The Divinely Orchestrated Symphony

I am now officially finished with Sogang. It feels great. Objectively speaking, I did quite terrible this final term, but it is quite alright. I did what I could and for the essay portions of the test I wrote my testimony of what has happened to me in the past couple of months; the teachers were very moved.

For my speaking interview test it is no coincidence that the first question that the teacher asked was, "who is the most important person in your life?" There happened to be a crucifix in the room. I pointed at it, and an interview that was supposed to last fifteen minutes ended up lasting closer to two hours with tears in the teacher's eyes. There really is no other way I can look at it but to be completely confident that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

I will be wrapping up all the logistics for the Light Fellowship in the next few days. I just want to take the chance to thank the Light Fellowship at this time for providing me the means to experience everything I have experienced this year. It has been edifying in every sense from the most trivial and mundane, to the highest and spiritual. The Light Fellowship is a life-changer, particularly the longer ones, so much so that I am staying in Korea until September now and going straight into China. If what the Light fellowship is aiming for is creating a new generation of leaders that are outstandingly knowledgeable and sensitive to East Asia and its culture, you guys are succeeding; I am a testament to that. Thank you, I hope more and more students continue to take advantage of the ridiculous gift of goodwill that you guys so graciously give. Richard U. Light would be proud.

Also, the musical has also wrapped up. It was spectacular, beyond words really. I have been in several productions, but never one this cohesive, full of chemistry, and above all, filled with love; it was pouring out from the stage out into the audience. God's hand was in it, because, honestly, it was not our strength nor out might. Had it been, it would have flopped, but for it to turn out the way it did, it was His Spirit; it was electric. Sublime. Celestial. There are no words.

The past 10 days or so, or however long since my last post about my knee, I have experienced many beautiful things. I used to always say I had already taken the red pill, but boy was I wrong. I now finally took it, and what a ride the rabbit hole is. There is no possible way I can highlight everything on this blog, but I will highlight the key points. It is too real to condense into a blog, it is a continuous form of existence that can only be experienced. However, before I get to Kierkegard on all of y'all, I'll get to the beautiful hard cold facts of the recent days.

To preface all of this, I just want to explain that for sometime now I had been convicted to stay in Korea. However, there was one teensy little problem; I had no idea how I was going to subsist or pull it together logistically, but boy is God good, and boy is prayer real. If any if you guys read a recent blog with my desperate cry for help, perhaps you will understand the dire need in which I was in. But ever since my knee was healed, having also experienced healing a week directly thereafter, the faith that is spoken of in the Gospels, the faith that makes complete has been not only present, but overly ubiquitous in my life and my day to day scene. Jehova jaira, boy does He provide, all in exchange for earnest and child-like faith and love.

There were two major problems in my way, in regards to staying in Korea. Money and visa issues. Now that the Light Fellowship was up, I had no money and housing in S. Korea is super expensive. I also had to at least do a visa run to Japan or someplace to keep my visa running, but there was no money for that either.

Funny thing is, I wasn't stressing out in the same way I used to stress about things. I was very calm and placid. I was still tithing like crazy, the way I have started to in the past couple of months, and I have been very giving with my money and resources. About two weeks ago, God prompted me to email the lady who made the documentary about me earlier this year; I had not spoken to her in ages. I actually felt quite awkward writing her. I broke the ice by talking about the musical. I then simply asked her if she knew of any cheap alternatives in Seoul because I was planning on staying through September. I didn't get a reply until about a week ago through a phone call.

When I picked up the phone, just from the tone of her voice, I was assuming she was just calling to be a polite Korean and say she was sorry there wasn't anything she knew about or could do. I had never insinuated anything about living with her, however she started saying, "Our place is too small...." Something I took as just an apologetic platitude. However, she kept going and started telling me how right when she got my email she was compelled to go to the real estate agent and start looking for a bigger place, found one, and asked me to move in with them at the beginning of June, exactly when my time at my current place runs out. She told me that her and her husband spoke, and they really couldn't explain it, but they just wanted to help me. They said the only condition was that I had to love their son as if he were my real brother. I said, "Deal."

There is more though, which is how I am convinced that it wasn't mere coincidence. This family had been wanting to move into a bigger place for a long time, but they didn't have the money, and they didn't foresee it happening until at least next year. But out of nowhere, just because she went that day, they were able to secure some special type of loan. Had she not gone that day with that clerk it may not have happened. That's when you know it really is God moving things, it wasn't just me being blessed, but this family as well, and when I read the email with the details of the whole ordeal I was blown away. Several of my prayers were answered too. I have a place to live, I have a place to eat, sleep, I have a family, I have a brother, these latter things being things I thought I had given up to do what I was called to do this Summer. God is good.

I am not doing most of this justice. I am a much better speaker than I am a writer. The other one I will relate is how really out of nowhere someone I hardly know knew to give exactly the money I needed to go to Japan for my visa run. Actually, that is pretty much it. Things like the above things have been happening up and down, and like I said, it is real. I also fasted for five days and that was also a very beautiful experience. I have been able to pray for over two hours straight and have it feel like five minutes, true prayer. The spiritual journey I started at fourteen when I started traveling the world on my own to experience something greater has finally entered the next phase, and what a surprise, although not too much so really, that it revolves around Jesus Christ.

I was baptized last saturday, and it as beautiful. I prayed the night before under the stars, and God sent me a shooting star. This is Seoul, that is virtually impossible. But nothing is impossible for God. I could literally write a 1000 pg book just on everything that has happened in the past 10-12 days. But I figure I need to do is just keep living, loving, and being obedient and be living testimony of what it's like to be free in Jesus Christ and truly alive. All of this not through church, but through the Bible and prayer, although church helps keep it together. I am not gushing about church or religion, I am gushing about the indescribable power of God, the God of Jesus, the God of Abraham and Jacob. Anyone feeling challenged, please read through Mark, second book in the new testament. Christian and non-Christian a like. I read a Koran. What's so wrong with checking out a Bible? I especially write this to people who think they are followers of Chirst when in reality they have no idea what is written in the Book their faith is supposed to revolve around and are too busy telling others they're wrong. That's not what I'm doing, ask to me to check something out and I will gladly do so.

I could go on forever, but perhaps if we ever meet in person I will know exactly which story will be the most uplifting for each and everyone of you.

The word coincidence was only invented because man has a problem accepting that there is something greater that is holding everything together. God resists the proud. What I have realized is that this life, this existence is a symphony. Once you surrender completely to the Grand Conductor you will never miss a beat, and that's because He never misses a beat. We need to learn to read the music, the Bible, and learn how to play our unique instruments, our abilities and gifts that He gave us, so that we can never miss a beat. Too many people, including myself for the longest time, are trying to play their own song, and it just doesn't compare. It only leads to strife, emptiness and dissatisfaction. We were all called to play first violin, if you will, for Him. There is a Divinely Orchestrated Symphony playing all around us with major and minor scales, ups and downs, tempo changes and the likes, but we have the answers and the conductor that will always stay in time and on the right measure. Think about it. Grace and Love.