100 not out ... #2

The next instalment in my very occasional series comes from some workers in South Korea ... Enjoy and, if inspired, get stuck in yourself!

We have been here, in South Korea, just one year – my husband Paul and myself, Kim.  Our ministry is teaching, training, mentoring, mobilising.

We currently live in a city called Yeosu which is made up of three ‘downtown’ areas and is not really a city at all. But it is a beautiful area with a large coastline that reminds me of my hometown in Devon. Yeosu happens to be the base for MTI, the only Missionary Training College in Korea that teaches English in a community setting where the students speak English all the time, whatever their level. The teachers are all native English speakers that come as volunteers for ten weeks. You do not have to be a qualified teacher to volunteer (the majority are not) although some TEFL training is recommended. Paul and I are here long term to help bring the programme some stability and work alongside the staff. It is an ever changing community as only the directors are static. The staff are also volunteers and so we have joined the team. The students are a combination of missionaries returning on furlough to improve their level of English for leadership potential; missionary candidates that need to reach a certain level of English before continuing with their training or leaving for overseas or they are mission-minded folk who attend the college because MTI has such a good reputation. Each semester is five months and has two ten week terms so we need a good number of teachers – at least five each term.

We felt God calling us to mission back in 2008 and after our application to WEC UK and some training in Canada we arrived, almost accidentally, in South Korea as a three month placement and cross-cultural experience. We learnt a lot and just before we left for the UK for more training we felt God clearly telling us to return to Korea and specifically MTI. We applied to join WEC Korea and are seconded to MTI which is an interdenominational and interagency organisation. The biggest challenges have probably been language learning. Not only is Korean one of the most difficult languages to learn for a westerner but we speak English all day long as a requirement of our job!! But we plod on and are gradually building our list of phrases and are trying out this semester with 1-1 language helpers.

Living here week by week is fairly inexpensive as our meals and accommodation is provided by MTI. Eating out is not expensive and travelling around the country is fairly reasonable. But of course they are many essentials that need consideration; medical insurance, home leave to visit family, living costs (for when MTI is closed), essential ministry and additional living costs all add up to more than you anticipate. The amazing part of our journey is that on paper this does not add up and yet we are here. God has blessed us in so many ways. There are also challenges like building close friendships when your culture and language are very different and the community is ever changing but there are huge blessings and an opportunity to see God work in the lives of those around you. We trust the Lord to keep us here as long as that is His desire.

If you are interested in teaching then this website will give you a feel of MTI http://mtikorea.woweb.net/xe/howtoapply_3