The Roberts in Korea

W.O.W.

Tonight our high school student ministries department sponsored a Walk of Worship (W.O.W.) night for any interested staff and students.  It was a great event.  There were five worship stations that we moved through as a group.  The first involved corporate prayer, the second was a skit/message that my daughter, Sarah, participated in--it was powerful.  (Below I have included a video of the presentation done by a different group of students in a church in the USA.)  The third station involved a journaling/reflecting process on our response to the skit's message and the promptings of the Holy Spirit upon our hearts.  The fourth station involved praying in small groups for one another and the final station involved a time of celebratory singing, praise and worship.  It was an incredible night of worship--and it was completely led by high school and middle school students.

Here is the video of the skit.  Actually, it is a skit done to a song by Switchfoot.  The combination of the skit and the lyrics are very meaningful.  Take a moment to watch and listen to the video and be ready to be challenged and blessed.

Redheads and Ruffians

You may recognize this bulldog from an earlier post.  He is the pet of one of the families that run one of our school dormitories.  The dorm sits right outside the side gate of TCIS and the dog is the resident of a very small fenced-in area right next to the busy sidewalk that runs between the dorm and the street.  He looks like a ruffian, but really he is a softy.  He gets lots of looks by Koreans that pass by his dwelling and some of the children (and university students) that are walking by take the chance and reach in and pet him.  He greets them with a grunt and a slobbery lick of his tongue.  He is more of a zoo attraction than a pet.

In the next picture you see a pair of redheads (almost).  It is Becca and Levi Miller working on a project together at our house.  It seems like just the other day these two were a couple of imps swinging on the tire swing in Idaho and playing outside in the mud.  Now they are buddies sitting at the kitchen table, with their laptops open, working on a school project in Daejeon, South Korea.  Levi's hair isn't naturally blondish red--it is brown.  He dyed it while he was on a mission trip to an orphanage in Thailand over Spring Break.

Look around...you never know what you will see.  God's beauty is everywhere--even in buddies and bulldogs.

Basketball at KIS

On Saturday, April 18, we all boarded a bus and headed for Seoul and the Korea International School (KIS) for the middle school basketball jamboree.  Sarah participated in the tournament as a player and Becca participated as a coach--in fact, as Sarah's coach.

The day was filled with lots of basketball, lots of walking all over the huge KIS campus and a long bus ride to begin and end the day.  Sarah played some great basketball.  Her team played four games throughout the day and they won two games and they lost two games.  Sarah scored some baskets, pulled down some rebounds and played some tenacious defense.

We had a great days watching some basketball, playing some basketball, coaching some basketball and being together.

Big Strawberry

Here in South Korea the landscape consists of two things:  either the ground is covered with concrete, buildings and city or it is covered with foliage, fields and greenhouses.  The Korean people love to grow things and they do it well. 

This spring we have been enjoying some delicious fruit here in South Korea.  Because of the "central" location of the Korean Peninsula in Asia there are a lot of wonderful choices when it comes to purchasing and eating fruits and vegetables in this country.

Over the past few weeks we have been enjoying some delicious and huge strawberries.  Becca and Sarah are not holding an apple, they are holding a strawberry.  As you can see, the strawberries are big here in South Korea.  For perspective I put that strawberry next to my size 13 shoe.  After I took the picture...I ate it.  (The strawberry, not my shoe.)

Happy Easter

“Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be in the will of God.”—Jim Elliot

These are the words of a man who lived his life in the light of the Resurrection.  Just over fifty years ago Jim Elliot and four missionary companions were speared to death on a remote river beach in Ecuador, South America.  The missionaries were there to share the gospel of Jesus Christ—the Risen One—with the Auca Indian tribe.  They gave their lives to share with others about the God who is greater than death.  In the light of the Resurrection, they found the freedom to truly live.

How are you living your life?  Are you living in freedom?  As the sun rises over the empty tomb on this Easter morning are you living in the light of the Resurrection?  Are you living to the hilt your life and your situation in God?  Regardless of where you are, what your condition, or whom you are with—you can live your story fully and completely for Jesus Christ—leaving the details to be played out in the eternal light of the Resurrection.

Today, the Auca Indian tribe exists as a community of Christ followers.  The warriors who brandished the machetes and spears so long ago are now preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to their own people and to neighboring tribes.  Some of the warriors have passed on from this life and are now walking the streets of heaven with Jesus, Jim Elliot and the other missionaries.  In the light of the Resurrection, their story continues—and so does ours.  Eternity will tell the stories of our lives.

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain that which he cannot lose.”—Jim  Elliot

He is Risen!  Live life to the hilt.

Holy Saturday Thoughts

I (Ryan) woke up this morning feeling a sense of dread for the day.  I felt blank and blasé.  I didn’t want to get out of bed and I have no idea why.  I have no regrets.  I am not sick.  It is not raining outside.  I even got to bed at a decent time the night before.  There is no reason for me to feel this way.

Today is Holy Saturday—the day after the crucifixion of Jesus and the day before His glorious resurrection.

I did finally get out of bed this morning and I read John 19—it is the account in the Bible of the crucifixion of Jesus.  As I read about Jesus on the cross, my attention went to those who witnessed the horrific event:  Mary, John, the disciples, Mary Magdalene, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus and the others.

Chapter 19 in the book of John details the crucifixion of Jesus and chapter 20 tells of the resurrection of Christ on Easter morning.  But what about Holy Saturday?  In my Bible there is an inch of space between the end of John 19 and the beginning of John 20 that is as blank and empty as I felt this morning.

If they slept at all, I wonder how Mary, John, the disciples, Mary Magdalene, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus and the others felt on that Saturday morning?  I can’t imagine-but what I do know is that their doubts, questions, feelings and fears did not go unaddressed.

I don’t think we are supposed to spend too much time and energy in the realm of the painful, awkward silence of Holy Saturday—rather, give it its allotted space and read on to the next chapter.  We need to rise up from the gloom and despair of Holy Saturday morning realizing that with each tick of the clock we are inching closer to the hope and life of Easter morning.

"Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." (Ephesians 5:14, NIV)

Good Friday Thoughts

Here are a few things to reflect upon this Good Friday. The cross of Christ and the empty tomb should not be considered independent of one another. In the cross of Christ and the Resurrection we find a God who truly knows the extent of our sufferings, who redeems us from the pit of our sins and makes us new, now and forever more.

“In the cross of his Son, God took upon himself not only death, so that man might be able to die comforted with the certainty that even death could not separate him from God, but still more, in order to make the crucified Christ the ground of his new creation, in which death itself is swallowed up in the victory of life and there will be ‘no sorrow, no crying, and no more tears’.” (The Crucified God by J. Moltmann)

Finally, please take a moment to listen to the song, "To a Broken God" by Michael Card.  The lyrics are below.  Have a Good Friday.

Didn’t see you there, didn’t know you were weeping too;
I think of tears as a human wound.
Though of course you care, you have shown you were human too;
They say you cried at Lazarus’ tomb.

I was unaware how it is with a broken God;
I thought of you as above my pain.
Lost in my despair, so it is with a broken heart;
I never dreamed you could feel the same.

Once…,
In a magazine I saw a face,
Wrinkled up in grief and travailed grace.
I kept looking to that face,
Some sad refugee in some sad place;
And in his eyes the sorrow of our race.
And then I saw, it was the face of God,
the face of God, your face dear God.

Some say you’re not there, just a myth for a lazy life;
An artifact from an ancient scroll.
But I have known you near in the gift of a weary sigh;
Lord of the lost and the lonesome soul.

I was unaware how it is with a broken God;
I never dreamed you could feel the same.

Spring (Break) Walk

Wednesday morning Ryan hustled Becca and Sarah into the shower and wrangled them out of the house to go for a walk.  (Needless to say, they weren’t to thrilled.)  We headed to the outskirts of town for a walk through the fields and on the trails near Chicken Foot Mountain.

The sights we saw were beautiful and many of the Korean people that we met along the trail thought the girls were a beautiful sight.  (Many of the Korean women smiled and said the Korean word for beautiful as they walked past us—I don’t think they were talking about Ryan.)  Becca and Sarah looked pretty fancy with their long hair, fair skin and posh sunglasses.

 On our walk we saw lot of fields and greenhouses that were recently planted or in the final stages of being ready to be planted.  This is the time of year that the cherry blossoms are blooming and we saw many beautiful, flowering trees.  As the trail meandered through the trees the petals fell from the trees like snowflakes in winter.

Along the trail there were benches for sitting, wide spots for stretching and a stone walking course.  The stone course is made up of many sharp stones that people walk on with their bare or socked feet.  The stones serve as a source of pressure on certain points on the soles of the feet—a form of Asian/Oriental medicine.  The stones are very painful to walk on but following the experience it is amazing how you feel energized and refreshed.

Midway through our walk we came upon a small Korean “snack shack.”  In it was a little Korean lady selling coffee, ramien, odang (pressed fish) and bondegi (cooked silkworm larva).  We stopped for a coffee break and drank the water and ate the candy bars we brought along with us in our backpack.  It was a good stop.

The Spring (Break) Walk that started out with some grunts and grumbles ended up being a good time.  We taxied back home (in ten minutes), grabbed some Kimbap for lunch and told Dina all about our adventure.  Becca and Sarah did most of the talking—they must have had fun.

Outside Severance

While Dina was resting quietly in the room, I ventured outside the walls of Severance Hospital in Seoul, South Korea.  I didn't have to go far to find signs of the city.  One block beyond the front gate of the hospital and the entrance to Yonsei University I found a busy street, filled with signs, buses, taxis and the potential for lots of people.

It was early in the morning when I took my walk out and about.  Because this area of town is right on the edge of a huge university I suspect that in the evenings there are tens of thousands of people walking the sidewalks and visiting the various eateries and coffee shops along the way.

I visited a three story Starbucks that was very near the hospital and I found it interesting that I could look directly out the front window of the shop and see a three story Holly's Coffee Shop right across the street.  You know there must be lots of people at one time or another for these two huge coffee shops to survive in such close proximity to one another.

On my walk I paused to enjoy the beauty of a huge church/cathedral along the way.  Some people gave me some funny looks as I was taking pictures of the facility.  I am sure I looked like a tourist in more ways than one.  There is so much to see outside our front doors (wherever those doors may be).  Shouldn't we all be tourists--always looking to enjoy the wonders of the people and places all around us?

Dina at the Doctor

This past week Dina had quite an adventure.  Dina went into the hospital for a major surgery.  On Tuesday night she checked into the Severance Hospital in Seoul, South Korea.  Her room was on the 13th floor of the hospital and the view of the city from her room window was excellent.

On Wednesday morning Dina went into surgery and returned back to her room four hours later.  The surgery went very well.  Dr. Choi was the surgeon.  He is a very kind and gentle Korean gentleman who is known as a pioneer and a specialist in the field of laparascopic surgery.

During the five days and four nights that Dina was in the hospital she had two doctors that were overseeing her condition--Dr. Choi, the surgeon, and Dr. Kwon, the OB GYN.  Both doctors checked on Dina two times a day and both doctors spoke excellent English and provided wonderful care.  Severance Hospital is a teaching hospital in association with Yonsei University.  Every time the doctors would come in to talk with Dina they would be followed by an entourage of four or five "doctors in training."  It was a fun process to observe and experience.

During the week in the hospital, Ryan stayed with Dina in her room and assisted her throughout the recovery process.  There were some challenges at times related to the various nurses assisting Dina and their varying abilities to speak the English language.  Ryan ran interference along with the help of the TCIS nurse on the cell phone.  All in all, things went well and the nurses did a great job of taking care of Dina.

Currently Dina is home in Daejeon, watching "I Love Lucy" episodes on DVD with Sarah, and recovering from her surgery.  Dina is feeling "good" and overall the entire surgery experience was "good."  We know that every "good" gift comes from God and we are thankful to God for His providence and care throughout the process. 

P.s.  Thanks to many of you for your prayers and concerns for Dina this past week.