This past week we received a new girl to our home: Chae Yun. Her older sister Chae Bin joined us a couple months ago and now Chae Yun has come. Welcome Chae Yun!
I also did end up attending the kindergarten graduation… so goofy… here I am with Sun Jae
With Ji Won
Hae Ran
Eun Ji Choi
Jin Hwa
Jung Hyun
Yoo Min… any object can become a weapon when you are young…
Eun Suh (Eun Ji’s younger sister)
Some of my boys eating chip dip I made
God bless!
Knowing God’s Heart…
A friend of mine shared this with me recently and it stood out to me so much. So many Christians go through life praying and seeking God, but only growing with the Lord so much. They pray and ask and seek, and now and then they have small breakthroughs, but in the long run they aren’t used that much for God’s kingdom. Whats the deal? In Matthew 25:31-46 is the end times story of “the sheep and the goats.” Jesus will separate the two. He will bless the sheep and tell them,”For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me (Matthew 25:35-36).” But when did they serve Jesus?
Matthew 25:40 – “The King will reply, ‘I tell you truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine you did for me.’”
It was when they were selfless and served the needy, the hurting, and the broken that they were actually serving God. God’s heart was with these people. His heart broke for them. And as those believers reached out to them, they were actually experiencing God’s heart.
The key to being the greatest in the kingdom of God is to being the least here on earth. Its not about us. Its not about how much God speaks to me, touches me, blesses me, and anoints me. Its not about me. Its about how much His love is shared, how much His name is proclaimed, how much glory He receives. When these purposes are embraced, one is much closer to the heart of God than he has ever been.
Jason Upton – Haylie
A Tribute to Jina…
Jina, one of our youngest girls, recently moved back with her father. When she was born her parents were unable to care for her and she required an expensive eye surgery, which she was able to receive while at her home. I’m thankful her parents are okay enough now to take her back. Enjoy the pics!
God bless! 
Wife?
I forgot to do my weekly post today and its now late at night and I’m not sure what to share, so I’ll share what has been on my mind lately due to a number of people asking and even people dreaming of me the past few days… the wife situation. Or, “the lack-thereof.” During my high school years I thought about girls A LOT and the thought of having a girlfriend would excite me. But after breaking up with my last girlfriend when I was 18 and beginning college, I felt the Lord leading me to commit college to Him and not pursue any girls. I realized just how much time I was spending thinking about girls and I decided to pledge that time to God. I was so blessed by that decision. In college I was freed from meeting girls and immediately thinking whether there might be “potential” to date. I was able to simply see them as a sister in Christ. When graduation came around in 2005, the pledge was done and I was free to date again. But by then I sensed the Lord was leading me abroad, so I didn’t want to commit to anyone. Then I came to Korea and during the first few years I was so busy with adjusting, learning the language, doing orphanage ministry work, and such that I didn’t want to think about dating. It wasn’t until last year that the Lord began to put marriage on my heart again and encourage me in prayer. A number of people keep asking me about different people in my life and its true that I have a ton of wonderful Christian friend girls (as opposed to girlfriends), but in my prayer times I feel that the Lord has yet to reveal the person to me. God’s calling on my life is unique and I believe He has set her apart for me and for the work He has called me to do. I look back in my life at a number of girls that were wonderful and I probably could have dated and married and been happy with, but I see now that it was not the Lord’s perfect will for me. I think if I hadn’t agreed to that pledge in college, I would have pursued one of them and God’s calling on my life wouldn’t have been completely fulfilled. I believe in waiting on the Lord. With that said, the Lord has prompted me to pray and I sense He is still opening my heart after years of it being closed. I feel the Lord wants me to ask for the gifts He has for me (not just a wife), and to pray specifically. I’m trying. I sense these gifts are coming soon. I’ll keep you posted… whoever you are that reads this thing…
This is what happens when its late and you aren’t sure what to write… I hope something in there made sense and it was somehow encouraging. God bless!
Graduation Pictures!
During the past two weeks I attended EIGHT graduation ceremonies! Whew!!! Seven of the ceremonies were for our nine high school graduates (who almost all attended different high schools). The last one was for our eight elementary kids who all attended the same school. I missed the junior high graduation because of conflicting dates and I probably won’t attend the kindergarten graduation because it seems somewhat silly to me. Graduations in Korea are not as formal as America and range from 40min to 2 hours, most going one hour. Dorm moms also attended these graduations and some siblings from the home also came out.
All of the high school graduates will have moved out of our home by next Monday. I helped move out two of the girls today. They moved into a government housing dormitory for college kids. They took it well and didn’t cry. The kids have been preparing for this for a while and all of them seem ready for the most part. Nearly all of them either have relatives to stay with or will be staying with each other in pairs (like the two girls today), so no one will have to go alone. God is good!
With Kot Nim… she was our one graduate to pass the difficult university test (Korea’s more difficult version of the SATs) and she got into a Christian university… she was also the only graduate who consistently studied English with me and ended up getting special recognition for her English studies… I’m proud of her!
(notice all the Korean pursed lip “half smiles” the kids do in these pictures)
With Eun Song and Kot Nim at Eun Song’s graduation (they are sisters but not twins, Eun Song just started school a little late)
With Yong Hee
With Soo Min and Choong Hyuk
With Chae Ho and In Chul… I’m laughing because this was the third picture we took and I finally got In Chul to smile
In Chul felt bad for being difficult earlier and had us take another picture outside
With Yun Hwa
With Do Hyun
With some of the elementary graduates… Eun Ji, Ha Hyun, and Sang Yong
The elementary school graduation was a bit hectic so I wasn’t able to get pictures with each kid. This picture is with Yo Han (Jung).
God bless!
God’s Treasured Possession
I think almost all Christians are able to claim in some way that they are a child of God. The Scripture is so loaded with references (John 1:12, Romans 8:15, 1John 3:1 to name a few) where God calls us His children. But the problem here is that while we can claim being a son or daughter of God as one of our identities in Him, we are still constrained from our earthly relationships with our parents. Perhaps your parents never said they loved you or never treated you that well. Then to be a son or a daughter isn’t as special as it should be. But lets read this…
Deuteronomy 14:2 – For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be His treasured possession.
The Lord doesn’t just call you His son or daughter. He calls you His “treasured possession.” In Zechariah 2:9 He calls us, “The apple of His eye.” The apple of your eye (the pupil) is one of the most guarded and precious areas of your body. That is how much the Lord treasures you. Claim it as another identity in Christ… “I am God’s treasured possession!” Amen!
Arts and Crafts Camp 2009
January 28 – 30 Jerusalem Ministry hosted an arts and crafts camp for girls from five different children homes in Seoul. We gathered in a classroom in Youngnak church for the three day event. All the pictures were taken by volunteers. Enjoy!
This was about all you would see of me during the camp. Setting up and cleaning up. I tried to stay out of the way for the most part. The volunteers did a great job!
A couple of the girls during the first morning
A couple girls during the icebreaker “Simon Says”
Da Yun working on her tote bag
Busy at work
A couple girls having a little too much fun with the glue gun
Kyung Mi and Sun Hee working on the bead bracelets and necklaces
Volunteer Jolize and one of the girls
Little cutie… her voice was mad cute too…
One of the bracelets
Volunteer Alison with Da Yun’s covered Bible (we gave each of the girls a Bible during the camp and one of the activities was making covers for them)
Volunteer Mi Jeong and one of her girls from Zion home with their covered Bibles
One of the Myung Jin girls busy working on some sort of braid activity the girls were doing
Little cutie with volunteer Ye Rim working on her picture frame
A girl working on her picture frame
Soo Ah with her picture frame
Another girl with her picture frame and her picture in it (we each gave the girls a couple pictures of themselves from an earlier day in the camp)
Some of the picture frames
Volunteers Jae Ah and Ah Ram with two of their girls and their collages
Myung Jin Children Home girls, a few volunteers, and the director of the arts and crafts camp Jee on the far left
Fearless
Philippians 1:27-28 – Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.
Fearless. Write that down. Fearless. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind (2Timothy 1:7). When you understand that you are a child of God, that you are a citizen of heaven, that you are seated with God, that you are more than a conqueror, that you are sealed with the Spirit, that you are untouchable… you will become fearless. Its just natural. The Lord is my light and my salvation, of whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1). As you start speaking out who you are in Christ you are going to find your prayers going to another level. No longer do the things of this world cause you to fear. Satan and all his attacks are revealed as weak. Please repeat after me, “I am fearless.” Amen!
**That was an excerpt from a message I recently shared on “Identity in Christ.” You can listen to it here… http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?i=49703143&id=301303444
God bless!
Lunar New Years 2009
Last Monday marked my 4th Lunar New Years here in Korea, which is Korea’s biggest holiday. The kids all wear traditional Korean outfits (hanboks) and do a bowing ceremony (in respect, not worship) to their “parents:” Pastor Chae and his wife. The kids then each receive money and snacks. Enjoy the pictures…
Little ones Myung Soo, Hyun Woo, and Kyung Min
Eun Ji with Sung Joon, who continues to grow bigger and bigger
Yoo Mi dorm mom with her younger girls
With Eun Suh, Hae Hyun, and Sun Hee
Pastor Chae and Mrs. Chae with some of the little ones
Sun Ah and Tak Kon ajushi (our groundskeeper)
Setting up the little ones for the bowing
Se Min receiving a snack
Our rising 5th graders preparing to bow
With newcomers Ga Eun and Pil Yong (sis and bro)
With brothers Hyun Bin and Ha Hyun
Girls using my camera
With sisters Eun Song and Kot Nim, who will be graduating this week
With Yong Hee, also graduating
With the other to be graduates… Chae Ho, In Chul, Soo Min, Choong Hyuk, and Do Hyun… we will be losing 9 kids this year!
With Yong Shin
The kids of my home
God bless!
