I was talking to someone in my small group who mentioned that from reading my blog he thought I must still be in Korea because of my lack of blogging! So, here are some catch-ups.
I did return from Korea, and what an amazing trip it was. I feel so blessed to be a part of the Beeson Program! Not only do I get to continue my education and strengthen my skills as a pastor, but I also am blessed to participate in beyond-the-classroom learning like this trip to Korea.
So, here are some more videos, basically following the order in which they were shot.
This video was taken in the chapel at the Girls School. These girls are high school age and were at school early to get ready for the upcoming school session. They sang a couple of songs in Korean, which were beautiful, then broke out in this song. It was a truly moving experience to think of the time spent rehearsing so that for this brief moment they could be a blessing to us. I believe I speak for everyone in our group, that we were all kind of blown away by this. First, the music is loud... loud. The girls are dressed up in traditional clothes playing traditional Korean instruments. It was a pretty cool way for them to say good-bye. We experienced so many amazing expressions of hospitality! The visit to the school was one of the highlights of our journey. This reminds me, not sure if I wrote about it in an earlier blog or not, but this school is the most technologically advanced school I have ever visited. It is a type of vocational school, though privately run. Girls graduating from this school command jobs right out of high school that pay as well or better than jobs offered to college graduates. We saw pictures of students receiving their Microsoft Certifications. I don't know much about this, but I do know it is a very demanding program and that it is very marketable. Anyway, really neat Christian school! On Sunday morning we attended Kwanglim Methodist Church. After being split up into groups of two, we were escorted to the children's ministry. Bob Kaylor and I ended up in the third and fourth grade children's church. These children's parents were in the main worship service in the sanctuary. This was one of those places where shoes come off, which is kind of funny to do when one is wearing a suit. But Bob and I had a great time. Following the worship service, which the above video is of, we attended a brief Sunday School type session with a teacher and four kids out of this service. I have no idea what the lesson was about, but the kids were engaged and happy. It was fun. They definitely got a kick out of having Bob and me there. The above video is of music that was being played after the main worship service at 11 am. I don't know if they do this every week or after every service, but it was amazing. An orchestra with a professional-level vocalist belting out a beautiful song. We were encouraged not to take pictures during the worship service, so I was an obedient guest, and didn't. We sat in reserved seats on the main floor in the front right side of the sanctuary and were introduced by Dr. Kim during the service. It was obvious that the people were happy to welcome us and we were thankful for their warm greeting. They gave us little ear pieces so we could listen to an interpreter over the radio. That was cool. How many churches do anything like that? I found out later that Yoido Full Gospel Church does. Left my camera on the bus accidentally and so I don't have any footage of that church, but it was amazing. The video above was taken at the lunch immediately following the 11 am worship service at Kwanglim. What a meal! I think they had it catered, or it might have been prepared by a group of people who work for the church. Whichever, it was the best meal we had in Korea. The quality of the food was excellent. The video is of Dr. Kim (the Sr. Pastor of Kwanglim) welcoming Dr. Tumblin (the Beeson Center Dean) and Dr. Russell West (the soon to be named Associate Dean of the Beeson Center [that announcement has now been made, but we didn't know at the time]). Dr. Kim is introducing them to someone, and I'm not sure who that is (can't remember). Anyway, short video, but another example of the hospitality we were shown. Koreans know their hospitality!!