Subject  |    Going Home 07-02-20  |  Hit : 1654 Name  |    Teacher     The end of our eight-month contract came more quickly than we could have ever imagined, and the hustle of getting packed up and ready to leave the day after party day was becoming the usual nightmare we always have more than we think we have. We hugged our friends, said our good-byes and soon we were off to the airport. As our plane landed in San Francisco I felt a surge of joy throughout my body, and as I placed my feet on U.S. soil I truly realized how much I had missed my own country-it was so good to be home! The most enjoyable thing at that moment was the cool, fresh air blowing in from off the bay. We spent a few days in San Francisco not only to enjoy our favorite spots but to help us adjust to the time change. It was wonderful to reunite with our family shortly thereafter! Three weeks have passed since we returned home and as I sit here in the aftermath I feel the emotions of leaving friends behind. I miss the children who had become so dear to me, the students and their smiling faces and their unique humor and I feel a sense of loss. I think once we have experienced mission life in a foreign country it changes us and we are never the same again. Being in Korea becomes a way of life-a blending of cultures that helps us become more flexible people and it begins to bind us together in love. Our apartment was small and sometimes we felt cramped and couldn't entertain friends as we would have liked, but we were so thankful to be near the institute and soon adjusted. It is in moments like these that we may all miss our homeland with its wide, open spaces with green lawns and trees. And, it is at times like these that we must remind ourselves to keep our focus on why we came to Korea in the first place. We must ask god to make all things beautiful to us, change our hearts and mold us to be more like Him. Now, as I go about my task of unpacking and getting rid of things that no longer have value to us, I realize how unimportant our "things" really are and it causes me to re-evaluate. Various praise songs enter my mind as I go about my day and they are a comfort to me in the lonliness I am experiencing. Though we love our friends here they really aren't able to relate to our Korea experience and some are quick to change the subject-they are still doing the same things and have the same complaints they had before we left. Our lives seem more purposeful as we listen to their perceptions of life in general. How easy it can become to slip right back into the same ruts we had once had. Bob continues to work each day with his teacher recruiting plans and is enjoying being able to keep his connection with SDA Institutes. His adjustment to requiring home may be easier than mine though I know how people energize him and he misses his colleagues in the office. I don't know what the future holds for me but it brings to mind one of my favorite texts found in Jeremiah 29:11 which reads "For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, plans for peace and not for evil to give you a future and a hope." All I can do is lay my life before Him to be used in some meaningful way according to His plan. It was wonderful having so many of you as our neighbors-we truly miss one of you! We all will be "going home" soon and I look forward to the day when there will be no more good-byes and where cultures will be as one in our heavenly home. Teacher