Haitian Courier #6: Pieces of My Memoirs

[This is a copy of the latest issue of my newsletter Haitian Courier, which was sent on July 26. To subscribe to the newsletter, please visit http://groups.google.com/group/haitian-courier]

Bonjou Mezanmi!

My last newsletter was a brief update just to let you know that I'm alive and well. This time I wanted to give you snippets of what I've been doing in Haiti for the past 6 weeks. Throughout this newsletter, you'll see words with web links, which will take you to corresponding entries on my blog.

First of all, I wanted to let you know that my return flight has changed from August 9 to July 31. The reason is that my older brother Sundo is getting married on August 2. So now I only have a few more days before I go home! Seems like my plans always change on the fly (last year I decided to stay an extra month in P-au-P). I can't believe my time here is almost over!

Secondly, I wanted to put a word out that the clinic here needs an X-ray machine to replace a broken one. Please let me know if you know anyone who needs to get rid of an old machine to replace it with a new digital one or for whatever reason. The one we have here has been broken for a while, and it would help so many people if we had a working X-ray machine.

Haitian Courier #3.3: Thank You!

Wow, I came back one day after I sent the e-mail and now I have more than enough to buy my ticket back home!

Thank you so much for to all of you who contributed! I received about $765 from 16 generous donors. Thank you!

Ok, so what am I going to do with the extra money? God willing, I am praying to come back to Haiti next summer, if not, to some other developing country. So whatever I received from this will go toward it.

If for any reason, you wish to withdraw your donation, let me know, since I now have double of what I originally needed. Be assured, however, that what you contributed will either help bring me back to Haiti (or Africa again or another place) where I would continue to do God's work, or will go towards another charitable work (if I'm not able to do them myself next summer).

Thanks once again to everyone who contributed! And thank you all for your prayers.

I'll send personal thank you e-mail soon, but I just wanted to let everyone know that I have enough to get back to the States now.

God Bless,
SunMin

Haitian Courier #3.2: Bring Me Home

I hate to flood your inboxes with my newsletters, but I wanted to let you know that I have now officially missed my flight back to the States. So there is no turning back.

So far I've received $180 from 4 generous contributors. That's basically halfway done!

If you can help at all, even $10 or $20 would go a long way. I would appreciate anything you can give.

After all, I do need to get back to the States sometime... Please help!

Visit here to donate:
http://doxahaiti.blogspot.com/

So why did I miss my flight? (I see you didn’t read my other newsletters...) I’m staying here another month to help out with the orphanage while the president is in Korea raising fund for a new and permanent orphanage. I can’t just leave here right now.

Thanks!
SunMin

Haitian Courier #3.1: Help Me Stay in Haiti

As I mentioned in my last newsletter (#3), I’ll be staying in Haiti a little longer than I had originally planned.

If you’d like to help me stay longer in Haiti, please visit:
http://doxahaiti.blogspot.com/

Thanks!

SunMin

Haitian Courier #3: With Creole Comes Power...

...and you know what comes with power.

Bonjou Mezanmi! Kòman nou ye? (i.e. how are you [plural].)

Once again it's that time of the month when I must take a break and update you on what I’ve been doing in Haiti.

As you can guess from the subject line, I’ve been given more and more responsibilities as I continue to sharpen my Creole skills. Every morning except on Sundays, we have a Bible study with the workers at the orphanage. I read from a devotional book in Korean, translate it out loud in English, and then explain everything in Creole. Then every evening except on Fridays, I prepare and give a short sermon in Korean. After the service, I give the sermon again in Creole to Jude. Jude, a native here, is studying to become a pastor. On Sunday mornings, I emcee the Creole service (in Creole, of course), which involves leading French/Creole hymns. On Friday evenings, we have a late night prayer meetings, where I lead the prayer session, explaining each prayer topics in Creole. All these activities have helped me to learn a lot of Biblically relevant phrases in Creole.

I’ve been teaching as well as learning. After the morning Bible study, I read couple chapters from the Bible in English, and everyone else repeats after me to practice English pronunciation. Then I teach them English conversation from a book. It’s a lot easier to teach English now that I can explain things in Creole if I had to. On Sundays, I teach English songs to the kids (they’re crazy about “Making Melodies”). Also, now that I can speak descent Creole, I can lecture the kids more effectively when they need to be disciplined.

In my last letter, I mentioned about Fontain, the land the missionaries bought for a new orphanage. While Rev. Baek is gone raising funds in Korea, I’ve been in charge of looking after the land. Once or twice a week we visit Fontain and, if needed, fix up gates and fences or hire some neighborhood boys to helps us cut grass and shrubs. The little kids who are always there also helps us by gathering grass and trash. Building a good relationship with the neighbors is also an important part of my job here. Otherwise, they would dump trash in our land, cut barb-wires, or destroy gates... All of which they have done several times already. It’s been improving, so I’m hopeful.

Originally, Rev. Baek was going to come back by early June, but it seems she won’t be back till early-mid July. The only other missionary here is Mrs. Kang, and it would be too difficult for her to manage everything by herself. I was going to stay until June 28, which is fast approaching, but I’ve decided to stay longer, at least until Rev. Baek comes back. Once she is back, we’ll start the construction of the new orphanage right away, so I could be helping with that as well.

Some other things that happened since the last update:
• Earlier this month, I visited University of Fondwa (http://www.unif2004.org and http://www.unifusa.org), which is the first university in the mountains. They had the Haitian Bleu coffee factory next to it, so I got a little tour of that too. It was all in all a really cool visit.
• May 18 is National Flag Day in Haiti, so I got to see a local parade just outside our alley.
• Sometime in May, I visited the border of Dominican Republic, only to find out that it costs $35 a head to enter (so I didn’t). I also learned that we should never ever give passports to solicitors, or they would go get exit stamps for you at the immigration and demand money for their “work”.
• One day, a team of young missionaries came from New Jersey and visited the orphanage briefly. It’s always refreshing to be able to talk with people in English!
• I cut my hair really short again, this time with a 1/8” comb all the way around. I’m beginning to really like the convenience of short hair.

Now, for medical school, I’ll be going to UCSD School of Medicine (that’s University of California, San Diego for those who are not from the States) at the end of August! I’m very grateful that God has allowed me to move forward in this path. Thanks to everyone who has helped me with the application process! Speaking of San Diego, if anyone can help me find a place to stay (any suggestions), I would really appreciate it.

As always, thanks for taking the time to read this and for keeping in touch, those of you who do. I imagine many of you have just graduated college, so let me know what your next move is. No, I’m not that lonely anymore. I have Haitian friends now! But I’m always happy to hear from friends in other parts of the globe.

Please keep me in your prayers, for my health, safety, and faith. Let me know if there’s anything I could be praying for.

Bondye Beni Nou,

SunMin
Cell: +509-441-3451
Skype: doxadeo
AIM:instantdoxa
MSN: doxadeo@hotmail.com
Yahoo!: doxadeo@yahoo.com

Haitian Courier #2.1: Foto!

That's how they write “photo” in Creole. As I promised, here they are!

http://picasaweb.google.com/doxadeo
Click on “Photos from Haiti.”

Photos are scaled for faster upload. But I hope you enjoy!

SunMin

Haitian Courier #2: Twenty-three and Still Growing

Bonjou, Mezanmi!

It's about time I updated you all with how I'm doing in Haiti. I forgot to mention in my last newsletter that that I’m staying here until June 28. It’s already been more than 1.5 months since I came here, so I’m already halfway through.

The life here at the House of Love (orphanage) is definitely helping me grow in many ways. Every weekday we start with an early morning prayer at 4:30AM (so I go to sleep rather early). Then we have a Bible study at 8:30AM and a service after dinner around 5:30PM. No internet at home (and no electricity) means less wasting time and more Bible reading at night (under a candle light, of course). So I get to spend a lot of time with God and grow spiritually (I’m also getting very good at striking matches in the dark).

I also spend a lot of time with the orphans. Four of the older kids go to school during the morning (their school hours are very short), so I often look after the six younger kids (3 to 5 year-olds) during that time. It’s a very good learning experience for me. As much as I love children, disciplining them isn’t always easy, but I’m learning how to deal with kids in various situations. I thought we adults help the children grow, but I learned that in fact the children help the adults grow in different ways.

The missionaries bought some land a while back and are building an orphanage there (the current place is rented). Right now the project is on hold, and Rev. Baek, who is in charge, went back to Korea to raise funds for the project. She’s been gone for a week now, and I’ve been leading the daily evening service. We visit the construction site at least once a week to check up on the condition and to give out some food to the children in the neighborhood (there are many kids just hanging around because they don’t have money to go to school).

I’ve been putting a lot of effort into learning Creole. I think I understand and speak Creole better than I do French now (and I took French for 3 years, albeit many years ago). It’s a bummer I may not be using it after the 3 months is up. I hope I have the opportunity to come back to Haiti. My Korean skill is also improving because I have to talk to the missionaries in Korean. The orphans understand a bit of Korean, so I talk to them in Korean sometimes. Leading the evening service in Korean has been quite a challenge.

So overall, it’s been a great learning experience. Here are some other stuff that I’ve done during the past month: I went to Cange again to take a couple patients to the hospital (Zanmi Lasante, which I mentioned last time). Last week I went to a festival called Chan Mass, which is like a big farmers market held once a year. A friend was playing for the marching band at a football game (or soccer as most of you know it), so we got to go and watch it. I got a hair cut at a barber shop by a barber who’s never cut a blan’s hair (i.e. white people. Asians are white in Haiti). It was short and ugly, so I used a clipper to cut it even shorter but neater (I used 1/2” comb on the top and 1/8” on the side, so you can imagine how short).

As for med school is concerned, I’ll let you know when a final decision is made.

Thanks again for everyone who responded to my last e-mail and especially to those who called me (or at least tried to). It really makes a world of difference. I would be happy to hear about what you’ve been doing if you haven’t told me already. It would be nice to hear about what’s going on in the rest of the world as well, since I don’t have much exposure to media these days (no power means no TV).

I’m organizing my photos, so you can expect to see some soon (probably within a week).

Please keep me in your prayers! Specifically for my health.

Bondye Beni-W (you can guess what that means),

SunMin
Cell phone: +509-441-3451
Skype: doxadeo
AIM: instantdoxa
MSN: doxadeo@hotmail.com
Yahoo!: doxadeo@yahoo.com

Haitian Courier #1: Into the Mountains

Alo, zanmi mwen! (Hello, my friends!)

As you can guess from the title, I'm no longer in Africa (nor the US). This time, it's Haiti (named for its mountainous landscape), which is pretty much like Africa on an island (or a third of it). I've been here for two weeks now, and I'm writing to tell you what I've been up to.

I came here with a team of seven: two doctors, a pastor, and a few church members from Abundant Mission Church in Los Angeles. During the first week, we went around to several villages around Port-au-Prince giving free treatment and medicine. After the first week, the team went back to California, leaving me with two Korean missionaries at an orphanage/church called House of Love. Since then I've been looking after the children while learning a lot of Creole and French by hanging out with the Bible college students that the missionary pastor is training.

One really cool thing that I want to share with you is that I visited Zanmi Lasante in Cange! If you don't know what it is, it's a humongous medical complex in the middle of nowhere built by an American doctor named Paul Farmer. Now run mostly by natives, Zanmi Lasante provides world class medical treatment to the poor in Haiti for a whopping price of $0! Seriously, I couldn’t believe my eyes, that such an amazing facility could exist here (from what I’ve seen of Haiti so far). If you’re interested, you should read Paul Farmer’s biography Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder.

In other news, I haven’t heard back from any of the med schools that I interviewed yet.

I won’t deny that it can get quite lonely here. No one here really speaks English. I talk with the missionaries in Korean (and if you know me, my Korean isn’t so good), and I communicate with the Bible college students in a mix of Creole, French, English, and Korean (they take Korean lessons here). It would make a world of difference just to hear from you, so please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have the time. My cell phone number is: +509-441-3451 (509 is the country code. Yes, the entire country uses only 7 digits). You can try SMS, but I don’t know if it’ll work (apparently a lot of SMS didn’t work while I was in Kenya). If it does, I’ll respond.

Please keep me in your prayers.

God Bless,
SunMin

You can read more about my experience in Haiti on my blog:
http://doxadeo.blogspot.com OR http://www.xanga.com/doxa

To subscribe to Haitian Courier Newsletter, visit
http://groups.google.com/group/african-courier/

African Courier #4: Catching Up with Reality

Hujambo!?

That’s one way of saying "How are you?" in Kiswahili. Then you reply "Sijambo!" The other way, which is more common here, is "Habari?" and "Mzuri!"

I can’t believe my first trip to East Africa is almost over! (and that it's already been 4 months since I came!) I’ll be flying out here in two weeks (on Nov. 21), arriving in the cool autumn of Los Angeles (if you can say there is an autumn in SoCal). In my mind, LA is still as hot as I left it in July. And everything else is just frozen the way it was then - school still on vacation, friends still excited about finishing college, and everyone looking forward to a summer filled adventure... It’s a scary thought to see how all my junk (which I left in the living room) got taken care of, and how everything, including family, friends, and church, has changed. I will also be preparing full-on for medical schools (secondary applications and interviews). Soon enough, I will face reality. Not that life in Kenya isn’t a reality. It definitely is! And painfully so!

I say “painfully” because yesterday I was hit with a minor case of flu. I was in bed all day, suffering from severe headache, stomachache, and some fever. Thank God it wasn’t malaria, and that I’m quite better now. As I was cooking my rice porridge for lunch, I couldn’t help but to think how much I need a wife on a foreign mission. Indeed, “It is not good that the man should be alone...” (especially when he’s sick on a mission trip). Anyhow, I’m not advertising for a wife here (and no, I’m not accepting applications or looking for a blind date)... It’s just to describe how bad it was. Seriously though, thank God I’m alive! Mom, please don’t worry. I’m all ok now! But please continue to pray for me.

Speaking of wife, Pastor Eben’s wife delivered their second child today (Nov. 9)! It’s a boy! Pastor Eben is here in Nairobi, but his wife and children (now plural) are in Korea. He seemed very happy and relieved today, especially since the baby was more than a week late and he was getting concerned. He can’t wait to share the news with the whole world (and I guess I’m helping him by writing this).

There’s another thing I want to share with the whole world about Eben...

I was prank-ed big-time on my birthday by Eben and Richard. Well, maybe not that big, but Eben and Richard got me pretty good. It’s a long story (not that long, but too long to spam... err... to put in a newsletter), so if you’re interested, you can read the entry on my blog here: http://doxadeo.blogspot.com/2006/11/doxa-in-kenya-birthday-prank.html

In other news, I’m halfway through with the library. Maybe not so interesting, but so far I’ve recorded about 4200 books on the computer (about 2900 of them were done in the past week). It’s actually quite interesting to go through all the titles (and sub-titles) of the books, but it’s not always fun to work with shelves after shelves of dusty old books. Some of them were eaten up at least 30% by termites, and my hands get pretty gross after handling a few hundred books a day. I just have to look forward to the day it’s done and keep working diligently. Besides, I do have the pressure to finish before I leave.

During my breaks from my work in the dusty dungeon that is the library, I go out to get some fresh air and to observe the new construction on our campus.

Four weeks ago, we started the construction of a new house. It’s been quite interesting to see how they build here. Although I’ve missed some of the process, I got to see and learn about (and take pictures of) many important steps of the construction. Surely I can use some skills in this area as I prepare to become a missionary doctor in a developing country. It’s quite impressive how much Rev. Kim has built during his 17 years of ministry here. God-willing, I hope to build some clinics and hospitals to benefit many people in Africa.

Perhaps as you can see, there aren’t very many exciting/interesting news this month. Mission work isn’t always exciting, but God is surely working. What I mention in my newsletters are only highlights, and the reality is that these are only a glimpse of what we experience here. In other words, things can be quite dull besides what’s mentioned in newsletters. I don’t mean to say that my time here has been boring. Not at all! I’ve enjoyed everyday that I’ve been here (maybe except yesterday when I was sick), whether I’m in Masai or working at BCEA. I just say this because I realize that some people may get newsletters (whether it is from me or some other missionaries) and read about some crazy/amazing stuff going on in the field, and misunderstand that all they read is all that’s happening out there.

The thing is, it’s so easy for the missionaries to over emphasize or exaggerate some seemingly “cool” stuff to make it look like their work is more important or bigger than what it really is. For example, about my mentioning about my flu yesterday, although I’m not exaggerating, you may think that I’m going through such a hard time in Kenya just because I mentioned it. The truth is, I was only sick one day (and I could be just as sick anywhere else in the world), and most of the time I’m actually quite healthy and comfortable. On the other hand, even though I only mentioned a few things in this newsletter (and very few things that I’m actually doing besides observing), I’ve been extremely busy, even as busy as I was in college. I can confidently say that because, while in college I would spend a lot more time on the internet, here I would spend much less time online yet be busy enough to sleep barely 6 hours a day. Both teaching English classes and conducting church choir take a lot of time and energy.

Anyhow, I just wanted you to understand that what I mention in my newsletters are just the things that I think you might be interested in, and there’s a lot more going on out here that can be either boring or exciting to you. Also, I try to present them without exaggerating or over emphasizing. My intention is not to make my life here seem more miserable or interesting than it really is so that you may have sympathy or be moved to give financial support. What God is providing for me right now is sufficient, and I believe that He will always provide. Of course, that doesn’t mean “don’t give any financial support” because I am currently living on the support of some churches in California. If God moves you to give, please give! I just don’t want to be the one convincing/begging you through newsletters, and I shouldn’t be.

God provides, and He is always faithful to provide when I need. In fact, recently I realized that I’ve been quite low on cash ever since the theft two months ago. So I prayed to God to provide, and amazingly enough, someone (I don’t even know who) donated extra money towards my mission fund! I don’t even know how s/he knew about me or why s/he decided to give, but I just know that God works in amazing ways. Praise God!

Now, here’s what you’ve been waiting for. Prayer requests! Please pray for:

· my health. As you already know, I’ve been sick a few times already while living in Africa. And somehow they always involved the stomach. I think I’ll have to get my stomach checked up when I come back to the US. Meanwhile, please continue to pray for my health.

· the travel back home. Not just for me, but several of the faculty at BCEA will be going back home this month. Eben is flying back to Korea on Nov. 20, I’m flying back to the States on Nov. 21, and Richard is flying back to Philippines on Nov. 24. I think Rev. Kim is also flying back to Korea sometime in December. Please pray for safe travel.

· the safety of the community. Last night while in bed, I heard a horrifying yell of a man from the neighbors, dogs barking and rushing towards the noise, and then two gun shots. After a few minutes I heard the police car passing by, and then four more gun shots. No, this is not America, and guns are not legal here. Where do they get guns then, you ask? Why, from the police officers, of course! Hand a few thousand shillings to a cop and you’re ready for an armed robbery for the night. Welcome to Kenya (that’s what Eben would say). Enough said. Please pray for God’s protection from physical harm.

· my medical school applications (plural this time). I’ve started working on some secondary applications for medical schools. They’re not as intense as AMCAS (the first application for all med schools), but a lot of work nonetheless. If anyone wants to proofread/comment on my essays, let me know! Most of them are very short, and won’t take much of your time.

· the library catalogue project. I really need to finish this work before I leave, so that they can start using the new system next term (in January). I won’t be back probably by February or maybe March because of med school interviews, so I need to leave it in good shape. Once I finish this, students will be able to checkout/in books by scanning barcodes (yay for “new” technology!), which is much faster and more efficient than keeping track on notebooks.

· finals. Students at BCEA will be taking finals starting next week through the week after. My English final will be a week from this Friday since I’ll be leaving the next Tuesday. I know most of you reading this are students or teachers, so you know what it means to take a final, so no need to explain the significance of this. Cheating is quite common in schools in Kenya, even here at BCEA. In fact, during the past midterms, one student was caught and was expelled. It seems like it is part of their culture not to take cheating seriously. This cannot be, especially in a Bible College where we want to train honest and sincere ministers.

· the faculty at BCEA (Nairobi & Tanzania), my English classes, the ministries in Masai Land, and whatever I forgot or didn’t mention that needs prayer. I don’t think I need to repeat what I said in my last newsletter. Please continue to pray for them! For those of you who know Pastor Lazarus, his wife is expected to deliver their first baby soon. So please pray for them. Christine is getting married on Nov. 25 at Mombassa, and her fiancé is flying in from Singapore sometime this week or next. Pray for safe travel and the preparation for the wedding.

Thank you again for taking the time to read the newsletter! Sorry there’s no picture this time. But when I come back, I’m sure you’ll see so many that you’ll get sick of them (or just from seeing pictures/videos of dead/dying animals).

God Bless,
SunMin
http://doxadeo.blogspot.com

To subscribe to African Courier Newsletter, visit
http://groups.google.com/group/african-courier/

African Courier #3: On the Other Side of Academia

Jambo!

I know I said the third newsletter was coming soon. And that was already two weeks ago. But you see, in Africa (and perhaps in your country, too) "soon" can mean anything between a few minutes to a few years, especially in restaurants, as I found out the hard way.

Anyhow, here are some of the things that have happened since my last update:

· At the end of August, we had a pastor's conference at BCEA Kenya. About 200 African pastors attended the conference. I attended some of the sessions and learned some good lessons on the Bible, many of which I never knew. I also got to learn some of the Fundamentalist perspective of Christianity. Lots of good stuff. The main speaker was Dr. Jeffery Khoo from Far Eastern Bible College (Singapore).

· Beginning of September, we opened the new Bible college in Arusha, Tanzania. Day after the opening ceremony, I went with Dr. Gary Johnson to a local church surrounded by a thick forest of banana trees. I got to share of my testimony, and Dr. Johnson preached. At the end of service three ladies came to Christ! The amazing thing was that these ladies had been going to church for at least 10 years, and had never before prayed to receive Christ! Praise God for giving us such an amazing opportunity to serve Him.

· A lot of my money was stolen at a hotel in Tanzania. It was a big mistake to leave my pouch in my hotel room. Probably while I was eating dinner, a hotel worker unlocked the door and took the money from the pouch, leaving the room as if no one had entered. I didn’t realize until I was back in Nairobi that my money was gone. So I actually don’t know for certain when or where the money was stolen.

· I got infected by some round worms. Soon after I came back from Masai Land, I was having some periodic gastric (and gas) problems. I got a chance to go to Dr. Johnson’s clinic in Kitui one day and got myself checked for parasites. When we looked at my stool sample stained with iodine under the microscope, lo and behold, there were some fertilized ascaris eggs! (I think I got infected when I drank water from a boma in Lenkijape. They get water by digging the sand in a dried-up river) At Dr. Johnson’s clinic, I bought some mebendazole and ketrax (sp?) along with some medicine for my shoulder (I landed on my right shoulder in a bicycle accident in Lenkijape). All of it cost only Ksh50 (~$0.70). What a steal! Dr. Johnson invited me to spend some time at his clinic so that I can learn some tropical medicine. I’ll probably go sometime next year. I’m really looking forward to that.

· I've been teaching two English classes at BCEA. One is for foreigners (Sudanese, Congolese, etc.) who don't speak English very well, and the other is for mostly Kenyans who've finished up to secondary school (equivalent of high school). It's been a challenge especially teaching the "beginner" class, since English is a foreign language to them. Sometimes I use a bit of French that I learned in high school to teach them English (Congolese speak French). It’s been encouraging to see many of the students improve.

· I’ve been conducting the church English choir. The church at BCEA has two choirs: Kiswahili Choir and English Choir. Since Rev. Kim’s daughter (who plays piano for English choir) left for seminary in California, Eben (who conducts the choir) now plays the piano, and I’m conducting. It’s been really fun trying to teach them vocal techniques that I’ve been learning since 10 years ago. It’s so cool to see them improve. They’re starting to read the notes and are making a lot less mistakes than when they started. It’s a huge challenge though, because they are used to singing African music (and hymns in Kiswahili often have different tune than the original). Although we may never sound like UCLA Chorale, it’s a fruitful work.

· I  became a vegetarian. Ok, I’m just kidding. But I caught your attention, didn’t I? I’ve been cooking a lot since I have to prepare every meal myself. I just decided to cook only vegetables so I can eat a lot and not worry about getting fat (and being accused of causing starvation in Africa when I come back to the States). I’ve learned to cook a variety of dishes (thanks to the Internet). Mom, you’ll be proud when you sees all the pictures of the food that I cooked! Sometimes Mrs. Kim invites me over to her place for food, and once in a while the three “bachelors” (Richard, Eben, and I) do a potluck (other two are married, but their wives are out of the country). I eat a lot of meat then, so I can handle not eating meat often.

· I’m almost done with my medical school application. I finally finished writing the first draft of my personal statement, which was the last thing I had left to do. If you have some spare time and want to proof read/revise/butcher it, let me know and I’ll send you my latest draft. The deadline is October 15, so I need to finalize it very soon.

Ok, as a reward for those that read this far, I’ve finally posted some pictures online and you can see them here: http://picasaweb.google.com/doxadeo
Well, maybe not a reward since it was actually up three weeks ago, but if you don’t check my blog often, you probably haven’t seen it yet. Warning!: there are some pictures of dead animals (chicken and goat)! Just don’t click on the thumbnail if you see it. Feel free to leave some comments on the pictures! I might upload some more pics depending on your feedback.

Finally, some prayer requests. Please pray for:

· my medicals school application. I’m applying quite late (close to deadline), and it’s a disadvantage with schools that have rolling admission (which is most of the non-top-tier schools). Even after submitting this application, there’s still a lot more to do (secondary apps for each school, interviews, getting letters of recommendation, etc.). I really need God’s guidance on this matter.

· my health. I think all the parasites are gone now (except for mosquitoes... but they don’t have malaria in Nairobi). I haven’t had much stomach problem since I took the medicine other than when I used some really old kimchi water for cooking. I haven’t slept much the last couple days trying to finish my med school apps. So please pray that I can manage my health more carefully.

· my English classes. I don’t take the responsibility of teaching English lightly, especially when I’m teaching the future pastors and evangelists. Please pray that God will give me patience and wisdom to teach effectively.

· the library catalogue project. This is my biggest project that I need to finish before I go back to the US. I’ve figured out how to use the program, but I haven’t had much chance to enter the information of books on the computer. Please pray that I can work efficiently and that I’ll be able to finish the task I’m given.

· midterms. No, I’m not taking any midterms (thank God). Remember I’m on the other side of academia now. In fact I’m making midterms (ugh!). The students are taking the midterms next week. Some students have been doing very poorly that they were asked to leave (also because they couldn’t pay school fees). So please pray for the students.

· the faculty of BCEA. Recently we’ve had some trouble with one of the faculties in BCEA Tanzania. He had been AWOL for three weeks, causing burden on other faculties there. The students in Tanzania are doing wonderfully, but it seems that we don’t have enough teachers. Also pray for the faculty in BCEA Kenya. Rev. Kim is always working very hard even though his health conditions has not been at its best for a while.

· the ministries in Masai Land. Please continue to pray for both Kiluani and Lenkijape. We’ve finally resolved some land issues in Kiluani, but a lot of work needs to be done to mend the relation between the secondary school and the clinic/church. Last Sunday, 9 of our church members visited the church in Lenkijape for some one-day mission. I don’t know the details yet, but keep them in your prayers (especially if you’ve been there. Hey there, London Team!)

· whatever I forgot or didn’t mention that needs prayer. There’s always a lot to pray for here in Africa. Please remember us!

Thanks for taking the time to read the news letter! I would love to hear what’s been going on in your life if you care to share them. Best wishes to those who have stared going to school!

God Bless,
SunMin
http://doxadeo.blogspot.com

To subscribe to African Courier Newsletter, visit http://groups.google.com/group/african-courier/

African Courier #2: Out of the Wilderness

Jambo!

I am simply overwhelmed as I think back to my experiences in Masai Land during the past 5 weeks. Now I am back in my apartment at Bible College of East Africa (BCEA). I just got back yesterday.

Thanks to those who sent me e-mails while I was away. I will get back to you personally as soon as I get a chance.

As I said in my first newsletter, I stayed at two locations in Masai Land. I spent the first 10 days in Kiluani (there is a church, a clinic, and a secondary school built by missionaries), then 4 weeks in Lenkijape (officially called Eluanata, there is a church and a primary school built by the same mission). Here’s a list of things that I did during the past 5 weeks to give you some ideas about life in Masai Land.

Some of the things I did while staying at Kiluani:
· observed as PuiMeng (the nurse) counseled and treated patients at the clinic.
· gave a talk on worms to mothers who came for their children's immunization.
· visited many boma (a unit of Masai houses) with Pastor Stephen Omweri.
· gave guitar lessons to some boys in secondary school.
· helped a prematurely born goat to drink from its mother.
· bought a goat for the mission, saw it being slaughtered, roasted it, and ate it.
· bicycled to Tanzania (~1 hour each way).
You can read more about them in detail on my blog.

Some of the things I did while staying at Lenkijape:
· taught several English worship songs to Sunday School and Youth Group.
· taught math and English to pupils (5-8th grade) who came to school for tuition for two weeks (they are on break from regular classes).
· visited a boma with Pastor David Aluvisia, where pastor shared the Gospel with Nchokei, and I encouraged him to receive Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and Lord. Nchokei is a moran (Masai warrior), and he prayed to receive Christ that day.
· harvested and ate lots of wild honey.
· went to many fellowships. For most of them I had to walk for at least 40 minutes to get there. At one of them, I gave a sermon on Haggai 1. After that, several people prayed to receive Christ.
· went to two circumcision ceremonies. At one of them, one boy and two girls were circumcised.
· shared about the Power of the Holy Spirit with the Youth Group.
· gave a testimony and words of encouragement to the congregation at church.
· took a 4-day trip to Masai Mara, one of the biggest game reserves in Kenya, with the primary school teachers. I got to see many animals (lions, elephants, wildebeests, zebras, gazelles, eland, giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, rhinos, warthogs, buffaloes, hyenas, etc.).
· bought a bicycle for the Lenkijape church to keep when I leave.
· bought food for the youth to eat after one Sunday.
· fed all the church members with some tea and bread, and Sunday school children with some juice and biscuits.
· visited other Korean missionaries at nearby mission compounds (church and primary school in Lumbwa, chapel and agricultural school in Olmaa).
· bicycled to Mile-Tisa (a small village on the main road) many times to run errands. A trip to Mile-Tisa takes about 40 minutes by bicycle through the woods. Now I can go back and forth between Mile-Tisa and Lekijape on my own.
· bicycled to Kiluani for a seminar.
· spent a night in a cow-dung house. The beds are made of cow-skin laid on top of branches, and are rock hard, and they are very short (my knees would dangle from the bed if I tried to sleep straight). During the night a small insect fell into my right ear, and I had to shake it out.
· saw a guinea fowl being slaughtered, and ate it. The meat was super tough.
· lost a bit of weight.
· got sunburned and some suntan.
I’ve kept a journal about my experience in Lenkijape on a notebook, and I’ll type them out and post them on my blog as soon as I get a chance. Then you’ll be able to find out what life in deeper part of Masai Land is like!

The Lord has been merciful to me, and I have been healthy the entire time. And by His Grace I have come back safely. Thank you all for your prayers!

This week, there is a pastor’s conference at BCEA. Then on Saturday, we’ll be going to the new Bible college in Tanzania for its opening ceremony. After that, I’ll be working on building the catalogue for the library at BCEA for a while. I’ll also be teaching English at BCEA this term, which starts next week.

I’m praying that I would be able to go back to Lenkijape again and stay there for a longer time. If it is God’s will, I want to serve Him there more. Now that I’m back where there is electricity (there’s no electricity in Lenkijape), it’s time for me to finish my medical school application. It might be a bit difficult to focus since many things will be happening, so please pray for me. I’m also praying that, if it is God’s will, I would come back here as a doctor to serve Him.

Please continue to pray for the many ministries here. Pray for those who heard the Gospel and received Jesus as Lord and Savior in the past few weeks. Pray that people in Lenkijape would get water soon (this is one of their biggest needs).

In Him,
SunMin Kim
http://doxadeo.blogspot.com

PS. In case you were wondering, you can send SMS to me in Kenya. Just send to: +254727867619. (To type “+” on the phone, press and hold zero.)

African Courier #1: Into the Woods

Jambo!

It's been two weeks since I came to East Africa, and it feels like a lot has happened already. To mention a few, a missionary team from London came and I got to join them in their ministry for their last few days, Pastor Kiarie got married last week, and I went down to Tanzania couple days ago to see the new Bible college under construction. You can read about them on my blog (http://doxadeo.blogspot.com).

However, the real African experience starts tomorrow. I'll be going to Masai Land to spend a month there. That's where people live in huts made out of cow dung, and most places don't have electricity or running water. So I'll be disconnected from the rest of the world except through my cell phone.

Speaking of phones, I just got one today. If you need to contact me, or just want to chat, my number is: 0727-867-619. Incoming calls and SMS are free for me (outgoing SMS is very cheap), so don't hesitate to call or text! The country code for Kenya is 254. (e.g. If you're calling from the US, dial 011-254-727-867-619. If that doesn't work, add 0 before 727.)

For the first week, I'll be volunteering at a clinic, then for three weeks after that I'll be helping with a ministry while most likely living in one of the cow-dung huts. I have no idea how I will recharge my phone battery without electricity, but even the Masai warriors have cell phones (or maybe it's because they are warriors that they have cell phones), so I'm sure there's a way.

Please pray for me as I will be entering an entirely different culture. Pray that I will be able to share God's love by my actions, that I will glorify God in whatever I do. I will be in a relatively less safe environment, so please pray for safety and health. Although, without God no place is safe, and with God everywhere is safe. The Lord is my refuge. To be honest, I am a bit scared and worried. Please pray that I will have more faith in God.

You'll hear from me again next month, if I'm still alive by then.

In Him,
SunMin