KEEP CALM AND GAMBATTE KUDASAI!Japanese for “do your best” After a long trip with several connecting flights, missing luggage, and lay-overs in two different countries with their respective languages, the team finally made it to Japan to serve for a total of four weeks. Pastor Masato Ito and his wife, Nobuko-Sensei greeted the team and welcomed us to what would … Read More
2019 Lunar Year Celebrations
Seollal (Lunar New Year; first day of the lunar calendar) is one of the most celebrated national holidays in Korea. While many observe Sinjeong (Solar New Year; January 1 of the Gregorian/Western calendar), Koreans also celebrate Seollal, which usually lasts for three days (the day of, the day before, and the day after)… More than just a holiday to mark … Read More
2019 Visit to Busan
Adventure is a path. Real adventure – self-determined, self-motivated, often risky – forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless … Read More
North Korean Refugee Children
Yesterday I was clever, so I changed the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.Rumi Story by Sydney Kahle We have had several different avenues of outreach while in South Korea, a meaningful one has been with North Korean refugee’ children. We have worked diligently to build relationships with them and to help them gain more independence … Read More
Wonders of The World: The Philippines
How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.George Washington Carver Story by Minje Yoon I am content to give thanks to God on land or sea, it … Read More
Painting Murals in South Korea
I am not the next Vincent Van Gogh, but I am capable of producing something for God’s glory, and so I paint. I am not a preacher, but I know God’s word, and so I share my heart. I am not a singer, but I have a voice, and so I worship. It really is just that simple; bring what … Read More
Teaching English in South Korea
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.Nelson Mandela Every year that Abante International teams go out on mission, the colleagues serve in several areas, according to the needs expressed by the locals and those hosting the teams. Undoubtedly, in South Korea, the focus has been to teach English to young learners as well … Read More
Papakaio School
When you do nothing, you feel overwhelmed and powerless. But when you get involved, you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing you are working to make things better.Pauline R. Kezer For the past three and a half months, the team has been living in the Papakaio community in New Zealand. However, Papakaio has become more … Read More
Roads of Hope: Pain, Passion, & Purpose
There we were, sitting down to dinner as the sun set in our view over the Gulf of Mexico in Orange Beach, Alabama. It was one of those moments when you sit and marvel at the fact that God has placed you there. It felt like something out of a movie. We had gathered as a team over dinner to … Read More
Monastery of the Holy Spirit
“My imagination is a monastery and I am its monk.” John Keats The first time Abante International visited the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Georgia was five years ago. The experience was interesting and unforgettable for several reasons; one being that we were able witness and compare the things we were learning there with the things we were … Read More