Christmas or just another day?

Eleven days out and still December 25 seems like just another day.

I look around at friends (those who haven't rushed back to the States to be with their families) and I see gifts from family (not in Korea) around their tree and more than just a helpless Charlie Brown tree.

How is it Christmas without family? I know presents shouldn't be a big deal, and don't get me wrong, they're not, but there's not one under the tree. There hasn't been for three years. There's not a Christmas card from a family member anywhere. There hasn't been for four years.

I know people say I have Matt and that should be enough. Or, we haven't been married long enough to fully detach from our families for the holidays- quite frankly- I hope we never get to that point.

Christmas right now is looking like just another typical day off from work. The sun rises, the sun sets- just another day.

Maybe the real reason Ebeneezer Scrooge was so unhappy wasn't because he was a crotchety old man- maybe it was because of a secret Mr. Dickens was hiding from us- he had family on another continent.

Community

Lately I've been struggling with the idea of community. The setting of my life right now is far different than it would be if I were living stateside. My coworkers were my roommates, are my friends, my support system, my family overseas. We travel to work together both in the morning and in the afternoon (and often make plans to hang out in the evenings on these rides). We coach, direct, and lead together.

But it seems as if there's still an oddness about it. The community I am a part of is mainly singles. Now, as a single in the community (as I was for about two years) I did not feel out of place- even when hanging out with married women.

There was a Bible study that I was a part of, when I first arrived in Korea, that was comprised solely of married women. At first, it was a little odd- but they did not view me any differently than they did anyone else in the group.

I just find it odd that now that I am on the other side of the line- I tend to feel more excluded. I'm not sure if it's just because of the numbers- there are only three married (women) teachers and three of our office staff- but if you think about the ratio: 17:3 we are a little outnumbered.

I also don't know if the feeling is coming from greater emphasis being put on being single than there has been in the past or what.

I know it may not mean much to the single ladies- but having been on the field and single for two years- There is a purpose to it. God has placed us in our situations and circumstances as we are for a reason. Singleness is a gift! If you cannot see that and if you do not embrace it while you have it, you will miss out on possibly some of the greatest opportunities God has for you. Try not to see it as a burden and try not to live in the future. Embrace it and see where you can be used in your circumstances. And, please don't treat us married ladies any different because we're married. We still need and want that female interaction (come on, we live with a guy). We're not really all that different.

July Update

This is the e-mail Matt sent our when we returned to Korea. He's much better at the updates than I am.

Greetings to our precious family in Christ.

We just arrived at the end of our visit to the U.S. It was a whirlwind, but a good visit nonetheless. If we failed to see you at that time, we apologize as our time was short.

I (Matt) had the opportunity to attend Pre-field Orientation (PFO) towards the end of June. By the end of that time, I had met teachers from Indonesia, Kungming China, Nairobi and Argentina, to name a few. It was a blessing to hear how God is working and plans to work in the lives of other International Christian School teachers.

We were also blessed to be supported by Beka's home church, Grace Baptist. We know God has blessed us to be a blessing, and I pray that we can do that.

God also blessed us with a vision for ministry. During the course of last year, we began to have a heart for those who are usually overlooked in successful societies. Through help from staff and leadership in our school, we were able to visit a Grandma House (much like a nursing home) and an orphanage. We plan on visiting the same places in order to estabish relationships. Thankfully, we were able to develop a small group of students willing to minister to others in this way.

Our plan for next year is to have one event involving Community Service Outreach every month. This will involve scheduling, which is not my (Matt's) primary skill. We trust and pray that He will give wisdom in this matter. We thank God for His vision and blessing, and pray for wisdom as we plan for this coming year.

I (Matt) am also planning a Bible Study focused on the topic of worship. I had the opportunity to do a word search over the summer, which yielded a wealth of information. Pray that God gives wisdom as I organize the scribblings in my notebook. I pray that we learn more of Him, and less of our own opinions.

We also praise Him that He continues to take care of us. When we arrived in Korea, we found that the locks on our door had been tampered with. We had to stay in a hotel for the night as we were unable to get in. Thankfully, the locks were changed the next day. When we got in, we found everything as we had left it. Thanks be to Him for His goodness.

In closing, thank you for your prayers, encouragement and support. God bless each of you as you continue to serve Him.

In Christ,
Matt and Beka

Does anyone know how to fix this?

When I first signed up for Multiply, I clicked something to import my blogs from my Blogspot page. I'd rather not have to the two linked. Is there any way to undo that? Help.

No time to say hello; goodbye...

It seems like there's always quite a gap in my blogging. It always seems like forever since the last time I wrote. I'm not sure if its because I don't do it often or because I'm not really into writing updates. I'll make an attempt at an update...

There never really seems to be much new news to tell about life around here. The school year is just as challenging as ever. There are more challenges this year than I ever would have thought. The attitudes of some of the students have been less than desirable. Please just pray for the attitudes of them and for the rest of the school year.

Matt and I and another teacher from the school are still planning on going to India over spring break to look at a facility for future mission trips. Matt and I already have our visas and, as far as I know, Alexa has hers too.

Please pray that we find affordable tickets to India. We haven't been able to find anywhere to give us airline prices yet. One (of the two affordable places here) told us they wouldn't have prices until the middle of March (and spring break is the second week in April), plus, they won't give us our whole flight. She said we could just pick up our connecting flight off the internet.

Matt and I are hopefully going to check out ticket prices from somewhere else. We're still exploring options with some other travel agents in Seoul that friends of friends have used.

School is school and being the high school English department is a tedious task. I don't have anyone to run ideas off of or to ask questions to. It's also intimidating that next year, I'll be the senior staff member of the secondary group. Scary...

The school itself is in constant need of prayer. We still have eight of the ten positions open for next year. We've got basically our entire elementary school open along with three secondary positions and our art position. We could be in serious trouble if we don't get these positions filled. We need all the prayer support we can get, pretty much because we can't offer the benefits and the perks that some of the other schools can. We're just a little school in the middle of a rice paddy. There's little incentive for people who are looking for perks on the mission field.

I guess that's about all the updates I've got for now.

Just thoughts spurred on from a book I'm reading.

Sometime during my junior year of high school Christianity became a fad. Sadly, in order to have been a part of that fad crowd you had to attend a certain church and a certain youth group.

It is so sad to see that the people that were so influential in helping bring people to Christianity (but unfortunately, not necessarily to Christ) had pretty much all turned their backs on the faith. It just saddens me to see it.

Maybe they discovered that following Christ isn't all roses, daisies, and frolics in easy fields. I have lots of thoughts on this issue but I'm not sure how to express that. Devastating is probably the correct word.

I've been reading a book lately that deals with issues like that and like what many churches are like in the states these days. People are definitely suffering from spiritual suburbia. People live in complacency instead of truly listening to God's voice and calling. They just want what's comfortable, not what's real.

Get out of the burbs, take some risks, and live for Christ!

(The book is Plastic Jesus: Exposing the Hollowness of Comfortable Christianity by Dr. Eric Sandras. A challenging and highly recommended read.)

Current Feelings

So, lately I've been reading through Psalms and some verses have been really sticking out. This one hit me tonight. It pretty much explains the entire school year so far and just the way things have been going.

Take my side, God—I'm getting kicked around, stomped on every day.
Not a day goes by
but somebody beats me up;
They make it their duty
to beat me up.
Psalm 56:1

As usual, people in general need lots of prayer support and friendship and for some reason both seem to be lacking this year. I have to keep remembering that there is a reason for all the hardships we go through (even our month plus with no hot water). There just seems to be a lack of community for younger married couples in our church and our school. It's really difficult to now be viewed differently because you've gotten married. Two years ago when I came to Korea there were a decent number of couples in the school which made for a great support system around them. We don't get that at school because there really isn't anyone else. The one other newly wed couple I think is feeling similar effects to getting married too. It just makes for a difficult time.

I'm not sure how to put that any better, but when I read verses like the one that I listed I definitely feel like that's me. Right now I'm just heavy burdened, don't really have any network to share it in, and am in some severe need for prayer.