Titus in the Rain

That’s right. In the pouring rain! In a heavy downpour of a rain! In the mountains of South Korea! Why would the four students (and one helper) at this Project Titus go frolicking about in the rain whenev eryone else was staying dry inside (and watching the scene with astonishment)?

Well, Project Titus Korea is not your average, every day Project Titus trip. It isn’t that it’s half-way around the world. It isn’t just that it involves English class in addition to vbs. And it isn’t just that it is held at a camp out in the beautiful, heavily wooded mountains of South Korea.

Imagine…four MLS students and two chaperones whose knowledge of the Korean language is basically “hello”…five of whom have never been to Korea before…in charge of teaching English and vbs to sixty (count ‘em, sixty) Korean kids of junior high age, most of whom know little English (some know none)…as well as the supervision of the same all day and all night, for four and a half days. Yes, there is some help from a few Korean youngsters, for which we were of course very thankful. And yes, there was a very nice swimming pool to enjoy on the hot, humid days, for which we were extremely thankful.

But just imagine...imagine if six Koreans (two adults and four high school students) came to MLS to teach sixty American kids the Korean language, most of whom did not know any or very little Korean. And imagine that those Koreans didn’t know any English, and that three MLS students were their only helpers…all day and all night. Hopefully that will help set the scene for ya.

Now imagine that on day four of this camp, your plans were to have lots of outdoor activities and not much in the way of English class. You know…teach ‘em how to play kick-ball, ultimate frisbee maybe, some relay races of various kinds. A good way to spend the second-to-last day, right? You bet!

And then come those rains! Heavy rains. Hours of rains. No games outside today.

Wouldn’t you want to frolic about in the rain as well?

Our MLS students worked hard at Project Titus, Korea. And they did a fabulous job! They got tired, and maybe even a little frustrated at times. But hey…that’s why you frolic about in the pouring rain!

And they had fun! They went through some experiences that not many of us out there ever will. They did some cute little crafts…they watched some movies…they got to slam kids (gently) into the water in the pool…they sang “B-I-N-G-O Bingo was his name, oh” with them, along with some other classic ditties. But most importantly, they got to talk about their Savior with these sixty precious souls. They got to sing some beautiful hymns with them, like the theme hymn “Beautiful Savior,” and “Speak O Lord,” and a few others that the children enjoyed just as much. They got to see the sights of Seoul, and to worship with brothers and sisters at Canaan Lutheran Church.

Anna Schneider, Jake Bode, Noel Fletcher, and Todd Brassow (and Mrs. Kock, of course) you are to be commended for your good work! You had an experience you’ll never forget. And who knows what this experience will prepare you for down the road? Who knows what impact you may have had on those precious souls out there in the mountain side?

Well, the Lord does.

Same is true for all of us, as we all get to make use of the gospel wherever we may go. Even in the rain!