13th Lord's Day in Ordinary Time -- extraordinary for us

We worshiped today at Yougnak (pronouned Young-Nahk) Presbyterian Church (영락교회 = "Eternal Delight/Joy Church") the world's largest Presbyterian church, founded in 1945. You'll have to wait to hear the details, but here are some photos of just a little bit of the amazing experiences we've been blessed to have. Thank you NWMC! We have much to share with you after our return.

serving the homeless in central Seoul

cleaning up after serving the homeless

welcome by the kids at Sky School (at Heaven's Gate Church and prayer retreat center)

Addie and Sarah meeting the kids before teaching them English

Kristin teaching English

Chrissy teaching English

worship at Heaven's Gate (1,000 worship services per year, at least 2 per day, at least 2 hours long each)

night of fun with the college students at Heaven's Gate

praying together after the Praise Song Competition

our first midnight meal (삼겹살 = yummy bacon-like meat, aka "midnight meat")

a field trip to Home Plus (to shop & eat)

college worship service at Young-Nahk Presbyterian Church

from the mountains of Korea

[Blessed Trinity Sunday! Below is another blog entry from the student members of the Summer Service team. We spent some time with Korean students, and then we spent 5 days away visiting rural and mountainous Korea and the various mission sites of Korean Christians, all founded and run by Presbyterians, but some are open to others, including Buddhists and non-believers. We wish you were here to see, hear, smell, and taste what wonderful things God has wrought in this little nation. (Kang Na, your grateful Summer Service team leader)

 

Hi friends!

Sorry we didn't have internet for the last four days. We went to a beautiful prayer retreat center on Tuesday, Mosegol (모새골 [pronounced Moh-Seh-Gohl] = valley where all things are made new).

entrance to Moh-Seh-Gohl church (and prayer retreat center)

labyrinth at Moh-Seh-Gohl

communal meals at Moh-Seh-Gohl

the lounge (café) at Moh-Seh-Gohl

The time there was spent in prayer and fellowship and provided renewed focus for our group. It overlooked a beautiful mountain which we were able to view from anywhere we looked. We then went to a retirement home for women church workers (mostly evangelists) and ordained ministers.

Dragon Gate Temple at Dragon Gate Mountain (near the retirement home)

some tourists jumping for some tourist reasons at Dragon Gate Temple

ubiquitous indoor slippers waiting for NWMC feet

daily evening prayer service (NB the slippers)

 We also visited its affiliate care center for (mostly) elderly women with Alzheimers and Dementia.

lady in pink teaching traditional Korean dance

balloon game

We spent an evening helping the retired women pick sesame leaves.

There we also had an emotional encounter with North Korean defectors who worked on the farm with the women. We had a great conversation with them and we learned from each other during this time of interaction.

four North Korean defectors who became Christians

We concluded Friday evening with the North Koreans praying for North Korea.

Tomorrow (Sunday) we are going to the biggest church in the world! Hope to see ya there :)

Love in rice,
The Seoul Patrol

Deli Manjoo, yes! No thanks on the silkworm larvae.

[Blessed Pentecost! Below is a blog entry from the student members of the Summer Service team. There has been much to experience and much to think about. Keep us in your prayers as we also keep you in ours. Thank you. (Kang Na, your grateful Summer Service team leader)]

Hello (or Ahn-nyuhng Ha-seh-yoh 안녕하세요)!

The transition to the food here has been interesting; the milk is not so nice to our tummies, but things are getting better each day! Kristin was daring and tried octopus. The treat of steamed silkworm larvae was not as popular as Dr. Na hoped it would be. We were very happy to have sandwiches and Deli Manjoo, a pancake-like pastry filled with cream.

In the past few days, we have been navigating our way through the subways and have been busy immersing ourselves in Korean culture. Lotte World, the equivalent of a small Disney World, was very interesting. We had the opportunity to observe Koreans as they interact in an indoor-outdoor amusement park.

We also visited the Korean Folk Village and met these performers of traditional music and dance:

Yesterday we went on a tour of the Demilitarized Zone and stood in North Korea for about two minutes. It was a somber but educational experience.

Today we attended a Korean worship service and spent the afternoon in a café famous for its café au laits.

On Tuesday our group will head to a prayer retreat center to experience a time of much needed rest and reflection.

As we adjust to the new time zone, a different schedule, and many miles of walking each day, please pray for our health, strength, and focus. Because of our busy schedule here, our posts may be sporadic. We will do our best to keep you updated though! For shorter, more frequent posts, check out Addie's twitter.

Love,
The Seoul Patrol

 

Greetings from Korea!

We just arrived safe (and tired) from about 24 hours of traveling.

NB: lucky 13 was our baggage claim carousel.

We've moved into the Luce Center for the Global Church on the campus of the Presbyterian College and Theological Seminary.

Now off to explore our neighborhood a little . . .

Our first meal (supper) in Korea, with Mr. Park, paid magnanimously by Prof. Young-Sang Ro of the Dept. of Theology at PCTS.

안녕 from San Francisco

We are in San Francisco delving into Korean culture by eating Japanese before boarding the plane for Seoul.

Almost ready to go . . .

It has been twenty-six years since a New Wilmington Mission Conference Summer Service team traveled to the Republic of Korea, commonly known as South Korea. As it has become the most wired and IT-savvy nation in the world, South Korea has also become the most missioning church in the new millennium. It is a great destination for this year’s Summer Service team for discovering and experiencing the presence and mission of God on the other side of our planet. We go in gratitude and for the glory of God.

If you were on the first Summer Service trip to Korea, please post your comments to tell us of your experience and your advice for us. And, as always, please keep us in your prayers. Thank you in advance.

Here's a bit of information about us, Summer Service team 2011:

Addie Domske is a junior at Westminster College (Pa.) majoring in English and Religion. Her home church is the New Wilmington Presbyterian Church in New Wilmington, Pa. She has an older sister and an older brother. She thinks God might be calling her to ordained ministry, or to be a missionary teaching English abroad. Her hobbies include reading, coloring, writing letters, and Internetting.



Katie Gray is a senior at Westminster College (Pa.) majoring in Elementary and Special Education and hopes to be a teacher. Her home church is the East Union Presbyterian Church in Cheswick, Pa. She has a younger sister. She enjoys baking, walking, tennis, knitting, and scrapbooking.

Kristin Mann is a senior at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania majoring in Elementary Education with a concentration in Mathematics and hopes to be an elementary school teacher. Her home church is the First Presbyterian Church of Freehold, N.J. She has four sisters and three brothers. She enjoys soccer, arts and crafts (mosaic and stained glass), and working with kids.

Chrissy Moudry is a sophomore at Westminster College (Pa.) majoring in Early Childhood Education/Special Education with plans to be a preschool teacher or Christian Educator. Her home church is the Heritage Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, Pa. She has an older brother and an older sister. She loves to dance, read, and do handcrafts (scrapbooking and making jewelry).

Sarah Workman is a junior at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point, majoring in Biochemistry in preparation for medical school. She hopes to become a pediatrician. Her home church is St. Mary’s Lutheran Church in Kenosha, Wis. She has one sister and two brothers. She plays the trumpet and enjoys singing, reading, and playing sports.

Kang-Yup Na (aka Dr. Na) is the team leader. Kang is a professor at Westminster College (Pa.) where he teaches courses on the Bible, biblical interpretation, and Reformed theology. He is also the director of the honors program. The son of first-generation Christian parents, he was baptized on 13 June 1965 in South Korea. He is married to the Rev. Amy Na and has three children, Christian, Laura, and Sofia. In his spare time, he enjoys food, his Harley, and his iPad.