Back to Seoul??

Lots has gone down recently in Korea. Especially the northern part near where Seoul is located.

The previous president of South Korea was being interrogated, after what was one of the most "honest" terms in office, for financial corruption during his presidency. Last week he committed suicide by jumping off a cliff near his house. Many Korean people blame the government for putting too much pressure on him. It was interesting to read about his funeral procession in Seoul. At the funeral site, both Buddhist monks and Catholic nuns participated in the ceremony. It is was all part of the official procession to show how Korea is changing religiously and to represent how they respect all religions. Interesting... I don't necessarily agree with what they did, but it is strange to think of how polarized these two religions are and to have them both working together in one funeral procession.

In the middle of turmoil and protesting in Seoul, North Korea started their missile/nuclear testing again. North Korea is unique in that it cannot feed its own people, yet threatens to bomb any country that opposes it. Their testing came at probably one of the worst times it could. South Korea decided to join with America in checking all ships entering their seas now. They seem tired of putting up with the antics of North Korea. After South Korea has spent years trying to reconcile and aid North Korea, the north has done little in return to show gratitude or reconciliation. This last missile test seems to have been the last straw for South Korea.

Hopefully things settle down or are confronted quickly so that I won't have to worry about whether or not I should return to Korea. I am confident that I want to go back, but at the same time, finding a job in Seoul has been really tough. If you think of it, please pray that I find a job quickly. Or if God doesn't want me to go back to Korea, then for Him to take away my desire to go.

Psalm 37:4-5: Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will bring it to pass.

I've followed the Lord, and am trusting He will lead me where He wills. So far, there is no clear direction except that I desire more than anything to go to Seoul. I think all I need to do now is to trust in Him and continue delighting in Him.

Fish Lake Park

I found my first 4-leaf clover!! Another thing to cross off my "Things to do by 2070" list...

High Temps

97 degrees Fahrenheit was the high yesterday in the Twin Cities. Yuck!! And to think that we haven't turned the air conditioner on yet... I miss winter...

Although, I have had the opportunity to get out and see a bit of nature now that the leaves have changed back to green ^^

Psalm 34

I will always bless the Lord with praises. My heart boasts in the Lord. Rejoice with me in the Lord.

When I looked for God, He answered me. He took away my fear. If you trust Him, you will never be ashamed. The Lord hears our cries when we are in trouble. He sends his angel to protect and rescue those who honor Him.

Experience the goodness of the Lord. You will be blessed if you trust in Him. Fear the Lord and He will take care of your needs. Even young lions sometimes hunger and are in trouble. But if you honor God, He will take care of you.

Do you desire a long life? Do you want to see goodness? Don't speak badly of others. Don't lie. Run from evil and towards what is good. Look for where peace is, and seek it.

God watches those who are righteous. He listens to their prayers. The Lord turns His face from those who turn away from Him. The Lord will deliver the righteous from their troubles. Those who have broken hearts, the Lord will comfort.

Even though those who are righteous have many troubles in this life, the Lord will deliver them from every one. The wicked will bring ruin on themselves. The Lord will save the soul of those who take refuge in Him.

--David

"Sleep Tight, Don't Let the Gorilla Bite!"

Tonight we had an ESL party for the International Students at the U of M. We went to dinner at Famous Dave's to introduce them to real southern cooking. It was definitely an exciting time since they are mostly done with their studies for the summer, and now they're free to do more activities with us. We had a really good turnout with 12 of us there! 3 Koreans, 2 Taiwanese, 1 Thai, 2 Chinese, and 4 Americans ^^

Holly's graduation is tomorrow morning, so after the dinner I rushed home to help her finish decorating and preparing for the open house. Since it's just Holly and I at the house, we had to do the work ourselves which was different from my parents preparing for my graduation 2 years ago. Wow, I can't believe it's been that long!! Anyways...

When I arrived home, Holly and I were finishing up the decorating, and she asked if I wanted to hear what happened to her on the drive home. She was at a stop sign at the corner right in front of our house, and out of the woods and into the road walked...a gorilla!!! What??!! Well, not a real gorilla of course. A person dressed in a gorilla suit--like the one on Sponge Bob Square Pants. Needless to say, Holly freaked out and sped off pretty quickly. I can't say I'd have done anything different. So tonight when she was talking to Cory on the phone, I came up behind her and growled like a gorilla and freaked her out. So when we were going to bed, she yelled, "Good night, sleep tight. Don't let the gorilla bite!"

Fire Extinguisher (2070)

Cory and Holly are getting married in about a month, and after a few hours of cleaning the garage tonight, I went to see how things were going. The first thing I saw was a fire extinguisher, and Cory suggested we give it a try...

Yeah!!!

So we went out to the woods, and I was able to use a fire extinguisher for the first time in my life. It was something I had on my list of "Things to do by 2070", and was a fun thing to cross off.

January 1st--May 12th

I definitely believe it's a good thing to keep yourself accountable (especially spiritually). I don't have anyone that I formally "answer to" in terms of how I'm doing in Bible reading, but as I've done in the past, I'm going to start keeping myself accountable by publicly tracking myself on a month-by-month basis. If you'd like to do this with me, just post a reply and we'll work something out :) Here's what I have so far. Since I just started, January until last night is all in blue. Today until June 12th will be a different color.

Genesis

Exodus 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40

Leviticus 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27

Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36

Deuteronomy 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34

Joshua 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

Judges 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 1

Ruth 1, 2, 3, 4

1 Samuel 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31

2 Samuel 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

1 Kings 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20,21, 22

2 Kings 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25

1 Chronicles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29

2 Chronicles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36

Ezra 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Nehemiah 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

Esther 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Job 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42

Psalms 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96,

97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150

Proverbs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31

Ecclesiastes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Song of Solomon 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Isaiah 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66

Jeremiah 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52

Lamentations 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ezekiel 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48

Daniel 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Hosea 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

Joel 1, 2, 3

Amos 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Obadiah 1

Jonah 1, 2, 3, 4

Micah 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Nahum 1, 2, 3

Habakkuk 1, 2, 3

Zephaniah 1, 2, 3

Haggai 1, 2

Zechariah 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

Malachi 1, 2, 3, 4

Matthew

Mark 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

Luke 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

John 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

Acts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28

Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation

Blue = Up to May 12, 2009

Exodus 14

A few days ago I was reading through Exodus, and my mind keeps coming back to a phrase that I read. God said, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward."

Moses had just brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, and now the Egyptians had changed their mind and were coming to recapture them. They were afraid of going back, and wishing they would never have left in the first place. Yet Moses was trying to calm them down telling them to take comfort in the power of God. He would fight their battle. All they had to do was stand by and trust in His protection.

But God didn't want them to just stand and wait. He wanted them to keep going. Sometimes when you're scared, it's best to just keep moving. Don't stand around and look at everything going on around you. Put your head down, trust that God will protect you, and move forward. God didn't want Moses crying out for help (even though His help is necessary and we need to ask for it). He wanted Israel to trust Him and move forward. And once they did, He defeated their enemy for them. God doesn't only want our words, but He wants our actions.

How are you and I trusting God today?

Valley of the Whales

Of the many places in the world I've yet to travel, one of the top on that list is Egypt. I'm intrigued, as many are, with the mystery surrounding the pyramids. I'd love to ride down the Nile thinking of Moses and the Pharaoh's daughter. So many things from the Bible happened in and around Egypt.

A few days ago in Biology class (a class I help ELL students in), the teacher was showing a film on the "Valley of the Whales". This site just south of Cairo is home to hundreds of preserved whale and ocean-life fossils. It holds some of the oldest fossils of this size. Words can't do justice to how this place looks. The desert terrain is scattered everywhere with huge rocks that are imprinted with fossils. It's amazing!

Opening Day

Well, this is the first post on my new website: Back 2 Seoul...

I decided to start this new one since I've kind of finished off most of the things in my first "adventure" in my adult life. At least as far as living abroad goes ^^

As the title suggests, I'm hoping and praying to return to Seoul (this July, Lord willing). I love teaching English, and I'm not quite ready to go back to school yet. So, this will be a great opportunity to travel a bit more and see where God leads as I mature and grow in Him.

So forward I move...in search of a job...