Closing Thoughts

Well, we are back in the United States and enjoying civilization.  It was a most incredible experience being in Chad, one that we will never forget.  We enjoyed our time there and can't wait for another opportunity to take a mission trip again.

I miss the people there.  We made some great friendships and established sweet relationships with the patients.  Patricia is doing her best keeping up with the physical therapy and has emailed Will with some questions already.  Also, apparently people have still been coming to the hospital and are asking where the "dentist" is and are disappointed to find out that I am gone for good.  Really, they could use a full-time dentist there... and PT too.  They're already looking into getting a full-time PT, especially since they are the only orthopedic specialists in Moundou.

The experience we gained while being in Chad are priceless.  We are so thankful that we were able to do this mission trip.  Thank you again, to everyone who helped make this trip possible.

Anyone interested in hearing more about our adventures in Chad, we will be giving a mission report to both the Lewiston and Clarkston SDA churches on the 13th of this month.  We will do the sermon at the Lewiston church (approx. 11:30am) and be joining the Gardner's for a combined mission report at the Clarkston Church at 3pm.  I believe our mission report at the Lewiston church will be recorded and uploaded to YouTube, so we will try to post that link here in the blog so anyone who can't make it can still hear our report.

Of Teeth and Sore Hands

** Warning: This post contains pictures of decayed and bloody extracted teeth

Dental work has been steady here!  I have an average of 2-3 patients a day, which is perfect for me because I have limited instruments and sterilizing takes at least an hour.  I have pulled a total of 9 teeth so far, 4 of those being primary teeth.  I’m getting the hang of this!  I have cleaned the teeth of 4 people too.  I’ve been busy!  Even though I have tried to explain to the Chadians that I am a hygienist, they don’t have any idea what that is, so they all just call me dentist. :)

Every time, as I prepare to do an extraction, I send up a silent prayer for God to help me and guide my hands.  I have seen those prayers answered!  There have been times when I thought a tooth would never come out and I thought I would have to give up, but as long as I kept working on it, and praying out loud between my gasps for air, eventually I would see it loosening up and finally come out of the socket.  There have been some teeth that were so difficult to remove!  I had to literally use my entire body force and spend over 10 minutes wiggling and pulling on it before it would come out!  I have even had to stand on a stool to give me better leverage (since when have I needed more height??)!  I sweat more extracting teeth than I do being outside in the hot African sun!  It has been an interesting experience for me, for sure!  Some teeth just slip right out as though they were waiting for an excuse to escape.  Others are more stubborn and seem to laugh at me when I start pulling on them. 

But, I am proud to announce, that every tooth has come out entire and whole, without broken roots or crowns!  I’d say that’s an accomplishment!  I know it’s a God thing. 

My first maxillary tooth

One of the hardest teeth I had to extract was a wisdom tooth that was rotted away at the gum line and had 2 roots (although, I didn’t know it at the time, because I don’t have X-rays here).  I spent so long wiggling and pulling on that tooth.  The guy didn’t feel it because of the anesthetic I gave him, but he sure wasn’t enjoying all the pressure.  Bekki was in the room translating for me and I asked her to start praying.  She did just that and continued to encourage me as I worked and sweated and turned red-faced from the excursion.  Finally I felt that little sucker loosen slightly and then it popped right out!  I was shocked to see 2 roots on it, because most wisdom teeth have 1 twisted root.  That may have been why it was so hard to pull.  The gentleman seemed relieved to leave my little dental room.

Me with my hard earned tooth!

A close up of the wisdom tooth with two roots

I had a boy of the age of 9, whose father wanted 4 primary teeth extracted because his permanent teeth were growing in behind them and the baby teeth seemed in no hurry to move.  The boy had 2 sets of incisive teeth on his lower jaw.  It kind of looked like something you’d see in Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, but it seemed easy to fix, since one of the teeth was already pretty loose.  I prepared my anesthetic as discreetly as possible and when I turned around, the poor guy had tears running down his cheeks.  I tried to comfort him as best I could through my language barrier, but the dad wasn’t as consoling.  When the boy closed his mouth and wouldn’t let me give him an injection, the father took the boy outside (I can only imagine what ensued), and brought him back, placed him on the chair and the boy complied with my giving him the injection.  As soon as I gave it to him, he seemed to realize it wasn’t as bad as he expected, and the rest of the work was done relatively tearless.  The boy left my room with a sticker, a tooth brush and his 4 little teeth.  I hope it made up for the trauma he experienced!

I really love the profession I’m in.  Being able to help people in every culture is invaluable.  That’s one reason why I chose dental hygiene for a career.  I can’t wait to continue using it throughout my lifetime!

An Update From Jolene

Will did a wonderful job updating you all about our travels and first few days here in Chad (encore to him, right?).  It has been an eventful few days with so much that happened that it seems like we’ve been here for a week at least.  We already feel endeared to the Chadians and the other volunteer missionaries.

Bekki put Will to work the afternoon we got in from our 8 hour bus ride to Moundou.  She did allow him to eat first, but they both have a lot to learn and do together that she went right down to business taking him around to the different patients and their cases.  I went along for the fun of it and to see the wards and patients.  I had prepared myself to see some pretty disgusting things while I was here, so I braced myself for the worst.  But, it really wasn’t that bad walking around with Will and Bekki…

…Until Friday morning during rounds.  Will and I thought it would be good to see how rounds go and watch the wound care and dressing changes.  The day before, everyone’s wounds were bound up, but that morning they were undressed for the doctor to see them.  If any of you have seen the pictures on Gardner’s blog, you know what I’m talking about here.  My stomach started twisting inside me to see all the open gaping wounds, some deeper and larger than others.  I avoided certain beds when I caught glimpses of their wounds.  When we went into the men’s ward, oh the smells that accost your nostrils!  A mix of betadine, body odor, urine and whatever infected wounds smell like (it’s gross).  I felt my stomach trying to expel its contents into my throat, so I quickly left the ward before I vomited on everything.  I had to stay out of the ward for a while before I could try going inside again.  I’ve been told by Scott and the volunteer missionaries that it’s common even for the most calloused health care workers to feel a bit queasy for a few weeks/months when they visit the wards or help with surgeries.  It’s just such a shock for all the senses.  Will seemed to handle it just fine.  I’m sure I’ll get a little better, but I am the owner of a very weak stomach, so how much I can get better is probably pretty minimal.

Even then, I hope to help out as best I can.  I have hunted, sorted and gathered all the dental supplies that were scattered abroad around the hospital compound and today I plan on trying to figure out the sterilizer.  A few Chadians have mentioned needing dental help or wanting me to look at something.  Sadly, because I don’t have my official paper license with me (it’s sitting in the mail at my house), they can’t advertise any dental care I’m available to do on the radio because the government would have a fit.  Don’t want any problems with the government, so we’re just advertising to the patient’s families and the church members.  So, I’m not sure I’ll be doing very much dental care, except for a few cases, and those will probably just need extractions.  I brought cleaning supplies, but when accidents, death and sore teeth are the bigger problems here, people don’t put value in getting their teeth cleaned.  I might get a few interested people, but it will only be a handful I’m sure.  But even if I don’t get to clean/extract teeth as much as I planned, that’s okay; there are still lots of work to be done here.

The Gardner’s have a huge shipping container that has all sorts of medical supplies and things for their home in it.  It took months for it to finally land on their doorstep (read their blog more if you’re interested in the details), and now we have our work cut out for us.  The house is literally buried in boxes.  We spent the majority of today unloading the shipping container and unpacking the boxes in the house.  When Gardners kept talking about their “container,” I was thinking of a small box… no, this is the kind of container that you see trains carrying… yeah, those huge metal things.  Those things are bigger than you realize.  So much was crammed in there and it’s still not completely unloaded yet!  Needless to say, we will all sleep really, really well tonight.

We wish we could post more pictures of our adventures here, but sadly, Chad has made picture-taking illegal unless you get a permit.  Some of the missionaries had problems with the police because they were taking pictures of tortoises.  So, most of the pictures that we will show of life outside of the hospital compound were sneakily captured with our iPhones as we nonchalantly pretend to be fiddling on our phones.  So far, no problems.  But this makes sharing pictures really difficult.

Church on Sabbath was interesting and so neat!  Sabbath is my favorite day whenever I am on a mission trip because it’s such a cultural experience and I love seeing how different cultures worship God.  The Chadians love to sing and move with the music.  They don’t have accompaniment, just drums and cymbals (some churches in America would cringe).  All of us volunteer missionaries had a really hard time not laughing when the choir starting singing a religious song to the tune of “In the Jungle” from the Lion King!  We all looked at each other and tried stifling our giggles.  I wish I knew their words to it.  Most likely it’s a common African tune which is no surprise it was added to the movie.  We enjoyed the rest of the service through translation.

I believe I’m becoming a real Chadian… riding a moto (small motorcycle) in a skirt.  It’s a challenge to do but I think I’m getting the hang of it!  See, in Chad, it is improper for ladies to show their knees, so to hoist yourself onto a moto while keeping your skirt or dress below the knee is a little challenging, then add on a bag or two from the market that you are holding, and it makes it even more difficult, but I somehow today managed all this and stayed completely modest.  I felt like a pro as I rode behind the driver with a bag in hand and my skirt blowing in the breeze.  It is pure joy to ride on a moto.  If I were a male Chadian that would be the career I would choose.  It is so hot at times, and yet, on a moto, it refreshes me with the breeze. 

Tomorrow is our first year anniversary!  Can’t believe it’s been a year!  Surely, it has been the most blissful and happy year of married life that either of us could imagine.  Because Will is leaving early tomorrow to head down to the refugee camps south of here, we don’t have anything spectacular planned, which is fine, because we had a little celebration at Olive Garden before we left for Africa, well knowing we may not be able to do anything here.  It will be fun to later tell our children about our first year anniversary in Africa!  We look forward to eternity together.

We were able to talk to our parents today, which was so nice and I’m sure a relief to them.  We only have about 2 more weeks left before we leave.  Thank you all for the continued prayers.  

Jolene on a moto with Scott taking a Sabbath ride

Our ride to church... we fit 22 people in this thing

Church service Chadian style

Mission to Chad

Hi there!  We're sure the reason you're on this blog site is because you are interested, concerned, and/or curious about what this trip is all about.  First, let's introduce ourselves.

This blog was originally started by Jolene, who did a short mission trip to India and Thailand at the beginning of 2012.  If you're interested in reading about her adventures there, just check out the posts from January/February of that year.  We are now going to use this same blog to post about our adventures together, as a couple, in the mission field.

We are Seventh-day Adventists, a newly married couple (we will celebrate our first year anniversary in Africa!) with a passion for ministry.  Will is a physical therapist and I am a recently graduated dental hygienist. 

Some friends of ours, Scott and Becki Gardner, recently moved to Moundou, Chad (pronounced "moon-doo"), to lead the Moundou Surgical Center Hospital. Scott is a surgeon and Becki is a registered nurse. We received a call from Becki several months ago, and she proceeded to, shall we say, beg us to come over to their center and help Becki set up a PT program there. She also said that they could use some dental work there as well.  We prayed long and hard about it, for we weren't sure we could fit in a trip to Africa, what with my graduating, my sister's wedding this same summer, a trip to New York to see Will's family and the possibility of us moving.  Adding in a trip to Africa seemed like a crazy idea, but we promised Becki we would pray about it. After a time of prayer, we decided to go ahead and plan a short trip over there in between our move and Will's first day of work. Since making that decision, multiple emails have been exchanged with the Gardner's and plans have been underway. God blessed us immensely with several donations and extremely supportive churches and friends. We felt God's leading all the way through.

So what exactly are we planning on doing over there? I used the word "planning" for a reason, because really, we could end up doing anything over there (read: change dressings, wound care, surgery assistants, cooking, you name it). But, what we are planning on doing over there is this: Will is going to use his expert PT skills to assist Becki in improving her physical therapy program, give Becki and the staff a crash course on PT techniques, bring supplies and assess what other supplies they may need.  I (Jolene) will be doing dental cleanings and extractions and whatever other dental care and I can provide. The access to dental care is minimal, if not nonexistent, in most rural regions. Although I have no formal training in teeth extractions, I am the most qualified to do them in Moundou.  I have picked the brain of a dentist friend of mine and have practiced techniques on a dentoform (fake mouth with teeth) and successfully extracted one of those plastic teeth completely by accident, but hey, I know my technique works, right? Either way, the people there won't care a bit about my qualifications and will just be most happy to have their dental concern(s) pulled out. I am ready for anything (famous last words).

We will be leaving for Africa this upcoming Monday (11th) and will be back in the US by September 3, not quite a month.  This is Will's first mission trip and my fourth.  Neither of us have been to Africa so we are both super excited to experience the culture and minister to the people there as best we can.  If you're interested in reading more about Gardner's ministry in Africa, check out their blog at http://gardners2koza.wordpress.com/.

Now, to calm some nerves a bit, let me discuss a few concerning things that have been presented to us. Literally every single person who has talked with us recently has inevitably asked, "what about the Ebola outbreak in Africa?? Are you safe? " A valid question, to be sure. We have done our share of research and would like to let you know that, as of today, no cases of Ebola have been recorded in Chad. The countries that are suffering worst are west of us. Even with this information, we are still  choosing to take extra precautions to protect ourselves. We are also taking medication to help protect us against malaria while we are there, and it is comforting to know that we are at a hospital where we can receive care quickly and from people we trust.

Thank you to all who have supported us with prayers and finances.  We hope that you will be blessed by reading of our time there and we look forward to sharing our experiences with some of you in person.  Until then, au revoir!  Let the adventure begin!

Success!

After so long of planning this health expo with the Kamiah church, we finally did it!  Wow.  What a wonderful feeling!

We did it during BBQ days, so we had a constant flow of people coming through the lines.  105 people filled out the questionnaire, but more went through than that.  Probably had around 130 people go through our health screening stations!  Praise the Lord!

Welcoming people

Find out your health age! 

So many people, we were sometimes backlogged! 

Will administering the step test to check fitness level

Volunteers resting!

Blood pressure station

Kerri aiding a lady through the BMI station

Blood glucose and cholesterol station

Will giving advice to a woman

Filling out the questionnaires

The step test station was popular to young and old!

What a blessed opportunity!  Some of our staff got to pray with people and several invitations to join us for church were given.  The majority of people were really interested and open-minded.  We not only gave them helpful advice on how to have better health, but we made loving contact with our community.

Yay for health evangelism!

The Essence of Christianity

I'm reading through the 28 fundamental beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist church and came upon the  15th: The Lord's Supper.

Being a 5th generation Adventist, I'm quite familiar with the once-a-quarter communion service.  So familiar, that I sometimes feel like I'm just going through the motions.

But not anymore.

Read this story that I came across:

A Buddhist monk once asked a missionary to suggest a scene that would represent Christianity.  Artists were to decorate a hall on the monastery grounds with murals and reliefs that depicted major world religions.  After some reflection the missionary began to share the account in John 13.  The monk "said nothing as I read," the missionary recounted, "but I felt a strange, awesome quietness and power as the passage described Jesus' act of washing the disciples' feet."  In that culture, discussing in public anything having to do with matters of the feet is considered very poor etiquette.


"When I finished reading, there was a moment of silence.  He looked at me with incredulity and said, 'Do you mean to say that the Founder of your religion washed His students' feet?'


"'Yes,' I replied.  The usually placid moon face with shaved eyebrows and head wrinkled up in shock and amazement.  He was speechless, and so was I.  I swallowed very hard several times, and we were both caught up in the drama of the scene.  As I gazed at him, the look of incredulity on his face changed to a reverent awe.  Jesus, the Founder of Christianity, had touched and washed dirty fishermen's feet!  After a few moments he gained control of himself and rose to his feet.  'I see now the essence of Christianity.'"


Do you see it?

Being a True "Neighbor"

I got a call from our neighbor up the hill from us.  He started by thanking us for filling in the potholes on the road that's actually on his property, but used by both of us.  After that, he changed the subject completely.

  "Where do you guys go to church?  You see, I've been looking around at churches and I'd like to visit yours."

  Stunned and a little confused as to where this conversation was going, I gave him all the info so he could attend our nearest Adventist church.  He then proceeded to explain.

  He's been an LDS for as long as I've known him.  He started feeling a conviction to keep the Sabbath and has been for the last few weeks (praise the Lord!).  He's become dissatisfied with the LDS church and some of their beliefs that he thinks contradicts the Bible.  So, he's done some research and is interested in learning more about the Adventist church and will be going to one this Sabbath!

  I sat there in our office room chair, quietly listening to him, yet inside, I was bursting with excitement!  He went on and started drilling me with questions.

"What do you guys believe about the Trinity?  What about the New Testament?  Do you read the New Testament?  You believe in Jesus Christ, right?"

  I can't even remember exactly how I answered!  It was all a blur!  But I know I did answer his inquiries, for he seemed satisfied when we got off the phone.  Can you believe it?  And he came to us!  We didn't do anything to make him pick up that phone to call us... except live out our Christianity.

  What an effective means for pricking people's interest - to just let your religion become who you are; to be a living example of true Christianity; to let Christ shine through you.  While on one side we're earnestly seeking souls, on the other, we're compelling them to come and seek Christ from our hands because they see we're different.  It's a dual outreach.

  Our neighbor may not choose to become Adventist, yet I was given that little opportunity to share with him.  Did I use it wisely?  It may have been my last.

Still a Missionary

I had in mind that after my Asia trip, I would stop blogging since my mission adventures would be over.  But then someone reminded me... it's never over.  Aren't we missionaries everywhere?  Hmm... so that leaves me compelled to keep my missionary efforts in high gear and... maybe keep this blog updated with my random missionary thoughts, quotes, inspirations and news.  I probably won't update on here too often, for I don't have time to do that (which should be the case, eh?).

  As I experience life and it's trials and blessings, I'll post little snippets of it here.  As I receive encouragement to continue running the race that has been set before me, I'll share that here to encourage you as well.  And as I witness missionary efforts here in America, I'll post them on this blog to keep the fire for missions burning within us.  Don't plan to check this blog everyday for my updates... I doubt I'll even do a once a week thing.  But, I'll try to keep it up (whatever that means).

So enjoy reading and keep up the race, my friends!

P.S. You can comment on my posts.  I believe I set it up that anyone may write their thoughts and comments.  I'd love to hear from you! :)

Make My Life As Kindling...

Yes, I'm home.  Sorry it's taken me so long to blog.  I've been um... recuperating.  I haven't recovered from jet lag as well as I'd thought.  I did fine recovering when I arrived in India, but this time has been harder.  And, I'm having bowl problems.  It feels like I'm having culture/food shock, yet in my very own country!  Weird.

  I haven't been sleeping well since arriving home.  I wake up several times in the night (usually around 4 which was lunch time in Thailand).  I can't fall asleep well.  Like, last night, it took me over 2 hours to get to sleep!  Pathetic!  But, I started counting to 100 in Spanish and that did the trick.  I didn't even get to 80. But either way, I'm suffering from lack of sleep.  I only got like around 5 hours of sleep or less on the whole trip home which I'm guessing was around 2 1/2 or 3 days of traveling.  Yes, I'm very tired.

  But it sure feels good to be home.  I hadn't really felt like I was gone that long.  Seeing my family wasn't such a big deal like it was when I came back from Guatemala, but that's partly due to Skype (bless those who came up with it!).  And seeing our home after 6 1/2 weeks didn't strike any resounding chord in my heart... I was just happy to see it and hit the bed.  How undramatic.

  I have changed, though.  Yes, I have changed... a lot.  In different ways.  I knew I would.  No one can go on a mission trip and not be changed somehow.  What changed?

  What first gave me hints as to a hidden change in me, was when I came home, opened my closet and got an overwhelming feeling that I had way too many clothes.  It probably takes me just as much time finding what I want to wear that day as it does shopping for clothes (okay, exaggeration).  Life was so simple when I only had 5 shirts to choose from in my suitcase.  I began tearing through my closet.  A growing pile of clothing items started taking up floor space as unwanted/unworn/too small/too large apparel were thrown on the ground.  And there's still more than I need!  I walk into my room and immediately find things that I don't really need or want and they're promptly thrown away or in the "Goodwill" pile.  I hardly have any "but I might need this someday" or "what on earth are you doing?" thoughts.  It's almost like I'm doing a much needed "past-due-date" cleansing.

  I can't not think of all those disadvantaged people in those 3rd world countries and sit in idle repose surrounded by my luxurious living.  Sure, my family's not rich Americans (far from it), but we still have way more than we need.  Americans in general become so caught up in the pursuit of money, career, popularity and education that we begin collecting "non-essentials" that only take up space.  It's ridiculous.  Sell some of your collectables and help someone in India, for crying out loud.

  Also, my world view has changed... drastically.  Having only been to the Americas, it was a totally new experience to see the Asian countries, their religions, their beliefs, their lives, their diets and their values.  Most Indians value family.  South Korea values education.  Thailand values... um... tourism?  I don't know.  But their values change their country.  Their values could make their country prosperous or not.  Their religions have such a hold on them.  Some religions are so oppressing that it's almost as though the people are slaves to it... yet they've put the bonds of servanthood on themselves.  They trust in wood and stone and are slaves to their own fears.  

  

  I've also changed in that I've got that fire for missions again.  Sure, I always have an ember in my heart, but it's become a fire again.  I say "again" because I always get that fire when I go on a mission trip.  And every time, it grows bigger and bigger and doesn't die away easily.  But shouldn't it be that way?  We all need that fire.

  I just wish I could share some of it with the slumbering people here in the States.  If only I could kindle a fire under them and wake them up to the world's condition and the eminent return of our Lord and all the work that needs to be done.  Stop focusing on how you can get as much out of life as possible.  Instead, focus on how much you can give.  Give yourself away.

  There's a quote that I heard from a song years back that has become my motto.  I find it fitting to this desire of mine and is my heartfelt prayer...

"Make my life as kindling, to set the world on fire."

  I can change that to..."set Lewiston on fire."  Or, "set Orofino on fire."  Or Kooskia.  Or Clarkston.  If I can start a spark in one place, it can spread to encompass the whole world.  I'm going to start with my closest mission fields right now.  Will you help me start a wildfire?

Seoul Korea!

I realize that I love experiencing different cultures!

Me with some girls in the traditional Korean costume

  Whatever part of the culture it is.  On the tour, we went to the palace of a king from a dynasty of long ago.  I learned different things about the Korean history.  And I got to talk with one of the Korean ladies on the tour and I learned a ton more.  She says that Korea has a very vibrant economy right now, but doesn't have much for natural resources (much like Japan, which was a factor that played into the WWII). They put a huge focus on education, but not creativity.  So she says that they don't have many "Steve Jobs", as she put it.  And yet they're super smart, but not allowed to use those smarts appropriately.  She's disappointed that Korea is only known for the Korean War and that's about it.  I could understand that.

  Anyway, the funnest part of the tour for me, was to eat at a local restaurant.  I ordered something called Bi Bim Bap.  It was a red rice topped with an assortment of vegetables.  It was delicious except for the fact that they put a blob of runny egg on the top.  I tried to gingerly pick the egg off with my spoon, but was horrified when the whole thing burst upon my touch and started to run onto all my delicious vegetables!  I've never been a connoisseur of eggs and actually pretty much despise them unless they're fried really well.  Thankfully, because I choose to be vegan and I'm actually allergic to eggs, I don't ever have to search hard for an excuse not to eat them... except when they've exploded onto your whole lunch.  Yuck!  I picked around the egg as much as possible, but was still disgusted when I would get a slight taste of it.  Oh well.  Otherwise, the meal was wonderful!  I got to try kimchi, which was yummy except that it was a tad too spicy for my taste.  And, hey!  I've gotten pretty good at eating with chopsticks now!  I'm pretty proud of myself! :)

  I sat with two gentlemen who turned out to be so very nice!  King is Thai and so we talked a lot about Thailand and it's culture and what not.  And Bob is from New York, a single man who loves to travel and has been vegan for over 15 years!  He loved talking about eating vegan/vegetarian and I found that we hit it off really well.  He mentioned that he does green drinks whenever possible and I couldn't contain myself!  When I told him we did green drinks, he laughed long and hard.  He couldn't believe it!  It was a fun conversation, to say the least!  And now, King is considering trying the vegetarian thing!  How neat!

  Anyway, both guys stuck with me as we explored the walking souvenir street, which was a relief to me.  There wasn't much new that I hadn't seen from Thailand or India.  Seems like these Asian countries have a similar taste in... pretty much everything.  But I bought a scarf (I love scarves!) and some postcards.  I had to get something from Korea.

  We also visited a Buddhist temple.  I didn't have the guts to walk inside in the middle of their worship service.  It reminded me a lot of Catholicism... the candles, the huge statues (of Buddha), the prayer beads.  It all seemed vaguely familiar, yet foreign at the same time.  Pillows were placed on the floor and several ladies were doing some sort of prayer that involved them kneeling with their face to the floor then standing up, then kneeling, then standing... a workout in and of itself.  Who needs a gym when your Buddhist?

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  But, I was saddened to see these dear people so steeped in their religion of works.  Near the temple was a tall structure that was some sort of prayer thing too.  Several people were seen walking around it. According to Dam Bi, our tour guide, the people walk around it so many times to ask their petition.  They pause at different places to bow with hands together, praying.  Then they continue on their journey around the structure... for who knows how long.  And then, they walk away fully believing that they've been heard.  By whom?

  But I was surprised to learn that South Korea is half Christian and half% Buddhist (after learning this, I looked it up.  Here's the stats - 46% no religion, 23% Buddhist, 30% Christian.  Not too bad).  That's more Christian then a lot of other Asian countries.  Like India, which is 80% Hinduism and only 2.3% Christian.  That's a sizable difference.

Anyhow, I did enjoy my tour a lot and was thankful I took it.  I was really tired after, for I hadn't gotten hardly any sleep since Sunday night.  But it was worth it (the tour)!  What a great experience!