KOSTA: Day 2

GROUP 11
PhuMyHung Bethel Youth

TIRED. I'm tired. But why am I blogging right now? (1) I wanna record the blessings while they're fresh and (2) I have to wait for the laundry - gotta wash my sweaty shirt. I left my house at 7:20AM and got home by 11:00PM. It's only day two, but I already feel my body breaking. Can I last two more days? No, I can't. But all things are possible through Him who gives me strength! FIGHTING!

LESSON. There are so many cults in this world. It's ridiculous. And sadly to say, most of them are from Korea. I always knew that they existed, but I never knew there was so many and how fast they're moving in Korea and all throughout the world. Statistics show that approximately 10,000 Koreans are falling into cults every month. It's scary. We, Christians, MUST RISE! We must fight this spiritual war and proclaim victory! "진짜가 있기때문에 가짜가 있는것이다." Falsity exists because there's truth. OUR GOD IS REAL. HE'S THE LIVING GOD. JESUS CHRIST IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE!

GROUP TIME. We are given an hour of group time and are free to do anything in our groups. Honestly, it's SO loud we can only hear each others' voices if we yell (aka.. they can only hear my voice). I have 15 students in my group ranging from 6th to 11th grade. (What more do I need to say?) It was the toughest hour of the day. There are 2 boys that ESPECIALLY give me the hardest time; the oldest two boys. They simply DO NOT listen. They're always singing together. "Be quiet." (Ignored) "Be quiet!" (Ignored) "Be quiet!!!" (Silence) 5 seconds later.. (Singing) ADD? Perhaps. "God? I don't know."

INTERCESSORY PRAYER. Every group is given an hour to go pray in the intercessory prayer room. Honestly, I was a bit worried for this time because I thought it would be so awkward that one hour would feel like a whole day. Yes, it was quiet. All I can hear is my voice and the leader's voice from the group nearby. I prayed so loudly that I felt like my throat was going to rip. I almost lost my voice by the end of that hour. BUT it was good. I laid out many different prayer topics and also gave the students some time to share their personal prayer requests (if willing). It took a while for that one bold person to raise their hand first, but as expected, many others after that shared their prayer requests as well. My throat hurt, but it was a great hour spent. PTL :)

KOSTA: Day 1

PRE KOSTA VIETNAM 2013

"어그러진 세상, 자유케하는 복음!"

Set Free into Fullness!

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:36

ANNA & HAEMIN (Co-leader)
Korean Union Church of Saigon - Main Sanctuary

FREE TO WORSHIP. Arms lifted, singing on the top of my lungs, jumping up and down, yelling out "Jooyuh (Jesus)" as loud as I want / as many times I want, praying in tongues. Sang Dancing Generation, Sing Sing Sing, I am Free, Into Your Hands all in KOREAN. I didn't even know some of these existed in Korean! (It was... interesting. I think I prefer English^^)

MESSAGE. There were three speakers: 

(1) Pastor HyunChul Kim: pastor of a church in Korea  

(2) JiWon Tahk: Investigates and studies all different types of cults and how Christians should deal with them 

(3) Missionary EunMi Lee: missionary in Africa 

All was good. I got a glimpse of how scary these cults are and how fast they're moving in Korea and all throughout the world. Most of all, I really enjoyed Missionary EunMi Lee's message. It wasn't that her message was so "new," but I couldn't stop myself from thinking, "멋있다." I was encouraged. (I'll just stop here.)

PRAYER TIME. Went around praying for my students. I realized it's the first time I laid my hands on them / held their hands and prayed for them. My heart was aching (I don't know what that's supposed to mean..) We were later told to sit in a circle in our groups. On my right was a student that I am always encouraged by, and on my left was a student that gives me the hardest time. Coincidence? I don't think so. At that moment, they were all the same - beautiful children of God, His sheep... my sheep. We were then told to pray for the group leaders. Oh boy.... it's that time. Honestly, I don't know how many students really pray for me during the week. (It's sad to say, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was none.) For the first time I felt encouraged by Bethel Youth as a whole. 

PRAYER REQUESTS

1. HEALTH - One of my students got sick today. There's so many people in the sanctuary it gets extremely hot during worship. I think she had a heatstroke. 

2. SAFETY - We're constantly going up and down the stairs (1F-5F). The staircase is really narrow and there are hundreds of people constantly going up and down.

3. INTERCESSORY PRAYER - Every group is given an hour of intercessory prayer time. We are to go to a designated room at a given time and pray. Our time is tomorrow from 4-5PM. Praying for an hour with students that hardly pray? Yes. Please pray for us.

KOSTA Vietnam 2013

KOREAN STUDENTS ALL NATIONS

I've never heard of KOSTA, but apparently it's quite big.
It's a Korean Christian organization that holds 3-4 day retreats/conferences for Korean students living abroad.
It started off in America in 1986 and is now being held in 18 different countries.

Vietnam held their first KOSTA last year and are holding their second next week from April 29th to May 2nd.
It's usually an overnight conference, but since it's hard to get governmental approval here the students will be returning home and meeting back in the morning.

There are 27 students from Bethel Youth attending this event.
Sister HyeYeon and I will be serving as group leaders for our church.

Honestly, at first I had no idea what I got myself into. Since it's such a large event that's not being organized and run by our church, it was a bit difficult to grasp what I'll be doing.
We had our first group leader's meeting last Saturday and had an all staff retreat today from 3-8PM.
IT WAS GOOD. I don't remember the last time I praised so freely and even yelled "Jooyuh" (so loudly). We did "주여삼창" (something we don't ever do at Bethel......)

The retreat was good! It got me excited and pumped up. I'm excited to worship for the next four days! But... I'm not gonna lie. I'm already exhausted just thinking about interacting with and leading the students for four long days (9AM-10PM). "Oh Lord, I need you! Brothers and sisters, I need your prayers!"

PLEASE KEEP US IN YOUR PRAYERS!

1. WORSHIP - A time where students may freely worship God and experience the joy of glorifying God through worship

2. GOSPEL/SALVATION - For non-belivers to hear and believe & for believers to be reminded once more of what the gospel message is really about; assurance of salvation

3. SPARK - That this event will bring a spark in Bethel Youth and become a good bridge for our Youth Summer Retreat 

Eczema: Round 3

I'm starting to see small bubbles again....

IT KEEPS COMING BACK! Ugh.

Maybe I should go see a dermatologist again

Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills.

From where does my help come?

My help comes from the LORD,

who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;

he who keeps you will not slumber.

Behold, he who keeps Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD is your keeper;

the LORD is your shade on your right hand.

The sun shall not strike you by day,

not the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all evil;

he will keep your life.

The LORD will keep

your going out and your coming in 

from this time forth and forevermore. 

Changes

Changes.

Hardened hearts softening.

Closed hearts opening.

Brighter faces.

Excitement for worship.

People are changing.

Slowly but surely.

God is moving.

Interviewer

Sister SeYoung is currently trying to open up her own business.

She had scheduled an interview session with 8 applicants today. 

She asked me if I can help her test the applicants' English proficiency. 

I sat there for 2 hours and helped with the interviewing process.

I've been an "interviewee" before, but never an "interviewer."

What a crazy experience!

(SeYoung & SeHee told me I have an "interviewer aura."
Whatever that even means.

Maybe I'll find myself doing something like this in the future? FUUUUture. ^^)