This trip has been totally led by the Holy Spirit and it has been amazing seeing God do things none of us could have ever imagined doing prior to this trip. None of us were exactly sure what we would be doing here and by the grace of God we have been able to join God in brining His Kingdom through many blessing us and allowing us to be a light to others as well. On Friday day night Mike Hojnacki asked me to go to a church right outside of Suwon Village in South Korea to teach a wrestling clinic to some kids who have never wrestled before. Ben Wise, Larry Cannon, and Lukas Malmburg also went. We arrived early Saturday morning and it was a beautiful church. Ben and Lukas split into a group to teach middle school and high school students while Larry and I taught the elementary students. Both groups taught basic skills for wrestling and played games with the students. As Larry Cannon said "the most important rule is to have fun" and that was something not only they had but we did as well. It was a joy for me to see our gifts used for good. I loved seeing how good Larry is with younger kids while Lukas and Ben were able to serve older youth with their gifts and do great. While teaching the kids wrestling was great and fun what we really loved most was each of us being able to share a message of hope in Christ through what God has done in each of our lives. Only God can produce a fruit from the seeds He put in us and to Him be the glory, forever, amen.

After the wrestling clinic we were able to spend time with the youth group and eat lunch with them. It was great being able to build a relationship with them and learn more about each other and our differing cultures. They told us more about South Korea's relationship with North Korea and allowed us to see how we can be praying for them and their country. Peace is something we pray for and that from, through, and for Christ one day they can be one nation again with North Korea. After lunch we then went and got a famous dessert dish in South Korea called "milk snow ice," it was amazing. Two of the youth knew english and allowed us to talk to all the youth. The youth in this church are on fire for the LORD and it was very encouraging seeing their faith. God is at work here in South Korea and its a blessing to see brothers and sisters in Christ half way across the world. God used each of us to encourage them as they did the same for us. The love, faith, and joy here is contagious and we are so grateful to have met these youth and their youth leaders. After desert we then went to an ancient castle which was a King's second home called "Kyung Pokgoong," about a thousand years ago. This castle was something straight out of "Mulan," and it was really fascinating. This time at the Castle allowed us to get to know the youth more and build a lasting relationship with them. To top off the day we went archery shooting and as a hunter I loved every second.

We came back Saturday night to the church to have a wonderful meal and continue to get to to know the youth and their families more. It was such a joy to meet their families and let them know how much their kids are a blessing and light to others. That night we were randomly chosen to go to different host families. Ben and Lukas each went to a different host family while Larry and I went to the same host family together. Each of us had amazing hospitality. This allowed us to get an experience living in a home of a South Korean which was much different than being in a hotel. The family Larry and I stayed with truly have an incredible amount of faith. They told us how they started their own school in the church called an alternative school so they could be centered on God in all they do. For the first year of the school they simply studied the Bible. They seek to be centered on God and wanted to put Him first as their foundation before they considered studying academics. This made our jaws drop in awe of their faith. They love God and His Word and inspired us to love His Word more as well. Praise God, amen!

Sunday morning we worshiped in the Church and even got to share the wrestling team's worship song. None of us are great singers but we led the church in singing a song we sing after competitions to give glory to God whether we win or lose. Larry explained how though our goal is to win our purpose is to glorify God. Thus, whether we win or lose nothing can take away our purpose to glorify God. Lukas Malmburg was then able to share how God has used wrestling in his life to transform him more like Christ. Upon the service we had lunch with board members and the Senior Pastor. This time of fellowship allowed us to pray together and encourage each other in each of our callings. All in all we learned that God is at work here and going on missions trips or as we like to call them global church visits does not always mean going to the un-evangelized. Rather we can encourage fellow sisters and brothers in Christ and grow in our faith together so we can be the salt and light to the world. Thanks be to God who works all things for our good and His glory, amen.

Blessings, 

Jared Furry (Class of 2016)