Souljourn

Prayerful parental expectations

Our two oldest children - Mercedes & Emerson - will be returning from a youth missions trip to Mexico on Wednesday.  Sometime quite early on Tuesday morning they are going to climb into a van and begin a 30 hour ride back home.  Although they will have been gone for almost two weeks, I anticipate that within two days our household patterns and rhythms will return back to normal (I think the volume level will be back to normal within a matter of minutes).  I looking forward to their return and our family falling back into familiar patterns.  I've missed them, and it has definitely been different not having them in the house.

But while I'm looking forward to the quick return to familiar family rhythms after their arrival, I am praying that in some ways life will never be the same again for them, and us.  I know that during their time down in Mexico they were involved in ministry and activities that served to strengthen the good work that was already in place (thank you Joel & Sally!).  Their efforts will definitely bear fruit because of the ministry that went on prior to their arrival, and the ministry that will go on long after they have returned home.  And as the pastor of a local church that sends out people and teams on missions this is extremely important to me.  But as a parent, I must honestly admit that the focus of my prayers is what will have transpired in the hearts of my own children.

Here are some of the areas I have been praying that my kids will experience growth in:

• an enlarged worldview and love for the local church in it's different expressions
• an increased faith as they have seen God provide for them, protect them, and minister through them
• an increased clarity and passion to pursue God's great calling on their lives
• an enlarged sense of adventure and willingness to simply 'go for it'
• a heightened awareness of God's goodness and His pleasure over their lives
• a more intimate devotional and prayer life
• placing a demand on the anointing of Holy Spirit in their lives and the gifts He has made available to them

It is going to be good to have them home!

Dream School

We are at Dream School in Korea (the primary sending school of students to GLEEM school) visiting with the principal, meeting the teachers and learning more about the vision and heart of this great school.  Unfortunately, due to the flu the students were all sent home this morning and they are scheduled to return sometime next week.  The students at the school live in dormitories and eat in a common cafeteria so the threat of the flu spreading amongst them was heightened and the administration wisely thought it best to send the students home for a few days.  

While this means we won't have the opportunity to meet with any students, it has afforded us significantly more time to meet with the teachers and administration.  Tonight we went out for dinner with six of the English teachers for Pizza and ice cream.  It was great getting to know them a bit and hearing some of their stories.  Three of the teachers had missions experience in different African countries, one of them is a missionary from the Comox Valley, one of them was a missionary in Mongolia, and all of the teachers had a great desire to not only teach the students, but to influence them for Christ.  It was a very encouraging time spent with them and we are looking forward to the relationship we will build in the coming years.

Here are a few pictures of the Dream School:

 the building on the far left houses the cafeteria on the bottom floor and classrooms on the top two floors.  The center building is the boys dormitory and the chapel is on the top floor.  The building on the far right is the prayer chapel.

 The two buildings are the girls dormitories (an identical 3rd building is not shown) and picture on the right is the construction for the new girls dormitories.  

 the far left picture is the cafe, a quiet place off the cafeteria with a smaller eating space and bakery.  On the right is the cafeteria.

Travelled to North Korea

We went on a tour to the Demilitarized zone dividing South & North Korea today and it was very interesting.  We had to travel through military checkpoints, have our passports checked twice, and were then given very strict procedures to follow while in the DMZ area (walk in single file, no pointing at anything, no photography, when leaving a building don't look back towards North Korea etc.).  What a tragic story of a nation being divided into two, and what a hope (prayer) for reunification at some point.

Here are a few pix of the day:

 at the observatory into North Korea there was a place for you to write a wish/prayer for unification and post it on a wall. 

  Korean Barbeque for lunch!

 these are South Korean soldiers standing in a tae-kwon-do stance (at the ready) and facing North Korea.  They did not move or smile.  

 the blue building that you see in the foreground is half in South Korea and half in North Korea (that is how we went into North Korea) and the large concrete building behind it is North Korea.  You can see the North Korean soldier in the doorway watching us with binoculars.

 this is a North Korean flag in a deserted village known as 'Propaganda Village'.  It is called that because it was built to show the South Korea how good life was in North Korea except most of the buildings have facades and it is empty.  Also, up until just a little while ago there were loud speakers that blared propaganda 6-8 hours a day about how great life was in North Korea and how good a leader Kim Jong Il is.  The South Koreans have a nearby village called 'Freedom Village' and it had a flag tower that was 100 meters high.  Shortly after it was erected, North Korea came and built this tower - it is 160 meters high, with a bigger flag.

As I took in all the soldiers, guard towers, barbed wire and military defenses dividing these two nations I couldn't help but think of Psalm 133. God's heart for us and the Nations is so clearly stated - 'how good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity'. 

Oh Lord, please bring these two Nations back together again as one nation.

Let's keep praying this for North & South Korea and lets ensure we are living in, and upholding unity where we live so that we have the authority to pray this way.

Traditional Korean Dinner

Our hosts for today were the parents of one of the GLEEM students.  They took us out for a traditional Korean dinner tonight at a very nice restaurant (Bongraeheon).  I lost track but I think it was at least a 7 course meal, needless to say we walked out quite full.  Here's a couple pictures of the restaurant.

 

 

We're in Korea

We are midway through our first day in Korea and it is going great.  After arriving at the airport last night we were warmly greeted by our hosts - Mr. & Mrs Kim - and had a Korean dinner at the airport (the food here is delicious!!!).  We then travelled to our hotel and on the way we had the opportunity to drive over a newly constructed bridge that is 21 km long (I think we should talk to these engineers and get connected to the Mainland).

We climbed into bed around 11pm (about 7am on Sunday morning for those of you on the west coast) and had a fairly decent sleep.  We couldn't get any hot water in the shower and had to call the front desk to get some help.  Apparently what I thought was the room control temperature and had turned down to about 16 degrees for the night, was actually the hot water tank temperature, so after it was turned back up to its proper temperature there was hot water.

We were picked up at 8:30 am and taken to the Ewha Christian school and University.  This school is apparently the number 1 school in Korea.  There are 720 students in grades 1-6 and we met with the principal, had a tour of the facility, sat in on an elementary chapel service and ate lunch in the school cafeteria (more great Korean food!).  The gracious hospitality we have received has been amazing.

We also went to the Ewha Kindergarten (a separate facility - here is a picture of their playground) and to the Ewha Christian Women's University (here's a picture of us standing in front of their new student community center - it is underground and has a theater, a bank, fitness center, restaurant, study areas and more)

After lunch in the cafeteria we visited for awhile with the principal in her office.  It was encouraging to  hear her passion for weaving together Christianity and education to prepare students to impact the world.

From there we went to the Onnuri Community Church for a tour of their facility, but as Monday is a day off for most of the staff, it was a fairly self guided tour (apparently this is the one of the largest churches in Korea with a congregation of around 40,000).

We're back at the hotel now for a couple of hours and then we will be picked up at 5 and taken out for a Korean dinner (have I mentioned that the food here is fantastic!).

Tomorrow we are headed out on a bus tour to the demilitarized zone between North & South Korea.  It is about a 2 1/2 hour drive there which will take us through the countryside so that should be very interesting.

My Dad and I have commented several times about the gracious of God to bring opportunities like the Christian school, GLEEM and others along our way.  What a thrill it is to follow His leading in our lives and cooperate with Him in the expansion of His Kingdom.  Yeah God!

waiting at the airport

Well everything is clipping along quite nicely.  Here's a quick rundown of the day so far (thank you YVR for the free WiFi)

5:15 am - Woke up

6:00 am -  Picked up from home

7:45 - Duke Point ferry to Tsawassen

10:00 - Taxi to airport

10:35 - Checked in

10:45 - Went through security

Currently - waiting at gate D52 for our 1:50 pm flight to Seoul

UPDATE: Our flight has been delayed due to a small maintenance issue.  The new scheduled departure time is 3:00 pm.

UPDATE: We aren't going to leave at 3:00.  They are now saying 3:30 (have I ever told you how I feel about Air Canada?)    Oh, they just called us.  We are going to make it for 3:30.

Inspiring

I spent the morning at a 'Missions Outreach' seminar for our Christian school teachers that Pastor Craig - our new School Director!! - planned (great job Craig!!).   We brought in two teachers and three students from Pacific Academy (my old school) and they shared with us the importance of outreach, the impact of outreach (on students, a school community and families), and multiple outreach opportunities that a school community can participate in.

Pacific Academy has intentionally chosen to make outreach a key part of the education, and experience, that students participate in.  This starts in their Jr. K program with the four year olds and goes right through to graduation.  It was very inspiring to hear from three gr. 12 students who started at the school in Kindergarten as they shared the development of their missions perspective and participation over the years.

As we continue to develop our school - Comox Valley Christian School - missions and service are two of the key characteristics that we want to have as hallmarks of the school.  It was great to see our teachers feverishly taking notes during the presentations and getting even further inspired about missions as new opportunities where shared with us all.  I know that there is lots of planning and discussion still to be had but next year is going to be an amazing year for our school community and as a parent, I am very glad my three children have this opportunity.

It is such a blessing to have a school like Pacific Academy who is farther down the "development road" than we are, come alongside and offer us their resources, experience, and help.  As our church family has stepped into this new arena of operating a Christian school it has been so great to see the people that God has brought along our path who have been so willing to serve as resources to us.

God is so good!

Here's a little slogan that we have for our school.  It sums up a lot in a few short words:

Opening a students mind to the world.

Helping a student understand the world.

Preparing a student to change the world.

She kicked me!

I was repeatedly kicked by my wife today, while she smiled and laughed!  

But don't worry, I kicked her back several times right in the stomach.

Please don't call the police and report an incident of domestic violence.

The truth is we were at our third morning of Fit for Life - where a group of us are all working at exercising, and losing weight, to raise money for missions. ("Kick your husband in the gut for the sake of the children" sounds like a fairly catchy banner doesn't it?)

Scott Judson is our torturer instructor, and he is a trained Moi Tai instructor so we are learning some great defense skills, as well as getting in shape (I think I may try out a few moves in worship this weekend - keep your eyes open!).

We just finished our first week, and we have four more to go, so I'm sure I'll get kicked a few more times.

It really is a lot of fun and I know we really are going to raise a lot of money for missions.  

I sure appreciate Scott's willingness (eagerness) to use his talents and experience in a way that supports missions and advances the Kingdom.  I think it's great when everyone considers how they can use their abilities, and whatever God has put in their hand, in a way that helps others and advances God's Kingdom.

Quite the contrast!

From a village in East Africa to this in just two days.  We are flying home now and have a day in Dubai.  As dumb luck fate would have it, today is the grand opening of the worlds biggest mall.  Yeah???  

A ride through the streets

Here's the video of our 'boda boda' ride through the streets.  I was finally able to get it uploaded.