Meeting Koreans

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It was so cool. I just stretched out my hand and greeted all of them. They had just jumped off the bus - fresh from Korea! In my excitement of seeing them, I stopped my car and rolled down my window, explaining to them as though they understood even two words of English that I had planned to go to Korea but that I had an accident and that instead I landed up in Kroondal. And they laughed with excitement, just because I was busy shaking their hands, as though they were celebrities.

Turns out, they were just the reporters, and the Korean football team was training at one of the stadiums tomorrow, so they were there to track their progress. Funny how I had almost missed that opportunity, or rather, that I had been a bit irritated with the car guard for not guiding me left so that I could get out quicker. Instead I had to drive in a circle past the entrance of the Waterfall Mall, Rustenburg, and when I saw a crowd of people in the road, I first suspected them to be a rowdy bunch of teenagers, only to realise they were from another nation altogether - Korea!  

Whilst planning my trip to Korea, I remember saying over and over, "It is strange that I should leave the country to see the world when the world is coming to us."  I am so glad that God instigated it so that I can stay and experience the World Cup 2010 in South Africa.  And I am so glad to be staying in Rustenburg to experience the vibe in a far more direct and intimate way than I would have had I been in Joburg.  I pray to get a ticket for one of the games in Rustenburg, and to be able to go with a few people, not alone.  

Thank you, Lord, for that encounter.  It was special to me.  After all, I had no interest in Koreans before, but now I was able to greet them with genuine enthusiasm.  

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