GREAT NEWS!!!

To be honest, I tried preparing in order to witness to my relatives, but if I'm not in a situation where I'm in a one on one situation with them it's hard to tell them about the Gospel...BUT I got strength from sis's comment about prayer (THANK YOU = ) and I told them exactly what I was doing in Korea. To my aunt in Busan, I was able to tell them EXACTLY what I was here for, and at my grandfather's house, I was able to give my ENM Gospel Pamphlet and explain in to my distant uncle (my grandfather's older brother's grandson) who was sitting right next to my grandfather, so it was indirectly, but still, I feel I planted the seed = ) Now I need to continue to pray and ask for your prayers as well. Also, on my 1 hour metro ride to the bus depot, I was able to witness to my uncle who lives with my grandparents. I told him how I live a happy life and how I find peace and joy in Christ...we had a deep talk...I know for sure I impacted him in a postive way. I told him that he should go to church or to temple with his parents so that they wouldn't be so lonely at home and that he could also meet more people, even possibly a wife. I asked him what motivated him to live and to work hard...he didn't have an answer...just said he was merely existing. I told him that he can live with a purpose in Christ Jesus, and yes, if he's not ready to accept Christ, to continue to research and question and really find out WHY ARE WE HERE and HOW CAN I BE HAPPY, etc. I know that if he really searches the Holy Spirit will reveal Jesus' love to him = )
**So please pray for my relatives that the seed I planted will not wither and wilt, but that it will blossom = )

ALSO GOOD NEWS!!!
Very cool how for my QT I was reading in 1 Corinthians 15 about how my work in the lord would not be in vain, and that night I met with Wang-Bong and he said he wanted to start attending church!!! He said that he had learned so much from me and how I treat him and others and how whenever he plays sports with the other brothers how they are so kind and friendly, etc, so he said he came to the conclusion that maybe people who follow Jesus really do live happily and joyfully. He said he MIGHT be interested in doing a Bible Study with me = ) I will pray about that. I told him to see if he liked church first, and if he did, then little by little bit I could help him to get to know Christ better. I'm hoping I can have Bible Study with him every week. It's amazing because I was praying about this (having somebody I could help lead) because I really wanted to be able to go to the next level of discipleship...I really do want to join the MFT (mission force team = P)
**Please pray for Wang-Bong to continue to grow in Christ = ) I pray that his curiosity as to why the brothers and I live so joyfully will lead him to believe = )
Also pray that his heart will be at ease...the grandmother and cooked at his dorm room passed away Wednesday...it was unexpected due to her slipping on ice and bumping her head...= (

ALSO, ALSO GOOD NEWS!
Sang-Joon and I got readmitted back into the Academy = ) I got a message from Sang yesterday saying he got readmitted, but I wasn't able to check my email until right before this.

"On behalf of Dean Latta, congratulations, the Academic Board has readmitted you to the Brigade of Midshipmen. Letter from Dean Latta to follow."

So I will be going back to the Academy as the class of 2009!

**Please pray for Sang that God will continue to work in his life and that he will know God's will for him.

**Please pray for the KAMA members as they will be undergoing some hard times...just read the email from my friend Dan...but I'm thankful that they have a good attitude about it = ) KAMA meeting 3 times a day...

Also read an email from my roommate Seamus and found out my friends at the Academy are doing well = ) GOD IS GOOD = )

Sang wanted to meet with me today but I did not have time due to the ENM missionaries in China staying here at ENM and preperation for our graduation ceremony tomorrow. I have to memorize this Korean song by tomorrow (I really should be practicing, but I also want to inform you guys = ) !!! Been busy since I got back Wednesday night meeting with Daniel. He first met Christ a year ago from the Qingdao missionary...the "Boss Man" I went to visit in December. I had fellowship with Daniel there, and for the past two days I've been showing him around Seoul and helping translate for him whenever he has fellowship with the other brothers here (he majored in English...I can't speak Chinese = P )
**Please pray that Daniel will continue to grow in the Lord = ) I have 2 more days with him.

We will be leaving in 10 min to go play soccer with the other brothers and Wang-Bong = )

So for my I went to Busan, saw my relatives, saw my uncle in Chung-Jew, he took me on a surprise trip to Jeju Island! It was such a blessing! God has been so GREAT TO ME...not just Jeju, but just everything in general! Great friends both here in Korea and back in the states, loving family and relatives, the opportunity's He's give me...sometimes I feel so ashamed...emotional... because God has blessed me SO MUCH and I don't deserve it, but it's all because of HIS GRACE!!!
**Please pray for my Chung-Jew uncle for his health. He had knee and foot problems climbing up Mt Hallasan, the highest mountain in South Korea. Also, for his situation with his family...his wife committed adultery a couple of years ago and so he moved out and can only occassionally see his kids...even though he did nothing wrong...and that's why he wanted to take me to Jeju with his sons so he could spend time with them and me...

Okay, MUST GO!!! GOD IS GOOD = ) wILL POST PICS WHEN TIME

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

I've never really celebrated Valentine's Day since I never had anybody to really share it with, and Valentine's Day here in Korea is a little different anyway...today the boyfriend gets chocolate from his girlfriend and on White Day (March 14th) the boyfriend buys a snack along with other accessories (of course) for the girlfriend. Not sure where this originated from...

Anywho, I am doing well here in Korea = ) I have turned in all of my stuff to the Academy so if it's meant for me to go back there, hopefully I will get readmitted. If not, we'll see what the future holds for me. PRAYER REQUEST: Please pray for KAMA as a serious incident occured on one of their Movement Orders.

I downloaded skype today, but I can't figure out why the mic doesn't work...my user name is sam86kim...hopefully I can use it to have fellowship with Dr. SB Lee and use it to also talk to other loved ones if our time schedules match...plus, 13/14 hour time difference...

I am now meeting everyday with Wang Bong (my chinese friend), playing sports with him or studying or just hanging out...Of course I want him to believe in the Gospel, but I don't want to force it upon him or anybody...God gave us our freedom of choice! But I do want to be a good example to him and show him he can live with joy in the present! He says he can't enjoy life right now because he has to study, study, study to learn Korean, get into a good grad school, get a good job so he can make lots of money in order to marry the girl of his dreams, then he said he can be happy. Please pray that I can help him to be joyful even under his circumstances through the PEACE OF GOD. Whenever I witness to people I always remind them that there's a reason why I traveled around the globe ... so I can give them the joy and love of Christ! But the choice is up to them. I will continue to witness and pray for open hearts...

This is in part of me praying a lot about whether or not I should join the Mission Force Team. lol I know, sounds corny, but it would mean devoting A LOT more of my time to missions and to memorizing scripture and prayer, etc...I was invited to join last week during my man to man with my team leader...I was thrilled to be invited, but he told me to take a lot of time to pray about it and see if I was ready or not...I want to join, I mean, I came to Korea to do this kind of thing, but I want to make sure that I'm ready for that kind of devotion...raising the bar...Please pray for me about this decision.

This Thursday night I will be leaving for Busan. We have a 5 day vacation because of New Years, Lunar style. Please pray that I won't be ashamed about what I am doing in Korea in front of my non-believing relatives....well actually, even to my believing relatives. Some of them thought I was here through the Naval Academy. whereas I totally seperated to get discipleship training and witness...yeah, some of them thought I was nuts. Please pray that God's will be done.


I didn't take many pictures this week...instead I took a lot of video...I'll try to put some up later if I have time...




Brother Jeh Gook's "surprise" birthday party...he's lived in the apart for 4 years, so he sort of knew it was coming...I got him his favorite coffee...how did I know to get it for him...well, a week before he specifically explained how he loved Guatamala coffee from the Bohemian Coffee Company...asked me if I knew where it was...I didn't know...he explained to me in great detail where it was and why it was such a great place. lol Yeah, hint hint = P But of course I was more than glad he did that since I knew exactly what to get him. I mean, I did the same thing to him on my birthday. "Oh, those books you make are really neat. Yeah, I like that style...etc" = P














This is a traditional Korean stringed instrument...sounds sort of like a violin. This was Saturday when I went to support one of our ENM members who just published his book , VOCA VISION. It's funny because I was randomly picked to get a free book ... but I actully don't know a lot of the words in the book so I can learn some English too



And at this place (no pics...just video) a men's acapella group performed and they performed THERE'S NOTHING LIKE A DAME in Korean! It reminded me of Glee Club because we sing it...memories...

Our praise meeting...celebrated our praise leaders birthday

The Last Supper Korean Style...= P Picture taken at Yonsei University after witnessing today...my friend Wana from Bethel is here for a month and so we took a little tour afterwards...more pictures below!

Isn't that funny how Jesus is Korean = )


Pictures will be dispersed for interest...to keep you reading = P






Pictures will be dispersed for interest...to keep you reading = P

This is a nice time that the Brothers and Sisters can have fellowship with one another playing badmitton. It had snowed/rained a little so we had to move some earth on the court to dry it up...it sounds ghetto, but it's nice because it's on the mountain so the air is nice and fresh...well, as fresh as it can be in Seoul..



In response to the comments/questions:

why wasn't this posted until today? I'm sorry I was a day late...

was the western-style breakfast in honor of you? Actually, since we typically invite lots of people to on Saturday mornings we eat out and pay for those we invite. the brothers who don't like soccer or can't go due to different meetings just have toast and eggs for breakfast since it's a lot easier than cooking a nice Korean meal...

I wanted to buy chicken track/Mexican train, but this is all they have in Korea...yeah...just plastic...Jeffrey actually does have some black and white dominoes (used ones from my family) but that kind with numbers isn't available in Korea...
I will try to take better pictures in the future...

Yeah, she doesn't look to happy with the book...but she just doesn't know how to smile for pictures...no joke...= P she's in that phase...

Yeah, I wouldn't make it in the R.O.K. Army because I have poor eyes AND flat feet...but it would be fine because I could do community service instead...

Thank you for the prayers!




I was in charge of the recreation with Sister May, so I didn't get to play the games, but seeing how happy everybody was playing made it all worth while = ) Played Asah, frying pan no lee, telephone, uhlum ddeng (freeze tag...and literally was freezing!), nuckdeh (wolf game...a lot like mafia), game where you guess the word through 3 actors..pictured is a
Traditional Korean game a lot like "Sorry" it's called Yute Noh Lee. 4 sticks are tossed as dice




**Please Pray for the Navigators back at the Academy: "The Discipleship Connection." 20 midshipmen coming together for the purpose of growing and being equipped as a community of disciplemakers.

And the reason why I even post this blog is to encourage you all...here are my Navigator Director's "key" books of the Bible

Romans,Galatians, Hebrews - Key doctrinal books
I Thess - God's Follow-up Blueprint
I, II Timothy - God's Discipleship Manual
Ephesians - Lifestyle

Also, great website for the Topical Memory System! In Korean and English = )

http://www.mygift.pe.kr/tms/tms.php?action=list&mode=main&code=B1&ver=NIV&titlename=Beginning%20with%20Christ




This is what Brother Hyung-Un and I (I basically just slice and dice some and help clean up = P ) cooked up for Thursday...our day of cooking...does it look good? Because it sure tastes good = ) since all I do is stir, cut, and wash

So Brother Sung Man left...he still comes on Sundays, but that's it...he just needs some time to himself. I can see that he's not very happy though...he tried to brag that he was able to watch a late night soccer game (since we can't watch TV here or stay up late...curfew is 10pm (meeting at that time), must sleep by midnight), but yeah...that was about all he was happy about...Please pray that God will give him a vision. He says he just wants to live a "good Christian life. Why do I have to endure more hardships trying to be a disciple?" He says he doesn't want to live like his team leader...his team leader is married and has a daughter yet he is not able to spend time with them because he fellowship with all of the team members every week, goes to "Key" meetings (meetings for the leaders), goes out and witnesses, on top of being a high school English teacher...Brother Sung-Man doesn't see how that's a happy life. Yet his team leader keeps telling him that he is happy or he wouldn't be living the way he is, but Brother Sung-Man says since it's by God's grace we are saved, why do I have to do so much more work than an "average" Christian. Since it's not by works we are saved, why am I living such a more disciplined life than others? I could write down my views, but the reason why I wrote how he feels is to help you think...what do you think about Christianity? It is purely by God's good grace that he sent Jesus to die for ALL of our sins and if we believe in the Son, we will have eternal life. So what does it mean to believe in the Son?







This was our ENM Campus retreat that we had = ) It was AMAZING!!! I never feel happier or am filled with more joy than whenever I am at a church retreat...there's just something special about it...I'm thinking the Holy Spirit = )



Some of the brothers playing Johk Goo (Soccer tennis) It's really fun! can only use your feet and your head (not knee or chest, etc)



Also, Brother Myung-Gun is temporarily not living at the Apart right now...he is at a seperate Prayer Facility...most likely will be there for 2 or 3 days...but depends on how it goes. He just needs some time to think because he's also in the same situation at Brother Sung-Man. Both have lived at the Apart for 3 or 4 years getting Discipleship training and witnessing, but both have sort of been bogged down with all of the responsibilities that were given to them. Since they have been here quite awhile (for being part of the campus team) they have been voluntold alot instead of just allowing them to volunteer to take responsibilities...like I said, there are a shortage of brothers here at ENM and that makes it harder on them (can't really include me though because I'm pretty much still treated as a guest in terms of organizing things and the responsibilities I do have, I volunteered for)Brother Myung-Gun still is also really worrying about whether he needs to go to serve in the Army first or go straight to Grad School...This is already getting too long, so if you would like to know more, please email me or comment...

**Please pray that God will show them the road they need to go on!



The last day there (even though it was only 2 days = P ) That's brother Myung-Gun along with the Campus Director and his wife ..and the two hooligans behind are brother Joon Young and Sang Yon...and yes, that's a snowflake

While 2 temporarily moved out, one moved in. I'm not longer the youngest! His name is Dong-Sung...it's a funny story how he came to Christ...his parents are Buddhist and still are, but he went to a catholic middle school/high school, so he would mix up going to church some weeks and going to temple, but one day whenever he went to temple with his parents, a Monk there told him he could not longer do that...said he wasn't fit to be Buddhist...weird, eh?...but now he believes in Jesus = ) I'm glad I am able to have somebody younger than me here because I want to be able to treat him just like the other brothers are so caring for me



This past Sunday...Brother Nathan's birthday. The poster he's holding up is VocaVision. One of the members of ENM published an English Book to help Koreans learn English quicker...I helped edit some of it and the recording of his book in English is by yours truly = P It actually comes out today 2/6

Wana with Sister You-Jung in front of a statue of Dr. Horace Grant Underwood...Missionary founder of Yonsei University in 1885




A nice goofy picture of me...they insisted the statues were somehow related to me = P

And this is a statue of an Eagle...below are 4 statues: 2 of people singing praise to God, 1 reading the Word, and 1 spreading the Gospel, and below the Eagle in Hebrew and Korean is Isaiah 40:31...great verse!



I have more pictures and video...but it takes a long time to upload...= P So you should come and visit me in Korea = ) But seriously, if you are reading this and are coming to Korea, contact me!

Learning more and more = )

Praying for you!!!