| Hello-ello-ello-lo!!! Is anyone out there-out there-out there-there? [...tumbleweeds...] The honest truth is, I haven't signed into my own xanga account since September and since that time, xanga has done alot of updating. It is too confusing to use now, I have no idea what to do anymore! There are a lot of changes on the horizon.... For instance: Saturday I will return to campus for my final semester at Moody Bible Institute. This fills me with all sorts of feelings. I am glad to be almost finished with college (this will be my 9th semester), and I am excited for what lies ahead. But I am also uncertain of what the future holds, and the safe incubator known as campus has protected me from what life in the world is really like. There is, of course, a semester of student teaching ahead of me as well. I was going to be teaching in China, in a city called Chengdu, but because of the visa changes that were enforced for the Olympics, I am unsure if that is still a possibility. My Moody advisors and the administrators in China are still tentatively planning for the possibility of following through with the original plan of student teaching in China. However, I have a feeling that it isn't going to work. Either it will not happen, or it will be very expensive. The longer one waits on international plane tickets, the more expensive they become. Overall, I know that wherever I student teach (even if it's not overseas--which is what I have hoped and prayed for, for years) is exactly where God wants me. Even if that's in Chicago, Zion, or Kenosha. Hmmm....Trusting God for answers and directions is a great relief, but that does not mean it isn't difficult. I am unsure if I should abandon the China plan for now, and start seeking another school placement. Everything takes a lot of time and planning, and I feel as though the clock is ticking on confirming a student teaching position. Then there is graduation. Senior year...again. I feel as though I just graduated from highschool--and really, if you click back a few posts on this xanga, I'm sure you'll find something about my highschool graduation. It was just yesterday, wasn't it? College is another hill to climb. Yet when you are finally on top and looking at the terrain ahead, it seems long and heavy with options. Not endless or burdensome. Just long and heavy. I have not mentioned that I started dating last year too. Actually, I am not sure what to call it--dating...courting...whatever. There seem to be negative connotations and interpretations for both labels. Adam Johnson and I are simply dating with a purpose. It has been an exciting time and we have been learning alot about each other and ourselves--and especially growing in our understanding of our Father. During the school year, I will have one volunteer position, three jobs, seven classes, and lots of figuring out to do. I will be tutoring on the West Side, mathematics, hopefully not older kids. I will also be tutoring in Lincoln Park (for money) which is the extreme oposite demographically from Humboldt Park in the West. I am also babysitting in the Gold Coast, which is very near to Moody's campus. It is probably the most convenient and rewarding babysitting job I have ever had. I watch Ellery, who is an extremely bright two-year old who lives in a beautiful condo on Lake Michigan. Then, I will be starting to answer phone calls for WMBI, hopefully. Which is very nice because it is directly on campus and I will not even need to leave my building in the winter time to get to this particular job. This fall semester I am enrolled in Methods of Teaching Mathematics, Methods of Teaching Science, Methods of Teaching Language Arts, Senior Practicum, Senior Wellness Seminar, Hebrews (NT), and the History of the Holocaust. So many classes, but it is necessary to graduate on time. I have always had heavy semesters and lots of summer school. This past summer I completed courses in Genesis, Romans, and Apologetics. I am so glad that I did that, although at the time I was very tired of school. My summer has been extremely short. Still, it has been good to catch up on some sleep and prepare for my final year at Moody. I read "The Tale of Despereaux" which is probably one of the most well-written pieces of children's literature out there. It is probably meant to be read by 5th or 6th graders, although younger students could read it, there are themes that older children could learn from as well. Goodness! I learned from it too! I have been trying to write a children's picture book this summer. It hasn't gotten very far--so I need to continue working on that. It's for a Language Arts project next semester and we were told to get a head start on it. I have written a few drafts, but I disliked them all. It is about my grandmother's refugee experience as a young girl in Korean during the Korean War. Here are some pictures that have served as my imagination's inspiration during my research and writing: 
 
Above: The story was often the same--thousands of refugees frantically trying to leave before the soldier arrived. Below: Young South Korean soldiers arriving a train station and headed for the front lines, with minimal equipment and no combat training.  
    
Alright. It has been upsetting researching the Korean War. I am sorry to say that before this project, I knew very little about this War. Most people know near to nothing about it, but the fact that it is forgotten is even more heartbreaking when you read the tragic stories of families uprooted, parents separated from children, millions of refugees, civillian mass murders, child soldiers, thousands freezing to death, no food, no ammunition, no hope for peace, no concern from American citizens. It was a War that Americans did not want, after just coming out of WWII. It was also propogated by Western diplomats who divided the world betweeen major powers at Potsdam. It was a political war, a diplomatic nightmare, and the lives of thousands of North and South Koreans (both soldiers and civilians), Americans, Chinese, and UN troops were squandered as leaders debated cease fire agreements. What impresses me is how God protected my grandparents from harm. Their stories are remarkable--it is amazing that they were not killed, that they made it to the United States years later and became believers of Jesus Christ nearly a decade ago. God preserved their lives so that they might know Him fifty years later. Not only did they come to faith, but their descendents (for the most part) have also accepted Christ as their personal Savior. It is truly amazing. When I work on this project I am scandalized by accounts, angered by injustice, empathetic for all of the people caught in the throes of communism and UN police action. I feel pity, and hope, and a great sadness because a lot of these sorrows are continuing stories. Technically speaking, the war has not ended in Korea. The fragile cease fire is a fine balance between the animosities in one small peninsula and the world powers of today. My grandmother's story moves me like no other story--maybe someday it will be published. My roommate is going to help me illustrate it....that's partly why I needed pictures. This is a picture of my grandmother, holding her daughter a few years after the Korean War. 
That's a "sort-of" update, "mostly looking ahead" post that will probably last for the next year.
For all of you faithful xangans, goodbye for now. :) -jo |
