How I came to Korea

I was thinking about where my life is going. For a long time, I knew I wanted to travel and go to East Asia, but there were a few things on my mind. Back home in Illinois, there were a few things I thought I should take care of... but my life was going astray pretty consistently and I wasn't being very faithful or obedient. I kept making the same selfish choices and as a result my relationship with Jesus was suffering - but I always looked to God to bail me out. I always expected that I could keep making choices for myself and being disobedient and He would just fix things for me - but that's not how it works. It wasn't until I realized this that things turned around. After reading Phillipians chapter 1 with a very good friend of mine and really having that accountability to sit and consider what God was saying to me, I understood what the right thing to do was.

So I started making choices for Jesus again, and immediately, it's like the gates of opportunity opened up and prayers that I had been saying to God all started to be answered at the same time. It was as if God was just waiting for me to take those steps of devotion towards Him again. I listened to some good advice from one of my other friends. I asked her, "how do you make important decisions in your life?" And she said that if a good opportunity is there, she usually takes it. So I thought more seriously about my ambitions to go across seas and decided I would look and see if there was opportunity.

I went online and searched several jobs in Taiwan. That's where I wanted to go. But none of those jobs seemed to work out for me. It didn't seem like there was opportunity. I was also searching for jobs in the USA on Careerbuilder.com. I came across a job listed for South Korea, and the offer was VERY good! So I thought, it's a good opportunity. I never thought I would go to Korea, but I decided I should apply and see if there is an opportunity for me. It was such a good deal that I thought if there is opportunity I might take it.

The very next day after applying, I got a phone call from the company: G'Day Korea. They asked me several questions and I seemed to be in the perfect position to go to Korea and I already had all the documents I needed. So they told me I would have a short phone interview with one of the schools. I asked them if I could have any influence about where to work in Korea. I have a very good friend there, Ellie Kang. She and I did our YWAM DTS together in January 2007 in Nicosia, Cyprus. She happened to be one of my best friends while I was there, so I wanted to be close by if I lived in Korea. I called her and we talked and she was very, very helpful - she still is.

So I asked G'Day Korea if I could work in Incheon, near Dohwa Dong. They said they just happened to have a school that needed a teacher near there. And that was it - that was what I was praying about. I asked God, if He wants me to go, then let everything work out and give me accountability and fellowship in Korea. Everything worked out - and much more.

It took longer than I expected for me to get my work visa, but that gave me extra time to say goodbye to my friends and it all turned out fine.

I flew here on October 11th and arrived on October 12th at night.