Saturday, September 20, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
9 months in Korea
It's hard to believe that we have been here 9 months. We have been in a new city teaching at a new school since July 25th. Things are going very well at the new school. I received my first paycheck 3 days early and the teachers are great to work with. They are teaching the children Godly character using Character First curriculum that has been translated into Korean. I almost feel like I am working with Brandon and Rachel Werner as I put up one, two, and then three fingers. (One means look at the teacher, Two means sit up straight, and Three means smile.) This is so effective and makes it so you don't have to raise your voice to be heard. The Korean teachers are great to work with and are very patient with the children. I have a Korean-American teacher that is teaching English with me also. His name is Todd. He was adopted from South Korea at 2 1/2. His English is as good as mine. Todd grew up Catholic, but is pretty apathetic to religious things right now. He is married to a Korean women and they have two young daughters. Please pray as I try to build a relationship with him, share God's love with him, and share the Gospel with him.
My parents came to visit the end of July and had a great time. They thought it was very hot and humid here. The funny thing is that the week before and the week after they were here it was about 10 degrees hotter and was more humid. We took them to a Korean Folk Village to see some of the old style houses and some of the traditional music and dancing. We also took them to the 63 building. This is a famous building here in Korea that has Sea World in the lower floors, an Imax theater. The 62nd floor is all windows where you can look out over all of Seoul. (See pic, showing Seoul Tower) I think it would have been more spectacular at night, but it was still pretty cool.
Pamela has started homeschooling the kids again. They are still trying to work out a new schedule. They had almost found one that worked when we started homeschooling one of my bosses children. His name is YuBum (pronounced you bum), but his English name is Ben. They are compensating us for facilitating his English learning. He is studying all of his other subjects at the kindergarten where I work on the computer, but we are teaching him English and Bible. Please pray as we work with him. He is a very eager young man, but his family needs prayer. Pamela has also made friends with some people here in our apartment complex. One lady, Betty, has a young son and has taken our children to the zoo. Another lady, Anne, has started teaching Caitlyn flute. She spent some time in England and you can certainly tell it when she speaks. Her family is going to go to America in the future and her son doesn't speak much English, so while she teaches Caitlyn flute, Pamela and the other kids read and talk with her son. God keeps sending people he wants us to minister unto.
Finally, we have found a church home that we love that we can walk to from our apartment. It is called Global Mission Church or Jiguchon in Korea. It is part of a large group of churches that originated from America. The pastor is a Korean from Canada. His name is Bob Kim. The service we attend is all in English and it is a family service. We are still getting to know the people, but we really enjoy the messages.
Please continue to pray for us as we minister to the Korean people. Pray that we will begin to learn the language. It is very difficult to minister effectively when we can't communicate. Fortunately, many people here want to learn or practice their English. Pray that we will be able to use our English for God's glory. Pamela would like to go teach English at an orphanage with our church on a Saturday and I would like to go teach English at a North Korean refugee facility on Tuesday evenings. Our church has both of these ministries ongoing every week. Please pray that we can arrange our schedules to fit these in. Please pray for our family, especially Pamela and I's marriage. In a foreign setting, even little problems can be magnified making it marriage that much more difficult. If you have any questions or would just like to talk, please feel free to contact us.
In His Service,
Derek (for the Woods)
(405) 445-0180 (calls our computer, it's a local call for those in the 405 area code)
Skype- derek.l.woods
Facebook
My parents came to visit the end of July and had a great time. They thought it was very hot and humid here. The funny thing is that the week before and the week after they were here it was about 10 degrees hotter and was more humid. We took them to a Korean Folk Village to see some of the old style houses and some of the traditional music and dancing. We also took them to the 63 building. This is a famous building here in Korea that has Sea World in the lower floors, an Imax theater. The 62nd floor is all windows where you can look out over all of Seoul. (See pic, showing Seoul Tower) I think it would have been more spectacular at night, but it was still pretty cool.
Pamela has started homeschooling the kids again. They are still trying to work out a new schedule. They had almost found one that worked when we started homeschooling one of my bosses children. His name is YuBum (pronounced you bum), but his English name is Ben. They are compensating us for facilitating his English learning. He is studying all of his other subjects at the kindergarten where I work on the computer, but we are teaching him English and Bible. Please pray as we work with him. He is a very eager young man, but his family needs prayer. Pamela has also made friends with some people here in our apartment complex. One lady, Betty, has a young son and has taken our children to the zoo. Another lady, Anne, has started teaching Caitlyn flute. She spent some time in England and you can certainly tell it when she speaks. Her family is going to go to America in the future and her son doesn't speak much English, so while she teaches Caitlyn flute, Pamela and the other kids read and talk with her son. God keeps sending people he wants us to minister unto.
Finally, we have found a church home that we love that we can walk to from our apartment. It is called Global Mission Church or Jiguchon in Korea. It is part of a large group of churches that originated from America. The pastor is a Korean from Canada. His name is Bob Kim. The service we attend is all in English and it is a family service. We are still getting to know the people, but we really enjoy the messages.
Please continue to pray for us as we minister to the Korean people. Pray that we will begin to learn the language. It is very difficult to minister effectively when we can't communicate. Fortunately, many people here want to learn or practice their English. Pray that we will be able to use our English for God's glory. Pamela would like to go teach English at an orphanage with our church on a Saturday and I would like to go teach English at a North Korean refugee facility on Tuesday evenings. Our church has both of these ministries ongoing every week. Please pray that we can arrange our schedules to fit these in. Please pray for our family, especially Pamela and I's marriage. In a foreign setting, even little problems can be magnified making it marriage that much more difficult. If you have any questions or would just like to talk, please feel free to contact us.
In His Service,
Derek (for the Woods)
(405) 445-0180 (calls our computer, it's a local call for those in the 405 area code)
Skype- derek.l.woods
Saturday, August 2, 2008
On the other side of the door
It has been an interesting few weeks since our last update. We have packed all of our goods, moved them to a new apartment, unpacked the essentials, picked up my parents at the airport, spent a week on vacation with them, and sent them off to Japan for the rest of their vacation.
Let's back up and take things one at a time. First, we finished teaching at DICS and said goodbye to everyone. We had a party on the last day and the principal handed out summer vacation homework packs to all of the children. They are supposed to come to school from 9am to noon everyday to read books and watch movies in English. They are supposed to do like 20 book reports over their reading during the summer also. I asked one of the older boys if the principal understood that they were supposed to have some fun over their summer break. He said he didn't think so. Second, on Wednesday the 16th, we finished packing up everything in our apartment only to find that the movers would have packed most everything for us. We then rode a bus from Ochang to Nambu bus station and took a subway to Bundang where my new school is located. We then went to our new apartment to meet the movers. We told them where to put all of the boxes and set up for our first night there. The school owners took us out to eat that evening and we purchased a few things we needed to survive in the new apartment such as food and cleaners. The apartment is much smaller than the one we had in Ochang and is much older. The bathroom tile grout was black, but was supposed to be white. The kitchen didn't even have a range to cook on. There was a lower cabinet it was supposed to be on, but there wasn't one there. The new school purchased one for us and had it installed the next day. Pamela spent most of Thursday and Friday cleaning and unpacking. I helped with what I could. Friday evening my parents arrived from Oklahoma. The director of my school was supposed to help me drive my parents from the subway to our apartment, but his phone malfunctioned and didn't work for the next several days. I had to put them on a public bus and then missed my stop. We had to catch a cab to my apartment, but I couldn't give him the address. (Remember I only have been here for two days.) I remembered the name of my apartments and wrote the name out in Korean so he put it in his GPS and it gave him directions right to them. Thank God for being able to read and write in Korean. We had a great vacation time visiting a few places with my parents and this morning we put them on the bus to the airport. I start teaching on Monday and still have to do some things to update my visa. Please continue to keep us in prayer as we transition to our new apartment and location. Our apartment is small, but it is now clean. Pamela took hours cleaning the bathroom and the kitchen. We still have to unpack many things. The positive side is that we now have air conditioning where we didn't in Ochang. We also have walking access to large shopping centers that we didn't have in Ochang. We had to have someone drive us or ride a bus a half hour to shop there. I am very impressed with my new school and the management I will be working with. Pray for Pamela and the children as we try to figure out where to put all of our things and how they are going to homeschool here in this small apartment.
Last Sunday, we attended a church near my school called Global Mission Church. This is a large church that has an English service. They also have a family service within walking distance of our new apartment. We will probably attend it this Sunday. This church has an outreach to two different orphanages teaching English and also goes once a week to help teach North Korean refugees. Orphans have been on Pamela's heart for quite some time. Most Koreans don't like to talk about orphanages and the children in them. I have a burden for the North Koreans. At our previous school, I talked with the teenagers about the North Koreans and they said they didn't really think about the North Koreans much at all. These fellow brothers and sisters in Christ are severely persecuted for their faith while just miles south the South Koreans enjoy freedom to worship. It is good to find a church that wants to reach out to these forgotten people.
Let's back up and take things one at a time. First, we finished teaching at DICS and said goodbye to everyone. We had a party on the last day and the principal handed out summer vacation homework packs to all of the children. They are supposed to come to school from 9am to noon everyday to read books and watch movies in English. They are supposed to do like 20 book reports over their reading during the summer also. I asked one of the older boys if the principal understood that they were supposed to have some fun over their summer break. He said he didn't think so. Second, on Wednesday the 16th, we finished packing up everything in our apartment only to find that the movers would have packed most everything for us. We then rode a bus from Ochang to Nambu bus station and took a subway to Bundang where my new school is located. We then went to our new apartment to meet the movers. We told them where to put all of the boxes and set up for our first night there. The school owners took us out to eat that evening and we purchased a few things we needed to survive in the new apartment such as food and cleaners. The apartment is much smaller than the one we had in Ochang and is much older. The bathroom tile grout was black, but was supposed to be white. The kitchen didn't even have a range to cook on. There was a lower cabinet it was supposed to be on, but there wasn't one there. The new school purchased one for us and had it installed the next day. Pamela spent most of Thursday and Friday cleaning and unpacking. I helped with what I could. Friday evening my parents arrived from Oklahoma. The director of my school was supposed to help me drive my parents from the subway to our apartment, but his phone malfunctioned and didn't work for the next several days. I had to put them on a public bus and then missed my stop. We had to catch a cab to my apartment, but I couldn't give him the address. (Remember I only have been here for two days.) I remembered the name of my apartments and wrote the name out in Korean so he put it in his GPS and it gave him directions right to them. Thank God for being able to read and write in Korean. We had a great vacation time visiting a few places with my parents and this morning we put them on the bus to the airport. I start teaching on Monday and still have to do some things to update my visa. Please continue to keep us in prayer as we transition to our new apartment and location. Our apartment is small, but it is now clean. Pamela took hours cleaning the bathroom and the kitchen. We still have to unpack many things. The positive side is that we now have air conditioning where we didn't in Ochang. We also have walking access to large shopping centers that we didn't have in Ochang. We had to have someone drive us or ride a bus a half hour to shop there. I am very impressed with my new school and the management I will be working with. Pray for Pamela and the children as we try to figure out where to put all of our things and how they are going to homeschool here in this small apartment.
Last Sunday, we attended a church near my school called Global Mission Church. This is a large church that has an English service. They also have a family service within walking distance of our new apartment. We will probably attend it this Sunday. This church has an outreach to two different orphanages teaching English and also goes once a week to help teach North Korean refugees. Orphans have been on Pamela's heart for quite some time. Most Koreans don't like to talk about orphanages and the children in them. I have a burden for the North Koreans. At our previous school, I talked with the teenagers about the North Koreans and they said they didn't really think about the North Koreans much at all. These fellow brothers and sisters in Christ are severely persecuted for their faith while just miles south the South Koreans enjoy freedom to worship. It is good to find a church that wants to reach out to these forgotten people.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
The door opens wider
I was able to meet with the pastor/principal here last Tuesday. God definitely went before me. I told the pastor that it was time for us to part ways like Paul and Barnabas separated to do more ministry. I explained that God had opened a door we needed to go through. He was very gracious in the meeting and understood us leaving. Several times in the meeting he stated that we were Christian brothers and that he wanted to maintain a friendship and to pray for each other. I agreed with him on this matter. I also gave him my proposal about giving us the furniture in the apartment as past payments. This was offered to give him an honorable way to get out of his debt and it would help us move on to our new position. He said he would like to read over the papers and he would give them back to me in the next couple of days. He gave them all back to me the next day. He was very sad giving them to me, but he understood that God was moving. This has removed a barrier between us and has relieved a burden from him. I had a meeting with him on Friday and he asked how things were going with our paperwork for updating my visa. He has listed our apartment to be able to rent it out to someone else. This makes one more bill he doesn't have to pay. Now, he is able to focus more on the school without having to worry on so many debts. I received an email of my new contract for review and should have a copy of it to sign in the next few days. I will send all of my paperwork back to the new school so they can get them processed at the immigration office. When they have my approval number, I will have to leave the country to go to a Korean consulate and get my new visa. This will be done in Taiwan or Japan, probably. We are supposed to move on Tuesday the 22nd or Wednesday the 23rd. My parents are supposed to arrive on Friday the 25th. Lastly, I am supposed to start my new job on August 4th. It sounds like so much to do in such a short time, but I don't really have any stress over it at all. God has given us peace about this whole situation. Please continue to pray for us as we try to accomplish all of this in this timetable.
In His service,
Derek (for the Woods)
In His service,
Derek (for the Woods)
Monday, July 7, 2008
Closed Doors, Open Doors
Closed Doors
Open Doors
While I was having the meetings with the pastor last month about his integrity and paying us, I called several friends from our home church that live here in Korea to update them and have them pray. I spoke with one couple, the Williams, and they told me about a friend of theirs that had a school that would need teachers, but when I called her she didn't need anyone until September. I spoke with another couple, the Levundusky's, and they said they had a friend that was planning on expanding his school, but they weren't sure when. They asked if I would mind them mentioning me to him. I said that would be fine. Their friend, Mr. Kim IkSang emailed me and told me that he wasn't needing anyone until September himself either, but he had a friend that needed a teacher or two as soon as possible. He forwarded my information to them and we have been corresponding back and forth for a couple of weeks. This school is in the Bundang area of Seoul which would put us closer to many things. Currently, we are in a brand new small city over three hours away from Seoul. This school teaches character from Character First in their kindergarten and they have opened the language school to continue teaching character along with English. I had a meeting this last Sunday with Mr. Kim, the school owner, and the school director to discuss our requirements for coming. Everything we needed to be able to come, they said would be no problem. We are finalizing the contract terms now and should have everything done on it by the end of the week. I am going to be talking with Mr. Kim after school tomorrow. Please pray that all goes well with our meeting. Since he owes us over $10,000, we are going to try to alleviate the debt by asking for the large furniture in the apartment like the refrigerator, bed, wardrobe, and the washing machine. I am going to propose that he give us these items and we will call the debt paid. Also, please pray for us as we will be moving in two weeks. After we move, my parents are coming on vacation and will be here for a week. Please pray as I will have to leave the country to update my visa sometime during this time also. I will start on August 4th at the new school. God sure does move in mysterious ways. Before we came to Korea, I met with our pastor to tell him about our trip and to have him write a letter of recommendation. Pastor Jerry Wells may not tell you he is a prophet, but his words from that meeting certainly came true. This is what he told me, "What are you going to do if when you get there, this school can't pay you. As a Christian, you don't want to take a fellow Christian to court. So, you will hit your knees and ask God to help you and provide for your needs. Remember, Derek, that sometimes God will move you one place to get you to another where he wants you to be." These were definitely prophetic words for us and I have held on to them for the last six months. I think that the part about God moving you one place to get you to another may come true many times over in my life in the coming years. Thank you all for all of the time you have spent before the throne of grace on our behalf. I want you to know that He has been faithful to hear and answer exceeding and abundantly over what you could ever know. If there is anything we can lift up to the Father on your behalf, feel free to email me and we will pray for you.
In His service,
Derek
While I was having the meetings with the pastor last month about his integrity and paying us, I called several friends from our home church that live here in Korea to update them and have them pray. I spoke with one couple, the Williams, and they told me about a friend of theirs that had a school that would need teachers, but when I called her she didn't need anyone until September. I spoke with another couple, the Levundusky's, and they said they had a friend that was planning on expanding his school, but they weren't sure when. They asked if I would mind them mentioning me to him. I said that would be fine. Their friend, Mr. Kim IkSang emailed me and told me that he wasn't needing anyone until September himself either, but he had a friend that needed a teacher or two as soon as possible. He forwarded my information to them and we have been corresponding back and forth for a couple of weeks. This school is in the Bundang area of Seoul which would put us closer to many things. Currently, we are in a brand new small city over three hours away from Seoul. This school teaches character from Character First in their kindergarten and they have opened the language school to continue teaching character along with English. I had a meeting this last Sunday with Mr. Kim, the school owner, and the school director to discuss our requirements for coming. Everything we needed to be able to come, they said would be no problem. We are finalizing the contract terms now and should have everything done on it by the end of the week. I am going to be talking with Mr. Kim after school tomorrow. Please pray that all goes well with our meeting. Since he owes us over $10,000, we are going to try to alleviate the debt by asking for the large furniture in the apartment like the refrigerator, bed, wardrobe, and the washing machine. I am going to propose that he give us these items and we will call the debt paid. Also, please pray for us as we will be moving in two weeks. After we move, my parents are coming on vacation and will be here for a week. Please pray as I will have to leave the country to update my visa sometime during this time also. I will start on August 4th at the new school. God sure does move in mysterious ways. Before we came to Korea, I met with our pastor to tell him about our trip and to have him write a letter of recommendation. Pastor Jerry Wells may not tell you he is a prophet, but his words from that meeting certainly came true. This is what he told me, "What are you going to do if when you get there, this school can't pay you. As a Christian, you don't want to take a fellow Christian to court. So, you will hit your knees and ask God to help you and provide for your needs. Remember, Derek, that sometimes God will move you one place to get you to another where he wants you to be." These were definitely prophetic words for us and I have held on to them for the last six months. I think that the part about God moving you one place to get you to another may come true many times over in my life in the coming years. Thank you all for all of the time you have spent before the throne of grace on our behalf. I want you to know that He has been faithful to hear and answer exceeding and abundantly over what you could ever know. If there is anything we can lift up to the Father on your behalf, feel free to email me and we will pray for you.
In His service,
Derek
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Most people would say that I am a new missionary, considering I have only been in Korea for 6 months. I would say that I have been a missionary for years, only now I have crossed the ocean to continue what was started in America. The mission hasn't changed, just the location. The mission continues to be the same one that Jesus started and has been carried on through the centuries; to seek and save that which was lost and be a servant. I am serving now in the capacity of a teacher in a Christian school. I find it quite ironic that God sent me halfway around the world to have me teach in a school that uses American textbooks and is totally taught in English. I mean he could just as easily let me stay in America and teach the same material as I am teaching now. There are many schools that use the same Bob Jones curriculum there. I also find it funny that he would move us here to confirm that we are supposed to homeschool our children. God definitely has a sense of humor. For years, my wife and I were burdened for the hispanic people. We worked at a Spanish speaking church, had friends who were hispanic and even lived in a predominantly hispanic neighborhood. However, God decided we needed to go to South Korea. When we came here, I didn't know any Korean language and had only met a few Koreans. I didn't know anything about the country, it's people, or it's history. I am learning much about these things each day.
Before coming to Korea, I spent many hours passing out tracts, talking to people one on one or in small groups, and occasionally preaching in the open air. I sometimes went with a team, or if no one else was available, I went by myself. I enjoyed this very much, but God wanted to stretch me spiritually so he arranged for me to come to Korea. If you want to know more about how we came to be in Korea or about our current situation you can read my other blog.
Before coming to Korea, I spent many hours passing out tracts, talking to people one on one or in small groups, and occasionally preaching in the open air. I sometimes went with a team, or if no one else was available, I went by myself. I enjoyed this very much, but God wanted to stretch me spiritually so he arranged for me to come to Korea. If you want to know more about how we came to be in Korea or about our current situation you can read my other blog.
Welcome
This blog is dedicated to my musings about theology, apologetics, evangelism, cross-cultural communication, cultural differences, and the Bible in relation to Christ's mission for all of us to make disciples of all nations. Sometimes, the musings will be serious and at others they will be very humorous. I hope you enjoy the writings. If you have any questions, or comments feel free to leave them here. Please remember that these are my musings and my memoirs, so they will be slanted in that they are my personal viewpoints. You may or may not agree with all things written.
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