There was a village in Mexico in the 1970’s where some really poor, but happy people lived.  They lived in mud huts and lived mainly as hunters and gatherers.  Their diet mainly consisted of rice and beans and they had practically no possessions.  And yet, these people were happy, encouraging anyone who visited.

A manufacturing company found out about the village and decided to “reach out to them” by building a factory nearby.  They gave each of the villagers a job at the factory.  All villagers worked there for a full week and then received their first paycheck. 

The following Monday none of the villagers showed up for work.  The managers at the factory were puzzled and sent people to the village to find out where everyone was.  As they investigated the matter, they found nearly every villager to say, “I have made more money than I could ever need.  I do not need anymore.” 

Amazing, right?

Well, the manufacturing company knew they had to do something or their factory would be a complete waste… so they passed out free Sears and Roebucks (like Wal Mart/Best Buy today) catalogues to every family in the village.  The result?  The next day every villager showed up to work.  They realized what they did not have and suddenly were not content anymore.

So this brings me back to my last post… HOW DO WE ESCAPE THIS???  How do we escape greed and selfishness and learn to be content?  I mean, the reason why there is college is so that people can get a higher education… mainly so that they can make a lot of money.  Ask your classmates what their goal is in life.  Nearly all of my engineering friends said, “To get a good job and make a lot of money.”  There are some exceptions, but most Americans judge success by the amount on your paycheck, right?

Please share advice… any of you, working or not.  How do we escape?  Lets have a little forum.  I believe this is one of the toughest struggles for Christians in America, learning how to overcome the marketing and be content with what you have, and even able to give it up if God asks you to.  Please share.

Today I met with an older Korean man who was interested in understanding what led me to come here and volunteer at the orphanage.  He is a successful government worker that attends church and has been all over the world.  He can speak English and Russian along with his native Korean. 

He was encouraged by my stories and even more by my willingness to come in my young age to serve at an orphanage.  He said he had volunteered when he was younger too and reached out to the poor… but he said once he started working and making money, the volunteering gradually stopped.  He said this with a straight face, like it was simply expected.  There simply was less and less time for the Lord’s work. 

He told me he hoped I would stay with my vision and continue with the orphanage.  But then he would also tell me about the benefits of learning Korean and my traveling and would trail off in thinking about how it would benefit me in getting a great job in the future.  I noticed that he couldn’t get the thought of money off his mind.

1Timothy 6:6 says, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”  1Timothy 6:10 says, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.  Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 

So what do we do folks?  How do we avoid the trap of falling into the “need for money?”  I’d like to hear quick comments from those who have jobs but honestly feel free from the oppression money can bring.  How do you avoid becoming like the rich young man that is “doing everything right” but in fact can’t let go of what he truly holds dear, which is his money and possessions?  Share some advice with us, please.  I’ll post again on this in a couple days.

Today I visited another orphanage in Seoul.  It is a Christian orphanage for babies – 2nd graders.  I went with a few people from my church and my friend Go Un.  A girl at my church, Jane, began organizing weekly trips to the home a year ago.  The orphanage is smaller in number (40 – 50 children) and a lot smaller in size than Geon.  It did not seem as well run as Geon, but part of that is because the children are so young and each require so much attention.  Enjoy the pictures…

My friend Go Un with a girl that latched onto her immediately

Jane swinging with one of the children

One of the little girls that shared her kyool (a small orange/tangerine) with me

Patton swinging with some children

Hee Jung and one of the boys who loved to be carried around

Usually, the girls are much more shy, especially with men, and will keep their distance for a while, checking them out.  It took a couple hours of waving and smiling when I’d see this little one, and finally she felt secure enough to sit by me and let me help her peel her orange.  She still didn’t share any of it with me though. 

One of the older boys with me after showing me what he made

He took a bunch of pictures with my camera and I liked these two a lot…

For some reason, I really like that last picture.  Unlike the children here at Geon, I think these little ones are adoptable.  Any takers?

Did you know there were many Christians who were critics of Mother Teresa?  They claimed that because she had so much fame and political power, that she should have used it more to speak out on things rather than remain with the lepers in Calcutta. 

Did you know there are Christians who are critics of Brother Yun (from the book, The Heavenly Man)?  They claim he should be working harder and contributing more to the church in China.  Despite all the encouragement from his testimonies (with many different witnesses agreeing) and the torture he has endured, somehow its not enough for some people… people who have done so little themselves.

Sad, isn’t it? 

I want to encourage you not to judge ministries like those critics.  Judge according to these verses in Hebrews 6:7-8…

Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing from God.  But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and in danger of being cursed, in the end it will be burned. 

In other words, does the ministry bear fruit?  Does love dwell there?  Are people growing with God and glorifying Him?  Are people being saved, whether from sin or from hurt or from other effects of this sinful world?  Don’t look at one or two people to make such a judgment, but look at the ministry as a whole.  No ministry is perfect (because we aren’t perfect); there will always be something you can be critical about.  But look at the ministry as a whole. 

More importantly, are you drinking in the Spirit and producing good fruit?  Those warnings are for real.  Praying and building a stable relationship with God must be happening.  Reading your Bible and fellowshipping with other Christians is critical too.

On a somewhat similar note… you Tech people, sign up for the CCF retreat.  It will be a time of prayer, praise, and God’s Word being proclaimed.  I don’t think there is any simple excuse to deny God that.  Read the book of Acts if you think God isn’t pleased with such gatherings. 

And finally, encourage and pray for your leaders. 

Matt Redman – Here Is Love… another one of my favorites, trademark live Redman towards the end, such powerful worship

Because of my visa situation, I will be forced to leave Korea for a few days around the end of March.  I have enough bonus miles to fly anywhere in Southeast Asia for free.  That includes all the major cities in…

Vietnam

Japan

Taiwan

Singapore

Philippines

Thailand

Malaysia

India (only Bombay/Mumbai)

Indonesia (only Denpasar Bali or Jakarta)

Any suggestions?  I’ll need somewhere to stay.  I’d love to go back to Vietnam, but I’d want to be with someone there.  Right now I’m leaning towards Tokyo.  I’ve never been to Japan and I think I’d be able to get around fine by myself.  Of course, the beaches near the equator are tempting.   

Let me know…

Before I get to more pictures, I have a prayer request.  Tomorrow night (morning your time) I will be sharing how I came to know God with the children at our Wednesday night service.  My friend Go Un will be translating for me.  Please pray for Go Un and I to be filled with the Spirit and that God would truly touch the childrens’ hearts.  Thank you!

Last week I was able to attend the middle schoolers’ “graduation.”  In Korea, the school system goes 1st – 6th grade, 7th – 9th grade, and 10th – 12th.  The graduation basically consisted of the teachers of each class sharing some words and then giving the students their certificates and yearbooks.  Family and friends were gathered in the back of the classroom and outside it. 

In Chul in class

Kot Nim in class (in the middle)… her friend was a little surprised at seeing a white guy there, as were most of the other people. 

With Soo Min and Yong Hee

Choong Hyuk and Ji Hye (you can also see In Chul’s younger sister Hye Ji)

Che Ho and Do Hyun

Eun Song and Kot Nim (half-sisters)

This was an awesome opportunity for me to show these kids that I care about them.  It seemed to mean a lot to them.  They enjoyed using me as “show and tell” with their friends; I definitely was the only foreigner around.  I want to encourage you if you are a leader of any group to meet up with your members for lunch or to try and attend something that they do.  You’ll find it means a lot more to them then you think, and your time with them will encourage you too.  God is good!

A few days ago we got a few inches of snow, so I joined the kids in a fun afternoon of snowball fights, snowmen, and building a fort.  Because of kids attacking, I was only able to take a couple pictures during the snowball fight…

Min Shik about to toss a shovel full of snow at me… only to have the snow slide off the shovel onto his back

Making snowmen…

The snowman I made with Young Eun and Soo Jin

Yoo Jin’s “Big Lips” snowman…

This is the snowman the boys worked on… they just punched it for a while to shape eyes and a nose… and then lost interest and went back to throwing snowballs at each other.  I call it “No Face.”

Here is Young Bae’s “Baby Snowman”

I could hear some of the girls say (in Korean), “I wish father (Pastor Chae) were here to see this.”  That cut to my heart, but then Pastor Chae unexpectedly showed up.  Praise God!  He is usually only able to come to the orphanage on Sundays and Wednesdays because of his many other responsibilities, but he just happened to come by on this day.  Here is a picture with him and some of the kids…

Finally, here are the fort builders.  They even used boxes to pack the snow in like bricks, and then covered the fort with water from my apartment to ice it. 

The past couple days I’ve been ambushed by different kids with snowballs waiting for me to return to my apartment after lunch or dinner.  You should see their faces peek out with big grins as they’re waiting for me.  Good times. 

Kate Miner – Holy Spirit Come… a continual prayer for this orphanage

Some different stuff has been on my heart lately and I’m going to try and put some of it into words…

The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) begins with something eternal, praise to our God:  “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”  We will forever proclaim this.

But the next part is the hinge to the rest of the prayer… “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” 

You see, what follows are all prayers based on a fallen world.  We have to cry out for God to feed us.  We have to repent of our sins and also forgive those who have sinned against us.  We have to ask for protection from the enemy and the temptations around us.  We will always have to cry out for help, always have to fight sin, always have to repent and also forgive others… until His kingdom comes. 

Once He returns, this war will end.  We will be able to worship Him completely, with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.  There will be no more struggles or anger or fear or shame. 

I’m tired of this world.  Forgive me for not being happy with this fallen world.  Just look around you, travel to some poor countries, visit the intensive care unit in the hospital and you will understand why I long for Christ to return.  I rejoice in Christ in me and Christ in those around me, but I know there is something better coming.  I long for it.  I’m living for it.  I ask for God’s will for my life to be accomplished.  I want to be used in quickening Christ’s return.  His love needs to be shared to all.  His love is the only true hope. 

I long for fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to pray with me for His return.  For them to understand that He is so much better than anything of this world, and it is Him we should be striving for.  Jesus tells us to pray these prayers, not just as the best advice in the world but also as a command (“This, then, is how you should pray…”). 

Pray for His return.  He is listening. 

Come, Lord Jesus

Matthew West – A Few More Days

I’m gonna try posting some short videos.  Here are two from the baby room.  You will probably have to pause or stop one while you play the other…

The first is of the kids demonstrating one of their millions ways of entertaining themselves…

This one is pretty random, but I love watching the attention span… skipping, noticing my yellow tipped socks, giving me the “pick me up” face, and then realizing i have something in my pockets… i had to stop the clip because i was being attacked by one of the other kids…