Arrived!

I'm there!!! Praise the Lord!!

So, this is two days late (i haven't bought an outlet converter for my laptop cord yet). But, i made it to the island, and all is well! we had a little trouble with immigration, but it's all fine now.

Thank you for your prayers and love, it helped. Please pray for me and Dean again though, we need to apply for our missionary visa's to stay here now. Pray we get the applications in fast, and that it gets processed and we get approved soon! Thank you, watch God work ^_^

So, the island is hot and humid, but its lovely. The humidity feels soo great on my skin! it's all moist ahaha
Getting ready to welcome students coming, and the semester starting September 1st!

More updates soon, and pictures soon!

God bless
-'manda

Heading to Island

It's 12:50 AM, and i just finished packing. I think it's over weight...





I head to Okinawa tomorrow at 4:30 AM, take a 2 hour bus ride to the airport in Incheon, then a two hour flight to Okinawa Island (Naha airport). Should be in at about 11:45 or so.





*sigh* it's sad leaving, i kind of have an ache in my heart.


But i also have an ache in my heart to see Amber again, and other loved ones on the Island. I'm excited to see the Japanese people too, get to know them more and share Christ's love.





So, prayers are SO welcome. Safe travel (i don't like airplane rides...) and prepared for whats to come, and just to live with my God. And prayer for those staying back here (Iza and Jesse), and for the people we are leaving. They miss us a lot already.





We had a great night of hanging out after english MELT, eating Baskin Robbins 31, hugs, talking a LOT, taking pictures. We ended the night with some Korean toast, and then headed off to pack. It was a very, very good night.





Here's a picture Jesse snapped.






God bless.

-'manda

Preparing

Well, it's almost time to head back to Okinawa, Japan, for another semester of Bible College. This will be my last semester, i will be graduating this December.
It's hard to believe that this will be my fourth semester, it only feels like i've done two. But praise the Lord, He has done so much in that time, and will still do so much in this last one, and after.

So, me (and Dean, he's going back for his third semester) are getting ready to go, winding down some of the things that we are doing here in at the Daejeon church. It's not quite like when Daniel and Sosimo left, but people are starting to get sad already remembering we are leaving.

I know i am going to miss the girls here the most.
I did not have a very big heart for Korea when i first came here (i will be honest, i really didn't know anything about Korea, and had a hard time pushing my desire for the japanese people to the back part of my minda nd focusing on the korean people).
But God has completely changed me. I LOVE these people, i have a concern for them. There is so much do be done in Korea, the heart of these people are searching, they are being opened.

There is a girl, Salley, who i do a discipleship bible study with. She has not been a Christian very long, but its so beautiful to see her heart. She comes and says "teach me about God. i want to know the Bible, i want to know God". so pretty...

There are so many of them here, and their so precious to God. i am sad that i am leaving, that i won't have the opportunity to speak into their lives, to help them anymore. I just pray, i ask God to work through Iza, to bring other people to disciple these girls. i love them so much, it kinda really hurts to leave.
But God showed me it's not me thats doing the work, it's not me thats keeping them close to God. He is the one doing the work, and it won't stop when i leave. I have to put them in His hands, just like i did when i left home. The people i care about, should always be put in His hands, they are safest there.

*whew*
So, doing last time things here in ministry, getting to teach! scary but so, so sweet. i get to share my testimony with the church this sunday night, tomorrow we are doing two tourist things (Pastor Mike wanted to take us somewhere since we didn't really go anywhere all summer).
Monday i'm having a last discipleship class, and then hitting the batting cages one last time, and pump-it-up at the arcade with the guys before we go.

All of this time here has been a complete blessing. I am changed, and so blessed. Thank you Mike and Hye-Young (and Jeena!) for being a real blessing, for taking care of me while i was here. I'm very blessed having had the opportunity to work along side you both, and to share in your fellowship. I'm sorry your gonna "hate me for the rest of your life" for leaving Hye-Young, I still love you!

(this turned out to start to be a sappy goodbye ahaha!)

anyways, more soon.

God bless you reading this,

-'manda

songs

this is what i say to You God:


"that i will sing to You as long as i have breath
i will praise You with all that i am
i will lift Your name on high all through my life
then i will praise You forevermore."




and this, this song asks God to renew the love inside us, to renew that first love again:



"bring back the light that burns deep inside
Lord i need You now, Lord i need You now
renew my strength, breathe Your life for me
i will rise again, i wil rise again


come like the wind, move me again
catch me off guard, unveil this heart
fall like the rain, fill me again
my Savior and friend, move me again."

just some cool song lyrics i found while playing today (i dont remember who wrote them tho..from worship songs tho)

and some photos of God's beauitful creation:

(Dean took this one, thanks dude)

I like what the Spearmans posted at the end of their blog post "let God bless you". sometimes, we have to let Him. We can't stop Him, we shouldn't try. He is God, He will bless us if He wants too. whether we deserve it or not.

-'manda

Second Breakfast? No, Second Supper!

So last week, our roomate, Monica (Korean name hard to say and spell) took us to her parents home, about an hour away from Daejeon. It was in the country. KOREAN COUNTRY!!!

How cool is that? Thank You Lord, it was a blessing.

(this was actually there, it's not a postcard to send home ahaha God is just that great a Creator)

We had dinner (actually, two dinners!), and appetizers!

(being full, but still heading to second dinner)

(second dinner! and Monica's Omma!)

She showed us around the area, it was VERY beautiful. Korea has amazingly beautiful mountains and trees. its amazing to see what God has created in other countries. All of it makes you think of how much there HAS to be a Creator of it its just so perfectly and uniquely beautiful.

(the rice fields they lived by)

(their home between their church and the kids ministry building)


(just beautiful, the view from all around at every angle was spectacular and gorgeous)

We headed over to the local mountain, and had some traditional Korean treats and saw the great sights of God's beautiful creation.

(the park had a wooden walkway going up part of the mountain for viewing spots)

(we all look great in this picture)



(we were eating fried "Dauk", which is rice cake, it was really really good, despite the fear you see on my face)



(pose-by-sign picture!)

(i present, the squatty potty outhouse!)

(resturant/convience store for visitors overlooking the lake. Praise God for reflections in the water! so pretty)

(iza snapping some shots)

(South Korea, 2009)

We stayed until dark, and then drove back to get some shut eye before another day serving and living for our King!

(Korean's like american photos when we all jump, they do it a lot)

Thank you Monica!! Your a blessing to have as a sister, i'm glad i got to have you as my roomate!!!

-'manda

Kids VBS in Cheonan

I actually have my laptop with me, so I can update before its over!!

So, we just finished day two of the 3 day VBS we are helping with at the Calvary Chapel in Cheonan. It's been great so far, a real blessing with all the kids that have come!

There are a few from the church that Dean teaches at on sunday in Asan, it's really neat to see their smiles here too!

The first day, Pastor Cobb and Jesse taught. The VBS is on the story of Noah, and pastor Cobb kicked it off first (but we came late because Mike had to take care of Jeena for his wife).

It was so much fun to see them all dressed up! Jesse did such a sweet job building a part of the ark.

We do a Bible story in the morning (with worship first), and then a Bible review/English class and a craft with the kids, and then repeat for the evening (with games and lunch added in with a snack too!).

(Dean teaching the Bible review class)

(Getting ready for 1st day of english class, they make it look like it's scary...)

(The younger kids coloring and studying what we went over in the Bible story)

(We had a cotton-ball blindfold relay race. It was the best when they would start going but didn't even have a cotton on their spoon! The kids really got into this game)

At the end of the second bible teaching, we had all the kids draw animals to put in the big Ark we made on the wall. They had SO much fun sticking their animals inside it and opening and closing the ark doors. (I think Maria is pretending to be in the water)

The first day was a blast and a blessing. The second day went great too! We were short Jesse and Dean for this day (They have M.E.L.T. to teach back in Daejeon), but it was still so, so good. I taught on the flood, and how God was the one that shut the door, to keep them safe. And how the ark reminds us of the cross because God provided a way for those that walked with Him to be saved. It was a really neat time. THEN Iza taught about the waters stopping, and Noah sending out the bird (we have some GREAT videos from that part). I didn't get the pictures from today, but i will tomorrow and post those along with tomorrows pictures.

Over all, it was a blessed day today. God spoke to His kids, it's so neat. Please pray for these kids, they have the Bible taught to them a lot, but they need to know how to use it. It's only knowledge until their taught how to use it, then it becomes wisdom.

A had a kid ask me today, how can they hear the answer from God if they ask Him something. They all KNOW a lot, but they haven't experienced it. It's such an amazing place to be able to teach them these important things. I really wish i had these answers growing up, but it teaches me to share them now, its so cool to see these kids grow.

So, updates tomorrow. God bless you.

-'manda

(Here's a video of Jesse "building" the ark for the kids. Enjoy :] )

Promised Pictures!

So here are some photos as promised!

(kind of an update of what happened the past few weeks that i fell behind updating you all on)

First, Daniel and Sosimo LEFT!!! *tears of sorrow*



But! Iza came in!! All safe and sound.

if you go to http://www.ccdaejeon.com/ , you can see a funny video the guys made right before they left.

Then, Megan stopped by Korea to renew her visa from Japan.

So we took a picture. I missed my musume!! (musume means "daughter" in Japanese, when we were in Okinawa at school she always called me "Okasan!" which is "mother" in Japanese).

After she left, there were some complications, and she is now back in California for a bit. But praise God, He works things out the way He wants to.

Then, on the 27th (of July), me and Iza headed to Seoul for a week VBS camp for n and s korean kids. We had such a great time there. I got some sweet pics of one of the classes i got to teach.

(This little girl liked me a lot)

I'm awaiting some more pictures i got with all my classes. These kids are great, please pray for them and their walks with Christ!

So now were just settling back into the ministry here. We are helping with a 3 day VBS in Cheonan (i can't spell it right) next week, and then i'm not sure if we have anything else planned.

But on the 27th of this month (aug), im heading back with Dean to finish my last semester of Bible college. I'M GRADUATING. I never thought I would graduate from college. It's really cool and kind of weird ahaha

But please pray, that all continues amazingly awesome here in daejeon and Korea, that God would continue His amazing and mighty work out here. I'm sad to leave, so many faces, friendships here. But I trust God to do His work, it really doesn't matter If I'm here for His work to be done. I will miss it, but i know I need to go and finish school. So im' excited for that too!

Thanks for stopping to read this blog, I really pray your blessed by it hearing what God is doing somewhere else in the world. God moves, God works so much. He is amazing. Keep trusting in Him for everything.

God bless (next time, Lotte World photos!)

-'manda

Back from Seoul!

Hey everyone,

So, this vbs was the most amazing experience. God moved SO much. He has grown me, and also many of His children that came.
We got to teach the gospel to about (or maybe over) 300 korean kids, 100 North, and 200 South. It was so sweet, i can't even put it into words correctly.
I can't speak much on it now (busy schedual today!) but, i am being sent pictures from it that i will post up here.

I want to ask you who read this blog, to please pray for these kids. They learned that God is ALWAYS with them, and ALWAYS loves them, but also to live an upright life. Pray for them as they turn from sin, as they seek to live a life pleasing before their Creator. Pray for strength, and great growth as they come to Him daily for all they need.

updates soon, sorry for no pictures (it's so hard to be patient for photos to be sent to me! but hey, my patience grows through somthing so small).
Praise God.

-'manda