Secret Asian Man

Let's play spot the white guy. Are you ready? Here we go:


Have you spotted him yet? That's right. He's the guy wondering whether his camera will work properly.

This is obviously the Korean church that I go to at the Salvation Army here on Queen Street. The guy on the far left is the Captain. I'd tell you his name, but I just don't know it. Heck, I don't know any of their names! In a curious way however, this language barrier has given me a wonderful relationship with these guys. With little opportunity for arguments, misunderstandings or justification for false expectations, there is really nothing else left except simple friendship. As I've struck out on my own here, these people have really supported me, just by being there.

The Captain leaves today - he's been recalled back to Korea. I will genuinely miss him. I will miss him because he accepted me although I couldn't understand a word of his sermons, and because, strange as this concern may sound, he never turned me away for not speaking Korean.

The guy with glasses on in the middle, is his replacement - Kang. Here's a clearer image of Kang:


The guy in the baseball cap is Tiger. Here's a clearer image of Tiger:

After we'd all said our goodbyes to the Captain, (who's ironically going to Sydney next week) I strolled through Myers Park, where a band was playing.

Last Thursday, in the Christian Resources Centre, I had made friends with a guy called Dalphon. We'd had a long discussion about the Bible's order, and discovered that we had a common desire to read it all chronologically. He explained to me how today the epistles are arranged according to their length, which switches around some letters written by the same author. I told him about the old Hebraic order, which had grouped epistles written to the Jews first, so that those written to the Gentiles could subsequently be read in context. I've always felt that the order of the Bible is a bit of a moot point. I mean, we all dip in and out of it, mixing up its order something chronic. Whoever heard of someone actually reading it through start to finish like a... err... like a book? I know it happens occassionally, but those really are the exceptions.

Anyway, Dalphon had invited me up to his church - the Urban Vineyard - on Ponsonby Road, so tonight I made my way up there.


A guy called Geoff, who turned-out to be a film-maker, was speaking about planning. He made alot of sense. Afterwards I met two Alexs, an Oliver and several others, as we all went out to Food Court for a meal. This gave way to a heated debate about creationism vs. evolution. Both teams played well, and at the end of the evening I found I'd really felt quite at home with these people.

I will come back here again.