Three weeks and counting!

This Saturday (September 12th) , Shauna and I have officially lived in Korea for three weeks...time is flying! The teaching weeks go by so quickly. Working from 10am-6:30pm seem like long hours, but because I'm constantly teaching a new subject, class, or grade, I never anticipate the end of the day. By Fridays, I am excited for the weekend, but by Sundays I am ready for my week of teaching to start again.

This weekend was wonderfully relaxing! I slept in LATE, talked on SKYPE with my best friends and family, went for a run on the endless miles of soft running trails across the street from my apartment, cleaned my "house," went to the musical RENT in Seoul and explored a new church. It was my third Broadway show, but my first time seeing RENT. Beauty and the Beast in NY is still my favorite, but I'm glad I spend the money to go see it. One of the teachers who just left had told Shauna and I about Life Church Korea in Suwon, the town next to Suji. Today was our first time going anywhere without London or Britney to help direct us. So, when we got on the 720-1 bus headed toward church, I said to Shauna, "If God wants us to be in church today, he'll get us off on the right stop and help us find our way there." We knew the ride was between 35-45 minutes to the stop where we were supposed to get off. We were looking for a Premium Outlet Mall that we were told was very obvious. About forty minutes into the trip, passed many large shopping areas, we were starting to loose hope thinking we would have to try again next week. Suddenly, I heard Premium Outlet announced on the bus, the only stop announced in English the entire time we were riding. I practically pushed Shauna out of the seat saying, "Did you hear that? That's our stop! It said Premium Outlet in English...get off!" So we jumped off only to stand there thinking, "now what?" It was clear God wanted us in church today when two other Americans (married from Iowa) got off right behind us and asked us if we were going to church this morning. They kindly walked us there (about 10 minutes from the bus stop) and we had a rejuvenating morning at church. Everyone was extremely welcoming, it had a contemporary English service, and their were many other foreigners. I am so excited to go back again!

Each weekend since I have been here, I have enjoyed relaxing with friends and/or family, sleeping until noon (which, I haven't done since high school and feels amazing!) exploring new churches, and seeing tourist attractions in Seoul. By Sunday evening though, I am excited to see my students and face the excitement and challenges of the week. It's Sunday evening right now, and I'm ready for tomorrow!