Much Needed

A much needed break happened over the holidays. I was blessed to be able to fly back to states to spend Christmas with my family. It was a sweet Christmas building memories, doing our family traditions and having some very divine appointments with people who have impacted my life somewhere along my life journey.

I loved spending Christmas with my family and was reminded again how special it is to have a loving family. My family blessed me in so many different ways. They listened to my stories. They were patience with me during jet-lag. They spoiled me with everything that I missed from the states (hamburgers, shopping at Target, getting white chocolate streamers & much more). They played games with me. They let me drive. They took me cross-country skiing and I was able to watch my little sis play hockey so many times! J They encouraged me. They let me cry and reminded me again how faithful God is. They hugged me. They let me sleep in. They loved me and show it to me in so many different ways. Thank you dad, mom, Nathan and Mia for blessing me so much this Christmas break.

My beautiful family!

 

While I was in the states everyone kept asking me “How is it?” “Do you like it?” “Is it good to be in the states?” I have decided that answering these questions are hard- I felt torn. “How is it?”- well, some days it great, and some days it is not so great. It has been a huge adjustment and some of the hardest times I have had to face, but also some of the most beautiful times because I worship amazing God who has promised to never leave me nor forsake me. “Do I like it?”- Yes and No. I love the community that I am starting to feel that I belong to. I love each of my eight students. I love that I am living my dream of teaching. I love the friendships that I building. I love how random things are here in Korea (this is of course very bias).  I don’t like that I can’t speak the language and have no room to learn right now in my brain that is so tried from everything else. I don’t like how stress out everyone seems. I don’t like that it is cold. I don’t like seaweed! I get tired of eating rice and smelling the smells. I am disappointment that our school is going through a year of transition. But overall when I landed back in Korea I had an overwhelming peace that this is where God has me so I will either learn to love my “don’t likes” or survive them! J “Is it good to be in the states?” Yes! My response was “it is a much needed break that I really needed.” It was wonderful to be able to understand everything, to not have to guess what things were in the store, to listen in on people’s conversations and to take a break from grading papers, lesson planning and worrying about if my students are learning or not. “Was I ready to come back to Korea, my new home?” Yes and no! I was ready to see my students again. I was ready to be in routine again. I was ready to see my family away from family. I was ready to take on the challenge again. I was not ready to say good-bye to my family (my supporters). I was not ready to be in place where things don’t look very familiar, but I was reminded again right before I left that God is faithful. He knows what He is doing in my life and my job is to be obedient to the call He has for me. My job is to trust in him whole heartily.

This first week back has been a whirlwind and I have been hit hard with spiritual battles, but it has lead me to lean even more into God who is my anchor through every storm.

An amazing confirmation I got this week was from my students. We started learning about how to write letters this week. One of their assignments was to write me a letter about what they did over break. Almost every one of their letters talked about how they missed me or loved me. Oh, how I love my students. They know how to melt their teacher’s heart!

 

With all that of this said I want you to know that no matter what I am going through I know that I will make it through it because I have a relationship with a holy God who is so loving  and so caring. May His name be glorified through all that I do and say!

                                                                                                            Love, Daniella

WHAT A YEAR IT'S BEEN!

As we say good-bye to 2013 and hello to 2014 my mind has been on reflection mode; thanking God for all the goodness of the year, processing through the hardships and anticipating what 2014 will look like. 

HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2013

GREATEST LESSON LEARNED: I learned to depend on God for everything in this year of transitions. Through this lesson my relationship with God  has grown in a deeper way.

HARDEST THING OF THE YEAR: Leaving a place I loved so dearly and moving to new country where I experienced so many "firsts"!  

FAVORITE MEMORIES: 1) Senior Bucket List with my dear college friends (Nigeria Falls, Florida Trip, Gas City Zoo, ect) 2) Dinner parties with friends 3) Working as a Title 1 Aide at Eastbrook South 4) Graduating from Taylor University 5) Spending the summer with my best friend from high school 6) First Day of being a teacher in my OWN classroom 7) Dinners at the Housers 8) Ice Cream Unit with my students 9) Christmas Shopping (and other adventures) with a lovely friend 10) Being home for Christmas with my family! 

WHAT I LOVED MOST ABOUT 2013: the memories, the still moments, the dreams that came true and the discovery of something new.

LOOK FORWARD TO 2014

WANT TO LEARN: something new to do in the evenings- something not teacher-related just something fun, relaxing, and inspiring- a new hobby! 

WANT TO GET BETTER AT: balancing life, teaching, and community.

BIGGEST GOAL: working on the fruits of the spirit (more to come on this topic in another blog post)!

I don't know what exactly God has in store for me in 2014, but I can tell you one thing for sure-I'm not planning on spending much of it my comfort zone! I want to experience and embrace all that God has for me in this new year!

Love,

Daniella

 

 

 

 

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