Jesus has bobo...

It's Holy Week. And we are trying to tell our 2 years old daughter what it is all about. Her mother told her about how Jesus came in a parade on Palm Sunday but that later some "not good" people took him and put him in "timeout." It becomes tricky because she gets "timeout" when she does something not nice to make us upset, but Jesus did not do anything "not nice." It confuses her how Jesus got "timeout." Then the "not good" people hurt Jesus and put him in the cross. With a sad look in her face, she replied, "Oh, Jesus has bobo."
Now, it's only Good Friday. We still have to tell her the story of Jesus's death and resurrection on Easter. That will be a challenge...

Friday Fellowships

Last Friday, during our fellowships, one of our friends celebrated his birthday. It was a very significant moment. Birthdays are usually spent with your family. But because Haejin, our firned, was another international student, he did not have any family here. Not really. We are his family here in seminary. So he celebrated his birthday with his family. In a place where you are away from home. Seminary students can define what a Christian family looks like. In the celebration of Haejin's birthday, we also celebrated the blessing of God for us to embody the Christian family.

Living as a Community

November 24, 2007

I moved to an apartment in Bedford Street. The apartment is a 3 bedroom unit and I would be sharing it with Daniel and Inseo, my classmates in the seminary. I have no trouble living in an apartment with other people since I lived most of my college and med life with my classmates. What's interesting with this new setting is I would be living with two other people with cultural backgrounds totally different from mine. What is more interesting is that we would be living with our families together.

Yes, my family would be with me. They came here early Novemeber and that is one of the reasons I had to move out from my host family. I had to find a place for me and my family. God is so gracious in using my friends who readily offered their place so I can have a place where my family can also stay.

This set-up would work. Financially, it is cheap enough that I can afford it. The location is close enough to Duke. The place is safe and secure enough. Plus I would be blessed knowing I am living with my family. And when I say family, it's not just my wife and daughter, but that I would be livng with my Christian brothers and sister.

Fall Break

It's Fall break.

There's nothing to do. There' no one around. There's no one to talk to. There's no where to go.

It gets pretty boring really if everybody leaves for home but you get to stay. That's my life in the seminary. I would have loved to go to the homecoming ball games. Duke is playing Virginia Tech (doesn't matter if they win, we watch for fun). Again the weekend would also be a nice time to go to the Carolina Fair in Raleigh just to have fun. But you cannot have fun doing activites that are supposed to be enjoyed as a group. So, I'm stuck here in my room... reading and writing... and reading and writing again... Sigh.......

Away From Home

Dr. H, my professor, shared his story as a student being away from home. In this University, everyone seems to think that being homesick is not too great deal of a problem. Of course they don't! Almost all, if not all, can get home whenever they want. The elite or "rich kids" in this University are visited by their parents over the weekend by flying in a chopper. Yes, a chopper! The not so elite go home once or twice in a month by flying back home. My classmate does that. And almost everybody gets to see their parents during the family weekend visits or at midsemestral breaks. But not for me. I only get to see my family at the end of the semester. I am still lucky, says my professor. He got to see his family after the schoolyear. His other classmate got to see his family only after they graduated. Being away from home may be taken for granted by others because they don't think getting homesick affects your student life. But it does. Sometimes it just makes you want to quit school and go home. But being away from home is a reality, as Dr. H says, you either deal with it or it will deal with you.

Food Shortage

It's Monday. I don't have a class so my classmates and I won't have our daily lunch together.It's almost the end of the month. My stipend has not arrived yet. I have no money to buy food. I have no food to cook in the freezer. I am hungry. I have no food to eat... but I am not fazed. This has been happening to me since my first year. Yet I trust in God that God will provide for me. If God provides for those little birds, how much more for us humans created in God's image. The Int'l Fellowship offers free lunch, as long as you sign up for their Bible studies. In the afternoon, there is free vegetarian dinner, as long as you are willing to listen about Krishna. There is free food everywhere. Sometimes, extra foods from conferences and meetings find their way in the student kitchen. I just need to stand by there as free food always disappears within minutes. It may sound pitiful for a seminary student to be in food shortage. But I guess, it's just part of the training of a clergy-to-be... after all, the same problem of food shortage will happen when I become a clergy.

Second Year

I am on my second year in seminary. I am still alone and away from my family. What does it take for me to follow God's will? Do I really need to suffer this much? No one knows in the secular world how difficult it is for seminarians to be away from home to study. They think going to seminary is just like going to school. It needs sacrifice. It may mean you have to cut worktime and yet spend more. It may mean you have to quit a job and shift carrers. It may mean to be away from your family. For me, I have to suffer all three. And I am in my second year of such experiences. Only God knows my suferring. And God keeps me and sustains me.