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Although a number of our members are going on the Seoul OEM retreat, service times will be as normal this coming weekend of the 8th of June.

In only a handful of days the Easter event will be upon us. Easter is the centerpiece of the Christian faith. Interestingly enough, when Paul wrote to what was possibly the most jacked-up church in all of history (the Corinthian church), he said that the cross of Christ was of first importance. That in the death of Christ we have a Savior who died for our sins.

Why is this of first importance…?

Read more at Pastor Dave’s blog here.

In God’s providence, we are completing our Everyday Spirituality series this weekend with a final sermon on the discipline of celebration. As most of you know this coming weekend is Easter. The time of year when we celebrate the greatest miracle in all of history; the resurrection of Jesus and we would love for you to join us.

Please note that we will not be having a Good Friday service as this is not a public holiday in Korea and most, if not all people will be working throughout the day or night. Our Sunday service will commence as usual at approximately 2:00pm and usually concludes between 3:30 and 4:00pm. We would love for you to join us.

With the arrival of spring comes the arrival of the dreaded yellow dust season. Here are some tips to help ward of the sickness that is almost inevitable at this time of year.

• Visit http://www.seoul.amedd.army.mil/sites/yellowsand/default.asp for regular yellow dust readings from Seoul and other areas.
• Wear a mask. For me, this was highly embarrassing at first, but it sure beats having a sandpaper throat infection for a month or two. As a rule, if the reading from the above site is over 150, I wear a mask.
• Keep your windows closed when sleeping. I went to bed with my window wide open one night only to have a dust storm arrive while I was fast asleep. I was sick for at least a month after that.
• If you like exercise outside, be sure to check the weather first. Exercising on high dust days will do far more harm than good.

Hope this helps.

You can check out Pastor Dave’s blog. It has been updated and he’s looking for comments and feedback.

http://expatpastor.wordpress.com

God has blessed our efforts, and a village in Sierra Leone is getting fresh, safe water to drink, along with assistance in setting up the basic public sanitation we take for granted. Mercy Ships also provides the local people with the training and skills they need to maintain their new sanitation and water.

“I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink.” Matthew 25

Well, here are two more wonderful stories from Mercy Ships. Click on the links to see the pictures and read the full stories:

A Family Calls Out to God: When local doctors said they could do nothing for 18-month-old Cyrus, his parents cried out to God for a surgeon who could remove the tumor protruding from the infant’s neck. …. Their prayers were answered with news that a Mercy Ship was coming to Liberia. …. Once unable to even hold up his head, Cyrus now moves freely as he scrambles around on the floor of a hospital playroom, collecting bricks to build a tower. …. As his mother considers the answer to her prayers, she exclaims simply: “Praise God! Praise God! Praise God!”

My Son Has Life!: Finella recalls the reaction she faced after the birth of her son, Tamba, whose forehead was disfigured by a large tumor. “Throw the child away,” was the painful advice Finella received. Unwilling to abandon their suffering baby, Finella and her husband, Ishaka, took him from their village in Sierra Leone to Freetown, the capital. They spent their savings on useless medicines. …. Dr. Sandra Lako at the New Steps Centre, a Mercy Ships clinic in Freetown, helped them get to the Africa Mercy docked in Liberia, nearly 250 miles away, where surgeons saved the boy’s life. …. “I just cannot say thank you enough,” [Tamba's father] says of Mercy Ships. “Financially I lost everything, but now my son has life.”

This week we will be making cheesecake, Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Old Christina’s place.  Post a message if you need directions. If you have access to graham crackers, please let me know. Otherwise we’ll be making the crust with cookies, which don’t work as well. 

Karen Edmisten posted a blog entry about an amazing book, Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust.

Immaculee Ilibagiza spent three months holed up in a pastor’s bathroom — bathroom! — with seven other women. Rather than go insane, as I think I certainly would have done, she went deep into meditation and prayer. To the point where, after she resumed “normal” life, she missed the quiet time with God.

I’m heading to the library for a copy of Left to Tell as soon as I get back to the States.