Korea is beautiful

My goodness South Korea is beautiful. I had the opportunity to go down to Kwangju with a couple of stops in between for a few days earlier this week. The trees are not fully changing yet, just starting, but the countryside is truly refreshing. I was reminded at times of driving through south east Kentucky, at times up through the Shenandoah valley, and even the drive into Chattanooga from the north. Lots of medium size rugged mountains with plains at their feet. The Koreans don't cut out the mountain side for road, but tunnel through. Every so often you would see a temple or monastery parked right on top of what looked to be an inaccessible tip. Small compact high rise cities/communities would be right up against the mountains surrounded by farming fields or perhaps a small industrial park.

We stopped at a major rest area. Great food courts with both Korean and western food. Tried some new Korean food - a kind of bimbop which is a rice and veggie dish that cooks in a very hot stone bowl. This one had fried seaweed - something that is much better fried by the way - with red pepper paste to flavor. It was fairly good.


The picture below is of Kwangju.









This is Busan.

Over Osan

Here is a photo of some of the pilots from the squadrons for whom I serve as unit chaplain flying over our base. You can also see the surrounding countryside and so get a good feel for what it is like here.

Click the picture to expand.

The link to the high resolution photo is here from the base's public website.

My Two Best Girls

Korean Friends

Great day today. Took our monthly chapel trip to a local orphanage today, where I made many new friends, including the young lady pictured here. She was so cute.

All the kids were great and we had a great deal of fun playing with them for a couple of hours.






























I've also included some shots here a snapped on our trip home. The two distance shots are of the neighborhood right outside the gate, where I frequently go to shop or eat. If you look close at the street images you can see street vendors and markets set up. Everything is very tight here and driving on Korean roads is really a constant game of chicken.































Lastly is a picture of one of my airmen who I recently took through Lutheran confirmation. I was able to push him through and confirm him just before he took off for his next duty assignment. I'm going to miss him. Great guy. His going away was at a local Brazillian steak house. Lots of food - mostly various versions of beef. It was a good thing I worked my legs hard the day before and needed all that protein in my system. Gives entirely new meaning to "beefing up".

Korean Folk Village

Monday was a holiday here as the states celebrated Columbus Day, so I seized the opportunity and tagged on our chapel outing to the Korean Folk village that is about an hour from here. This was a very interesting and refreshing day. We had a guide who shared with us about the village, who was much better at speaking English than understanding English.

Traditional Korean dancing has much percussion and a little tin horn that seems to play in counter cadence to everything that is going on. Partly a focus on rhythm and partly acrobatics, it is something to see.

Lunch was interesting. Tried some new food, and many of you who know me realize, there isn't much food I don't like. And this was good. I had a potato pancake like thing. I was saved by one of the little girls for just as I started to taste these little green vegetables she said, oooh -- little fishes. I looked closer, and.... SHE WAS RIGHT. Let's just say I didn't go the little fishes.

After lunch I wandered up to the temple and took in the sights on top of the hill and to my surprise didn't see anyone for about two hours. Very peaceful and relaxing. The villages were all authentic being composed of sites gathered from across Korea and brought here for preservation. I felt as those I was transported back in time and walking the streets and visiting the homes of folks from hundreds of years ago. I sat here on the edge of this pond for quiet awhile and enjoyed the birds singing, the warm autumn breeze and watch the fish frolic in the water. Was very eastern sort of moment.

This was a nice and needed break because from now on we are full up through the big exercise in November.

One thing I learned just from walking around is how important cultivation was (and remains) to the Korean culture. Everywhere there are indications of how they grew food just about any way they could. Red peppers were everywhere (a foreign plant introduced several hundred years ago from South America). Right outside fairly moderate homes would be found extensive gardens. Many home had plants growing on roofs, walls, in pots along side of the homes, and in small plots of ground just about anywhere. Not unlike when one drives through the cities here and observes gardens everywhere, including on rooftops - literally - dirt thrown on top of metal roofs with plants holding it in place.

Gardens of Stone

My gosh, how surprised I am as I watch this movie -- and see the very places just a few months ago I was walking as I served at Arlington. Especially moving are the scenes inside the chapel itself. And the ceremony looks like it could have happened yesterday. Very insightful into the meaning that is Arlington - even it was a different era and a different war -- service, respect, memory, honor -- these echo across time and if anything of our way of life deserves to be eternal -- perhaps it is this.

Fall Comes to Osan

As here, autumn is coming to the mountains that once were home to the mighty Cherokee.

I read in a blog that I follow that a Cherokee Chief observing the changes and bounty of harvest in the fall, described the season as a season of "hope and memory". Cool mornings and evenings have descended and I am trying to focus on my Cherokee guide to view the time as a season of hope rather than hear the words of Gandalf the Gray, "we face the long dark of Moria". Cold is coming to Korea. I keep remembering those freezing episodes of MASH.

There has been some joy this week. A gentleman I've gotten to know these past few months has completed adult instruction in the Lutheran faith and has requested confirmation which will take place this next Sunday.

Chusok has come to a close. It started off well enough but has ended sadly due to someone close to us experiencing a tragedy back in the states. It reminds me of something I proclaim often in my sermons, that most of the bad things that happen to human beings we either do to ourselves, or as in this case, do to one another. So much tragedy and pain is brought to our lives by the evil that resides in the hearts of fellow human beings. So these last few days have been days of reflection and sadness for me for in the face of some tragedies we find we are so powerless.

As a chaplain I have many opportunities to bring change and even prevent great harm as circumstances or people invite me into their lives. But not always is it possible. Usually one can help a person start to confront the realities they face and begin the road to healing, sometimes one can even play a large role in facilitating that healing, but sometimes one realizes that all one can do is be present and share the pain. Not that it makes the pain less for the person who is hurting, but perhaps it helps to not hurt alone. But moments like these remind oneself as a chaplain that we are only human and not God and no amount of wanting to make it better can make it better.

In our powerlessness one is reminded of how fragile life is. How fragile the good is. How fragile so many things are and we are moved to thankfulness for our many blessings for life should not be taken for granted. We could be moved to fear or despair but...

Then we remember how strong life is. How strong the good can be. How strong so many things like love and family, devotion and duty, truth and promise are. And once again we are moved to thankfulness.

Which fits with Chusok, that while it is not the Korean version of our American thanksgiving, it is certainly a time for these people of hope and memory - celebration of their family and what they have as well as remembering and acknowledging the role of those who have gone before us continue to play in our lives.

May we all look through the grief of our various losses as we face and deal with the mortality of our lives and see hope and remember -- remember to give thanks for those we have shared our lives with -- remember to give thanks for who they have helped us to be -- and push forward -- even if future days around the corner are dark -- for the warm light days of Spring are promised. Let us never forget the enduring strength of promise.

Let us never forget the eternal voice of God that rings through human history loud and clearly proclaiming "death and evil do not get the last word." Out of the deepest evil of the human heart the Christ was murdered by human hands and the hands that were nailed to the tree forgave -- and the body that died defeated death and rose -- and the heart that was stilled by human evil -- beat again with love and promised not only forgiveness but resurrection. Death does not get the final word.

God's peace to you who are remembering and hurting.

Chusok Part II

Thanks to two wonderful Korean members of our staff, we enjoyed a wonderful Chusok meal on Thursday. The food was a bit different. We had something like that to the left only they were dark green (as seen on the far left) and bleached white. At first I didn't know if it was some kind of seafood or a vegitable of some kind -- but it turned out to be a delicious sweet sort of dumpling. Incredible. Also many kinds of fruits and vegitables with the traditional Bulgogi. It was a great lunch.

Learn more about the holiday and the meal associated with it here.