Easter Weekend

Holidays are always nice, and my family makes sure to imbue them with numerous traditions, but a few stand out above the rest. Easter is one of those holidays. This is the first major holiday that I've celebrated a second time while living in another country. I guess it does get easier. We'll see if the pattern holds.

I attended a Good Friday service at a friend's church in Seoul, and I appreciated the time of somber reflection leading up to the day of rejoicing on Easter. Songs, scripture readings, a very brief sermon, a series of extinguished candles, and a time of silent prayer and communion comprised the service.

Saturday was incredibly busy! For whatever reason, I woke up at 6:30 a.m.! Ugh, that's not right for a Saturday. Sleep didn't seem possible, so I did household chores, and baked cookies to share with friends on Sunday evening. Karin P's oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are always a hit. I packed to stay with friends that night, and headed into Seoul to help with Easter meal preparation.

Covenant Church has a huge kitchen! We're still working on acquiring an oven, but otherwise, it's well-equipped. The task was to prepare spaghetti sauce. The base tomato sauce was canned, but we sliced and diced dozens of onions, mushrooms, and garlic cloves to add to the giant, simmering pots. Though church is on the third floor, the smells of browned beef, spices, and cooking vegetables wafted all the way out the stairwell and down to the first floor. We had some disagreement over the recipe (Let's add more oregano! No, more basil--never overdo oregano! Too sweet! No, it's just right!), but it turned out well. I was the only one who didn't speak Korean as a first or second language, so that made an interesting dynamic in the kitchen! ^_^

One of the small groups was at the church for the church cleaning rotation. When they finished, we walked a few blocks away to a Korean equivalent of IKEA! It's called Hanssem, and I was impressed by the selection and quality of their products. The kitchenware caught my eye, and the lighting section was a bit tempting as well (most apartments in Korea have harsh lighting, and softer lamps are expensive). Still, it's good to get ideas.





Saturday evening arrived and it was time for Encatok, or, English Cafe Talk(ing). It's a program at my church that provides a chance for Koreans of any English level to come, get coffee and snacks, talk with native English speakers, and build a sense of community. I've been a teaching volunteer twice now. We watch a video clip and discuss it, or play icebreaker word games, and just try to get the conversation moving.

Finally the sun rose on Easter! The friend I had stayed with went early with me to church since we were both helping with Easter music. I sing, and she plays piano. Covenant Church had a joint morning worship service with both the Korean-speaking and English-speaking congregations. For the music, we alternated languages between verses. I've gotten faster with language reading (or language pronouncing), but I was nervous about singing Korean into a mic! Didn't want to accidentally say something ridiculous, ha! Another friend (and singer) encouraged me to try though.



The sermon was given in Korean and translated line by line into spoken English. A good message, and it was wonderful to have Koreans, Canadians, UK citizens, South Africans, Americans, and others gathered together to celebrate Easter. The pastor reminded us that we should mix for the dinner that followed, and not just segregate by first language. In that way, the sense of community was further deepened. Everyone seemed to enjoy the spaghetti.



Many people went their separate ways after lunch, but one couple invited us to their home for continued fellowship and a light meal that evening. The fun and festivities continued as we conversed, snacked (if only I had taken a picture of all that food!), played games (Catan is a recurring favorite), and sang a few songs. I definitely was with family, even though my other family is thousands of miles away.




A few words on repentance and resurrection:
“Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
2 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.
3 Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;
his going out is sure as the dawn;
he will come to us as the showers,
as the spring rains that water the earth.” (Hosea 6:1-2 ESV)