Pudge's Playhouse

Hey guys, It's been ages since I posted on this thing...that's cos I never really use it anymore. This will be my final blog entry on this. From now on I won't be updating this with blogs or photos. If you want to stay up to date with what's happening with me, go to www.myspace.com/pudgeyfreak. Thanks for journeying with me thus far. I hope it continues, despite the change of website address! Blessings to ya!

Hanging With Dad Chuseok - Korean thanksgiving - was a few weeks ago. It's a MASSIVE time of year for the Koreans as they head across the country to spend time with their family members. For me, it meant a 5 day holiday which was VERY welcomed! Dad and I decided to head to Seoul for the holiday. Even though I've been in Korea about 6 months now, I still hadn't had the opportunity to head to the capital city of Korea and just explore (Seoul is in the northern part of South Korea and I live all the way down south). We arrived on Saturday afternoon and after settling into our hostel, headed out to Youido to the Han River. The weather wasn't that great but we wandered along and arrived at Yoido Full Gospel Church - the biggest evangelical church in the world! After hanging out outside for a while wondering how to get in, we walked around the side and found the main entrance to the building. It was AWESOME to go inside to the main auditorium and see the place where over 800,000 people worship God each week! After looking around the church for a while, we headed out to the 63 Building (3 floors below, 60 floors up), had dinner and then headed back to the hostel. Sunday was big day! We joined the famous Seoul City Tour Bus - a hop on, hop off bus tour - and got to explore some great places! We went to a few palaces, saw a guard changing ceremony, had lunch in Itaewon, then went up Seoul Tower in time to see the sun setting! Was awesome! On Monday we took the hour train trip out to Suwon and went to a traditional Korean folk village! Was fantastic!!! It's Korea's version of Sovereign Hill so there were a lot of old buildings, people dressed in traditional clothes and some great cultural performances! We were leaving Seoul on Tuesday afternoon so that morning we headed out to Insadong - a very cute traditionally Korean street with many little tea houses. Unfortunately, it was Chuseok day so there weren't that many things open. After looking for a little while, we went to the War Museum to learn more about Korea's histroy and a few hours later, sadly departed having thoroughly enjoyed our weekend! All's good though! Yesterday Dad and I met up again, this time in Jinju - a city about 2 hours from me. They are holding a lantern festival so we thought we'd go and have a look. We got there in the afternoon and wandered around Jinju fortress for a few hours. We then made our way towards the festivities which were being held along the river. As the sun was setting, Dad and I sat on the riverbank watching the lanterns light up! Wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be as the lanterns didn't float down the river or anything but it was still great fun! I found out today that the lanterns are in the shape of story book characters so the kids really enjoy seeing them! Overall, another great weekend spent with Dad.

Well known worship leader Paul Baloche came to Masan (a city about 1/2 hour from me) today to do a (free) concert so my friend Christa and I went along to check it out. On our way, we received notice that the typhoon, which was meant to hit tonight, was fast approaching. When we arrived at the venue, it was pouring down with rain! As we neared the stadium where the concert was being held, we were surprised to see that it was an open air stadium! With our umbrellas up, trying to shield ourselves from getting wet, we waded through the rising water and headed towards the stage. We managed to get right up to the front, and for the next hour, we worshipped our awesome God in the pouring rain! Even as I write, there are radiculously crazy winds blowing outside! Now that I'm home, have changed out of my soaking clothes and have had a hot shower, I'm ready to enjoy the rest of my weekend with a good book and a hot cup of tea.

I just got home from seeing my Dad!!!! YAY!!! At 7am yesterday (Saturday) morning I headed out from Jinhae, making the 45 minute bus trip from Jinhae to Masan, the 3 1/2 hour bus trip from Masan to Daejeon, the 20 minute taxi ride from one end of Daejeon to the other in order to get on a 1 1/2 hour bus trip from Daejeon to Buyeo - the small city my Dad has JUST moved to! I arrived at around 2pm and upon arrival in Buyeo, saw my Dad walking up hurriedly to meet me! Man, it was AWESOME! We both had tears in our eyes as we embraced and I realised just how much I'd missed not seeing him over the last 5 months! We headed back to his place, hung out there for a while, then headed out to explore Buyeo. After walking for a few hours, we tiredly returned home and watched a DVD of Kath and Kim. Today, we headed out, ready to explore Daejeon. We'd read about bus number 841 which linked the two bus terminals in Daejeon, eliminating the need for the taxi across town (a much cheaper option too). Upon arrival in Daejeon, we easily located the bus and took our time exploring the city. I sadly left him around 5:30pm, but headed home with the reassurance that we'll be seeing each other again in a few weeks when we explore Seoul together. I guess the craziest part of the trip was at a rest stop on the bus trip home. On long bus trips, the bus will make a stop, allowing people to grab something to eat or go to the toilet. The crazy thing occurred when I headed to the toilet. It wasn't the squat toilets or non-existing toilet paper that surprised me (they have now become 'normal') but the sheer amount of women waiting to USE the toilets! I have NEVER seen women lined up behind cubicle doors (there were about 50 cubicles) with their pants undone, entering the cubicle even before the person before them has gotten out, the way I did today! It was crazy, crowded and pushy!!!! And you can imagine the frustration and impatience if someone was doing more than just a quick number 1!!! I wish I'd taken a picture so you could see just HOW crazy it was...but for some reason I think taking a photo in a public toilet would be just a bit too weird! Overall, it was a great weekend and even though I'm totally exchausted from all the travel, it was DEFINITELY worth it!

Today, I'm back at work after a week of summer vacation. I spent we week in Mokpo (on the south west coast of Korea) on board the MV Doulos (www.doulos.org) - a Christian Mission ship that sails around the world, bringing the good news of Jesus to people through literature distribution (the ship is home to the largest floating bookshop), practical help in local communities and onboard programs. As many of you know, 4 years ago I was on board for 2 months when the ship was in West Africa and it was SUCH a joy to be back onboard! I wanted to experience ship life to it's fullest again so I spent my days working in different departments (I spent a day working in the kitchen, a day working in the laundry and a day working in the bookshop), attended several big meetings (it was awesome to see the churches of Mokpo come together in unity to welcome the Doulos to their city) and spent lots of time talking to people and hearing their stories of how God has worked in and through them during their time onboard. One of my highlights was getting to spend time with Joy (from the Philippines) and Richard (from Nigeria) - some of the friends I made when i was onboard all those years ago. It's amazing that after all these years, we were able to meet again! God's good!!! On my last day there, I went with Joy and some of the other ship's crew to an island about 40 minutes from Mokpo. It has been stinking hot cos it's the middle of summer, but I didn't know we were going to an island so I didn't bring my bathers. I was enjoying the day and thought I'd walk in the water a bit cos it was so hot. As I went walking, a few guys from the ship came over to talk. As we were talking, one of them grabbed me and dunked me in the water!!! After that, there was no resisting and I went swimming Korean style (all clothes no bathing suit). Was a fun day! I wish summer vacation could last longer! I had SUCH a great time on the Doulos!!! Thanks to God for allowing me the opportunity to spend my vacation onboard!

Today God allowed me to have a small glimpse of what heaven will be like - I CAN'T WAIT! As many of you know, I spent 6 months of last year in Macedonia. Elena, a friend of mine from Macedonia, sent me an email a little while ago telling me she was going to a Campus Crusade For Christ (a Christian Mission that reaches out to University students) conference in South Korea! Not only was my friend, who I thought I might never see again coming to South Korea, she was coming to Busan - a city only about 1 hour from my city! So today I headed out to Haeundae beach to meet up with Elena! It was AWESOME! There were young people everywhere with these tags hanging around their neck saying they were part of the conference! There were people from Argentina, Russia, Macedonia, Australia, US, Singapore, Korea, Spain, Kazakhstan...the list goes on! Elena and I ate lunch at the beach, then headed to Starbucks where Elena got to have her first ever Starbucks experience! It was awesome! I think the selection was a bit overwhelming for her but she ended up enjoying a caramel frapaccino! YUM!!!! After hanging out at the beach a bit, Eli and I then headed to Bexco Centre which is where the conference is being held! Once again, we were met with a stream of faces of people from all over the world! And to think that they're all gathering to worship Jesus together! How exciting!!! I love the fact that Jesus came to save the world! I can't wait to be in heaven, standing in the midst of the multitude of people from every nation worshipping our awesome God together! It's days like today, when I get a taste of the Kngdom, that i'm once again amazed at how great my God is!