Below is a “food story” I had to write for my Korean class.  The English translation is below it.  If you can’t read it on your browser, select “View” or “Page” and change the encoding to Korean.  The stuff in parenthesis are explanations and weren’t in the original Korean paper.

음식 이야기

  오늘 보육원에서 아시아나 항공 자원봉사들이 와서 저녁을 만들었어요.  5시30분에 식당에 아이들이 차츰 모여서 점점 복잡해졌어요.  저녁마다 1학년 아이들이 “제이엠! 제이엠! 여기 앉으세요!” 라고불러요.  1학년 아이들은 재미있게 먹어요.  그래서 저는 이 아이들 옆에 앉으면, 식사한 후에 보통 저의 옷 어깨 위에 밥이 올라와 있어요.  오늘 아시아나에서 별식을 만들었는데 돈까스, 소시지, 빵, 옥수수, 김치, 주먹밥, 샐러드, 국하고 바나나를 준비했어요.  저의 탁자에서 선희가 빵 한개를 한꺼번에 먹었어요.  3분 후에 선희가 빵을 다 먹고 큰 주먹밥을 한꺼번에 먹었어요.  제가 밥을 먹다가 선희를 보고 또 밥을 먹다가 선희를 보는 일을 계속 했어요.   선희가 주먹밥을 먹은 후에 손하고 옷 위에 밥이 있었어요.  선희가 더러워서 싱크대에서 잘 씻어야 했어요.  우리 보육원에서는 모든 저녁 식사 시간이 재미있어요.

  Today at the children’s home Asiana Airlines volunteers came and made us dinner.  At 5:30 the kids gradually gathered at the cafeteria so it became rather crowded.  At every dinner the 1st graders will yell out, “JM!  JM!  Please sit here!”  These kids eat in an amusing way.  If I sit by them, after the meal I will usually find rice and other food on my shoulders (from their hugs or touch).  Today Asiana Airlines (who usually come once a month) prepared a feast for us that included fried pork, sausages, bread, corn, kimchi, joo meok rice, salad, soup, and bananas.  At my table Sun Hee (1st grade girl) took a roll of bread and stuffed it in her mouth all at once (trying to impress me).  After three minutes she had finished eating that piece of bread and then she took a big joo meok rice (seaweed rice ball, a little smaller than a tennis ball) and stuffed that in her mouth all at once (before I could stop her).  I would eat and then look at her (checking on her and telling her to eat slowly) and then eat and then look at her again… over and over.  After finishing the rice ball she had rice all over her hands and clothes.  She was pretty messy so I had her go to the sink and wash herself off pretty well.  At our children’s home every dinner is fun… (the end)

  Now you have somewhat of an idea of my everyday dinner is like.  Oh, and please understand that I did get help with that document above.  Some of the kids were with me while I was writing it and they would crack up whenever I would make a mistake.  They helped me out.  Hope you enjoyed it! 

Delirious – King of Fools

Pictures! Today I took some more kids to another English market in downtown Seoul

Yo Han (Jung), Chae Hyun, and Min Je in the van as we were driven to the subway station

At the market each child received $3 (American money) to spend

Yo Han and I… he has Will Smith’s ears

Before going to the “market” (a few tables with different toys they could buy), we played some games with the workers there

We ran out of time, so we just had whoever rolled the dice and got the biggest number would win (and get the prize)… the kids were content to end that way

The boys trying to haggle with the workers

Se Bin and Soo Jin

Group picture with a random background (I’m crouching)

On the way back home I treated them to some Red Mango

Red Mango… oh so good!

Se Bin on the subway as we were going home

The kids were happy with their loot and enjoyed Red Mango as well (only one of them had ever had it before).  Its tough taking six kids around Seoul, but I’m learning and its getting easier… God is good!

HELP WANTED

This Friday my friend Jane, a dorm mother at my orphanage Kyung Mi, and I will be going to visit another orphanage.  Along with establishing contact, our vision is to find orphanages interested in full time volunteers (like myself) who can give them a one year commitment and possibly live at the orphanage.  Jane and I have visited 13 different orphanages already here in Seoul, establishing contact and setting up volunteers at six of them.  Almost all the volunteers are part-time, coming to their orphanages once or twice a week.  One volunteer from the States has given a one-year commitment solely for serving the kids at an orphanage.  He has been here 4 months so far.  Another part-time volunteer is planning to quit her full time job (teaching at a university) so that she can be a full time volunteer.  Full time volunteers are, of course, the most effective.  The more you are with the kids, the more they will learn they can trust you and so the more you can influence (love) them. 

Interested in joining our team?  Lift up a prayer about it.  E-mail me at jm@comequicklyministries.org if you have any questions or thoughts.  And enjoy the song in the background. 

David Crowder Band – You Alone

Yay for Engrish!  But first here are a few pictures of the kids…

My friend Peter purchased a “bubble maker” toy for the baby room.  Here are two pictures of the kids playing amidst the bubbles

Thanks Peter!

Here is Jung Hwan, Eun Ho (our new boy), and Ji Won… all live in the same dorm and they sleep side by side

One more of them…

Engrish and Korean marketing! 

First “Corn Frost” (Frosted Flakes) with Tony the Tiger next to, “Corn Fried” with F the Lion

Break me off a piece of that, break me off a piece of that, break me off a piece of that Kik-Ker bar! 

You probably can’t read the fine print under “Choco Thin Thin” (my new favorite cookie), but here is what it says…
“Slim style chocolate for girls” (Am I less of a man by liking these cookies?)
“A smile will make happy and joyful time”

I may have posted this a long time ago, but this picture still cracks me up… I took this picture at my local supermarket…

Good times.  God bless!

DREAMS

I had three dreams this past year that seemed to go together.  Go ahead and read and interpret them as you feel.  I left my short interpretation at the bottom…

1)  I was in a large container completely filled with water.  The little ones from the baby room here at the orphanage were with me along with one of their dorm mothers.  Although we were under the water, we could breathe fine.  The water was completely pure and felt great.  I remember seeing some of the little ones float around with big smiles on their faces. 

2)  I was at the top of a mountain at the edge of a cliff.  All I could see was clouds below, but I felt safe knowing there was water down below.  I jumped and felt like I was flying as I fell and fell and fell.  Sure enough, as I made it through the clouds I saw a pool of water below.  I landed in the water and with no effort came back to the surface.  I felt a ton of joy and was ready to do it again.

3)  This dream was more of a long nightmare, like a twisted horror movie.  I was living in a huge complex with many different people.  We each had our own apartments and a ton of extra luxuries.  We felt like we were blessed kings.  As the dream went on I began to realize there was something wrong with our “utopia.”  I snuck outside to find many soldiers who had dug large, deep pits for the bodies of the people living in the complex.  I realized it our days in the “utopia” were numbered and soon we would be ruthlessly killed.  I knew I had to run for it.  The soldiers saw me escape and began to pursue me.  They had tanks and jeeps and weapons and I knew I couldn’t escape them for long.  I saw a cliff with a river far below it.  I knew my only chance was to jump in the river and trust its current would take me to safety.  I jumped and landed deep in the middle of the rushing river.  I was about 20 feet below the water, but like the first dream I could breathe fine.  I swam effortlessly as the current took me quickly down the river.  I felt at peace.

My interpretation:  The water represents the Holy Spirit.  “For in him we live and move and have our being” – Acts 17:28.  Even in that nightmare, I felt peace as I was deep in that water, I knew I was safe.  I have been and am continuing to pray for His rain to fall on me, my orphanage, Korea, and this world. 

“You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down.  Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the Lord, have created it” – Isaiah 45:8.

Delirious – If We Ask (Spontaneous Worship)

Please welcome the newest member to our family here… Yoon Eun Ho.

He is four years old and arrived here yesterday.  The kids, as usual, have welcomed him well and he has already made friends with the other young boys.  He seems happy and somewhat unaware of the change that has happened in his life.  I don’t know his history yet, but will find out soon. 

If you haven’t read the entry below this one, please do read it.  God bless!

A friend of mine taught English in Thailand for a little while.  While she worked there, she also volunteered at girl’s home for former prostitutes.  These girls had some how fallen into the prostitution industry when they were as young as 9 years old.  This home was for girls who had managed to escape that life.  My friend was told by the staff that the best thing she could do for the girls was, “Sit by them.  Even if they don’t talk, just stay beside them.“

A doctor who worked with street children in Bolivia asked a girl prostitute there what he could do for her.  She didn’t want money or drugs or anything immediate.  She said, “Be present in my life.  Build a home for the street children.  Tell others about my life and the lives of other children of the street.”

“Do not forget me.“

Satan loves to make us numb to the world… to get us so busy and focused on ourselves that we forget the reality of this broken world.  More than 50% of the children in Africa are orphans, but so few people know that.  I pray that as you read this you lift up a prayer for all the broken children out there.  Ask God to use you to make a difference in some way.  Pray and give yourself to His plan and you will find yourself truly living life to the fullest.

Come, Lord Jesus

Tim Hughes – Spontaneous Worship/Our God Reigns

Some random pictures update (the first three taken by kids here)…

Sun Mi

Soo Jin

Soo Jin and Sun Mi with Min Shik in the background (after I had showed a movie)

The Pak family (Mr. Pak is our manager, both he and his wife grew up here at the orphanage and later married, their daughter Ye Jin is with us)

I organized a FIFA SOCCER TOURNAMENT for the kids (I had received an Xbox as a donation from a random person along with a bunch of games), here are some pictures of the kids playing…

Intense two on two action here…

The older boys (day two)

Kids were in and out of my place all day

The championship!  Soo Min (glasses) against Jong Hyun.

Jong Hyun (the FIFA championship winner) and Pak So Young (just a random picture taken recently)

Na Rae

Se Bin, Kyung Hwan, and Sun Hee

God bless you!

Tomorrow I will be leading a prayer meeting in the morning with some of the dorm mothers.  One of the things God has pressed on my heart is the need to identify any sins/strongholds of this orphanage, confess them and intercede for forgiveness here, and pray for the cleansing of this home.  God has encouraged me by reminding me of how Abraham (Genesis 20:17), Job (Job 42:7-9), Moses (Deuteronomy 9:25-26, 10:10), Daniel (Daniel 9:2-4, 17-23), and Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1:4-11), to just name a few, interceded for groups of people and even for nations and God listened and forgave the people they prayed for.  God blessed these prayers greatly. 

Please pray with us for any sins of this orphanage to be identified, forgiven, and cleansed.  Pray for God to be welcome in this orphanage and truly invade every child’s heart.  God bless you!

Hillsong – Welcome In This Place