Visual Reflections

Ministry Update

2008-09-04T19:40:00.004+09:00

Well, my two years has almost come to an end here in South Korea. I have told many of you that I planned to stay here and with my church to open a coffee shop as a ministry to the foreigners in my community. I spoke with my pastor and the elders of my church this weekend and they have decided to postpone the coffee shop. My pastor will be returning to America in December and he does not feel four months is enough time to begin this ministry and he also doesn't want to a beginning ministry to the new pastor that will be replacing him.

I have to admit that when I first heard this I was very disappointed and began to think I would be coming back to America sooner than expected. My church elders however decided they would like me to stay and help with our ministry. I spoke with the Korean church pastor last night and he is in agreement as well. I am unsure of my exact ministry at this time but I will be staying her in Korea.

I will probably be a missionary intern for one year and if everything works out after that I will be a full time missionary of my church here. I think this classification is for visa purposes because I do not have a sending church in America. Unfortunately, I will have to still be a part-time English teacher. The nice thing about this is that I will be doing private lessons which my church will allow me to do. My current job does not allow this. Since I will be doing private lessons I can set the time schedule of the lessons allowing me to be free for ministry.

I was really struggling the first day and I wrestled with God into the night about the coffee shop but praise the Lord when I woke up the next day I was at peace. I know God has something special for me and I can't wait to see what it is. Please pray as we seek to work out the details of my new visa. I will need to leave Korea to get a new visa and I hope to visit China and receive my visa in Beijing. I will keep everyone posted as I hear anything new.

Trip to America

2008-07-02T21:30:00.003+09:00

I have posted some pictures on Picasa of my trip home. Here is the link: Trip Home . There are also many pictures posted of the wedding on the website in the post below. I hope you enjoy. I had a great time while I was in America but I am so glad to be home in Korea.

Lydia's Wedding Pictures

2008-07-02T21:03:00.001+09:00

I have created an online photo album of pictures from the week of Lydia's wedding. If you are curious feel free to take a look. Lydia's Photo Album

I know I said I wouldn't but...

2008-06-18T13:01:00.004+09:00

Okay before I left Korea for America I told two very special people I would not do this but it was just too much of a temptation. I could actually communicate exactly what I wanted and they did it exactly how I wanted it. Let me know what you think!

Not the best pic to show the length but it was in a ponytail.

Rachel's Shoes

2008-06-16T10:07:00.008+09:00

Family Pictures

2008-01-29T07:59:00.001+09:00

One of my very good friends is leaving this Friday to go back to China. On Sunday night we decided to take group pictures. There are 6 of us who are always together. We went on vacation together in September and are all very close. I thought I would post our pictures. Most of you know how much I hate pictures but I really love the way these turned out. I hope you enjoy them.

Front Row Left to Right: Aaron, Eric, and Joshua
Back Row Left to Right: Sarah, Me, and Sherry

Left to Right: Sherry, Me, Sarah

Halloween 2007

2007-11-01T01:04:00.001+09:00

Last Year I had only been in South Korea for three days when it was Halloween so I didn't do anything. This year I dressed up and had a party for my kids class. I am not sure what your feelings on Halloween as a Christian. I used it as an opportunity to explain some American culture. Here are a few picture from today!

A Dilemma...

2007-11-01T00:47:00.000+09:00

I got so behind on my blog that I will never catch up. I am going to go back and do a few highlights from the last 6 months but after that I will just continue from today. So far I am on top of everything because today is Halloween and I am posting my Halloween pictures in a few minutes! Stay tuned for the past highlights like my Jeju Island trip and for future adventures as I see God unfold Himself to me this coming year!

New Hair Style

2007-10-31T20:18:00.001+09:00

I went to the beauty salon to get blonde and red highlights like i have had for the past year. I brought Sunny to translate for me. I did not however get highlights! I ended up with pink hair. This picture does not do it justice because of the light. But here you go.

I went back and with Sunny's help I was able to get a light red which is better. Everyone really likes my hair now but I don't because it is not what I wanted. I wanted blonde and red highlights! Oh well, it will grow out!

I'm Recovered...Almost

2007-10-31T20:10:00.000+09:00

I am free from crutches and all walking devices. I left the hospital on Wednesday night. I am on the road to recovery. I was even able to go hiking on Saturday with the doctor's permission! Thank you so much for your prayers. I am excited to be able to run again soon. I am not sure when that will be exactly but I can't wait.

Here are a few pictures from my welcome home party!

Rachel and Tony

Crystal, Alissa, and Eric

Megan, Crystal, and Alissa

Church Hospital Visit

2007-10-24T00:05:00.000+09:00

Here are my pastor's pictures of the record breaking hospital visit. There is also a video clip. I hope you enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.co.kr/bvorhees1/GeorgiaSHospitalVisitOct2107

Almost Free

2007-10-23T16:38:00.000+09:00

I have made big leaps at the hospital today. I had the split taken out from the back of my leg. I am so happy about this. I was getting a bruise around my ankle from it! I also had my IV taken out today. There isn't much keeping me here except for a very insistent doctor. I am able to walk on my leg without the aid of crutches so I don't understand why I can't go home. But he is the doctor so I am going to respect his wishes. I think if I was at home I would check myself out of the hospital, but I'm not at home! Well, I'm off to the Mart and a Kimbop restaurant for dinner. The joys of being in a hospital in Korea!!!

This is from yesterday pre-split removal and IV loss!

Knee Surgery A Success

2007-10-22T19:47:00.000+09:00

I had my surgery bright and early Saturday morning. It was quite an experience. The first interesting thing was the epidural I had! I was numb from the middle of my ribs to my toes. In the middle of the surgery I was having a little bit of trouble breathing because my lungs were a little numb. The body is amazing because as soon as he finished and took out the scope my breathing returned to normal. Even though I couldn't feel anything my body knew there shouldn't be anything inside it! I think it also helped that I was listening to some very good Christian music.

I was actually able to watch the whole surgery minus the cutting and stitching up at the end. The scope had a camera on the end so I watched it all through a TV! I was able to see inside my knee and all the intricate details. God sure did an amazing work when He created us!! I am on my way to a full recovery. I will have to bee in the hospital for 5 days total. I know if I were in the US I would be home already but things are very different here. Also the cost is much cheaper here is even after staying for 5 days it will be maybe 1/4 of the cost.

Two of my 17 visitors! Megan and Alissa are some of my crazy co-workers.

I am able to have some fun though. Yesterday I had 17 visitors. I think that might be a record somewhere! I have a few pictures of my first set of visitors. Some of my friends who I teach with came to visit. I don't have pictures of all of my brothers and sisters from my church. My pastor took many pictures but I don't have the link yet. I will update when I get the link. It was so much fun. I had a walker yesterday so they were doing acrobatics with it. Then we had two dance minors so we had some dancing time. My Korean teacher said it was the strangest hospital visit she has ever been on, because we were singing, dancing and taking pictures.

Something else very different about Korean hospitals is that if patients are able they can leave the hospital. So I went for a walk today over to 7-Eleven because I really wanted some Coke and chocolate! It was so strange to be outside with my IV and everything, but "when in Korea, do as the Koreans do!"

Thank you all for your prayers. I will keep you updated on my recovery!

Knee Surgery on Saturday

2007-10-18T22:59:00.000+09:00

I hurt my knee running back in the end of January. I went to the first doctor and he said I had arthritis, I didn't believe him. I went to a second doctor and he said I had bursitis, which is a liquid sack on my nerves or something. I was ordered to have "physical therapy" and rest. In Korea that means ice! I rested for about 5 months. I was tired of the pain and not being able to exercise so I went to an orthopedic doctor from my church. I have a Meniscus tear and I am having surgery on Saturday morning. I start my week vacation this Saturday so this is why we moved quickly to the surgery option, plus all that I had done before helped with the decision to repair the damage by surgery.

I am little nervous not of the surgery because I have one of the best surgeons in South Korea. I am nervous because the hospitals are set-up very differently. There are 6 to 8 people per room and the bathroom/shower is down the hall. The nurses only come to the room if they are giving you medicine or changing a dressing. Other than that everything is left up to the family to do for the patient. I not only don't have family here but I will be in a totally different city than the one i live in and none of my friends have cars. My pastor and his wife are taking me to the hospital and will be around for half the day on Saturday. Then my friend Sarah will be spending the night with me.

Please pray for a quick recovery! I will be on crutches for a little while afterward and I live about a 15 minute walk from my work when I am able to walk regularly. I am not sure if my motorcycle will be an option to get to work or not!! I will have to wait and see. Thanks so much for your prayers.

Megan's Birthday Party

2007-10-18T22:58:00.000+09:00

Megan turned 26 on June 19th. We celebrated by going to Pizza Hut, an arcade, and a Nora Bong (singing room). It was a blast! I am actually going to be doing the same thing tomorrow night to celebrate my vacation starting.

I am playing a boxing video game where you actually wear boxing gloves. It is harder than it looks! The machine senses where you are as you bob and wave the blows from your opponent.

Addie and Alissa are in a mini Nora Bong.

I love racing real cars or video games it doesn't matter!

Megan and Alissa rafting down the river.

Last Day of Classes in June

2007-10-09T11:15:00.000+09:00

I always have a potluck party on the last day of each term. It makes for a fun day. With my 8am class I decided to invite them over for an American breakfast. I made French Toast for everyone. To a Korean though bread is not breakfast. Everyone did enjoy themselves and like the French Toast.

This term was special though because Kelly was leaving and it was her last day of teaching in Korea. Each class brought a cake and many "delicious" snacks. Koreans love to use the word delicious to describe food. Here are a few pictures of the many parties we had that day.

Only in Korea would students bring alcohol to class. In my 4pm class we had student bring traditional Korean wine, Macolee (a not so good beverage), and beer. I had to take pictures because I didn't think anyone would believe me from back home, except maybe Erica since she has taught here before!

Wine

Beer

Macolee

I had a great day as always and it was a good send off for Kelly!

Going Away Party

2007-10-08T15:21:00.001+09:00

One of my Korean friends left for Canada in June. Here are a few pictures from the traditional tea house that we went to.

Alan, me, and Eiranne before the tea house

This is Brian and his girlfriend. He went to Canada to study English.

My friend Claire and I

Deokjin Park

2007-10-08T14:59:00.000+09:00

There is a park right near my house. I love going there to walk. It is very beautiful during the day or at night. Here are a few pictures I have taken on some of my walks.

This is a traditional Korean swing. It is so tall because in the past all Koran villages had walls around them. The girls would push each other to see how high they could go. This was the only time the girls would be able to see over the wall of the village.

200th Post and Big Annoucement

2007-08-15T18:58:00.000+09:00

This is my 200th post so I thought I would use this special occasion to make a big announcement. I will be staying in South Korea for one more year. I know I will be coming home to visit for two weeks sometime early in 2008. I haven't decided when yet. I need to work things out with my sister still. I will keep you posted and hopefully I will be able to see you when I am stateside!

Last Tradition Night with Kelly

2007-08-15T00:38:00.001+09:00

Tradition night began when I first arrived in Korea. Kelly helped me with many things when I first arrived and so to thank her I invited her over for dinner. She made the comment that she could get use to my cooking. So we made it a tradition. Every Tuesday night she would come over and I would cook dinner. After dinner we would watch half a movie. It was always a great time and I really counted on those nights when I first arrived here.

One June 12th I celebrated my last tradition night with Kelly. Megan made Thai food and we watched a movie using the projector. It was a sad night but the tradition still lives on with Megan and I.

My Kids Class

2007-08-15T00:29:00.000+09:00

On the last day of Class in June I had a party for my kids class. They are crazy for watermelon. I had two students eat 8 pieces each!

We always have a very good time in class.

Chloe's Haircut

2007-08-15T00:23:00.000+09:00

My friend Chloe wanted to get her hair cut. Here are her before and after pictures.

I really like her new do!

Joseph's Wedding

2007-08-15T00:13:00.000+09:00

One of my students got married and invited me to his wedding. He actually went to America to get his doctorate in July.

His wife looked gorgeous!

First Motorcycle Repairs

2007-08-15T00:03:00.001+09:00

I made repairs to my motorcycle for the first time. All the repairs went really well and it is working in tip top shape now.

I replaced the tachometer

Out with the Girls

2007-08-14T23:46:00.000+09:00

One Friday night I went out with Kelly, Megan, Sherry and Sarah. Things got a little crazy that night!

Kelly with an umbrella in her hair!

She really doesn't kiss me, it was only for the picture!!

Sherry and Sarah

Megan can get a little crazy sometimes.

Kelly was dared to put an anchovies in her nose. She can't resist a dare.

We ran out of coke and Megan was thirsty so she decided to drink the peach juice.

Daea Botanical Gardens

2007-08-14T19:49:00.000+09:00

There are many one day holidays in Korea. Each holiday I try to use it to the fullest extent. On this holiday I went to Daea Botanical Gardens with people from church. We had a great time like always. On our way there we stopped at Daea Dam.

It was a spectacular view.

I was very lucky. I was walking through the field and I felt something tug on my shoe. I looked down and there was this huge spike sticking out of the ground. I was walking in a field so I was walking very carefully that is why I didn't have a more serious injury.

Sunny and Pastor Bill

Sunny, Pastor Bill, Aaron, Eirene, Aleia, Richard and Alan

Lee, Brian, and some other people

Alan, Eirene, and I took a hike up the mountain. Here are some of the pictures I took on the hike.

This was in one of the museums. It is all one piece.

Kelly's Birthday Weekend

2007-08-14T14:41:00.000+09:00

Kelly's birthday was in May. One time when we were talking she told me that birthdays we re just another day in her family. It was nothing special to her. I decided to throw her a big party. We also spent the entire next day celebrating. Here are a few pictures from her party.

Eun-young and Kelly

Michael and Kelly

I made Kelly a really special birthday cake. She loves Reese's Cups and they don't have them in Korea. I had either my mom or my sister send me a bag. I made her a Reese's Cup cake with chocolate frosting. On the frosting I broke Reese's Cups into pieces. She loved it!

The next day we went to a Volleyball game. The Canadian National Team was playing the Korean National team. We decided we would be very Korean and have triple T's. IN Korea couple walk around in matching clothes. It is a little crazy. They even have couple underwear! We got matching shirts and then put Canadian flags on them so we would match each other. It was so cool we even made it onto TV here in Korea. One of our friends who was watching the game on TV called and told us we were famous! Check out the outfits!

The Korean team had some very interesting warm-up exercises.

You can't really see our shirts here but we are matching. It was a great time. The weekend was a success. She said it was a wonderful birthday and she would remember it forever.

Magic Show

2007-08-14T14:37:00.000+09:00

I went tot the silliest magic show with my friends Claire and Brian. We ditched the magic show and went to a really nice restaurant!

Costco Trip

2007-08-14T14:03:00.000+09:00

I went on a Costco trip with Pastor Bill's family and Claire, another friend from church. We went the back way through the mountains. We stopped along the way to play in the river for a little while.

These guys are looking for small fish or something else to eat. No one was really sure.

Pastor Bill, Eirene, and Alan

The kids feel asleep on the way home. We really wore them out. They did get a chance to enjoy a polish sausage at Costco before they took their naps!

Wi Island

2007-08-14T13:34:00.000+09:00

I took a trip with a bunch of people from my church to an island. We packed into a 15 passenger van and another car and headed out. Once we reached our destination we had to run to catch the ferry. I really had to use the bathroom and below was my only choice.

The Ferry ride over was uneventful. It was beautiful weather. The sun was shining and the wide was blowing through our hair!

Me, Kavita, and Chloe on the ferry

James, Tonya, Victoria, Eirene, and Pastor Bill

A picture of the island

It started to rain about 1pm. We still had some much fun. We played catch and Frisbee on the beach in a gentle drizzle.

We were waiting in the rain for the one bus on the island to come and pick us up. We had to wait for 30 minutes but it was once again a good time.

Soee's Sunday School Class

2007-08-14T13:18:00.000+09:00

One of my friends asked me to meet with her Sunday school class. The were very discouraged in learning English so she thought if they talked with a native speaker it would encourage them more. I had a very good time with them. Here is a picture of the group.

Friday Night at My House

2007-08-13T20:18:00.001+09:00

I had a bunch of people from church come over to my house for a mac and cheese dinner. At first I wanted it to be only the singles from the church, but it ended up being a mixture of many different age groups. We had a blast though. I think there were 12 to 15 people in my tiny apartment. We got a little crazy playing UNO. if you won the round you got to make a up a new punishment for the next round. I am not a big UNO fan but I am really glad I didn't play with them too.

Clockwise around the circle starting with the white hat guy: Joshua, Aaron, Alan, Eric, Erin, Jessica, and Claudine

Alan performing his punishment.

Erin had to do sit-ups!

They thought they would make it a little tougher on the guys. Alan sat on the guys while they did their push-ups. Look at those muscles.

It was also my pastor and his wives anniversary. I was watching the kids for them so they brought back a cake and celebrated with us too!

This is very popular in Korea to show you love someone!

Aren't they so cute!

Potluck and Bowling Outing

2007-08-13T19:41:00.001+09:00

I had planned this really cool church picnic. We were going to eat western and Korean foods and then play baseball. I searched all over for equipment and found a few gloves and even a bat. The morning of the big picnic it was pouring down rain. So we decided to have a picnic in the church cafeteria and then we went bowling.

This is one of the boys from church. I really want to learn Korean because him and his brother don't know English. They can say my name and a few other things. I love them to death. They are actually the same age as Levi and Uri, which is kind of cool.

Some of the people who came to the potluck.

Megan in her best bowling stance! I think she got a strike after that pose.

I have matching T-shirts with my pastor and his family. I forgot to take a picture of all of us together.

More bowling pictures.

When the kids got bored with bowling I played games with them. It was a little hard because half of them did not speak English. But we had fun anyway, everyone else int he bowling alley thought we were crazy though.

Crazy English T-shirt

2007-08-13T19:27:00.000+09:00

I bought this t-shirt when I was in Busan. I just had to have it because of what it said!

I think it should say "People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones"

Strawberry Shortcake and Tradition Night

2007-08-13T19:26:00.000+09:00

Every Tuesday since I came to Korea Kelly has been coming over for dinner. When Megan came she joined our tradition night. Kelly and Megan love strawberry shortcake. When I say they love strawberry shortcake I mean they really love it. Check out their bowls!

Kelly isn't here anymore but Megan and I still have tradition night. We have a great time every Tuesday! But we miss Kelly a lot. She is right now on her way to Cape Verde, Africa to live!

AICF Worship Team Outing

2007-08-13T14:16:00.001+09:00

I went out with my worship team one day after church. Pastor Bill treated us all to a great dinner of BBQ and fried chicken. It was a great time of fun and fellowship.

Sung-ho, Alan, and Eiranne

Brian, Me, Chloe, and Claudine

Claire and Caleb

Caleb does not always look that strange. I caught him in the middle of making a funny face! He is our worship team leader and is an amazing guy. I really appreciate his ministry to us.

Namwon with Cloudy and Chloe

2007-08-13T14:04:00.000+09:00

I went to a little town caleld Namwon. I went there to celebrate Chloe passing her GED exam. Little did I know there would be a very famous Korean festival happenign at the same time. This Korean legend is a lot like Romeo and Juliet. Here are a few pictures from the trip.

Lunch with my Students

2007-07-31T23:10:00.000+09:00

Some of the older ladies in my class wanted to go out to lunch with me. Their English level in class wasn't very high and I am still very shy so I invited another student with me. It turns out they were just shy in class. They talked up a storm! We had something called Samgepsa. It is pork that you grill to your liking right at the table! I love eating this meal. I actually at it for dinner tonight with some other friends.

There are always tons of side dishes to go along with every meal. There are no exceptions this rule. Even if you eat at a cheap restaurant where the entire meal costs $2.50 you still get a ton of side dishes. It is great!

We also had another dish called muel (water) nang muen (noodles). It is noodles in a cool water with crushed ice.

This was my first time to try this dish. I actually really like it on a hot day. I probably eat it once a week now!

i've got a blackbelt in CRAZY

2007-07-31T17:47:00.001+09:00

I got this shirt from my sister awhile back. I thought I would take a few crazy pictures to show off my blackbelt!!

Vacation in Busan Back in April

2007-07-08T21:20:00.000+09:00

I left the blogging world for a few months because I have been very busy. A few vacations ago I went to Busan with Kelly and Megan. I had an amazing time. The East Sea was beautiful. Here are a few highlights of the trip.

It started with Kelly playing tricks on me! She put a sausage that had been rolling around on the floor of the bus in my shoe.

This is a sign advertising plastic surgery. Very interesting don't you think?

Texas Street and Shopping! Texas Street was

suppose to be the place for foreigners according

to Lonely Planet, a semi-reliable guide book.

The only thing foreign about it was a closed down

restaurant named Texas Restaurant!

Megan, Meredith, and Kelly

Always the jokers!

We went to the sea shore as part of our wonderful tour of Busan. It was the best part of the tour. let me just take a moment to mention that the Busan tour is not worth paying $10 for. If you every come to South Korea and visit Busan do not go on the tour. Actually Busan is not much to visit so skip this city!!

I did a little rock climbing while I was at the sea. I was going to cross this but the ledge was a little small and I wasn't sure how sturdy the rocks were.

Craziness in the taxi ride. You can't see it in

picture but the taxi had neon blue lights.

It was great!

This is Hyundai Beach. This was the best part of the trip. I went there very early the morning we left. The entire beach was deserted and I just walked listening to the waves crash along the shore.

I had a great time in Busan with Kelly and Megan. I do want to go back there but only to swim at the beach. The water on the East Sea is beautiful. Everything on the west side of South Korea is all mud. The Koreans blame it on the Chinese but I am not so convinced!

Kayn tagged me and I am not too happy about it!

2007-06-20T01:52:00.000+09:00

Rules"After posting these rules, each player then lists random facts/habits about herself/himself, then chooses several people to "tag". The player will then list the names of those he/she tags and leaves a comment on their blog.

I am currently living in South Kore and I will probably stay for two years!

My dad is an amazing chef.

My mom loves animals. She has had cats, dogs, "Red" the rooster, and now ducks from up the river!

I have my motorcycle licence. I also have a motorcycle here in South Korea and I haven't been hit or hit anyone yet! This is an accomplishment in this crazy country!

I don't have a boyfriend. In Korean that is 나는 남자 친구가 있지 않는다 (this is Babel fish's very formal translation) or pronounced "Namja Chingou Upsoyo"

I am tagging Lydia.

My New Do

2007-05-24T00:40:00.001+09:00

When I was in Seoul I think saw my next hair style. It is very frustrating to get a hair cut here. I show them a picture everytime but it is always too short. I can't explain to the hairstylist to make my bangs longer and the sides a little longer than the picture. I have decided to grow my hair out a little. I saw this foreigner in the subway and I asked if I could take her picture for my future new style. What do you guys think? Should I try a little longer? Let me know what you think.

The Shopping Trip of the Century

2007-05-24T00:29:00.001+09:00

I met Claudine and Erin at the bus terminal at 7:30 Saturday morning. We got on a bus and headed the three hours to Seoul to go shopping. Now I have been to Seoul before to go shopping so I thought I could handle this simple trip. Boy was I wrong. We started shopping at 10:30am and didn't finish until 15 minutes before we boarded the bus at 9:30pm. Erin and I were so tired but Claudine said she could have shopped for three more hours.

Out first stop was Namdamuen Market above. This is one of the largest outdoor markets in Seoul. There was even a street that was filled with pet stores. There is this idea in Korea that it is better for business to have all of the same stores on the same street. They say it is better for business. I am not sure of that but I did enjoy seeing all of the animals.

I almost took this little puppy home, but I am not really allowed to have pets that don't fit in cages!

While we were shopping I also say a monk on the street praying. This is the first time I have seen this. It is very common to see men or women with their heads shaved wearing grey outfits. I had never seen one on the street praying before.

I forgot to take a picture at the beginning of the day but this is what Erin and Claudine looked like on the subway back to the train station. It was a great trip and I will remember it forever.

Home Ever

2007-05-24T00:24:00.000+09:00

Claudine has a tradition of going to Home Ever every Friday night. Claudine works for New Zealbnd International School in the country. She has to eat Korean food all week long so by Friday she is craving something that resembles western food. Home Ever is like a Super Wal-Mart. On the third floor there is a Loteria, something like a Burger King, and a Baskin Robins. One Friday I took Sunny, Alan, and Eirenne to meet them. Eirenne got all dressed up for the occasion.

Buan with Kelly

2007-05-23T23:59:00.000+09:00

I went to Buan on my first motorcycle trip with Kelly. We had so much fun and I great time was had by all. When we went to the beach the first day it was low tide so the shore was very dirty and muddy. I was so disappointed that I had driven almost two hours to see such an ugly sight. The first place we stopped to walk on the beach I did find a live sand dollar that was really cool. Before we headed back we took a short walk and I stumbled on this old love motel.

I went exploring while Kelly stayed on the ground. If you don't know what a love motel is it is exactly what it sounds like. It is a place where men and women go during the day to have affairs. In Korea cars only have a combo of 4 letter or numbers on their license plate so it is very easy to memorize. So they hang these shades to make it harder for people driving by to see the license plates of the people who are using the love motel. At night the love motels are usually empty and very cheap to stay in. I had my first stay in a love motel on this trip. Here is the circle bed I stayed in.

One of my students also lives in this very small town we visited. He took us out for dinner. This place had more side dishes than any place I have every been to. It was awesome so I thought I would take a picture. After dinner we decided to take a few pictures of this huge town. We decided to walk home with our helmets on. It was great fun.

The next morning I wondered to the market for some fruit. I couldn't resist taking a picture of these awesome mannequins They spared no expense here! A butcher shop with the meat hanging in the open is very common here especially in the market. Don't worry I have never bought any meat from a market butcher. If you think this is weird you should see the fish!

When we went back to the ocean after a morning of lounging around in our room the water was beautiful. The pictures do not do it justice. We also saw some very old ships. One of the ships even had a dragon head on the mast.

Trip to the Zoo

2007-05-23T23:43:00.000+09:00

My class took me to the Jeonju Zoo last term. I had a lot of fun. Zoos here are very different than in America. The animals are in a very small cement cage with usually only food. The zoo does not at all try to provide a natural habitat for them. This is the second time I have been to a zoo here and no matter how big or small the zoo is it is still the same. The cages are very dirty and very bare. The admission price is very cheap. This zoo it is less than a dollar. I wish they would charge more and take better care of the animals.

My Class Picture

Me as Marilyn Monroe!

A place to sit and chill

Craziness in a Restaurant and on the Motorcycle

2007-04-22T22:58:00.000+09:00

Kelly, Megan, and I went out on Friday night. Here are a few pictures of us hanging out at a restaurant. Megan and Kelly's favorite past time is to make fun of me so they can sit at a restaurant all night long just to harass me!

Kelly and I

Megan and I

Kimchee and Tofu

Here is a picture of us coming home! Friday night I meet up with Megan and Kelly. I wanted to see if we could all fit and we did!!

Megan, Kelly, and I

2007-04-19T08:57:00.000+09:00

"Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will."
Ephesians 1:4-5

An Excerpt from "Do You Think I am Beautiful? By Angela Thomas pg. 46-47

You and I have been made by God, for God. The part of us that aches to be filled is the soul, and your soul was made for His presence.

By design, the fullness that we long for will never be found without the presence of God in our lives. Not just a nodding presence, mind you, but an intimate, personal relationship. A living, vital exchange of love and mutual pleasure. This is not a casual glance toward spirituality. What I am talking about is a yearning that takes us beyond shallow religiosity and into the depths of pursuing the God of all creation....the Holy One...the Lover of your soul.

God did not mean for the canyon inside your heart to remain empty...that is the place He has planned to fill, to make whole, with His love.

But God also made us relational. We have been made to long for others, giving and receiving love and intimacy. It's just that we have lost perspective. We've misunderstood the design. Wholeness comes from God, not from any other relationship or thing or feeling. Don't get me wrong. Relationships, things, and feeling are great. As a matter of fact, they can be wonderful. It's jut that all by themselves, they will never fill you up, they will never be enough to make you whole.

Remember? You have been made by God, for God, and apart from Him there will always be emptiness in your soul.

____________________________________________________________________________________

I have been struggling with this very thing for a month or more. I have been feeling God is far from me and that He had forsaken me. I finally revealed my struggles to a close friend and she challenged me to once again spend time in the Word and meditation even if I didn't feel like it. I came across this in my study this morning and it spoke to my heart. God desires and longs to fill the empty place in my heart. I must seek after Him and only Him and He will fill my soul up. Praise the Lord!!!

An Amazing Gift

2007-04-18T14:51:00.000+09:00

I received this E-card received from my church in America last week. I am unable to express in words the gratitude I have for their gift of $3500. I served at Emmaus out of love for my God and the people there. I believe the Lord has blessed me with the gift of giving and it brings me joy to serve others.

I used the money to pay off one big credit card and two smaller ones. I am slowly working and paying this debt off. God has been good and blessing me beyond my need! We serve an amazing God!

Ths One's for You Pastor Bll

2007-04-16T22:21:00.000+09:00

I was told I needed to write more in my posts. I made sure to write a lot and explain everything in the post below! Happy reading.

Jeonju Cultural Experience

2007-04-16T14:13:00.000+09:00

This Saturday I experienced some Korean cultural. I went to a planned event just for foreigners. We experienced all the main aspects of Korean culture. The first thing we did was learn to use the traditional Korean drums the Janggoo. It was very difficult but fun. You know I don't have any rhythm so that is what made it difficult.

There were about 30 or 35 foreign teachers there. I have not seen any or met any of them since I have been here. I think they are hiding! I knew 5 of the 30 or 35 teachers because we all came from the same school or my church. It was funny because we all pretty much stuck in our small groups from our schools. I think Korea is rubbing off on us. Koreans don't mix with people they don't know unless someone they do know introduces them. It is an interesting part of the culture.

Next we experienced a tea ceremony. It seems that everything is steeped in their religion here. The instructor told us that we would experience the tea with all 5 senses.

We would use our ears to hear the water pouring, our eyes to see the color of the tea, we would touch the warmth of the pottery, and smell as well as taste the tea! We were suppose to put away our cameras because we would interrupt the ceremony, we didn't listen. I think it was mainly because we didn't believe in the spiritualism of the tea ceremony or it could be we were all foreigners wantign pictures to post on our blogs! The lady even told us that we couldn't wash the cups or pot with soap because it was alive and we would hurt it.

Me and my cup of green tea! I am not a huge fan of green tea but the ceremony was fun.

We each got a chance to be the host. It is actually very difficult. Yo have to remember a certain order to do everything. Here are the steps in brief.

1. Pour water from a tea pot into the white bowl with the spot

2. Pour the water from the bowl into each cup. You start with your cup first and then go counterclockwise warming each cup. You start with your cup first because it will get colder faster.

3. Then you place tea into the pot. You then pour more water from the tea kettle into the white tea pot.

4. While the tea is steeping you pour out the water from the tea cups into the grey bowl. Starting with your cup first to keep the others as warm as long as possible.

5. Then you pour a small amount of tea into you cup to check the color. If the color is okay then you start pouring a small amount into each cup.

6. After that you pass each person a cup starting with the oldest to the youngest. This process begins the next time you want have another cup of tea.

I liked the ceremony but I prefer to boil some water and throw a bag of Lipton in a cup. If I am feeling a little wild I use Celestial Seasonings Nutcracker Sweet Holiday Tea!

We were also able to take part in a traditional wedding. I did not volunteer but it was fun to watch.

The final thing we did was make the famous traditional food for the town I live in. It is called Jeonju Biminbop.

This is what the final product turned out like. We had our own "Jamie Oliver" pictured above.

Not sure if you noticed the raw egg in the picture up top but Claudine and I could not handle the raw egg that was "suppose" to cook with the hot rice. We fried our eggs and made our own version of the famous Jeonju Biminbop.

Easter Sunday

2007-04-11T15:38:00.000+09:00

On Sunday we had a joint service with the Chinese Fellowship. We had a sermon which was translated by Chloe. She is 17 and knows English, Korean, and Chinese! We also played games and had a wonderful dinner together. Here are a few pictures.

A Picture for my Parents: Cast Your Vote

2007-04-11T15:18:00.000+09:00

I chose number 3. Thank you to everyone who helped in the decision.

My mom and dad have ordered that I send them a picture when I am dressed up. If you know me I do not like to dress up. I wore a dress to church on Easter Sunday. Here are a few pictures I took. Please cast your vote on which one I should send to them parents.

If you don't really like any of them that is okay too! I can try again at another time.

Number 1

Number 2

Number 3

Decorating Easter Eggs

2007-04-11T15:16:00.000+09:00

On Good Friday Kelly, Megan and I decorated some Easter Eggs. I was suppose to help but I had a migraine and I fell asleep on Megan's bed. Here is a picture of their wonderful eggs though!

Cherry Blossom Festivel

2007-04-11T12:35:00.000+09:00

On Saturday I went to Gunsan with my pastor's family and Claudine. We had a blast and here are a few pictures from the trip. This is the town that my pastor's wife, Sunny, grew up in. My Uncle Eldon was also stationed here in the 80's. It is a beautiful place and I am looking forward to my week off to explore more of Korea.

Chrery Blossoms

2007-04-11T12:31:00.000+09:00

Here are a fe pictures from around campus.

More Cooking Classes

2007-04-11T12:21:00.000+09:00

Aren't these guys cute? They couldn't wait for th cookies to bake!

Blog Change

2007-04-11T09:59:00.000+09:00

Many people are having problems viewing my blog so I have changed it back. If I get any weird things from students again I might be inclined to change it once more.

John Piper in South Korea

2007-04-02T22:30:00.000+09:00

I was in a bookstore at a bus terminal in Seoul over vacation and I saw 4 different books written by John Piper. I was shocked and excited at the same time. If I ever reach a point where I can understand his writing while I am in Korea I know exactly where I can go to get one of his books! I thought some of you from Minneapolis might find this pretty interesting.

Cooking Classes

2007-04-02T19:45:00.000+09:00

This week I am baking or cooking with all of my classes. Each class got to chose what they wanted to make. I will be making biscuits and gravy, chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, Italian chicken and potatoes, and Spaghetti. Here are a few pictures from my first day of cooking.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Everyone said I was crazy to bake with my kids class. I have 10 kids ranging in age from 9 to11. They were so good. They did a better job at baking than my adult class! There peanut butter cookies were great too.

Yellow Dust, Cherry Blossoms, and Spring

2007-04-02T13:34:00.001+09:00

You might be curious as to what yellow dust, Cherry blossoms, and Spring have in common. For the last two week I have been sick with a sinus infection and a terrible cough. I went to the doctor after being sick for a week. He gave me some medication but it didn't help. After staying up all night Friday coughing I went to another doctor Saturday morning with my pastor's wife as my interpreter. This doctor knew what he was doing. He did a chest x-ray to make sure my lungs were okay since I had been coughing for so long. My lungs were okay for now. He said I might be developing asthma, I sure hope not.

Now for the yellow dust, Cherry blossoms, and Spring part!! Every Spring yellow sand comes from the Gobi desert in China and covers all of Korea. It is so bad at times the entire sky is yellow. It was like this yesterday but I did not have my camera with me! The dust is so bad you can taste it when you are outside.

In addition to the yellow dust Korea has many Cherry trees. The Cherry trees were planted in Korea during the Japanese invasion. The Cherry blossoms are beautiful but they wreak havoc on your allergies. In the picture below you can see the Cherry blossoms as well as the haze from the yellow dust.

Blog Change

2007-03-28T23:44:00.000+09:00

Some of you might be wondering why I changed my blog to invited readers only. Today I received a comment on my blog from one of my students here in Korea. I realized that I don't want just anybody reading what I write or seeing the pictures that I post. I do realize that it will limit people that I have lost contact with from stumbling onto my blog but it will also keep everyone int he world from reading what I write. I am going to try it for awhile and see what happens. If you have any complaints please let me know.

Boesung and The Green Tea Plantation

2007-03-28T14:45:00.000+09:00

The tea grows right on the mountainsides.

Check out my ears!!

A picture perfect entrance to the green tea fields.

The Walker Hill Hotel in Seoul

2007-03-28T14:14:00.000+09:00

Sorry it has taken me so long to update the rest of my vacation but the term started very busy and it is only getting busier. But in three short weeks I will be on vacation again. My dad went to this hotel when he was stationed in Korea in th 70's. I think it has changed a lot since then. Here are a few pictures of what it looks like now.

The Korean War Memorial

2007-03-05T14:59:00.000+09:00

I went to the Korean War Memorial in Seoul over vacation. I went in search of a monument that is suppose to have my grandfathers name on it. My dad told me that my grandpa's name is one of seven Americans to be on this monument. I did not find the monument in the Korean War Memorial area. I will have to do some more research and see if I can find it.

The Broom Tree

2007-03-05T14:51:00.000+09:00

A family in the church opened up a coffee shop near Jeonju National University of Education. I am super excited about the coffee shop because I had the best Carmel Mocha I have had since I have been in Korea. The best part about the coffee shop is that it is run by a Christian family who have a heart to reach out to the students and win souls for the Lord. Here are a few pictures of the shop and the family who started it.

Odong Do

2007-03-05T14:34:00.000+09:00

I went with a few people from church to Odong Island. It was an amazing site to see. We went on an 1 ½ ferry boat ride around the surrounding islands. Here is the group that went to the island.

Sunny and I on the ferry.

I did a little rock climbing along the shore.

Isn't the water beautiful!

My 27th Birthday

2007-03-05T13:43:00.000+09:00

I celebrated my 27th birthday in Korea last week. I had a great time. One of my friends here opened up her home to my friends here. It was a great day. I was able to cook and bake all day in preparation for the party. It was so nice to have a real kitchen! Here are a few pictures from all of the fun. Also thanks to all those back home who sent cards and e-cards! It made me feel so loved.

Claudine made a very nice appetizer spread!

I also received my first article for my hope chest!

Sunny and Tiffany

Claudine and I had a little wrestling match. I won but she says it as because it was my birthday!

Bike Rides

2007-03-05T13:34:00.000+09:00

We had some very warm days here whil I was on vacation. I took my pastor's kids Alan and Eirane for a short motorcycle ride!

Daegue Zooland

2007-03-01T02:32:00.000+09:00

Last week I took my pastor's kids to the zoo. Little did I know that the zoo was more of an amusement park than a zoo! I had a great time and the kids were so well behaved. Here are a few pictures.

Eirene, Alan and I

Claudine and the big lion

The silliest ride we rode :)

The kids at the end of the day.

Weirdest Sight of All Time

2007-03-01T02:25:00.000+09:00

When I was hiking at the mountain we went through a little place where you can eat and do the tourist shopping. Outside of one of the restaurants I came across this statue. It was so weird I had to take a picture.

Yes this is a Buddha statue peeing and I am washing my hands!

Daedunson

2007-03-01T02:08:00.000+09:00

Here are pictures from my first vacation adventure. I went hiking up a mountain about an hour from the city I live in. it was a tough climb but well worth it. I had a blast.

We climbed all the way to where that white small tower is in the picture.

This is a suspension bridge over a ravine. It was a very scary walk!

Claudine and I on the suspension bridge.

A view from half way up the mountain.

We made it to the top!! It was 878 meters or 1972 feet high.

Vacation Has Begun

2007-02-16T01:41:00.000+09:00

My 17 days of vacation started today, which is Thursday, at 5:45pm. It has been a great 4 months here in South Korea so far. I have no complaints, except whenever I get back to the States I will not want to work a forty hour week! I am looking forward to this vacation. I am staying here in Korea but I plan o travel around the country doing some major exploring. I will keep you posted on my adventures!

Me and My Bike

2007-02-13T18:33:00.000+09:00

I wanted to let all those know who might be worried about me ridin a motorcycle an important fact. My motorcycle only goes 65 km/h or a whooping 40 mph! Don't worry I will be jsut fine!

My First Adventure on "The Mule"

2007-02-06T01:21:00.000+09:00

Today I tasted freedom for the first time in almost four months. I jumped on the mule and just drove. I finally went out of the city and saw some of the countryside which makes up most of Korea. Here are some of the sights I saw.

As I was driving into the mountains I came to a dead end at this Buddhist Temple. The countryside seems to be filled with them.

The artwork always amazes me. It is so sad that they put so much time and effort into something that is so futile.

Kuk Sool Won- Traditional Korean Martial Arts

2007-02-06T01:01:00.000+09:00

I have been taking Kuk Sool Won Classes for 1 month now. I have learned 4 of the 6 positions in order to take my white belt test. Hopefully by the end of February I will be ready for my test. Today we visited with another class. Here are a few pictures.

The child in the pictures is the son of the owner.

Ready position!!

Caleb is my instructor as well as our Worsip Leader at church. He is a 5th degree black belt.

Caleb's Qua Ja Nim- or his instructor

AICF Worship

2007-02-06T00:49:00.000+09:00

Here are a few more pictures of our worship team. It is an amazing ministry and I am very thankful I have the opportunity to be a par of it.

Nathan was filling in as the worship leader. He normally plays bass guitar. The worship leader was filling in on the drums but is not pictured.

Claudine and I

Joshua was singing and filling in on acoustic guitar.

Jeremiah on keyboard and I can't remember on bass guitar.

Claudine and I after the service. She is from South Africa but came to South Korea by way of New Zealand.

Kelly's New Shoes

2007-02-06T00:45:00.000+09:00

I have been searching for 3 months with Kelly for new running shoes. We have gone to Seoul two times just to look for shoes. Yesterday we finally found them here in downtown Jeonju. This is amazing because Kelly wears a size 11 and it is really true that Asian people have very small feet! Here are her new shoes:

The Mule

2007-02-04T00:39:00.000+09:00

Today was an awesome day here in South Korea. I finished my 2006 taxes and with my tax return and my overtime this month I will be paying off my first credit card! The Lord also provided a very special gift today.

I have been struggling with not having freedom to travel about so I have been longing to get a motorcycle. Bikes are very cheap here and so I thought it would be a great chance to get one. I budgeted $300 including a new helmet. The Lord provided "The Mule" today for $100. I bought a brand new helmet and mittens for an additional $40.

The bike has been affectionately named "the mule" because it has been passed around from foreigner to foreigner. I am approximately the 25th foreign owner. The bike keeps going and doesn't quit! My pastor here actually owned the mule this time last year. He gave it to Dave, the guy I bought it from and Dave sold it to me for the amount of repairs/upkeep over the last year. Below you will see what I mean by mittens. These are placed over the throttle/brake/clutch. once on the bike you just slip your hands into the mittens. It is an amazing invention, your hands stay warm and you can still drive just fine.

I am pretty sure I am not going o call the bike the mule. If you have any suggestions let me know.

Total Phone Weirdness

2007-02-03T03:39:00.000+09:00

I was sitting on my bed watching TV when my cell phone from the States started to ring my old Carrie Underwood ringer. I thought it was a little strange that I would have an alarm set for 3am especially with that ring, but you never know I have done stranger things. I opened my phone and it was someone calling from the Republican Party trying to gain support for their candidate. I put my cell phone on the do not call list a few years ago but I guess I can’t even escape from unwanted callers here in South Korea!! I had my phone disconnected before I left the States but somehow a call made it through. I am going to have to talk with the cell phone company about this.

Weirder still I just used Skype to dial my cell phone number and it rang again here in South Korea. I am going to call Verizon right now. This is nuts that I can get reception here, I am sure the prices of a phone call are just crazy! Please no one try and call me here. If you are wondering why I even have my cell phone on here, I use it as an alarm clock and I still have all my numbers stored there from everyone I call.

Vacation A Plenty

2007-02-02T16:21:00.000+09:00

We got the great news that our work schedule will be changing after we return from our vacation. Right now I work Monday through Thursday. On Friday I have one or two classes, but I basically have the day off. Many people would think that this is great but it can be a pain because you can't really do anything on Friday except get caught up on sleep, email, and maybe plan for the next week. Here comes the good news... with our new schedules we work Monday through Friday for 7 we ks and then we get either 1 week off or 2 weeks off depending on the time of year! So in the one year I will be in South Korea I will get 7 week of vacation plus I will be finished with my contract 10 days earlier! Can you beat that? I don't think so! Below is the break down in case anyone has an inkling to come visit me in this beautiful country while I am gone. It is also so you know when I might be coming to visit you...

Vacation Periods
February 16th to March 4th
April 20th to April 29th
June 15th to July 1st
August 17th to September 2nd

Light of Love Festivel 2007

2007-01-28T21:47:00.000+09:00

The city of Jeonju is holding a festival for Sol Nal, which is the Korean New Year. This holiday coincides with the Chinese New Year. I went to the light festival and the "Circus" twice this last week. I went with different friends. I had a great time. The "circus" or the aerobatics is what they really were was awesome. Here are a few pictures from the performance and the light display.

The used their feet to even juggle each other!

Annie and I

2007-01-20T21:41:00.000+09:00

I went for the first time to Costco today. Let me tell you I have never been so excited to see American products. The best thing I saw which made me jump up and down with excitement was Dreft laundry detergent. Many of you might be thinking why is Georgia buying laundry detergent for babies. Well, it is a really long story but I have extremely sensitive skin and this is the only laundry detergent that won't make me break out from head to toe. I am beginning that you can find anything in Korea if you are willing to pay the high price, which in this case will be worth it! At least almost anything, you can't buy Caribou coffee here but I do have the best sister in the world that sent me enough to last 3 months! Yeah for Lydia and Brent(he helped pay for fast shipping!).

here are a few things you might find interesting that I picked up at Costco which I haven't been able to find in my town or are 3 times more expensive for a much smaller quantity.

1. Pine Sol- super excited about this since my whole house is linoleum
2. Marshmallows
3. Country Time Lemonade
4. Honey Nut Cheerios- there were about 5 other kinds but this is what I chose for this trip!
5. Salsa
6. Oats n Honey Nature Valley Granola Bars
7. Nabisco Saltines
8. Cranberry Juice

This was the best shopping trip I have been on in a long time. I also found some classic Disney movies in a 3 pack for only $10: Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, Cinderella then Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Peter Pan

Costco is wonderful and even though it takes 90 minutes by bus to get there it is so worth it!

Cleaning a Bathroom in Korea

2007-01-20T00:54:00.000+09:00

Armed for Battle

I had a little run in with my shower today! I don't know if you remember but they build the showers so you can just hose them down. I have only done this twice since I have been here, tonight was the second time. I was scrubbing away and I went to hose it down. I became a causality of war. The shower head was pointed straight at me when I turned it on. needless to say I got soaking wet! But I won the fight, my bathroom is sparkling clean.

Antioch International Christian Fellowship

2007-01-20T00:42:00.000+09:00

I realized today that I have not posted about the church I am going to. I am going to Antioch International Christian Fellowship, it is part of Antioch Presbyterian Church. I really love the church. There are two pastors. There is Canadian couple who have been in Korea for three years teaching English. They have a four yea old daughter named Megan. Troy and Connie are very nice.

The other pastor is Pastor Bill. He is originally from Korea and was adopted when h was 7 years old by a single American man. He married his wife, Sonny, who is Korean in the States. They are in Korea for two years total so their children, Alan and Ariana, can gt to know their grandparents. They also want them to learn to speak the language and culture.

The church is very solid in its doctrine. The preaching is solid as well. I am part of the praise team here. I am really enjoying the fellowship with those of different cultures. It is funny that it is an international service in English but there are more Koreans that attend than foreigners! I am very glad the Lord answered all of your prayers and directed me to a wonderful church where I can grow and be used by Him!

Orphanage Outreach

2007-01-20T00:33:00.000+09:00

Last Saturday I went for the first time with my church to their orphanage outreach. I was not allowed to take any pictures while I was at the orphanage. I had a wonderful time and I was able to help. I feel in love with the kids at first sight! I will be going to the orphanage twice a month and I am excited about it. here are a few pictures from the dinner we had after we to back.

We went to a meat buffet. It was really cool. You went over to a cooler and picked the meat that you wanted. Once you got back to your table you cooked it right there. It was very fun!

Sonny and Connie (left to right). The pastors wives!

Yummy Octpui! this was not for me as you see in the picture below.

Pastor Bill- the American pastor

First Haircut in Korea

2007-01-20T00:23:00.000+09:00

It has taken me three months but I finally got up the nerve to get a haircut in Korea. I remembered to bring my picture with me from home of my original haircut. I went to a pace that was recommended by a couple from my church. The lady only knew the word "shampoo" but we worked through it. My new do is a little short but she cut it exactly like the picture. I had forgotten Megan had put her own touch on my hair which was a little longer!

Christmas and New Years

2007-01-07T21:37:00.000+09:00

I am sorry that I haven't posted anything lately. The holidays have come and gone here in South Korea but it seems like they were never really here. Christmas and solar New Year's as it is called here are not very important to Koreans. I spent Christmas with a few American friends. It was pretty uneventful.

On New Year's Eve I went to my first Korean Service. It was a little different because everything was in Korean! I hadn't been to a New year's Eve service since I was in college. It was very difficult to stay awake but it was a very nice time. M pastor's wife translated for me the main points of the service. Here are some pictures of the church service.

My pastor's son! It was getting late.

Tikvah Spring Wilkinson

2007-01-07T21:19:00.000+09:00

Below you will find Dennis and Mistin's Birth Announcement and pictures:

Our wonderful little girl baby has arrived!

She started knocking on the door to enter our world on Wednesday evening when Mistin's water broke at church. About an hour and a half later contractions began and by the time we arrived at the hospital we were half way to her grand entrance. At 6:40 she burst into our world loudly announcing her presence with a whoop and a holler.

She tipped the scales at 7lbs 5oz and is 19 inches in length.

Her name is Tikvah (pronounced "Teek-vah") Spring. Tikvah is the Hebrew word for hope and is partially inspired by I Peter chapter 1.

We are grateful to God for the safe delivery of this baby girl and for providing us with real life illustrations of the joy and hope HE gives us.

Dennis, Mistin, Ciara Joy & Tikvah Spring Wilkinson

Pictures for Lydia

2006-12-26T22:58:00.001+09:00

I got an email from Lydia last week saying that in all of the pictures on my blog I was wearing a hat and or a hoodie. She wanted to know were her "cute dressing sister went." All of the posts lately have been from the weekends and I usually dress casually then. So I decided to take a picture everyday last week of what I was wearing for work. By the third day I ran out of poses so some are a little weird! Here is the slideshow I created. You can blame my sister for this one!

The Wayward Sons Have Returned

2006-12-21T02:04:00.000+09:00

I heard some rustling behind my desk around 1:30am. I went over to check my email and a I was replying to someone I saw Link run across the floor. He was hiding so went to find Ollie. He was sleeping behind my desk curled up in my guitar case. It took me 30 minutes to catch Link. I am sure it was his idea to escape and Ollie just followed along. I have taken some measure to ensure this does not happen again. If it does I know the first place I am looking...my guitar case!

My New Friends Are Gone

2006-12-21T00:13:00.000+09:00

I went to say goodnight to Link and Oliver and they were gone. I do not know if they have escaped and are now roaming around my room. I sure hope this is not the case! I did leave the food out for them though just in case. I still can't figure out how they escaped. I can't imagine someone coming into my room and taking two hamsters without their cage. Also nothing else has been disturbed. I sure hope this doesn't foreshadow my parenting skills! They only lasted 4 short days. Maybe they will come back. Does anyone know how to lure a hamster back to its cage?

First Snow Fall of the Year

2006-12-17T01:11:00.000+09:00

It doesn't snow here very often so when I saw that eerie glow outside my window I knew it was snowing! A few minutes later I heard a bunch of the guys from the dorm start yelling outside. I don't know what they were saying because it was in Korean but they sure seemed to be having fun. I think we will get a few inches which should stop the city in its track tonight and tomorrow. Here are a few pictures of the first snow fall. Kelly was talking on the phone to her boyfriend so you only get pictures of me. Sorry!

This snowball later became the base to my snowman.

My cute very quickly built snowman. My fingers were already numb at this point but I had to build one!

It was fun playing in the snow. I hope it sticks around awhile. My bike ride to church should be fun in the morning. I think it will be the first time I have ridden a bike in the snow.

Meet Link and Oliver

2006-12-17T00:41:00.000+09:00

Today I got myself an early Christmas present. I saw these dwarf hamsters in the store about a month ago and I feel in love. They are so cute. I hope they don't get too smelly though and they are both the same sex!!

Here is their home. I added a nesting box tonight.

This is Oliver or Ollie for short.

This is Link.

Trip to Seoul

2006-12-17T00:12:00.000+09:00

Last weekend Kelly and I took another trip into Seoul. this time we went to meet with a family she taught last year. They are great kids and their English is wonderful. We test Koreans English by how Kelly and I speak to one another. If we can have a normal conversation and they understand, their English is very good. Normally, they can't understand our conversations! Mandy and Kara could so we had to be careful what we walked about when they were around, i.e. their behavior or our plans for the day.

We were suppose to stay with them at their house which was going to be great. However, their dad had a cold so they got us a hotel room. It was such a nice hotel, nicer than a lot I have stayed at in the States. it even had a western style breakfast buffet! We had a great time and I ate some new foods. I also learned to play a Korean game! Here are a few pictures from my trip.

Mandy(all the way in the back), Kara, Kelly, David, and me

It was nice to see a familiar sign and right next door their was a Starbucks!

Here is the view from our 14th floor hotel room.

COEX Mall had a Star Wars Exhibition going on so we took Kara and David to check it out. Mandy was at an institute. Each of the children go to at least 7 private institutes besides going to school 6 days a week. this is very common in Korea, but I think it is crazy! Sorry if I made any Star Wars fans jealous out there!!

This is one of those spinning tunnels.

I had a wonderful time and I am really glad Kelly invited me to come along. Mandy, Kara, and David will be heading to Canada at the beginning of the year with their mother to study abroad for a year. It is also very common for the family to go to another country and leave the father behind to work here in Korea. Many parents send their elementary school children to study abroad and both parents stay here. This is one thing about Korea that I will never understand.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

2006-12-07T12:41:00.000+09:00

Last night I put up the Christmas tree for this year. Today at lunch time Kelly came over to help decorate. I know our tree is totally ghetto but Kelly did say, "this is the best Christmas tree I have had in 6 years!" She has been traveling and teaching abroad for 6 years now so she hasn't had a real American Christmas in a really long time. They do have some Christmas decorations but a 2 ft. tree is about 40,000 won or $40. So I opted for the cheaper version! Well without further a due here is our Christmas tree complete with wrapped present courtesy of Lydia.

No this is not the completed tree, just a shot before it was decorated.

I printed coloring book pages out and colored them myself to use as ornaments.

We even have stocking, not hung by the chimney though!

Kelly and I in front of our super ghetto Christmas Tree.

I am preparing a wonderful Christmas menu this year. But it is a secret so I can't post it until after Christmas!! For the most part of the day it will be Kelly, Addie (another "Migook" or American), and myself. In the evening we will be having a party with many of our students. I am looking forward to Christmas already.

The Ten Minute Mile

2006-12-05T16:42:00.000+09:00

I finally did it!! I ran a mile today in 9 minutes and 59 seconds. I am super excited! Hopefully my time will continue to improve over the course of the year. I am going to time myself at least once a week.

Trip to the Big City of Seoul

2006-12-04T15:59:00.000+09:00

This weekend I went to Seoul for my first visit to the "big city!" I had a lot of fun. The best part of the trip was that McDonald's is now serving breakfast. This has just started to happen here so I got a sausage, egg, and cheese McMuffin. It was awesome! Here are pictures of our "delicious" breakfast. Koreans use "delicious" to describe every kind of food even if it is just normal.

It also snowed while we were in Seoul. Here are some pictures I took at the half way stop. I don't know if I have mentioned this or not but Seoul is 2 1/2 or 3 hours away depending on traffic.

I also got to go to Starbucks. Actually, I went twice. The first time when we first got to CoEx Mall. I go an iced Carmel Macchiato (I think that is how you spell it!). The second time, right before we left the mall, I got a grande Christmas blend. It was wonderful, even though Caribou is much better. I am getting a coffee pot soon!

While we were waiting for the bus back to Jeonju I decided to take Christmas pictures. There are very few decorations in Jeonju so I thought I would do the best with what I had. So when I send out my Christmas letter you will see these pictures again.

I had a great time and we are headed back next weekend to visit a family Kelly knows. I am really looking forward to this because I haven't had a chance to interact with any children outside of my class since I have been here. I will keep you posted on the happenings here in South Korea!

Thanksgiving Dinner

2006-12-04T12:30:00.000+09:00

I had to work on Thanksgiving Day so we celebrated on Sunday. I had a great time. it started off with an early morning run. I only ran 1 1/2 miles because my knee has been hurting whenever I run. Then we went back to get cleaned up for the day. I made Kelly and I sausage gravy and biscuits, my mom's recipe. It was wonderful! Then I clean up my house while Kelly finally got to talk with her brother using my web cam. She has a Mac and can't find any programs that will allow her to use her web cam. If you know of any let me know please!

Around 2pm we had some of Kelly's students come over for Salmon and wine. I didn't know any of these students but they were w\very nice. here is a picture of the group. Kelly had her mom send the Salmon from Seattle. I am not a big fish person so I didn't have any but everyone else enjoyed it immensely.

After Kelly's students left I had some students come over for a mostly traditional Thanksgiving. I was not able to find a Turkey and even if i could i would not have been able to cook it. I had what I thought was ham but it was more like SPAM!! All of the Koreans loved it though. I made mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots with honey, green beans, and corn. For desert I made peach cobbler and Kentucky Derby Pie with a homemade crust. It was so much fun to get together and I really enjoyed the cooking too. Here are a few pictures.

Kelly and I

Steve (a student) volunteered to do dishes!

Steve, Choice, Tae, Kelly, Lee, Bryan, Miles, Tina, Me
(Top to bottom and left to right)

Email Addresses

2006-11-18T18:50:00.000+09:00

Good evening all,

There are many people who read my blog and leave comments that I don't have an email address for. I might have had it at one time but between leaving my job and getting a new computer it has disappeared on me. If you could email me with your address I would really appreciate it. This might sound like a crazy request but please just indulge me. Also it will be nice to get email. It gets lonely here sometimes! Thanks.

Georgia

p.s.- Leah Crisp this means you!! I have no clue where your email address went and since you switched jobs I can't contact you.