Merry Christmas!
25 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
Right now I have cookies in the oven. I have been baking way too many cookies lately. All I have wanted to do is sit in my floor and watch Christmas movies, so I did a lot of that this week and last. I have been really homesick this year. I am honestly excited about Christmas being over and gone. Normally, I just miss my family, but it is amplified during the holiday season. No amount of gift card purchasing online or church dinners can ever feel the same as enjoying Christmas morning in my pajamas with my loved ones.
Though I have been feeling lonely this Christmas, I am reminded of the promise of Christmas. Immanuel. God is with us. I am not with my family tonight and they are not with me. However, the thought that God truly is with us, and how he really came to us, fills my heart. I have this strange loneliness and joy at the same time. He is with me and he is with you, wherever we are.
…an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”(which means “God with us”).
I have been doing other things besides baking cookies, I promise. I have been spending as much time with my friends as possible. My work life has been pretty crazy. My boss keeps changing things and I think it would be safe to say that my coworkers are all frustrated. The kids are still great though.
I have a cute kid story from this week. One of my favorite students is a boy named Evan. He is a fourth grader and he is kind of a punk, a loveable punk! J Evan is really smart and I can joke around with him in class. We have a good rapport with each other. He never does his homework and I bug him about it. He also likes to share his snacks with me during break time and he asks me all sorts of questions. When Evan doesn’t do what he should, I tease him and tell him that I am going to throw him out the window into the big food trash dumpster outside. (Believe me, this only sounds cruel. I say it with a big smile and he knows I am only kidding. And my window is too small!!) I also like to tell him that I cry after he leaves because he never does his homework. On Monday, I was joking with Evan and I told him that I wanted homework for Christmas and that I would cry if I didn’t get it. And I added that if he made his teacher cry, Santa would most surely bring him reindeer poop for Christmas. Last night, Evan showed up for the extra writing class (a miracle in itself) and he was beaming. He asked me if I checked the homework. I told him I hadn’t yet. He kept smiling. “Evan, did you do your homework?” He nodded. And so, Evan did his homework for me for Christmas. I was elated. Could a teacher receive a better Christmas gift? Oh, I love that kid!! Ha ha!
Besides working and baking, I have been still spending a lot of time at church and with my church folks here. I have a new friend too. His name is Derrick and I found him on facebook while I was looking through the people I might know list. We had fifteen friends in common, he went to Lee, and he had his name written in Korean. I was intrigued. Click. So, I messaged him and he actually wrote me back. As it turns out, he lives in the same town as I do and we have been hanging out ever since. So, I am a bit of facebook stalker. We have only known each other for a couple of months, but the common background we share has made us fast friends. He is going home for a couple of months and then he will hopefully come back toKoreaafterwards.
Let’s see… I also got to see Handel’s Messiah last weekend. One of my friends (Ginny) from church was singing in it and she invited us. It was in an old church in downtownSeoul. Wow. The whole thing was gorgeous. My favorite was the bass who had amazing eyebrows. I’m serious; this man’s eyebrows seemed like they were alive. He made me smile. The other singers were really good too, but the bass was the best! When the choir started singing, “Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father,” I got goosebumps. I love scripture set to music. The choir seemed to enjoy singing the “We Like Sheep” song; they were all grinning during that one. Anyway, we all had a really nice time hearing the music and spending time together.
Today was also eventful, though not as eventful as I would have liked. Michael’s birthday is in a few days. I tried to arrange an outing to Lotte World (his favorite theme park) today. Lots of people came out for lunch, but not many people could come to Lotte World with us. The others were preparing for a big church Christmas event tomorrow. The group that went had a good time though. It was so crowded!! It was kinda crazy in there. So, though I liked the rides, I was glad when we decided to leave. I hope he had a nice birthday. Happy 30th to my big brother, Michael!
Another thing I am excited about is called Help Your Suwon. I have been helping a group of volunteers take food to homeless people in Suwon Station (a big subway station outside ofSeoul). Derrick (new facebook friend) has been going with me too. We are doing the same thing that the group does in Seoul Station, only with fewer people. This week is the sixth week for us and I have gotten to go most weeks. I am excited because we go on Sunday nights and we are going tomorrow for Christmas. We are going to wear Santa hats and go out to sing karaoke afterwards. I am taking the cookies I baked tonight for the volunteers, so I think everyone will be happy. I am hoping to start taking more of my church friends with me every week… We’ll see who wants to come with me next week for New Year’s Day.
Also, please remember to pray forNorth Korea. I have no idea what the news has been saying at home (probably all kinds of crazy stuff). Things here in SoKo have been pretty much the same. Everyone was shocked by the news though. I tried to get my students talking about Kim Jong Il’s death, but they had surprisingly little to say. They were glad he was dead, but that’s about all I got out of them. I sincerely hope that their new leader will do more for the people there (I know that is doubtful, but I can pray and I can hope). I will try to update you all if anything happens here.
As for now, life is normal. I am counting down the weeks at my current job (8 more!). In March, I am supposed to start working at a public high school near here. I am going to be moving closer to where I want to be. I will have a daytime schedule again too. I am pumped! I really cannot wait to make my own lesson plans again. Now I only need to survive the new changes and the extra holiday classes and get all of my visa transfer paperwork done. Eight more weeks!!
I think that is about all I have in me for tonight. Merry Christmas to all of you. God is with us.
Much love, peace, and joy,
Rachael 
Some photos from the past couple of months:
Halloween!
Thanksgiving!
Fun day in Hongdae with Sarah (Trick Eye Museum and Charlie Brown Cafe)!
