We have been back in Korea for a little over three weeks now. I have been thinking a lot about the differences between our experiences last year and our experiences this year, and I am amazed at how I can see God's faithfulness in every area of our lives here in Korea.
Last year, we attended the Annual Ministry Appreciation Dinner for the ICS and WOL missionaries as apprehensive outsiders. We were excited to dive in to our ministry here, but we were still figuring out where we would fit in, how we would serve, what the dynamic of the ICS staff would be, what it would be like to work with our students, and a myriad of other questions about what life in Korea would be like.
This year, we attended the Annual Ministry Appreciation Dinner as involved members of our local community who were warmly welcomed by our church and school family. This warm welcome reinforced that God has placed us in this community for a reason and that we are where we are supposed to be. It was wonderful to catch up with friends about our time in the US and enjoy a wonderful meal surrounded by our church and school family.
Last year, we often came home after school and, while talking about our days, discussed how overwhelmed we were feeling. Jonathan started teaching a new grade at the elementary level, and I taught a class of only three students, none of whom spoke very much English at all. We had mentally prepared for a difficult transition to Korea, but we still fell victim to the "grass is greener" mentality as we reminisced about Guatemala and what our classes would have been like if we would have stayed at IAS, where we already knew the language, the culture, and the community.
This year, we have routinely come home discussing our plans for the future of our classes and talking about how excited we are about the coming year. Now, that's not to say that last year's classes were terrible and that this year's classes are angelic. Quite the contrary...every class has it's challenges. But, we are so excited to continue our ministry at ICS and in our local community, and even though we still remember Guatemala fondly and perhaps we will end up back in Latin America at some point in the future, we also feel that we are in Korea at this moment in time for a reason, and it has been a very encouraging few weeks of reassurance of this.
Thank you, Lord!
~Laura~
