Independence Day

Well, I'm back in Sydney ... safe and sound. Thanks for all your prayers throughout the past several weeks. It was an amazing trip filled with surprises, new life lessons, and abundant grace each day. I arrived this morning and it felt good not having government officials watching over me anymore (well, hopefully) =P

And a happy 4th of July to all those in the US. You know, I've come to appreciate the whole concept of national freedom more through my trip to Ch*na and N*K*, and it's cool how I can arrive back here on this date. The 4th of July holds some cool significance for me on various levels. First, of course, is the birthday of America. Secondly, it's the day that my family and I immigrated to the US back in 1976 (America's 200th birthday), and it's also the day (several years ago now), that I first met Hyun =) My how time flies.

I have a lot of catching up to do in terms of updating my blog with pictures and lessons from my trip ... but for now, I just wanted to put a picture of a place that holds significance for Korea - Baekdusan.

It's a mountain that borders Ch*na and N*K*, and it's also the highest point in Korea (and mentioned in the Korean national anthem).

Supposedly it's pretty rare to go up this mountain and get a good view of the lake, but God was good and gave our group a few minutes to take pictures before the clouds came back to cover the whole place =) I felt like Moses when he assended up the mountain and God revealed His glory to him. The strong winds, the thinkness of the clouds everywhere ... then suddenly the clouds lifted and the winds were calm ... for a moment. [Then we took pictures like crazy] ... and the winds and the clouds (and rain) came back. It was definately a memorable experience! Looking forward to posting some more pix in the coming days. But for now ... some rest! =)

Currently Listening Under a Blood Red Sky By U2 40