Christmas Vacation

Since Christmas day, I've had vacation, and it's been very good^_^

On Christmas Eve, a friend from Dunamis invited me to his home for dinner. His wife made a lot of traditional Korean food, and it was very good. He invited a bunch of foreigners over to his for Christmas Eve because he wanted foreigners to have a home to be in for the holiday, and it was really very nice of them. We also had a white elephant exchange, and I ended up getting a gospel CD, which I think was one of the better gifts:)

Then on Christmas day, I met my best friend Angela for lunch and we exchanged some Christmas gifts. Then I went to a joint English church service, where all the English ministries in Seoul came together for a Christmas service. It was really nice. Then, I went caroling with some people from my church. We went to a really poor area in Seoul where they still live in shacks, and we handed out gifts and Bible to them, and sang Christmas carols. It was such a blessed time for me. I felt God working in what we were doing there, and it was real eye-opening experience for me, that even in Seoul, some people live in very desperate situations.

Then the next day, I went to a national museum with my friend Hyunsuk. He taught me a lot about Korean history, and I took many pictures, but unfortunately, I LOST MY CAMERA!! That happened later. But I don't have any pictures from the museum as a result:(

That night, I went to a Jimjilbang, which is basically a Sauna and Spa. I also took pictures there of the common room, where everyone meets and just relaxes on message chairs and takes naps. I don't have those pictures anymore either:(

Then this past Monday, I went to Lotte World. It was a lot of fun! It's one of the big amusement parks in Korea. Half of the park is indoors, and the other half is outside. The rides were a lot of fun, even though it was a bit chilly for the outdoor rides:)

Another friend from Dunamis has started a book cafe near Soongsil University where I volunteer. I spent a lot of time at that cafe this week just reading and hanging out. The man who runs it, his English name is Zorba, and he's a really nice, cool guy!

Then I also went on a 3 day trip to a place in the mountains of Korea called 둔내

I went with one of the fellow teachers at Dunamis, and we stayed in a log cabin in the mountains. There was snow there, and it was a really peaceful, relaxing time. Neither of us could really speak much Korean, so it was a challenge getting by in the country-side where no one speaks English. But we did "ok." It was on the bus ride up to the mountain that I lost my camera. I must have left it on the bus. I guess I'll never grow out of my forgetfulness. But the guy I went with, he had just bought a new camera, so he offered to give me his old one for free. I paid him a bit for it though, because his camera was an upgrade from my old one. It was very kind of him. So now I have a camera again:)

The time in the mountains was good to grow closer to God, have some good fellowship, and just relax and read.

It has been a great vacation. Now I have to go back to work...