but I dared not to approach God with the question. I saw his answer being one of two things. Either I am questioning God's path for me or I never listened to God in the first place. I know trying to keep a secret from God is like wearing a bad toupee (You're not fooling anyone), but I couldn't help it.

I also couldn't help feeling amiss. I didn't know what exactly was making me feel this way, but I knew I wanted to get to the bottom of it. First, I thought it might have been my lack of involvement in the church. I did what any “Good Christian” would do and volunteered to help with service. After reading scriptures and saying prayers I still felt the lacking that was there before. My next idea was to dig deeper into the word. I started to read my Bible more. I thought surely hundreds of men in the Bible have had the same problem and the answer was in there. I came into Ecclesiastes and Solomon's “Everything is in vein...” which didn't help my attitude. You would think reading “One should just enjoy their life and what they do because in the end there is nothing else.” would have opened my eyes, yet nothing came from it. I knew it was the right answer, but I couldn't convince myself to appreciate it.

Yesterday my wife and I were talking about our life in Korea. I expressed to her that I wasn't happy (She knew this already from my constant bickering) and she listened to my every complaint. Saying everything out loud was helpful to get to the root of the problem, but not the solution. My complaints really revolved around my expectations. When we signed up to teach in Korea I had pictures of orphanages and dirt floored schools. As naive as that sounds now, it is what I expected. I wanted to prove my faith to God by going to the darkest and dirtiest places on Earth and shining a light. That was going to be our cross to bare. I knew that Korea was a developed country, I just thought we would be in the less developed areas. I thought everyday would consist of my wife and I baring the weight of our cross and holding a candle for the children of the world to follow. In my sick Christian mind, God was sending us to suffer for his good.

Imagine my surprise when I found that we would not be leaving the comfort of shopping malls and fast food. I did not feel like teaching was suppose to be my ministry. I wanted to get my hands dirty for my faith. I wanted to bare the full weight of my cross. Little did I know my heavy cross was attached to a dozen weather balloons being lifted by something other than my own sweat and tears. I was too busy using all of my strength to keep my cross attached to my back to notice that the weight had been relieved. I seemed to struggle with the idea that everyone would see the cross being high and lifted up by anything other than my own strength.

I know God can work just as much through me in my school as he can in the streets and gutters of society, but for some reason it wasn't good enough for me. Being in the schools and shining for God is a noble cause that God sends tens of thousands to do all over the world, but I wanted more. I thought I was meant for something else. My wife, who I sometimes forget is much smarter than me, tried to tell me that preaching in the streets is no better than shining in the schools. One life being transformed in a elementary school can be just as important as one life in the homeless shelter. God has put us here and he knows what he is doing... but I didn't want to listen. Lisa's common sense logic didn't fit into my twisted-Christian mind.

God tried to get to me the easy way, by having my wife open my eyes, but I was too stubborn to listen. So, He went a different way. I wanted to work in the gutters and go to the sick and needy, so God opened the door.

This morning (Sunday) Lisa and I had a Skype date scheduled with some friends from back home. Unfortunately we were stood up, but it was all part of the plan. As we waited for the person to sign on our deadline for leaving for church was quickly approaching. Once we gave up on the Skype date we didn't have enough time to shower and catch the bus, so my wife suggested a Starbucks date instead. I agreed and we got ready to leave. As we walked toward Starbucks I began to brood about my disgruntled life once again. My loving wife listened as we walked on to our first crosswalk. As we approached the second crosswalk we noticed the Koreans in front of us snickering and pointing at something down the street. My wife glanced down and pulled on my hand to get my attention. There was what seemed to be a homeless man lying on his back in the street. My first guess was it was a beggar. In Korea it is not uncommon to see beggars lying on their faces as a symbol of how unworthy they are. They tend to go to crowded intersections and lay in people's way so that they are guaranteed to be noticed. This man, however, was lying on his back in the middle of one lane and shaking his body. I mumbled, “What is that?” Meaning what new scheme has the homeless come up with now. My wife quickly realized what was really happening... the man was having a seizure.

I didn't know what to do. In America it is simple, call 911, but here I don't know if 119 (the Korean equivalent to 911) understands English. Even if they did I wouldn't know how to describe our location in order for them to find us. I looked at Lisa with a dropped jaw and wide eyes and said, “What do we do?!?” My wife (again, much smarter than me) turned to the Koreans in front of us and told them with broken English and gestures, “Call hospital!” The people smiled and nodded theirs heads yes.

My adrenaline started pumping. Not only is this man convulsing and foaming at the mouth, but he is in the street, stretched out across one of the lanes. All of my Doogie Howser re-run training kicked in. I handed my book to my wife and ran to be with this stranger. I had hoped that the appearance of my body sitting up would keep approaching cars from running over the man on the ground. I then rolled the man onto his side to keep him from choking on his saliva or his tongue. Unfortunately my Doogie Howser training failed me after that point. I didn't know what else to do. That is when my real knowledge kicked in. There was only one thing that could help this man at this point, so I grabbed his bloody hand, closed my eyes, and began to pray.

My prayer was short and concise. God knew what I was asking for, I didn't need to get fancy or sing a worship hymn to open my God's eyes... He was there, He was watching. When I finished my prayer I opened my eyes and looked down. The man had the same jaw dropped and wide eyed look I was sporting moments earlier. I told the man, “You are going to be okay.” To which he replied, “Huh?!?” I clarified, “You fell and are laying in the street, but you are going to be okay.” He then said, “Huh?!?” “Oh yes,” I thought, “I am in Korea... he doesn't speak English.” I signaled “Okay” with hand motions to settle his nerves. At this point the man wanted to sit up, so I helped him. He couldn't hold himself up, so I held him until his world stopped spinning. He then tried to stand up, but gravity had other plans for him. I held him and helped him to get his shoes back on. We got up to get out of the street before cars started coming towards us. I tried to get him to sit on the rocks by the road, but he insisted he was okay. The man composed himself and his balance and began to walk. My wife and a Korean couple tried to convince him to stop and wait for the ambulance, but he had no desire to sit. He walked off, without a limp or sway. We all looked at each other in dismay and confusion as he disappeared down the street.

First, I thought, “Wow, did that just happen.” as my wife and I walked silently towards Starbucks. I looked at Lisa and said, “That was intense!” She chuckled and said, “Yes, it was. I wish we could get him to a doctor.” We walked on silently for a few more steps. At which point I interrupted with some incoherent babble, “I prayed. I mean, I don't know if that's what stopped it, but I prayed and it stopped. I don't think it was me or anything. I think it was God. Or it could have been time that made it stop, but I think I prayed and it stopped... I know it was God. It was God.” Lisa nodded and smiled. Anyone who recaps what they believe to be a miracle and doesn't include the “Can you believe that!”speech that comes after is just trying to play it cool. I saw God do something amazing and I was just that... Amazed!

We made it to Starbucks and ordered our drinks. We talked for a short while about future plans and then delve into our books. I couldn't focus, however, everything was bringing me back to the street. I would have to read a paragraph two or three times because my mind was else where. I stopped reading for a minute to listen. God was speaking to me, and He needed all of my attention.

I wanted to sacrifice more to reach God's children. I wanted to give up the life of luxury that we are all use to. I thought the only way to reach those who are desperately in need was to blaze our own path and listen for God's calling while we are on that path. I thought God wanted me to serve these desperate and needy, but he opened my eyes to see that was my own desire. God put us in Korea and if he wants me to reach out to who I see as needing than he can provide that path at any point. I can be in South Africa or The Hamptons and God will put me where he needs me. For now, South Korea is that place. He could have guided us anywhere in the world, but He brought us here. If I truly desire to please Him, then I should stop trying to blaze my own path and let him do it for me.

-David

Long Over Due Pictures of Summer Vacation

I know I know, I am 3 months late but here are pictures from our summer vacation. 

Haeundae Beach in Busan

David built a sand chair. 

Jagalchi Fish Market

Buddhist Temple by the sea. 

The statues are the Korean equivalent to the the zodiac symbol.

My mom enjoying the sights

 The following are a few details from the temple. Despite disliking the Buddhist beliefs their temples are elaborately designed and have intricate details that I love. The artistry is amazing. 

I hope you enjoyed our pictures. We are currently planning out winter vacation where we will go to Thailand. The destination in Thailand has not yet been decided but we will go for about 9 days. I can't wait. 


Much love, 


Lisa

Things I miss

Korea isn't all bad. It has it's good parts too... even if you hear me complain a lot about it but there are things that I miss terribly. 


I miss... 
-any and all gluten free products that make my life easier or more pleasant.
-being able to read the back of packages with out take 30 minutes attempting to find the all allusive 'bad ingredient'
-going to a restaurant and not worry about getting sick
-going to the grocery store and finding everything I need, or knowing where to find it and not have to go an hour or more away to maybe find it
-pizza, bread, pasta (other than spaghetti) cake, cookies, muffins, kefir, beef (other than hamburger meat), re-fried beans with sour cream and cheese, Mrs. B's pulled pork, my mom's roast beef, donuts!, oh the endless possibilities
                         (if you haven't noticed a trend, I am hungry)
-everything in my kitchen, bread maker, matching plates, glasses, silver wear, an oven (we don't have one here yet), baking supplies, mixer, crock pot. 
-our dog, Mack. I miss him on a daily basis and it makes me sad he will be 3 by the time we will get back
-people: parents, siblings, friends... everyone. 
-seeing people for holidays
-buying shoes. I cant buy shoes unless they are men's tennis shoes.
-just watching a tv show, or the news for that matter.
-the pool, we have beaches but their not close
-ample supply of books in English


I could think of so many more things but I think that's enough for now.


The things I do love about Korea
-paying off debt... we do have a lot of school loans
-traveling. It's just so darn easy here
-the friends we have made, couldn't do it with out them
-it's just David and I
-as much as the lack of communication frustrates me, I do love teaching. Yes I know mom... it was a surprise to me too.
-how cheap somethings are, medical care, cell phone service and hair cuts in particular.
-not spending money on excess things 


There are a lot of things I miss but there are something I love. I always have to remind myself that Korea isn't all bad and we couldn't do what we are doing in the States and that's far more important than all the frustrating things!!


Much love,


Lisa

Summer is the time for Vacation!!!

Our First Korean Vacation

Lisa and I finally had our first vacation.  We had a great and relaxing time.  One of the high points was that Lisa’s parents came to visit us for a week.  It was very nice to see some familiar faces somewhere other than a computer screen.  We traveled all over the country with them.

We started in Cheonan (Where we live).  There are not many tourist attractions in Cheonan, so we got to show Lisa’s parents our daily lives (Where we teach, the grocery store, the open market, etc…).  We forget how different it is here.  The street views are littered with advertisements, the skyline is hazy from smog, and buildings are built so tight and so high that you have to wait until noon to see the sun (Maybe that last part is an exaggeration).  Lisa and I have gotten use to people staring at us, but we recognized it all over again with the gazes Lisa’s parents got from Koreans.  Foreigners are just too rare here in Cheonan.

The first actual destination we went to was Busan, a beach city on the southern shores of Korea.  Lisa and I had never been to Busan, but we thought we would opt for a hotel instead of a hostel.  We were surprised to find a hotel that cost about the same price as a hostel, so we jumped at it.  Little did we know you get what you pay for.  We were shown to our room and the attendant (who was asleep on the couch when we arrived) showed us how to turn on the lights with our key.  When he turned on the light it revealed someone’s clothes on the bed and a definitely used room.  After picking our jaws up off the floor and a nice one-sided conversation with the attendant we got a new room.  The new room was just like the pictures on the website.  We had one remote control which controlled the lights, air conditioning, TV, and the miniature disco light over the bed.  The high point of the room was a black light over the bed, so we could be sure it was clean.  Our room was also equipped with a state of the art VCR.  The attendant let us know that we could choose a video from the hallway VHS shelf and watch whatever we wanted.  We later found out that the VHS collection isn’t the most appropriate selection of videos, I am sure you can figure out what I am talking about. This place is definitely not a family friendly hotel.  I could probably go on for another three pages about the hotel we stayed in, but I will leave the rest to your imagination. 

We spent the first day on the beach.  I started out by lathering on 30 SPF sun block and then running into the ocean to play in the three to four foot swells being caused by a storm further off the beach.  The water was a little chilly at first, but when the sun peaked it was nice.  For the majority of the day we just sat on the beach and played in the sand or read a book.  It was great.  I dug a beach chair out of sand and formed it to fit my body perfectly.  It made for the perfect lounger.  It wasn’t long before I was thoroughly cooked on both sides.  My wife suffered the same fate.  It seemed my 30 SPF was not water proof.  Lisa’s parents got pretty burnt too.  The sun burn made for a rough night of sleep, but it started peeling three days later and the pain was gone.  It didn’t stop peeling for three weeks for me, if that speaks to the severity of the burn. 

We spent three days in Busan and visited a few tourist places like an aquarium and a Buddhist temple.  On a side note, I really dislike Buddhist temples.  They are cool architecturally, and sometimes the locations are great, but these are actual worship temples.  People are bowing and praying to these 20 foot statutes of Buddhist gods.  It is like something out of the Old Testament.  It is sad really. 

After leaving Busan we went to Seoul.  Lisa and I have been to Seoul a couple of times, so we really wanted to show her parents some of the high points that we had experienced.  We visited palaces and shopping strips that we enjoyed.  My favorite is Namdaemun Shopping center.  Street after street of vendors selling mostly knock off merchandise at dirt cheap prices.  Rarely do we buy anything from there, but it is fun to go and look and be shocked at how cheap everything is.  This time around I bought a backpack for $30 that I am still very happy with.  There was a Swiss Army store that caught our attention as well as plenty of purse shops, shoe shops, and the list goes on and on.  We were hoping to buy some gifts for people back home while we were there, but we couldn’t decide on one thing.  We also visited the “Shoe Marketplace” while in Seoul.  This marketplace is vendor after vendor of knock-off shoes.  You can get name brand shoes for $10-$20 … but the sole of the shoe may come off in a week.  The only problem with the shoe marketplace is I wear a size 12.  In Korea the biggest they carry for the most part is a size 10.  I did find one pair of sandals that I liked and bought them for $20. 

We stayed in Seoul a couple of days before it was time for Lisa’s parents to catch their flight back to America.  We had a good time with them, but Lisa and I were ready to go back home and relax.  On the last couple of days of our vacation we had to pack up our things and get ready to move to our new apartment.  It wasn’t until we had to go back to school that we could relax from all the moving around and traveling.  Vacation is nice, but we are ready for the day to day to start again.

Lisa will put pictures of our vacation up when ever she finishes editing them.

David

Birthday week in Korea

Yes as the title says, I have a whole week of birthday-ness. It is after all a Dagley tradition to celebrate one's birth over an extended period of time. David is not too kin on the idea of a week long celebration but he will just have to get over it. This is one thing that won't change.

When I was young, a birthday started with a friend party, then a family dinner/ party on your birthday or close to it and since my birthday is around Memorial Weekend, we would often celebrate out at family friend's farm with their family. Don't think I was the special child, my sister got the same thing. It's really all my mom's doing. She really enjoys celebrating things, especially her children. 

So my first Birthday in Korea, is actually my 26th birthday (man I am getting old). I really wanted to go to Seoul for the whole weekend. The last time we went it was still a little chilly and we only stayed for the day. A month before my birthday,I began to plan our weekend. Found a guest house to stay in, found all the places I wanted to go to and set the budget. We went for Saturday May 21 through Sunday May 22.

On Saturday it was over cast and slightly chilly. I didn't take any pictures on Saturday because of the weather. We got to Seoul at about 10 and walked from the train station to Namdaemun Market and walked around there for a while because it is rather overwhelming with all the shops and venders to really find the things you want. Always a good thing to walk through markets twice before buying. That way you know where things are and you can get the best prices. Then we attempted to find our guest house. The only problem was I forgot to write down the number and the directions they gave were pretty vague. After going to one place that was pleasantly a misktake (not a place either of us wanted to stay in), we found the Myeong-dong Guest house. Aside from the hard mattresses, I would recommend this place to anyone. The staff was very nice, it was clean and in a perfect location. After checking in, we went to the Myeong-dong shopping area. I was told by some friends about it and even though I didn't buy anything, it was still nice to window shop in a place with H & M and Forever 21. After lunch we made our way back to Namdaemun. Then we got lost and it started to rain. So we ducked in to a book store. I have been in desperate need of something to read. At times I am so bored and I have read all the things we have brought. So I bought a book, people who are well read can laugh at me when I say I bought the Sherlock Holmes vol. 2 book. But don't hate, I like the Sherlock stories, plus it's a fat book and will keep me entertained and the selection of English books in Korea isn't that well stocked in the latest/best books. After the book store we found a information center and got a map. Turns out we weren't even close to where we wanted to be. We made our way back to the market were I bought a bag, that I had been waiting for since the last time we went to Seoul. It continued to rain and after a few ill attempts to wait out the rain, we went back to the guest house and read our books. For dinner we went to Outback. This was my only regret of the weekend. Beef in Korea is super expensive for 2 reason if it's Korean beef there isn't a lot of it or it is all shipped in from New Zealand/ Australia or the USA. A dinner in the states that would cost us about $40.00 ended up being \70,000. Oh well once in a very long while it is nice to indulge in... well beef. To end the even we went back to Myeong-dong area and bought tickets to Pirates of the Caribbean 4. The movie wasn't until later so we walked around. A lot of the shopping area's in Korea are completely different at night. The venders come out and set up shop in the streets and there is always something happening. In fact we saw a person dressed up like the Kung Fu Panda. The movie was good... as always.

Sunday. We woke up early since the beds were hard and started off for our second day of adventures in Seoul. We checked out of the guest house and took our over night bag to Seoul train station and got a locker so we didn't have to walk around with it all day. The weather was perfect and I could not have asked for anything better! After the train station our first stop was Deoksugung. A little bit of information gung means palace. Since Korea has been populated for thousands of years there are many palaces around, however they all have similar styles. The Deoksugung one in particular is fairly small, however, it a newer one. Infact the king decided that the old style of palace wasn't good enough for him so he build a more modern house (which is currently being restored). So there is the old and the new with in the same palace grounds.

This is part of the traditional palace grounds.

I actually really liked this palace even though it is small because it was like a garden in the middle of Seoul. Next we went to Gyeongbokgung, one of the largest palaces in Korea. This place compared to the last is very vast and expansive. No intimacy here.

Throne building

Then on to Insa-dong, which is the traditional good's market and art area. By this time I was getting tired of walking even though our train didn't leave until 6:30 and it was only noon. I think we packed too many things into one day. Then add a bunch of people and it was really hard to stay at Insa-dong for very long. I liked the area and would like to go back and spend more time and look at all the art galleries but probably not over a weekend. After that we found our way to Cheonggyecheon River Walk. David want to walk along it with the possibility of finding the Shoe Market.

After walking for what seemed like 10 miles to my very tired feet, we stumbled upon the shoe market when we were attempting to find a place to rest. This place was crazy. Most of the markets we have been to, there is enough space for 3 people across but here there was only enough for 2. Add people stopping to look at shoes and all the shoes all below my normal eye level and it was very overwhelming. I wish we had found it sooner or when we go back to Seoul to do that first. They did have good deals on shoes. Mostly knock offs but still can't beat \10,000 tennis shoes. Our tired feet made the decision for us to head back to Seoul station early. We sat down on the floor and played 4 corners, which turns out fascinated all of the old men. We had one man in particular who stayed and watched us until we got up to leave.

My birthday isn't actually until May 23rd. So that's 3 days right there, but I couldn't stop celebrating until my parent's birthday package came. At school, I some times like to hind in the gym where it is quiet because the library (where my desk is) often gets loud. So on my birthday I decided to hide and get my lessons done. When I came back I found a bouquet of flowers and present. One was from a student, another was from my parents in my parent English class and one from a teacher. David's sister sent us a package, which arrived on my birthday full of gluten free goodies. Thank you Melissa!!! Then my parent's package came on Tuesday with sheets!!! I would have to say that is the best birthday present ever. Wednesday, I continued to get gifts from my parents. Then on Thursday, my parents threw me a party during our class. Even though they bought me a cake I couldn't eat, it was still very sweet of them. Which brings my birthday to a total of 5 days. Take that David!!!

I got my full Dagley birthday even in Korea. I felt so blessed. However the week ended on a sour note. First let me back up and give you a little of the back story. 2 weeks ago, I forgot my phone in my desk. I don't always notice when I don't have things because I don't use my cell phone or other things all day or until I need it. I didn't know the phone was missing until the next morning. After a week and a half I gave up and got another phone from a friend. Then last Friday, my wallet was stolen out of my bag. I didn't miss place it or forget it this time. I had my passport, alien card, atm card and other things in it, with a total of \5,000. Not even worth taking the whole wallet in my opinion. Some found my passport, alien card, atm card and other things at a bank on the hill behind the school but not the wallet. It was found in a place I have never been. So on Friday, after a great birthday week, I hated, yes hated, Korea. I wanted to leave that night. How could the school put me in the library where I have no place to lock up my things while I am in class and students are allowed to go around my desk to pick out videos. How could a student steal 2 things from me. Needless to say I was angry and took it out on everyone I came across (sorry if you were in that path). The next day things were a little better, by Sunday I wasn't as mad and by the end of Monday when I knew KNU had my things, I could laugh when the students told me to kill the person who stole from me or at least they would beat them up for me.

I have to keep remembering that it will be ok. Things like this happen every where and at least in Korea people don't steal your identity (my atm card was never used). I am blessed to have the people here who do care about my well being. I am blessed to be in Korea with my husband and to have this growing experience. Someday when I tell my children I will laugh about the whole experience but while I am in it I will take it one day at a time.

Much love.

My Crazy Day

For those avid followers who have trouble distinguishing our writing styles, this is David.  

I am often asked, "David, what was it like to hear God's call on your life?  How did it happen and how were you so sure it was real?"  Nothing can answer the latter of those questions more than what happened yesterday on my way home.  

My day started out as it normally does.  I woke up, did my morning calisthenics and began my day.  As I said, everything felt normal.  I walked to school.  I taught some children.  I threw random objects at other children.  It was all the same ole same ole.  That was until I started on my way home...

It was a cloudy day with a high probability for rain, so I brought my umbrella to school.  I am particularly proud of this umbrella as it is the first I have ever owned.  It is fairly large and has a long handle with a hook at the end.  I chose this umbrella for two reasons: it was only $3 and the curved handle made it into a cool walking stick for days like yesterday.  Days when the threat of rain turned out to be Mother Nature’s poker face fooling me once again.  Under normal circumstances rain is welcomed to my day; however, with the two mile journey home I was satisfied to have the rain withheld if only for a half hour.  This dry time of reflection also allowed me to practice my air sword fighting skills.  My swoops and stabs were only hindered by an approaching passerby who would stare in amazement at the would-be sword fighter who suddenly went from thrusting his umbrella to inspecting the handle to make sure it was sturdy.  I went on this way for the first part of my walk, thrusting and inspecting stabbing and checking, until I reached a busy intersection where I was outnumbered by “passerby” assailants.  Although my physical actions were limited to walking, in my mind I was continuing my sparring match with unknown attackers.  All the while my ipod was playing a myriad of shuffled inspirations.  Lyrics like, “…Back off, I’ll take you on.” Mixed with “I consider it a challenge to all men that ‘I never lose’,” made my friendly skirmish escalate to a battle royal.  Soon, my physical actions won over and even my music seemed to surrender as it replaced my encouragement with love songs and ballads by George Strait and the likes.

My expedition home was now half way complete, when I noticed an elderly woman walking alone down a quiet sidewalk.  She was struggling with a bag of groceries in one hand and an oversized purse on the opposite shoulder.  The site of the woman was enough to inspire any Good Samaritan; however, the language barrier was enough to counter the inspiration.  I pictured my “Good Samaritan” stance transforming into a “Bad Criminal” appearing to overtake this small woman for what little she had.  I would attempt to mutter, “Can I help you?” but all that would come out would be a series of grunts and pointing at her groceries like a gorilla in the zoo asking for peanuts.  I chose not to help the woman and only watched as she came closer, now around 30 yards from my location.  Suddenly another man appeared behind the woman.  He was younger, I would assume about 18 years old.  He was only a few inches shorter than me and half the weight.  His skin was more yellow than usual.  His pale and lanky appearance resembled something from the Twilight series… or so I would assume since I have yet to watch/read any of the movies/books.  Although his physical body looked as though he would be more inclined to invite a child into his van for some “free candy” I watched as he started to jog to catch up to the elderly woman. 

Seeing the man go out of his way to catch up to this woman, I started to feel guilty.  Not only would I not help this woman, but I judged another man by his appearance.  I (to myself) accused him of being a predator instead of do-gooder.  I started to pray for forgiveness when I heard a scream.  I looked up to see the “do-gooder” running off from the woman with her purse in hand.  I am sure what my vocal cords meant to say at this point was, “Stop!” or “I can’t believe my eyes!” but instead they seemed to release the words that sounded much more like, “I knew it!”  I watched as this man came running towards me with his new purse firmly clasped in his right hand.  The woman started to chase the man, but quickly gave in to her age and weak knees.  I was faced with a choice.  I could stand in front of the man in hopes that my shear size would intimidate him and cause him to repent of his latest treachery, or I could tuck away in a doorway and pretend to be oblivious to the entire situation.  I suppose a third option would be to face the man and physically over power him, but who knows what weapons the man was hiding?!?  It is unlikely the man had a gun, as they are illegal in Korea.  He could have had a knife or possibly even a taser of some sort.  I realize now the likelihood of this man having any of these weapons was very slim, but I was in the moment and could not be expected to think reasonably. 

I made a choice.  I tucked away behind a car where neither the man nor the old woman could see me.  Now, before you cast judgment on my cowardly ways please allow me to finish.  I could hear the man getting closer 15 yards and then 10 yards.  His steps were getting heavier and his breathing shorter.  Suddenly, as if cued by some onlooker my ipod changed songs.  The all-to-familiar “Eye of the Tiger” began to play.  I grabbed the top of my already closed umbrella and like a major league pitcher who just received the sign for his final pitched I nodded to myself and began to spring into action.  His footsteps were here.  It was time.  I stuck my umbrella handle out and hooked his ankle.  The man, surprised by the sudden sensation of his feet being entangled and the sudden appearance of an American giant, took one last breathe before flying through the air.  I pulled hard enough for the man to find himself completely horizontal and three feet off the ground.  His landing was much less graceful than his takeoff.  One hand was under his stomach which, upon landing, caused his breath to be knocked out.  The man lay there, gasping for air and groaning.  The old woman caught up to us screaming in Korean.  The man continued to groan in the universal language of “Oh’s” and “Ah’s.”  I used my umbrella to pick up the purse by the strap and give it back to the original owner.  The music playing in my ears had reached a pinnacle as the man started to roll over.  “It’s the eye of the tiger it’s the thrill of the fight…” It didn’t seem like the man had fully learned a lesson at this point so I stepped on his right should and stuck the point of my umbrella in his collar bone.  As the man’s eyes grew large I asked him in true Bruce Willis fashion, “Have you ever had a tracheotomy?”  He took one last dramatic gulp as I yelled and opened my umbrella leaving him temporarily blinded and permanently afraid (and most likely a little moist in the britches).  He scrambled to his feet, throwing the umbrella to the side.  He looked frantically for me, but found nothing.  Suddenly he felt himself under attack once again.  It was the elderly woman hitting him with her purse and yelling Korean profanities.  He ran off through an alley way.  When he was gone I stepped back onto the crime scene from behind a bush.  I picked up my umbrella and inspected it one last time before continuing my journey home.

Many people ask me when I heard God’s call and how I knew it was real.  I can without a doubt say that was the day I felt God’s calling on my life to be a secret agent.

Of course, none of that is true (the morning calisthenics should have been the first tip off).  Well, I take that back.  I was sword fighting with my umbrella on the way home.  Besides, that story is way better than what really happened yesterday as I walked home.  You probably wouldn’t even read that story.   …Although, it does include a magical dragon and two small children.

Pictures and things

These are a few pictures of our adventures so far... since there are a few people out there who still don't have a facebook, I decided to share them here. 

This is at the Big Buddha. It's big it's bronze and it has a Buddhist temple next to it.

We got David a new guitar. It is a Crafter, Korean made guitar.
It is beautiful and it wasn't that expensive.

I got a new camera, that I am loving. It's a Cannon rebel T1i.

It was snowing like crazing. So wet and thick we had to use our umbrella.
This picture was taken in Pyeongtaek. A town 4 or 5 subway stops away.

Asan open air market where we buy all our fruit.

The strawberries here are the way strawberries are supposed to be.
Sweet, juicy and no sugar needed. Thank goodness for vine rippened fruit.
However, these things don't last as long.

Package from David's parents. Thanks so much for all of this.

Spring is finally here!!! The cherry blossoms are just breath taking.
This is at Bugil High school.

I got a hair cut in Korea and David bought new glasses.
My hair cut was $10 and David's glasses and exam was $91.

There were so many bees in the trees.

This is just a sampling. We will post more as they come. Thank you to all who pray for us and support us while we are over here. 

Much Love,

Lisa and David

Korean Germs

As far as Korea and the Reeds go, on most days we are on good terms. Despite the occasional changes like co-teachers for no apparent reasons or only eating rice at lunch because the other dishes look or are inedible. However, when it comes to Korean germs and our health systems we have not been on good terms since we moved here.


I have lost my voice 3 times now from the poor air quality. The first time was a few days after we arrived, a few weeks later I lost it again and then 3 weeks ago I lost it again. This last time it was the worst, sinus pressure, cough and no voice. It made for a very stressful week of teaching. In fact I have still not completely recovered from it because I coughed so hard that I strained some of the ligaments/muscles in some of my right ribs. David isn't much better with the air quality. He's been sick twice with either a hoarse voice or cough and sinus drainage. So you ask, How in the world do you keep getting sick from poor air quality? Well, there is a desert in China that blows Yellow Dust all the way a crossed China into Korea and Japan. That's why so many Asia's wear the medical masks. I always thought it was from pollution and even though there is a good share of pollution here, that's not the main cause of our illnesses. The dust gets in your nose and throat and just won't go away.  


There was really bad Yellow Dust 3 weeks ago and I am still recovering from that. My ribs still hurt, my nose is still stuffed up and we both still have slight coughs. So to top it all off, Korea thought it would be nice to give us a mutant flu virus. We are not sure where David got it, the only thing we can think of is that a kid a school had it. But on Monday... 3/30, David woke up with a fever of 101 but despite telling him he shouldn't go to school with a fever, he went anyways. He stayed at school all day but when he got home, his fever spiked and he would go from cold to sweating with in minutes. He continued like this and stayed at home until Tuesday afternoon when I got home and his fever spiked to 103. So we went to the doctors. After being told that he has the flu or hepatitis (yet again, ask him about it), we opted for the flu medicine and then went home. His fever did not stay down passed 99 until Wednesday morning. In fact Tuesday night he took 3 showers because he couldn't stop sweating. He stayed at home until Friday since the doctor had given him a 3 day pass from school.


So that brings me to well me. After my 3rd class on Wednesday, I began to fell a little sick. I ate rice a lunch, hoping that it would settle my stomach and was able to make it throw the rest of the day, aka, sitting at my desk and watching a movie. I came home ate some chicken soup I made the night before and headed to bed at 8:30... Yes 8:30 pm! Then at 10:30 ish... not quit sure but that's when the throwing up started. It continued until 3 am. I threw up everything in my stomach and when I say everything I mean the stomach bile too. It's the nastiest tasting, smelling, looking stuff ever. I was able to sleep until 6 am and then it started again every 40 minutes. David left to go to the store to look for some Pedialyte since I couldn't even keep down water. When he got home, I told him that we needed to go to the doctor since I was still throwing up. After I took a shower and I mean right after, I threw up again. This time I throw up blood, so I guess it was a good thing that I was on my way to the doctors. The doctors office that we go to isn't that far way but we still had to walk there. I then spent the next 3 hours getting an IV drip because I was dehydrated and couldn't keep anything down. I was also given 2 days worth of pills to help with the flu symptoms and nausia. I threw up one more time on Thursday and have been feeling much better since. I can't remember ever having the flu that bad!!!


I am still recovering from both the Yellow dust and the flu but hopefully Korea and it's germs will be nicer to our immune systems next time around... Actually I hope there is no next time around.


Thank you for your prayers.


Much Love,


Lisa and David

Packages... If you please

This is our address... Not sure why I didn't post it sooner. 

David and Lisa Reed

Korea Nazarene University

Attn: Jenny Kim

#115 Faith Hall (Miteumgwan)

456 Ssangyong- 2 Dong Seobukgu Cheonan City Choongnam
331 718 South Korea

We would love to get any and all sized packages. It's like Christmas when we do get them.

We can get a lot of things here. There is a Costco about an hour away and are planning to go on Saturday to stock up on Chicken, American Cheese and other snacks. But there are a few things that aren't easy to find, are too expensive or not available in Korea. 

Currently on my wish list are:

*300 + count sheets, Queen Size. The sheets here are thin, itchy and not good quality for the price. The cheap sheets (the kind we currently have) here are about $60. I am ok with just the bottom sheet and 2 pillow cases. 

*Anything Gluten Free. Yes, I have said that eating in Korean isn't as hard as I thought but when it comes to snacks, desserts or  American type food like spaghetti/ mexican. Korea doesn't have it or it's not completely gluten free.

        - I would love Betty Crocker Gluten Free brownie mix, corn spaghetti, and even re-fried beans (but only if someone from AZ would sent it to me.) Re-fried beans from Kansas just aren't the same.

*For David, peanut M&M's and any home baked good (unless it has peanut butter in it).

I am sure if I was standing in my kitchen I would think of other things but out of boredom I am writing this at school.... 8 minutes left. I can do this. I am bored because I finished my lesson plans earlier in the week and frankly when I am done with class at 12:10 or 1:40, I don't have much to occupy my time. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to be any busier but at the same time, I can only check facebook and my email so many times in a day. 

Well, I'm down to my last 3 minutes and better pack up. I hope everyone is having an amazing start to their Spring... we have not even started Spring yet, it snowed yesterday and there is still snow in some places today.

Much Love

Lisa

 

Lisa's First Day... Continues into first full week.

Where do I begin? My first day was March 2. I got off at a bus stop too early because I thought that was the bus stop for school, thankfully it's not too far to walk from that bus stop to my school. When I got into the school the school, a teacher met me and took me up to my teachers room. A teachers room is different in every school. Mine is made up of a resource room, conference table and 4 desks. The teacher placed me at a desk and then left. I didn't have a computer... in fact I didn't get a computer until the next Monday. Then on Tuesday it broke for a good portion of the afternoon. On the first day, I thankfully had taken my own computer with me. By 10:00, I had probably played 50 games of of solitaire. Lunch was good, but even by noon, I had no idea what I would be teaching, who I would be teaching and with whom I would be teaching. I had met the principle, and vice principles but didn't know it until after they had left. I was told by some guy (who ended up being my head teacher) that I would meet him after lunch. The meeting consisted of exchanging cell phone numbers and being told that he didn't have my schedule ready because he didn't know how many hours I had been contracted for. After that, I sat some more and sat some more. No one talked to me. No one came and told me what I would be or even could be doing. I asked the 2 other women in the teachers room what I should be doing and they said take a nap. So I went down to my head teachers office and asked him. First he asked if I had looked at the curriculum and I said I don't know what I am teaching, no one has told me. He said ummmm, read a book. I have never had any job tell me to read a book unless it was pertinent to my job. I told him that I had read my book. He said ok, shooed me out of my room and ran down stairs. Later he came up and told me I would be teaching 5th and 6th grade and that in lessons I needed to make up American games. I left my first day very frustrated and very bored.

Now I haven't told you that, the 2 women in the office as well as my head teacher can't really speak English. Also, my head teacher teachers 4th grade, so unless he needs something, I really have little contact with him. On Thursday, I found out that one of the two women in the office is my co-teacher. Her English is the better of the 2 but the other one still teaches English. When I tried to ask questions, I would either have to skip words (making my English horrible) or repeat 3 times. Communication continues to be very difficult, like yesterday, I think my co-teacher was saying that we do different stories on different weeks but she was using the word partition. I informed her after I got the jist (not the understand) of what she was saying that partition was used to describe something that separates a room. I know that the word partition can also mean to separate different items too but in the context she was saying it in, I could not figure out what she was saying. 

So far, teaching in the classroom hasn't been too bad but it's not easy going from classroom to classroom since I don't have my own room. After my 4-5 classes a day, I am pretty bored. I work on my lesson plans but can only do so much. If I do lesson plans till the end of the month things could change and then I would have to do it all over again. Korea is pretty good about changing things last minute with out much notice. 

Hopefully, as the weeks progress, things will get better. However, I am realizing that even though I say I would give up being an American if I was asked to, I am a product of my environment and the American thinking that has brought me up. Even though I don't want to lose my own culture, I need to set it aside or things here will make me so mad.

Things here don't always make sense.

Until later,

Lisa

Day 1 - David

Today is the first day of school for Lisa and I, and I thought everyone would like to know how everything is going.  Well here is a run down of my day:

Initially I met Ms. Choi (Pronounced Cheh) a few weeks ago.  She was supposed to be my co-teacher, but told me that she was uncertain if she actually would be.  She told me that she would let me know on February 21st.  On the 28th I had not heard from anyone so I decided to go to school and ask someone.  When I got here I was told Ms. Choi would not be my teacher, it would be someone named Yongdong.  

I went to school around 8:20 which is 10 minutes early.  They then informed me I now have two co-teachers (one for 3rd and 4th grade and one for 5th and 6th grade).  I don't remember their names, I figured I should wait until I teach with them to be certain they are my real teachers.

So far I am a celebrity in my school.  Children are not use to seeing Americans.  With my blonde hair, blue eyes, and height everyone wants to see the "Wayguken" (Foreigner).  I am pretty sure I gave one girl a concussion.  I was walking to the gym for an assembly and everyone was looking at me as though I was going to dissappear into a cloud of smoke.  This particular girl must have been certain that I was a mirage because she was staring so hard she neglecting to notice the pole which was approaching fast.  She slammed into post head first and stumbled around a bit before blushing and getting back in line to stare at me from the comfort of the group.

During the assembly the vice principal introduced me and the whole school (about 500 kids) started getting excited and jumping around trying to sneak a peak (as if they didn't see me already).  The vice principal had to yell at the kids and get them to stand at attention.  

After the assembly I was told to sit and wait for the Principal so we could meet.  After sitting for one and a half hour alone with nothing to do I was told to just go to my class.  I did.  I was given my books and told I had to make lesson plans.  I spoke with my co-teachers.  One of which said, "I will make the lesson plans on Fridays and give them to you." The other said, "Umm uhh, we will talk about this afternoon."  So I went to lunch (Fish, Soup, Kimchi, Vegetables, rice, and Yogurt) and came back to class.  I can't do lesson plans until my teachers let me know what they want me to teach.  So, I am sitting now.  I have another three and a half hours before quitting time and I am in my quiet classroom with no heat.  A little tid bit of information I may have forgotten to tell you is Korea doesn't heat classrooms.  They don't heat hallways either. You might be saying to yourself, "Oh, that kind of sucks." But when I tell you the high for today is 36 degrees I can assure you it doesn't "Kind Of" suck... it really really sucks.  And to top it off I spilt kimchi on my pants! AND I hate fish!

I can't really complain though.  I do enjoy being a celebrity, as anyone who knows me can vouch for.  I also got my schedule and I will only be teaching for about 11 hours and 20 minutes a week... not bad considering I get paid for 40 hours.  I will still have to be in school so the remaining time will be prep time.  I think I get to go home around 4:30 every day which isn't bad either.  Not a bad gig at all.  

I don't know how the rest of my day is going to go down... I might go try to play soccer with the kids outside.  I will let you know how that goes in my next post.  God Bless,

David A. Reed

Church...

Before we got here, we were asked twice to sign a contract to attend an assigned church. This was not a requirement of the school district that pays us but by KNU. 

The contract said the following: I agree to attend an assigned Korean church for the duration of my contract with Cheonan City Schools since I am not only going to S. Korea to work at my job and be a teacher in mission at the workplace but also reach out into my community and assist the development of the Christian church as well as learn about the culture and the people of the country. 

On the surface, this does not seem that bad. However, we felt that we should not be forced to go to a particular church. We think it's very important to attend a church but also church that will help support us through this transition into another country. And we feel that that church should be a place of like minded people who have been or are going through the same changes. With this said we are not apposed to being involved in the local church or visiting churches to experience the culture. The aversion to being force to attend a particular church let alone a Korean church, may be due to our American desire to be independent and not to be controlled. This is something that even as we attend a Korea church we are trying to figure out.

When we asked why we needed to sign the contract, we were told by an American staff member because the KNU president want us to and that if we wanted outside activities with other American Christians, we could attend that activity on a different day of the week. We initially forgot about the contract then 2 weeks before we arrived, the American asked again for the contract and this time we said that we would wait until we got to Korea to sign a contract. Really we wanted to talk to someone who could explain a little more about the contract, why we were signing it and what it entailed about us attending church. A lot of the other American teachers have told us that this contract has been a big problem since they started enforcing it.

After we got here we went into a meeting where we met our pastor. We thought it was just a meet and greet with all the community pastors but no, even though we had not signed the contract, we were assigned a church to attend. The pastor was super nice but it was so hard to talk to him. He taught himself English but his English is very broken, plus his accent is hard to understand. We were told that he would pick us up at 9:50 am every Sunday and he showed us where we would meet to be picked up. After dropping us off the pastor also said that he has to pick up other church members.

The first Sunday, we got to church at 10:15 and the pastor did not return with the other church members until 10:45, we ate lunch by 1:00 and did not get home until 2:30 pm. During service the pastor tried very hard to translate his sermon, the worship songs they picked were both in Korean and English, so we could sing a long but there were only 10 people at the church, we made 12. They fed us lunch, there were 3 other people that spoke some English and we tried very hard to hold a conversation but there was a lot of smiling and nodding. The second Sunday, there was almost no translation, lunch was not good at all but the post lunch conversation was a little better. However, there is one guy at church that knows English, who hoovers over us. Literally we will be sitting and he will be standing very closely and slightly bending over us. Remember that in Asian culture there is NO personal space. Also after every service they give us what ever is left over from dessert. After 4 weeks at this church we decided that we are in desperate need for a church we can understand and be fed from. 

Really, I am super home sick. Not the home sick as in I miss my family. Even though I do miss them I get to talk to them every week or so. I am home sick for Catalina Church of Midtown. Not only do I miss the worship and sermons, I miss our connect group. I miss the friends we made, who were all in similar life stages as us and who I enjoyed immensely. I wish I could duplicate that here. We have thought of other ways but we also only know a handful of people and there is only one other married couple in our TESOL group. So we have come to the conclusion that we will slowly move away from the Korean church so that we can see if we like the English church at KNU or at least find our own church.... Some where. 

As nice as this church is, it is just so hard to go somewhere were we are not being fed, we have little in common and we aren't meeting more people. Maybe in 6 months when we feel more comfortable with living in Korea and will need less contact with English speakers and maybe will be able to attend the Korean church again. 

Please pray that the the transition from the Korean Church will go smoothly, and that we will find a church were we fit and will be fed. Please pray for us as we finish TESOL and start teaching next week. 

Much Love,

Lisa and David