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Seoul, South Korea; Yoido Full Gospel Church

I am now in my 4th of my 8 day so called "spiritual rejuvenation" trip to Korea.  Usually, I spend summers in the States, where I'm spiritually rejuvenated before returning to the field.  This summer, I decided to travel to Seoul before the start of the academic year in Beijing. 

Before coming to Seoul, I had heard the name "Yoido Full Gospel Church" http://english.fgtv.com/ , and knew I wanted to worship there, but didn't know what to expect.  I imagined 100-200 congregants top.  However, what an experience it was to worship with 64,000 people.  There's usually 32,000 per service. I attended two of the 6 services, which were both spiritually rejuvenating.  There are actually 833,000 church members. Both services were packed.  There's a saying that, if you're 15 minutes early for a service, you're late.  I was 5 minutes late for one of the services and was ushered to a side room.  Fortunately I was still able to hear the translation. Not only was I greatly moved by both messages, one preached by the famous Dr. David Yonggi Cho (Senior Pastor Rev.) but also the worship style of the Koreans.  Their passion and enthusiasm for Christ evident in both services greatly encouraged me and strengthened my desire to serve in North Korea. Honestly, I regret not attending the earlier services.  I would have sat through all 6.  I also regret not staying until next Sunday.

I look forward to day when the Koreans in the north worship as our Lord as freely and passionately as their brothers and sisters in the south. 

I know the Lord is preparing me for my full-time job to the North, which could be within 3-4 years or sooner.  Just last week I received an email with an attached application from the HR Dept of a North Korean University in Pyongyang.  I was referred to them by South Koreans.  I believe the koreans who referred me are involved in missions, but I'm not sure. All I know is that my resume is being passed around.  Although I'm excited of this possibility, I'm going to leave it to God to continue to work His miracle.  However, honestly, I feel like I should be doing something to aid the process even though the Lord hasn't requested nor need my help.

I'm off to Busan (city) in the south east coast tomorrow.  Please continue to pray for the North Koreans and the work the Lord is doing there, even though it isn't evident to most of us at this point.  Also, pray that the Lord continue to bless, encourage and speak to me during my travels.

A recent devotion I enjoyed

By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them.... - Exodus 13:21

How are you at waiting on God? How do you determine if God is giving you the green light to move forward? Many workplace believers make the mistake of adding up all the pluses and then concluding that God has given them the green light. Several factors go into making a decision from the Lord.

It is important to do three things before you make a decision on a matter. First, you should gather facts. Fact gathering allows you to determine all the realities of a given situation. However, this does not ultimately drive your decision, but it can put a stop to it. For instance, if you were planning to build a shopping center and you knew the only way to lease the space was to rent to a porn shop, your decision would be made. God would not lead you to enter into unrighteous ventures.

Second, is the Holy Spirit guiding you in your decision? "If the Lord delights in a man's way, He makes his steps firm" (Ps. 37:23). George Mueller cites that the steps are also "by the Lord." God puts hedges around us, but many times we bull our way through the hedges under the guise of tenacity and perseverance. This too is unrighteousness. One wise workplace believer stated that the greatest success one can have in business is to know when it is time to pull the plug rather than keep forcing a situation. Not all businesses last forever.

Third, has your decision been confirmed? God has placed others around us to be used as instruments in our lives to confirm decisions and keep us from the deceit of our own heart. "Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses" (2 Cor. 13:1b). This is God's way of keeping us within the hedge of His protection.

"Write your plans in pencil and give God the eraser."

3.5 hours until departure

In about 4 hours I will be departing for New York, then connecting onwards to Beijing.  I'm guessing this will be my last update for awhile, since I'm guessing xanga.com is still blocked in Beijing.  Being able to spend time with my mother and friends this past week, whom I probably won't see for another year and a half, was much needed.  It was also great to see the hand of God at work during the weekend festivities.  One blessing that nearly brought tears to my eyes was God withholding the rain during the hours of my friends' outdoor wedding.  A week before the wedding, my friend said it was forecasted to rain throughout the day, which it did. The only comfort I could give the groom whom I thought would have a nervous breakdown was to pray, since the rain was beyond our control. I must admit that when the rain finally did stop, I was anxious for the minister to begin the ceremony in fear that it might rain during the ceremony. Yes, a total lack of faith.    However, I quickly realized that I must surrender this fear and that faith should accompany prayer.   Being able to quickly recall the story in the bible where Elijah prayed that it would not rain for a certain amount of time, and it did, brought comfort and strengthened my faith.  "Elijah was a great man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on earth for three years and six months." James 5:17. Our prayers for God to withhold the rain until after the conclusion  of the wedding was answered.  While walking down the ailse at the end of the ceremony, I couldn't help smiling and sending up praises to the Father.  Also, I was anxious to remind the groom to first give thanks to God for such a beautiful day when he would have a chance to speak at the reception, which he did.  Three days after the wedding, my friend and I are still talking of the many blessings we were able to see this weekend.  Praise to God who is still the same as the past ("I the Lord do not change" Mal 3:6)..who continues to listen and blesss His people.

I will continue to send updates via email.  Continue to pray for me.  I'm 6 weeks away from finishing the semester.

Congrats to my best friend Lat and his wife Amber

Lat and Amber Louprasong

College mates

Ohio State Univ. friends, sister of the bride and niece of groom

The ceremony

At the rehearsal dinner

my mother