Kangnam Church PROK

July 9th 2016

Today we packed an overnight bag and headed across Seoul to spend the weekend with the Kangnam congregation of the PROK. This church is gigantic, seriously, what we would consider a mega church in mainline protestant Christianity. We arrived and one of the pastor's met us at the metro stop. There are 9 pastors on staff and we counted at least seven worship services on Sunday. We had a tour of the church which has a parking garage, a huge worship space, several chapels, a broadcasting center, a cafeteria, a coffee shop, numerous choir and orchestra rooms, faith formation class rooms and administrative offices, they even have a small two bedroom apartment in the church which is where we are staying for the night. Delightfully, we were there for VBS and got to see the littlest children having a pool party on the roof of the church, complete with a kiddie pool filled with fish for the kids to grab.

Three of the pastors (the pastor for administration, the pastor for the English language Sunday school, and the pastor for evangelism) took us to a nearby Korean market. The church used to be located on a property adjacent to the market so many church members work at the market. We stopped one by one at different stands owned by church members, at each one one of us would offer a blessing to the stand/church member and then the member would offer us something to eat or drink. We were stuffed by the end of the afternoon! We were able to visit a small factory that made bags, a grain shops, a pharmacy, a vegetable stand and a food stand.

After our market tour it was a relief to be back in the air conditioning in the church. Temperatures are in the 90's (F) with extreme humidity. We had a brief visit with the senior pastor and then left to have dinner with him and his family. We had a traditional Korean meal with rice and numerous side dishes. After dinner we visited a nearby monument commemorating 2,300 Koreans (including farmers, monks and women) defeating a Japanese invasion of 30,000 troops in the 1500's. The best thing were the stellar views of Seoul and the Han River stretching out for miles and miles from the vista.

July 10th 2016

Today was full of church services. We woke up and went to the 9am children's English language church service (we were excused from attending the 7am Korean service). The English service is run by a pastor from the United Church of Canada here with his wife who is a PROK pastor in Korea. The service was full of energy and lots of laughter. It was homecoming Sunday (similar to our Rally Day) so the youth made cakes to celebrate.

Then we attended the 11:00 services, there were easily 1,000 people in attendance. The orchestra and choir were unbelievable. The senior pastor preached on Mark 8:22-26 on Jesus healing the blind man. A very kind church elder befriended us and gave us a mini-translation of of the service. I was asked to bring greetings from Global Ministries (UCC/DOC) in the service.

After worship we went with the senior pastor to greet the new member's class. This being Homecoming day there was a church-wide effort to get lapsed members to return, there were at least 60 that we were informed of in attendance today. Evangelism is something the Korean churches take very seriously, much more seriously than the mainline churches I know in the United States. This particular congregation has a six week sermon series each year on the importance of growing the church and then sets a goal. Their goal for this year was 600 visitors, 40% of which will become new members. In the bulletin there is a monthly update of the various groups in the church (everyone belongs to a small group) and the chart listed the contribution total of each group, the hours of service they have done in the community and the number of people each group has invited to attend church. This is a very different sense of membership accountability, which is something we've noticed throughout our trip. Being a member of the church is a commitment, one that is taken seriously, there's a sense that the church is doing important work for God and for the community and that every member is expected to actively participate in the congregation's mission and ministry.

After meeting with the new members, we had lunch with the church, which is always a full meal. Then we attended the first half of the adult visioning service at 2pm, about half way we were whisked away to the second half of the young adult contemporary service. When that worship service ended we hopped on the church bus with members of the congregation to drive into downtown Seoul for a service of public witness.

The downtown service was a prayer service on the street in front of a construction company's headquarters. Members and pastors from a variety of PROK churches were present. Apparently, a contractor bought a large track of land. There was a PROK church on the land (as well as apartment builds etc). The church and the contractor were in negotiations on how to move forward with the property. In the meanwhile the construction company came in a bulldozed the church will everything in it- communion ware, liturgical items, historical artifacts, church records- everything, the whole church was razed. The church property had only been 10 years old. The vigil was asking for accountability and justice from the construction company for their actions. The rapid rate of development in Korea, although it has brought a high standard of living to many Koreans, seems to have little regard for the lowest sectors of society.

After the vigil Jonathan and I were on our own for dinner and found a great sushi place that served the food on a conveyor belt, you paid you bill depending on the color of the plates you selected (each color is worth a different dollar value for the meal).

In the evening we read news from the U.S. and were very interested in the U.S. announcement of sanctions against the North Korean leader, the announcement of the U.S. and South Korea's agreement on the THAAD missiles and of the tragic Black Live Matter and police violence in cities throughout the United States.


Gracious God, we give you thanks for those who work daily for a living. We pray for safety of all of those who work and for fair and just compensation. We give thanks for churches who continue to spread the Good News of the Gospel and we strive to have the confidence to continue to tell that same Good News to others. We lament injustice done in the name of progress and for the violence in the streets. God please help us to walk in your ways, to honor one another, and to demonstrate the love of Christ in all we do. Amen. 

Edges of the Margin: HIV/AIDS and LGBT Rights in Korea

July 7th 2016

Our scheduled visit to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone between north and south Korea) was cancelled today because military exercises taking place between the U.S. and South Korea. We noticed a lot of police activity in downtown Seoul yesterday, we're assuming this was also part of the military exercises taking place. We're now rescheduled to visit the DMZ later in our trip. The unexpected opening in our schedule gave me room to work on my sermon. I'm preaching twice next week and I have to have my sermon in to the PROK office in advance for translation. Also, if you found the post about yesterday's information on the "Comfort woman" was interesting, people here recommended the movie: Spirits Homecoming (http://joent.net/en/spirits-homecoming/)

July 8th 2016
Today was our "Rainbow Tour" of Seoul. Human sexuality is not talked about openly in Korea and there is a significant stigma for the LGBT community. Today we have Rev. Lim Bo Rah from the PROK church take us around to visit with organizations supporting the LGBT community in Seoul.

We started with Chingusai, an organization that specifically supports the gay community. Their aims are to assist men in coming out within a Korean context and also to work on suicide prevention within the LGBT community. They produced two movies Rumor and Weekends that they would like to have shown to wider audiences. They shared with us that the suicide rate within Korea as a whole is .4% of the population while the suicide rate for the LGBT community is suspected to be over 28%. Chingusai offers support services to family members who's relatives have committed suicide because of their sexual orientation.

Part of the historic legacy of Confucianism leads to strict gender roles in Korean culture making the coming out process even more difficult. Currently there is a very repressive law within the Korean Military against homosexual activities. The law itself uses inhuman slang language to and is used to criminalize gays in the military (remember military service is mandatory for all Korean males).

Our next visit was with the "Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights of Korea" office. They are a membership organization headquartered in Seoul working for solidarity across minority populations. They work to connect the LGBT community's struggles with those of the disability community, migrants, the labor movement, and the victims of the Sewol Ferry sinking. Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights of Korea operates several support groups including LGBT youth, PFLAG, and  a communications committees .

There is a transgender group that has just started but out of the diverse spectrum of sexual identity and sexual orientations this is one of the more marginalized groups within the country. Interestingly, the Korean government will allow individuals to change their sexual identity on their official government records, but only after they have gender reassignment surgery, something which is extremely difficult to obtain in Korea.

The office tries to maintain a public presence in many street protests, major national parades, and vigils so that their is a visual reminder of the existence of the LGBT community. They also hold a memorial service ever year in remembrance of a key LGBT leader who committed suicide, the memorial service has turning into a touch point of remembrance and lament for many in the community.

Next we visited Rev. Lim Bo Rah's church, she is rare that she is a female senior pastor of a PROK congregation (PROK does support woman's ordination but many women can only find roles as associate pastors). Rev. Lib Bo Rah is even more exceptional for her outspoken advocacy work for the LGBT community. Her church is only one of five congregations in the entire country that is open and affirming. The other congregations are part of the Anglican Church or the Metropolitan Community Church.





After our stop at the church we visited with DDingDong LGBT Youth Crisis Support Center. This center has a specific mission to support LGBT youth. They wanted initially to be a shelter but Korean regulations make this too difficult. So they are a drop by site where LGBT youth can receive counseling, do laundry, hang out and have a safe space. Many of the youth are living on the streets. A large part of their ministry is interviewing and documenting the stories of LGBT youth. The Korean government does not say that this population exists within the country so it is up to DDingDong to create the documentation verifying the stories of these youth.

We ended our day with a powerful shared meal with members of an HIV/AIDS support group. This community is one of, if not the most marginalized community we've encountered so far on this trip. There is still a great deal of public perception that HIV/AIDS is a "gay" disease and it is difficult of the gay community and the HIV/AIDS communities to distinguish themselves. Recently the United Nations commissioned a survey of the HIV/AIDS community in Korea and discovered that the most pressing need was for medical providers. We were told that there had been one hospital in the entire country who would see AIDS patients, but it was closed down for dismal medical practices. There is no hospital that will take people with AIDS and dentistry is also extremely difficult to find for persons with HIV or AIDS. They group kept asking Jonathan and I questions about how HIV and AIDS is addressed in the United States, we spoke about information campaigns we remember from our childhood about how the disease is spread, about celebrities such as Magic Johnson coming out as HIV positive and red ribbon campaigns. Granted Jonathan and I were both very young in the 1980's but we suspect that the Korean HIV/AIDS situation is similar to that time period in U.S. history and is woefully misunderstood, demonized, and under-served in Korea today. We learned that it is very common for both politicians and for mega pastors to blame HIV/AIDS as the downfall of Korean society and link it to the sins of homosexuality.

The support group we had dinner with was only started in 2012. They offer basic information when people are diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. They also showed us pamphlets that they distribute that shows what to do if you are denied medical treatment, it was heartbreaking to know such documents need to exist. They also offer open mic nights in the apartment where we gathered so those living with HIV/AIDS can come to share their frustrations, share information on what organizations in the country will offer services and gather support for one another.

Overall, this day was filled with hope for the incredible ministries we visited, mixed with deep lament for how far this country needs to come on LGBT and HIV/AIDS awareness. This is an area that the United Church of Christ can continue to offer support and guidance to NGO's and church partners.

Jesus, you welcomed in little children even though others sought to turn them away. Help us to welcome all of our sisters and brothers into the loving embrace of solidarity and friendship even if others would turn them away. We ask in your name, precious Jesus, for those considering death rather than living life as a gay man or lesbian woman. We pray for an end to unjust laws that dehumanize and discriminate. We ask for compassionate hearts for those who heal in the name of medicine. And we seek to make space at the table for all people just as you O Christ welcomed all at your table of passion and victory. Amen. 

Women suffering; then and now

July 5th 2016
This was our only "official" day off during our six week stay. I spent the morning updating this blog, then we spent the afternoon exploring Seoul. There are a large number of markets throughout the city. Jonathan and I successfully found an antique market and then took a bus around the outskirts of the city. It's monsoon season so it poured rain all day. Seoul is a giant city and we're getting a pretty good grasp of where things are located. We could see how visitors would enjoy a week of shopping and sight seeing in Seoul.

 

July 6th 2016 
This morning we started out in PROK (Presbyterian Church of the Republic of Korea) offices. We were fortunate to meet with the General Secretary of the denomination. Then we heard presentations from two of the ecumenical workers, one from Rev. Frank who is an ecumenically worker originally from the United Church of Christ in the Philippines who is working on migrant and ecumenical issues with the PROK and another from Rev. Catherine Christie who is originally from the United Church of Canada and splits her time between the PROK offices and the National Council of Churches in Korea offices.

The presentations focused on the upcoming trip to the United States to collect and deliver signatures supporting the reunification of the Korean Peninsula. In 1953 when the Korean war was moving towards a reduction in hostilities, an armistice agreement was signed by China, Russia, North Korea, and the United States (acting on behalf of the United Nations). The armistice agreement was not signed by South Korea. It was also a temporary cease fire agreement that stated that within three months the signing parties would come back to the negotiation table to sign a peace accord thus ending the Korean War. Unfortunately, the negotiations never continued and the Korean peninsula has been living under a temporary armistice agreement that was not even signed by both of the effected regions. For this reason the churches across Korea are asking for the countries who did sign the armistice agreement, including the United States, to come back to the negotiating table and draw up a final peace accord, even now, sixty three years later.

Additional information and a link to sign the petition for Korean Peace can be found at: http://www.koreapeacetreaty.com/

Our afternoon was spent learning about the plight of Japanese "Comfort Women" this euphemistic term is what Japan used to refer to Korean  and other women who were captured from their homes and forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese army. Every Wednesday for 25 years the "Comfort Women" have been gathering at noon outside of Japan's Embassy in Seoul waiting for an official apology.  The apology has never come even though Japan has been indicted in several international courts for their systemic abuse of women.

We were honored to meet two of the comfort women who continue to sit waiting. I personally cannot imagine the tragedy that they have endured in their lives. Additionally, I was grateful for the opportunity to speak at the Wednesday protest, supporting the woman's dignity and diligence and recognizing that women's bodies continue to be used as weapons of war across the globe.

Additional information on the harrowing story of Japanese Comfort Women can be found at: http://www.awf.or.jp/e-guidemap.htm

We continued our education on the plight of the "comfort women" by visiting the War and Women's Human Rights museum in Seoul. The museum was a powerful testimony to historic wrongs. The tour began with a walk on a gravel path that showed images of young women being whisked away on one side and faces of elderly women on the other. The stairs down to the basement were lined with drawings the women drew themselves of their captures. The basement had audio of women telling their stories. Upstairs the museum showcased numerous Japanese documents sanctioning the comfort stations including packages of condoms issued to Japanese soldiers. As one progressed through the museum the tour focused on the demands for an apology started when the first group of women began to publicly tell their stories in 1992. The tour ended with a world map showing locations across the globe where rape and torture of women continues to be an all too common strategy in war.

The butterfly fund was established by two of the woman from Korea raped by the Japanese who committed any future reparations be given to women in the Congo experiencing the same treatment. Read this article to learn more: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2016/03/665_184527.html As powerful as this act of feminine solidarity is, it is still a painful truth that such injustices continue to exist.

The combination of visiting the Filipino women currently lured into the sex industry in Korea on Monday and seeing the damaging effects of the Korean women mistreated by the Japanese military has left our hearts heavy.









Oh God, who has created us male AND female. God who cared for Hagar in the wilderness. We ask that you continue to protect women across the globe. We ask for dignity and honor to be given to all humanity regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation. The world is in need of your healing presence God for those whose bodies have been ravaged by war. May this end and your shalom be known. Amen. 

In Search of Freedom

July 4th 2016

Today, while our friends and family in the United States are celebrating the country's independence, we spent the day learning about women who are far from free.

We spent the day with My Sister's Place a shelter for women trapped in Korea's sex trade industry.
These women, mostly from the Philippians, are recruited from rural villages in their home country. They are told that they will be singing in Korea and go through several rounds of auditions. Korea is a dream to them because of its higher standard of living and opportunity to earn income to send home to their families. However, when they arrive the women are sent to "clubs" in the districts around U.S. military bases. These clubs instruct the women that they will not be paid for three months to cover their 'transportation' costs and that their housing and food also will be deducted from their pay. The women must keep track using a points system of how many men buy them drinks or pay to take them out of the club for sexual acts. Patrons of the clubs are U.S. military, Korean men and also other migrant men working in nearby factories.

Once caught in the system the women have four choices: 1. Stay and try to finish out their two year commitment to the club. 2. run away from the club, which means that their visa is automatically void and therefore they are at risk for deportation at any time, 3. try to bring a legal case against the club owner through the shelter or 4. find a U.S. military man to marry who will bring her to the United States.

One of the most pressing issues for the shelter is that the women are allowed to stay in Korea and work (in restaurants, shops or factories) while they have an on-going court case. However, as soon as the court case is over, regardless of the outcome, the woman will be deported, even if she is found to be a victim of human trafficking. What the center director would like is for the Korean government to establish a separate visa program that will allow victims of human trafficking to stay in the country for five years to work.

The center hopes to have a four fold approach to this ministry: first counseling services for the women, second a shelter, third a job training program and fourth a long term group home. However, seeing as the women are immediately deported the prospects for a job training program and group home are slim until visa restrictions are changed.

This program to protect women from the sex industry was started by Faye Moon, wife of PROK minister Rev. Moon. She a social worker from the United States who moved to Korea with her husband. She was appalled by the way American service men were treating Korean women and set about to establish the first counseling center in the country for these women. She was also invited by the U.S. military to offer the first sensitivity training to the troops.

I was able to find a brief piece on Faye Moon as a grad of Yale: https://yds61.wordpress.com/2011/09/16/a-chapter-on-her-life-for-korea-by-faye-p-moon-yds-61/

Since Faye's time the women connected to clubs are primarily Filipino rather than Korean, thus actually making the work of the shelter more difficult because the migrants are looked down upon as being less dignified than actual Koreans. The sensitivity of sexual violence, the desire not to cause waves with the U.S. government who has been a long time ally of South Korea, and the complication of the immigration status of the women are all compounding features that make it difficult for the center to obtain funding and successfully prosecute the club owners. Regardless of their struggles the center has been asked to help replicate its program in other parts of Korea and in several other south Asian countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippians.

The place where we gathered to hear the story of these women was within a Filipino ghetto outside of Osan Air Force Base. The restaurant had a basement where the shelter director, and her husband, a PROK minister can meet with the women. It is a place of refuge and hope, a place of lament and prayer. It is an underground church sharing the message of God's love in the midst of a cruel situation.

God of grace and peace, God of mercy and dignity. We pray for an end to systemic violence We pray for healthy relationships that honor the sacred in each person. We pray for those who commit themselves to the way of Jesus, seeking justice and truth. We pray for ears to listen when the story is hard to hear and we pray for the strength to be a part of changing this world to be more like your kingdom. Amen. 

Weekend wedding and exploration

July 2nd 2016

Today we were invited to the wedding of the PROK's General Secretary's son. The wedding took place on the PROK seminary campus. The PROK only has one seminary and all potential ministers are required to attend. This means that there are fairly uniform schools of thought and close relationships between PROK pastors. Many PROK minister also strive for educational experiences in the United States. The groom for example will be a student at Eden Theological Seminary in the fall! The wedding itself was a hybrid of Korean and westernized traditions. We were very thankful for the opportunity to attend.







After the wedding we visited the April 19th, 1960 memorial which is dedicated to the student uprising of 1960, a reaction to the then president Sigmund Rhee changing the constitution to get himself elected a third time, which obvious signs of voter fraud. The police reacted violently to the students, killing several and igniting larger protests across the country. Rhee eventually abdicated the presidency and moved to Hawaii where he continued to receive support from the United States.

Seoul traffic is incredible, the subway is so much more convenient than driving. After a bumper to bumper two hour trip across town, Jonathan and I had an opportunity to explore our neighborhood and it was the first time of the trip so far where we were on our own for dinner. We found a Chinese/Korean version of Korean BBQ and laughed at our struggles to communicate with the server, but it all worked out in the end.

July 3rd 2016
Today we went to one of the PROK churches in the heart of Seoul. This congregation has a legacy of political action and commitment to justice. The worship service was a hybrid of traditional Korean music and familiar church hymns. The pastor is currently away on sabbatical, there was a presentation by a youth member who had recently returned from a multi-country trip abroad and a sermon committed to government transparency by a female associate pastor. I had an opportunity to bring greetings from Global Ministries, the congregation was very receptive to our visit and was thankful for the UCC's and DOC's sign of solidarity by passing resolutions supporting reunification.

After church we were left on our own to explore the city. We visited a large Catholic Church where the first Korean priest was canonized. We walked through high end neighborhood and street markets. We finally mastered the very complex Korean subway and found our way to a large folk market that had a whole section dedicated to antiques. The end of the day we returned to the neighborhood where we are staying and found a Chinese/Korean version of Shabu Shabu for dinner. 

Starting in Seoul

July 1st 2016
Last night's presentation to the PROK youth event went well. Rev. Cheon said that there were several youth interested in participating in ecumenical exchange programs as a result of our plenary presentation. Today was primarily a travel day, we headed to the train station in Gimje and took the train approximately 3 hours to Seoul. Once we arrived in Seoul we quickly headed over to one of the educational centers of the PROK. Here we participated in the internment of ashes of a former missionary from the United Church of Canada. Funeral services for Willa Kernen has already taken place in both Canada and Korea. However, after the extended family received so many condolences and fond memories from Korea they decided to intern a portion of her ashes in the place she loved and served. The memorial service was led by one of the current United Church of Canada missionaries, Catherine, who has been serving with the PROK for the past six years. Note: it's monsoon season, and there is no escaping the rain, even for a funeral.

After the worship service we took our bags and moved into the Children's Village, part of the Global Sarong migrant worker program. Our housemate is Dr. Kahala Cannon, dentist and Global Ministries worker. Kahala spent the past two years working in India doing dentistry and is now in Korea for about 9 months teaching English with Global Sarong and the Wildflower School.

Our neighborhood is a Korean/Chinese district within Seoul and has distinct Chinese influences, particularly in food. We enjoyed a Korean / Chinese dinner together.

Neutbom School

June 25th 2016

This today was one of the most restful of the trip. We took a van ride from town to a remote village in the southern tip of Korea. Here we meet with several teachers and administrators from the Neutbom school where we would be spending the majority of our week. We stayed in a Korean style bed and breakfast for two nights which is operated by the school's English teacher and his wife. The teacher, Mr. Kim, has a passion for maintaining his rural village, he invited six painters from Seoul to paint scenes from Korea's history on the village walls. The walk around the quaint community was a walk through history and art. I would highly recommend anyone traveling to Korea take the time to step away from the busy-ness of the cities and experience Gurim village. 

June 26th 2016

Today we went to church at a PROK church in Byungiving village. It was a smaller rural church comprised mostly of farmers. The service was lovely and easy to follow even without knowing Korean. After worship we did visited some cultural landmarks, one was a museum dedicated to a Dutch man named Hamel who was shipwrecked in the mid 1400's in Korea, was captured and imprisoned, later escaping and writing about his adventures in Asia in the first broadly read accounts of Asia in Europe. We took a long hike in the mountains to visit a lovely Buddhist temple. From the temple we went to a pottery museum, Korea and China are known to have the oldest artifacts of pottery on the planet.

During the car ride we talked to Mr. Kim about reunification of the peninsula. We've come to understand that Koreans do not see North and South Korea as two separate countries but rather one country divided, similar to Berlin being split into East and West in Germany; still one city, but divided. Mr. Kim had an interesting interpretation of the results of WWII and suggested that it would have been more appropriate for the world powers to divide Japan rather than Korea. Japan was the invading nation that occupied Korea for decades and committed terrible atrocities, so why was Korea the nation split by USSR and the United States? Jonathan and I are finding conversations on reunification to be some of the most interesting of the trip. To read about the UCC's General Synod statement from 2015 of the Reunification of the Korean Peninsula click here: http://uccfiles.com/pdf/6-A-CALL-FOR-PEACE-JUSTICE-AND-REUNIFICATION.pdf

We also had the opportunity to see dolmen, ancient burial sites from the Broze age, where clusters of gigantic rocks were stacked to form resting places. The mechanics of moving  such large boulders was impressive.

June 27th 2016
Today we moved into the Neutbom School. The school is an alternative boarding school for Korean children in middle school and high school. Korean academics are known for being highly competitive and exam oriented. The majority of students in Korea spend 10-12 hours a day memorizing materials for examinations that will determine which college / university they will attend. Thousands of dollars are spent on personal tutors and life skills are neglected in order to emphasize testing. As an alternative to this model the Neutbom School focused on collaborative learning, life skills, community living and the pursuit of peace and justice.

The school is designed from the philosophies of Rev. Moon Ik Hwan. The three core values of the school include: Life and Spirituality, Self-determination and Community, and Peaceful Reunification. www.bomedu.com 


The students prepared a wonderful assembly for us including traditional Korean percussion, songs and dancing. We could not have felt more welcome. During the day we taught four English classes, talking a bit about ourselves and encouraging each students to tell us something about Korea.

In the afternoon we worked in the rice fields with the students. Each day the students do work on the campus ranging from maintenance to preparing dinner, to working in the rice fields and cleaning out the Eco toilet to use as compost. The combination of work ethic, cooperation and learning life skills stand out as exploratory ways to incorporate practical skills into the educational experience.

June 28th 2016
We started off this morning with 30 bows and meditation, each class at the school participates in a 20 minute exercise and meditation program before breakfast, rotating each month. Exercise was followed by breakfast and for us a day of exploring the area.

We went to Jindo to see the site where the Sewol Ferry sank. We met with two mother of children whose bodies have never been recovered. Although they were from Ansan the women have been living in trailers on the dock for 804 days and counting since the accident. They are demanding that the nine remaining people whose remains have not been located be found and that the ferry be salvaged in order to investigate what actually happened. To date the government has stopped all salvage efforts. Jonathan and I watched videos of the accident, we cannot figure out why when the boat tipped over the coast guard rescued the captain and crew but never initiated any rescue efforts for the children. The boat sat listing above water for two hours  when rescue efforts where possible but the coast guard was told to wait for instructions from the government that never came. The boat then capsized killing 296 people on board, the majority of whom where all high school students from the same class in a low income community in Korea. Every where we look we see yellow ribbons as a symbol of remembrance and asking for government accountability.




On our way back to the school we stopped to visit another PROK church, this one has an after school program for area elementary children and has been active in starting a youth orchestra in the community. We returned to campus in time to help with afternoon work, today I helped to make steamed rice cakes for dinner and Jonathan helped the students to build a bench. We taught two more English classes in the evening before bed

June 29th 2016 
Today's morning exercise was stretching with bamboo poles. We had breakfast and then worked on an outline for a presentation we were asked to give to the school the next day. Today we did some additional touring of the region including a famous poet's home, the home of an exiled scholar and the celydon pottery museum. Upon returning to the school the 6th grade class (seniors) took us on a two hour hike through the mountains including visits to a Buddhist Temple, tea service with a monk and respite lodging for Korean scholars deep in the mountains. The students wrote brief descriptions of all of the sites in English and served as tour guides along the way.

After returning to campus for dinner, Jonathan and I were asked by the students to sing in Wednesday Live! a weekly singing competition, we're not musically inclined but we did teach the students "We are marching in the light of God" in three languages.

We were whisked  off to attend Wednesday prayer service in a remote PROK church, the congregation was obviously delighted to have visitors. We came back to campus and that's when we discovered that all of our photos from the trip were gone from our camera. It was devastating blow. (It's been three days and I'm still not completely over it). We tried to recover our photos and worked on our presentation for the morning. It was not a restful night.

June 30th 2016

Today's exercise was walking meditation for me, and going around campus to take pictures on his ipad for Jon. After breakfast we gave an approximately one hour presentation to the whole school including stories about our childhoods, education, families, careers, and church. The materials were well received. It took about two hours to say our farewells, the students gifted us with cards made by each class and over 100 hugs. We took big group pictures and pictures with each class. Jonathan and I were both incredibly impressed with the teaching methods, philosophy and holistic approach of the Neutbom School, this is a ministry that exemplifies the values of the United Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ.

 

After our extravagant farewells, Mr. Kim very kindly took us back to the Dolmens and to his village to recapture some photos. He then took us back to the nearest city for us to meet Rev. Min Hei Cheon who had already arranged for a van to take us several hours north to the town of Gimje. At Gimje the PROK was holding its national youth gathering. I had an opportunity to speak during plenary about the partnerships of Global Ministries and PROK.