Just missing an "a"

The Sunday after we took a day trip to Gyeongju, we attended a service at Yeouido Full Gospel Church, which is the largest church in the world according to Wikipedia. Unfortunately, the service was entirely in Korean. That didn't prevent us non-Korean speakers from enjoying the theatricality of the service, however. During the worship time, we were led by a group of singers dressed in perfectly identical outfits who had meticulously coordinated their movements to be in sync with each other. Jihoon said it felt like North Korea. The "modern" worship was followed by the singing of traditional hymns, led by a full choir and orchestra.

church playground

Worship

The message itself was difficult to comprehend without any interpretation, but the K friends later told us that it was basically talking about what to do in order to be blessed. There were many emphatic "Amens" interjected by the speaker as well as the entire congregation. Following the message, an advertisement was shown for a DVD set the church was selling, mostly comprised of the original pastor speaking in other countries and healing people. Overall, the church was not as cultish or personality-driven as I had expected, but I still felt as if I hadn't really worshipped by the end of the service.

The masses leaving as a group of men in matching outfits bow

Following the service, we took a tour of Yeouido, described by Wonhoe as the "New York of Seoul." Yeouido is essentially a small island in the Han River which serves as the financial headquarters of Seoul. They've even got their own miniature version of Central Park.

Pauline in front of her workplace, World Vision

The library of the National Assembly (legislative body of the Korean government)

I mentioned that I had visited the National Assembly library over the weekend and my students thought I was such a nerd. They said it was ok though, because I went to Brown.

After the library, we headed over to Gangnam to what is becoming our regular hangout, Dr. Fish. Since I had recommended that Brian try the place, I took the plunge and subjected myself to the enjoyable torture once again.

The next day Janice, Brian, and I went to the jimjilbang during my lunch break. It was quite a deal- for less than $7, you can rest in hot rooms, hotter rooms, ovens, refrigerators, and freezers. There was also a small movie theater where you could watch movies released on DVD. There was also the option of using the Internet, getting a haircut, getting a massage, and eating at the restaurant there. After thoroughly baking ourselves, we soaked in the hot tubs and sweated it out in the humidity room. I was amazed at how refreshed I felt afterward... if only I had not come down with stomach flu that night!

I've either had this thought before or read it somewhere, so I won't dwell on it too long, but one thing about having the flu was that it reminded me what pain was. The intense cramping and severe exhaustion I felt jostled me out of my physically painless world for a week. As I read over Jesus' suffering leading up to his death, I felt as though I could come a little closer to realizing just how high the cost was for him.