Spring: Grandma's Funeral, Spiritual Leadership Class

It has been months since I've sent an update! Adjusting to a new job and living in a new city was more demanding than I thought it would be, but now I'm feeling comfortable and making more friends in the area. I continue to spend weekends in Seoul or go to Seoul sometimes after work to meet my other friends there, but it's nice to have made some local friends, too. There is one local Korean family I visit in their home weekly. I met the mother at my previous job, and she has 2 sons that really like me and I love them, too. We also recently got another Korean English teacher at the after-school program named Jieun, and she and I have been getting along well. I even met some foreigners- I was shopping last weekend and saw two girls who looked so nice, so I approached them. We're going to have dinner together tonight.

Last month was a challenging time for me because my grandmother got very sick. It was so hard for me to be living alone during that time. I felt so far away from my family. Thankfully my workplace allowed me to take a week off (though writing lesson plans for a week was no joke!) and attend her funeral in Kansas. It was a very special time to remember Grandma Epp's life and spend time with my mother's side of the family. I came back refreshed mentally, though I got sick on the plane and was sick for the next few days. Being sick while living abroad usually depresses me, since I live alone and often can't take a day off. Luckily this time we had some public holidays, and I was able to rest before going back to work. Still, it's lonely being sick and being alone.

It was a joy to attend my dear friend Sarah's wedding last week in Korea. Now she has moved a small town called Pochan, which is about 2 hours from me now. I hope I can still see her regularly, and that in the future we can live closer together again.

Unfortunately my mission trip to minister to North Koreans in China was canceled, due to safety reasons. I'm disappointed, though I know safety is no joke in that region. Now I'm planning to do some type of trip the last week of July, though I haven't found a travel buddy yet. At this point I'm leaning towards staying in Korea, since it's a really hot time of the year and going anywhere else in Asia will probably be worse, but I'm not sure yet. Speaking of travel, my mother will be spending 2 weeks in Korea in September, her first trip to Korea! It's a joy to begin to plan for that as well.

At church I started taking a Spiritual Leadership class. We have lots of homework to do, like daily Lectio Divina prayers, 2 books to read, and Bible verses to memorize, plus we meet Saturday afternoons for lectures. I've wanted to take this class since I started attending the Young Adult service, but because of language I always put it off. When the pastor personally sent me a text asking if I would do it this time, though, it was the encouragement I needed. It's a challenge because the homework takes so much time, especially for me because of the language, but I'm really enjoying it. I'm at a place spiritually now where I really want to grow and learn, so it seems like the perfect time to be taking this class.

Prayer requests: Perseverance and motivation for the Spiritual Leadership class

Wisdom in the classroom and improved relationships with co-workers