How much can change in a year?

As I looked over my last post it seems like a lifetime has passed since I blogged here.
It really is amazing how much can happen in such a short period of time.
In February of 2011 I left south Korea after having spent over a year and a half at Yonsei University's Korean Language Institute and headed back to Tumen, Jilin, China where I had visited for the Christmas holiday in 2009, just a year or so after my Grandparents moved out there to serve. I worked within TVRS which is a school that is focused on helping and equiping the Chosun-Jok who are ethnic Koreans living in China with the necessary qualifications to move on to higher education.
I worked at the school as an English Conversation and listening teacher for a semester with the plan of teaching for a further semester after the summer holiday of 2011. However, there were complications during my Summer vacation. Due to some urgent issues that I had neglected to solve before the move to China I became unable to leave South Korea for the following 4 months.
That time in Korea proved to be the hardest in my life to date. I can only say that I came close to losing my faith as well as losing a lot of other ground that I had gained over the previous years in my spiritual walk. I believe with all of my heart that God knew what I was walking into when I stepped onto the Aeroplane heading for Seoul in 2009 when I was just 18 years old. He knew the hardships that I would face and the decisions I would make. Though now I am not fully recovered from the result of my actions (my sin) I can say with an honest heart that I am thankful for that time. As Indian missionary Sadhu Sundar Singh said "A newborn child must cry, for only in this way will his lungs expand. God strikes us in love. Then our lungs expand allowing us to breathe and pray. Placing us in that place of hardship is the most loving thing a father could do." In the same way our Heavenly Father refines us so that we will be able to stand, we will be able to breath spiritually, we will become Men and Women who he can use to fulfil the plans that he has. If we were to be a people who fell at the first sign of hardship what use would we be? I am learning a lot in these coming and passing days on the subject of suffering and of trials. Still my reaction to it is human and not as it should be. But slowly I am learning.
Now for the future. The problems that arose in South Korea were solved after a very arduous few months that pushed me to my limits. Now here I find myself sitting once again in the lounge of the Kessell family's home in Cornwall after a year and a half since my last visit to the Great Island that we call Britain. Since I moved to China in February I've had the desire and the doors have been opening for me to study at University in China. Originally I had no plan to Study a bachelors degree but as time went by I realised that the way forward in Asia seems to be through education and with that my desire to study grew also. I applied for courses at a couple of Universities over the following months and was accepted and preparing to attend Yanbian University of Science and Education. I planned to study Architecture as a four year degree with a %50 scholarship that I had been given by the University. My second choice was to continue my Korean studies but after thinking hard decided that I could further my Korean abilities outside of University and in my own time. After more thought and the desire to take my Korean studies deeper not getting any less prominent I decided to switch my Major to Korean Literature and Language and to attend Yanbian University rather than the University of Science and technology. It is a four year course taught in a mix of both Korean and Mandarin, Chinese. As I don't speak Mandarin I will be attending the University's Chinese language institute for six months starting from March of 2012 and then beginning the 4 year degree in Korean literature the following September. This leaves me little time to become acquainted with the Chinese language but I am looking forward to the challenge and am ready to give it my best.
As I look forward to this coming year I get so excited. Excited for all that our Glorious Father has in store and for all that may arise during that time.
God, Bless us, your people, I pray.

Amen.



A quote by Charles Gutzlaff. 1803 - 1861

"Are the bowels of mercy of a compassionate God shut against these millions? Before Him, China is not shut! He, the Almighty Conqueror of death and hell, will open the gates of heaven for these millions. He has opened them. Neither the Apostles nor the reformers waited until governments were favourable to the Gospel, but went on boldly in the strength of the Lord. We want no gentlemen Missionaries here but men who are at all times ready to lay down their lives
for the Saviour and can wander around forgotten and despised, without human assistance but only the help of God."