Hello friends and family :)
I hope you have been well! It’s nearly hitting the half a year marker since I arrived in Korea! It’s crazy how fast time flies! I miss everyone in the land down under to bits, but at the same time Korea has been a very fun and exciting journey so far. I love the students that I teach here, have gotten to make some incredible friends and am enjoying all the new experiences that Korea is offering me.
As some of you may know, I came to Korea to pursue a certain career path that I would be more than happy to share with in person if you are curious to find out about what that may be :) While I haven’t yet found ways of reaching this dream yet, God has graciously allowed me the opportunity and the time to be able to ponder and pray deeper about why it is that I wish to pursue this career path, how I can be used in that field to further expand his kingdom and to be able to share about this dream with people that could possibly mentor and guide me through the journey.
During this time, something that God revealed in my heart was the deceitful and unhealthy messages that the people of Korea, especially the children, youth and young people of Korea are constantly hearing in their day to day lives. While this message can take various forms, I feel that they serve the same purpose; that is stealing and crushing our identity as those that have been made perfect in God’s sight, those that have been fearfully and wonderfully made, those that have been sent to this world to achieve a beautiful purpose. As people lose sight of this identity, Korea is gradually changing into a society that is void of a Godly respect, care and love for yourself and one another, but a society of superficiality.
This is something that breaks my heart, and I wish to be able to tell the people of Korea otherwise. I wish to be able to help the people of Korea see themselvesand each other for who they truly are; sons and daughters of God who have been created in his likeness, those that carry a beautiful vision that God knew you could achieve best. I wish to send a message of hope, a hope that comes from God and God alone, as we begin to see ourselves in the way that God sees us, and trust that our lives will be used in amazing ways regardless of who we are right now, and what kind of a background we come from.
I believe that the Heartland mission trip will be a time where God is going to speak this truth to the precious children and youth of Namyangju, where many come from underprivileged and broken homes. As our team spend time with these children and youth from the 9th to 12th August through Bible study, small group sessions, activities and games, I truly believe that God will work in their hearts to show them of his love and his plans for their lives.
It would mean a lot to me if you could partner with me on this trip through your prayers and financial support if possible. If you wish to find out in more detail about how you can do this, please send me an email on narae.sama@gmail.com. I’d love to share with you specific details but also catch up with how things are going in your life :)
For the time being, please enjoy the beach, all the steak, avocados and cheese that you can for me! :)
With love,
Narae