I had me a fantastic birthday this year! My work took us all out to the most expensive Mexican restaurant that I'll ever go to in my life. Here are some pictures of my coworkers...

We have our Filipina Berkeley graduate, Johanna,...

our very hardworking SAT teacher, James,...

our Texan alcoholic, Brian,...

and finally, their superior. I LOVE the look on 실장님's face!

Lots of food, fun, and laughter. We went to a really dope noraebang afterwards too.

One of my TOEFL students made it into an international school, so she gave me a white dress shirt and cd mix as a thank you gift since she was going away. I wrote a thank you email later that night and confessed that I was able to understand all of the mean and nasty things she had said in Korean in class. Her response went something like, "으아악!!!" Haha.

Here's the testimony I shared at church today:

My name is Phil, and today marks exactly 6 months since I’ve come to this church. I was born and raised in California all my life, so this is my first time living in this country. I came to Korea in September 2006 right after graduating from college and originally came with the main purpose of improving my Korean and knowledge of the culture. However, I ended up coming as a full-time hakwon teacher in Mokdong.

Before coming to Korea, many people in the U.S. told me that it was really difficult to find a good church in Seoul. No one could really give me any strong recommendations, so I just planned on joining a church where I would be surrounded by non-English speaking Koreans to improve my Korean. As soon as I arrived in Seoul, one of my old church pastors contacted me and asked me to serve as a bilingual Bible study teacher at his church all the way in Sanbon. For one full year, I attended a Korean service, taught Bible study in English to elementary school students, and attempted to get to know the young adults every Sunday. It was a very difficult year full of language barriers, no accountability, teaching burdens, and ultimately, no spiritual rest.

One thing that I have come to learn about Korea is that everyone is so busy from either studying or working too much. I will even admit that I have become a workaholic with little or no social life. But because of the long crazy days throughout the week, the need for spiritual rest is that much greater. I think working hard and being diligent during the week is great, but if people do not have a Sabbath rest, they are going to die in this country. This can be seen in the heavy drinking and smoking that has become a normal part of the culture. You know something is terribly wrong when you see one of your own students coming into class with a hangover and going out for smoke breaks after class.

As many of you know, being a hakwon teacher is no joke. There is a high level of work and stress that can easily discourage people. I am no different from this. But more than the disobedient students or ridiculous working hours, my number one prayer request to my friends was that I would have worshipful Sundays at my church. No matter how hard Monday through Saturday was, if my Sunday could be centered on Christ, I knew that I could be alright. By the grace of God, I was able to survive my first year in Korea without much spiritual accountability and encouragement.

Fortunately, in October 2007, God brought me to this church where I really felt like I could worship Him. I believe that this English ministry is really unique with its various age groups, English and Korean levels, and people constantly leaving or coming into Korea. To be honest, I felt really out of place in the beginning and felt like I could not relate to anyone just as no one could relate to me. However, the beautiful thing about the Church is that we can embrace our diversity because we also have unity in Christ. Even though my Korean is lacking or some people’s English is not as strong, I can still encourage and be encouraged by others because we all speak Christ.

I have been blessed by this church in so many ways. Through small groups, I have amazing accountability that I have never had before. I have been so encouraged by all of the native Koreans who are learning and worshiping in English as I know how hard it can be sometimes. I love the fact that Mike does his best to preach and teach God’s Word faithfully every week. But most of all, I praise God that I am able to worship Him no matter how busy or difficult my life gets in Korea. Church of Christ, “let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Thank you.

Thought of the Day: Nara.
Song of the Day: Lift Your Voice