Tuesday in Manila

Last night I finally got a full night of sleep, but I'm still feeling a little drowsy - probably due to the lack of coffee. (There are two coffee makers in my apartment, but both are broken. Each is missing different parts, and they aren't interchangable! Argh!)

I went for a walk this morning around campus - several times around actually. APNTS is built on a hill, or on two hills, so there are lots of stairs. That makes for good exercise, and I enjoyed looking at all of the flowers and vegitation. On the backside of campus there is a great view of the neighboring community. Maybe I can take some pictures tomorrow.

I went to faculty chapel at 10:30, and we listened to the graduates share testimonies of their time at APNTS. That was cool. The music was much more traditional than I expected, slow hymns.
Then, I exchanged some money and tried to round up transportation to my afternoon appointment at Faith Academy. At lunch time, I learned that Timothy Kim (Korean missionary to the Philippines would be going at the same time, so he gave me a ride.) At Faith Academy, I talked with the guidance counselor about KNU's Owens International College. He was very kind, and he said he might try to set up a meeting with some of the Korean parents.
Entering Faith Academy was kind of like entering a military compound. There were 2-3 layers of security checks on the way in. (Also we got frisked going into the mall last night.) I guess that makes sense in a country where terrorism is an ever present threat. Faith Academy is an interesting story. It is a Christian private high school, almost exclusively for missionary kids. They just upped their cap to 15% non-missionary kids. They ahve 500 students, over 50% in the high school. It was very surprising to me to see this many missionaries in one place. I've never been anywhere with such a high concentration of missionaries. (That makes me think twice about doing a long-term partnership here. Maybe our help is needed more somewhere else.) The school was pretty big, with several basketball courts, a few soccer fields, a swimming pool, and a large auditorium (paid for with a 1 million dollar donation from a Korean-American church). The students come from all over the world, but mostly North America, Korea, and the Philippines. It seems like an incredible ministry. All of the teachers (and maybe staff) are volunteers - raising their own support. As an almost-missionary, I can say with definity that an international school is a great service to missionaries.

After my meeting, I continued reading my current book - Brian McClaren's The Last Word, and the One After That. Most of the people here are very busy, so I'm trying to spend my down time reading some of the books that had been piling up on my shelf in the office. I made a vow last fall that I would not buy any more books until I had read all of the books I have already purchased. (I have almost kept that vow, but I bought two books this spring. I'm still holding to the fast, though.)

Tonight, Dr. JungHo Lee, a KNU professor on sabbatical at APNTS, has invited me to his house again. I look forward to the company. It is interesting feeling a little lonely in a place full of activity. I expect that this is how many of our new people in Cheonan feel, especially on the campus of KNU. Maybe this experience will make me a little more eager to show hospitality with more intentionality.