Monday, April 28, 2014

Can the church say "amen"?

I only understood one word.

I was happy to be in church again after missing it during orientation. My co-teacher introduced me to the Pastor and Bill, an American from Connecticut. Bill was the only non-Korean member and worshiped there with his Korean wife, Jeannie. Before the service, Bill and I chatted about the cultural differences and what food we missed from back home. As we walked into the already crowded sanctuary, I again felt like a tall, brown Martian. All eyes, from the choir to the congregation, were on us. Everything was in Hangul,the sermon, the Bible, the hymnal book, even the songs were in Korean.

Thankfully, Bill had an English bible and we were able to follow along after his wife directed us to Luke 13. We read the entire chapter slowly since we did not understand the sermon. Bill had suggested to me that the best way to worship, since I did not understand the language, was to catch American preachers online like he did. This would supplement my church attendance.

I did not recognize the words but I was familiar with the rhythm of any sermon and watched the pastor start off low key and end up speaking in a demanding voice. Seems like deliverying the word of God has a universal rhythm to it.

After reading an entire chapter of Luke, I busied myself by looking around and sneaking pictures with my Ipod. My brother wanted me to tape a small section of the sermon but I could not do it without drawing even more attention to myself.

During announcements, the Pastor asked all visitors to stand up. He called me by name and, blushing, I stood up, smiled and bowed twice. 

After church, many people greeted me and a little girl even gave me a rice cake as a gift. I would definitely visit the church again. Even though I only understood one word, I know that God saw my heart. He knows that I am doing my best right now. And that's all anyone can ask for. 
Can the church say "amen"?









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