Complacency--A Wake Up Call to the Christian Believer

Pretty Little Liars. The Hollywood Reporter states that "season four averaged 2.7 million viewers." (click here to read the article) For those of you who may not be familiar with this show, it is basically about four teenage girls whose best friend was recently murdered. The girls take it upon themselves to unravel the mystery surrounding their friend's death, while trying desperately to keep their own deepest and darkest secrets from coming to light.

Glee. This show has come cute moments. And I mean, hey, it's completely about music and so it's right down my alley as a singer and song-writer. The show is about a high-school Glee club that participates in different competitions each year. They study and practice hard, learn dances and songs. What's not to like, right?

Game of Thrones. For the few of you who may not have any idea what this show is, let me fill you in. This show follows the lives of several different royal/noble families. They are fighting for control of some land. As any good story royal story has, there is political intrigue within and without the castle walls, and also among the family members.

These are but three of the shows that have my friends talking non-stop on social media, in the cafeteria, and in their dorm rooms at night. I get it. These shows are what's in and what is cool and what everyone around us is talking about. Each of these shows has some good moments, I know that. However, each of these also has a couple serious issues that we, as Christians, should be concerned about.

I watched a couple episodes of Pretty Little Liars with a friend of mine the other day, and decided it's not a show for me. I get it, the show is popular; it is full of mystery and who doesn't like solving a mystery story full of intrigue and romance? However, this show also pushes a very secular worldview and agenda: support of the gay and lesbian community. Now don't get me wrong--I don't hate homosexuals. I have a couple gay friends. But does that mean that I accept and support their lifestyle? No, it definitely doesn't. Yet, I hear both my non-believer and Christian friends going on about this show and whether or not this female character will end up the guy--or girl. Glee is very similar in this aspect. I have caught a couple episodes of this particular show on a few different occasions. I thought it was cute, but was bothered by two different things: 1) the constant theme of sex between the students being okay because "that's just what teenagers do", and 2) the support of the gay and lesbian community. My Christian friends who watch this show frown upon the kids wanting to have sex, but other than that, they simply turn a blind eye to it. In regards to the LGBT community support, there was recently an article put out with some sneak peeks into the next season of Glee. One such sneak peek is that two of the main characters (who happen to be gay and in a relationship) are going to break up, and one of them will enter into a relationship with another guy on the show (which you can see for yourself here). I first heard about this when one of my Christian friends shared the link on Facebook, saying very sorrowfully, "WHAT HAPPENED TO KURT."

Game of Thrones. {Note: I am beginning to tread on very thin ice, so to all of my friends out there who are basically in love with this show, please do not murder me in my sleep or ex-communicate me to a barren icy land.} I tried. I really did. I got about fifteen minutes into the first episode before I finally turned it off. I cannot tell you how many of my friends on Facebook are completely in love and obsessed with this TV show. I can understand my non-believer friends enjoying it, but my Christian friends? Maybe it's the historical and mythical aspects of the show, which I will admit I found interesting. Maybe it is the battle scenes and/or the music that has my friends so wrapped up in the show. Maybe it's the political intrigue. But, let me fill you in--this is not the only kind of intrigue found in Game of Thrones. Sex is a major theme, which is my number one problem with the show. It's not simply implied or even showing it nearly happening. It goes all out, with explicit sex scenes, both incest and otherwise, with nudity being an all too common sight.

Friends, what are we allowing to enter our minds? What are we showing support for, perhaps even unknowingly, on the internet and when we interact with people? Yes, I'm talking to you, Christians. Have we become so complacent that these things no longer bother us? So accepting of secular society, that we just go along with whatever is in style and is cool?

It is becoming increasingly more discouraging to go on Facebook, seeing more and more friends (most of whom have my great respect) show their love and devotion for these shows that promote a sinful lifestyle. What is that saying to non-believers?

You'll go to church on Sundays and raise your hands in praise and worship, or sing with such passion to the old hymns. You stand before God in His house in prayer, committing yourself to Him and promising to follow Him and let others see Him through you. And I am sure that you mean it! I am sure that you are truly believing what you are singing and meaning what you are praying. But let me ask you this: on the other days of the week, when you are rooting for two guys to get together romantically, do you really think that you're showing your friends Christ?

Matthew 5:16 (ESV) says, "In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

If you are looking to show the LGBT community that you are non-judgmental and accepting and loving of them by watching Glee and shows like it, you're doing it wrong. I am probably one of the least judgmental people you will ever meet, but that does not mean I am accepting of the sin. I'll accept the person. I will hang out with gay people and get to know them and love them like Jesus loves them, but that does not mean I have to accept the sin. I am willing to bet that most of the Christian people that want Kurt and Blaine to end up together in Glee do not see themselves as promoting homosexuality. I am sure they still see the act as wrong in real life. Perhaps they really disliked the whole theme at the beginning, but the more they watched it, the more normal it became until they actually started cheering when they had their first kiss and went on their first date. It is a slippery slope.

Game of Thrones is nothing more than pornography with a storyline thrown in. Sure, the actual storyline might be interesting (I believe it probably is), but is it worth putting all that garbage in front of your eyes and inside your mind in the meantime? I have talked about this show with several people, mostly guys, who say that this sort of thing doesn't really bother them or affect them. Well I am here to tell you that they couldn't be more wrong. You may not even see the effect it as, but I can promise you it has one, if not several. Those types of images and sounds that are burned into your brain are not pleasing to the Lord. There is no redeemable value, the scenes are not needed to make the story more interesting. It is simply making the beautiful thing God created to be shared between husband and wife something to mock and laugh at and from which to receive physical and lustful pleasure. Do you think that pleases Him?

When a non-believer looks at you, do they see Christ in your cheering for a gay person to get the love of his life (who just so happens to be of the same gender)? Or when they see you gushing about a pornographic TV show? Because if not, all those friends are seeing is a hypocritical Christian, who only cares about being God's light on Sunday mornings when they're on the welcome committee and/or passing out tracks. I am by no means saying that my Christian friends who watch these shows are this way, but just imagine what the world is thinking when they see people who claim to be Christ followers...acting like and/or enjoying things only unbelievers should enjoy.

Now I know that some of you will probably reply with comments about how this is all good and well, but it doesn't work to simply pick and choose. "But you watch NCIS and the Mentalist, both of have parts that come dangerously close to being a sex scene. People cuss in The Blacklist, Agents of Shield, and Once Upon a Time." Yes, I do watch them. But, those are also some of the reasons I have stopped watching certain shows as often. I feel uncomfortable when a scene comes up in a movie or TV show. I cringe whenever I hear bad language in something I enjoy watching or listening to--though much to my shame those cringes are becoming less and less common. See? It's a slippery slope for me, too. And yeah, I may skip the scenes/look away during the scenes and cringe at the Lord's name taken in vain, but I still pay the money to go see the movies. I still own the movies and shows, gushing about them all over Facebook. And while these things "aren't as bad" culturally as those mentioned above, they are still sinful deeds and words I am letting my mind focus on.

So what do we do in this entertainment-oriented society? What is safe to watch, read, listen to? Do we keep watching these shows that are bluntly promoting a sinful lifestyle, such as Glee, Pretty Little Liars, and Game of Thrones? I would say no--we simply start watching Andy Griffith and The Little House on the Prairie series. But no, in all seriousness, contrary to what many people may think, this is not just me picking and choosing (though I know it probably looks that way). I don't know what I am going to do about the shows I watch that have even minimal language and only implied scenes. I'll be honest with you: I don't know. I pray about it, but I already know what God doesn't want me having in my mind.

I will say this though. That which we allow to enter our minds will eventually influence our actions. Is the show you are watching consistently promoting a sinful lifestyle and a secular perspective on life? If so, I would advise you to toss it out. You don't need that eating away at you until you've become so accepting of the actions in a TV show, that you begin to accept those same things in your own life. Just toss it. Another question to ask yourself: Does this show have a redeemable quality? Some would say Les Miserables would be a bad choice in movie due to the prostitution. And while I would not recommend watching the scene where Fantine becomes a prostitute, there is an overlying theme of justice, forgiveness, and redemption. She is redeemed from that lifestyle. So the questions to ask: Is the show promoting a sinful lifestyle? And, is there a redeemable quality?

I will leave you with one more phrase, a phrase that meant a lot to me growing up due to living in a spiritually closed country. Mind how you live and what you display to others--because sometimes you are the only Bible they will ever read.

Complete Surrender: Part 1

The secret of life is letting go

The secret of love is letting it show

In all that I do, in all that I say

Right here in this moment

The power of prayer is in a humble cry

The power of change is giving my life

And laying it down, down at Your feet

Right here in this moment

Take my heart, take my soul

I surrender everything to Your control

And let all that is within me lift up to You and say

I am yours and Yours alone

Completely

This journey of life if a search for truth

This journey of faith is following You

Every step of the way, through the joy and the pain

Right here in this moment

-- "Completely" by Ana Laura

Recently, I've been struggling a lot with surrender. I talk the talk really well, telling other people to just surrender to God and let Him lead and guide you. After all, wouldn't it be easier to just surrender to Him and let God take care of everything for us?

Ha. It should be, but it is not as easy as I often make it out to be to other people and even to myself. In most things, I'm pretty flexible, surrendering what I want in order to make someone else happy. That's what comes with being a people pleaser. However, that is not the kind of surrender I am talking about -- I'm talking about surrendering the harder things in life. Along with being fairly flexible, I can also be pretty stubborn in lots of things, wanting to have things my own way rather than God's way.

This past semester at Liberty University, my Evangelism professor challenged all of us to say "yes" to God. At first, I kind of felt like I had already done that. After all, I had already "surrendered my life to God" and become a Christian. But then I got to thinking more -- I had become a Christian, but that didn't necessarily mean that I had surrendered my life to my Creator.

I made a list of the different areas in my life that I was still withholding from God, areas I was unwilling to surrender. I am sure there are probably more that I simply did not think of, but the number of areas that I was not willing to give up shocked me. Some of them are things and people that mean a lot to me -- things and people that if God were ever to tell me to give up, I would struggle in obeying.

Well a couple weeks after my professor gave us that challenge, I finally said yes to God. Thus began a long journey (that will probably not come to an end until my death) in surrendering my life to Him. All was great for a while, until God started showing me things He wanted me to surrender to Him that I did not want to give up. I wrestled within myself, thinking that surely there was some way to compromise -- to keep doing what I was doing and still honor my promise to God that I would say yes to Him. But deep down I knew... I couldn't have it both ways.

I have decided to follow Jesus. And I don't know what He will have me do, what he will have me give up. Maybe he will have me let go of a loved one, a dream, perhaps my own life. I want to be like Esther in the Bible, who followed God's instructions saying, "If I perish, I perish." My own happiness is not what I should use as the deciding factor. Other people's happiness is not even the deciding factor as to whether or not I follow God's instructions. There should be nothing to decide between; my answer should always be "Yes, God." I might feel hurt, those I care for might feel hurt... But it in the longrun, it will be better for me and for them if I do what God tells me -- whether it's moving away from loved ones, or letting go of someone and letting them move on.

This is my New Year's resolution: to say "yes" to God in the hard things.

Liberty Life :)

Well, my first semester at college is half-way done. It’s kinda hard to imagine I’ve already been here for almost two months. I’ve really been enjoying my time here – my classes are great, and my professors are amazing, genuinely caring for all of us and wanting to see us succeed.

My favorite class by far has definitely been Evangelism with Dr. Wheeler. It’s not a tough class, but it is probably the one that has challenged me the most in terms of faith and going out and ministering to other people. People often assume that since I lived on the mission field and have missionary parents and a preacher grandfather that I’m well accustomed to sharing my faith with people. The fact of the matter is that I haven’t had much experience with just going out and talking to people I come into contact with throughout the day about my faith. I think a lot of this may have to do with the fact that in China, we couldn’t just go out and do ministry like we can here in the USA – not if we wanted to continue living in the country. I’ve had one-on-one conversations with people about my faith, once we’ve gotten to a certain level of friendship or they’ve specifically asked me about it, but I haven’t had the type of experience of evangelizing in the way most people in the USA think of evangelizing. So, Dr. Wheeler has been challenging me in ways I did not think I’d be challenged, both in evangelizing and also just in my personal life and how I treat others.

My second favorite class is probably either Psychology of Relationships with Dr. Logan or Biblical Worldviews with Dr. Matthews (who does the main session) and Dr. McPherson (who does the breakout session… I don’t like that class so much, just the professor!). All three professors have a great sense of humor and make their classes very interesting. And hey… Dr. Matthews and Dr. McPherson both have accents (Australian and Scottish) which makes it all better!!

When it comes to non-academics, I’ve been enjoying getting to know people (on and off campus) better! A couple of families had me over to their homes for a nice home-cooked meal a few times which I absolutely LOVED. I enjoyed connecting with them, especially as I have a feeling that they will become my families away from home while mine are absent. I’ve also been getting to know quite a few students on campus. The people I have connected with the most are in my dorm and my brother dorm, especially a girl right across the hall from me, Kim. My roomies are also quite amazing, if I do say so myself.

Some of the fun things I’ve done since being on campus include participating in Open Mic Night, going Moonlight Horseback Riding/Bonfire, hammocking (so far I’ve only used other people’s hammocks, but… I just got my own hammock from my dear family so I’ll have to try that out soon!) in our hammock tree, going cliff-jumping at Panther Falls, and tenting at Gillville (ironically without a tent… which meant a very cold Rachie). Each of these have been SO fun and I look forward to participating in a LOT more!

When it comes to church/Bible studies… Each Tuesday, we have prayer groups and/or prayer group activities. My prayer group is so awesome and I’m getting to know them all, slowly but steadily.  Each Sunday morning, I catch a ride down to Roanoke to go to church. I have started attending the college Sunday school class and afterwards leading the 3^rd graders’ small groups in children’s church. It’s a lot of fun… I’m really enjoying it; I’ve missed being around kiddos since being at LU.  Every Sunday evening, I attend an off-campus Bible study with several other Liberty students at a couple’s home.  I’m loving it – I think it’s one of my favorite times of week. We have great discussions about so many different things.

Anyway, that basically sums up my first couple of months at LU. It’s not always easy, don’t get me wrong. I still get really homesick at times, and often feel very lonely, despite being around so many awesome people. But, I’m working through it and this place is starting to feel like a home away from home. :)

College Bound!

Well, the time I've been nervously and excitedly waiting for is finally here: I'm going to college!

I'm more nervous than I thought I would be, for sure. But my excitement faaaaaar outweighs my fear. Today, my family will be leaving my grandparents' house in South Carolina and start driving toward Lynchburg, Virginia. We'll be able to stop and see a few people along the way, including my best friend Young-Hyun who is currently studying at Duke University. I'm excited about that.

Tonight we'll be staying with some friends in the Lynchburg area, and then tomorrow -- after having lunch with another great, old friend -- I will be moving into my dorm on Liberty's campus! :O It's kind of weird to think that tomorrow night will be my first night of many that I'll be spending at Liberty.

Though I'm pretty nervous about everything -- okay I'll admit, I'm terrified! -- I know that even though my parents will be leaving me in a week's time, my heavenly Father will never leave me. And so in Him, I will place my trust. I'm not about to claim that will be easy... but if I can do that, I have nothing at all to fear. :)

I don't know when I'll be able to type up another blog post, as I'm pretty certain the next few weeks are going to be reaaaaally really busy for me. Can't wait to see what God has in store!

Linked Together

"I am bound by the chain of witnesses who throughout the centuries gave their lives for Jesus Christ. I am a link in this chain. I will not break it." Such were the words of a Christian prisoner in Cuba upon being asked to sign charges against fellow Christians that would lead to their arrest (for more information on this story, you can read the book titled Jesus Freaks Volume 1 by dc Talk & The Voice of the Martyrs).

This past weekend, I was at a retreat with many other believers and had the privilege of helping with the children. One of the stories that were told was the one summarized above. Upon hearing the story, the children were told to participate in making a paper chain. They were asked to think of someone who they thought had given his/her life for Christ. Not necessarily those who had died, but those who lived for Christ. They wrote names such as Nate Saint, Aaron (in the Bible), Robert Thomas, and Ruth (in the Bible). Then they were told to choose someone of the same criteria whom they knew personally, and write his or her name on a strip of paper. Several of them wrote "Daddy" or "Mommy," while others wrote the names of other people in our community. Then each child wrote their own name on a strip of paper of a different color. Each group linked their strips together to make paper chains.

After she had dismissed all of the children, the leader realized that because there had been three groups, she now had three separate chains. In fact they looked very pitiful and something like this:

(photo taken from http://iccf.freeforums.org)

The next day, she was trying to figure out how she was going to connect them. Soon, however, the children arrived and she pushed the matter aside to deal with at a later time. The session that morning was about forgiveness. At the end of the session, the leader told all of the children to pray and ask God to help them forgive those who had hurt them or those who simply annoyed them.

During the silent time of prayer, when only the music was playing, one of the kids quietly got up and started adding more names to the chains. The names were those of Christians she had forgiven. Her name was now linked to theirs, just as it was to those she had written during the previous sessions. Before long, almost all of the kids were adding names of people they'd forgiven onto the chains. You would not believe how many more links were added and how much longer those chains became. Soon the three separate chains merged into one through forgiveness and healing.

We've all heard the saying that a chain is only as strong as it's weakest point. But more often than not, I think the chain of believers in Christ has more than one weak link. We're too busy to spend time with our fellow Christians; our relationships with other members of the Body of Christ are in a bad state; sometimes we even think that we are "God's gift" and that we don't need anybody else. We often get into the mindset that our attitude only affects us.

We couldn't be more wrong. If I have a problem with somebody and don't resolve it, that relationship affects our entire community. People know when there's a problem. They may not know just what the problem is, but they can tell when something just isn't the way it should be. We as Christians are all linked on the same chain, and when there is break to that chain due problems concerning the members of that chain, the other links can sense it. The chain becomes weaker. The weaker it becomes, the easier it is for it to break again. Before long, we have a mess on our hands where nobody is communicating well, people are lonely, people are getting hurt, and the only thing the unbelieving world can see is bitterness and anger. What kind of a witness is that?

Being part of the Body of Christ, and specifically part of the community I'm in at moment, is one of the greatest blessings I've ever known. But we're far from perfect. We have to go through the process of forgiveness and healing just like everybody else does.

We need to be purposeful in our relationships with other believers. As I said before, we may not know what exactly people may be going through. I found out many things about people at this retreat that I had no clue about. If I had been purposeful in those relationships beforehand, I probably would have found out a lot of those things prior to the retreat. It's not always easy to be purposeful; it's not always convenient. But regardless of whether or not it's easy or convenient, it is something the Body of Christ needs desperately. We need to strengthen those chains that bind us to one another.

(photo taken from http://folkonfolks.com)

Honey and Footsteps in the Desert

Deserts. We can all picture one in our minds. It's sandy, rocky, and dry. Jesus was tempted there. The Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years.

...Or did they? Were they truly wandering? Ray Vander Laan, in His video series "That The World May Know," states that though the Bible mentions wanderings a few times, it more often talks about God's leading. Yes, the Israelites saw themselves as wandering, because they did not know where they were headed. But they were never lost. God was always there leading them through the desert. He does the same for us.

At some point in our lives, each of us goes through some sort of desert. Even Jesus went through some "desert" times. Okay, so, what does that mean?

Rocky Desert (globosapiens.net)

Look at the above photo. This desert is full of rocks, all different sizes. Some of the rocks are small. Others are larger. Sometimes there are great big boulders. Our lives are full of these rocks.

The small ones are simply annoying. We trip over them, but as Ray Vander Laan says, they aren't going to do us any serious harm. There are circumstances in our lives like those small stones. Your job isn't going the way you'd like, your sisters are driving you nuts, you lost iPhone. As you walk life's path, you begin to find bigger stones. Vander Laan says, "If you stumble into one of those, it hurts." What are some examples of this rock? Well, suppose you lose a job; you're struggling with a disease; somebody you know is going through a hard time.

And then there are even larger rocks that bring you to your knees. As Ray puts it, those are the moments where we stop and say, "I don't know if I can keep going." Most of us can probably think of/describe a time like that.

Finally, we sometimes come up against giant boulders which lead us to say, "There's no way." Ray says, "Your spouse goes to be with God, one of your children walks away from the faith, someone you love has a terminal disease." At those times, we often tell ourselves that there is no way we can continue on our path. We can't move past this boulder.

I've heard some people say things like, "If you'll just walk on God's path, there won't be any problems. Just walk down that path." Well yes, you need to walk down God's path. But God doesn't promise to clear the rocks out if you follow His path. It's a hard road; ask anyone. Ask Jesus.

God does make us a promise though, in Psalm 81:13&16, "If my people would only listen to me, if Israel would only follow my ways...you would be fed with the finest wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you." 

You want to know where you can find God on this tough path? Ray says, "Here. The same rock that just brought you to your knees has just a taste of God in it." He goes on to state that there's just enough God in every rock, in every difficult circumstance in life's path to take one more step.

A Rabbi once wrote, "Be careful when you pray for honey. God may put it in a rock." Look back on your life. Take a good look.

Desert Path (redcliffsdesertreserve.com)

What do you see? I haven't lived that long, but I have had rocks along the path I've tread. Years back, about a year or two after we had first moved to China, I developed a fear of being left alone for any period of time. It eventually became so controlling that my parents could not leave the house without me sobbing and begging them not to leave. Each time they didn't answer their phones made me more panicky. One day, a dear friend of my family, "Aunt" Karla Ross, was at our house, watching my sisters and me while my parents were out of town. Aunt Karla had to go out and run some errands, and I began freaking out. Pretty much everyone in our community knew of my fear, and had been praying for me. On this day, Aunt Karla brought out her Bible and pointed me in the direction of some verses about faith and how we shouldn't be afraid. And I found honey in my rock... The prayers of our friends, the encouragement, the Bible verses... that was my honey. In time, I overcame that fear. I still feel it every once in a while, but when that happens I remind myself of the prayers of my friend and of God, who adores me. I have no wish to go through that again, but neither do I wish to trade it. Nor do I wish to erase the pain brought on by my great-grandmother's passing. I found honey in the comfort and fellowship of others during that time. To be honest, those were some of the times when I knew God most intimately. He was the honey, after all... :) Then, there were smaller stones in my life, such as school and language difficulties. But through in each of these stones, I tasted just enough of God to be able to take another step.

Please be on the right path, though. This promise that God gives us holds for one path, and path only: His. That's where I'm gonna be, and I hope to see you there.

Another point I want to make is that you and I do not walk this path alone. We are not the first to walk it, nor will we be the last. We can look down at a path, and oftentimes, we are able to make out footprints of people who had journeyed there in the past. We are not the only ones who deal with certain difficulties. And that is an encouraging thought, because that means we are not alone. In a sermon I heard a couple of weeks ago, the speaker said, "God only allows us to face trials and temptations that are common to man." People who went before us dealt with the same issues and trials we deal with today, and those who follow after us will deal with those things as well.

What happens when a path is walked over and over and over again? It becomes trampled. Another thing that occurs, though, is that it becomes ever so easier to walk for those after us. There is a Bedouin saying, "You keep a path clear for the next generation by walking it." Ray Vander Laan concludes, "...part of what the Bible teaches is life's path is tough, but leave it in a little better condition for the next person down the path." Their path will still be rough; it'll never be completely smooth until Christ returns. He goes on to ask, "But what if every one of us was determined to make the path for the next generation—our kids, our grandkids—the next generation, a clearer, easier path?"

So will you choose to walk that path with me? God's path? :)

Walking the Path (shutterstock.com)

Touching Lives

As I mentioned in a previous post, I went to South Korea this past Summer to help out at two English Camps. In no way do I regret that decision.

After arriving back on the mainland from Jeju, we had a period of three days to mingle with the rest of our team. We stayed in Songtan at a place called "Royal Plaza." In my opinion, it was great being able to stay there, because I pretty much lived there when my family was in Korea (one of my best friends lived in Royal Plaza, which means that I pretty much lived there, too). Inside of this apartment building, is SYME (School of Youth Ministries in English). Many of the students who attend this school end up going to WOLBI in Jeju afterwards.

Benjamin (left) and Jacob (right) playing Foosball at SYME

The guys testing some activities to do during camp.
I think they're having a bit too much fun. ;)

For me, mingling with the team meant mingling with the other teachers, JC's (Junior Counselors), and my roommates. I didn't hang out with many other people until the camps themselves. Why? Because almost the entire time I was at SYME, I was lesson planning. I went out a couple of times with the Florida team ("out" meaning, to the store or to the hair salon), but apart from that, I was at SYME planning my lessons. There were ten lessons to prepare, and I had three days in which to prepare them. Did I mention that this was the first time I had ever prepared lessons? I ended up being one of the first teachers done with the planning, which kind of surprised me. Each teacher had a JC assigned to them for the camps, to help inside the classroom. I had the pleasure of Anna Nicholes' assistance! During the prep-time, I put her to work making posters (posters we actually never really got around to using...but thanks anyway, Anna!) and thinking of games and activities. She was wonderful! I wouldn't have been able to do it all by my lonesome.

Saturday morning, the Florida team went to tour the DMZ and the rest of us cleaned up SYME and had our bags loaded into a van. We then split up into groups and headed to the subway station. About and hour and a half later, we arrived in Bucheon, the city in which camp was to be held. The camp was held in a large building of five stories. The bottom floor contained the dining room and several other rooms that were unused in the duration of camp. It also was one of the best places with wifi. The second floor had the large auditorium and the guy cabins. The third floor was where I usually went to get online, as it was closer to the fifth floor (the girl cabins were up there) and I didn't have to go as far. The third floor also had a couple of classrooms. The fourth floor was where the majority of the classrooms were located.

We spent our day getting moved into our cabins and decorating the place. After our pizza dinner, we treated ourselves to Baskin' Robbins. Hey, we deserved it after all the hard work we did! :D

Rae, me, and Anna taking a rest

Preparing wall decorations

Theme of Camp: Root of Life

While I would label Saturday as a pretty good day, it was also extremely hard. I had found out that morning, before clean-up, that my Great-Mimi (my dad's grandmother) passed away. I refrained from telling anyone else about it (except for posting one status about it on Facebook), as I didn't want to be a burden -- especially since everybody was so busy and had their minds on other things. So I went through my day, sometimes genuinely cheerful, other times forcing myself to appear cheerful. Finally I told Anna about it on the way to Baskin' Robbins, and I felt a little better. When I arrived back at the camp site, I broke down. You can ask Anna if you don't believe me. One minute, I was lying down on the mat in the auditorium, and the next, I was running from the room so that people wouldn't be around when I gave in to my tears.

After a few minutes, I went back down to the auditorium and sat on the stage with Anna. Just then, a guy from the Florida group, Thomas, came out from his room and gave me a hug. I told a few people about what had happened, and other people heard the news and came to try to comfort and cheer me up. I started to feel like I was gonna cry again, but for a different reason. Here were these people who I had only just met, and they were caring for me, loving me during this hard time. I can't tell you how much their care meant to me. I was pretty overwhelmed... So, thank you all so much!

Camp started the next day. I was on the welcome committee, which meant I had to dress up, go outside, act all crazy, and scare all of the new campers half to death. Hey, it was best they knew what they were getting themselves into from the beginning, right? :D

The camp itself was amazing. Every morning, we would start with two hours of English Class. Meaning... No Korean. No Chinese. No Japanese. Only English. Not too hard, right? Especially for the teachers. ...Yeah right. I grew up in South Korea and China, people. I forget certain words in English because I always say them in either Korean or Chinese. As you've probably already guessed, I spoke in a language other than English. I was also late to class once (shhhh... don't tell anyone!). During the first week, I co-taught my class with Benjamin Nicholes due to lack of available classrooms. If you arrived even thirty seconds late, he punished you. Yes, of course there were punishments. If a camper spoke Korean, their team (there were two teams: red and blue, and at the end of the week, whichever team had the most points, won) lost points. If they were late, we wrote on their faces with markers. When teachers were late or spoke in a different language, the punishment was simply markers. Observe:

After the first couple of days, we got creative with our drawings. Swirlies, crosses, stitches, and cat faces... Gotta love it. The campers enjoyed punishing me. :(

My students were totally and completely awesome. I had the best of both weeks, I think. They were attentive and were very good at participating. Not to mention that they were hilarious. I mean, who all can boast of having the future Iron Man in your class?? One of the boys was nicknamed Iron Man because he said that's who he wanted to be when he grew up. And besides... all my students said that I'm the better Rachel (there were three Rachels at camp), which automatically makes them my favorites. In the afternoons, there was a time called "Study Hour." At that time, I had my students journal to me. They could write about anything: stories, their day, their feelings. Then I would write back to them sometime during the day. Then, the next day, they'd write again, and so on. I really enjoyed reading what they wrote, as it gave me a glimpse into their lives. We had loads of fun in class, playing games, reading dialogs in strange voices, and having very interesting discussions.

There was also a drama class. One group of students learned a skit, and two groups learned songs with motions. The leaders of these classes were awesome.

 

Apart from classes, there were camp activities. We played various games such as water balloon toss, Prison Break, and Amazing Race. We went to the pool and one day, there was a craft time.

For the Amazing Race game, teams had to take pictures of different things

Acting like a guy

Prison Break

Trying to see how many guys can fit on the mat without feet touching the ground

The most important part, though, was that through these camps, we were able to touch these kids' lives. Each night, we had an evening message based on the theme: "The Root of Life." These messages, along with interactions between them and their counselors/teachers/JCs, challenged the campers and helped open their eyes to the Truth. I am soo happy to say that by the end the two weeks I was there, 30 campers came to know our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! 44 of the kids re-dedicated their lives to Christ during that time, too, and 15 of them dedicated their lives to full-time occupational Christian service. One camper told of his school, and how it was really bad. Drugs, smoking, and embezzlement were involved. He shared his mission: turning the trashcan (his school) into a recycling bin for God. I was and am sooo proud of him. We heard other stories and testimonies from campers throughout the camps, and each time, I was encouraged. God did mighty works throughout the course of just two weeks.

For me, one of the most encouraging things was watching the kids make decisions and grow in God. Seeing how the workers interacted with the children. Watching all of our team encourage and lift each other up. All of these are reasons why I have no regrets about going to South Korea. I wouldn't take that time back for anything!

Even now, the Florida team leaders are preparing a new team to go back to SK in 2014, to help again at these camps. Please pray for them during this process that they will grow more in Christ and that when they return to SK, many more lives will be touched through them.