September 2006

Hi Friends

It is hard to believe that we have been here for one full month. Looking back, it seems much longer because of all the things that have been happening. In fact, Yong Hui and I looked back at one Wednesday and wondered if it was only one week ago, it seemed like months.

We had a staff development time where the three schools from the Network of International Christian Schools came together. We have schools in Uijongbu (the oldest (and ours)which was started in 1983 and one in Seoul (just 1 mile from where Yong Hui lived when I met her) and one in Pyong Tec (near Camp Humphreys or Osan Air Base). The network has schools from Afghanistan to Indonesia and 12 other countries in between. We service 3,000 students and one count was that 250 students received Christ last year as their personal savior.

I guess time flies by so quickly because we have been very busy with teaching biology, chemistry, and physics; with the church activities, the Saturday morning Bible Studies, school sports (we have a good cross country team and a good volleyball team (boys and girls), and working out.

One of the things about our school is that we are saving the children and then the parents. At a recent baptismal, we had 4 students and 3 parents baptized. There are two forces that we have to deal with at our school. The first is the fact that some of our students from non-Christian homes cannot tell their family members of their salvation. One of my favorite tenth graders (Monish) is an Indian with Hindu parents. He cannot even tell his younger brother who is a sixth-grader at our school. That leads to the second force in that students make multiple confessions of faith because they do not have the support at home to discuss their salvation and do not grow in their faith outside of the school. But we are working on these situations one student at a time.

Monish has a zeal toward paper airplanes and he and I started the model airplane club which has 11 members (all 4th and 5th graders). There are some amazing websites dedicated to paper airplanes, so the cost of the club is time, construction paper, scissors, and glue. He is discipled by another teacher, but this will enable me to also let my light so shine.

We have an energetic praise and worship team that leads our chapel services every Wednesday. There is always an inspiring message that causes the students to evaluate their lives and make changes in their Christian walk. The theme of this year is Keys to Success. My time of being the chapel speaker is 29 November. I plan on using 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 to tell them they have to work hard, pray hard, and do their part and that God will do His. When I went to Ranger School, I made sure I knew all the military terminology as I prepared myself academically. I ensured my boots were well broken in and was physically ready by weight lifting, running, and road marching as I prepared myself for the hardships. And I claimed and memorized Philippians 4:11-13 as I prepared myself spiritually. But this comes full circle because some trust in chariots and some trust in horses, but we trust in the Name of the LORD our God.

It looks like Yong Hui has several items of her Christian service here in Uijongbu. First, there are several ladies who need an intense Bible study and Yong Hui is planning on using one of the Precept books that are translated into Korean to teach them. She definitely needs our prayers in this. She is also taking a ladies’ Bible Study by Beth Moore ‘To Live is Christ’ (they would not let me in this study although Beth Moore quoted a letter from me in the first lesson). She is also one of the ladies who helps clean the church on Thursdays and she helps when it is time for the Korean pot luck (which is coming up). She may also help with the Army Community Service on Camp Red Cloud as there are many families here that need support.

Speaking of Camp Red Cloud, it is the home of the headquarters of the 2nd Infantry Division. I go to a Bible Study on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays sponsored by the Division Chaplain as we study Wild at Heart by John Eldridge. I lead the next lesson that will be on 9 October. The leaders’ guide paints a scenario that these guys who were Wild at Heart could be the same guys that stormed the cliffs of Omaha Beach on D-Day and it asks “What kind of men were those men?” and the answer comes back, loud and clear – it is the same guys who are taking this study. When we visited Tammy, we visited Normandy and I waded knee deep on Omaha Beach and asked that same question. By the way, although the Division Chaplain is a UGA grad, he is a very good guy.

Yong Hui has our home almost where she wants it. We have a good friend who has been helping us decorate the interior and it is amazing how they have put it together. There is only one problem left and we know the what, but we have not organized the how. Yong Hui likes hard beds and we need to get some thick plywood to go under the mattress so she can sleep through the night. (Right now our mattress is on the floor and that is doing the trick).

There are several prayer requests for us:
Prayer for opportunities for formal discipling with the high school boys. Being a new teacher, I have not developed the ‘right to be heard’ that is required for them to want to submit to my leadership.
I am planning on leading an Experiencing God class during Sunday School beginning in November, so lift that us as well.
Tammy is heading for Africa with a group ‘Heart for Africa’ and needs prayers in raising the funds and for physical strength as the group is doing a lot in just a few days.
Tim and Jason are in a Precept Bible Study on the Book of James and need prayer for which book they will do after James is over. They are doing the study on Wednesdays at our house.
Yong Hui needs wisdom as she develops her lesson plans for her Bibles studies.
We joined the Uijongbu Baptist Church and need prayer to find our place of service at the church. We also need to pray for the church as the pastor who has been there over ten years is going to retire in May and we need the right pastor with a heart for the military and for the South Koreans in our area to succeed him.