Goodbyes

After two wonderful, wonderful years in Korea I am going to be leaving next week. This past Sunday at church after the sermon, my pastor got up and announced my coming departure. Now when I say announced, though, I mean that he announced it in Korean, and I heard understand enough to know that he was talking about me, but not exactly what he was saying.

He spoke for a few minutes, I stood and bowed, and then tried to sit back down. The friendly choir man behind me, though, motioned for me to keep standing. The way our sanctuary is positioned, the choir sits in pews facing the congregation throughout the entire service. So, as I stood back up, the whole congregation sang a blessing song to me with their hands upraised. After the blessing song, they prayed for me for a few more minutes.

As I stood there in the midst of my church family, I was struck with how overwhelmingly good God has been to me. Despite the fact that I can't have a great conversation with the people at my church, they have shown me so much love. That hospitality and graciousness is representative of how I have been treated in Korea in all areas, and it's also a big part of the reason I decided to move on this year. I've been on the receiving end for a while, and look forward to bringing some of that love and hospitality to the people with whom I will work in the coming year.

The goodbyes this summer are hard, but that's the way it really ought to be if you've been living well, I suppose. So I am immensely grateful for this experience, the relationships, and now, the goodbyes.