09. Challenge and Open Your Eyes!

09. Challenge and Open Your Eyes!  October 5, 2009! I was on the plane to Incheon from ‘Cokki’ on ‘Molisha’ for the first time in a long time. The thought of flying to my home country on a plane always makes my heart flutter, even though I am already approaching 50 years old. The reason I got on the plane to Korea like this was because I recently received news from the embassy that the ‘Korean Language Research Institute’ was hosting a training session sponsored by the ‘Korean Language Society’ and inviting Korean language teachers who teach Korean overseas. When I heard the news, I immediately wrote an application form, prepared the relevant documents, and submitted the application via email. Then, a short while later, I received a reply from the ‘Korean Language Research Institute’ saying that they had successfully received the documents,and that  “since there are no problems with the selection qualifications, there is no problem with being selected as a trainee, and we will contact you once the selection process is complete.” About a month later, I received a call that I had been selected as a trainee for the “13th Overseas Korean Language Teacher Training Session,” along with a detailed schedule, program, and guidebook. So I finished preparing for it and finally got on the plane to Korea. The flight to Korea, which departed late at night, flew all night and arrived at Incheon Airport at 6 a.m. in the morning. While most of the other people on the plane were already asleep from exhaustion, I sat in my seat and suddenly recalled the past days. The events of the past flashed before my eyes like a revolving lantern.Then, I fell asleep before I knew it, and in my half-asleep state, the stewardess’s voice came over the broadcast. I don’t remember exactly whether it was because I was half-asleep or because I thought it was English, but I think it was probably telling me to get ready because they were about to arrive. When I arrived at Incheon Airport, my parents, who were faithful to me, came to the airport despite the early morning and greeted my adopted son with a hug. I told them that they didn’t have to come because it must be hard and difficult to come so far early in the morning, but I was grateful to them for always coming, and I thought that they must be having a hard time. However, I pretended not to listen to them because when I was young, my grandmother, who loved me especially, would always go out to the garden to work, and my younger sister, who was the last one left in the countryside, would have differences of opinion every day and would not listen to me, so there were frequent small conflicts between my grandmother and my younger sister. At that time, I remember my grandmother as being very healthy and upright. However, one day, my only remaining younger sister finished high school and came up to Seoul, and my father and mother were already as old as my grandparents, so my grandmother eventually lost her energy and passed away because she had no one to keep her energy up. If the work you are doing is hard for you but you come with a joyful heart, I am grateful for that, and I also think that it would be good if you could be more helpful to the two who had just recently quit their lifelong ministry, and I would meet you with gratitude. And when we met at the airport and talked about each other’s well-being, life experiences, and future plans in the car, I also felt happy and always gained strength from the encouragement and prayers you gave me, and I was grateful that you both seemed to be a little more energized. And I would tell you a few humorous stories to make your time a little more enjoyable.When I told you one of those stories, my mother said, ~ ? “Mother!A pastor of a church was wondering if the Sunday school students were studying the Bible well,and he was going to see Sunday school,and Gaedong-i came out and greeted the pastor.So I thought it was a good thing,and he said,Gaedong-ah! He asked, “Do you know who brought down the walls of Jericho?”Then the shit guy’s face suddenly turned paleand he said in a resentful voice, “Pastor! I didn’t bring it down!”(And then we all laughed together.) Then the pastor was so shockedOh no! What is going on with our church!The pastor clicked his tongue andlooked for the Sunday school deacon.The Sunday school deacon hurriedly came running andasked the pastor why he called him.The pastor said!No, deacon!I asked the shit guywho brought down the walls of Jericho.Oh well, he said he didn’t.Is this how it should be?The pastor askedThe Sunday school deacon said!Pastor! Don’t worry too much. But Gaedongi is a sincere guy.If he didn't do it, he wouldn't have done it.(And we all laughed together again.) The pastor was so shocked and his nose was blocked by this,and he sighed and slammed the door of the church hall open and went in.The senior elder was there and was surprised and asked,"Pastor, what's wrong?!""What's wrong?" and worried.The pastor sighed and said,"No~!" It's like this and it's like this."When Gaedongi asked who brought down the walls of Jericho,Gaedongi said he didn't do it."Because that was so shocking,"I told the Sunday school deacon about it."The Sunday school deacon said,"Gaedongi is a sincere guy."If he said he didn't do it, he wouldn't have done it. What's wrong?"Is this how our church should be? (And we all laughed together again.) Then the elder said!Pastor!A child can do that.Don't worry.I'll rebuild the city of Jericho. He said so!(And then we all laughed together for the last time...) In the meantime, our mother said!Hey, don't worry too much, kid~!The elder said he'd build it,so he'll build it!-What!So my father and I, who were driving,were really laughing out loud."