It's been about a month since I've started graduate studies. So far I don't want to quit, so I guess that's an encouraging sign. In actuality, though it definitely has not been easy, graduate school is pretty fun and interesting. I'm now realizing how quickly these next two years are going to fly by, so I'm trying my best to enjoy every moment and learn as much as I can in order to fully prepare myself for the future.
The academic load has been pretty demanding. At first glance, three classes doesn't seem all that intense. But it's been consuming my life more than I could've ever imagined. And I just started an intro to Chinese language class, and my life will only get busier with academics. But I can't complain. The classes have been pretty interesting so far. I'm taking two of my three core classes (theories to international relations and economic theories) as well as an elective (U.S. and the Two Koreas) which will count towards my area focus requirement. The two core classes are kind of dry, but I'm realizing how foundational they are for future classes, particularly my specialization classes I'll begin to take next semester. My elective class on Korea has been awesome. The readings have been enjoyable and informative, and our class discussions have been stimulating and challenging. We'll be bringing in Kim Hyun Sik, the former professor at Pyongyang University in N.Korea and the former tutor to Kim Jong Il, who will speak at American University. I had a chance to talk to him briefly when he came to speak at the University of Michigan, and when I heard he'd be speaking at AU, I knew I had to take this course.
Outside of school, I've decided to attend Open Door Presbyterian Church. At the end of the day, I wanted to get plugged in to a church sooner than later, and this church has all the things I'm looking for. It's pretty cool because I've gotten to connect with former U-M alums who I had lost touch with over the years. I'm not sure how actively I can participate in serving and whatnot, but I'm going to try my best to serve in whatever capacity I can find.
I've been resisting in writing about politics on my blog just because politics has the power to divide people. I've been finding myself engaging in some meaty political discussions in the world of gchat, but I will continue to refrain from publishing my opinions online. If you really want to discuss the presidential elections, the economy, international affairs, and all that, then you can find me online or drop me an email. Maybe when it gets closer to the actual elections I will throw in a few entries about how I feel. But I just don't feel like taking my personal opinions to the blogs. So sorry.
But all in all, I'm loving it in Washington D.C. I wish I had a bit more time to just unwind and enjoy what the city has to offer, but I can't complain.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Missions ii
One of the things that really inspire me is hearing life-transforming testimonies. And the ones that really get to me are the ones that are just so conceptually unbelievable but yet so amazingly true. Today, I heard of a story like that, and allow me to introduce him to you (due to the sensitivity of the topic, i have changed his name and any detail that could potentially disrupt his ministry).
Mark was a religious man, devout believer in a monotheistic religion in a country in Central Asia. He grew up in a very homogeneous religious environment; everyone he knew believed the same god as he did. Nothing changed until two missionaries from the United States transplanted in the same region of the country. These two missionaries, husband and wife, left everything behind to reach out to Mark's people group and his country. Through the missionaries, God opened the heart of Mark's uncle who came to believe that Jesus died to give him new life. Mark's uncle quickly shared the Good News with all his family members, including Mark. But Mark could not believe, and angrily argued with his uncle. "How could you believe such a false god?" he asked. But his uncle continued to share with him and prayed for him. Time passed, and one day, an angel of God appeared to Mark in a vision and told him about how Jesus came to die for him. Mark accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior that day and began to witness to his own people group. He was received with hostility, getting beaten and arrested a few times. The two missionaries later married Mark and his wife before getting kicked out of the country because of new laws that outlawed foreign missionary work in the country. Mark worried about the growth of the local Christian population with foreign missionaries, but God has been faithful to him and his people. Despite being closed to foreign missions work, the church continues to grow in the hardest areas of the country, where most people are fundamentally hostile to Christianity. Mark is here in America to learn advanced agricultural sciences so that he can take that knowledge back to his home country and develop the agricultural industry there and will gain a great platform to serve his people and build the local church.
As he shared his testimony, I could not help but recollect my experience in the villages of western China reaching out and sharing the Gospel to the locals. It was overwhelming to see just how much more work needed to be done in sharing the Gospel and how there was no viable local church to witness to their own people group. And I can't help but wonder, if China continues to crackdown on evangelization within its borders and decides to really kick out every foreign missionary, can the Gospel continue to slowly change the hearts of the ethnic minorities that we were reaching out to? But as evidenced in this man's testimony, even though his country kicked out missionaries, the local church continues to grow.
Our God is mighty to save, might to save indeed.
Mark was a religious man, devout believer in a monotheistic religion in a country in Central Asia. He grew up in a very homogeneous religious environment; everyone he knew believed the same god as he did. Nothing changed until two missionaries from the United States transplanted in the same region of the country. These two missionaries, husband and wife, left everything behind to reach out to Mark's people group and his country. Through the missionaries, God opened the heart of Mark's uncle who came to believe that Jesus died to give him new life. Mark's uncle quickly shared the Good News with all his family members, including Mark. But Mark could not believe, and angrily argued with his uncle. "How could you believe such a false god?" he asked. But his uncle continued to share with him and prayed for him. Time passed, and one day, an angel of God appeared to Mark in a vision and told him about how Jesus came to die for him. Mark accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior that day and began to witness to his own people group. He was received with hostility, getting beaten and arrested a few times. The two missionaries later married Mark and his wife before getting kicked out of the country because of new laws that outlawed foreign missionary work in the country. Mark worried about the growth of the local Christian population with foreign missionaries, but God has been faithful to him and his people. Despite being closed to foreign missions work, the church continues to grow in the hardest areas of the country, where most people are fundamentally hostile to Christianity. Mark is here in America to learn advanced agricultural sciences so that he can take that knowledge back to his home country and develop the agricultural industry there and will gain a great platform to serve his people and build the local church.
As he shared his testimony, I could not help but recollect my experience in the villages of western China reaching out and sharing the Gospel to the locals. It was overwhelming to see just how much more work needed to be done in sharing the Gospel and how there was no viable local church to witness to their own people group. And I can't help but wonder, if China continues to crackdown on evangelization within its borders and decides to really kick out every foreign missionary, can the Gospel continue to slowly change the hearts of the ethnic minorities that we were reaching out to? But as evidenced in this man's testimony, even though his country kicked out missionaries, the local church continues to grow.
Our God is mighty to save, might to save indeed.
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