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| The usual traffic congestion on a pretty day |
The kids' summer break finished, the high schoolers have finally started their next set of courses, and the Mongolian church families who were out in the back country have returned to us. Along with my language studies, I was also joining in on the high school accounting class (which is actually much more interesting than I would have guessed) along with my other usual things, but suddenly the trajectory of my own work has changed.
The woman who has been teaching the kids here English for the past decade has decided to leave Mongolia to be closer to her family and teach in another country. She was not in any particular hurry to leave but unbeknownst to her, our organization was already having trouble renewing her Mongolian visa this time and there was some serious concern that she would not be able to stay on after it expires in September. So when she told the principle about her decision expecting for the change to take effect at the end of the school year or even once her successor could be established, it was deemed possibly an answer to that dilemma if she were to go ahead and leave next month. She initially recommended me as a potential replacement as a native English speaker who already knows all of the kids, and when the timing of her departure began to accelerate I thought there probably wasn't much room to consider alternatives and this way I can give back a little more for the various lessons I'm receiving now. So I started observing the English classes to see how things are being done -- what they're learning, where their ability is, what materials are in use, etc. Thankfully, however, it's started to look as though her visa renewal will be accepted after all, so now the timing isn't quite so pressed and I hope to start taking over classes gradually. I didn't see myself going back to teaching, but most of the kids seem excited to try using English so that will make it much easier! I'm optimistic that the small class sizes and prior relationships with the kids will make it an enjoyable "day-job."
As for other responsibilities, I've started sharing messages on every third Sunday morning, and Yaejin re-initiated the youth small group she was leading two years ago. It's a smaller group now but we feel pretty good about it. I'm also still overseeing the high school siblings' studies, but I called in Yaejin to crack the whip on them because I felt like I didn't have a good handle on how much work they are actually getting done and what I should be expecting of them.
She was able to interrogate them firmly and measure how much work they can get done per hour, so now we have a much clearer plan moving forward. Thank you, Dear!
At the end of July I had an odd and frightening physiological experience, similar to a stroke. It started with my vision getting blurry while trying to read, as though I had stared into a light beforehand. I went outside for a little fresh air and sunlight and my right hand grew numb and tingling. This feeling migrated from the right hand to my mouth, and I noticed that I was randomly inserting wrong words when trying to speak -- a little girl had asked me a question and when I wanted to say "many languages" i said "many red... no, I mean many languages" (this was in English). I went inside and sat down, trying to get a hold of myself. Yaejin was teaching a class, and I was debating whether to interrupt it to go to the hospital.
I felt a little vertigo, like I was spinning, and I tried listing off family members' names, game titles, the meaning of various familiar acronyms, etc. with mixed success. It felt like I was partially dreaming or falling asleep and had to keep snapping my brain back in focus. I went to the high school room to see if they noticed anything (i had rehearsed their names earlier, and struggled to pair their English and Korean names but eventually got those). I realized I couldn't remember any of the Mongolian church members' names except for the guy who teaches me. The high school kids were able to give me the Mongolian neighbors' names and I could retain them then, but over all they were characteristically non-responsive so I quickly left them before making things too awkward -- if fearing for the future health of my mind can be rightly called "awkward."
I called my parents, and while talking with them things seemed almost normal except for the onset of a headache and general feeling of fatigue. I laid down in bed until Yaejin came to check on me a few minutes later. I told her what was going on and she was like "you know my name, right?" "Of course!" I said. But then i couldn't come up with it! I started smirking at the absurdity of it, how ridiculous it was that I couldn't even come up with her name... Finally i pushed out "Jae... Yae... jung? ... Yae...jin! Yaejin. I know it, i do! It's just something really weird."
Just like with the Mongolian church members' names, once I got it, it stuck with me and I didn't have to keep struggling to remember. Yaejin called her parents over and they called a few doctors, all of whom said that in the late evening (it was nearly 11pm) none of the local hospitals would be able to help anyone who wasn't dying, so we arranged to go to the hospital the next day.
The next morning, and ever since, I've been back to normal. Eventually I was able to get an MRI with MRA, and when we met the the neurologist she assured us that there's nothing wrong or damaged in her field. She suggested it could be a form of migraine "with auras" or a mild form of epilepsy, or possibly a heart-related issue. For the time being I've started taking vitamins and an occasional aspirin and just trying to stay healthy -- nutrition, exercise, hydrated. I'm very thankful that my brain is ok, but it is a little frustrating to have no clear answer to what happened.
Other than the above, the most exciting things going on for me is going to a local pool for exercise and the birth of my second nephew.
We really appreciate everyone's interest and prayers. Things are steady at present. Not a whole lot of ministry happening (mostly internal) but Yaejin and I are still relishing our stable living situation for now.
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