3 Year Old Drum Prodigy at KNU International English Church

Check out this awesome little guy from my former church.  SBS, a Korean station, just did a short documentary on Kim Shin-Hyuk, the son of KNU International English Church's worship pastor (and her bass-playing husband).  Shin-Hyuk is 45 months old (so 3 and a half), but he already plays drums better than most high school drum students.
When he visited his grandfather in the USA at the age of 2, a trip to Toys-R-Us netted Shin-Hyuk a toy drum set.  He has played it almost constantly for the past two years.

Also, for any of my US peeps, this video gives a little peek of our church and worship space in Korea. Seeing my old church family warms my heart, and makes me a little homesick - because, yes, Korea is now part of my home.



And yes, he does play every Sunday after the worship service.  And yes, he does cry almost every Sunday when his mom finally drags him away from the drums.

100 Things I Love About Korea: #99 - Annual Reports 2011 and 2012

Doubling up here to finish at an even 100, and I've already posted these, so here are the links.

2011: How our church is preparing to make space for God's Next.

2012 - Part A: Vision Sunday 2012 - 'Mission Impossible' actually happened here.

2012 - Part B: The Hard Part - We're Moving.

100 Things I Love About Korea: #95 - Annual Report 2009

Dedicating ShinHyuk Kim

This fall we are 15 years old. (So how old are we in Korean years?)  To get a feeling for how much we've grown, I thought it might be fun for us to look at some of our previous “firsts.”  

The first baby born in our church (Jenny Mitchel's daughter 2001).  (The next baby was Esther Kim in 2006.)

The first Advisory Council was elected in 2003.  For our first 8 years before that, we were just a hodge-podge group that worshiped together.

Our first mission trip (Indonesia, 2004).  We are now planning our fourth, and we're hoping to do one every year.

Our first year with regular heat in the winter (2005).  That may not seem like such a big deal, but it's easier to worship when you don't have to wear gloves and a hat just to stay warm!

Our first store room – a tiny janitors closet, which we were forced to get because we bought a drum set (2005).

Our first assistant pastor  - Hoom Jeong (2005)

Our first big attendance day: 79 (2005).  We were really excited about 79 people back then!

More than 50% of our regular attenders from outside the KNU community (2005)

First after church snack time – started just once a month (2005).  I remember our fellowship team feeling really concerned about trying to do it every week.

First website – a free blog that Susan Kim set up for us (2005)

First church members to get married (Anderson and Dianna Cheon, 2004)

First baptisms (2006)

First time to have organized children and youth activities (2006)

First time worshiping in Patch Hall and at a “normal” time (2006).  Before this, our worship services began bright and early at 9 a.m.  

First time to have more than one Korean on the Advisory Council (2006)

First time to have more than one returning Advisory Council member (2007)

First time to take in members and to be an official Church of the Nazarene (2007)

First church soccer team (2007)

100 Things I Love About Korea: #93 - Annual Report 2008

Preparing the Foundations

My first time to attend an annual meeting as a pastor, I forgot that I was supposed to give an annual report.  I had only been a lead pastor for about two months.  Near the end of the meeting, Cathy Williams asked if I had a report to share, and I said something profound like, “Uh, not really.”  Every year since then, I've tried to spend some time thinking of an analogy or a story that will help us put the year in perspective.  I've talked about zits and puberty, giant flies, Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon, and how God answered a prayer I prayed while walking across a basketball court.

This year, I want to tell a story about some of the times I've worked with my Uncle John.  If you think I'm crazy, you should meet my Uncle John!  One year for Christmas, the women wanted to have a nice formal dinner, so they asked the men in the family to “dress up” and to put on some “nice clothes.”  My Dad and Uncle John disappeared into the bedroom and came out looking like this.  (silly picture)  I distinctly remember them saying, “What?!  We're wearing ties!  What else do you want?”  (They also had the nice 80's afros going, too.)

Uncle John is also an expert concrete worker.  Sometimes during the summers or when I had free time in college, I would work with him doing the concrete work for new houses.  The concrete truck drivers said Uncle John was so good that he could do jobs by himself that usually took 10 people to finish.  When I helped Uncle John, I usually got all the jobs he didn't want – shoveling rocks, carrying steel, drilling into old concrete.  But I also learned a little about what it takes to make a good foundation for a house.

Step 1:  Clear and Level the Land.  Before you can do anything else, you have to get rid of all the trees and junk, and you have to make the ground fairly smooth and level.  No, I never got to drive one of those cool little bulldozers.  

100 Things I Love About Korea: #91 - Annual Report 2007

Ladies Retreat 2007

Tonight our focus is on telling stories, so I want to start by telling a story.  This story begins a few years ago.  During my first year here, we said goodbye to leader after leader, as people moved back to their home countries.  After about a year, I began to realize that we need more stability, and I also began to realize that stability was only going to come by having more Korean leaders involved in our church.  

I remember praying one day when I was walking home.  I was thinking and praying about this problem of rotating leaders in our church.  I thanked God for Dr. Cho.  (Some of you might not remember Dr. Cho.  He no longer attends here because he is preaching regularly in the Sunday evening service of another church.)  I prayed, “God please give us 25 people like Dr. Cho.  Give us 25 committed and passionate Korean leaders.”  I figured that would be enough to give us a stable core group, year in and year out.   

This year, we have seen this prayer begin to be answered.  This year more than 60% of the Advisory Council was Korean.  We celebrated this with great joy, and rightly so.  It is right for an international church to have international leadership.  Also, this was a great answer to our prayers and a great step of progress toward becoming a stable, enduring church.

Well, like they say, be careful what you pray for.  Sometimes God answers our prayers in ways we don’t expect.  And sometimes God’s answers bring their own challenges.

After we elected the 2006-2007 Advisory Council, I felt like we were “off to the races.”  Our Vision Team had just finished establishing our mission and vision statements.  Our people seemed to agree that this is what God was calling us to do and to be.   I felt like everything was finally coming together.  

Within the first few months of the 2006-2007 year, we decided to become an official Church of the Nazarene on the Korea National District.  We also welcomed our first official church members, and we went on a Work and Witness Trip to Indonesia.  And as a great surprise to me, the Korea National District worked out the details for me to be ordained here in Korea.  We were also experiencing our highest attendance ever, with an all-time high of 139.

I was ready for our church to explode with growth and momentum.  I was pumped and read to go.  But I was probably a little too pumped.  

100 Things I Love About Korea: #86 - 2005 Annual Report

Congratulations are in order for you church.  You have done well on several counts.

First, I feel like you need to be congratulated on surviving my rookie year as a senior pastor.  I came to you fresh out of seminary with lots of enthusiasm and not much experience.  You have been gracious to me and to my family.  You have welcomed us with open arms and open hearts, and I thank you.

Second, I want to congratulate you on gaining a better self-understanding.  In the spring of 2005, the Advisory Council set out to find answers to the question: “Who are we?”  We wanted to know who we are as a community.  

Jean Johnson and Patricia Clark studied our church history.  Two trends are clear in our history.  First is the trend of increasing size.  We have steadily grown from about 15 people (10 years ago) to over 60 people now.  The second trend is increasing organization.  In the beginning, what is now our church was more like a home Bible study.  However, as our numbers grew, our need for organization also grew.  In 2002, we established the Advisory Council and wrote a congregational constitution.  Now, as our numbers continue to grow, we are also continuing the trend of increasing organization.

Part of our new self-understanding as a church is expressed in our new name: KNU International English Church.  This is not just a name.  It is a statement of who we are.  

KNU: Not only are we located on the campus of KNU, but about 40% of our people are also employed by KNU or its sister institutions.

International:  Sometimes I hear people refer to us as a 외국 church.  That really frustrates me.  About half of us are Korean almost every Sunday.  We are not a weigook church, and we are certainly not an American church.  Our people come from all around the world.  We are an international church.  

English:  We are an English speaking church.  We have two common bonds.  We are all seeking God, and we all speak English.  English and God bring us together.

Church: We have outgrown some old labels like: “English Service,” “English Chapel,” “Worship Service,” and “Congregation.”  We are more like a church than ever before.  So it is time to claim our name and to expect us to live like a church. 

100 Things I Love About Korea: #75 - Alameda

As far as I know Alameda is the first restaurant in Cheonan to serve western style breakfast food.  Not to knock McDonalds, but a McMuffin can only go so far in restoring the feelings of home.
Alameda is a small, owner-chef cafe near the Galleria.  Look across the street for the Cafe Bene and keep walking in a straight line.
The atmosphere is simple-chic, and the food is very good.  The owner serves as chef, and his girlfriend is the friendly waitress.
Sarah ordered the Alameda Brunch - with pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, fried potatoes, and - oddly - a small garden salad.  Even giving it the bonus of being the only place to get Western breakfast in Cheonan, this was still a very good meal.  Everything was well prepared and well presented.
I ordered the grilled mushroom salad, and I have to say that it was the best restaurant salad I've had in Korea.  (I have to add that restaurant caveat because my sister-in-law makes a mean spinach-pecan-strawberry salad which may be the best I've ever had anywhere.)  The greens were varied and fresh.  The mushrooms were also varied and well seasoned.  There were even chunks of fresh cheese.
Even the music was great.  The only downside to Alameda is the price.  Plan on paying around 15,000 a person.  At that rate, it's a little to much to become part of our regular circuit, but when we get the hankering for pancakes, waffles, or knock-out salads, now we know where to go.

100 Things I Love About Korea: #74 - Fusion Food

Fusion Food can be almost anything.  Usually, it is mixing two ethnic foods together into something new - like Shanghai Spaghetti (a very popular pasta dish in Italian restaurants, with a spicy sauce and lots of seafood and vegetables).  But occasionally, it is mixing two foods that don't normally go together (like sweet potatoes or chestnuts on pizza).

A few weeks ago, Sarah and I stumbled onto a very interesting fusion restaurant: Carbone.  It has a funky urban vibe, and it was quiet even though busy.  

We ordered "Salad Pasta" and "Spoon Pizza."  Now, that's not pasta salad, like those twirly little noodles you might get at a church potluck.  That's actually lettuce salad over a bed of spaghetti.  It sounds crazy, but the creamy honey mustard sauce actually made it work.  The Spoon Pizza is a deep dish pizza with a soft crust and lots of toppings, and naturally, you eat it with a spoon.  

Good times.

100 Things I Love About Korea: #72 - Neon Nights

I love cities at night.  With a high population density, Korea's downtowns with lots of tall buildings really pack in the neon.
Here's a cool time-lapse photo video of downtown Cheonan by my friend Andy Phelps, who is an outstanding photographer.

100 Things I Love about Korea: #69 - Konglish and North Korean Refugees

My good friend Nikki Muyskins originally wrote this article for Fulbright Infusion Magazine, March 2011. It was later republished on www.engagemagazine.com.  I offer it to you now for your reading pleasure.

As I was on the plane on the way to Korea for the first time, I remember studying some “learn Hangeul” print-outs that I had with me, desperately trying to get some of this new writing system to stick in my mind.  I had a list of “Konglish” words to sound out for practice, which I suppose was meant to build confidence, but did little to calm my nerves when I would tediously sound out a word like “pi-ja” and still be unable to make the connection to the English word “pizza.”  What match would I be for the language barrier, if I couldn’t even understand Koreanized words from my native language?  How would I overcome linguistic and cultural obstacles, and learn not only to adapt to Korea but also to thrive in this foreign land?

Thankfully, I encountered many friendly people to help me along the way, and I have gradually learned more and more Korean.  Sometimes I enjoy the convenience of English loan words, if, for example, I want to take a “tek-shi” (taxi) to the “bus-seh tuh-mi-nuhl” (bus terminal).  Sometimes I just get entertainment out of Korean pronunciation, like the lack of “r” in “ma-teh” (mart) or the “sh” in “shoo-puh” (super(market)).  Other times I feel frustrated with loan words like these, like if my students don’t understand my pronunciation of “suh-tuh-di room” (study room) or laugh at my attempt at spelling a word like “saen-deh-wi-chi” (sandwich) in Hangeul.  Sometimes life in Korea can give me so much “suh-tuh-rae-suh” (stress), yet I am grateful that our languages do overlap in some instances.  Otherwise, how would I ever navigate the “in-tuh-net” (internet) on my Korean “com-pyu-tuh” (computer)?

100 Things I Love About Korea: #67: Mama's Table

Fresh salads and real sandwiches.  That alone makes this place elite.

To top it off, the prices are reasonable; the atmosphere is comfortable and quiet; and the owners are very nice.
The salads come in three basic options: grilled chicken, smoked salmon, and tofu.  All of these are available as a small house salad or as part of a "brunch set" which also includes sausage, bacon, and whole wheat bread.  If you don't want all the meat, you can ask them to substitute them for more salad instead.  You can also get an Americano for 1,000 won more.  Total price: 8,000.  Not bad.
There are four sandwiches: salmon on croissant, grilled chicken on bagel, egg salad and bacon on whole wheat, and dry bulgogi on a bun.  All of them are pretty tasty, but my favorites are the salmon and egg salad.

If you just want coffee or a drink, they have loads to choose from.  But I always get a plain Americano with milk on the side.  Just 2,000 won.

Mama's Table is above the bath house or sauna Cara Cara in SsangYong Dong, 5 minutes from Korea Nazarene University.  (From the KNU main gate, walk up the hill.  Turn left at the fruit stand and NongHyup Bank.  The street will force you to make a right turn.  Mama's Table will be on your right near the end of the street.)

Thanks to http://joanninkorea.blogspot.kr for the pics.

100 Things I Love About Korea # 56: Replay - Doctor Fish

This is a repost from May 4, 2008.  Alas, the "Doctor Fish" cafe has long since closed down, but it was good while it lasted.

Friday night Sarah and I had our weekly date night.   Amazingly, we had a real babysitter this time - two in a row!  We decided to take advantage of this freedom and try something new.
A few weeks ago, we noticed an odd looking sign advertising a business on the third floor of the Yaoori/downtown area of Cheonan: "Books, organic tea, coffee, spa, doctor fish."  I asked some friends about it, and Ron Knickerbocker was able to give us the scoop.  It's a really cool coffee shop.  You basically pay a cover charge, and then you can have all the house coffee you want.  They have a small library of books and magazines to choose from (even one English book about touring in SE Asia).  They even have a few puzzles available.  It's a large room, so it's easy to find a quiet nook.  It would be a great place to read or for a small party.
But the really unique thing about this place is the "doctor fish."  They have two long tanks of small fish.  For the very reasonable fee of 2,000 won (about $2US), you can put your feet into the tank for about 20 minutes.  These little fish literally eat the dead skin off your body (in this case, our feet).
Doctor fish are most famous for Turkish spas which use them as a medicinal treatment, particularly for psoriasis.  However, apparently, the ones in Cheonan are Chinese knockoffs, not the real Turkish fish.  (Amazing, huh!)
So Sarah and I finished our coffee and gave it a try.  It was amazingly weird.  We put our feet in the water and about 100 fish attacked each of us.  They nibbled away with a furious passion to get at every last dead skin cell.  It felt kind of like being attacked by tiny piranha, but it didn't hurt.  It kind of tickled.
The weirdest part was seeing them swarm.  When Sarah took her feet out (which she did often at first), all 200-300 fish would swarm my feet.  Sometimes I couldn't even see my feet.  That was really freaky!  I took my feet out at first, and I laughed so much that the store worker asked me to be quiet several times.
Finally, I was able to talk Sarah into putting her feet into the water to take some of the pressure of me (more available food for the fish).  And about the same time, I started to get used to having hundreds of little fish eat on me, so I just relaxed and left my feet in the water.  By that time, they seemed to have cleaned me off pretty well, so they preferred Sarah's fresh feet with - um - fresh dead skin.
All in all it was a great experience - lots of fun and definitely one of a kind for us.  This was a great break from the date night rut: dinner and a take home movie.  Thanks Ron for the recommendation (and FYI, Ron said Bruce squealed like a little girl when he met the doctor fish!).   So if you're coming to Korea to see us, let's go check out the doctor fish.

100 Things I Love About Korea # 44: Cheonan

I'm not sure why it's so "Fast" - maybe because of the KTX high speed rail station - but anyway, I love Cheonan.  It is both a city that feels like a small town, and a small city that feels like a big city.
It is relatively compact, with sky-rise apartments funneling people into the same paths of commerce and transport.  So you end up seeing the same people and shopping at the same stores.  In that sense, it feels like a small town - especially as an expat.  Also, outside of the downtown areas, you don't get the swarming hordes of people that megatropolises like Seoul shove at you.  Mostly you can just go about your business
However, Cheonan with 600,000 people is large enough to avoid the feelings of isolation that come with living in the countryside.  There are plenty of good stores, restaurants, public transportation, and other conveniences.
Cheonan has been my home for the past nine years, and I'm going to miss it.

100 Things I Love About Korea # 41: Constant Progress

Progress is in Korea’s DNA.  In the course of one or two generations, they have emerged from deep poverty, rapacious oppression, crippling civil war, and repeated dictatorships to be a global economic power.  That doesn’t happen without change - and a lot of it.

I’ve seen this on the local scale in Cheonan, mostly in the form of improved logistical infrastructure - better bridges, roads, sidewalks, and whatnot.  But Cheonan has also made a host of improvements for quality of life.  Parks, hiking trails, landscaping, and outdoor art come to mind.

On the hyper-local scale, our little street keeps improving season by season.  They replaced the sidewalk tiles and curbs last year.  This year, they moved all the trees from one side of the street to the other side because there wasn’t enough room to walk between the trees and the wall with an umbrella (which is important in a culture where so many people do so much walking).  In addition, it seems that almost all of the apartments and storefronts in our neighborhood are continually making little improvements like remodeling, adding space here or there, or improving this or that service.

I guess it’s the progressive leader in me, but it just warms my heart to walk around see how things are getting better and better.

100 Things I Love About Korea - #21 - People: Bruce Kim

Goodbye's are a regular part of our church.  To help us say goodbye well, I've been posting people's goodbye letters here.  This time, Bruce turned the tradition around and said goodbye to my family, but along the way he tells a lot of his own story too.  Enjoy.  

   I hate goodbyes. 
   I'd rather not get to know someone new than say goodbye. That's not the best quality in someone who decides to live abroad. When you leave your home country, you meet new people and they become as close as family members here on this life raft of expatriates. Then you or they go home and you never see them again except for facebook updates. When I meet someone new I usually ask how long they expect to live in Korea as if I'm anticipating their departure. I should stop doing that. I should meet a new person thinking he or she could potentially become a lifelong friend and not someone to say hi to and forget. It's certainly not the best quality in a Christian.
   My wife and I moved to Korea in 1997. That's before the Clinton impeachment, before 9/11, right before the Columbine shootings. The internet was embryonic. We've been attending this church since 1999 when we moved to Ssangyong-dong. My mom worked in the same Cleveland school as Pam, Bill and Gail Patch's daughter, and they recommended we visit if we wanted to see an English worship service. Back then, it was mainly the Mitchell family and a couple teachers. 
   We've seen hundreds of new faces come and go since then. It's impossible to remember them all. We've seen weddings, babies being born and people eulogized. It's so much more fun counting the babies. We tried to remember all the births of members since we started attending and we stopped at 21. We're in the middle of another baby boom. Soon that'll be closer to 30.
   When the Browards arrived in 2004, I liked them immediately. There was something infectious about their smiles, especially Emma's. In one of his earliest sermons in the old sanctuary, Josh mentioned his admiration for Daunte Culpepper, a pro football player known for explosive bursts of speed. Watching Josh re-enact his excitement complete with arms waving and jumping behind the podium, I remember thinking, 'I like this guy.' His energy was impressive, but then I realized that was just one facet of his devotion and commitment to the church and community. 
   Previous pastors for KNU International English Church haven't always agreed on the inclusion of non-English speakers in the service. Josh seemed to embrace the diversity here, and that's something I came to admire and greatly appreciate. Older members remember when the entire congregation would clear out during summer and winter vacations leaving the service feeling skeletal. 
   Now membership is consistent year round and the body of the church has filled out like a growing baby. That's healthy for a church spiritually, emotionally and financially to stand on its own. Josh and the leadership teams deserve credit for making sure this church became a home and didn't remain a supplementary service.
   I once read an article about how expatriates collect friends in a similar way to prehistoric people gathering new members into a tribe. I'll miss the Browards immensely. It was nice knowing they were here these past 8 years, going out for dinner together, playing cards, just being in each other's company even knowing this day would come when we would have to say goodbye. It was nice watching the kids grow up. It was nice going through childbirth with them. Josh set a good example for me as a father, friend and spiritual leader. I know he will do a great job in his new church assignment. I'm not sure how close I'll allow myself to get to know the new pastor's family. But if they're anything like the Browards it'll be hard not to love them.

100 Things I Love About Korea - #19: People: Dianna Kriegh

This month our church members are sharing testimonies during the worship service.  This is Dianna's testimony from last week.

I came to Korea with a specific plan. I was going to stay one year, improve my Korean language skills while teaching, and then leave for a graduate degree in East Asian history. Soon after the 12-month mark arrived for me, I was telling people that I felt like God was laughing at me—good-naturedly of course—because everything I had said about where my life was going to be that fall was wrong. By that time I was living in Cheonan and teaching at the school where I still am today.

I knew before I ever arrived that God’s hand was guiding me in this and that he had plans beyond my own, and yet I’ve still found it extremely difficult to surrender my future to his keeping. Every fall I have once again pulled out my old grad school applications, reconsidered my goals, and begun the arduous mountain of paperwork necessary for entrance into highly competitive programs and the scholarships that would make them possible. Yet, every spring I have found that it’s not time to leave and as you can see I’m most definitely still here.

This fall the application process seemed more important than it ever has before. The Fulbright program, which brought me here to teach, is technically a graduate fellowship and a multi-national government grant, and it allows participants a maximum of three years in the program. At the same time that I was sure I had no choice but to leave I felt God calling me to become more involved and to invest more of myself in my students and my life here. As I was spending spare moments in the teachers’ office trying to write personal statements and essays for scholarships, I was also becoming involved with the students’ lunch-time bible study, being asked for advice and guidance, and connecting with parents who only see their sons on rare school holidays.

In the middle of all this I began to get angry with God. I felt like he was telling me to stay when both he and I knew that was impossible—even if I could stay in Korea with another teaching program I couldn’t stay at my school because it is and has been a Fulbright school for many years. As a result of this stress, by the middle of September my normal struggle with hormonal insomnia had turned into a continuous cycle of so little sleep that I watched my health deteriorate and everything in my life come to a standstill; nothing was getting done. 

On the last Thursday in September I had a meeting with Josh. I desperately needed an outside perspective on my problems, and I got it. I walked away from that meeting with advice that I was determined not to follow—the suggestion to just talk to my school about staying without Fulbright and see what they said. I of course knew that Josh had no idea how impossible his suggestion really was because it was Fulbright and not my school that would stop something like that from happening.

Less than 24 hours later a completely disconnected conversation with our school’s head English teacher led to a request that I stay past my Fulbright contract. By the following Monday, I was officially asked to sign a contract for three more years at my school pending Fulbright’s approval and promise that at the end of that time our school could return to the program. Throughout October things with my school continued to progress as we considered appropriate ways to approach Fulbright with our request and began filling out paperwork and tracking down documents for the change of my visa status that would necessarily come with the change in my contract.

I continued to have so many doubts and to worry about what would happen, but finally on the day after Thanksgiving I had a meeting with the director of Fulbright Korea. In the hour long conversation I had with her she not only agreed to allow my school to temporarily leave the program with the promise that they could return when I leave, but also she offered to help me obtain the Korean government scholarship for graduate school in Korea three years from now. Objectively speaking, there are still many things that could happen between now and July that could cause all of these plans to fall through, but I have faith that as God started this he will also complete it. I think I have finally reached the point where I can stop making my own plans, because I’ve learned to really trust that God’s are better.

Goodbye Letter # 07 - Deborah Antle

Many of you don’t know me, but I arrived in Cheonan in November 2008 and taught at one of the high schools until January 2011.  I attended KNU International English Church during that time.  When I left Cheonan, I didn’t leave Korea.  I went to Gwangju (the little one in Gyeonggido, not the big one down south) and taught at another high school.  So, to me, I wasn’t really saying “goodbye” back then.  It’s time to say it now, though. In January, I’m going home to America and, as far as I know, I’m not coming back.

I’ve been attending a Korean church while living in Gwangju, but KNUIEC has remained, in my heart, my home church in Korea.  I wasn’t there at the beginning of the church, but I was there for many beginnings.  I was there when Josh quit working as a professor and became the church’s full-time pastor.  I was there when the youth group began.  I was there when the first babies of our "baby wave" were born into our church.  I was there when the church voted to start the long-term partnership in Bangladesh.  I was there when Shannon and Adam were voted in as our first Youth Pastors.  I’m grateful for the privilege of being part of you, and I’m SO proud of you!

My life is richer and wiser for having been a part of you.  I remember when, one Pentecost Sunday, we had about 10 or 11 people read Scripture in different languages, and something like 9 of those people were reading in their native languages.  That was an extraordinary moment for me, realizing I was experiencing the “many nations, one family” concept of the Kingdom of God, and I didn’t have to wait to be on the other side of the grass to see it.

God’s sending me back to America now, but I’m going back better.  Korea and KNUIEC will remain a part of me, for the remainder of my life here, and I’m certain that influence will stretch into eternity.  I truly, deeply, and eternally love you.

Your sister in Christ,

Deborah Antle

Goodbye Letter #06: Nikki Muyskens

[This is part of a series in which departing members of our church write a letter to say goodbye to our church.  Nikki left in the summer of 2012, so this is coming a little late, but nonetheless, it's still good!]

Dear KNU International English Church,
I write to you from my home in Colorado (USA) now, on vacation before I go back to my new home in Daegu for the next year.  My stuff is no longer in Cheonan, but it still feels like a home to me.  It’s the place where I have lived and grown for the past two years, and it’s the place where you, my church family, still live.  It was a surreal experience last month to be packing up my things and saying goodbyes, because I couldn’t quite believe that chapter in my life was coming to a close, even though I was looking forward to my future plans as well.  I also find it a little strange to say a lot of emotional goodbyes, because I am not actually leaving in the same way as our friends moving to other countries.  Daegu is not that far away, and I plan to visit relatively often.  I am not severing connections here by any means--- rather, I hope they continue and grow--- but this chapter of my life, nevertheless, will look different.  I love how Michael Palmer uncovered the beauty of saying goodbyes in his blog ("The Beauty in Goodbye"), because it really is the transitions of life that make us appreciate the true significance and tremendous value of what we have, and God has richly blessed me.  “I thank my God every time I remember you” (Philippians 1:3).

I cry at beauty, at grace and thankfulness, at the significant, at the inexpressible--- at something that has left an impression on me in ways that I may not be fully aware.  That’s why words aren’t coming to me so easily right now, because this loving community has truly shaped me, encouraged me, strengthened me, and sharpened me in more ways than I am aware of, yet am deeply grateful for.  To all who are part of KNU International English Church, whether we knew each other well or not, thank you for creating this community, for welcoming me, and most of all, for seeking to love God with all your hearts.  I am blessed to be part of this loving community that changes our world.

100 Things I Love About Korea: #10 - Learning Korean

Korean is a fun language.  It is a mixture of complexity and simplicity, formality and hilarity.  Many Koreans will tell you that the Korean language is the greatest and most scientific language in the world.  They even have a national holiday celebrating HanGuel - the Korean alphabet, "invented" by King SeJeong the Great.

I don't really buy all of the nationalistic propaganda, but they are right about a few things.  The alphabet is surprisingly simple to learn.  With a few flash cards, you can memorize all the letters and their basic sounds within a week of mild study.  Also, in terms of pronunciation, Korean is mostly regular.  There aren't seven different ways to say one vowel, as there are in English.  There are a few special rules, but they are fairly easy to master.
I have to admit I'm not fluent - not even close.  But I can carry on a stumbling conversation for a good while.  And I haven't mastered the complexities of Korean grammar and levels of formality, but I'm getting there.
One of my biggest regrets about my time in Korea is that I didn't invest more time studying Korean in my first year or two.  I wish that I had done intensive programs in the winter (when I wasn't traveling or teaching) and serious weekly classes.  If I had done that, by now I'd be truly fluent.
About a year or two ago, I finally crossed the threshold for learning Korean.  I now have enough critical mass of vocabulary, grammar structure, and listening comprehension to have real conversations with people.  Now, I can learn Korean more easily simply by participating in what is going on around me.  If i had crossed this threshold years ago, my Korean would be light years beyond what it is now.
So for those of you who are still in Korea or are coming soon, let me recommend my favorite Korean teacher.  Her name is Choi JeongYoon (최정윤), and she is a graduate of Korea Nazarene University's speech therapy program.  Since then, she has earned a certificate in teaching Korean as a second language.  She is reliable and effective.  She has three years experience, and she speaks English very well.  She usually runs a variety of classes - from true beginning to intermediate.  Every semester she does some special events - including a Korean cooking lesson and a Korean market day.
She also schedules private lessons for those who are more advanced or need a special time.  For the group classes, the price  is a very reasonable 15,000 an hour.  Check out her brochure here, or contact her directly: (010-2774-6526 or fflssa[at]naver.com).  

100 Things I Love About Korea: #4 - Walking Almost Everywhere

I walk an hour a day - without even trying.  5 minutes here.  10 minutes there.  And before you know it, I've put in several miles of walking.  So far today, at lunch time, I've already walked 10 minutes to work, 5 minutes to the bus, 5 minutes to an appointment, 5 minutes back to the bus, and 5 minutes back to my office.  That's 30 minutes bonus exercise.  Nice.
One of the costs of moving back to the USA will definitely be the loss of incidental exercise and calorie burning through the natural daily walking that comes from living in Korea.  We don't own a car, and we don't want a car.  A few times a week, I use public transportation like a bus, subway, or taxi, but the rest of the time I just walk.  We walk to work, to church, to Emma's school, to the grocery store, and to most of the restaurants we frequent.
And I love it.  It's good exercise - building serotonin and burning calories - something I need more and more.  It puts me out in nature, where I can see and appreciate the weather and the seasons.  Sure, it's hot in the summer and cold in the winter, but that's life, and I get to experience more of it this way.
I'll surely enjoy the independence of hopping in a car and going wherever I want whenever I want, but just as surely, I'll miss my many, many walks around Cheonan.