We met Paul in the subway station, while pouring over this really nice 3D map Matt got from a co-teacher. Paul commented that it was a nice map, mainly because it was, less because he wanted to talk to us. Turns out he’s a Korean preacher for a missionary and he wanted to exchange phone numbers. Since I’m open to meeting new people, trying new things, I gave him my number, without much thought that our paths would ever meet again. But then he sent me a message on Saturday night when we were out at the Wine Bar and asked if we’d like to join them for lunch on Sunday. I was a little trepidacious to say the least: this was not some bar or fried chicken place. This was an invite to a personal home. Matt was on board though, so I agreed to go.
We were to meet at Beomgye station and he would drive us to his house. We had visions about going to a Korean family’s house. How different would it be from our teeny apartments? Would eating with them be strange? We hoped for the best, but honestly expected very little.
When we did finally get into the car, since we were waiting at the wrong department store, it was cool, comfortable, and clean. A good sign and indicator of how the house would be right? Turns out I was right. His wife Louise met us down at the door and walked us to their apartment. The place was not what I had expected. It had a central hallway that broke off into a bedroom on the left, kitchen further down, bathroom at the end, another bedroom on the right, and living room right beside me, to the immediate right of the front door. It was bright and airy. The kitchen reminded me of what we find back home (complete with a stove! Swoon!). It felt like a real home. And they made us feel so welcome, it was really nice. Sometimes here I feel like a leper, other times I feel like a movie star. At this house, however, we were just welcomed guests, no more, no less. It felt natural and a bit like home.
There were two other guests there already: a couple who had immigrated from North Korea fifteen years earlier. They didn’t speak English, but our translators spoke quick enough for us to understand his story. And what a story. They were sure that God had led him to South Korea, but I, being a literalist, wanted to know exactly HOW he came to live here. Did he travel by foot to China? By boat to South Korea? The answers to both were yes, though the details were a little vague. Needless to say, he was glad to be here, living a great life and I never did get the physical details of that whole story.
We were joined by another foreigner, Jeremy, who was only in Korea as part of a long vacation. He told Matt that he was an actor in LA but work was short right now, so he took the opportunity to backpack around Asia. He had been through South East Asia and China already and was continuing through for another few months. He was very interesting, comfortable in his own skin, and acclimatized to his surroundings well. Unlike us, his chopstick wielding skills were superior. I am sure I will get it eventually.
We were also joined by Lydia, Paul and Louise’s youngest daughter. Her older sister was in England studying and participating in a mission for six months. Lydia was chatty and her English was wonderful. It was a real joy to meet a teenager who wasn’t shy, didn’t hold back, and wanted to talk unabashedly to us. She had so much to say, and she helped to explain some of the differences between the Korean and the North American cultures. It was very refreshing.
Lunch was served and we were relieved and satisfied. Louise cooked curried pork with rice and vegetables. Of course the traditional side dishes were out in full effect, bringing the large table alive with an eating frenzy. We had a nice lunch: conversation was fluent, everyone was talking, and the food, of course, was delicious.
After lunch, Paul wanted to talk to us about his mission, but he wasn’t pushy or authoritative. He was kind and compassionate, loving the fact that Matt and I went to church knowing it was going to be in Korean (did I blog about that? What an experience. But aren't all Catholic churches the same, really? Turns out, yes). Then he played Joel Osteen for us, a pastor at an enormous Houston, Texas church (more like a stadium). Well Matt was just about in heaven!
Joel talked about how we see things with a tainted view how negative things can look to us. We have to clean our own soul, get rid of our own “dirt” in order to see the beauty that is in front of us in the world. It was such a message to get on Sunday, August 23, 2009 of all days. A joke punctuated the words: A man got into an accident and was yelling at the woman who hit him.
He said, “You have to be more careful. You are the fourth person who’s hit me today!”
I took the following message from his speech: only after we acknowledge that we are not perfect, sometimes wrong, and definitely capable of being better, can we start to see that it’s okay that others are imperfect too. Sometimes we have to point the finger of blame at ourselves to fully appreciate that we aren’t always faultless in this world. We all play our own part in how our lives play out. Without our own influence we are just innocent bystanders. And I am not a bystander. It is time to reexamine what I’ve done, how I’ve gotten right here. Will I change myself to change my life? Or will I remain the same to keep the track of my future going in the same direction? Sure there are things that work but there are a plethora of things that don't. Am I ready to take the first steps to change what hasn't worked so far?
It was no coincidence that Matt had that great map that day on the subway. No coincidence that we met Paul, no coincidence that I got that message on that day, and no coincidence that it hit me as hard as it did.
We declined a ride to the station from Paul and walked to the bus instead. And don’t you know, we finally found a library? It is super close to the park where we play Frisbee each Monday night. Another non-coincidence. What a day.
No comments:
Post a Comment