Chusok

Chusok. It's funny how terms can take on meaning so quickly. Chusok is a Korean holiday, one of two major holidays in Korea. They say it's very similar to thanksgiving: people go to visit their relatives and consume large quantities of food. One major difference is that ancestor worship is involved in the Korean version. Americans aren't that into ancestor worship, there's too much football to watch.
That's what Chusok means to everyone else. To me, Chusok means that I'm stuck alone in a bare apartment. The school is shut down and everything is locked. The stores are closed and though a teacher invited me to go somewhere with her I forgot to ask where I should meet her.

And there's no hot water.

I found the hot water heater today, but like everything else in this country all the instructions are in Korean. On top of that, there are no visible controls, so even if I WANTED to risk blowing up the school's guest apartment, I couldn't. I've been taking cold showers since I got here three days ago. Actually, scratch that. This morning I took a cold bath to mix things up. Still, water= freezing.

So, obviously I'm feeling
absolutely boundless joy.

Seriously. I took a bright pink sort-of-a-toy guitar which I had borrowed outside the apartment and played it for at least an hour. An old lady was picking up acorns, and she smiled and said hello (in Korean). I gave her a handful of acorns, and she said what I thought was the exact same phrase, but maybe I misheard. In either case she was really nice.
I met two of my neighbors. One introduced himself to me as the conference president, which means little to me. The other introduced herself as a lady who works at the academic office. She's American. That means a lot to me. lol.
However, that's not why I'm happy. I can hear God as I've never been able to hear Him before. It's as if I've been trying to listen to a whispering voice in a crowded cafeteria, but now all the people have gone and the place is dead quiet. God has had a bit of yelling to do. I wonder, what can I teach these people? I came here partly to strengthen my own relationship with God, do I know Him well enough to lead others to Him? I can't leap cleverly from verse to verse drawing now and astounding conclusions to dazzle my audience. However, yesterday I was reading my Bible (not having a computer will do that) and I ran across 1 Corinthians 1:17
"For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with clever words, so that that the cross of Christ will not be emptied of it's effect."
I hope that if I make this simple message my goal, God will do all the fancy work. Isn't it supposed to work that way anyway? Another thing I've run into repeatedly is the message 'ask for wisdom, believe, and God will give it to you'. I don't know how many times the Bible states that general idea, but I've run into it three times in the last two days. How's that for a clear message?

-This post was written two days ago, I typed it up when I had access to a computer.