Korean Ducks Aren't the Same as American Ducks... and more!

Sorry for the lack of pictures. Here are some shots of the past few days!!



Kelsey sitting on the top of a mountain!!

Excited to have made it all the way to the top!

 This is from a war memorial statue at the Korean War Air and Watercraft park that we went to.

Our HOMESTAY FAMILIES!!!

The choir singing at a military church at the DMZ!

Today has been a very full day. We left the hotel at 8:15 this morning to drive to Incheon to do a clinic with the famous director Hak Won Yoon. He directs the Incheon city chorale. To say the least, this choir was absolutely incredible; they are one of the top choirs in the world. In fact, they are so good that they can actually make a living off of the salary that they receive from singing with the group! Singing with them was incredibly intimidating because of the multitude of talent that exudes from the members of the group; however, we sang a few pieces for them and sang one with them as well! Hak Won Yoon took the opportunity to conduct us a little bit with a Korean rendition that we are doing of Psalm 23.  It is really interesting to have the opportunity to see the way that different conductors direct choirs. We have not done this piece with 4 or 5 different people, and each had a very different style.  When we were working today, I really felt like we were being shaped and molded. One of my favorite pieces of scripture is Jeremiah 18:4-6 which says "and the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:  “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says theLord. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!" I was reminded of this passage as Dr. Yoon did different and really beautiful things with our choir. He molded us as a potter would a lump of clay. He fixed some of our blemishes and made us radiant - Just as God does each and every day.

After the clinic, many of us went out into the town and got food at very American chains (McDonald's/KFC.) From there, we traveled to a Korean Folk Village. This village was very similar to places in the States such as Williamsburg, Jamestown, and other historical places that show reenactments of the customs from the time period. There were people throughout the village making fans, pottery, spinning silk, cooking, and of course selling these wares.  There was a village with many live animals and replicas showing what the inside of the village would have looked like from the time period (forgive me for not remembering when that time period WAS.) There was also a series of shows in the middle of the afternoon consisting of things from b-boy dancing to tightrope walking to a traditional wedding. It was absolutely fascinating! (The B-boy break-dancing show was my favorite!)

After the folk village we went to a modern art museum that mostly documented the works of Nam June Paik and John Cage who were both very similar in style in that they played with motion and sound to create their pieces of art. The museum was very interesting to some, and a little cooky to others.Some of the art seemed odd and pointless, others intricate and captivating. After the museum, we went to a Presbyterian mega church. I mentioned this yesterday in my blog... except that I said it has a congregation of 1,000 people. That's not true. It's 10,000. The choir itself must have had 500 people in it.  The service was very interesting and it was a very special opportunity for us to be able to worship with a new and different culture. We were given headsets with an English translator giving a summary of what was being said. Mine was unfortunately almost entirely static and when I would turn it up enough so that I could understand the words, the static would be hurting my ears and audible to those sitting around me. I eventually gave up and just soaked in the Korean language and worship style. Those who listened said that the content of the sermon was very loosely connected and difficult to understand and the translator was very hard to follow! We had a late dinner following the hour and a half long service and are now getting ready to hunker down for the night and rest our bodies for tae kwan do in the morning! Some people are really excited for it... some are... not. 


Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers during the last few days of our trip!