Easter Sunday in Korea

I attended a church service last Sunday with my friends, Sung Gun and Charlie. Sung Gun is in the center of the picture wearing the baseball cap. He actually gained a new nickname by the end of our time together. If you run into him, please greet him by his English name "Handsome." Charlie, on the right, is proudly sporting his newly permed hair. Yep you read that right! Perms are all the rage here in Korea... and you will most commonly find them on MEN! It is a riot. My first weekend here, I witnessed a man getting a perm at a salon in Seoul. I thought it was a rarity... I was WRONG! Anywho... I am off topic yet again. (Big surprise!)

So the boys and I went to 아산서렁의교회, which is only a five minute walk from campus. The entire service was in Korean, but I had a general idea of what was happening and tried to look attentive during the sermon. Charlie was a darling translated what he could in his broken English. He has an English-Korean Bible with a Hymnal in the back in both languages. It was nice to be able to at least sing along in my native tongue.

The service was pretty traditional, with the pastor and choir wearing robes and the music ranging from hymns and hymns to more hymns. I was expecting an "Easter Service" like in the States, but here it isn't a very large holiday. The boys said that most people don't even spend it with their family. I was, however, given the gift of a hard boiled egg as I left! There were also some silk lilies on the stage. It was nothing like the Easter Sunday Mass at Notre Dame, but to be honest it was a LOT more fun! (I think I understand more Korean than I did Latin!)

Afterwards, we all ate lunch together on the bottom floor of the building. I enjoyed chatting with the parents as their children chased each other around the room. Oh speaking of children, I almost forgot there was a kids' choir! They were pretty precious. All the normal characters were there; the one who doesn't sing but stares straight ahead, the one who knows ALL the words and sings in his yelling voice, and there was a special star performer, a perfectly poised seven-year old girl dressed in head-to-toe purple. I loved that part the most... I am sure not a one of you is surprised to hear that kids were my favorite part of the day.