30 minute TV Appearance--WHRE Virginia Beach

I had the pleasure of being the featured guest on a public affairs tevelevision program. The show is called "Joy in Our Town" which airs on the local TBN station,WHRE (Cox 21). The show is hosted by fellow Regent alum Demetria Stallings ('05) and focuses on subjects of interest to the people of Hampton Roads.

The topic of my show was the economy. It was broke down into two 15-minute segments, the first covered personal Bankruptcy (Ch. 7 and Ch. 13) and the second was on spending beyond your means.

All the people at WHRE/TBN were great. Although I was nervous, everyone there made me very comfortable. It was just like having a conversation (which I'm pretty good at ;-). The staff members were all very professional and spirit-filled.

We'll see what the Lord is going to do with this, but in the mean time, I've already been asked back to do a second program!

A Time to Mourn

"The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord....Though he slay me, yet will I serve Him."

These passages from the first chapter of Job are heavy on my heart this week. You see my brother Jaramie's beloved wife Cathy went to be with Jesus last week. She died from H1N1. It is still so surreal.

My heart aches. Not for Cathy because she is with her Savior, worshipping Him forever. It is for the living that I grieve. For my brother Jaramie, a Pastor/Missionary to Mormons just outside Salt Lake City, UT. He has lost his help-mate, best friend and love of his life. For Emily, their nine-year-old daughter whom they adopted at birth who has lost her mommy. For Jerry who has lost his mom, and Kelli his wife too who has lost her mother-in-law. For Chuck, Cathy's Dad. Even though his Alzheimer's disease is taking its toll, he is still aware that his daughter is gone. For Katherine, Emily's biological sister whom Jaramie and Cathy served as foster parents time and again throughout here twelve years of life. She was just placed with them again four months ago. I mourn for all the people of North Valley Bible Church (http://northvalleybiblechurch.org) in Harrisville, Utah who have lost their beloved Pastor's wife.

And for so many others, family, friends, and perfect strangers who were touched by Cathy's calm, easy-going spirit. Her loving attitude. Her diligence and tremendous hard work. Cathy was truly a servant. She was one of those people who just took care of everyone and everything. I never heard her complain and never saw her get grumpy about working or serving. Cathy will truly be missed by all who knew her.

She was an amazing woman and I will miss her tremendously. You can read more about their story at http://northvalleybiblechurch.org/pastor.html.

Please join me in prayer for this wonderful family. Hug your loved ones a little tighter, make that apology before it's too late, tell someone what they mean to you. Thank that person in your life who does so much, yet is recognized so little. It is God who numbers our days and tomorrow is promised to no one.

If you were to die today, do you know where you would spend eternity?

God's Provision

The other day, as bills were coming due and the cash flow from the new practice was...well...not exactly "flowing," I cried out to the Lord to provide.

It's not like I don't ask God for his blessing and provision on a regular basis, but this was different. It was my waking thought and in that time between wake and sleep, you know, the time when one dozes off in between hitting the "snooze" button. I just kept crying out for the Lord to move in my business that day and that week. And boy did He!

I was the duty attorney that day at one of the local courts. That means that any case in which the Public Defender's office has a conflict, the duty attorney picks up the case. It also means getting appointed as a Guardian ad litem on any case involving children. I had to cover two courtrooms and I actually broke out in a sweat from the constant running between courtrooms. It seemed like the moment I was appearing in front of the judge in Courtroom 5 I would hear over the intercom "Attorney Bailey, Courtroom 1." And vice-versa. That single day I got appointed to 14 cases! Yes, 14 cases in one day.

I was humbled and awed by God's provision. According to Genesis 22:13-14, He is JEHOVAH-JIREH meaning "The Lord will provide." I was so thankful that I serve a God who sees, EL-ROI as it says in Genesis 16:13, meaning "The strong one who sees." He sees me! The God of the universe, the Most High God, sees me, knows my needs, and supernaturally provides for my every need.

But it didn't end there. On Friday I was appearing in another case at a different court. I checked in with the clerk, sat down, and started working on another file while waiting for my case to be called. The clerk asked me if I was the GAL on duty. I told her that I was not and reminded her the name of my case. By this time it was about 30 minutes after the duty attorney should have checked in, so it appeared that he or she was a no-show. So I told the clerk I'd be happy to help out if she needed me.

My case was called, I made my argument and fought hard for my client. Victory! Things went really well for my client. I was outside the courtroom talking to both sides when the bailiff came out and told me the judge needed me. I said goodbye to my client and went inside the courtroom where the judge appointed me to represent the children in a contested custody case. As emotionally difficult as those cases are, they are my favorite. As a child of divorce myself, I can really empathize with the children and I get great satisfaction from that part of my law practice.

I stepped outside the courtroom to speak to those parents and the clerk paged me back into the courtroom. Another court appointment. And so it went, one after another. Six more new cases on a day I wasn't even on duty! The bailiff told the judge he should get me a pair of roller skates.

Yep, God is faithful and provides for His kids over and above what we could hope or imagine. Don't forget that when things get tough.

Twenty new cases in one week. Thank you Lord.

Suwon

WOW, what a whirlwind weekend. I'm exhausted and it's only Monday night.

Thursday afternoon I traveled by bus to the South Korean city of Suwon. It is about one hour south of Seoul, population 1 million. Sewon is the last remaining fully walled city in Korea. It was amazing to see the walled city. The gates were spectacular. I could easily stay there for days (and as hot as it was, it probably would have taken me days to walk around the wall). I opted for the dragon tram.

Here's a picture of the main gate:
Our first night we ate at the Royal Palace Kitchen which served royal court cuisine made from the recipes of the palace of King Jeongjo from the Joseon Dynasty. In 1796 he tried to make Suwon capital of Korea, but to no avail. Regardless of whether it became the capital or not, it's my favorite city in Korea.

We also visited a wonderful museum of Suwon history. It was a great time seeing the replicas of so many of the tools, villages, foods, costumes, etc from the time of King Juongjo. It was the first time in Korean history when workers were paid for their labor on a state-run project. Previously they were simply conscripted into service, but the King thought they would do a better and faster job if they were paid for their labor. That method worked well than and proves to be true today! The walls of the city are a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.



Unbeknownst to any of us, Suwon is also one of the places where our favorite drama was filmed. It is called "Dae Jang Geum" which first aired in 2003. It is a 36-episode historical drama series loosely based on Korea during the reigns of Kings Seongjon, Yeonsan-gun and Juongo. It is translated "Jewel of the Palace" and is a lovely historical drama. It comes with English subtitles, but you can really pick up a lot of Korean by leaving the audio on. Now that I've watched the first two sets, I need to get my hands on the last one!



Well, the fire alarm is going off in the Law School, so I guess I better cut this one short!

How Time Flies

Time sure flies here with so much to do and so many amazing opportunities to minister to my amazing students. Yes, I did use amazing twice in the same sentence. I assure you, it was intentional. I can't believe I'm coming down to the end of my fourth week teaching.

There's so much to do and so many students who want to meet with me. I'm humbled and honored at the same time. Lately it's not just 1Ls either. I regularly meet with 2Ls and 3Ls too.

When I arrived I started a Bible Study twice a week and that too has been an awesome experience. The students are so hungry to hear the word of God, learn more about Him and HIS plan for their lives. Many of the students in the Bible Study are actually new believers so their basic Bible knowledge is very limited, but oh how wonderful to witness the growth!

Today is the last day of the fourth week and I find myself conflicted. It was a long week. I worked until 2:30 am Wednesday, and once word got out that I was in my office then the steady stream of students began. It was wonderful and such a blessing to serve them, but I am physically tired. Because of my fatigue, I'm glad this week is coming to an end, but that means only one week left. That makes me very sad. I have simply fallen in love with the people of Korea and especially Handong International Law School.

Well, off to class, Bible Study and then to SEOUL!

Legal Analysis

I'm now in my second week of teaching. The students are eager to learn, and they sincerely desire to improve both their English language skills and their legal analysis skills.

I am team-teaching with an amazing woman, Lynn DeVries, who is an expert teacher, and an ESL curriculum specialist. She covers the English, I cover the law. It's a tag-team approach that is quite effective. One would think we've been teaching together for years. It's such a natural fit. It's difficult to convince the students that this truly is a "workshop" rather than a traditional lecture-style classes they are used to, especially in undergrad. But today they really seemed to make tremendous progress. It's so encouraging to seem them grow and learn.

The weather here has cooled down considerably with the monsoon rains helping a lot. The campus is beautiful and the community of faculty is tremendous. In many ways it is like Regent, and in other ways it is quite unique.

The 1Ls had a retreat on Thursday and Friday. Some of the students asked me to come along, so I did. Surprise! I was asked to be their guest speaker. It was a wonderful time with these lovely students. And my favorite food is definitely Korean BBQ! The students made a wonderful meal.

The part I like most about HILS is being able to minister to the students. When they come to my office for help on their assignments I am able to pray for them, encourage them, and remind them that God called them here to HILS and He will sustain them too. As my husband used to remind me during law school, God does not just drop you off at the curb and leave, only to return three years later when law school is over. He is with you all the way.

I am truly thankful for this wonderful opportunity. It's an exciting time for us all. (Though I really miss Kurt and Benjamin!)

Sunday Lunch with the Ladies

After church Sunday a group of professors from Handong Global University and Handong International Law School went out to lunch. We ate the most awesome Korean BBQ!

Here are some photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/KBaileyLaw/KoreanBBQ?feat=directlink