bright

it's amazing what a person can get done when they wake up at 5:45am and can't fall back asleep...

i've got half of my puzzle done at this point. i've only got a lil over a week to finish it because i'll be moving. i guess i haven't explained that, so... my apartment has mold in it. a lot. and the landlord decided to just put some wallpaper on top of the mold and say that it's fixed. i don't agree. so i'm moving into jon's apartment when he leaves on april 6th. our new coworker flew in last night. her name is christina, or christie. today will be her first day of training/observation. and we're going on a field trip today! :) we're going to the kyeonggi museum. i live in kyeonggi...it's the name of all the seoul suburbs.

so there is a new pastor dude that is preaching on wednesdays at mosaic. he's british and a fun speaker. his past two sermons/lessons/messages/whatever have been about influence. how basically everything we say, even do, is an influence on the people and environment around us. it's quite a bit of pressure as a christian. i mean we're walking around saying that we're following Jesus, God, and when we do good it shows Him. and when we do bad ... it shows Him too ... ?? :-\ well that's what a lot of people think anyways. last night he talked more specifically about opportunities for influence. for good and for God. opportunities. we just have to choose to shine in those moments. even if saying nothing is the brightest light.

sorry, i had to go turn my alarm off :( right now my fingers are crossed. my straightener isn't heating up. i've already had to mourn the loss of my curling iron... looks like i'll be styling a ponytail today.

i finally finished velvet elvis. it really is as good as all the hype. on one of the last pages he makes a good point. "why blame the dark for being dark? it is far more helpful to ask why the light isn't as bright as it could be."

yellow dust

so the past 2 days have been yellow dust days. in korea they call it 황사 (hwangsa). we've had them before, but i've always gotten the friendly broadcasted text msgs in the morning to give me a heads up. anyways, yellow dust is amazing weather... but the problem is that being outside is considered hazardous because of the pollution. any korean will explain this as desert pollution from china and then immediately shake their head in disapproval. it is highly recommended that if you have to be outside you wear a mask, preferrably cloth--maybe even a bit damp--to prevent inhalation. maybe tomorrow i'll get a picture of one of the kids with one on. or teddy, cuz he wants to buy one. anyways, some day i might have cancer as a result of these 황사....just thought i'd share. i'll have to get a picture of how bright and yellow the sky ends up looking all day.

a friend from my old church, seung min, took me out for dinner on saturday as a birthday gift. she also bought me this sweet sunflower field puzzle. it makes me miss my daddy a whole bunch.

so pastor jack has started a new sermon series on truths that are in danger of becoming extinct. the past 2 sermons have been really good, and particularly relevant for me right now. the first one was about faith--needing to believe in big things God wants to do for you and through you. the next sermon was about religious pluralism--the false belief that all religions believe the same thing and as long as you follow one you'll end up ok. i wish all my coworkers couldve been there for this past sermon... but i was able to share a bit with teddy, jon and morg on monday morning about it. (they don't think its appropriate for amanda and i to make small commentary during sermons..."tsk tsk") this coming week PJ will talk about hell. we'll see if this ends up being the week teddy shows... :-D

i got a huge folder-cut right on the crease by my thumb. it hurts so bad and it isn't healing because if i extend my thumb it opens up the wound again. and yes. it is a wound. mama, what do i do?

also, i'm going to be moving within the next three weeks. so if you have creative ideas of how i should decorate my new apt...please share! :-)

ramyeon

right now i'm sitting in my apartment eating some spicy ramyeon (ramen) with my new chopsticks. i havent had ramyeon since christmas bc i left my chopsticks in chicago and you cant eat it without them. so i finally remembered to pick some up. but anyways, it's about 10:45pm right now and i just started a bit of laundry... i could be doing it for 2 days straight, but i wont. i just got back from my first bible study. it's small, just a married couple--jennyfer and nick, katherine and me. katherine's got the cutest little girl, katelyn. its nice to be around a lil blonde baby for a change. this week's reading is on gideon, so i'll be reading up on judges 7,8,9 for next week... hopefully ;-)

last night was church. i didnt realize how tired i was until i got on the bus to go and nearly fell asleep (only 10 min ride). and during worship i was feeling so drained and not into it at all. but then pastor jack went up front and the first thing he said was "i was sitting in the back, looking out over everyone here tonight and i just felt like God was telling me to go up and say that He is a God of second chances, a God of opportunities. i don't know who needed to hear it, but that's the peace i need to share with you." it was one of those moments. you know, those moments. and my eyes got all watery. God spoke to me. it was what i needed to hear. you see that afternoon after lunch hugh, jon, teddy, morgan and i went to a park to chill for a while. it was beautiful out and we weren't eager to sit in the office with nothing to do. we talked about anything and everything...like the selection of restaurants in suji, the boiling point of water, morgan's haircut experience, the exercise machines in the park, how little korean kids think its ok to stick their fingers in our butts, etc... well while morg and hugh were off exploring the exercise things, teddy asked me about church again. he said something about someone being really religious and that he doesn't get it. he doesnt have anything against it, but he doesn't get it. and jon piped in with a comment about how its just too much, like going so far from science and facts. and in response to most of their comments i just asked them questions. why? why does religion make them uncomfortable? why is it too hard to believe in the whole parting of the sea (jon's hang up)? and they'd talk for a while. but i just sat there. they wanted to talk about it. i just sat there. i didnt defend anything. i did explain anything. i just sat there. FAIL

i can think of SO MANY people who should be here. should be working in SLP hagwon. should be friends with these people. should be having these conversations. should be representing Christ. they would be so much better. they would know what to say. they would be smarter. they would be quicker. they wouldn't fail. but you know what. God is going to give me more chances.

and for the first time i'm praying for more chances from the God of opportunities