I've been so enjoying Korean food in the motherland. From dukboki to samgaetang to jajangmun (Ange will have a field day with these Enligsh-versions of Korean words!). The food is absolutely to die for, but the heat here is killing me slowly. Today, I packed my stuff and went on the subway (alone!) to my youngest aunt's house (on my mom's side) and since she lives right beside Lotte World, there were billions of people swarmed around when I exited the subway station. It was insane! We finally met and it's so weird seeing people after such a long time has passed... N.E. who, we made it out okay and had dinner at this restaurant (sitting on the ground again). This is my second time eating sitting down on the ground and I have to admit... I don't like it. My foot always falls asleep and it gets really painful. I guess I have to get used to it. We're leaving for Goonsan early in the morning to visit my relatives on my mom's side... and it's going to be a pretty exhausting (yet fun) weekend. It's kinda tough though... even though I like my relatives on my mom's side, they're all non-believers and it's always kind of awkward when they ask me what I'm doing now that I've graduated from Uni. Since everyone in Korea is trying to get-by and make a living (since the IMF crisis, there are people still jobless and it's been pretty tough in the recent days with unemployment and so forth)... when I mention what I'm doing, they have a really tough time understanding why I don't have a "job" and "volunteering" at a churchy kind of thing. Getting a job seems to be the ultimate goal in life here in Seoul and not having a "job" is a bit shameful here. I know that everytime they ask me what I'm doing, it proves to be an opportunity to share my faith, but to be completely honest... I get tired of saying the same thing over and over again. It gets a bit exhausting. Most times, I just shut my mouth and not say anything to justify why I do what I do. Who am I trying to please? Men or God? It's always a challenge, nevertheless...

I had an awesome conversation with one of my aunt and uncle (over a glass of cold beer actually! ha ha!)... he had an interesting view of the Korean churches in Korea and though he does not yet see things in God's perspective, he has a very realistic portrayal of how the church is functioning in Korea. Rather than trying to defend the church and argue with him, I listened and was genuinely interested in what he had to say... Though my aunt is a strong believer, he has not yet made a commitment to the Lord (yet!). I can see that God is definitely working in his life... God always seems to work in people's hearts by stirring, first, a sense of disastisfaction with the way things are. This, I definitely see in him. Unless the Spirit moves in his life, he will never really understand why people spend their time, resources, energy and efforts in serving God and His Church. To the worldly eye, it seems like church can be seen as a business... luring people in with attractive doctrines that make us feel good and keep us coming back week-after-week for more... Despite what men see, our Lord is working and it's definitely awesome to see =)

I should really be getting to bed, 'cause we're supposed to head out early for Goonsan tomorrow. If you remember, please pray for my mom's mother (my grandma), as she's in the hospital at the moment. She does not yet know Christ and, at this point, she's in her last state (according to my aunt). I know my mom (back in Canada) is praying for her, so I hope the Lord uses me in some way to share the Good News with her =) Please pray with me!

J