Update x 3

Most of life is full of surprises, we never really know what can or will come our way. So, we must learn to be prepared for the most unexpected experiences and opportunities. Also, there’s no real way of knowing what lasting affect such surprises will have on our life or the lives of those around us.

I just spent the past year living and working in S. Korea. Never in my wildest of dreams could I have foreseen this opportunity. I grew up as a small town/city girl who had next to no experience in global traveling and who hated English with a passion! Yet I found myself living alone in one of the world’s largest cities, teaching English as a second language. Better yet, I loved the experience so much that I’m headed back for a second year. Only this time I’ll be working in a slightly different environment – a local broadcasting company.

While in Korea I also had the wonderful opportunity of connecting with a local church, and serving within their various English speaking ministries. For a number of months I was a part of a young adults ministry where I served as a vocalist on the praise team. I also had the opportunity to serve on two different summer mission’s teams (Japan and S. Korea). Again, none of these are opportunities which I foresaw prior to my time in S. Korea. Upon my return to S. Korea this fall, I will be taking a 32 week Discipleship Training course through my church, which will hopefully broaden my Biblical knowledge and further prepare me as a disciple of Christ.

After having spent nearly 15 months in S. Korea, I have spent the past 3 weeks back in Canada resting and catching up with old friends and family. However, while some might assume that such a return would be a wonderful experience, my transition back into Canada has been full of its own surprises. I think that I’ve experienced more culture shock/stress over the past three weeks than I did in an entire year in Korea. Partly what makes it so difficult is that I can’t put what I’m feeling into words. Similarly I find it hard to summarize an entire year into a single conversation. I somewhat fear that I’ll return to S. Korea before I ever have the chance to make sense of the past year and all that I’ve seen and learned. So, here’s one attempt at it:

1. God knows best, so there’s no point in trying to live a life of disobedience.
2. Avoid those temptations which you KNOW will lead to no good.
3. We must be open to change and willing to step-forward into new opportunities (even the unknown).
4. God is extremely patient!
5. Don’t live on regrets. Instead, learn from your experiences.
6. Don’t play the comparison game. Learn to be content with where your life is headed, rather than trying to model it after another's.
7. Truly cherish your time spent with loved one’s.
8. Don’t live for things of the past. Learn to live in the present with your eyes set on the future.