I know. It sounds a little crazy. But I swear it's true.
And this is all I heard before leaving the states.
"Rachel you're gonna come back a bride!"
"You're gonna meet someone in Korea I just know it."
Despite me being adamant about not falling in love in Korea, I'm shocked to say that it's happening. And now my family gets to tell me "I told you so."
So, how do I know it's love? I can only guess by what I've seen in movies and what I've witnessed in the love shared between my happily married or coupled friends and family. There's the unspoken intimacy, they always have a shoulder to cry on,there's trust, patience, tons of frustrations, and lots of forgiveness... I know this because I'm starting to react in ways that I haven't before. I want to know more about him. I want to spend more time with him.
He makes me laugh.
He listens to all of my petty problems and always lends a listening ear.
He embraces me when I'm upset.
He rebukes the lies that tell me I'm worthless and constantly reminds me of my value (Which--kind of hard to admit but--in my silly humanness I need to be reminded of often)
He's mended my broken heart, kept me company in loneliness, never gets tired of spending time with me, and never leaves me. (Psalm 139:7)
He is familiar with all of my ways.
He knows what I'm going to say before I say it. (Psalm 139:3-4)
He tells me I'm perfect. And I am.
Because He knit me together.
He molded me from a piece of his heart. (Pslm 139:13)
Does he send me flowers? PSH! He sends me forests with leaves like the sunset.
Dinner dates? PSH! A special reservation at the table in His Kingdom.
He gently wakes me with every sunrise and kisses every sunset.
He's written me a lifetime of love letters.
The list goes on...
My only regret is that I can never love Him as much as He loves me. The only thing I can do is extend His love to the people around me.
Which, I admit, can be difficult with some people... but He's a great and patient teacher.
I came to Korea wanting to avoid falling in love at all costs. I had no interest in becoming a bride at 25.
And now I've come to realize that the prime reason I've been sent to Korea is to fall in love...
...and that I was already a bride before my arrival here; pursued, protected and loved.
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
A Jog in the Park
AAAAHHHH!!!!! FINALLY! RACHEL FINALLY WROTE ANOTHER POST ON HER BLOG!!!!!
I know, I know… apologies. That’s how dang busy I’ve been. Sort of. That and there was a serious lack of internet for an entire week and a half! No cell phone, no internet, no place near me that has wi-fi. Talk about seclusion!
That kind of goes to show you how small of a town I live in. It’s verrrry country. Unlike the bigger cities, I can’t just walk on down to the nearest coffee shop and use their internet. I have to go to the nearest bigger city which is a 20 minute bus ride and ten minute walk to my new hangout coffee spot called Travel and Coffee. (Shout out to Coffee Rush! Missing my original hang out spot!)
So for the next year I will live in Goseong, Gangwon-do, which is a tiny tiny town just off of the northeast coast of South Korea. It is only a short bus ride north of the city you see on the map called Sokcho.
“OMG SHE’S SO CLOSE TO NORTH KOREA” you say? Ya, I’m pretty close. The DMZ is about an hour and a half north of Goseong, but I promise you all I’ve never felt more safe! Plus there are an abundance of attractive soldier men here, so ya I’m feeling pretty good about this place ;p
As for my apartment? I feel pretty darn blessed. I have a pretty big apartment that would allow me to host a few visitors. (PLEASE COME AND VISIT ME!!!)
But the best part about living where I do is that I am literally 2 minutes away from the beach, and I've got some amazing views:
The school where I teach is called Jukwang Elementary, and this school is probably the biggest blessing of all. There are a total of 45—Yes 45—students in the entire school! I teach K-6 English classes that are super small in size, my biggest class being 9 students. The kids are a lot of fun, and the staff has been extremely welcoming. Though we all have a great language barrier, they have already treated me like part of the Jukwang family.
This guy is my mentor teacher Choi Jin Hwee!
He’s literally a godsend. He has been such a great help with everything I’ve ever needed, from taking me grocery shopping to getting a cellphone and internet so I can contact family and friends! Totally giving God a two-thumbs up for this new friend of mine… who insists that I call him “Father” or “Real Brilliant.”
“Father” because he’s the one taking care of me here, and “Real Brilliant” because that is his literal name translation :p
I also have another friend from the TaLK Program living in Goseong, along with a handful of EPIK teachers around the area that I hang out with a bunch. There isn’t any lacking on the foreigner front so I am able to speak more than broken English when I socialize. Which is suuuuch a blessing. You don’t realize how much you love your language until you aren’t able to use it as often as you’re used to!
Overall, things have been a jog in the park. I say jog because time has flown by so quickly and I really am loving my life in Korea thus far. It seems that things have been a lot easier than I've expected them to be, but I think it's all because God's been holding my hand throughout all of the difficulties. He has been overwhelmingly good to me through blessing me with great accommodations, amazing people, and through situations and struggles where I had nobody to lean on except Him.
You’ve seen and heard about my living accommodations and town. I’ll tell you about the people and crazy situations where I’ve struggled and been strengthened this first month in my next blog post! I’ve got some lesson plans to write up!
For friends and family back in AZ: I’m missing you all like crazy! Please, if you haven’t already add me on Skype: raerae5018
For friends in Korea: HAPPY CHUSEOK! Safe travels and enjoy your holiday!
For everyone! If you would please partner with me in prayer for a few specific things throughout more of my journey in Korea and with my Papa:
-Not to lose sight of my value as God’s precious daughter
-More and more boldness every time I step out of my apartment!
-Diligence in studying the Word.
-Diligence in learning more of the Korean language and culture (I can get pretty lazy about it)
-Finally that I would be more and more aware of the Spirit in me!
Gracias! Gracias! Besos! Besos! Thanks for reading! Thanks for praying! Until next time!
I know, I know… apologies. That’s how dang busy I’ve been. Sort of. That and there was a serious lack of internet for an entire week and a half! No cell phone, no internet, no place near me that has wi-fi. Talk about seclusion!
That kind of goes to show you how small of a town I live in. It’s verrrry country. Unlike the bigger cities, I can’t just walk on down to the nearest coffee shop and use their internet. I have to go to the nearest bigger city which is a 20 minute bus ride and ten minute walk to my new hangout coffee spot called Travel and Coffee. (Shout out to Coffee Rush! Missing my original hang out spot!)
So for the next year I will live in Goseong, Gangwon-do, which is a tiny tiny town just off of the northeast coast of South Korea. It is only a short bus ride north of the city you see on the map called Sokcho.
“OMG SHE’S SO CLOSE TO NORTH KOREA” you say? Ya, I’m pretty close. The DMZ is about an hour and a half north of Goseong, but I promise you all I’ve never felt more safe! Plus there are an abundance of attractive soldier men here, so ya I’m feeling pretty good about this place ;p
As for my apartment? I feel pretty darn blessed. I have a pretty big apartment that would allow me to host a few visitors. (PLEASE COME AND VISIT ME!!!)
But the best part about living where I do is that I am literally 2 minutes away from the beach, and I've got some amazing views:
This guy is my mentor teacher Choi Jin Hwee!
He’s literally a godsend. He has been such a great help with everything I’ve ever needed, from taking me grocery shopping to getting a cellphone and internet so I can contact family and friends! Totally giving God a two-thumbs up for this new friend of mine… who insists that I call him “Father” or “Real Brilliant.”
“Father” because he’s the one taking care of me here, and “Real Brilliant” because that is his literal name translation :p
I also have another friend from the TaLK Program living in Goseong, along with a handful of EPIK teachers around the area that I hang out with a bunch. There isn’t any lacking on the foreigner front so I am able to speak more than broken English when I socialize. Which is suuuuch a blessing. You don’t realize how much you love your language until you aren’t able to use it as often as you’re used to!
Overall, things have been a jog in the park. I say jog because time has flown by so quickly and I really am loving my life in Korea thus far. It seems that things have been a lot easier than I've expected them to be, but I think it's all because God's been holding my hand throughout all of the difficulties. He has been overwhelmingly good to me through blessing me with great accommodations, amazing people, and through situations and struggles where I had nobody to lean on except Him.
You’ve seen and heard about my living accommodations and town. I’ll tell you about the people and crazy situations where I’ve struggled and been strengthened this first month in my next blog post! I’ve got some lesson plans to write up!
For friends and family back in AZ: I’m missing you all like crazy! Please, if you haven’t already add me on Skype: raerae5018
For friends in Korea: HAPPY CHUSEOK! Safe travels and enjoy your holiday!
For everyone! If you would please partner with me in prayer for a few specific things throughout more of my journey in Korea and with my Papa:
-Not to lose sight of my value as God’s precious daughter
-More and more boldness every time I step out of my apartment!
-Diligence in studying the Word.
-Diligence in learning more of the Korean language and culture (I can get pretty lazy about it)
-Finally that I would be more and more aware of the Spirit in me!
Gracias! Gracias! Besos! Besos! Thanks for reading! Thanks for praying! Until next time!
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Week 1 1/2: The weekend in Korea...y mas.
Ok... So instead of explaining everything about my weekend on the blog... watch this video about my weekend!
First weekend in Korea? Pretty much fantastic. Thanking the Lord for the experiences, the friendships, the awkwardness, the communications and miscommunications, struggles, all of them blessings.
So I'll close with this:
"We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God."
2 Corinthians 3:4-5
As each day goes by it's getting more and more real that I'm in Korea. Especially as I venture outside of the comfortable university where all of the English speakers lurk. And then I'm realizing that I'm not here because of me. I'm here because of HIM! And He's equipped me with all that I need to live in a foreign country. By myself. Away from my friends and family and comfort of my home in Arizona. But I'm super safe.
God's a good Papa.
First weekend in Korea? Pretty much fantastic. Thanking the Lord for the experiences, the friendships, the awkwardness, the communications and miscommunications, struggles, all of them blessings.
So I'll close with this:
"We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God."
2 Corinthians 3:4-5
As each day goes by it's getting more and more real that I'm in Korea. Especially as I venture outside of the comfortable university where all of the English speakers lurk. And then I'm realizing that I'm not here because of me. I'm here because of HIM! And He's equipped me with all that I need to live in a foreign country. By myself. Away from my friends and family and comfort of my home in Arizona. But I'm super safe.
God's a good Papa.
Friday, August 9, 2013
Week 1: SUCCESS!
Okay! So I know I am waaaaay overdue for my first ever blog post, and I know everyone wants to know what's up so HERE WE GO!
The overall experience so far has been pretty great. I'm at Korea University for TaLK Orientation in Jochiwon, South Korea for the next 3 weeks, then they're sending me off to some city in the Gangwon Province in the northeast area of the country. So far I'm learning lots, eating lots, and meeting a ton of new people! The weather... not so good for this desert dweller. Not so used to the inhaling water vapor thing, but I don't notice after being outside after awhile.
I go hiking every morning at about 5 AM with a small group of scholars on a small trail on campus. It's really beautiful and I enjoy saying hello to all the ahjummas and ahjussis. And they like to practice some of their English skills too. Of course our conversations never get passed "Anyeonghaseyo" "Hello! Hi! How are you!" but it's practice nonetheless! A few of you know that it's my goal to have a small group of ahjumma friends and I'm happy to say I'm off to a good start. :D
I also have a short video up on my Youtube channel that explains a bit about my journey to South Korea and my first day there:
But after that... Ohhhh so much has happened! In the video, you saw that I did not yet have a room mate, but at about 11 PM she arrived, and dang was it meant to be. Her name is Sarah and she is coming to Korea from Portland, Oregon. She's cool and spunky and we already get along pretty great.
So the TaLK company gave us scholars two days to arrive in Korea; Saturday the 3rd and Sunday the 4th. For those of us that arrived on Saturday, they offered an optional field trip on Sunday so that we weren't just waiting twiddling our thumbs while the other 200 or so scholars arrived. There was the either the Korean Folk Village or a Buddhist Temple. I chose the temple!
When we first got there, we had a short orientation where they taught us how to bow, which looked a little something like this:
Then they took us into the temple where we learned how to meditate while walking, sitting, and lying down. Lemme tell you. Cramp city. The main monk was telling us that we would probably feel some discomfort and might get distracted by our surroundings or even our own thoughts. But once one of those distractions comes into our mind, label it for what it is and move on.
For example, if we were cramping or feeling pain while sitting down, we label it as "pain, pain, pain," and then move forward from that sensation.
After meditation, they fed us a lunch of bibimbap.
A few of us were warned before that the sauce, gochujan, was super potent, so not to use too much! Turns out, I didn't really need any because the kimchi that came with it was pretty saucy and spicy.
And this is where we ate
After lunch, we went back into the temple so that we could learn how to make the Buddhist prayer beads. Each scholar got a small bag of beads and string and we spent the next hour or so stringing those suckers up. It was pretty hard because the beads were made of wood, and some of the holes were not drilled all the way through. But they smelled so delicious. Like, those beads smelled reeeeeally good. Don't judge. I'll bring them home so you can smell.
Sunday night, the rest of the scholars returned, and we all had to makeour 11 PM curfew so that we would be ready for our first day of orientation!
I won't go into too much detail about orientation, but I'll say that I'm already learning a lot! There are about 300 scholars in the TaLK program and we are split up into 6 groups of about 45-50, all going to different provinces in South Korea. We are getting some classes on teaching, Korean culture such as do's don'ts, learning how to play the danso flute, taekwondo, and in the evenings we all take different levels of Korean language classes depending on our fluency. (I'm in the beginner's class)
Wednesday was the first day that we all got to interact with some real Korean elementary kids. Before we went, our group leaders taught us a few games that we could choose from to teach the kids some English, then they pretty much made us choose a game and threw us under the bus to get some experience.
Group 3 Leaders Ellis and Jon
Name Game and Categories Game
Group 3 decided to do a Sports Day instead of lecture yesterday (Thanks Ellis)
Overall, orientation hasn't been super painful, and we've got two more weeks to go! I'll keep you posted on any more crazy orientation stuff.
Right now I can't tell you all how blessed I feel. It's already been the first week and God has already shown me a whole lot about myself and every day I'm learning more and more about my purpose in South Korea. I can tell you right now, even though I'm having a ton of fun, I'm already struggling. God is showing me much about my own value, who I am, and what I mean to HIM! It's a struggle trying to be less of a people pleaser and more of a Jesus pleaser. Because, afterall, HE'S who I'm hear for: seeking His face in the kids I teach, the people I meet, and the culture I'm trying to understand. I'm still looking for a group of Christians that I can fellowship with, study with, and pray with. That's also a huge huge struggle, since I left behind an amazing church family. (Miss you Hand of Mercy! Thanks Pastor Pete for the podcast!) In all of this, God is so good. Like, really good. And I'm getting more and more confident that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be: holding His hand as He guides me through this super exciting, crazy, scary, ridiculous adventure. Can't wait to tell you all my story throughout this next year!
For now, if you would, please partner with me in prayer throughout this crazy journey. Some specific things that I am struggling with now and could use prayers for are these:
-Find a church/bible study/Christian friends
-Boldness
-More confidence
-Seek the Lord's will a whole lot more than my own!
I love you family! Miss you all so much! See you soon!
(Skype: raerae5018)
The overall experience so far has been pretty great. I'm at Korea University for TaLK Orientation in Jochiwon, South Korea for the next 3 weeks, then they're sending me off to some city in the Gangwon Province in the northeast area of the country. So far I'm learning lots, eating lots, and meeting a ton of new people! The weather... not so good for this desert dweller. Not so used to the inhaling water vapor thing, but I don't notice after being outside after awhile.
I go hiking every morning at about 5 AM with a small group of scholars on a small trail on campus. It's really beautiful and I enjoy saying hello to all the ahjummas and ahjussis. And they like to practice some of their English skills too. Of course our conversations never get passed "Anyeonghaseyo" "Hello! Hi! How are you!" but it's practice nonetheless! A few of you know that it's my goal to have a small group of ahjumma friends and I'm happy to say I'm off to a good start. :D
I also have a short video up on my Youtube channel that explains a bit about my journey to South Korea and my first day there:
But after that... Ohhhh so much has happened! In the video, you saw that I did not yet have a room mate, but at about 11 PM she arrived, and dang was it meant to be. Her name is Sarah and she is coming to Korea from Portland, Oregon. She's cool and spunky and we already get along pretty great.
So the TaLK company gave us scholars two days to arrive in Korea; Saturday the 3rd and Sunday the 4th. For those of us that arrived on Saturday, they offered an optional field trip on Sunday so that we weren't just waiting twiddling our thumbs while the other 200 or so scholars arrived. There was the either the Korean Folk Village or a Buddhist Temple. I chose the temple!
When we first got there, we had a short orientation where they taught us how to bow, which looked a little something like this:
Then they took us into the temple where we learned how to meditate while walking, sitting, and lying down. Lemme tell you. Cramp city. The main monk was telling us that we would probably feel some discomfort and might get distracted by our surroundings or even our own thoughts. But once one of those distractions comes into our mind, label it for what it is and move on.
For example, if we were cramping or feeling pain while sitting down, we label it as "pain, pain, pain," and then move forward from that sensation.
After meditation, they fed us a lunch of bibimbap.
A few of us were warned before that the sauce, gochujan, was super potent, so not to use too much! Turns out, I didn't really need any because the kimchi that came with it was pretty saucy and spicy.
And this is where we ate
After lunch, we went back into the temple so that we could learn how to make the Buddhist prayer beads. Each scholar got a small bag of beads and string and we spent the next hour or so stringing those suckers up. It was pretty hard because the beads were made of wood, and some of the holes were not drilled all the way through. But they smelled so delicious. Like, those beads smelled reeeeeally good. Don't judge. I'll bring them home so you can smell.
Sunday night, the rest of the scholars returned, and we all had to makeour 11 PM curfew so that we would be ready for our first day of orientation!
I won't go into too much detail about orientation, but I'll say that I'm already learning a lot! There are about 300 scholars in the TaLK program and we are split up into 6 groups of about 45-50, all going to different provinces in South Korea. We are getting some classes on teaching, Korean culture such as do's don'ts, learning how to play the danso flute, taekwondo, and in the evenings we all take different levels of Korean language classes depending on our fluency. (I'm in the beginner's class)
Wednesday was the first day that we all got to interact with some real Korean elementary kids. Before we went, our group leaders taught us a few games that we could choose from to teach the kids some English, then they pretty much made us choose a game and threw us under the bus to get some experience.
Group 3 Leaders Ellis and Jon
Name Game and Categories Game
Group 3 decided to do a Sports Day instead of lecture yesterday (Thanks Ellis)
Overall, orientation hasn't been super painful, and we've got two more weeks to go! I'll keep you posted on any more crazy orientation stuff.
Right now I can't tell you all how blessed I feel. It's already been the first week and God has already shown me a whole lot about myself and every day I'm learning more and more about my purpose in South Korea. I can tell you right now, even though I'm having a ton of fun, I'm already struggling. God is showing me much about my own value, who I am, and what I mean to HIM! It's a struggle trying to be less of a people pleaser and more of a Jesus pleaser. Because, afterall, HE'S who I'm hear for: seeking His face in the kids I teach, the people I meet, and the culture I'm trying to understand. I'm still looking for a group of Christians that I can fellowship with, study with, and pray with. That's also a huge huge struggle, since I left behind an amazing church family. (Miss you Hand of Mercy! Thanks Pastor Pete for the podcast!) In all of this, God is so good. Like, really good. And I'm getting more and more confident that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be: holding His hand as He guides me through this super exciting, crazy, scary, ridiculous adventure. Can't wait to tell you all my story throughout this next year!
For now, if you would, please partner with me in prayer throughout this crazy journey. Some specific things that I am struggling with now and could use prayers for are these:
-Find a church/bible study/Christian friends
-Boldness
-More confidence
-Seek the Lord's will a whole lot more than my own!
I love you family! Miss you all so much! See you soon!
(Skype: raerae5018)
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