Looking for a Job - Who do YOU know?

How do you get that call back? These days people are searching everywhere for jobs monster.com, craigslist.com, etc. For an English major with a really random job history (lifeguard, swimming instructor, waitress, teaching English in South Korea, broadcasting, and now office management), finding a full-time job with benefits is seriously DRAINING! Looking online, writing cover letters, filling out 16 page applications only to get an hourly job. I'm even "in" with a staffing company, and I call them every Monday morning at 9:30. Two weeks have gone by and they still ask me the same questions each time I call (What kind of job are you looking for? How much would you like to get paid?). Why don't they keep these things in my file???I am tired of drinking a cup of coffee, getting my hopes up for that one email to come, only to sit at my computer in disappointment and look through jobsites everyday. I could look through my email and tell you the exact number, but I have applied for over 500 jobs. And less than half have even replied. Which leads me to this...

It's NOT what goes on your resume or even your education.

I think it's all about who you know. So, hmm.. who do YOU know? And, well part of it is knowing God, right? As hard as all of this is, without His patience, I wouldn't be where I am today. But after 500 jobs and all of the part-time work.. what is God showing me? Am I supposed to wait for the perfect job? Is this struggle to find out where I am really supposed to be? Is God showing me yet one more way I am supposed to trust Him in every situation? Or, is it something more.... Maybe I'll never know, but if I do I'll let you know. In the meantime, WHO DO YOU KNOW?

Intro to "The Rain Slug"

I wrote "The Rain Slug" wanting to write a story that incorporated some of my time in South Korea into a childrens story. This story is actually very near and dear to my heart and I hope that it inspires many more to travel/write/explore their creativity but most of all to live their life for God.

~Sparkly Fusion

*Chapter 15* New Friends

Mrs. Mathews looked at her children, “These people saved this building from the destruction that you caused. You know how important food is in the Korean culture. Tonight I want you to cook and serve these people your favorite food. Tonight, you will be making them tacos.” The children knew exactly what to do and went off to the kitchen. Mr. and Mrs. Mathews cleaned up the burnt floor and water and chatted with the firemen. The old Korean woman quietly left their apartment. Nobody said anything but thought that she might not want to try their western food. Maybe she was leaving out of politeness?

One hour later the taco buffet was set up and everyone was starving. Mr. Mathews asked everyone to gather around the table so that they could pray before the dinner started. Before Mr. Mathews started, the old neighbor woman walked in with a pot and a bowl on top. She talked to Mrs. Mathews and told her that she had prepared some food as well for them today. The children looked in the bowl and saw rice, but the pot contained the same brown liquid that she had tried to feed them earlier!

Daisy thought quickly, “Is this woman trying to poison us again?” She looked at her mom and whispered, “Mom, we smelled this awful smell all day. This soup is that smell! I think she’s trying to kill us!”

Mrs. Mathews laughed hard and then turned to her children, “Did you kids try the soup?”

“No,” said Max, “We spit it out so that we wouldn’t die!”

“This soup might smell really bad,” said Mrs. Mathews, “but this is a Korean specialty. It’s called ‘Daenjang Chigae’. The bean paste makes the soup smell really uniquely, but the taste is actually really great!”

“I see,” said Leo. “We thought we were in danger more than three times today, but actually, it was our own fault. I guess this country might be a little safer without us.”

Everyone laughed hard and patted him on the back.

“Kids, I tell my students that the only way to live abroad is to make a lot of friends,” said Mr. Mathews. “Everyone should make friends that can support you physically and spiritually. I think you need to make a new friend. Let me introduce you to our neighbor- Kang, SaRang. Her name literally means ‘love’ in Korean, and I think today that we have all seen God’s love in her today.”

The children all gave her a big hug and Kang, SaRang gave them a big smile.

“Now, I think it’s time that we pray so that we can enjoy this delicious food!” said Mrs. Mathews. “I’m starving!”

*Chapter 14* God’s Promises

Once people were calmed down a little, Daisy finished the story. She explained how they were thinking about Noah and Mr. Mathews had asked them to do some research about the devastation of animals during a volcanic eruption in Indonesia. Somehow they had gotten to the website about Indonesian flood stories and everyone walked over to the computer to read the story.

Their father silently reached out to the bookshelf and opened his bible. “Kids, we only started the story about Noah today,” said Mr. Mathews. “I think that it’s time that we read the rest.”

Curious, everyone sat on the floor as their father read the story of Noah from the book of Genesis. Mrs. Mathews pulled out her Korean bible and helped the firemen and neighbor understand the story.

Mr. Mathews read how all of the animals had come to Noah and they had boarded the ship. Everyone listened intently. Mr. Mathews read how God closed the door of the boat while it rained 40 days, how Noah had to stay on the boat with all of the animals for over a year waiting until the water went down, and using a raven and a dove to determine when they could get off.

And then Mr. Mathews came to the end and said, “This is the most important part. Listen carefully.” He read, “The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: ‘Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done. As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease’.”
Mr. Mathews looked over at his kids. I asked you to look up the volcanic eruption in Krakatoa, not because I wanted you to know about the other natural disasters on earth, but because I wanted to know that even though this devastating thing had happened, today there is a thriving community and even a National park with the most beautiful animals living there. God put those animals there- just like you were asking, Leo. God promised that He would never destroy living creatures again the same way that He did during the time of Noah. And God doesn’t break his promises.”

“So screaming slugs don’t cause floods?” asked Leo.
“There are many natural disasters these days, but He won’t wipe the human race off of the face of the earth,” said Mr. Mathews. Only God can make the thunder and the lightning and the rain. God definitely loves each of you. When bad things happen (and they will!), we have to trust that God is there to take care of us.”

After Mrs. Mathews translated the conclusion, the old woman nodded and said “amen.”

“Oh, she’s a Christian?” asked Max.

“Yes,” said Mrs. Mathews. “She goes to church nearby and she loves God with all of her heart.”

“Really?” asked Daisy wondering why this woman had tried to poison them earlier today.

Mrs. Mathews asked the old woman something in Korean and the woman nodded quickly and then replied. Mrs. Mathews translated, “She goes to morning prayer everyday to pray for her family and she says that when we moved in she also prayed for our family too!” The old woman talked a little more and then Mrs. Mathews said, “She also says that she needs to pray harder for the strength to keep putting out your fires!”

“What?!?!?!” asked Daisy, Max and Leo at the same time.

Mr. Mathews answered, “That’s right kids. She said that she smelled the smoke and when she saw you coming out of the apartment with such a scared look she got really worried. She opened our door and saw the fire still burning on the floor so she dumped a bucket of water on it. She saved this apartment from burning and the homes of so many families in this building. You should be really thankful for what she did.”

The children stared at her curiously, but thanked her using their limited Korean vocabulary, “Kam-sa-ham-ni-da!” Thank you.

The old woman smiled and nodded in reply.

*Chapter 13* The Slug DID IT!

Max started the story with the challenge to eat the slug and how they went to find it. Their mother, who knew some Korean translated for the firemen and their neighbor. Max talked very seriously, but as their mom related the story to the Koreans, they couldn’t stop laughing. Finally, Max got to the part about the screaming slug, blowing up and how they ate the insides of it. At this point the firemen were rolling around on the floor laughing so hard that they could hardly believe. Their old neighbor women went over to the garbage bag and opened it. Seeing the pieces of dead slug, she also started laughing.

The old woman explained to Mrs. Mathews how to cook sea slug. First, you have to squeeze the slug so that liquid comes out of the inside. Then you put the slug into a boiling pot of water to boil it- NOT to fry it. After the slug has been boiled, the slimy outside of the skin turns rough. People only eat the outside of the slug and NEVER the inside. The old woman went on to explain that Max and Leo ate the wrong part. They ate the dung of the slug.

“Ewwwwwwwww!” screamed Max.

“I think I am sick,” replied Leo.

The firemen went on to explain to Mrs. Mathews that people don’t usually eat sea slugs until winter. Just like raw fish people usually stayed away from the sea slugs caught during the summer. That’s probably why the kids had gotten the sea slug for free. Everyone laughed and laughed until tears were coming from their eyes.

*Chapter 12* Putting Out the Fire

“What?” asked their mom. Their father quickly turned around and ran over to the firemen. He also didn’t know much Korean, but he pointed rapidly and motioned for the fire fighters to follow him up the stairs. He would lead them to their apartment and the fire.

Mrs. Mathews didn’t know whether to be mad or worried or just happy that her children were safe. After Leo had started crying, Daisy and Max had also started crying and so Mrs. Mathews just tried to hold them all together. “There, there. It’s going to be alright,” whispered Mrs. Mathews. She looked up to their apartment window on the seventh floor, but she couldn’t see any fire or even smoke coming from their window. They waited and waited together. After a time the children’s tears stopped, but they were still too worked up to tell their mom how they had started the fire.

Ten minutes later, the firemen came out of the building with Mr. Mathews and … the old neighbor woman living next to them! One of the firemen spoke to the crowd and the people started walking inside. The crowd didn’t seem worried, but were quite happy that they could go back to their homes, away from the rain.
Mr. Mathews looked at his children and then said, “Well, I think that you need to explain to me, your mother, these firemen, and our neighbor what went on today.” The children turned embarrassedly red and followed their father back up to their apartment. When they walked into the apartment there was a large puddle where the fire had been. The three children sat on the couch and the adults sat on the floor with their backs against the wall facing the three.

“Daisy, you are the oldest, and I put you in charge of your brothers,” said Mrs. Mathews. “Why was there a fire here?”

Daisy looked over to the computer and saw their Indonesian flood story left still on the screen. She remained silent for a little while, until Max spoke up.

*Chapter 11* Fire

Daisy, Max and Leo had moved to Korea less than a week ago and now they had started a fire in their apartment. No one could speak their language or understand what they could possibly be trying to do.

“Well, we can at least go outside and try to warn them,” said Max. “Maybe we can point at the mountain and show them that they need to head up there to stay safe from the fire and out of reach of the flood.”

Max and Daisy and Leo put on their rain coats and went out the door. Their neighborly old woman came out at the same time as them and tried to look inside their apartment.

“She knows what’s going on,” thought Daisy. “She’s reading our minds.” Max quickly shut the door and they all walked to the stairs while the old woman was locking her door. When the three of them got to the stairs, people were going down and chatting rapidly in Korean. The kids didn’t know what they were saying but could only guess that everyone was wondering why the fire alarm went off. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, everyone was standing there with the umbrellas and raincoats. In Korea, people rarely go outside without protecting themselves because of the acid rain.

The fire trucks came and asked the people some questions, but no one seemed to know what was going on. Everyone was shaking their heads and looking at the building. From the parking lot, you could see each apartment’s window of every room in the twenty-one story building, but nothing seemed to be going wrong.

The three children were huddled together to keep warm and try to stay dry when their parents came running through the parking lot. They had heard the fire alarms and seen all of the people when they got off the bus. Mr. and Mrs. Mathews were shouting their names trying to see if the kids had made it safely out of the building. Daisy shouted, “Mom!” and Mr. and Mrs. Mathews ran over to the three children. Their mom and dad hugged them in a big group hug and then asked if the kids knew what happened.

Leo looked at them and then started crying. “We started the fire, mom and dad.”

*Chapter 10* Dead Screaming Slug

“We killed a screaming slug and now it’s raining just like this story,” said Daisy.

“We share the same ocean as these women. We killed the screaming slug and now it’s raining. What if we killed the same kind of rain slug those women did?”

“Ah! That’s why that man didn’t want to sell it to us,” said Leo. “How about we make a fire? We’ll do the same thing that that woman in the story did!”

“Right! And since there’s nothing dry outside, I am sure that we can just burn a few notebooks and garbage. I know where mom keeps the lighter for the candles. I’ll go get them!” said Max.

Leo and Daisy collected some paper and old newspapers and piled it up in the middle of the living room floor. “It’s not too big, it won’t get out of hand,” thought Daisy. “Plus, I don’t want these Korean people knowing that their city is flooding because we killed their sea slug.”

“We can do this,” said Max. “No one will notice the flood if we start the fire right away. Hurry up!”

After they piled everything up, Max slowly lit the pile with the lighter. Slowly and carefully, the children watched as their pile burned. They didn’t think about the fire reaching the fire alarm. And unlike American buildings when the fire alarm goes off in just one room, when their apartment alarm started, every alarm went off in the whole building. The kids stared blankly at each other not knowing what to do.

*Chapter 9* Indonesian Flood Stories

The boys were not happy to stop their video game, but Daisy seemed distraught. They came and looked at the same page that Daisy was looking at. They read the Indonesian flood story together.

A long time ago some women were sitting on a log chopping a large stalk. As they were doing this, the Indonesian women noticed some bleeding from the cuts they were making. They looked down at the end of their stalk and saw that it was really a giant, sea creature. Instead of letting the animal go the women decided to kill it and eat it. When they were frying the pieces, strange screaming noises came from the frying pan and a torrential rain began pouring down on the village. The rain flooded the entire city so people had to move to higher ground. One smart woman noticed that if you rubbed some stones together it would start a fire. She was the first one to ever make fire and eventually the water in the village dried up.

*Chapter 8* Eating the Slug

“That wasn’t a sea slug at all! That was a bomb!” exclaimed Daisy.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Daisy,” said Tom. “Get up. Look in the pan. There’s still a piece left. I bet that’s the part that you have to eat anyways!” They all looked inside the pan. This time more cautious not knowing what the sea slug would do to them again. In the middle was a long brown, meat-like piece leftover from the screaming slug.

“This is nasty, Max,” said Leo. “That lousy slug spewed its pieces all over me. Look I even have little burn marks where it landed on me!”

“Go wash it off then,” said Max. “There’s still a piece left and I really want know what it tastes like.” One by one they went to the bathroom and used a rag to wipe of the spewed pieces of slug. Max picked up the chunks left on the floor and Daisy wiped up the rest with a towel. Finally, when it was all cleaned up, they sat back at the table and stared at the remains of the slug. Daisy sliced it and put a small chunk onto a piece of bread.

“You’re first, Beaver” said Max. Leo looked at it, took a big breath, and then a bite.

“How is it?” asked Daisy.

Leo made a face and then said, “Disgusting!”

“I want to try it,” said Max. Leo handed over the piece of bread with brown sea slug smeared on it. Max smelled it and then took a bite. “EWWWWW! That is awful!” Max threw it in the garbage and Daisy tied the bag worried that they might make her try it too.

“We should take it outside before mom or dad sees this,” said Daisy. “They’re going to be so mad!” But at that point the rain ominously started.

“Let’s just wait until the rain stops,” said Leo.

“Alright, let’s not forget. Mom and dad will be back by 4 pm,” said Max. “You know what that means right? NINTENDO!” Leo and Max ran off to the TV leaving Daisy alone to play on the computer.

But when she got to the computer, she found that Leo had left up some interesting sites. There was one on Krakatoa explaining what their dad had talked about earlier in the day. Krakatoa was a volcano that erupted a long time ago and killed over 35,000 people. For many years after it erupted, no one or thing lived on the island, but today it is full of villages, people and a wide variety of creatures.
“Wow, that’s really interesting,” thought Daisy. She looked at the next page. Her brother had searched for “Indonesian Flood Stories”. She read slowly and carefully over this page. Her eyes got wider and wider and mouth started to drop. She turned and looked outside and then to the garbage bag containing the lifeless dead slug, but could not believe what was happening. “I’ve started another flood,” thought Daisy. Her mind raced faster and faster. “Boys, get over here. YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS!”

*Chapter 7* Cooking the Slug

“What do you think they feed this? Do you think that we could make it bite?” said Leo.

“It has no mouth,” explained Daisy.

“I think it does. See that hole there?” said Leo.

“How do you know that’s not the other end? Can you even guess that there are teeth in there?” asked Max.

“Listen! It’s making a purring noise. It sounds like a cat. I bet there is some kind of tongue in there!” said Leo.

“That’s ridiculous. An animal doesn’t need a tongue to make noise!” said Daisy.

“How do you know it’s an animal? Maybe it’s a sea CUCUMBER!” exclaimed Daisy.

“Daisy, come on! Everyone knows the difference between a sea cucumber and a sea slug,” said Max. “This is definitely a slug. Beaver, go research sea slug on the computer. We can compare it with a picture on the internet and maybe even figure out how to cook it.”

“Well there are no ovens to bake it, so I am going to grill it like a grilled cheese sandwich,” said Daisy. She reached into the refrigerator and pulled out two pieces of bread and buttered each side. Then she turned on the gas stove and put one piece of bread on the pan. Max intently carried the slug platter over to the stove and turned it over- dropping the slug into the greasy pan. Daisy and Max watched as the slug started moving faster and faster around pushing the piece of bread with it.

“This is disgusting, Max” said Daisy hardly able to watch. “I can’t believe we are going to watch this slug die like this.” And if that wasn’t enough, the slug started screaming with such a high-pitch that Leo came in thinking that it was his sister.

“Wow, that noise is awful!” exclaimed Leo. “Whoever knew that a slug could make that kind of noise?”

“Really! Take it off the burner, Daisy. I have no idea what this slug is going to do!” yelled Max over the high pitch scream of the slug. But just as she was reaching over to turn the heat down there was a loud popping noise and the sea slug went flying through the air! All three of the children dropped to the floor and covered their head as pieces of the flying sea slug fell all over them.

*Chapter 6* Poisoned

“Just put it in your mouth, but don’t swallow it,” whispered Max. “Poison only kills you when you swallow it. We can spit it out as soon as we get inside.”
Bravely, Daisy opened her mouth and the woman pushed the spoon in. Daisy held the food in her mouth as she turned to open the door while her brothers opened their mouths.

“ke-kot-en ma-shi-sin-ka?” asked the woman.

The three stared blankly at her with their mouths full of the brown liquid. They had NO idea what she was telling them. She looked at them confusedly and then went back to her apartment. Quickly they opened the door and ran to the bathroom to spit out the poison.

“We gotta tell mom what that woman did to us!” Max said excitedly. “Maybe finally mom will take our side!” Max went to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of coke to get rid of the flavor in his mouth.

Daisy and Leo nodded enthusiastically, as they passed the coke around, taking turns sipping from the bottle. Max had dropped the slug on the floor when they got in the apartment and it was rolling around, still alive, but wrapped in the paper.

“Man, we almost got poisoned today. Isn’t that enough of a challenge, Max?” asked Leo. “I don’t want to do this anymore.”

“You can’t chicken out on me now, Beaver. Besides, I want to know what it tastes like. I think we all have to try it,” said Max.

“Yah, I’ll cook, it Beaver, and then I am sure that it will be fine,” said Daisy as she unwrapped the paper surrounding the slug and placed it on a platter. The three children stared intently at the object still moving slowly around.

*Chapter 5* The Slug Goes Home

“That was really nice of him to give us free sea food,” said Daisy. “I thought that you usually had to buy something in Korea before they gave you something free. Now we can use the money to get something normal for lunch.”

“Well, you know, they were probably confused why in the world there were three foreign kids here in this market. We definitely don’t look like their average customers. Maybe they thought that we were monsters? Hahaha!” laughed Max. But Max was right. The three children did not look anything like the people that populated the streets of their small Korean market. Max and Daisy had blonde hair, blue eyes and pale skin. Leo had light brown hair and green eyes, but was especially recognizable because he was covered in freckles. If that wasn’t enough to make the Koreans stare at them, Max was carrying a brown paper package that was still moving.

As they walked back to their apartment, they talked excitedly about their plans for the rest of the week. Tomorrow was Saturday and their parents had promised to take them to the nearby amusement park- Seoul Land. And on Sunday, they would attend church in downtown Seoul. Even though the bus ride was quite far, the whole family looked forward to going. Many foreigners attended the service including children the same age as Daisy, Max, and Leo. But one of their favorite parts about going into Seoul was the chance to eat Tacos. Western food was not popular near their Korean apartment, but near church there was a taco restaurant that everyone loved.
When they got back to their apartment building, the old woman next door was still cooking and the nasty smell was still coming out of her apartment. Daisy stood in front of their door and was looking through her bag for the keys. Their old neighbor woman came outside with a bowl and spoon. Inside the bowl was the smelly thing that she had seemed to be cooking all day.

“Hurry up and get inside, Max, I think she’s trying to poison us,” said Daisy. But they were too late. The woman was holding out a spoonful of brown liquid with a big white chunk floating in the middle. Daisy hadn’t found the keys to the apartment yet so they were trapped. “What are we going to do?”

*Chapter 4* The Slug

Daisy was shocked at what Max was making Beaver do, but she knew it wouldn’t kill any of them. She had seen numerous Korean people buy live seafood from the tanks and take it home for dinner. Plus, after the live octopus, Daisy thought nothing could be worse. It wouldn’t killed them. “Don’t worry, Beaver. I’ll cook it, and we can all try it together.”

With confidence, Leo asked for the money and walked up to the cash register. They had all learned a few Korean words, but knew that pointing with their finger was usually the best way to get what they wanted.

“Anyung-ha-say-yo,” said the cashier. Hello.

Leo pointed at the tanks outside and the cashier followed him out. Daisy and Max pointed at the pale orange sea slug swimming around in the tank. The cashier looked at them and shook his head.

“I don’t understand. I see people do this all day!” Daisy whispered angrily. “Sir, we want to buy that sea slug!”

Max kicked Daisy. “Dude, they don’t understand English. Yelling at him is not going to help.”

Daisy tried again pointing at the orange slug and Leo showed him the money. The cashier looked extra worried, but reached over for the fish net. At first he tried to catch one of the other fish in the tank, but Max stepped in next to him shaking his head and pointing again at the slug. The cashier talked to them quickly and excitedly in Korean, but they had no idea what he was saying. Finally, the man sighed, caught the orange slug, and put it on a piece of wrapping paper, rolled it up, and handed it to the kids.

Max took the slug which was still moving in the paper while Leo tried to give the man some of the money that their mom had left them.

The cashier looked at the three kids and said, “Ah-ni-o. Service.”

The kids stood silently looking at each other for answers. They didn’t know what he was saying. “Well it was enough money right?” Leo asked Daisy.

“Yeah I think so.”

“I think he’s giving us a present,” said Max. “Let’s just walk away and see what he does.”

They turned slowly and started walking. Leo looked over his shoulder to see what the man would do, but he was just standing there smiling at the three kids.

*Chapter 3* The Challenge

“I’m not going to get hurt am I?” asked Leo.

“Are you worried about your challenge, Beaver boy?” asked Max. “Don’t worry! Who am I going to play catch with? No one over here knows how to throw a football, except you and me! And if I have to get ready for football season!”

The elevator bell rang and three stepped outside to see a parking lot packed with cars, women carrying large bags of groceries, and children running through the parking lot with soccer balls. Next to their apartment was a small street market containing an assortment of stores. The one closest to their home sold rice and seaweed rolls with soup. Their mom really wanted them to eat that for lunch, but to the three American children, they were just fine with pizza or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. This was their first time in Asia, and the food had been the biggest culture shock to them. Their first day, the principal who worked with their parents, took them out to a really special dinner. They sat on the floor and watched a waitress bring out a plate of small live octopus. The children politely tried to eat the octopus, but it was the most miserable thing they had ever tried. The suckers were still alive and tried to sticking all over the inside of their mouths. They had to shove the sucking legs down their throats so that they wouldn’t stick to their tongue. After that dinner, the three of them immediately wanted to go home. But their parents had told them that the food wasn’t all weird and they only had to stay in the country for two more months. Daisy, Max, and Leo had tried other weird food like fish eyeballs, dried squid, and kimchi (the fermented cabbage covered in red pepper paste), but nothing was as bad as LIVE octopus. The three children really wanted to go back to America, and they were counting down the days together.

“The place I have in mind is near the end of the street, close to the subway station,” Max said. He wasn’t going to tell his siblings what the plan was because if they knew, he was NOT going to get them to go any farther. He had seen something really interesting the other day and he was dying to look at it again. Together the three children walked through the crowds of shoppers past the school supply shop, a PC room filled with children playing computer games, a vegetable truck advertising loudly over a speaker, and a seafood restaurant until they reached the end of the street.

Finally, Max looked at them and said, “This is it. Here’s your challenge, Beaver.”
Leo opened his green eyes looking around for what could possibly be his challenge.
Max continued, “See the seafood market.” Daisy and Leo turned and looked at the huge tanks filled with an assortment of fish, eels, octopus, and other seafood- all of it was still alive and swimming. Then they turned back to hear Max’s challenge. “Using the money that mom gave us for lunch, Beaver has to buy one of those orange sea slugs in the bottom tank, and then eat it. If you want it cooked, we can take it back to the apartment.”

*Chapter 2* Korea

“Alright, kids, now I know that Korea is really safe, but I want you to stay together today- no leaving your brother behind. Cereal is in the cupboard. If Max goes to the PC Room, you all have to go. And for lunch, I want you to try the Korean food downstairs. It’s a lot cheaper and healthier for you,” said their mom. The Mathews family had come to South Korea less than a week ago. Mr. and Mrs. Mathews taught English during summer vacation weekdays and were letting their children- Daisy, Max and Leo- explore the local area.

“Now remember there are loads of things that you can do outside!” reminded their mother. There’s a mountain behind the school that you can hike, a skating park near the subway station, and a library by the bus stop.”

Suspiciously, Daisy, Max and Leo nodded their heads together. They rarely agreed on anything. Their mom looked at them knowing that there was something up, but not having enough time to interrogate them.

“There’s money on the counter,” reminded their mom. “I love you! Have a good day!”
“Bye, mom!” the three said in unison as they watched the door close.

“Alright, Leo, last night you chose to take the challenge and now I have come up with the perfect plan,” Max said looking down to his innocent, little brother. Last night, Leo (or better known by his nickname “Beaver”) was supposed to wash and dry the dishes, but Max offered to help if Leo would play his game. Daisy had tried to tell Leo that it was a bad idea. The pranks Max had pulled on them, ran through her mind- sticking her tongue to a metal pole in the winter, hiding her pet cat in the mailbox, pouring salt on her in the middle of the night and so much more! But Leo was determined to take the challenge. The three of them had just come to Korea with their mom and dad for summer vacation and English TV was limited. Leo’s favorite TV show only came on once a week and he really didn’t want to miss it.

“Alright, then, what do I have to do?” asked Leo.

“I’ll tell you on the way. We are going down the road to the street market,” answered Max. “Daisy you’re coming too! Remember, mom said we have to do this together.”

Daisy really didn’t want to be a part of another one of her brother’s nasty pranks, but she couldn’t break the rules, anymore. She knew that the old Korean woman next door was always watching them. She was sure that same woman was the one that told their mom how she left her brothers home alone yesterday. Daisy had just gone downstairs to pick up their pizza for lunch, and when she returned, Leo was squealing like a pig because Max had cheated again on their video game. And she was sure that it was the same woman that called their mom to tell her that the three kids were fighting at the bus stop outside. That woman needed to mind her own business. But in their Korean apartment there was only a thin wall between them and their neighbor. And the bus stop was right outside, next to the old woman’s gardening spot.

When the three kids stepped outside of their apartment, the old woman’s door was already open. She seemed to be cooking something because there was a nasty odor coming out of her apartment. As they walked by her open door, the old woman turned and stared at them.

“How do you say “stop staring” in Korean?” asked Max.

“I don’t know, Max, but staring is rude, and you don’t need to stare back!” replied Daisy. They walked over to the elevator and Leo hit the down button.

The Raing Slug Chapter 1

*Chapter 1* Noah

“ ‘I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you. You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.’ Noah did everything just as God commanded him,” read Mr. Mathews. He was reading the story of Noah to his family during their morning family devotionals.

“Kids, why do you think Noah did everything that God commanded him?” he asked.

“Well, you know, someone tells me that I am going to die. I am going to do what he says,” replied Max.

“But think about it, Max. Noah was the only one found righteous or blameless,” replied Mrs. Mathews. “Do you really think it’s easy to do what God says when everyone around you is doing the wrong thing? Do you think Noah really wanted to do build a huge boat while all of his enemies were watching?”

“Probably not,” replied Daisy. “So dad, why did he do it?”

“Noah trusted God even though the people around him probably thought that he was crazy,” answered their dad. “Later, in the bible it says, ‘By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.’ Noah believed in God and what he could not see.”

“Right, we don’t always see God, but sometimes we can hear him, and every day we can see his miracles,” answered their mom. “God wants us to trust Him just like Noah trusted Him.”

“Dad, the flood came and destroyed all of the people and animals on earth, and then the boat landed and all of the animals were in one place, on one continent. How’d they get over to America? Or even to Australia?” asked Leo.

“If God can cover the entire earth with a flood, don’t you think that he can help some animals move?” asked their dad.

“Well, I guess,” said Leo.

“Today, while mom and I are at work, go online and look for the story about Krakatoa,” said their Dad. “It’s a volcano in Indonesia. See if you can find out what happened to animals from that island. And why there are animals on the island. But, now it’s time to pray before mom and I leave. Who wants to pray?”

“I do,” said Daisy. Everyone bowed their heads, closed their eyes, and folded their hands. “Dear God, it’s not easy living in a foreign country so please help us to be patient during our summer vacation. Please keep us cool during the hot weather. Thank you for your animals and your love. Help us to trust you more like Noah. In Jesus name...”

“Amen” everyone said together.

100%

He will get you to the end
Your beautiful heart will mend
Since in Christ He is for you
Everyday maybe is new
Difficult to see beyond
And slimier than a pond
Sometimes a super big fuss
But isn’t that all of us?
It’s not getting to the close…
Or wearing the perfect clothes
That makes our God a hundred
Percent for you- so don’t dread.
The fact is: He’s ALREADY
Wholly and undoubtedly
One hundred percent for you

Borders of Life

Borders of Life

(Isaiah 26)

Is life void of virtue?

I wanna reach to you.

I couldn't save the world.

My existence furled.

I can’t make the dead talk,

Or the silent ghosts walk.

Am I ignitable?

Or only err able?

Currency, Security, Boss, Loss

Release me from my cage, stretch the borders

Alcohol, Protocol, Fears, Peers

Release me from my cage, stretch the borders

Make me the fuel, flame of God!

Make me the fuel, flame of God!

You make the living – life

And good out of the strife

The more life that that you give

The more dead that will live

My spirit longs for you

And all that you can do

You, I want to honor

And not the mirror

Alcohol, Good School, Fence, Rent

Release me from my cage, stretch the borders

Status quo, Letting go, politics, watching flicks

Release me from my cage, stretch the borders

Make me the fuel, flame of God!

Make me the fuel, flame of God!

Journeys, economies, Drugs, thugs

Release me from my cage, stretch the borders

Paying rent, silent, fashion, ration

Release me from my cage, stretch the borders

Make me the fuel, flame of God!

Make me the fuel, flame of God!

1st Coffee Experience (Theme Poem!)

Trying my hand at blogging! <3

Dear Potential Readers~
Here's a little background. I grew up in Wisconsin and have traveled to Germany, France, Thailand, Macau, and Japan. I lived in South Korea for almost 4 years. My interesting background leads to a lot of interesting stories.. starting kitchen towels on fire, dating, desperately searching for jobs, life in the church, my hope in God, and .. pink!

I have google reader and I love reading other blog pages. Some of my favorites are (copying straight from my reader-hope they don't mind):

http://www.insanitytheory.net/kitchenwench/

www.lunchinabox.net

http://www.thekitchn.com/

justbento.com

As you may have noticed, they are all about food. I have recently started bringing my own lunch to work and am looking to spice it up a little. And since I lived in Asia, I love trying my hand at Asian food (thus, the kitchen towels starting on fire).

As for jobs, I currently work as an office manager, substitute special education aide, adult esl instructor, and dog-sitter.

I love telling entertaining stories!

And that's where I came up with the name.. "fusion". My funny, random stories and knowledge mixed into one! Enjoy! <3

~Sparkly Fusion