10.03.2012

Revived

Overwhelmed, stressed, fatigued, insignificant, incapable, empty--these are the words that most capably describe how I felt before this past weekend.

I won't deny that even though I haven't entirely experienced "culture shock," I have had some difficulty adjusting to my new life in some ways. My appetite, in particular, has undergone the greatest change of all. But then there's the job factor: some days I love my job. Other days I feel incompetent and just want to go back to my apartment.

My relationship with God has suffered the most. When in the mission field, moreso than at home, missionaries are always giving--giving of their time, energy, advice, knowledge, resources, love, support .  . . But missionaries struggle to receive, or be filled. An individual's relationship with God is the most important, yes, but fellowship with other believers is vital to sustaining one another in service. Accountability and encouragement are significant, but worshiping God together is the greatest act and need of all (Hebrews 10:25).

This past week we had a special term break in honor of a Korean holiday called Chuseok. While Koreans here in Seoul packed their bags and traveled to their hometowns, my three friends and I journeyed to Dong-Seoul Station where we would meet and catch a bus to the eastern city of Sokcho, best known for both its beach and its mountain, Seorak.

Sarah and I arrived early and later heard from Joy and Simone that they were running late and might not make it in time. Our bus was scheduled to leave at 8:59 a.m., and they were going to be pushing it to the last minute. Once I had that information, I got back in the ticket line and asked if anyone spoke English. A man, who I assume was the manager, came to my aid, and I explained to him the situation. He assured me that we could change out our tickets at no extra charge, so we would just wait until the other girls arrived before doing so. They arrived precisely in time, Sarah and I ran to meet them at the gate and then discovered that the bus had just pulled out. Now what? The manager apparently had seen us running out and followed us. He explained to us as best he could that we could take the next bust at 9:05 without even having to change our tickets. It was such a blessing!

We got on the bus, and while Joy and Simone slept, Sarah and I chatted away, catching up on our last month of teaching for the duration of the two-hour bus ride. About 30 minutes into our journey, our hearts leaped with joy and anticipation as we began to see mountains! At last we were leaving the city--the hustle and bustle, the pollution, everything we have come to call home.

When the bus ride was over, we all picked up our luggage and looked around hesitatingly for the direction of our hostel. All we could find was a tourist information desk, and the lady there gave us a map to the hostel, which was quite confusing. We walked around aimlessly for a while until we asked a stranger for directions. Instead of explaining the way, he offered us a ride and drove us to our destination! We probably never would have found it otherwise!

The House Hostel is incredible. It is so homy and comfortable. Because it was designed specifically for foreigners, we enjoyed meeting all of the other guests. There was an older couple from Sweden who were traveling the world now that they are retired, there were exchange students from Canada and Germany, some French and Malaysian guests, and the list goes on. Everyone at the hostel could speak English in addition to another language, so that was cool.  :) We had some really interesting conversations when we were eating breakfast or cooking lunch.
Seoraksan National Park Entrance
On Saturday morning, we began our journey to Seoraksan National Park. We had wanted to climb the mountain in time to see the sunrise, but when 5:00 a.m. came along, we weren't as eager to do so as we had been the night before. Therefore, we snoozed a bit longer and left the hostel in time to see the sunrise from the bus stop. It was gorgeous and good enough for us. :)

Thirty minutes later, we arrived at the park entrance and began our trek. To say that we were thrilled to breathe fresh air and hike in the great outdoors is an understatement. The journey was incredible. The mountains on this side of the world are so different to what I am used to. They have a distinct rugged beauty. We walked for a long time before approaching the stairs of doom--the 800-step pathway that would lead us to Ulsanbawi Peak, one of the highest in the park. Some steps were normal, while others were very narrow or steep. At some point, Joy and Simone broke ahead of Sarah and I due to our constant stopping for picture-taking, which ultimately placed us about 30 minutes behind them.
The stairway of doom
One of the most gorgeous views on the trail
At last we reached the top. We kept telling ourselves that if the older couple from the hostel could do it, and the old British man with the cane that we had just passed could do it, then we could, too! The wind's strong blasts were nearly overpowering, but they did not stop me from exploring the peak. I shivered under my raincoat as I snapped picture after picture of the majestic view. We had feared that it would rain that day, but God answered our prayers and provided us with a beautiful, clear, sunny day.
View from the top of Ulsanbawi Peak
We met the other girls at the top and eventually began our journey back down the mountain. It was too cold to stay up there for very long. When we reached a warmer location, still overlooking the surrounding peaks, we sat down and began to sing praises to our God and King. Hymn after hymn flowed forth from our hearts and minds, ranging from "God Is So Good" to "Great Is Thy Faithfulness." God had done so much for us.

We closed with prayer and then found our way back to a nice spot near the beginning of our trail where we could have a Korean-style haystack picnic lunch. We met some other foreign English teachers and talked some before going back to the entrance to start our next trail, which would lead us to a waterfall.
The lovely waterfall
Aileen, one of my co-Korean teachers whose hometown is Sokcho, joined us on that one, bringing her mother and a friend. They met us at the end of the trail, and we talked for a while before heading back together.

At the end of the day we calculated how many hours we had spent at Seoraksan: 12! 'Twas a long day, and another one lay ahead.
Sunrise at the dock
The following morning, Joy, Sarah, and I again rose early to see the sunrise, this time walking down to the dock. The site was breathtaking. Pictures could not capture its full beauty. I never fully appreciated the splendor and majesty of nature until this year when I became a resident in a large, stinky city, destitute of any sort of nature. The lights are too bright to see the moon and stars, and the sun always rises and sets while I'm at work, sheltered by the skyscrapers. Trees and mountains and animals are only distant, unreachable figures . . . until the weekends.
We took lots of fun ocean pictures :)

The rest of the day we spent at Sokcho Beach, having a picnic pasta lunch, and then at the local cultural history center where I learned how to walk on stilts--at least for 28 steps. We closed the day by watching the sun set over the ocean at the world expo tower. The moon was full and bright and sat parallel to the city's bridge across the way.
This was addicting!
By the end of our mini-vacation, we had had many meaningful conversations and worshiped God together every day, praying, singing, and studying the Word. He had done much for us, including providing us a place to stay on the third night since we had to relocate due to a booking misunderstanding. Even more significantly, He put us in contact with many English-speakers to assist us every step of the way!

Energized, refreshed, revived, prepared, filled--those are the words that describe how I feel today. I'm ready to face what lies ahead, but only with God's strength and the encouragement and support of like-minded believers.

6 comments:

  1. Just gorgeous!! Seoraksan in the fall looks just as glorious as it was in the spring! Maybe even more glorious...but just maybe. Thanks for the pictures of the trail up to Ulsanbawi. I would have loved to make that climb if I hadn't hurt my knee on our hike the day before. It looked lovely up there. I liked the video you put up on FB as well. The waterfall area looked so nice and familiar, too. And of course Sokcho Beach looked just a wonderful as it was when we visited! I'm so glad you had a great Chuseok break!

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  2. Thanks, Ali. :) I don't think we saw the same waterfall that you did. Were there two?? We only saw the one. We're hoping to go back one weekend sometime soon since the leaves hadn't really changed yet when we went. :( Also, we wished we had camping gear because there was another trail higher up that required an overnight stay. Did you happen to do that one?

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    1. Oh, I think it was the same one - Biryongpokpo? From your pictures it looked exactly the same. I'm sure there are quite a few waterfalls in the park, though, but we just saw one as well. Oh wow, that would be wonderful to go back there and see the fall colours! We definitely didn't do any overnight stays, but it sounds like a lot of fun!

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  3. Those pictures are beautiful, and this sounds wonderful.

    I started reading this post a while ago and got called away shortly after reading what you said about missionaries giving but needing support and about relationships with God suffering. I've sort of been meditating on that.

    Having done short-term mission work and grown up surrounded by people who had lived as missionaries in various capacities for anywhere from 1-50+ years, I've noticed that.

    Many missionaries I know are so close to God that I fear sometimes that I will never develop such a close relationship with Him. But many others that I know share the same spiritual messages again and again for years, as though they've never grown in their relationship with Christ in all their years as missionaries. Others eschew spiritual messages altogether, frustrated.

    It kind of makes sense, doesn't it? As you say, missionaries give and give and give of themselves, and when you're working with people getting to know God for the first time, you have to say the same things over and over and over again. How can someone avoid getting into a rut there? Even Jesus seemed to grow tired of it sometimes.

    I want to turn this comment into something uplifting and helpful. I know, as you say, that fellowship is a great help. But there's something more to it, isn't there?

    I think it's hard for missionaries to be reliant on God, at least in part because when things get busy, spending time alone with Him seems to be the easiest thing to cut.

    What do you think?

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    1. What do I think about what part??

      Well, I've done short mission work several times in the past, but this is my first "long-term" mission. I really don't know what to say. All I know is that I have come to see the need and great value in Christian fellowship and unified worship. It is something I took for granted in the States, but now it is a treasure.

      When Jesus was on Earth, His relationship with His father was His only source of ultimate fulfillment, and it should be the same with us. God is the only one who can give us true peace.

      At the same time, God created us to be relational beings, and like-minded faith and unified worship is important for the pouring out of the Holy Spirit in our lives (Acts 2).

      When you're in a long-term mission field, it's easy to feel like a loner--like Jesus who was on a mission and no one truly understood Him or could fully share in His intimate experience and understanding of God.

      And now I feel like I'm rambling . . . is this making any sense?

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