I am extremely fortunate to have been awarded grant money from the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts for my documentary film on my pilgrimage to the holy sites of the Korean Catholic Martyrs. Korea Dreambus is now just about done with a few minor edits and some sound work to go. I worked with two different editors, which was a challenge but which ultimately enriched the project. My public screening will be held on Jan. 17, 2026 at St. Bernard's School of Theology and Ministry.
We screened SOULED, my short film, in April of this year in Elmira. It was a great turnout, and I was so excited to finally share it. The film was a semi-finalist at the New York International Women Festival, and it is now available on YouTube for anyone to see.
Over the summer, I wrote for the World Youth Day Seoul 2027 newsletter, which was an opportunity that I'd sought out and was elated to be invited into. The folks at WYD Seoul 2027 are working hard, and I was blessed to join them. I wrote about St. Andrew Kim Daegon, Korea's first native priest, and St. Carlo Acutis in time for his canonization. From my wordy ruminations, I whittled things down to a usable size, so it was a good exercise in succinctness. My pieces were translated into Hangul (Korean written language).
This fall I also returned to teaching ESL at Monroe Community College. I had a great time with my students, although I struggled with the tech at MCC - namely the use of Brightspace, which I nicknamed "Blightspace." Although I was sad to wrap things up with my students, I do not miss Blightspace. At. All.
Another major opportunity this year is that I was offered a job teaching ESL/EFL at an academy in Ulsan, S. Korea, where I lived many years ago. I knew after my pilgrimage that I was being called to go back to Korea, and after spending months collecting my application and visa materials, I started applying for jobs. I had interviews, but this academy, called P.O.I, made the best offer, and from extremely competent and compassionate owners. A husband and wife team, they run the academy with two locations in Ulsan, and both are linguistically and culturally fluent in English and western culture, which does make it easier to communicate and understand expectations. I am delighted that I'll be going in early February of 2026.
I was able to get back to Massachusetts for my annual Christmas visit, although I went after Christmas this year so that I could sing at Midnight Mass in my own parish. I will miss my people terribly while I'm away, but again, I know this is a calling. I have this understanding that I'm going on mission, as it were.
I have one more great opportunity that was offered this year but won't come into being until next year: I was invited by a major Catholic publisher to write a proposal for a book on Asian saints. My goal is to write it while I'm in Korea.
Those are the major events of the year. It's been a bit of a whirlwind, as I've continued to write for the Catholic Courier. I'm proud of the work I've done there, writing features and creating content and multi-media projects. I hope to continue with them as a contributing writer after I've moved to Korea.
My closing thoughts for 2025: dream big, work hard, take chances, learn how to wait, and pray pray pray. Surrender everything to God and know that if the door doesn't open, there is something much better for you.
Happy New Year!
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