Glimmers of Hope

Today I got up and attended morning prayer in the orphanage (5am).  The pastor, his wife, a dorm mother, and one high school girl came.  I actually attended because I heard the high school girl goes now and I’m also not as busy these days so I can handle the early morning.  Tonight after playing in one of the rooms until pretty late (about 11pm), I went around and said good night to kids before leaving the dormitory.  I opened a small study room and found the same high school girl by herself reading her Bible, despite her long day (she got home from school and her computer academy at 10pm and then finally ate her dinner).  Being able to witness her hunger is one of those “glimmers of hope” that help spur me on.  I’ve seen God working here and there among the kids.  I know God opens my eyes to these things to encourage me and remind me that He indeed is at work.  The dreams He gives me encourage me as well.  I long for the greater outpouring of His Spirit, but I know I just have to be faithful in prayer and in love.  The rain showers of God’s Spirit are indeed coming, until then I gotta keep loving these kids, planting seeds, and preparing them for it. 

Recently Seoul held their annual Seoul Orphanage Olympics in Children’s Grand Park.  If you scroll down to the previous entry you can see a short clip of my orphanage winning the orphanage soccer championship in a shootout.  For this entry though, its all pictures.  Enjoy!

A shot of about half the kids present, about 22 orphanages or so were present, not all the orphanages came and not all the kids from each home came, but it was still a lot…

Our soccer team captain Sang Kook and another girl reading some sort of pledge before the games began

Koreans and their weird warm up dance routines…

I’m not sure when I’ll adjust to this…

One of the first events… DODGEBALL!!!  WOO HOO!!!  In this version, it was girls against girls with one guy playing as a “wall,” allowed to block the other team’s throws

We lost a few girls, but Choong Hee was a good wall and we won the event

Interestingly, every orphanage had to have a cheerleading team… our kids were the best!

Sun Mi was a bit too small for her cheerleading outfit

Our kids and staff cheering… we came in 1st for the Spirit competition

I loved this random event… a simple relay where two teams of 4 guys from each home had to run while carrying two small kids in an inflated tube… here little Dal Woo is seated and ready to go

Our first set of guys, about to run with Dal Woo

I love this picture… the second group of guys carrying little Soo Yun… we won this event too!

Here is Myung Bae winning his 100 meter race

Here is Soo Hoon winning his race by wisely cutting off his competition

This was a weird event where the elementary kids had to throw little bean bags at this plastic container to try and open it up, kind of like a pinata.  I feel bad for the poor guy having to hold the pole in the middle…

Hae Ji and some of the other kids watching the action

Our soccer team having a prep talk and then praying before their match

The two teams lined up greeting each other before the game

Jong Hyun raising his hand after scoring his penalty kick during the shootout (it was hard to time these pictures with my aging camera)

The other team giving a courtesy greeting/bow to our coach after losing to us

Our kids walking back after victory

Another cheerleading shot

Some boys buried in pom poms… goofy kids…

The elementary student, junior high student, high school student, and dorm mother relay… here is Sung Hyun giving the baton to Yo Han (elementary to junior high)

Our dorm mother Yoo Mi finishing and winning the relay for us… my orphanage dominated this olympics!

Soo Hwan and Sang Kook holding up our trophy for winning the soccer championship (Soo Hwan was missing a tooth, but got a fake one placed in this past week)

Eun Jin and Young Eun holding up our awards for winning the Spirit competition

Sang Kook and our soccer goalie/MVP Choong Hyuk after receiving a third award that I can’t remember… we dominated!

The soccer team

The orphanage (though not all of us)

We were crammed on our bus on the way back to the home so we had to double up some of the seats with kids… here Soo Yun and Myung Bae fit together well…

With Sun Hee and Sun Mi who both slept for nearly the whole 2 hour ride back

We had a great time.  I’ve already been asked by kids if I will go again next year.  I’m already looking forward to it.    God bless!

A week ago Seoul held their annual “Orphanage Olympics” in Children’s Grand Park.  About 25 orphanages were in attendance and we had all sorts of events that day.  I will add pictures from the event soon, but first I feel this video deserves its own entry…

This is Choong Hyuk, our goalie, kicking the winning penalty kick for the orphanage soccer tournament championship.  The score was tied and went into penalty kicks and ended with this 7th kick.  Needless to say, it was really intense.  Enjoy the short video clip… and yes, that is me yelling…

More pictures to come…

Our little girl Hae Hyun with cancer, who is in the pictures below this entry, came home to visit the orphanage yesterday for the first time since she was admitted in August.  She will be here for a few days, and has to stay with me in my little apartment during the afternoons and evenings because it would be too risky to let all the little kids (many with colds) play with her and be around her.  I was blessed to have her with me and spend time with her yesterday.  We had some tough moments though.  She is a really strong girl for only being seven, but she broke down a couple times yesterday, once for seemingly no reason at all.  I think the day was just a bit overwhelming, coming back here for the first time in a few months and having so many different expectations, some being met some not.  We got through the tough moments and she is doing good.  Please pray for her healing and pray for her to have a blessed time here these next couple days.

God ministered to me through this song this morning…

Last night I went to the hospital to visit two kids from our home… Hae Hyun (7 year old with liver cancer) and Soo Min (16 year old who had knee surgery last Wednesday).  I spent some good time with them and prayed for them while I was there. 

Hae Hyun

With Hae Hyun

With Soo Min

This past week two children from our home… So Young and Hyun Suk (sister and brother) left to go back and live with their mother after being in Geon for a little over two years.  We had a goodbye party for them their last night.

Kyung Mi (Hyun Suk’s dorm mother) and Yoo Mi (So Young’s dorm mother) with the kids

The party

Hyun Suk received a Bible as his going away present… their mom lives just one subway stop away so we hope they will visit often

Kids being goofy… Min Shik and Il Ho

Jung Hwan

Ji Won

Ye Rang (being goofy) and Seung Hwan… these boys eat a lot and are growing fast

With Jung Hwan and Kyung Hwan (brothers)

Il Ho

Seung Hwan and Min Shik

Alright… thats enough pictures for today…

God bless!

A few weeks ago one of the girls here said to some other kids that she doesn’t like me and thinks I’m annoying (in harsh terms).  A couple of the kids then ran over and told me what she had said.  I don’t think she expected them to tell me.  I was hurt by her words, but chose not to show it.  I knew she didn’t completely mean what she said.  I prayed and asked God for strength to show her love in everything… because I truly do love her… despite what she says about me.  I noticed she was cautious around me after that, knowing that I knew what she had said.  I kept loving her though, treating her the same as I had before.  Now everything is okay again, and I think she understands my love is for real.  I don’t love her depending on how good she is.  I love her because God has given her to me in her living here.  She is one of my kids.  And I love these kids so much.  Even when they are bad… the bad things they do, they do hurt me… but I still love them, so deeply.  It is a powerful love… a love that hurts when they fail, but not a hurt that causes anger but a hurt that causes compassion and yearning for them to return.  It is the love God has given me.  And I remember as I was praying hard for a couple boys recently that fought and disobeyed me, and as I was proclaiming my love for them to God despite what they had done, I felt God telling me, “I love you all the more… no matter what happens… I love you.”  No matter what mistakes I make… no matter how many times I fail… His love will still be there, in the same powerful way.  Because I am His son.  God knew all the sins and mistakes we would make long before we were ever created.  He knew all our failures.  But He still gave His Son for us.  Romans 5:8 says, “God demonstrates His own love to us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Amidst the storm and the failures and the madness of this world, I see Jesus standing by us proclaiming, “I LOVE YOU!!!”  I remember the prodigal son and how joyful and full of love his father was when he returned.  Its a powerful love… a love He has proven to me time and time again. 

Chris Tomlin – Mighty Is the Power of the Cross

This past week was Choosuk in Korea, which is similar to Thanksgiving in America.  It is basically “Harvest Day” where families in Korea all gather in their hometown and have a big meal together.  For us at the orphanage, that means us all gathering in our cafeteria for a big meal. 

The day before, some of the girls preparing the food (Hyun Hee, Young Eun, and Yun Hwa… you can guess which two are sisters)

So Young and So Young, I call them 소영들

Kids waiting to get their food on Choosuk

Some of the fruit laid out for us

The table for the youngest ones

So Young (Kim) with Ji Won

The guy on the left grew up in Geon and came back to visit for the holiday.  The guy beside me is Steavenn, a US soldier stationed in Yongsan who sponsors a few kids here at the home. 

Jina

Chae Young, quarantined in my place because he had pink eye… I’ve now had six boys with pink eye live with me in the past two weeks.  Right now Sung Kee has to live with me.

Here are some pictures from little Jae’s birthday party… preparing the cake and snacks (Jae is in the middle with glasses)

About to blow out the candles after we sang for him

Eating the cake… some of the boys from the room were absent because they were at school academies studying

That’s all I got for this week.  God bless!