Well, today we thought about changing Soo-Bear's name to whatever might be the Korean word for "monsoon." It was raining when we arrived on Friday evening, and it rained off and on all day Saturday, but the first half of Sunday was an absolute downpour! Despite the bad conditions, we made it out for church service at a really cool English-speaking church - thank you Nathan for the recommendation!! Unfortunately, between the heavy rain, reduced subway schedule (duh, it's Sunday morning!), poor map provided by the church website and the language barrier when we stopped (twice) to ask for directions, we were about an hour late for the 10:00 service. After a cup of coffee and a chance to dry out, we caught the noon service, and it was awesome! Pastor Park is truly amazing, and we're so glad we got to hear him preach.
After church, we changed out of wet clothes, socks and shoes and then headed out to explore the sights that were easily accessible by subway. In the late afternoon, we ended up in the Hyundai (yes, that Hyundai) department store. This place has absolutely the coolest and most extravagent food court we've ever seen! That's another great aspect about Seoul - you can get a terrific meal (and maybe a beer or two) for under $20.
No pictures from today, as the rain kept things pretty wet and dreary. Right now, we're preparing for tomorrow and our first meeting with Soo-Bear!! We hope to have plenty of pictures to share with you all tomorrow evening!
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift from God - not by works, so that no one can boast." Eph. 2:8-9
Thanks for the updates! I am so glad that you persevered and found the church in spite of the difficulties. I should have braced you for the rain - it can go 3-4 days straight without any sign of quitting. That's why so many of my early pictures of the trip feature all the umbrella types! Apparently, July and August represent the rainy season...although August transitions into the "hot and steamy" season too. Yikes.
ReplyDeleteAren't you just loving the city? So clean? Modern? Well-appointed. Creative. Busy. I soak in everything you write and post...so keep up the good work as you have the energy.
Also very glad you got to hear Pastor Park. I think he is an INCREDIBLY gifted man, and I loved worshiping there. Sorry the church maps from online were confusing/wrong.
- Nathan
Jennifer - This is MaryD from the Dillon forum (mommy to William and Samuel) . . . I ran into a friend of mine at Sam's this am. She was meeting our Samuel for the first time and began telling me about someone she worked with who just left for Korea and it turned out to be you. It was Sam (Sharon)Highbarger - I have worked with her daughter for years at Cancer Care Associates. Small world. Glad to hear things are going well. I'll be checking in on your blog to see how things go with your first visit. Take care and Enjoy Korea!!
ReplyDeleteI'm so enjoying these updates! I'm sorry the weather is not cooperative, although I doubt anything could dampen your spirits right now! I'm praying for you both!
ReplyDeleteHolding our breath to hear how the first visit went! So amazingly exciting big sis...and Marshall, the kid is so blessed to get a dad like you.
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ReplyDeleteSo cool you got to go to church! What was the name of the church? so proud of you for braving the fierce weather and still enjoying yourselves.
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