Day 4- May 18, 2011 (Bella's classes, group games, evangelism festival)

Again we started off another day of practicing music for leading praise and worship. Since I didn't have any actual drums, I was able to take a cord from the computer speakers and use it in the boom box we had in the apartment and hook my iPhone up to it. I used a drum pad application on my phone to take the place of drums and it actually turned out great!

Our main mission work we did for the day was attend two of Bella's English classes. Te building she taught in was for the school of hospitality, so it was designed to emulate a hotel with ballrooms and front desk and really nice quality furnishings. The majority of Bella's classes we young ladies and one guy in school to become airline stewards or stewardesses.  Andrew and I decided to team up, so we took on or first group. We talked about various subjects an played off of each other well. I taught them the game I learned from last year working Camp WinShape called Ghetto Tap. Basically you overlap arms while sitting in a circle with your hands all on the same surface. By tapping, you send the tap around the circle. If you mes up you lose a hand, if two time, you are out and you face punishment. In Korean punishment one usually presents their back and the whole group would slap it. In this case, we decided to go the non violent out and I suggested we did nose on. It worked well and the students had fun with it! Yay for quick thinking! It was funny because sometimes the groups would count the same number many times or take a long time just to say one number so the person in punishment had to stay longer.

I made a break through in the second group of the first class Andrew and I talked with! The Holy Spirit took over and I just started pouring out about the Gospel! during the first half of the conversation  we talked about general things like culture, but then it was like a switch went off and I felt the urgency to share the Gospel with these girls. I did what I once heard David Platt talk about. He quoted an interview of a theologian answering the question: If you had 1 hour with someone on a train, how would you share the Gospel with them? and the theologian answered "I would spend 50 minutes getting them to understand their sinful nature and why we need Christ and THEN share Christ with them."  That's how I felt this whole trip when ever I shared the Gospel. So I spent most of my time when sharing the Gospel getting students to understand their separation from God and how they needed to have relationship and then at the end talk about Christ.

During the next class, Kate and I teamed up. Since we found out that we would be back the next week, we knew we could take down the evangelism intensity a bit and focus more on building credibility and relevance. So our approach changed and we focused more on the relationships. For the second round of groups, we went into the big ball room so we could sit at bigger tables. We played Ghetto Tap and then they taught us a game called "007 Bang!".  The point of the game is that 0,0,7, bang is said by either 1 person or it is shard among the group. Who ever bang lands on, the 2 people beside them must throw their hands up and go "Ah!". If you miss it, you get punishment!  Next I taught them the water bucket game and they loved it! The Korean students were surprised by the abruptness of the game. I took video of it and sent it back to my Team Orange!

In the evening we participated in the Inter Christian Evangelism Festival at a local university. This was like a big Christian rally at the school and they had worship music, speakers, and entertainment.  The speaker spoke totally in Korean, so we had no clue what she said, but apparently the Spirit was with her because many students stood up for the alter call. After she spoke, a group of muscle men for Christ named Team Extreme came and did all types of feats of super strong proportions that were metaphors for the Gospel. It is very similar to Team Impact or God's Warriors (FCA). One guy blew up a thick rubber hot water bottle, another broke a bat over his legs, their 7'7'' guy from Fiji rolled up a frying pan with his bare hands, phone books were ripped, and steel bars bent. They were a great group and a unique experience for many Koreans I believe. I had dinner with that 7'7" dude. He has an amaizing testimony and he is a super nice guy! I am glad he is my friend.

Worshiping

Worshiping

D-Rice

Day 3- May 17, 2011 (First visit, Graphic Design Class, Cost So, Daimond Bridge)

This morning we started off the day by preparing some praise and worship music for the events we would be going to as well as preparing for the English classes we were going to be participating in. When it was lunch time, Joon made spicy noodles and kimchi for us. It was similar to ramen in the way it was prepared, but a thousand times better (and you cant beat Kimchi). This was the beginning of getting used to the Holy Spirit visiting us at meals for several of my teammates and I. He is always welcome!

After the late lunch, we made out way to Dong-Seo University for our first time. When we got there, there was major activity our on the sports field in the center of campus On the main soccer field, there was a soccer game and behind the goals on both sides of the field, there were games of dodge ball! Teams were broken up into schools within the university. (It kind of reminded me of how that tv show Most Extreme Elimination Challenge broke teams up into industries) For example, one of the dodge ball games was the school of dental hygiene vs the culinary school.  Also, when we would walk by the stands of students filled with supporters for their teams, they would all yell at us in excitement and shout hello! We felt like movie stars!

When that was over, Joon took us to check out the chapel, but it was locked at the front. I followed Joon around to the back side and we found all the doors locked, so we waited at the back side for the rest of the team to catch up. I fount a small group of guys and went over and talked with them. They were very friendly and we struggled through broken English and my expansive Korean vocabulary of 4 or 5 poorly pronounced words. Then some girls walked up and that was the firs time I got to use the words "yapudah" and "moeshita". It really made them light up! Then I was also able to connect to these students through drums because one of the guys had a drum for cheers.

Next we went to our first class and just as my friend Kaleb told me, the young ladies would gravitate towards the American guys. I didn't believe him at first, but it was true.  It reminded me a little bit of when I went to Germany and a similar thing happened. Anyways, I used yapudah again (since I didn't really know what else to say and Joon said it was good to say often to ladies) and it kinda locked in the connection with them. The teacher had our team stand up in front of the class and introduce ourselves by name and school. After this, the teacher told the students to break into conversation groups and choose one of us for their group. Take a guess who grabbed me by the wrist? Yep, you guessed it, that group of girls. We went out side into the court yard where many of the other groups went and we talked about all types of basic things.  One of the first questions they asked was if I had a girlfriend, and when I said no, they were all quite surprised! I quickly changed the subject to holidays, food, movies, hobbies, music, studies, and jobs. One of our goals was to talk to the students about the true meaning of holidays like Christmas and Easter because they are celebrated in Korea, but just like in America, they are misunderstood. When our time was up, each group was going picture crazy with their respective Georgia missionary. :)

By this time it was time for dinner and we headed up to the teachers lounge for another Korean style meal. We had rice, sardines, salad, two types of kimchi, peeled apples, seaweed salad, kelp soup, noodle/egg soup, and fish. Our hosts in the teachers lounge were the teacher of that graphic design class and a man named Joseph Jung. It turns out that they are believers and were really awesome for leveraging their position to share the Gospel. Joseph gave me his business card because when we discussed about my future in Japan, he told me there is a person from his Korean church there also in Japan that I could network with to do ministry! God is so good! Mr. Jung is an international affairs and ESL teacher who, at one point, lived in California and studied at Berkley. His story was cool. He worked in law enforcement for Berkley and found one day God put him in Korea. Soon he is going to head back to California to be dean of a satellite campus for Dong-Seo.

When we finished there, we left the school in search of a power converter for Andrew and then visit Cost Co. On the way we picked up my best friend Amy! We parked near a Presbyterian church in a major part of town. We started wandering around the streets, led by Amy. The streets were surreal, its like as if we were in a video game. The streets here are so safe at anytime of the day, as far as crime goes, but you do need to watch for the occasional pushy car because the streets that look like they should be just walk ways are still streets... We were unsuccessful in finding a converter, but it was fun to wander. It was at this time Amy and I started to bond. Before we got back into the van, we took a restroom break in the church. Joon, Andrew, and I finished quickly, so we popped across the street to the convenience store to get some drinks.  We found a brand of canned frapachinos named Georgia! It was to good to pass up, so we got those and an apple yogurt drink carton for Amy (her favorite). That was the first time I had seen a yogurt drink like this. It was about the size of what were used to for small, single serving  carton of milk like you get at school.

My best friend Amy!

Energy

We left the church area and headed toward Cost co, and as we were about to admit defeat on the search for a converter, we drove by a crazy packed electronics store (it looked a lot like a Star Wars Junkyard). So Joon parked the car real quick and ran in. He was successful and we all cheered and went on to Cost Co.  By this time we had started heavy into a game called "Nose On". The point of the game is if you say something grammatically wrong or you misuse a word, then you have to put your nose on the place of choice by the one who calls you out until they ask you how you feel.  By this time, Jennie racked up two and Brittany had one.  When we got out of the car, I had Jennie put her nose on the wall of the parking garage. Then when we went down the down automated walk, I had both of them but their nose on the handrail. They were great sports!  When we got into the store, Joon realized he had forgotten his member card, so the store was gracious enough to let us go in on a one time temporary pass. There was a Xbox Kenect, so we played that for a while as the others went shopping.  As we left, I pushed the cart to the car. I went a little too fast entering the up ramp with the cart and I found out with my abs that the cart is magnetized to the ramp as you go up. Ouch. Sometimes my ambitions get the best of me.

Nose on

On the way home, we were blessed that Joon decided to take the Diamond Bridge on the way home.  This bridge was massive and the view from it was outstanding! To the right you could see the city lights. To the left you could see the moon with a reflection on the water so picturesque! Busan is so beautiful in the day and the night. I love this city and it's people. I think I should have been born Korean.

D-Rice

Day 2 – May 16, 2011 (Mission Tour, First Foods, and Words)

This morning we started off with a little orientation. We all sat around the kitchen table and Joon walked us through the schedule for the trip and our mission tour that day. This is when we first met Bella. She joined us at the apartment and we got to chat with her for a minute, but then we were off to our first event for the day.  Bella participated in the BSU as a long time student leader when she was in college. She now teaches English classes and brings a whole mountain worth of glory to God through her teaching.  Her classes were some of the main groups of students we actually got to have conversation with. Bella also did a lot of translating for us.

Bella

So we headed out on our "mission tour" where we got dropped off as a team at Mt. Yong Du park with a map, a list of things to get pictures with, and some helpful Korean sentences written down to show people if we asked directions. We first went into the visitors shop to look around, then cam out and got to see a large dragon statue, a  flower clock, a HUGE bell/gong, the statue of General Lee Sun-shin, lots of old people playing board games, an international instrument museum, and Busan Tower. We actually went up in the tower which was super high!!! You could see the sprawling city for miles and then when that ran out, you could see ocean out into the horizon. There is soooo much city!

Next we went into Beopmoon-sa, a Buddhist temple. It was so beautifully tragic with lotus lanterns suspended below the ceiling with prayers attached to gods who don't exist. The ceiling was so detailed and extravagant, the floor was straw mat, and in the front of the space were window scenes with different statures and idols. While in there, we saw a woman praying and worshiping... it was heartbreaking knowing she wasn't worshiping a real god, but just a wall. It was disheartening.

After that we went to PIFF Square (Pusan International Film Festival).  This area reminded me very much of the streets of New York City. There were many food vendors and the style of the area was very much like NY.  Next on our list was the Jalgachi Fish Market. It was everything I thought it would be, just like in my favorite Travel Channel tv shows! After we finished there, we met up with Joon and Bella at Busan's first Starbucks. It was about 4 or 5 levels tall! So much better than American Starbucks too.

At this point, it was diner time, so we got to experience our first traditional Korean meal! We sat floor style and had Pork Bygogie with whole garlic cloves, full jalapenos, shrimp, "Holy Spirit" Kimchi, and a bunch of other items to choose from. You take these different items and you put them in large lettuce or mint leaves kind of like a taco. Joon would always refer to something as "Holy Spirit" if it were spicy because it would set your tongue on fire like the believers in the first church when the Holy Spirit descended on them. After dinner, we went to a coffee shop called Bersheeba Coffee Shop. There we relaxed for a bit and had some great coffee related beverages! From there we popped over to the apartment to grab coats and we went to go see a light/water show!

So I learned that Rice (my last name) in Korean is pap (sounds like bap). Also, the name Bob with Korean pronunciation sounds just the same. It never failed that every Korean I told about that got a kick out of it. I would tell them about my name and then say "pap eat pap!" and it would make them laugh. Then I would tell them that my dad's name is Bob (which ironically it truly is!) and they would be floored. It was good clean fun. Another word we learned was "mah" which can mean bad, quit, just kidding, boooo, quiet!, come here now!, or just a friendly form of a nickname.  We used this quite a bit. It became Jennie's nickname too issued by Joon. Some other words are "jo ah" which means good, "Yeapudah" which means beautiful for girls and "meoshita" is handsome for guys, "gemsamhamida" is formal thank you and "kompowa" is informal thank you, "Jo em" is please, "moo" is help yourself, "mool" is water, "Je un iroem _____ imida" is my name is, and "doe" is the command to give.

We started off the evening with YouTube videos! We watched "habba babba", "would you look at that", "lick the rainbow", "fire ants song", "commercial worship song", "the guillotine arrow", "Epic Saxman", and "sexysaxmansaxagrams". We ended the evening with a Bible study led by Bill on the topic of worship, which was the theme for our discipleship time in the evenings. We ended by laying hands on Andrew who's grandfather died a few days before.

D-Rice

Day 1- May 15, 2011 (Arrival)

I arrived at the airport around 9:20 am and was greeted by Bill Grissett, Jennie Blandenburg, and Brittany Hailey. Not too soon after that David Dockery and Kate Bennett arrived. We then waited for almost 45 minutes while we waited for Andrew Headley due to what I believe was a communication error. So we went on ahead and Andrew caught up with us along the way to the gate. What a fun way tostart, right? :P the first flight to Minnesota was quick and good. The second flight to Tokyo was long as expected, bus still good. They fed us so much on the way and most of us were feeling kinda gross because we kept eating and had not moved much for 12+ hours.

Tokyo Security Line

Landing in Tokyo was refreshing nice we got to stretch our legs a little bit and encounter our first little bit of Asian culture. The security line to get through customs in Tokyo took a long time, but at least during the wait I was able to pick up some free literature in Japanese so I can practice on it later this summer. While in the line one of our teammates made friends with a girl named Zip. She was a college aged, Filipino looking girl who studies at the University of Huston and was going to South Korea to visit her parents. Her mom is Filipino too, but her dad is English. She was fun to talk to.

On the flight from Tokyo to Busan many of us made friends with the nationals we sat next to. I sat next to a Korean named Won-Gyn Lee. Just by talking to him I learned a great deal about Korean culture. For example, his Korean age is 31, but his American age is 29. Koreans count the year in the womb as well as soon as the new year comes around as a year. I am 21 American, but 23 Korean. Won was a professional seller/ economist who was coming home from a business trip in New Mexico. It was unbelievable how much that guy works weekly, but the crazy thing is that it is typical of many Koreans. As we chatted, I found out that his girlfriend was English and that her sister lives in Whales. We began to talk about languages and he taught me some phrases to say like "my name is" and "I am from". We talked about all kinds of cultural differences and we ended up swapping information. As a gift, the lady Brittany had befriended gave her a black sun hat.

We landed and I had my first experience unloading from a plane onto a Tarmac. That was oh so exciting! We then hopped on a bus to the main building and with anxiousness, we all got through customs. We were greeted by Joon, Amy, Michele, Honey, and Claire after the baggage claim. Is was awesome, Amy had made a cool poster with all of our faces on it. Me, Bill, Jennie, Andrew, Joon, Michele, and Claire got into the first van and we all headed towards the apartment. On the way we got a little sample of Joon's personality. Before we knew we were going to end up in a very nice apartment, he was telling us we were going to be camping on the beach for the 2 weeks. Since we did not know him all that well and he sounded serious, we believed him. Then after a short pause, he said he was just messing with us. This was the beginning of what became known as Joon's famous JKs. He told us to try it on the other van when we got to the apartment.

Ladies at the apartment!

View of the Pacific from our apartment.

View of the Pacific from our apartment.

View of the Pacific from our apartment. (I got artsy)

Once we got into the apartment (shoes at the door) Joon pick me out as the group leader and showed me around the place and then had me explain everything to the team. I essentially became the group liaison. We were very well accommodated and taken care of. Joon and the Busan BSU have done so much for us already. Joon and I hit it off great and began what I hope is a life long bond.

D-Rice

End of a semester, graduation, and South Korea

Greetings!

So it has been a little while since I posted. Last time I posted,I had just come back from a mission trip in Mississippi and found out that I am going to Japan for Journeyman. Since then, life had piled up and became super busy as senior year kicked my rear end... Fortunately, as you can tell, I am still alive and now free from the shackles of higher education (at least for a while).

The end of my last semester was pretty hectic with major presentations, papers, a week with 3 all-nighters, and preparation for graduation. I came out of my classes with all A's and B's, so I am thankful to be done. Graduation was sweet and memorable. We had a local business leader (the founder and CEO of Rayla Corp.) as our commencement speaker. Surprisingly he brought in the importance of faith, steadfastness, and God into his speech! It was very welcomed to my ears and I'm glad he was our speaker. That evening was fun since me and several of my friends went down to the Marietta Square to hang out with a bunch of people in a tiny room glorifying God. It was actually a fundraiser concert for several of my Echo friends going to Haiti.

Before the ceremony. From left to right: Cotis Hammock, Camille Drummond, Brent Cox, Jessica Finder, Me.

One of my best school friends, Jeremiah! What a humble man of God.

Me, Mom, and Brother

Haiti Benefit Concert in Marietta Square

Yesterday I returned from South Korea with a new experience, a new family, and a new best friend. I definitely left my heart in Busan, but am 100% sure that part of the reason I was to go to South Korea (aside from bringing God glory and sharing the Gospel) was to meet me new family. Joon, Amy, and Bella of the Busan BSU are now my family in East Asia. They are going to be a huge resource of love, support, encouragement, and rest for me while I am serving in Japan. I would not be surprised if I ended up living in Busan with these people serving our God. I love you guys!!!!!!

From left to Right: Me, Amy, Bella, and Joon

Over the next couple of days I will be posting journal entries from each day of my trip in South Korea. This will be the best place for information on what me and my team experienced each day, so if you can't reach me or you really want to find out before I can talk to you, check it out here! :)

D-Rice

Japan Update (03/23/2011) "Still going to Japan?"

Hey everyone,
So some of you may be wondering "are you still going to Japan with all this nuclear worry and evacuation happening?" And the answer is as of right now, yes.  I have not heard anything from the IMB about changes in our plans. Some good news I found out is that I now have definite dates of departure. I will be moving to Virginia on October 17th for training for 8 weeks and then move to Japan on December 30th. That is almost half a year from now and anything could happen. If any of those nuclear power plants explodes, I believe it should happen by then, but more than likely everything should be stabilized and life in Tokyo should resume.

This morning I read an article about IMB missionaries in Japan from the IMB website. IMB Japan Missionary Article :
This article is of double importance to me because it not only talks about Japan IMB personnel, but it specifically mentions MY SUPERVISOR. My supervisor has been officially relocated, which means If I were to be going to Japan right now, it definitely would not be in Tokyo.  Please read this article to see what it is like for my supervisors family and fellow Japanese baptists.

Please Pray:
•    that the relocated missionaries will be a witness in their temporary locations
•    for the ministries and partners they left behind
•    for those missionaries who are living in “tight quarters” and sharing homes

Daniel

It's Official

:Spoiler Alert!:

I received the call Thursday from the IMB where I am headed for Journeyman. I am officially going to Tokyo, Japan!
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These last couple of weeks have been quite interesting no doubt. I started off this time with the summer missions Send Me Now interview weekend in mid February. That weekend was packed with prayer, friendship building, slow jams, worship, and excitement. From that weekend, I was assigned to South Korea from May 14-31. There I will be working with university students at the University of Busan.  I will be going with 1 campus minister, 2 other guys and 3 other girls. We will disciple, encourage, and share our testimonies in many ways while there.

-I love having my life being missions!-

In late February I went up to Richmond, VA for the Journeyman Expo for the last step of the interview process.  This was a life altering experience for me. I came into the expo with not only my mind set on a certain place, but my heart was also content with where it was overall (particularly in the area of purity).  Up to this point, I had been talking with a ministry team leader in Wales and God had done some pretty remarkable things in opening a door to serve in the UK with the Celtic languages Team. Since that opportunity was the only one I knew of, so I had invested a lot of my heart and desires into it. I tried my hardest on my own to approach the conference with an open mind and spirit to other opportunities in case God had other doors or a specific door He wanted me to do. I couldn't do it on my own and it took me being super humiliated (in a good sense) in my personal interview to be knocked of rhythm of my tunnel vision.

Finally I was able to look at all the options and affinities with spiritually openness and equality. long story short, God showed me 2 other doors that I could maximally glorify Him through.  The first was in Tokyo and the other was Helsinki, Finland. As you can tell, I have a heart for both the peoples of western Europe and east Asia. God gave me some pretty sweet options, but no doubt, He never fails to put me in my optimal environment.

This last Thursday, while in the shower in Mississippi on a mission trip with my school's BCM, I got the call from the IMB.  Once I got out of the shower, I checked the message and checked my message.  I will be serving in Tokyo with my new friend and fellow interview group member, Jose Medina. Jose and I will be serving as Urban Young Frontliners.

Job description: Focus on university students and young adults who either go directly to work after high school, or do only part time jobs and seem to have no purpose in life. We will be making friends, learning Japanese, witnessing, baptizing, and leading bible studies.  Basically, we are reaching the 18-25 age group (kind of like Passion) in relational ministry and incarnational ministry in the best ways we know how using our past experience, education, passions, gifts, and talents. The good news is that this is a low security assignment, so I will continue to update this blog.  You can also keep up with my Blog, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and pictures at www.flavors.me/drice13. 

Something that is kind of crazy and that I am still processing and seeking understanding is what God's plan is for this earthquake in Japan. It was coincidental that I got the notification of my assignment in Japan the same day as the quake. What does God have in store for my life and future ministry? How will this affect the hearts of a post modern and post religious nation? 

I will post again in the next few days with some thoughts and hopefully answers. I have a lot more to tell you all about too like my a recap of my mission trip to Mississippi with the BCM and what not. Check back here in a little while.

Daniel