DMZ Reflection

It was just like God to cancel our visit to the DMZ location that we were originally going. I had had a very specific mental picture of what it would be like:
Soldiers standing toe to toe on the 38th parallel.
Tall, cold military buildings.
An atmosphere of silence, yet throbbing with strained urgency.
Soldiers- North Korean, South Korean, and American, interspersed at every two inches.

That was my mental picture of where we were going. Perfect and neatly tucked away in my imagination.
*about that imagination of mine: I have a pretty well-exercised imagination thanks to many years of watching Barney and Mr. Rogers. So, almost 100% of the time, when I'm going into a new environment or situation, I have the COMPLETE scene painted in my mind, down to the very last detail. And unfortunately (actually fortunately :) ) for me, God seems to enjoy a little game called "Let's show Cici that her imagination is not a crystal ball!"

We play that game quite often... and today was no exception.

Instead of going to the tourist-magnet, most famous DMZ location, our bus driver took us, instead, to a more remote location. In fact, this place we were going wasn't near the DMZ, it was IN the DMZ. If I can remember right, it is the closest observation building to the SK/NK border. (By now my mom's cringing, but don't worry, mom! I didn't do anything crazy reckless :) )

We stopped at a security station where a soldier got on to count the number of people who were on the bus, so that no one could sneak off to stay at the post. I think it was then that it hit me... this was most definitely NOT going to be what I imagined it to be.

*gulp*

10 or 15 minutes passed as we drove closer and closer into the countryside and nearer and nearer to the North Korean border. Finally, we reached our destination and walked up a small hill. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures (although there were some valiant attempts by "certain people", including one successful one of Pastor Rick.. but that's old news :) ). I was a bit disappointed, not only because I couldn't capture the landscape's historical significance, but also because of the sheer beauty of the land. I'll do my best to paint a mental picture for you. :)

Imagine you're overlooking a valley- a muddy blue river snakes its way through that trough and on one side of that river (the South Korean side), there is lots of foliage and some guard posts. On the other side, you see off in the distance some dusty yellow plots of farm land in the midst of the green shrubs and trees. Rising from the valley, the two sides of the terrain explode into hundreds of hills and small mountains, covered by a carpet of fuzzy green trees. Add a dusty blanket of fog that gently settled on tops of the mountains to create a mystical, or as someone put it, a "Lord of the Rings" appearance.

The crunching of soldiers' feet snapped my happy (once again...) mental picture of a fantasy land versus what I was I was actually observing. That green mountainous terrain that seemed so serene- could that actually be the fringe of a country that heartlessly holds her people in her icy grip? Could this be where, just several hundred miles away, my own brothers and sisters were steps away from death in gulag camps? Could it be that pretty much anywhere in the world, except here, I could walk straight for 100 yards?

This whole experience just blew my mind- which is a bit cliche, but it's the only way I can think to describe it. God just totally shattered my neat and tidy imagination of what the DMZ would be like, and instead presented me with one of the most exquisite views I have ever seen in my life and the realization that the plight in North Korea is more real than ever. It's still hard to wrap my mind around the things that are going on in NK, even when the country is staring you right in the face.

I'm sorry for how disorganized this post is... there is so much more to talk about that happened on that day. The prayer time we had, the NK soldiers we got to see through the telescope, farming in their fields. Then there was our home stay-- which I'm afraid to even attempt to start writing about... there was... just so. much. Plus it's 11pm, and I have to get up at 3:45 to go to a prayer meeting. So, I'm thinking it's time to put down the pen. :)

Lots of love to everyone back at home. Thank you so much for all your prayers- I have felt them every second of this trip.

Excited for what tomorrow brings,
cici