Sunday, November 9, 2014

Excitement for the Future

I have been away from the blogosphere for a while now, but that doesn't mean that nothing has been happening.  Quite the contrary has been the case.  For now, I will just say that my time as an ESL teacher in South Korea is coming to an end at the end of February.

Nothing negative is happening, nor has happened.  I am simply being called to another place.

I've mentioned in a previous post that I moved here to Seoul from Gwangju, a city that I still love, because I have felt called by God to do so.  I did so sight unseen, not knowing anybody, and knowing very little about the city.   From the time I landed at Incheon Airport to permanently move here, God has put people in my life who have helped me get settled, remain happy, grow as a Christian, and further pursue the calling I have in my life.

Seoul is a city where the churches, both Korean and Expat are on fire for God.  I've heard on more than one instance people say about the city, "This is a place where God is moving."  I definitely believe it, because I've experienced it myself.  It is a place where I have experienced an enormous amount of growth in my passion for, knowledge of, and experience with Jesus Christ.

I can't speak on exactly what I will be doing in the future, but I will state that it will involve me working with Koreans from a place other than South Korea.  The longer I work with Koreans, and the more I experience the favor that they show me, the more I realize that an enormous purpose that God has for my life is to minister, and to help them.  I'm sure many of you who have been with me from the beginning will be able to "put two and two together" to figure out exactly what that calling that I will be pursuing is.

It is now November, and the ending of the current contract that I have signed with my current school is in sight.  I know it will be an extremely bitter sweet time, because I have experienced an enormous amount of growth as a teacher, and I am now extremely confident in my ability to enable a person to improve in their ability to master the English language.

It will be an even more bitter sweet time, because I will really miss the children that I teach.  I am fighting tears now thinking about it, because I have taught some extraordinary children who will grow to be extraordinary contributors to their respective societies.  And not to mention, they are wonderful people for whom I have grown to really care about, and chances are high that when I say my last goodbyes to them, it will be the last time that I will ever see them again.  It won't be easy.

If it were up to me, I would be teaching students, and experiencing South Korea for the considerable future, but I've come to learn that God has a different purpose for my life, and it involves me sacrificing the comforts that I have come to know here, and totally relying on him to provide financially, logistically,  relationally, and spiritually for my future.  I've come to learn that man is at his most powerful when he is completely reliant on that, so I look to the future unafraid.  It will probably involve me suffering and sacrificing for the sake of Christ, as Paul called Timothy to do with him as he was imprisoned, writing the book 2 Timothy.  I don't do it unwillingly, because quite honestly, I am really excited about pursuing this next dream that God, the true dream giver, has revealed to me.

Please pray for me.  God bless all of you.