We decided to travel up to Itaewon this weekend to check in on the "kids" (Mark and Elysabeth). We wanted to hear about Elysabeth's trip to the US to put together an article for rewrite magazine and sample a bit of the international culture that swirls around this youth oriented area of Seoul that is a regular stop on the tour bus routes.
First a word about rewrite magazine. It is ministry bathed in love that Mark and Elysabeth launched some months ago. Each of them has put their writing talents and journalism degrees from UCI to work in telling wonderful stories of redemption in the lives of God's people. Articles come out every two weeks and can be followed at rewritemagazine.com. Most of the early stories have centered on changed lives among young people in Korea that God has redeemed. Recently the focus has swung a bit more towards the US which led to Elysabeth's visit home. It is exciting to see this obvious labor of love in creating each of the articles they publish online. There is excitement in starting a new ministry with a sense that God has prepared them and is leading their efforts. It was quite a step of faith to incur the expense of international travel to conduct interviews for upcoming articles. Susan and I couldn't be more pleased.
On the drive north to Itaewon, Susan started telling me about a middle eastern shop down the block from their apartment that had delicious swarma style sandwiches (here they call them kebobs) carved from rotating skewers of lamb and chicken covered with vegetables and sauce and wrapped in pita bread at affordable prices. I was hooked. After my recent trip to Hong Kong, I've discovered anew that food can quickly overshadow more important things in my life and, true to form, I was intent on hunting down this place first thing when we arrived. Sure enough, the sandwiches were every bit as delicious as their description. Ahhh! It also seemed a bit strange to pass by a Burger King, Taco Bell and Outback Steakhouse in the short walk to the kebob shop. This is truly an international city.
The rest of our visit was spent visiting with Mark and Elysabeth. It is wonderful to see their personal growth and the growth in their marriage. So often these days young people get married with little thought to the depth of the commitment they are making. Mark and Elysabeth clearly decided not to choose that path to marriage. Their communication and commitment is very strong. Of particular delight to me is that they seem to have adopted the Korean approach to parental relations. In Korea the parents of a young married couple are still part of the family and are considered a source of wisdom in working your way through problems that come up in life. I know this concept is entirely foreign to much of the post modern US culture, but it is gratifying that, at least over here, we are still of some use to the younger generation.
One final interesting note. Yesterday Susan and I went out to dinner to a seafood buffet restaurant here in Pohang next to the city hall. I'll repress my normal urge to focus on the dinner (suffice it to say that you will want to visit this very Korean style buffet should you stop by for a visit) and describe instead the large event at city hall. As we approached city hall, there was a crowd and chairs set up near the entrance. Upon closer inspection we saw several Buddhist monks in their traditional orange/brownish and gray robes and shaved heads. They clearly were dignitaries for the event. Behind them we saw a 20 foot tall replica of a temple. It turns out they were there to celebrate Buddha's birthday. Buddhism is the largest faith group in South Korea (Christianity is second) and most of Asia. I was surprised to see so overtly a religious event at city hall. Apparently Thomas Jefferson's thoughts on the separation of church and state expressed in a letter to a church back in the early 19th century haven't been elevated to constitutional status here in Korea. I must admit that, as a Christian, I wasn't the least bit offended by this recognition given to the Buddhist faith on government property. How strange that the US courts are so paranoid about acknowledging our Christian heritage in the US.
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