The Roberts in Korea

Spring Break in Busan #1

This past week we enjoyed one of the many joys of spring--Spring Break.  We spent a good part of the week on the Southern tip of South Korea in the city of Busan.  Busan is a very interesting and relaxing place to visit.  We took the two hour bullet train ride down to Busan and were walking on the beach less than three hours after we left our home in Daejeon.

The weather was a bit windy and rainy during our time in Busan, but that didn't matter.  The beauty of the beach and the sounds and the smells of the ocean more than made up for the poor weather conditions.  The real beauty of our trip to Busan was realized in the fact that we had some quality time to spend together as a family.  We did a whole lot of nothing in Busan except be together.  We enjoyed numerous walks on the beach, many great meals together and lots of cups of coffee and hot chocolate.  It was a good time.

 

 

Sarah Turns 14

Sunday was a special day in our house.  It was Sarah's 14th birthday.  We have celebrated her birthday throughout the weekend.  On Friday night Sarah had some friends over for a sleep over and the girls all had a good time.  They went up town and enjoyed a meal at McDonalds, they took sticker photos and then did some "shopping." 

Back at the house they enjoyed Sarah's birthday cake.  It was made by Sarah's friend, Anna, and it was delicious. The girls watched a movie together and stayed up way too late talking, laughing and doing whatever girls do at a sleepover.

On Sunday we went to church and then out to lunch at the Time World shopping mall in Daejeon.  When we got home Sarah opened her birthday presents.  She received some nice gifts: some headphones, lots of fingernail polish from her sister and the last season of the Lucy Show.  Sarah now has all of the Lucy Show videos.

We are thankful for Sarah and for every second of the fourteen years that we have had her in our lives.

Steve Saint in Seoul

A couple of Saturdays ago I (Ryan) attended the wedding of Andy and Pauline.  After the ceremony I jumped into a taxi and headed to the Daejeon train station.  I took a train to Seoul and met my friend Ryan Dellos at Seoul Station.  From there we headed off to a church in Seoul where Steve Saint was to be the featured speaker.  Steve Saint is the son of Nate Saint, one of the five missionaries that was speared to death in South America in 1956.  Yes, I got to hear Steve Saint speak, in person.  Here is the story…

It all started a couple of months ago.  While I was in Bangkok I read through Steve Saint’s book, Walking His Trail.  In the book he mentioned that parts of his father’s plane were found in 1996 and they were on display at the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) Headquarters in Nampa, Idaho.  In mid February I went to Nampa, Idaho to speak in the NNU chapel service and I stopped by the MAF headquarters to take a look at the remnants of Nate Saint’s plane.  I took some pictures and upon my return to South Korea I posted the story and the pictures on our family blog.  See HERE.

A week or so after posting the blog about seeing the remnants of the plane in Nampa I received a comment on my blog by someone that works with Steve Saint in the I-TEC ministry.  The person had stumbled across my blog, realized that I was living in South Korea, and thought I would be interested to know that Steve Saint was scheduled to be in South Korea during the third week of March.

I sent some emails to the folks at I-TEC inquiring of Steve’s itinerary in South Korea and a few days later I received a copy of his itinerary while he was here in South Korea.  My secretary (who is Korean) very nicely helped me pinpoint the places and the times that Steve Saint would be talking and I zeroed in on attending a 5 p.m Saturday service in Seoul. 

I was at our sister school, GSIS, on the Thursday before my Saturday trip to Seoul and I mentioned my upcoming trip to my friend Ryan Dellos.  Ryan is a Resident Assistant in the dorm at GSIS.  He grew up as a missionary kid in South America and attended school in Ecuador.  Ryan knew of Steve Saint and said that he wanted to tag along and hear him speak, so I met him at Seoul Station and our adventure began.

Ryan and I made our way in a taxi to a church in Seoul and we entered a large auditorium that looked to seat about 1800 people.  We arrived 20 minutes before the service was to start and there were only a handful of people in the auditorium.  We sat down on the front row--just a few feet away from where the speaker’s microphone and podium were set up.  As we sat there waiting, a gentleman that looked to be “in charge” came up to me and knelt down and asked if I was Steve Saint.  It was hilarious. I was wearing a suit because I had just come from a wedding and I do have glasses and a beard and I do look a bit like Steve Saint.  I told him no, I was not Steve Saint, but that I was there to hear him speak.  He told me that Steve Saint had not shown up yet and they were not exactly sure what he looked like.

About five minutes later Steve Saint showed up with his Korean escort and translator.  It was cool to see him in flesh and blood.  I have read so many books by him and about him, and I have seen his movie, “End of the Spear.”  Over the twenty minutes that we sat there before the service began the auditorium preceded to nearly fill up.  There ended up being about 1500 people present in the gathering and there were only three white, Western faces in the large crowd:  Steve Saint, Ryan Dellos and me.

Steve Saint did a great job of sharing.  He spoke for over an hour and a half.  He went unusually long because of the uniqueness of the gathering.  It was a University Bible Fellowship (UBF) gathering of college students that were interested in being involved in missions.  So Steve Saint took the liberty to give them lots of teaching about missions and he shared many of his own thoughts on missions.  It was great.

After the service, Ryan Dellos and I spoke to Mr. Saint.  We spoke with him for a long time.  It was fun to realize that he and Ryan went to the same high school, Alliance Academy in Ecuador.  Steve Saint said that he graduated from there in 1969.  I told him of my love for the story of his father and of the other four missionaries.  I told him that I had tried to read everything that I could about the story of the five missionaries.

It was so great to talk with Steve Saint, to hear him speak and to get a picture taken with him.  He is one of my modern day heroes.  If we would have had the time, we were invited to go to dinner with Steve Saint and his host, but both Ryan and I needed to get on the train and the bus headed for our respective homes.

As we left that gathering we were giddy.  We both couldn’t get over what a privilege it was to be a part of that experience; to hear Steve Saint, to interact with him the way that we did and to do it all in South Korea.

It was a very cool and memorable event.

 

Up and About, Beautiful and Thankful

There has been a lot of sleeping in going on in our house over this past week of Spring Break.  Yesterday, when everyone was up and about, I suggested that the girls and I (Ryan) go on a little hike in the hills that are just on the outskirts of the city.  The idea wasn't received with great enthusiasm, but the girls were troopers and within minutes we were headed out the door.

It was a beautiful sunny day.  The taxi driver that took us to the trailhead said that I had beautiful daughters and we ended up having a fun and beautiful time.  I am thankful.

More On Availability

In my previous post about Andy and Pauline I mentioned the statement and idea, "...that when it comes to serving God, it is not so much about our ability as it is about our availability."

I first heard this statement from a treasured friend and mentor, Mr. Thompson.  The truth of this statement has been realized in my life, time and time again.  In our limited ability God is the one that makes up the difference and uses our lives for good as we offer ourselves up in availability to him.

Today I ran across some thoughts from John Fischer on the idea of ability and availability.  I like the way that Mr. Fischer has given a bit of description to what ability and availability might look like in God's economy.  I share Fischer's thoughts below.  Please give them a read and then ask yourself, "Am I making myself available to God?"

Ability and availability
by John Fischer

God doesn't want your ability as much as he wants your availability.

We shine in our abilities; God shines in our availability.

Our ability makes us strong; our availability makes us vulnerable.

People are impressed with our abilities; God is impressed with our availability.

Practice improves our ability; faith improves our availability.

Our ability makes us popular; our availability makes God popular.

Not everyone is able; but anyone can be available.

Our ability draws on our natural talents; our availability draws on our spiritual gifts.

Ability can put us in the way; availability keeps us out of the way.

Our ability is fine; our availability is better.

God teams up with our ability; He gets inside our availability.

A Win-Win

At noon yesterday I attended and participated in Andy and Pauline Yoo’s wedding.  It was such a delight.  I enjoyed the privilege and the opportunity of leading the opening prayer in the ceremony.  The wedding was a beautiful time filled with much joy and honor to God.

As I sat there in the church yesterday I couldn’t help but be amazed at how God works in our lives.  It was just a few months ago, in early December, that I was talking with Andy in my office about the volunteer music and worship leadership position at the Onurri English Ministry Church.  My family and I attend that church and Andy attends the much larger Korean service at the same church.  The current worship leader at the English service was planning on leaving and I thought that Andy was the man for the job.  I remember telling Andy that I thought he should consider being the worship leader and I recall hearing him say, in fear, that he couldn’t do it.  He said he didn’t have the English skills or the musical ability to lead the gathering in music and worship.  I obviously disagreed with him.  I told him that he did have what it took to lead worship and I encouraged him to give the Lord a chance.  I told him to think about making himself available to God.

In serving the Lord, I have learned, and am still learning, that it is not so much about our ability as it is about our availability to serve God in our lives.  I told Andy that I didn’t feel that I was ever ready or prepared to do any job that I have done in my life—I felt that my ability was lacking, but each time that I have made myself “available” I have been amazed at how God has made up the difference.  I asked Andy to at least think about and pray about being available to God in relation to being the worship leader.  And… I mentioned to him that there were some very special Korean people in the worship band/team and a “particularly” nice girl named Pauline that I thought he should meet.

Later that same evening I got a late night text message from Andy.  It said, “I am available!  I will lead worship for my Lord! Praise the Lord!”  Apparently Andy had been wrestling and praying throughout the day about being available to lead worship… and God won.   Needless to say, Andy met Pauline in the worship team and they became fast friends.  When I came back from some vacation time and business travel a month later Andy came into my office and informed me that he loved leading the worship at the church.  He said it was one of the greatest things that had ever happened in his life—and he said that he had met the woman that he was going to marry.  That woman was Pauline.

Three months after that initial worship leading discussion in my office I found myself sitting in a church watching Andy and Pauline get married.  Wow, what an occasion of joy and celebration it was.  Andy took the time to wrestle before God with his fear, hesitancy and availability to lead worship and God won. 

Sitting there in the ceremony yesterday, looking at the smile on Andy’s face as he stood in front of family and friends with the radiant and beautiful Pauline on his arm, I couldn’t help but think… that Andy won too.    

Dramatics

This past week was a busy one for Sarah.  She was involved in the Middle School Spring Drama presentation and she was involved in a Middle School Forensics activity.

The Middle School Drama presentation this year was a creative  rendition of Cinderella.  Sarah played the part of the wicked step-mother.  She had a ton of lines and she was involved in most of the scenes of the play.  She is good.  It was surprising how such a nice, cheery girl can be so mean and wicked on the stage.  The program was delightful and Sarah's acting ability was impressive.

The next day she participated in the Middle School Forensics activity.  Sarah and her friend Anna performed a dramatic duo presentation of an argument over trivial things.  As I (Ryan) watched their presentation I felt a  tinge of discomfort.  It was so real.  They are good actors.  Again, Sarah was impressive.  We are proud of Sarah.

Last MS Volleyball Jamboree

Sarah played in her last Middle School Volleyball Jamboree on Saturday.  TCIS hosted the jamboree.  Thankfully the snow melted off and a hint of warm spring weather made an appearance here in South Korea.  It is a good thing because the TCIS gymnasium was not big enough to handle all of the teams that came to the Middle School jamboree, so some of the matches had to be held outside on the school tennis courts.

Sarah played well and Becca coached well.  Sarah is growing in both stature and volleyball skills and she has her sights set on trying out for the High School volleyball team next year.  We are proud of Sarah.

Spring Morning?

I don't know what your conception is of weather in other places in the world, but if you think that the weather in South Korea is "nice"...you might think again.  This is the Spring morning that we woke up to last Monday here in South Korea.

Our Car

Do you remember the song from Sesame Street that Cookie Monster used to sing?  "One of these things is not like the other things."

Well, this is a picture of the administrative/business office parking area at our school.  We finally got a car here in South Korea.  It is a used Hyundai Sonata (of course). 

Can you guess which car is mine?  I missed the memo...