Spared

I am so thankful to be alive today! Last night I heard and saw a tornado pass over my house...

About 5:30 last night, the tornado sirens went off. I was home alone when my sister, the "weather woman" called to warn me, but we just laughed about it and shrugged it off.

A few minutes later I was not laughing anymore. I turned on the news just to check the warnings, and it said, "The tornado is headed right for Dexter, MI. Take cover immediately." I kept checking the windows looking worriedly at the quickly blackening sky. When I heard the faint sound of the tornado roar in the feild/lake in front of our house, I headed for cover.

We have a 2 story house, but no basement. The safest place in our house is a concrete enclosed creepy crawl space under our porch. I sad huddled in the corner there, constantly talking to my mom, dad and sister on the phone. My dad was on his way home from work and saw it coming down the road. My mom was still in town. I could hear the storm worsening, the violent wind swirling around. I'd forgotten in the panic of taking cover to close the windows in the house! I knew it would make a horrible mess! Later, my dad said that it was actually a good thing that the windows were open because if everything was closed up, the pressure could have blown out the windows.

From under the porch I could hear what I thought was things flying around the house. I heard sounds that sounded like the front door bursting open and dishes falling off the shelves. It turned out to only be the fierce 1-1 1/2 hail hitting the glass doors. Thankfully my car only came out with three small dents. Pretty unbelievable.

I was on the phone with my mom when the tornado passed over the house. I screamed, "Mom, it's coming! It's coming! IT'S HERE!!!" My poor mom couldn't do anything about it! She probably thought I was going to get blown away! Well, I thought I was too! I prayed, hard. That was the most scared I had ever been, listening to the horrifying "train" tornado sound over my house, hearing the house popping and cracking and things flying around. I didn't know what I would find when I walked out of the porch. I was afraid the house would collapse and I would be stuck. Scary.

The train sound gradually got farther and farther away and I realized it had only passed by, not hit our house. The house diagonal from ours was hit and the next neighboorhood over was also hit, but it just bounced right over ours! Thirteen homes in my town were flattened and 100 had serious damage. Amazingly there were no deaths! Surveying the damage around town this morning was awful. Some homes are totally wiped out, some are without roofs, some without their second stories and enormous uprooted trees make some streets unpassable.

My dad says we will probably be without power for the next few days. As I went out this morning we saw a caravan of 20 electrical trucks, all coming down our road to help with the damage. It's an awful situation that is going to take a long time to clean up, but it's cool to see the community come together and help each other. We can't see any news because of the power outage, but I guess it's been all over the local and even national news.

The sun rose this morning as if nothing had happened. As the fog lifted, the evidence of the tornado sunk it. Ironically, my mom, sister and I are headed for Mexico tonight. We feel guilty leaving the war-zone of Dexter.

I keep thinking, wow, God must have something big to do through my life! He has protected me so much in the past few years when various times, things could have turned out so badly! Today I am counting my blessings!

That's a Wrap

I made it back to the States! 5 flights, two days and two nights made me really appreciate my bed at home :) So far jetlag hasn't slowed me down too much. I think it's going to take some adjusting back into American culture...I was a bit overwhelmed with all the choices at Meijer when I went to by some things, haha, but everything else seems pretty much how I left it.

All the travel time gave me plenty of time to reflect on my time in Thailand. Here are some of the things I learned:

In living with the missionary family this week, I learned how awesome it is to see a married couple doing ministry together. Both the husband and the wife were working towards the same goal and the same mission. I also learned that missionary life can be very normal. God gives us each a calling. The specific calling is different for each person, shown sometimes through the opening and closing of doors. The calling on my life is to be done wherever I am. A missionary is just someone who does that work in a different place. Really, wherever I am, I should be doing that same work, whether in Korea, Thailand or America. I used to wish I had different gifts, personality or abilities, but God has given me exactly what I need to accomplish His calling. Saying mine aren't good enough would be insulting Him.

It was interesting to see various different ministries last week, both big and small. I saw that it doesn't matter the size or appearance. The most important thing is that it starts with one. It starts with one person mentoring/discipling another until the disciple is ready to disciple another. Though it seems like a small impact, the ripple effect could be huge. People are people. No matter where in the world I go, people are hurting and in need of a savior. Rather than glazing the surface with many, it's more important to invest first in one.

Everything in my life right now is kind of on hold. Waiting is one of the hardest things for a Christian to do because it makes us feel so helpless. Well wishing people keep asking what I will do now, and honestly I don't know. I am applying to jobs but really it's out of my hands and into God's. I'm learning that waiting should be an active process. It's not sitting back and doing nothing, but it's allowing God to change me while I'm waiting. Waiting allows, or rather forces, me to rely on the power of prayer. And that is a good thing!

Thanks to everyone who continued to read throughout the last year and half. I hope my jumbled thoughts gave you some insight into my time in Korea. I've enjoyed writing so much that even though I'm back in the States, I may continue to occasionally write about my relfections on life. Signing off from Korea and signing in from America...That's a wrap!

A Glimpse of Thailand

Third Son

I am staying with a missionary family this week in Thailand. The family has been here about a year and a half. Danny is from America, Sue is from Korea and they have two children, 7 and 10. They are an awesome family and it's been so much fun spending time with them. I've forgotten how goofy little boys can be :) This family is just beginning a new ministry. They are setting up a children's home for tribal teens. The home will be in this city, it will have 12-13 students and it will focus on discipleship and quality education.

These children are from the Kachin tribe. Kachin people are from Burma, a country right over the mountain. Because of the war torn nation, the people have been walking over the border at night, into Thailand. They don't look like the ethnic Thai people and have been disrciminated ever since they have been arriving for the last 40 years!

Their village contains about 100 homes made of woven wood, grass roofs, or concrete. The houses sit on stilts because of both the flooding and insects. The village has trouble with running water and generally these children cannot take a shower, even though the red dirt and dust covers their bodies. The church on the top of the hill,is where we met.

The missionary family and their one staff member (who is one of the tribal people) held interviews to see that the students are ready to leave their families and come live in the city for a better opportunity at life. The schools near this village are very poor and without a way out of their poverty, these students will only follow in their parents' footsteps.

The students were 16-20 years old. They were excited about an opportunity to live in the city, recieve a good education, learn about the Bible, be discipled and have a chance to make it in life. It was amazing to me how trusting the parents were. Because the staff member is a kachin person, I think they are more willing to trust, but still... The parents are so desperate for their children to get a good education and get out of the village, that they freely let their children go to the city to live in the children's home. For the children and the parents, this is a dream come true that has been long prayed for.

Thank goodness this is a strong Christian organization with the best intentions. I can now see though, how easily human trafficking can happen. An organization comes to a remote village, promising education or jobs in the city. The parents are so desperate and excited about an opportunity that they freely let their children go with the unknown group. It's scary how fast and innocently it could happen. Thank goodness for this missionary family's staff member, who is a Kachin that can assure the village that this one is a genuine opportunity.

The most touching interview was of a boy who was only 16 years old. He was one of seven children, the third boy. The older two boys in his family were working in the city at restaurants in order to make enough money for this boy to go to college. This 16 year old is expected to go to college, study something that will get him a good job (even though he had a dream to go to Bible college) and support his family for the rest of his life. The burden was so obvious, weighing on him, deciding his every decision. Sadly, this is reality for a lot of the world. How blessed I am to be able to choose what to major in, which job to take and decide where I want to live.

Two nights I was able to stay in a hotel with the the staff member, who is also Kachin. Through asking questions (of course :)) I was able to hear her story. Her father was part of the rebel military when she grew up in Burma. Her family was chased out of the country because of her father's military agenda. She was only 7 and remembers only bits and peices of the night they fled. She said they rode by horse from house to house, somewhat like the undreground railroad, with people lying about their whereabouts. She then came to Thailand, and has lived here ever since, forced to learn a new language and attend Thai schools, yet being discriminated against the whole way. Though she is well educated and recieved a master's degree from the USA, she is still turned down jobs simply because she is a minority.

I love hearing people's stories. Everyone has a story. Everyone wants their story to be told. I like this quote I read on the way here, "People's stories give us eyes other than our own with which to see the world...enlarge my heart with a story and change me by the characters I meet there."

First Few Days at the Hill Tribe

Mission Accomplished

I sat in my classroom this morning watching my kids play during their playtime. I was reminded of my first day with these same kids. The first day, I walked into the classroom and I turned into mad woman, trying to tame the zoo in my class. One boy was standing on a chair, one was hiding under the table, one was hitting another, another was throwing a tantrum and biting. Complete chaos! They often fought with each other and spoke Korean regularly. Today as I watched them they shared and helped each other and enjoy playing together. This year these monster students have become respectful little people (Well most of the time anyway!) They have all grown up so much in a year.

At first I thought being called Sara Teacher or more commonly, Teacher, was the most impersonal thing ever, but now I think I'm going to miss hearing "Sara Teacher" 143 times a day! These kids have taught me how to understand unconditional love.

I will never know what will happen to them as they grow up. I won't be there to help them anymore with the little problems that to them seem enormous. I pray for each of them, that they would one day find their worth in God. I pray that God will do something through my love for them. I feel like their proud Mama.

They each have such strong and unique personalities already. They will be used in such influencial ways. Who knows, my Luke who fights for justice in the classroom during playtime saying, "Don't do that! That's not fair!" might be the very same man someday who will fight for justice in the modern day slavery realm.

Today I was reading Sally's sentence that she'd written. It said, "I give mother a mooma toy." I asked her what that word "mooma" is. She told me, "Teacher, it says necklace!!" Haha! Oh, of course it does...in her head anyway :)

I didn't really know what my mission was when I came to Korea. Though it wasn't clear at the time, I'm confident that it has been accomplished. Whether it was teaching the girls to be feminine and not tackle the boys, or teaching the boys not to slam doors in girls' faces, each lesson was heard. I watch in wonder as even little girls know how to play house and have dreams of being a mother. I still laugh when Ace gives me his guilty smile. I wish I could capture that on camera!

Goodbyes are hard. At my last small group, they bought a cake and sang me a farewell song in Korean. I cried not only because I'm really sad to leave, but because I'm so thankful for all the blessings that were given to me here. Sunday night I had a going away dinner. These last few days I've been hanging out with friends any spare minute I have, staying up way to late and doing way to many random and funny things, trying to savor each moment.

I'm glad I have Thailand to look forward to. This Thursday I am going to Thailand for a week! The plan was originally to go to an orphanage there, but plans recently changed and now for a couple days I will be meeting new sponsored children through Compassion International, going to a safe house for rescued human trafficking victims, visiting a school, staying with a Thai family and hopefully riding an elephant! I hope I'll get a chance to blog from there.

I honestly don't know who reads this blog anymore, considering its been almost a year and a half. I thank you so much for your prayers. I truly am on cloud nine thinking about how much of blessing my time here has been. I am bursting with both sadness and joy at the same time. This step is to go home. Please pray that God would reveal the next step in His plan.

Seven more...

I have seven more days in Korea. Seven more days to walk to school in the morning. Seven more days to walk past the car wash man who waves and tells me good morning everyday. Seven more days to hug my kids. Seven more days to zip up their coats and help them put on their shoes. Seven more days to assist with the nose wipes and for those of you who know me, seven more days to use the whole bottle of hand-sanitizer :) These things that I'd seen as monotonous before, the things that seemed to make every day the same as the day before, are the things I'm going to miss the most. Until this weekend, I was in complete denial that I was leaving. I think it's starting to hit me now and it makes me really sad.

The other day I had a revelation. When I think of Korea, I just think of the glory days. I think everything about living in this foreign country, speaking a foreign language, teaching the cutest Korean kids, and being part of an awesome church is the best. The only way that I can really describe the way I feel right now is a deep sadness. But, a thought just occurred to me. I know that God is asking me to go back to the US right now. So, if I stayed in Korea, I would be disobeying Him. If I stayed, His anointing on me would not be here anymore and I would not be peaceful or fruitful anymore. I wouldn't love it here anymore. So since He's asking me to go back to America, I know that my anointing will be there and I will be just as peaceful, fruitful and joyful there :) It's comforting that as long as I'm in His will, the anointing travels with me, even across oceans!

I heard today that one of the current teachers here is going to take my class. I know that after I leave, my kids won't be my kids anymore, and they are no longer my responsibility, but I still was uneasy about an unknown person taking care of them, haha! I'm am so excited that she's taking them. She will take good care of them :)

I have so many things to do before I leave! My list just keeps growing!