Moving...

Hello wonderful followers,

I am sad to inform you that I will be moving....blog platforms. It's a new season in my life and a new season calls for new things including this one. I just want to say thank you to everyone who supported me through this journey. I started off this blog just wanting people to stay updated with my life as I transitioned into college and it became a lot more than I expected.

I just want to thank everyone who has supported me through the years, I was blessed to know you were blessed by the posts I have written. I love you all very much and know that the journey doesn't end here.
Make sure to come check out my new blog Tales of a Diplomat's Daughter 

Blessings and Love,
Marie 

Being a TCK

TCK is also known as a Third Culture Kid (according to David Pollack)

A Third Culture Kid (TCK) is a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents' culture. The TCK frequently builds relationships to all of the cultures, while not having full ownership in any. Although elements from each culture may be assimilated into the TCK's life experience, the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of similar background.

I am a Third Culture Kid. I was born to a Filipino father and a half Filipino half Spanish mother. I was born in the Philippines and moved to Seoul, South Korea at the age of 3 went to International Christian School (aka YISS) through the duration of my stay. Which is where I got my American accent from. I then moved back to the Philippines when I was 11 and stayed there for three years and moved to Egypt. I also went to another International School (Maadi Community School) as I stayed there for 5 years. During my junior and senior year of high school I went to an online high school (Northstar Academy, comment below if my NSA peeps if you still read my blog! ^^) graduated from high school there. After high school God lead me to come to Korea for college.

               Just from that paragraph alone you can totally see how the definition above pretty much describes me. I honestly don’t fully relate to any one culture and called it my own. I may sound American, but never lived there. I speak like a Korean, but am not one. I don’t speak Tagalog as well as I should, but still sort of relate to my Filipino/Spanish heritage. Growing up in different places allowed me to see the world differently, because of constant change in friends, addresses, and schools I never got the sense of familiarity. Which in a sense is a good thing, but at the same time I never really felt like I belonged. I didn’t feel like anyone could ever understand me or what I’ve been through. My parents always told me that God knows why I grew up the way I did. As encouraging as these words sounded I didn’t understand it fully. Growing up being a Third Culture Kid was a fairly new thing. Not a lot of people grew up elsewhere when I was growing up. So in a sense I felt very alone.

                A few weeks ago our pastor preached on the Multi-ethnic church. He talked about how we are a multi-ethnic church. How we have brothers and sisters from all over the world. It was an amazing message shinning a light on the different issues that we faced as a community for being multi-ethnic. It was an amazing message! One thing that really struck me was when he started talking about Third Culture Kids and how we grew up so diverse. It is actually because we are called to global leadership. We are more sensitive to other people around us culturally and can relate more to different races. As simple as that sounds, for me that was my biggest breakthrough. As someone who grew up around the world basically, not having a culture to call my own I had a hard time understanding why God allowed me to grow up the way I did. It made no sense to me whatsoever, so to hear that I was called for global leadership was a sign directly from God that this is where I am meant to be.

I know I have a lot of TCK friends who read my blog so I just wanted to take the time to encourage ya’ll to know that we are set-apart for His purpose! I didn’t know I was going to be part of an International community in Korea, let along be a student leader for a campus ministry whose students are from all over the world! I get to relate with students in so many different ways because of the diverse cultures I grew up in. And God uses that to make people feel a manifestation of His love. :) It’s such a special gift that not everybody has. Treasure it! It's not a bad thing to feel like you aren't part of a culture. We shouldn't hide behind culture to feel like we are a part of that society. Truth is we are all part of a Kingdom that's not in this world. My closest friends consist of a Korean that grew up in Togo, a Korean/American who grew up in Saipan, a Malaysian, a Korean that grew up in Indonesia, Chinese American and a Korean Canadian!  I love them all so dearly!Since we are all very different, we see God’s love from different angles, through that we can edify each other, sharpening each other to be more like Christ. Having friends from around the world is a blessing. 

To my TCK friends God has GREAT plans for you! Bigger than your wildest dreams! Don’t look focus on thinking that you don't belong to a particular culture, you belong in His heart. That's all that matters :)

Picture taken by John Matthew Ko                                                                             

Just a Simple Prayer

First snow fell on the beautiful Korean peninsula today. I really like snow, somehow I always felt like it was a gift for me since I was a child. Cuz every time I prayed for snow as a kid I would remember getting it. I could hear screams from outside the dorms as well as from the kitchen area. As I posted my status on Facebook of how happy I was to see snow so early this year, one of my leaders remembered the story of how I prayed for snow in Egypt awhile back. I wanted to post the link of my blog post where I told that story, but realized I never wrote about it....So here you guys go! 

Since I grew up in Korea my Christmases would always be filled with snow, but after moving around and eventually moving to Egypt I obviously wasn't getting any snowflakes anytime soon. When Christmas rolled around Freshman year of High School I started getting homesick and longed to see snow again. At this point I haven't seen snow in 4 years, so I prayed for months asking God to make it snow in Egypt so I wouldn't feel so homesick. Such a selfish prayer, I know but hey I was a kid and it's child-like faith there for you. I started praying in November hoping to get it sometime in December. As impossible as it seemed in the natural I still believed that God would hear my prayers. I prayed knowing that He could do anything, but when February rolled around I figured God didn't want to change the weather patterns and freak people out thinking that it might be the end of the world, so I stopped praying. To my surprise during Easter break we went to Mt Sinai for the first time, and it started to rain on our way there. For some that may not know, it hardly ever rains in Egypt, if it ever does choirs of rejoicing would be heard across the whole country, even if it rains only for a few seconds. This rain was different, it rained for a good hour or more and we heard that they had to cancel our church service back in our town because it began to flood there. Long story short once we got to the top of Mt. Sinai to see the sunrise we couldn't even see it because of all the fog. Then suddenly out of nowhere white particles started falling from the sky. I honestly didn't know what it was for a good few seconds because I haven't seen it in a while but my mom informed me that it was snow.

I was so awestruck to see how God moves. He heard my simple prayers and changed the weather just for me so I wouldn't feel so homesick. He definitely knows how to speak to us in ways only we can understand. I couldn't believe that He would do such a thing. It blessed me so much to know that the Maker of the universe isn't just a distant God that has this to-do-list trying to check off the things you have done or not, but a relational God that listens to you and shows you that He cares; and for this girl it was showing His love through sending snow to the sandy land. I am honored to be called a daughter of the Most High; He is good yesterday, today, and forever.

Hope this blesses ya'll. Know that no matter how simple your prayers are He hears them all! Happy First Snow day everyone! ^_^

Reading Journal Entries

One of the things I love doing is reading past journal entries, especially after a retreat where He reminds me of His faithfulness in my life. For those of you who don’t know my story, I was lead to come to Korea 6 months before starting college. Although I already applied and got into the school of my dreams in America, I knew He was calling me here. Despite me battling Him for what I wanted He made is SO clear that I was to come to Korea. After various miraculous occurrences I managed to apply to Yonsei University (I didn’t even know universities existed in Korea till this point) just 4 months before school begins. Got in to this prestigious university despite what my report card said and got my parents’ blessing too! It was crazy as I think back so much happened in a short period of time.

One thing I remembered so clearly was how upset I was if I could find a community. I remembered crying in my room asking God “Will you give me a community that loves you just as much as I do and even more?” Because if I went to America I knew I would have a community there already. A lot of my friends from elementary school went to that college. I knew I could get plugged in right away, but if I had chosen Korea I would have no control. He kept assuring me to trust Him and believe that He had plans not to harm me but to give me hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). 

Here I am 4 years later, after He offered His hand and asking me “Do you trust me?” and me reaching for His saying “Yes.” Let me just say that this has been the craziest magic carpet ride that I have ever been on in my life! Reading my past journal entries of when I first came to Korea of how broken, depressed, and lonely I was and reading the progression of each encounter I had with Him through sermons and my New Philly family brought me to tears.

I felt like I was reading a novel, a story of a girl whose life seemed to be so perfect, but she was so broken inside. I was reading the journey of how she encountered her Prince who pursued her day in and day out. Who planned amazing things for her life, but she didn’t always trust him and sometimes went her own way. Each time she would come back He would still be on His knees waiting for her to accept the ring. When she finally said yes, He made her a Princess. The orphan girl who walked the streets of shame and doubt, He crowned her with His glory. As she learned to be a Princess she learned of more of His love for her. That she didn’t have to do everything perfectly, He loved her regardless. She could never fail in His eyes. The more she got to know her Prince the more she knew her true identity. She no longer fell for the lies that would be whispered to her. With each step she grew in influence and authority. She became a Princess full of boldness who realized that she was made to rule a Kingdom. She shined His light through the dark places of the Kingdom, she was sent binding up the broken hearted, proclaiming freedom for the captives and sharing the Good News that true love does exist. Although at times she would hear the lies that she wasn’t made for this, she would look back and see the faithfulness of her Prince. Her Prince that unconditionally loved her, and that was she needed to know to walk in her destiny.

I'm always in awe of how amazing He is and His love for me. I honestly had no clue what life would have been like in Korea 4 years ago, but I am SO glad I said YES! Yes to His plans, Yes to His promises, Yes to following Him! Life might get crazy, but I trust He writes the best stories EVER!

He'll Use My Story Too!

So for my last blog post I talked about how I ended up going to the clinic asking for more medicine for my allergic reactions when I didn’t know I actually got an anti-allergy shot already. 

 So I took the medicine to help with the healing process. On Thursday night as I was dragging my laundry basket to the dorm elevator to head to the laundry room a girl in the hallway approached me. She said “Do you have an antihistamine? I got an allergic reaction to something and it’s showing up in my face and I have trouble breathing.” At first I didn’t know what she was asking cuz I had no idea that allergy medicine was called that, but it took me a few seconds to realize that I ACTUALLY HAD ALLERGY MEDICINE!! I don’t really have a bad allergic reactions to the things I’m allergic to so I never actually possessed any sort of antihistamine in my life. So for her to ask me at that moment was crazy! I told her I had some and ran back to my room to get it. She said thank you and took it. After I came back up from putting my laundry in the machine I spotted her in the lounge and asked her how she was. She kept thanking me saying that she is feeling much better and could breathe a lot better too! 

I find it crazy that the only time in my life that I ever had to take allergy medicine was when someone around me so happen to need it! As I reflected on this situation I realized that we as Christians often think that what we did in the past was things God wanted us to go through so we can see His glory later on. As true as that is God wants to also redeem what we’ve done in the past. One thing I learned in Emmaus is that when we get hurt by relationships, relationships are the very thing that will heal us. Just like in my previous post I talked about how I basically went my own way trying to get rid of this allergy the quick way by getting medicine from the clinic. Thinking I wasted my money since I already paid for a shot (without knowing). When the truth is, my own ideal “quick fix” ended up saving someone’s life. Just in that same way I know that God also brings goods things out of the foolish things we’ve done in the past. Don’t feel ashamed about what you’ve done. Your testimony is a spirit of prophecy for others around you. So be encouraged, He will use your story one day to bless someone around you. :)

That's Right! I Already Have It!

So a situation this week , caused me to start up my blog again. I totally forgot why I started my blog in the first place. I wanted to share the experiences of my everyday life and bring hope to others around me. I forgot the joys of writing and hearing people blessed by what God shows me every single day. :)

So lately I’ve been going in and out of the hospital lately because of a mosquito bite that started getting infected and I had to get surgery for it (don’t worry it wasn’t anything major. It was like a 3 min surgery) I’m ok now. But this past week after eating at a Korean barbeque place for one of my friends’ birthday party I realized once I got home I got an allergic reaction to something I ate that night. The next morning the pain from my insect bite was getting unbearable so I had to go to the hospital to get it checked up. When I went to get my bite checked up the doctor saw the allergic reaction spread all over my leg. He asked if I was ok and I told him I got bit by a mosquito at the restaurant (which is what I thought I had). Before surgery I had to get three shots thinking it was anesthetic and just went on with surgery. The next day my allergic reaction spread all over to my neck so I decided to get it checked out and went to the clinic at school. They asked me a bunch of questions and gave me medicine. I had to get a checkup later that day because of my surgery and I asked my doctor if I can take my allergy medicine with the medicine I am currently drinking for recovery. He said he gave me shots for my allergies yesterday and asked if my allergies got better. I looked at my arm and realized it was much better compared to this morning. (Yes this conversation was all conducted in Korean and yes I was very proud of myself ^^)

That’s when it hit me. Many times in our Christian walks we think that when we see a sickness, or a negative pattern in our lives we want to anxiously fix it ourselves. We want to go strive to do more Quiet Time more, or pray more, (which is definitely not a bad thing) but I feel like these are things I do out of the mentality that I will somehow get a “quick fix” after doing it.  The more I did it I found that it won’t fully satisfy if you aren’t full in His presence. I realized that when I am in His presence as I get to know Him and He shows me the things that He has already given me. Like for instance I’ve been struggling with patience, instead of thinking I got to be more patient, I got to work on this work on that, read a verse to help me get through the next hour, I am realizing that being in His presence is waay more important. Being in His presence allows me to just sit and be. That’s the place where I get recharged and get revelations of His heart for that day. It is also the place where He shows me the things He’s already given me. This is where He shows me that I already have patience because the Holy Spirit is already inside of me! I don’t have to work for it, it’s just about unlocking it by putting it into practice in my life.

                Just like my allergic reaction I went to go seek out more medicine not knowing I was already being healed from the inside. In the same way I am reminded that my healing doesn’t come from me trying to “fix me” but rather from the Healer Himself. :)

Missions on my Mind

Hello Friends and Family!

If you have facebook you may have recently I have been posting up about going on Missions with my church New Philadelphia Church, here in Seoul. Our church is sending out people to minister to 5 different nations, namely San Francisco/ Las Vegas, America, Jakarta, Indonesia, West Papua, Indonesia, General Santos, Philippines and Tokyo, Japan. I have the great opportunity to go back to my very own nation and minister to the people in General Santos. This is indeed the FIRST missions trip I will be embarking on. And yes, I have not gone to any prior to this one, despite what people may think ;) I have always wanted to go on missions and each time I’ve attempted to go God gently shut the doors and told me to wait patiently. This summer down to every detail from where I’m supposed to live to living expenses He planned it all. So I knew for a fact that He wanted me to go.

                Each week all the teams had to go through missions training, going through one seminar after the next preparing for what we would see in the field. At first I was just excited to learn about how to minister on the field and things like that, but what I didn’t notice right away was the things happening beneath the surface. God was changing me. When I first went back to the Philippines at the age of 11 from Korea, I felt rejected by my own country people. They didn’t accept me because I couldn’t speak the language very well and cuz I sounded too “American”. I even had family members make fun of me for not knowing about my culture. To be honest I don’t remember that time very much cuz I probably didn’t want to remember it. Long story short I didn’t realize that I was jaded by my own culture. I always thought the reason I didn’t know much about the Philippines was because I didn’t grow up there, but as I went down on this journey God showed me it was my fear of being rejected. As a missions team we were given different activities to bond as a group. We went to a Filipino restaurant, watched a Filipino documentary, and went to the JJB amongst other things. Through those experiences I saw my team ask various questions about my culture, and pray for my country. The more I saw their passion to serve my very own people, the more I saw God’s heart for my people. Through my team members I saw God’s love for my people as they passionately prayed for my country. It blessed me so much to see how much they cared for my people. I knew going on missions was something God has called me to, but I didn’t expect inner healing to take place even before this trip. If God is already showing things to before the trip how much more AFTER the actual trip?! I am seriously so excited!!

If you would like to keep us in your prayers you can check out our updates as well as other missions trip’s updates at our New Philly facebook page here. Thank you all for those who financially supported me and are already partnered with me in prayer! I am very grateful for this amazing opportunity to share the Good News back home. :)

If you would like to read our testimonies please click on the link below.

http://support.newphilly.cc/gensan2013