the impossible

...six days... yes, six days until I touch ground in the U.S.A... can you believe that it is already here... five months ago I never thought this day was going to come. If you have been following me on this crazy life-learning adventure you would know that my transition to Korea has not been easy, but as I stated in one of my first post "God has not called us to easy. He has called us to be obedient to the plans that He has for us and to trust in His ways always even though the deep valleys and the beautiful high mountains." The last five months have been some of the hardest, most trying, beautiful, loving, depending on others and learning oh, so much! I was browsing through pinterest one day this week after an especially trying day I found this quote by Nelson Mandela:

My heart is sad that such amazing man like Nelson Mandela is no longer in the world. He made an amazing impact on so many lives. This quote from him stood out to me. I feel a little silly for using it in my life because compare to what Nelson Mandela did my life is so so so small, but really "it always seems impossible (living in Korea five months ago seemed impossible to me. I didn't think going home for Christmas could come fast enough) and now it is almost here (done) . I have made it five months and you know what? I believe that I am starting to find a rhythm. I am starting to find my place. I am starting to feel more comfortable with teaching. I am starting to get more involved in my church. I am starting to see how I can bless others instead of receiving all the blessings. I have established my favorite grocery store! I am getting into routine after school. I feel more confident in going places by myself (huge step). I have found a family to love me for who I am and to understand me, encourage me and challenge me. I have some awesome friends. I am so thankful for each of these blessings among the hard. Yes, some hard is still here, but I think that is the beauty of this adventure God is taking me on. He is really working on my heart, my inner strength and my faith. Living in Korea seemed impossible to me in the beginning, but now that five months are over I have hope that I will make it until God calls me somewhere else.

A couple of months ago I had the privilege of attending a Korean church. The service was all in Korean. I was able to listen to a English translation on a head-set for the sermon, but not the worship time. It was overwhelming listening to the Koreans all around me worship God in their language. When I say overwhelming I mean overwhelming in a beautiful, awe-struck and amazing way. One song I quickly recognized was "Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus"! I remember tears coming to my eyes because trusting in Jesus is what I have learned to do so deeply in this season in my life. It really is a sweet thing to trust in Jesus.

(Well, I really wanted to put the video on this blog for you all to hear, but I cannot get to work. So frustrating! I am sorry!)

As I head "home" for the holidays I carry with me all the lessons that I have learned so far in this journey. I am so excited to give my parents a big hug, have sister dates with my sister and coffee dates with my brother. I am excited to tell them my story and to listen to what God has been doing in their lives. My prayer is that I will enjoy each day to the fullest and that God will prepare my heart for when I return to my new "home" here in Korea. My students today expressed their worry thinking that I was not going to come back after Christmas. I reassured them that I will be back and ready to learn oh, so much more with them! Big smiles crossed their faces with a huge sigh of relief. They are one of many reasons why I am still here in Korea! :)

Love, Daniella

 

 

gratitude

Thanksgiving has a special place in my heart. Over the past serveal years the Lord has been teaching me what it truly means to live with a thankful heart. Some days I am great at this and other days I fail completely, but praise the Lord for new beginnings each day. Thankful. What does it truly mean to be thankful? This is a question that I have often asked myself over the past serval years: What does it truly mean to be thankful? I don't know if I have truly figure it all out yet, but I believe to be truly thankful means to be grateful, to have a heart that is always praising God no matter the circumstances, to always look at the glass half full instead of half empty, to look for the goodness of the Lord in all things, to open your eyes to the blessings that God provides so freely for you each day and I believe you have to choose to be grateful. It is a heart act- it is a choice that has to be made each and every day. I believe you have to wake up each morning and believe in your heart that "today, I am grateful!" (grateful no matter what the circumstance is). Some days this is easy and some days it is hard. But it is something that my heart desires each and every day so I am striving to change my attitude and live with gratitude each day. I am so thankful that I don't have to go on this process alone, but I have God who teaches me, guides me, models me and shows me ways to live out this attitude of gratitude!

This year Thanksgiving finds me in another country again- South Korea this time not Thailand! :) If you would have asked me a year ago today if this is where I would be I would have never guess it. This Thanksgiving I am learning to be thankful in all circumstances. The past four months have been some of the hardest, humbling, growing and joyful times. I have learned so much, cried so much and prayed so much, but today I can truly say I'm thankful. Since arriving in Korea I have listen to tons of Pastor Levi pod-casts from Fresh Life Church in Kalispell, Montana (my parents church). These messages have been challenging, encouraging, life-giving and have given me amazing encounters with God. One thing that I have noticed that Pastor Levi keeps mentioning in the sermons is "Even though.... I will... Oh, wow! This little phrase has capture my heart and has resounded in my mind over and over the past four months! So today, I say "Even though... I am...":

Even though I miss my family I am thankful for the family that God has given me here, The Houser's.

Even though I miss my college friends I am thankful for the friend that God has given me here, Emma.

Even though it has been hard transition I am thankful because I know that I can trust God for He is so faithful.

Even though I have always struggle with writing I am thankful that I can express my heart through this blog.

Even though I feel exhausted most days I am thankful for early gray tea! :)

Even though I am far away from some many I love I am thankful for technology (facetime, skype, imessage, facebook) that keep us connected.

Even though I feel alone I am thankful that I am learning how to embrace it and depend more God.

Even though I am single I am thankful that I get to share the joy of planning weddings with friends! :)

Even though I miss going to church with my college friends I am thankful for the church God has blessed me here in Korea, SCBC.

Even though I feel inadequate in teaching sometimes I am thankful for my sweet, flexible and always loving students.

 

Thankful for each day, worship, freedom & ability to pray, pictures, peanut butter, lessons that God's teaching me, God's love, my comfy bed (serves as a nice chair as well), my family, my roommate, quiet moments, protection & safety, God's word, my quiet times with God, MAIL, ICS (my school), co-workers and all the blessings I receive daily.

There is so much to be thankful for in my life. My prayer is that I will learn even more what it means to live with gratitude! this next year!

With a thankful heart!

Love, Daniella

Alone

Alone. This word has been on my mind constantly the past two weeks. You may be thinking alone? How are you alone? You have a community, you have your students, you have a roommate, you have friends and yes, I do know I have all of these things. And I am so thankful for each and every person in my life, but I have also felt more alone than I have ever have before. This is a new feeling for me. I have always been surrounded by my family growing up as well as a very busy and intentional Christian community. Then when I went to college I was surrounded by a bunch of ladies living in a dorm, tons of college friends and then I lived in a house with 4 other ladies! I was never alone in college. There was always someone to hang out with, talk with, do something with, eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner with. And now in Korea I have enter into a new thing in my life- being alone. Eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner alone, running alone, hanging out on the weekends alone, spending evenings alone. Really this is a huge step for me because I have always been afraid of being alone, but I think being here in Korea is helping me to embrace that fear. Please do not miss read this blog as I am always alone I do spend time with people and I am so thankful for the friends, and "family" I have here (you know who you are and that my time in Korea would be completely different without you and that I am truly forever thankful for you!) Also, please do not feel bad for me; that is not why I am writing this post. I am writing this post to express what God is teaching me through all of this and to process what is on my heart.

Alone. This word use to make me nervous and afraid. It use to put anxiety into my heart and mind. Yes, sometime it still does and yes, I still do not like to be alone, but I am definitly learning how to embrace it with God's help and guidence. I do have a deep desire to be with someone someday, but I believe God is showing me how to embrace right now and discover new things about myself- like learning how to be more of a homemaker (homemade english muffins, pumpkin puree and such). I have enjoyed long walks listening to Pastor Levi from Fresh Life speak God's word in an amazing and challenging way. I have spent more time on my knees with Jesus. I have enjoyed lazy Saturday mornings. I learning to be thankful for these moments now and still hang on to the desire of someday of not being all alone. It is just different being alone. That's my conclusion. Different!

In these moments of being alone I am thankful that I am not truly not alone because I have the promise that God is always with me. I love this verse from John 14:8 " If God is all you have, you have all you need!" Oh, how I need to remind myself of this often "all I need in this world is God." He should be my hearts deepest desire.

If you feel alone in this world remember God is always always with us! He loves you so deeply and will always be the best of friends with you!

Thank you for being apart of my life!

Love, Daniella

Randomness

Oh, Korea! You are so random, but I am learning to love it! The past month has been a whirlwind of many activities, lesson planning, teaching, learning to rest and depending on God for so much! I still definitely have those up and down moments of being homesick. It hits me in waves. Small little things trigger a strong emotion of just wanting to be home where everything is so familiar, but at the same time I can't imagine missing out on the people or things that I have experience so far. The Lord has continue to show me this past week multiple reasons why He has me here in Korea. He is in complete control. He knew that my job was to teach second grade instead of third grade. He knew I would need a friend and He has provided one. He knew that I would need a family and He has provided one. He knew I would need a roommate and He has provided one. He knew that I would need to learn again what it means to be patience with myself and to allow myself to rest. He knew that I would get homesick so in those moments He gently reminds me that my home is in Him. These are small blessings that I am so thankful!

As I have been reflecting this past week one word that has come to my mind often is "random". In my thinking right now I think Korea is random. There are so many little stores around here that sell random things all in one store. After my 10k race I was served a huge meal with traditional Korea food (random). Last weekend I went to Lantern Festival. There was lanterns sitting on stages in the river for display! Over the weekend, I got to take care of a three old and spoil him while his parents were gone. I loved it! Yesterday, we celebrated "peppero" day which is kind of like "american" valentine's day. Everyone gives each other these cookie sticks dip in chocolate! Today we were sent home early because the water stopped working at school and we couldn't keep elementary students at school all day without going to the bathroom. My students couldn't even last the hour and half that we did spend at school. So random I know! And now I am listening to Christmas music which I never do before Thanksgiving, but Thanksgiving is so late this year. See what I am talking about so many random things! But these random things are blessings! These little stores have what you need all in one store, the food was so good after my race, the Lateran Festival was a fun night, and taking care of Caleb was a blast! I ate three boxes of peppero! Today I was able to get so much accomplished grocery shopping, talking with my family for 2 hours, lesson planning, pinterest, thinking of Christmas gifts, cleaning, relaxing and blogging! Yes, I am learning to embrace the randomness and look for the blessings that are in each of them.

The holiday season is approaching- my favorite time of the year Thanksgiving and Christmas. I am anixoulsy awaiting the holidays as I spend Thanksgiving with my community in Korea and Christmas with my family in the States! Both will be precious times I am sure. I.CANNOT. WAIT!

Thanks for sticking with me through this random blog post to go along with the random theme! I appreciate each and everyone of you who reads this blog! Thank you for your kind words, support and encouragement!

Love,
Daniella

A glimpse of Korea

(I just found this blog post and realized that I never posted it ... this gives you a little glimpse into how my brain is thinking these days... completely overloaded (forgetful) and just have too much on my mind that many things get put off! Oh, well hopefully it is just a season. In the meantime please be patience with me! Hope you enjoy seeing the pictures of my life here!)

Hello friends! I have finally accomplished my promise to you of giving you a picture walk of my life in Korea. Hope you enjoying seeing what I am surrounded by! J

My apartment

My very own room!

My relaxing living room!

Very convenient kitchen!  

 

The market where I buy my fruit and veggies sometimes!

A busy street close to my house!

My "city" Songtan!

Outdoor work-out equipment. (These are literally everywhere!!!)

A way of transportation to Seoul or other parts of Korea:

The school where I teach at. My classroom is on the second floor and the third floor is high school!

The rice fields right outside our school!

It's officially! I am a teacher because I have mailbox in the teacher lounges! Haha!

Hope you have enjoyed the little glimpse of my life in Korea through the camera lens!  

 

Love, Daniella

State Soccer

It is long weekends like this one that make me "homesick"! It is not actually a long weekend for me, but it is for my brother and sister. They are both at state soccer this weekend. My brother is coaching a high school team and my little sister is playing for her high school soccer team. I am so proud of both of them! I would seriously do anything to be in Montana this weekend cheering them on from the sidelines! But reality is that I am in Korea, I am a teacher and I have to miss some pretty hard things to miss. It is really hard and sometime I question why God has called me to live so far away from my family for so long. It has almost been 5 years! Then again I am so thankful for technology that helps me to keep in the loop with my family and get updated scores, stories and so much more. I already starting to want to count down the days until I go home for Christmas! :) Nathan and Mia- I want you to know that I love you so much and I am so proud of you! Have a blast at state! Play hard and glorify God in all that you do!

Love, Sis

I can't find a soccer picture of all of us, but I love this picture of my siblings and I! :)

Lovely Fall

My goal for this past weekend was to rest. Last weekend I posted about how exhausted I was. This whole transition thing is a lot on the mind and the body. There is so much that I am learning and observing that my mind is just tried. My body is just aching. It is a process and I am learning each and every day how to handle it better. Some days I handle it better than others. This weekend I took the challenge to rest and say "no" to many things (if you have known me for long you know that this is huge). I am going to be completely honest with y'all and say "I have a REALLY hard time saying no to things!" Slowly oh, so slowly I am learning that in order for me to be able to give my all I need to say no to some things. It is so stinking hard to find the balance. If anyone knows the secret please tell me!

I love the "crunch" of leaves under my feet!

So for this beautiful fall weekend I surrounded my weekend around these verses from Matthew 11: 28-30 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." My weekend was filled with relaxing and restful things- being still before God, laying in bed awake for an hour before getting out in the morning, reading in the park, staying in my pjs until 3:30 in the afternoon, baking, working on small school projects, writing cards, journaling and praying about decisions. If you would love to pray for me this week that would be wonderful. I have some decisions to make about being apart of a spring break mission trip, coaching high school girl's soccer for my school and leading a woman's bible study. I really need wisdom in figuring out how much I can handle while still trying to figure out this whole first-year teaching business! And, oh, a new country!

Breath-Taking Beautiful FALL

Sunday was absolutely wonderful though! I can't even explain the feeling beside deep joy and feeling so close to God. I love that I am apart of a church community. I love that I got to go out to lunch with sweet friends and spend the afternoon walking through beautiful fall Songtan. Reading in the park was wonderful and a sweet time with Jesus as He whispered to me through words on the pages. On my walk home I found myself lost for a little bit, but somehow I stumbled upon my street. The walk was refreshing as the chilly fall weather is settling and the leaves are changing colors. Fall has arrived as October is coming to end. Anne of Green Gables sums October up so perfectly when she says:

I am looking forward to November as Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays surrounded around being thankful!


  Love , Daniella

Happenings in Second Grade

Dear friends!

There are so many different things that I would love to tell you. I guess this is what I get for being so absent from the blogging world this last month! There may or may not be a lot of blog post this week as I process through all my happenings!

 

On Friday, my students and I celebrated the 50th day of school. What a huge mile stone! I cannot believe that I have been a "real" teacher for 50 days! In some ways it seems like the time has flown by so quickly from the first day of school. My students have grown so much in their personalities. I love watching the change that happens each and every day! To celebrate the day we did some "activities"! A few of our activities were writing about what we would be like when we are 50 (I love the different things my students wrote- so stinking cute!) , we talked about what we have learned the past 50 days, and drank coke floats because that's what they did the in fifties- get it! :)

 

This past month we also had parent-teacher conferences. I was a nervous wreck before conferences and had to really humble myself before the Lord. All of my doubts came rushing to my mind. Am I a good teacher? Have my students learned anything the past 50 days? What if the parents hate me? What if I do not know how to handle a situation? All of these doubts put a deep fear and nervousness into my heart and mind. Once again, God is so faithful! I walked away from each parent-teacher conferences encouraged. The parents of my students are so supportive and encouraging! I really could not ask for a better first year class. Yes, we have our ups and downs and challenges, but overall I humbled by the grace I receive each and every day!

 

The classroom has been an happening place. We have study about apples, fossils, space, and fall this month. My teaching philosophy that I learned from Taylor University is to make learning engaging while still covering all the standards so I am a huge fan of "thematic" units which means each week has a theme like apples! This week theme is spiders and bats and then we will jump into our "Thanksgiving" units starting off with pumpkins!

 

Another field trip is in the works for this week. We are going to planetarium. My students loved learning about space during our space week so we are all very excited to go see the star show and look at some model space shuttles!

 

The past 50 days have packed with craziness, exhaustion, fun, learning, excitement, and so much love from my students. I am definitely on a crazy, beautiful, unknown adventure!

 

100 days of school here we come!

Studying our "cookie" fossils

Our smiling "apples" for Apple Week

Our "oreo" moon phases for Space Week

I am bummed because I forgot to take pictures for the 50th day of school! :( Don't worry I will for sure try to remember to take pictures on the 100th day!

Love,
Daniella

 

Love, Daniella

...busy...

These days I feel oh, so busy! There seems to be a million things on my never ending to do list. Most things on this list are things that I want to do, but just can't seem to find the time to fit it all in the hours that I have. I wish I had more time to read for fun, to sit and talk with people, more time to plan my lessons, more time to pray, more time to enjoy what is around me and the list goes on. I wish I had more time to write in this blog. There are constant things that come to mind that I think " I should write a blog post about this", but then the day gets busy and days pass by without a post.

I feel exhaust these days... oh, too many things to get done! I am struggling with finding a balance between my job that I love even among the chaos and overwhelmingness of it and figuring out what my everyday life looks like in Korea. This week I have realize that the deep issues are that I want everything to be right, to be perfect, and to be my best. I want everything to be orangized, I want to do too much and I just don't have enough time. I know I can't ask for more time, but how do I figure out this balance. How do I just set down the schoolwork and say tomorrow is a new day? How do I carve out time to spend with people that I really want to spend time with? How do I find this balance that everyone talks about?

I don't know the answer at all, but I want to believe that I am slowly learning it. At this point I am not totally sure that I am, but I hope I am. I hope because I do know one thing and that is that God can give us rest. I need to lay down my desires, my perfectionist, my wants and rest at His feet. I having this deep longing to just rest in God's arms and be still even if it is just for moment...

 

Truly my soul finds rest in God;
my salvation comes from him.
Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
Psalm 62:1-2

...this week I want to seek those opportunites to rest in Him and I chanllege you to do the same. Let's put aside our busy to-do list and rest in God's arms! Oh, this sounds so refreshing to me!

Love, Daniella

Deep Ache

Since arriving in Korea something that I have seen almost daily is a dragon fly. You may be thinking what is so special about a dragon fly?? While in my life a dragon fly holds a place in my heart. Dragon flies reminds me of my sweet, Auntie Oak. My aunt was like a second mom to me not because my mom was not there, but because my aunt could never have kids so she poured out her love on all of her nephews and nieces. She was such a blessing in my life. She always believe in me, understood me, cared for me and spoiled me. There are so many memoires that I have with her, but I think my favorite was when I spent the summer being her “assistant”! I helped her pack up her house and move into her dream house. We spent hours going through her things laughing, crying, talking and taking shopping breaks or coffee breaks or taco bell breaks. I learned a lot from her that summer.

These days I have a deep ache- the ache is filled with loss- I miss my Auntie Oak so deeply these days. It is still so hard to really think she is gone and that I will not see her until I go to heaven. She was supposed to see me graduate and become a teacher. She was supposed to be at my wedding someday and meet my children. She was supposed to see my siblings do the same. Sometimes I still do not understand why God had her become so sick and take her away from this earth so early, but I know that I can find peace in Him beyond all understanding. She is no longer suffering and she left this world in peace with God and all those around her. I feel selfish in wanting her to still be alive. I just so badly want to talk to her, shop with her, and be supported by her. I wish I could tell her all about my students, and how I decorated my classroom. I wish I could laugh with over my poorly made pillowcases and complain to her how expensive Starbucks is here.

But since arriving in Korea I have been reminded of her often through dragon flies. Auntie Oak loved dragon flies- she had everything dragon fly. Every time I see a dragon fly two things come to my mind that “I am not alone and a reminder of what she would always said to me “live life simply!”.

My favorite dragon fly moment so far  in Korea was on the first day of school. It was the middle of the morning and a dragon fly flew right by my window- it brought a smile to my face and thought “Daniella, you can do this!” I am so thankfully for these little reminders that remind me of my aunt even though these days I miss her more deeply than I have had in a long time. I am so thankfully for the years that I did get to spend with her and I love the memoires that we created, but I’m sad for the days that I don’t get to spend with her. All the days we are missing out on!

Oh, Auntie Oak! I will always love and miss you deeply!

Love, Daniella

The Joy of Thankfulness

This past weekend Korea celebrated Chuseok which is their Thanksgiving. Chuseok is very familiar to American and Canadian Thanksgiving in the way that it is a holiday to spend with family and remember all that we can be thankful for. Chuseok is also a time to give gifts to one another. Many of my students gave me gifts which I felt so blessed by. One gift I got was a dozen Asian pears.  They are so yummy, but I have had to find creative ways to use them. I made pear bread, put some in my salads, eaten them as a snack and have given some way to friends as they are popular fruit on the expensive side. I spent Chuseok relaxing, sight-seeing (the Queen’s Palace), hosting a pancake party, catching up on school work, visiting friends, skyping with family and friends (my favorite skype time was with my grandma… she learned how to skype just so she could talk to me. I love it!) and remembering all that God has blessed me with.

The Queen's Palace

The day before Chuseok break I had the privilege of leading the staff devotions at school. Although I was really nervous I just shared what was on my heart the past couple of months. I was very open with how my transition process has been and what God has been teaching me through it! And this is what God has been teaching me through it:

                As many of you know it has not been an easy transition for me like I thought it was going to be. I thought I would easily be able to transition into a place because I have done it so many times before, but God has taken this opportunity to pour into my life and shape me more into the woman He has created me to be. One thing that God has really been putting on my heart lately is trusting in Him and having a thankful attitude/outlook no matter what comes my way. In college my junior I was a resident assistant for a group of woman that I lived with. One thing that we focus on was having a thankful heart in all things. I read a book called One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp and I am rereading it now. Ann has so many good insights into how to live fully right where you are by looking at the little things God blesses you with each day and thanking him for it. Two quotes that have stood out to me during this season in my life are:

                “… but to give thanks is an action and rejoice is a verb and these are not mere pulsing emotions. While I may not always feel joy, God asks me to give thanks in all things, because He knows that the feeling of joy begins in the action of thanksgiving.”

This quote challenges me to be thankful even when I have a really rough day- I am homesick, my students are not listening to me, I am lonely and I don’t understand what is going on. I can still thank God for the little things and through that I will receive joy. Do you believe this?? I can testify that it is true. I have started to keep a thankful journal where I write at least three things every day that I am thankful for. I have noticed my attitude changing and have felt more joy. On the days that I do not stop to look for the thanksgivings I feel dry. I need to choose thanksgiving each and every day!

 

The second quote from Ann that has taught me something is:

                “the secret of joy’s flame: Humble let go. Let go of trying to do, let go of trying to control… let go of my own way, let go of my own fears. Let God blow His wind, His trials, oxygen for joy’s fire. Leave the hand open and be. Be at peace. Bend the knee and be small and let God give what God chooses to give because He only gives love and whisper surprised thanks. This is the fuel for joy’s flame.”

I need to let go of my expectations, my feelings of loss, my insecurities, my worries, my doubts, and my misunderstandings and I need to just be. I need to find the peace in God so He can use me in all that He wants to use me in. I need to allow Him to give me oxygen for my joy’s fire by bending my knee and allowing God to be God.

I am so thankful for the God that I have a relationship with. He promises to never leave me nor forsake and that is an amazing promise to cling to you. If you do not have a relationship with God and are curious about my relationship with God please contact me. I would love to share with you more about His amazing love and my relationship with Him.

 

These are things that have found their way onto my thankful list the past couple of weeks:

quiet times with the Lord, ipod communication, learning about grace, smooth immigration process, grilled cheese sandwiches, cozy rainy mornings, watching TU soccer, worship, my student’s singing happy birthday to my sister, my family, long runs, fresh life podcast, recipe turned out, homeplus trip with friends, the Houser Family, teaching my students, building new friendships, babysitting, knowing I have a Korean family, parent volunteers, journaling, safeness of Korea and many more things….

Like I mentioned in another blog post, but is something that I am continuing to work on is:

“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord” Psalms 27:13-14

 

Love, Daniella

 

P.S Thank you for partnering with me through prayer, support, and financially. I am so thankfully for each person that reads this blog no matter if I know you or not. Thank you for being you!

Updated Address!

My address has changed! Again!

Use this address to send a letter:                                      Use this address to send a package:
Daniella Rottier                                                                Daniella Rottier
Pyeongtaek International Christian School                      International Christian School Pyeongtaek
PO Box 24                                                                        Shindaegojan-gil 53
Pyongtaek 450-600 Republic of Korea                           Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do
                                                                                         450-820

P.S. Thank you to those who have sent me letters. I love them!  J

Happy Birthday

Two very special woman in my life have celebrated birthdays this week. They are two of my favorite people in the whole world and I love them dearly! I have missed spending their day with them for the past five years now and I cannot wait until the day I get to celebrate with them again in person!

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Momma and Sis!

Mom! Thanks for being an amazing example of godly woman who serves from her heart with hospitality. I am so thankful for our friendship! You have taught me to have courage, never give up and to always seek God. Thanks for teaching that every once in awhile you just have to treat yourself! J You are so beautiful inside and out! My prayer for you this year is that you will seek God for the desires of your heart and that you will be able to live out your dreams. Nothing is to big to dream...

 Mia! You are beautiful inside and out. I am so proud of the woman you are becoming. Your heart is as pure as gold full of compassion for others.  You are amazing example of a young lady who accepts and looks for the good in each person no matter what! I love your fun attitude and adventurous side as well!  My prayer for you this year is that you  will grow deeper in your relationship with your heavenly father and that you will stand up for what you believe no matter what. You are light in the darkness! Be courageous and have fun!

Happy birthday, beautiful ladies! I love you to the moon and back! J

 Love, Daniella

Beauty of Career & Passion

This week two thoughts have been on my mind a lot as I have woken up each morning to go to school, as I have taught throughout the day and as I have gone to bed at night…

One: “How I am so thankful for the passion that God has given me to teach!” (This poster sums it all up)

And two: “How amazing God’s love is!!!”

I feel so thankful that God has called me to teaching. It is such amazing and beautiful passion laid on my heart. Someone this weekend asked me if I am excited to wake up in the morning and go to school and I immediately answer with yes even when it is 5:30 in the morning!  And this is why:

I love getting to school and setting up my room for the morning, putting the date on the board, laying out the schedule and writing a morning message to my students. I love listening to our staff devotions and then walking up the stairs to see my 2^nd graders with all smiles as I approach them with a “good morning”. I love the anticipation I have for 15 minutes as I prepare the last minute things for the day or just seat and pray for the day. The bell rings and a huge smile comes across my face as I open the door to my classroom and greet each student with a smile and  a “good morning”. Oh, it just makes me so happy to see each child that is intrusted to me for 6 hours a day. All the worries of being in new country disappear for 6 hours each day as I spend time getting to know my students, as I teach math, reading, science, social studies, spelling , writing and my favorite, bible. This past week my goal was to be fully with my students at all times. I want them to improve. I want them to love learning. I want them to know that I am always with them and for them. I want them to see Christ’s love through me. Often times I do feel inadequate, but this is where my second thoughts comes in

God’s love is so amazing. He loves me for who I am. He loves all of me even when I fail. He loves my students and their families. He loves us! I cannot be the teacher I want to be without having God be the center of my life. I cannot love my students if I don’t believe that God loves me. This week God has shown me in so many ways that He loves me and that He is so faithfully watching over me. He has promised us that He would never leave us or forsake as long as we are in His will. The past couple of weeks in bible we have been learning about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses. These men faithfully waited for God’s promise to them and a lot of times they didn’t feel like they were adequate for the job, but God used them in many amazing ways. Who are we to decide how God can use us?! I need to be obedient to what He has for me and remember His promise that He loves us oh, so much! Yes, He loves me and that brings me so much joy!

Thank you God, for the passion that you have laid on my heart to teach children and that you allowed it to bring me joy each day! J

Love, Daniella

A few prayer requests this week:

-For my class as we learn more about who God is through our everyday learning

-For me as teacher that I would feel equip to teach my students and give them my best each day

-For my school that we would be able to find a director for the rest of the year and more students would attend

A praise:

-My class has adjusted well to our new girl and we are all quickly becoming "friends"

"Firsts"

My life these days are filled with many different firsts:

First time to live overseas for long-period of time by myself

First apartment

First year of teaching

First bus ride to school by myself

First paper cut of the school year

First cold (sickness) of the school year

First new student (Yes, you read correctly. I now have 8 students. Praise the Lord!!! Keep them coming! J )

First case of lice in the classroom

First time living in a city

First Saturday spent at school working

First visit to Seoul

First time cooking with eggplant

And I am sure that I am forgetting some other “firsts.” 

BUT

 

What I have realized through these “firsts” is that life is all about experiencing new things and I love that. I love that life is a beautiful adventure and that it is never a dull moment. I can tell you one thing my classroom is never a dull moment- we are always either laughing, singing, and of course learning at the same time or at least that’s my goal! J

 At the same time though experiencing so many “firsts” makes you feel at times like you are starting all over again (like your baby learning new things for the first time) because the things that use to be familiar are no longer around so you have to make new familiars but that takes time and I am learning that right now. I kept forgetting that things take time. I need patience more than anything these days: I just want to be settled, I want my classroom to be completely organized, I want to be on top of things and a week ahead in lesson plans, I want deep friendships with people here, I want time to read and relax, I want to understand the Korean culture and language, but I have to remind myself constantly that I need to be patience. I need to trust in God that His timing is perfect and that I need to be patience in waiting for it. He knows exactly how I feel and what I need in the right timing. So this year I am going to practice patience again. When I was three years old I remember one of my family’s good friends telling me that I had so much patience while it looks like I need to go back to the beginning and practice it again.

 Theme of my life these days:  feeling like a baby by experiencing new things and practicing patience.  

At least I know that life is a beautiful adventure through the learning, the memories, the experiences, the growth, the challenges and new beginnings because it all leads to experiencing more of God. God is completely faithfully through each step of our journey and I am clinging to His promises daily these days as experience the many “firsts!”

Love, Daniella 
 

A few prayer requests this week:

-For my class as we welcome a new girl to our classroom

-For me as a teacher that I would feel equip to teach my students and give them my best each day

-For my school that we would be able to find a director for the rest of the year and more students would involve

-And that I would learn to be patience again! J

Ode to Taylor

Four years ago this weekend God lead me to Taylor University for four amazing, life-changing and lovely years! Oh, how I miss Taylor and all the people who impacted my life while there.

This summer for me has been a huge time of reflecting, grieving and anticipating new things; reflecting on the last four years of my life, grieving by leaving a place a called “home” and anticipating life after graduation.  It has been a time where God has drawn me closer to His heart and has shown me His faithfulness in so many ways.

One day this summer I was reflecting in my journal on the different impacts that I believe Taylor has had  on my life and then yesterday I was reading through them again and realized that these impacts can be applied to my life right now as I transition. I strongly believe that God prepares each step of our journey on earth and I am so thankful for that.

The journey that God has brought me on since I was born has truly been amazing. I am so thankful for growing up as a missionary kid, and having a supportive family.  And as I reflect I am reminded that in our journey there will always be ups and downs, but we have the chose to embrace each phase with either a happy heart or dissatisfied  heart.  As I talk about Taylor and how I have loved all four years of being there I want you to know that I am not being naïve. I know that there were definitely ups and downs throughout my years there, but I believe the downs changed me just as much as the ups. Taylor is by no means a perfect place, but it is a place that has had a huge impact on me.

So here are some of the impacts/lessons I learned while at Taylor:

…deep friendships with friends, mentors and professors…  these people impacted my life through care, support, prayers, funniness, laughs, cries, runs, teachings, listening ears, and memoires that will last a lifetime!  From these relationships I know that in Korea I desire to develop some deep friendships and be accountable to a mentor. My relationships from college will not be replaced, but with a welcoming heart I want to embrace “new” friends in this new season of my life.

…healing… Taylor was placed God used to bring healing to my life in the death of my aunt (who I was very close to) and a broken heart.

...a desire to worship and hear truth… being surrounded by so many amazing examples of Christ was humbling.  My faith was challenged in a positive way and I learned how to make my faith my own. The privilege of having chapel three times a week and attending a church where truth was spoken from the Bible fed my faith in many ways.  I anticipate this growth to continue as I live in Korea and teach at a Christian school, attend a church and surround myself with other Christians.

…God is faithful in all things… there are many stories that I can share about God’s faithfulness throughout my time at Taylor. And God has already continued to show me His faithfulness in Korea. He daily shows me that He is my friend, my provider, and all that I need. He has placed small blessings in my life that have touched me in many ways.

…how to rest and have fun… Taylor was a place where I got involved in many awesome things, but it also taught me to rest and have fun. This was a hard lesson to learn especially my first three years of college. My senior year my housemates really challenged me to take more time to have fun (man, did we ever- we baked, went on fun road trips, watch Taylor soccer  games in the pouring rain, stayed up late and did so many crazy things) and a mentor who challenged me to rest. These are two things that I am quickly realizing that I need to practice again in Korea. I need to set down my school work to have fun and I need to spend time of just resting and not feeling guilty about it. This is definitely a goal of mine this next year.., to rest and have fun!!! J

My time at Taylor was an amazing journey of ups and downs.  There countless more things that I could say about Taylor, but I have decided to make a digital scrapbook to remember all the memoires instead of blogging about each one! Now I anticipate and eagerly wait to look back on my journey in South Korea someday. I know that God has me here for a purpose and I can’t wait to see the impact and lessons I learn.

If there are any freshmen reading this I want to tell you one thing and that is  to enjoy the journey of college… it flies by so fast!!!

Love, Daniella

A few pictures to capture some of the moments (it was so hard to chose... I wanted to put all 1,000+)

My college housemates who taught me to have fun!



My college housemates who taught me to have fun! {I couldn't find one with all us together :( }

A mentor, Sara James, who showed me how to rest!

Elementary Education friends who kept me laughing through all our "work"



A mentor who poured into my life and played many games of dutch blitz with me!!

A friend who gave a listening ear whenever I needed one especially freshmen year!

One of best friends who ran and prayed with me all through college!

Awesome friends who encouraged, and challenged me!

 

 And like I said I wish I could share so many more photos with you, but I guess if you want to see more you can come find me and look at my scrapbook of Taylor sometime! :)