The Todds, Luke and Shelby

The Road Goes Ever On and On...

2011-08-31T09:37:00.000-07:00

I had a long (and long-overdue) conversation with my dear friend John Trammell last Thursday, and he reminded me that it had been one year, to the day, since we bid farewell to Korea. Apparently, time had been traveling more rapidly than I realized. The realization nearly caused me to panic, wondering what in the world we had accomplished in the last year, until I remembered that we are, quite literally, exactly where we had hoped and prayed to be.

When we left Korea for a month-long trek through Southeast Asia on our way home, we were leaving the best paid (and in some ways, easiest) jobs we had ever had, to return to no jobs, no home, and no plan beyond the ever-so-nebulous pursuit of God's will. We had recently drawn the conclusion that I should return to school, but weren't sure where, what, or how. Thankfully, God began leading us down one of many paths, and I decided to pursue Seminary studies. That was narrowing it down a lot, but there were still a great many decisions to be made.

Year-long story short, we are excited to be living in Portland closer to Shelby's side of the family, we are employed and blessed financially, and we have a wonderful basement apartment. We have also been exceedingly blessed to join the church family at Grace Bible Church, where we have been encouraged, loved, and are now being used in various ways. One of the deep desires of my heart when I decided to go to Seminary was to be used in ministry NOW. I've long felt a call to serve God more purposefully and practically than I had previously done, but I often turned aside from opportunities out of fear or laziness. The leadership at our church are excited to have us and have not hesitated to give us opportunities to use our gifts.

I did a lot of homework yesterday. Classes haven't even started yet, but I still have homework. Studying at Western Seminary will take some getting used to, but I'm ready for the challenge. When we decided on Portland, I was deciding between Western or Multnomah. I preferred Western, but there was not as much aid available, and I was concerned about being able to afford it. Well, God has been exceedingly generous, and has provided in a number of ways. I have been able to test out of a semester's worth of my required classes, and I will attempt a few more soon, which will obviously save time and money. God has provided some unexpected scholarships and other potential sources of aid as well. Much of the aid I'm receiving this semester will only be a one-time thing, but God has clearly shown that he cares and is capable of meeting our needs.

All that to say, a year has gone by, it's been unique but good, and God has been faithful to lead us, provide for us, and sustain us. Trusting him to continue to do the same, the future is most exciting, as we strive to know and magnify Jesus in all we are and do.

that which has been, is and will be.

2011-02-05T10:48:00.000-08:00

We've been back in the United States for over 4 months. If you haven't yet seen pictures from our trip through South East Asia on our way home, feel free to check them out on facebook.

I was able to be in Marcus and Jenny's wedding. We were able to spend some special time in Portland and Astoria with family around Thanksgiving time. We we're so blessed to see some dear friends. We've also enjoyed all of my brothers and sisters being in or near Potter for the first time in quite a while. Lot's of family dinners and mushroom hunts, waking up early to go snowboarding or crabbing, cooking and eating much good food, and even a week in Mexico with the lot of us, even those ornery twins who we'll get to meet in two months.

I've been subbing at Potter Valley High School. Shelby's been her usual saint-like self, babysitting my grandpa, or even an actual baby from time to time as needed. I've been blessed with the opportunity to share from God's Word at church a few times, as well as be involved in playing music again. I've been baking lot's of bread, reading a few books, trying to fix our truck and enjoying 70 degree weather in January.

We're looking towards life in Portland. We'll probably be living there by this time next month. We're hoping to find a place to live, a place to work, and a place to fellowship, worship and serve. I'm getting really excited to be headed to seminary studies, probably at Western Seminary, or at Multnomah. Shelby is hoping to start the degree completion program at Multnomah.

So anyways, we don't know what the future holds, but God does and we're rather excited to be following after him and to see where that may lead us.

Here I raise mine Ebenezer, hither by thy help I'm come. And I hope(will), by thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.

Check 1 Samuel 7:12 if you think Ebenezer has something to do with Scrooge, or otherwise have no clue.

Cambodia

2010-09-01T19:22:00.000-07:00

Hello All!

I know I said "farewell" until the end of our trip (in the last post), but I had some time today and thought I could update everyone on our recent experience in Cambodia.

We just completed our last full day in Cambodia, and tomorrow morning will embark on a long bus ride to Bangkok. We had an incredible day of vising the Angkor Wat temples. We left in a tuk tuk at 4:30 this morning (in time to catch the sunrise behind the most famous temple) with a really sweet Cambodian man named Pem. He was quite a bit smaller than me, but had a great big smile :) He was our driver for the whole day. The temple complex is huge, so he would drop us off at one spot, and pick us up at the other side. Then he would take us on to the next site...and we did this all morning and afternoon. The ancient ruins of Angkor are absolutely incredible and we really enjoyed reading about the history and looking at all the detailed engravings in the sand stone...but one of our favorite parts of the day was driving an hour out of town (to visit the last temple) and watching the countryside go by while we sat in our little cart. It's fascinating to be so far away from home and to witness such a unique people group just living their everyday lives; the way they cook, clean, sleep, interact with one another, play, and work. It's all SO different from anything that we're used to...and it's all visible from the road. For the most part, the homes are open and consist of one room on stilts. The family hangs out in the shade under their home during the day. Everyone has hammocks, and lounging in them seems to be the past-time of choice. The babies and small children run around naked or with just a shirt on and play in the swamps or dirt yard outside of their home. Overall we've found that they are very friendly and often too assertive in trying to get you buy from their fruit or souvenir stand! The people are absolutely beautiful and you can just imagine how precious the children are.

Something that we weren't prepared for before coming here was the extreme poverty. We thought we had done well rounded research as we planned for these couple of days, but never saw even one forum post on what to expect in that aspect. There are crippled children, paralyzed war vets, and hungry families constantly asking for money. They follow you everywhere you walk and beg you to help them feed their babies. Many of them try to sell small things like books or bracelets, and trying to politely turn them down means to them that if they try harder you might give in. Luke and I have been struggling with what to do about this. We tried to befriend one young man who was in a car accident and lost his leg when he was 6. He was covered in scabies and hobbled around with a huge basket of books around his neck. Because of all the scams and mistreatment of these types of cases, we asked the boy if there was anything we could do for him...if there was anything he needed or if we could take him to lunch. He said that all he could use was cash. We explained that we weren't comfortable giving cash (since so many of these children are forced into this type of "sympathy begging" then have to bring the money back to an adult who forces them to live such a lifestyle, so they can take the cash for personal gain). We asked if we could take him to a pharmacy near by to get medicine for his skin, and tried to introduce him to Christ. He said that he has tried all medicine from all pharmacies in the area and they don't make it feel any better. He was quite prepared with how to respond to us, and repeated his well rehearsed answers too everything that we tried to offer. We were afraid that had not been to a doctor at all, and maybe forced to stay in his poor health condition, so that he would be "worth more." He said he was not hungry and didn't want us to buy him food (even raw rice), because he needed to bring the money back to his family for them. He also said that other tourists had told him about "God's Son" and that he should pray to him everyday...then his problems would go away!!! AHHH! How do you explain that that's not the point of having a relationship with the Lord. When I told him that we would like to pray for him, and that God loves him and cares (and wants to help him deal with everything that he's bearing)...but might not take it away, and told him that we wanted to help him in another way, he got upset and left.

This is a long explanation of just one encounter. These are the kind of things that we asked the Lord to open our eyes too as we traveled (opportunities to serve Him) but clearly we didn't realize what we were asking for and feel like we haven't done a darn thing!

Please pray for the people of Cambodia...there are legit organizations that accept donations, but we haven't done enough research yet to know how they work exactly. If nothing else, God has opened our eyes and allowed us to experience another part of the world where people are suffering and living far more difficult lives than we are. We want to help them if we can and plan to look into options for doing so in the future. We are also reminded of how satisfying simplicity can be, and how we have so much more than we need. We are so thankful for what God has given us, in health, family, and stability, but are also trying to figure out how best to follow Jesus while being so prosperous and wealthy compared to the rest of the world.

Where Does The Time Go???

2010-08-17T20:04:00.000-07:00

Well let me begin by apologizing for dropping off of the radar for awhile. It's been way too long since I last blogged and if I were to try and catch up, it would be darn near impossible. So let's just pretend that we didn't disappear for a couple of months...and we'll start fresh. Well, actually we can't do that either, because this is probably our last blog for awhile...at least for a few weeks. So I guess this is somewhat of a "hello" and "goodbye."

In one week from today, Luke and I will be on our way to Seoul to stay with our Korean family one last time, before heading to the airport. We'll be embarking on a journey to Southeast Asia. First stop Malaysia, then Cambodia and Thailand, and last but not least, Vietnam. With two packs and a camera...we hope the Lord has some wonderful adventures in store for us! We feel so excited, and thankful for this opportunity, yet at the same time it's bittersweet. Leaving for this trip means saying goodbye to all that we've come to know and love about Korea. We'll be leaving behind all the dear friends we've made in the last year, as well as some the the tastiest food ever! The friends will be missed much more though, of course :) We've grown so close and comfortable with our church family and have made some really special life long relationships. We've learned so much about the culture and history of this country and respect it more deeply because of that. There are so many beautiful things about Korean culture that we hope to take along with us. But I won't lie, there are also plenty of things that we won't miss one bit! What a journey this has been...what a growing experience. As we pack and prepare for moving back to the States, we think about all that we have to look forward too, and can't help but smile every time we think about it (which is a lot), but at the same time we wonder if we'll ever get to come back to this place, or when we'll see these people that we've grown to love so much again. Talk about torn! We've been so blessed and are so thankful for the past year, and love what God's done with us here, and at the same time, are anxiously awaiting a grand reunion with precious loved ones, as well as a wedding that we can't wait to attend! God's blessings are overwhelming sometimes!...okay, ALL THE TIME!

So I'll stop with the mushy stuff and tell you a few things that we've been up to recently...or are looking forward too before we leave.

I'll let pictures do most of the talking. Before I begin, I want to thank everyone who has been praying for us. We actually can't thank you enough! And if you're wondering, believe me, God is answering them! What an invaluable way to express your love and support! We've been praying for loved ones as well, so we hope that God's work and blessings are apparent in your lives and that His light is being made known to and through you.

Okay...

We went for one last walk in the rice fields...

Luke shaved his head (really short). Oh, and the mustache was only temporary (thank goodness!)...

We had an amazing day with our Korean family in Seoul. Which included reuniting with Juyoun (our long lost Korean sister), visiting a famous palace, and eating scrumptious food :)...

We were sent by our dear friends, John, Ferial and Johnny, on a crazy fun scavenger hunt all around the city. We found ourselves having yummy drinks at Starbucks, sitting on a train headed to Seoul, and eventually eating some amazing Arabic food! The whole day was SO MUCH FUN!...

I got to go on a lunch date (or two) with my wonderful tutor student Grace...

We had a night full of ridiculously good food and super fun games at the home of our good friends, Jason and Karen...

We have been meeting with friends for lunch dates, coffee outings, sleepovers, and yummy dinners. We even got to attend a "last hurrah" party that our friends put on for us, and our other friends, Charles and Karen (who are also leaving soon)...

We got to spend more time with Juyoun, and went to a baseball game in Seoul. The Doosan Bears, played the SK Wyverns. It was a great experience...and Luke even got a home run ball that we'll be taking home as a souvenir...

I still have much to look forward to before we leave. We'll be spending as much quality time as possible with our friends, will have two more prayer group gatherings, and I even get to go to this beautiful place that has been on my wish list for quite some time now! Not only am I going to get to visit here, but I get to go with a wonderful girl...my new friend Karen!

Boseong Green Tea Plantation...

The DMZ

2010-06-29T20:37:00.000-07:00

Recently, our Korean father drove us to Imjin Gak: the western gateway to the Demilitarized Zone. From there we took a tour bus to four different stops around and under the DMZ.

We are so thankful for this incredibly powerful experience! Luke and I feel that we can better understand the Korean people and what they've been through. Talking to our Korean dad really helped put things into perspective for us. The whole day was very interesting and insightful. Sometimes I forget that they're still at war over here...and that this is the only place in the world that has this situation!

When we first arrived, we took a wrong turn...and apparently "tried" to enter the DMZ. We should have known, while we were driving along large barbed wire fences and heavily guarded gates (with barricades strategically placed around the roads), that we had gone a bit too far! An armed man in uniform swiftly approached the car and spoke firmly to Wongyo in Korean. He must have asked him what we were doing and asked him to turn around, because we were quickly on our way, going out the very same way we came in. It must not be everyday that they get random civilians in an unmarked vehicle trying to drive right into the "no civilian" zone :)

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This looks more like it. Behind us stands the main building at Imjil Gak. Notice the telescopes on the roof.

This is a war memorial for the U.S. military men who gave their lives fighting in the Korean war.

If you look closely, you will notice that this train has hundreds of bullet holes all over it. It was in use during the war, and brutally damaged at that time.

Quick lunch before the tour...

On our first stop we watched a video about the history of the war, and the signing of the Armistice Agreements in 1953. The video also explained the findings of 4 tunnels, that stretch from North to South Korea (under the DMZ), that were discovered between the late 1970's to 1990's. Though the tunnels were built after the agreement was signed, their purpose was to enable an unexpected invasion of Seoul. They estimated that 30,000 North Korean troops could make it through the tunnels in one hour! Thank goodness the South discovered the tunnels and blocked them up before this ever took place! While being 25 stories under the DMZ, Luke and I were able to walk along the inside of the tunnel. We were not allowed to bring any belongings with us (including cameras) and had to wear hard hats. This was quite necessary seeing as Luke was bent in half, hitting his head, all along the way!

Our second stop was at a military check point with a look out. There were telescopes to see into the North Korean side of the DMZ. Of course, this again was a "no camera" zone. Unfortunately it was quite foggy and we couldn't see much, but there was a 3D map that helped us know in what direction to look through the viewer. Theoretically, on clear days you can see a North Korean village, with the farmers working in their fields near their traditional styled homes. There's also a tall standing statue of Kim Il-Sung.

On our third stop, we were fortunate to spend time at the northern most railway station in South Korea. There are indeed trains that run between North and South Korea, though they only carry freight. This station is called Dorasan, and was built in high hopes of someday being a regular stop between the free and open nations of North and South Korea! It's a very strange feeling to sit in an empty train station that was built on a dream that still seems to be along way out in coming into any kind of fulfillment.

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The last stop was at a souvenir shop in a little village that rests just outside the DMZ (in the Civilian Control Zone). Many of the items in the shop were things made in North Korea/ DMZ. There is a lot of agriculture in and around the DMZ. The farmers have very specific regulations and have to spend a certain amount of months each year inside "their" zone.

Mmmmm...Bibimbap!

2010-06-07T18:04:00.000-07:00

While living here, I have developed a serious liking for Bibimbap. Its a rice and vegetable dish that is cheap and really easy to come by. I started craving it so much that Luke and I got the "fixins" to make it at home. Now we often enjoy it for lunch or dinner right from our kitchen. It's simple, healthy, and SO FILLING! You can make it with any of your favorite veggies (fresh or cooked) and add meats such as ground pork, beef...or even tuna! I make it with brown rice instead of white...though it's commonly made with white. It's also nice to have some type of pickled radish or other vegetable...for the tangyness. It's fun, and SO tasty!

FIRST: PUT IN THE RICE, THEN WHATEVER VARIETY OF THINLY SLICED VEGGIES AND MEAT THAT YOU WANT (below: cucumbers, carrots, cabbage, lettuce, pickles, onion, and tuna) THEN ADD THE FRIED EGG ON TOP.

SECOND: FLAVOR IT! IN KOREA THEY USE GOCHUJANG (A SPICY RED PEPPER PASTE)

THIRD: MASH IT ALL TOGETHER

LASTLY: ADD SOME KIM (DRIED SEAWEED). THIS USUALLY GOES IN WITH EVERYTHING ELSE, BUT I LIKE IT MORE CRISP.

LUKE OMITS THIS ONE :)

It may look scary...but trust me...IT'S AMAZING!

110%

2010-05-21T09:52:00.000-07:00

Recently, Luke was asked to play in a volleyball game, with a team made up of some teachers from his school. Of course we were picturing this to be a lighthearted and relaxed opportunity to spend time with his co-workers. HAHAHA.... little did we know. What's funny is that we should have known what Luke was getting himself into when he said yes to this offer. We have been told on several occasions, as well as witnessed for ourselves, that whenever a Korean is going to engage in a sport/ activity/ hobby of any kind...they will do it 110%. Unlike in the States, where it's common to be interested in many different kinds of activities and do any number of things for fun, in Korea it's often different... they're HARD CORE!

Luke discovered that this "match" with co-workers was really a competitive, day long tournament against other teams made up of other middle school teachers in the area. Who had been practicing for the event. There were uniforms and everything. These people are middle school teachers by day...and expert volleyball players by night. I'm pretty sure that a few of the teams had been practicing for weeks! Luke is still sore, and could hardly move his arms after the day was over. There was a crowd of women cheering for his team with posters and pom-poms, and even a beverage table, where he could rehydrate on his breaks. The ladies kept him supplied with fresh fruit, sports drinks and iced coffee. Luke greatly improved throughout the day, due to all the advice and coaching he was given with hand gestures and broken English. After the tournament they called him MVP. And even when I visited his school a day later, random teachers would point at him in the hallway saying, "Oh Luka, Berry Good...MBP!" He was a hit!

He had a blast...despite the surprise...and his team even won the championship. The others on his team called him Goliath, and he got a lot of action at the net every game. After the tournament (for a prize) we were treated to a meal with the other players and principal. Because of the special occasion, we had various types of raw fish, pickled veggies, Korean pancakes with cuttlefish, and live octopus. Oh, can't forget the silkworm larva! Oh, the joys of living in Asia!

Notice Luke's feet are flat on the ground...now look at their hands...even.

Various raw sea creatures, and side dishes. They hadn't even brought out the raw fish, or the fish skeleton soup yet.

The Octopus was only "mostly dead"

Seokga Tansinil (The Day of Buddha's Birth)

2010-05-17T21:47:00.000-07:00

In Korea, Buddha's birthday is a nationally recognized holiday, that's celebrated on May 21st.

The streets are strung with thousands of brightly colored lotus lanterns in anticipation of this.

(Cartoon of baby Buddha on the lanterns)

Fading Blossoms...

2010-04-29T19:44:00.000-07:00

Changing weather has caused the beautiful spring blossoms to shake loose from their branches and go dancing with the wind...leaving the tress to bear only baby green leaves.

I love my wife

2010-04-20T18:25:00.001-07:00

This morning, Shelby woke me up at 5:15 to go on a walk. I was pretty tired, and had a bit of a horrible attitude at first, but we ended up having a great time. She took me to a pear orchard she had found not too far from our apartment that was in bloom. Pretty much all the trees in Korea are in bloom right now, so we enjoyed cherry blossoms, magnolias, and other beautiful flowers.

We got home at 6:15, Shelby made me the best bowl of oatmeal I've ever had, and then I fell asleep. She woke me up with a steaming hot cup of coffee at 7:45, we hung out on the couch and did our devotions, I had a piece of cornbread she had made a few days ago, and then I went to work. I'm thankful for my wife and for every moment I get to spend with her. She is amazing.

Our Last Day in Busan

2010-04-19T21:02:00.000-07:00

Before we caught the train to head home, we decided to have a nice walk in the rain.

Then to the train stations, and back onto the cafe car with our standing only tickets :)
We sat at this video game for 3 -4 hours. Eventually a little boy came and kicked us off so he could play on it! ~ It was crammed!

Our Second Day in Busan

2010-04-13T15:15:00.000-07:00

We started our day with coffee and muffins...and a good read!

Then we set out to find the tourist ferry dock. We found a cheap one hour cruise; it took us out where the big ships were, around a beautiful island with cliffs, and ended by going right through the largest port in Korea! It was just us and a Korean family having some sort of reunion. They hugged us, and we tried to get to know each other. It was so fun, the family was singing and feeding seagulls.

When we got back to the dock, this was the group waiting to get on next! Someone was putting up a poster of Buddha on the boat and I couldn't figure out why. Then I realized as I got off the boat and walked through the large crowd, that most of the people waiting to get on were monks...

After our boat ride, Luke and I found Gukje Market, a large outdoor area where vendors were selling all kinds of things. It was packed with locals, and we spent sometime squeezing our way through the crowded streets. It was amazing!

One of the things we'll miss most about Korea: The BEST stuffed pancakes EVER!!!

Having lunch at a food cart.

And of course we couldn't refuse a sausage from this masked man...!?

With Luke's height and my hair color, even in a crowd, we don't have to worry about losing each other here...

After the market we headed over to the Jagalchi fish market. ENORMOUS!

At the fish market, this jolly man walked up, gave us hugs and high fives, and quickly started feeding Luke some kind of raw sea creature. As you can tell by the look on Luke's face...it was hardly edible. He said you couldn't even chew through it! Luke tried to be polite; so he hid the thing in his cheek, gave the man another hug, told him "kamsahamnida" ("thank you"), and we found a place for him to spit it out. Fun memory!

After the busy markets, we decided to find a place that was a bit more spacious, so we could hike and get some fresh air. This trail was in Amnam Park on one of the peninsulas.

We went from the park to Songdo Beach on a neat walking path. We passed many local fisherman on the way.

When we made it to the beach, we noticed many people throwing beautiful home-made goodies and fresh fruit into the water while they bowed and hit a drum. This was part of the full moon ceremonies...paying homage to ancestors.

Hundreds of people were gathering for the festivities. When the moon came up, fireworks went off, and they lit a giant tree structure made with bamboo and conifer trees. The fire was so big that people had to get out of the way of large pieces of ash falling from the sky (on the other side of the beach).

Can't have a festival without silk worm larva to snack on!

We ended the night in Nampo-dong. We had Turkish donar kebabs and hummus. YUMMY!

Our first day in Busan

2010-04-02T18:39:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Luke and I took a long weekend trip to Busan; the second largest city in South Korea. Seoul, is said to be the New York of Korea...whereas Busan, is compared to San Fransisco. It's a large, spread out port city, with mountains and beaches.

We had "standing only" tickets for the long train ride there. So we sat in the cafe car of the train...with LOTS of other people.

After we arrived, we dropped our bags off at a small guest house that was run by a little old Korean lady (she spoke ZERO English), then walked to the nearest beach. On our walk, we saw the first buds of spring!

At the beach, we saw a lot of people bowing and praying towards the sea. They would light candles, or throw flaming pieces of paper in the air, then bow several times.

We walked along a beautiful board walk (with a neat bridge), that led us to a light house.

Then we found out that this was a very special weekend, where they celebrate the first full moon of the lunar new year. Several beaches in the area were getting ready for the festival.

We wondered away from the beach and found a neat little outdoor market.

Lamp Rays...mmmm

Sweet Potato animals

Pick your clams!

On out way back, we discovered that our tiny guest house was close to the largest department store in the world!...So of course we went exploring.

Out front

Inside

They had an enormous food court area, with cuisine from all over the world; it was all Koreanized though :)

For dinner we shared a huge meal that came on two giant platters. It was a random combination of food: spaghetti, pizza bread, rice, a potato, soup, side salad, donkas(egged and breaded pork, that's fried), an omelet stuffed with rice(known as an "omerice" here), a fried egg over a meat patty, and of course...kimchi.
This was all for 11,000 won. Quite cheap! Less than $5 each.

Luke Pierced His Ears!!!

2010-04-01T19:40:00.000-07:00

~April Fools~

Day 3: Gyeongju

2010-03-27T20:49:00.000-07:00

On our third and final full day, we visited Gyeongju. Gyeongju was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla, and is referred to as "the museum without walls." While visiting, we saw: king's tombs, Cheomseongdae (the oldest astronomical observatory in East Asia), and an ancient garden for royalty. We also ate a meal fit for a king (literally) at a traditional restaurant. We slept in a condo that night. At the condo we made pancakes and played Yut, which is a traditional Korean game. The guys went to the sauna; where there are baths, steam rooms, dry heat rooms and hot-tubs with jets. It was a really fun night! The next morning before going home, we went to one last beautiful temple and a place called Seokguram Grotto. We had an amazing time with our loved ones!

We owe a huge thanks to our Korean parents for making all the plans and for allowing this adventure to happen!

~TRADITIONAL MEAL FOR THE KING: TONS OF FOOD!
We had our own room, with a bell; so the waitress would come anytime we rang.

~THE OBSERVATORY (TO THE RIGHT)

~THE TOMBS
The kings were buried in a large wooden box with relics, then gravel was heaped over it, then a thick layer of soil was packed on top of that.

~ANAPJI: A PLEASURE GARDEN MADE FOR ROYALTY

~BULGUKSA TEMPLE
This temple is said to be home of seven national treasures of South Korea.

Day 2: In Between Andong and Gyeongju

2010-03-18T12:15:00.000-07:00

On the second day of our trip we visited: Dosan Seowon (The most famous old Confucian School in Korea-started by Yi Hwang), and a mountain temple (which included steep hiking). The day ended with a temple stay in Gyeongju.

The temple stay was a really unique experience. When we first arrived, we met with a lady who told us all of the the rules and guidelines. We had a strict schedule, and right away she explained that we could not show affection to the opposite sex; so Luke and I had to pretend that we weren't married. The men and women had to be separate during meals, and in all public situations. The men slept in one large room on the floor, and the women did the same in a different room. We had to attend a 4am bowing and chanting ceremony and do exercises (like yoga) and basic Taekwondo. After we finished stretching, we all sat with the monk and had tea together. It was a very interesting time.

During tea and visiting, Dad brought up Christ and we had a long discussion about Christianity and Buddhism. The monk explained that he was not religious and belonged to no one. He said that he merely tries to empty himself of all selfish desires and needs. He respects all religions the same, yet does not chose one for his own.

Though during the time, I was tired and sore, and just wanted to sleep, I was grateful that Dad brought this up and that the guys had this discussion with him and the junior monks. There was even a couple of guys who could translate everything for them, so they got to be part of the discussion as well. I'm not sure how else we could have been a real witness. It was a trying experience, and there were definitely mixed feelings from everyone. But I'm glad for the experience in the sense that I stepped into their shoes to better understand where they are coming from. How else can we love and respect and influence those who are lost. My husband has challenged me in this area...and I think I would have had a lot harder time if it weren't for his counsel.

I will stop writing and post more pictures.

Day 1: Andong

2010-03-07T19:27:00.000-08:00

When traveling with our family, we took a three day trip around Korea. We started in Seoul and headed south-east. On the first day we got as far as Andong.

In Andong we visited: Bongjeongsa Temple, Adong Hahoe Village and slept in the traditional home of a famous scholar named Yi Hwang (who's face is on Korean currency).

The temple is said to have been built in 672 during the reign of King Munmu of the Silla dynasty. The oldest wooden building in Korea stands in this temple.

The Hahoe Village was built in the 16th century during the Joseon Dynasty. It has been a working "one-clan community" since that time. The Yu clan established it all those years ago and continues to dwell there. One old man (who lived in the village) told his story (that was translated by our Korean mom) to us while he was out on his evening walk. He explained that his family line has passed down for generations in the same home. It was a special experience to say the least! This village still practices ancient folk traditions like the Mask Dance Drama, and has preserved many of it's original structures and ancient architecture.

The man with the cane (to the right and in-front of Luke) is the local who was telling his story.

We slept in the home of a man from the 16th century named Yi Hwang (but went by the pen name of Toegye Tul). He was famous for a number of reasons; he started the most famous private Confucian academy in Korea, he was the foremost Korean Confucian who shaped the character of Korean Confucianism, developed a "curriculum" for educating the king, and through out his life he held 29 government positions.
This was a very basic house, with several separate building (of one room each). The buildings were elevated, and heated by a fire built underneath; so that the heat came up through the floors. Women slept in one room and men in the other, both on the floor.

Just To Make You Smile : )

2010-03-03T22:06:00.000-08:00

Yes my friends....this IS a comb-over wig...

"Why?" You ask. Well I used to wonder the same thing. But it hit me today (when I walked by it for the hundredth time); if you want to wear a wig, but don't want anyone to know that it's fake hair...what better than a fake comb-over would be so convincing. Surely no one would just assume that it's not real, and that you paid to have that put on your head when you could have had long luscious locks...it's the best cover up ever!

Sorry, I couldn't help myself. I chuckle every time I see it.

Hwaseong Fortress and Pyeongtaek Lake

2010-02-18T22:21:00.000-08:00

In between our trip to China, and our trip around Korea, we had a few days to explore around Pyeongtaek. We went to Hwaseong fortress in Suwon one day and to Pyeongtaek Lake the next.

Hwaseong fortress was built only a few hundred years ago in the eighteenth century. There is a wall that encloses a part of the city and many interesting buildings. We had a nice time walking on the wall even though we got a bit of a late start on the day.

Pyeongtaek Lake is a man-made lake on the coast. The lake was completely frozen when we saw it, but we ended up with no pictures for some reason. The pictures there are from the Yellow Sea, on the other side of the sea wall from the lake. The tide was really low that day. It was neat to finally see the west coast, which is rather difficult to get to, and to spend so much time with our great parents.

Experiencing the Orient

2010-02-07T21:17:00.000-08:00

We're home from China and done traveling around Korea (at least for a little while); Mom and Dad are safely home, and Luke's back to work. My mom and I are currently sitting in a coffee shop, and I've only recently started reflecting on the crazy adventures that we've encountered the last couple of weeks. I'm finally caught up on sleep, and I think I've managed to eat familiar foods for a couple of days now.

What an amazing time we've had with family and friends...and it's not even over...I'll grip every last moment with my Mama!

But we have settled a little. We've been walking around the city, cooking together, snuggling and laughing.

What a blessed life we have!

Okay, back to China...

So we spent about 8, fun-filled, crazy days in China. I don't know what my family was thinking, but they let me plan the trip...my way :) So I was sure that we would see as much as we could in the 195ish hours spent there. China isn't exactly a country that you can completely soak in and fully experience in anything short of a YEAR, so I knew this would be a challenge! Aaaaaannndd...it was. Ironically, the pressures I felt were completely self-induced and despite the minor delays, and unexpected road blocks, I found myself being the only one irritated and trying to dictate situations that were out of my control. I think that I've been blessed with a calm, easygoing family because of my strong natural ability to over-stress and worry about things. During these times on the trip, everything always turned out just fine, and several times for the better. To say the least, we had an AMAZING, INCREDIBLE, UNFORGETTABLE experience! I can't even begin to describe what a wonderful time the four of us had together, a story as unique and special as this will be IMPOSSIBLE to match in the future!

I could go into detail for hours, but much of it is probably insignificant for getting an overall feel. Plus, I'm just too lazy to sit here and write all day :) I much prefer to give an outline, and slap on some pictures. Feel free to ask any specific questions though!

We started our trek in Beijing and ended in Xi'an. We spent one night in between these two cities in an ancient, walled city called Pingyao. Some major sites that we saw were: The Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, Lama Temple, Temple of Heaven, Hutongs (traditional homes and alleys), market places, Beihai Park, Terracotta Warriors, Mt. Huashan, Muslim Quarter, and the Drum and Bell towers. I know there are things that I'm forgetting, but this will have to do.

Some highlights:

-10k hike from one Great Wall entrance to the next (a spot that was further from the city and not as visited), that ended with a suspension bridge and an amazing zip line across a partially frozen lake.

-Staying in a traditional neighborhood across the street from a busy market (where we were the only tourists around). Also staying in an amazing building built for the emperor hundreds of years ago.

-LOTS of incredible food, and eating in hole-in-the wall restaurants where everything was in Chinese. Pictures on the menu were sometimes surprisingly deceiving :}

-Taking day-trip bus rides through countryside to admire the scenery and simple lifestyles of an ancient people group. It was like stepping into the past when we left the busy cities. It's as though the farmers and small towns are completely unaware of the rapidly changing and modern world around them. I really appreciated this!

-Stumbling across a church with sweet believers, and singing our hearts out together!

-A beautiful hike in the mountains, complete with frozen waterfalls, caves and a cable car.

-Watching an elderly couple dance in the park, I felt like I was in a movie.

-The Terracotta Warriors...still can't quite wrap my brain around this one.

Anyways, now for the photos.

Recent Happenings...

2010-01-05T21:23:00.000-08:00

Hello all. It's been awhile since we last posted, so we thought we would share some pics and give a brief update. I've just finished substitute teaching for a friend of ours who went home to Canada for a month. It was wonderful to teach and get to know his students. I was sad to be done, but now am eagerly awaiting the arrival of Luke's parents!!! Two days after they get here, we will all be headed to China. After our adventure, we will fly back into Seoul to continue our vacation, and it just gets better because my Mom is coming to visit as well! She will be flying into Seoul 2 hours before we arrive home from China.

We are so excited...and feel INCREDIBLY blessed to have these upcoming events, as well as Luke's first vacation time.

Now for the holidays. We definitely had a unique Christmas and New Year, and won't ever forget the experience of celebrating in another country. We were fortunate to have our Korean family invite us to stay at there house for two nights and spend the holiday with them. We went to a Catholic mass with them on Christmas Eve and did a bus tour of Seoul on Christmas day.

Oh, and by the way...

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and Holiday Season!

This was our green tea Christmas cake. On Christmas Eve we lit the candles, said a prayer, and then blew them out together.

This was a breakfast of champions. It isn't even all the food either. In Korea, they eat the same thing for breakfast as they would for lunch or dinner. We had beef, soup, spicy noodles, salad, kimchi and other things.

On Christmas day, we did a city tour of Seoul with our Korean family. We had a great time! This was one of the temples in the middle of the city.

Our Korean parents took us to this restaurant for lunch and told us that it was a special meal for the occasion. Apparently, intestines, cow neck, and marinated meats are more expensive and considered to be a real treat!

Luke and I at the Korean War Memorial

The Seoul Tower at night. It was so much fun to go to the top of the tower and see the city from above.

After the tower, we went back into the city. The ground was covered in snow and there were beautiful lights everywhere! I got some hot cocoa and we walked along the stream next to the city center.

Back to Pyeongtaek the next morning. There was snow at home too! The men playing soccer are out there almost every weekend and nothing seems to stop them. They play in the field at the elementary school by our house. Last week, they had a barrel with a big fire to stay warm whenever they took breaks!

1/3

2009-12-23T19:53:00.000-08:00

I wrote this in my journal this morning and thought I'd share it here with you. It's not supposed to be a complete or well thought out piece of writing, and I didn't plan on posting it when I wrote it, so forgive me if it's needed. I've added a few notes and edited a few things, but basically it's what I put down in my journal.

I woke up this Christmas eve morning and one third of our time in Korea has passed. I don't know how to feel about that, so I'll just feel a little bit of everything.

I feel like the time is flying and that when we reach the end of our time here, I will wonder what we accomplished and if we were purposeful in what we did.

I feel like the time is flying and we get to go home after doing what we just did only two more times.

I feel like the time is flying and God still hasn't revealed where and what he wants us doing next. AAAAHHHHH! THERE'S NO TIME TO FIGURE IT OUT! I'M GOING TO THROW MYSELF DOWN THE STAIRS! (Luckily, the stairs in our billa are short half flights so I'm okay). Wait, wait, wait. The Earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and all who live in it(Psalm 24).

I feel like the time is flying because God has made us so comfortable and at home here. We love it and have been blessed in new and exciting ways here. How can we continue in the same growth at home? What will we do without house church and our family here?

I feel like time is dragging. Eight more months of brain-melting boredom at work? Sometimes I feel like I've got liver's block and it's killing me. How can I figure out how to USE(not waste) the time that I have at my desk, once I've finished the rigorous work of planning two lessons for the whole week? And how can I actually teach these students something worthwhile, beyond the few who want to learn?

Time is still dragging. Eight more months until a Cuca's burrito? A Bottle Shop sandwich? Marino's Pizza? a real beer? A cold, hoppy, malty, sweet, bitter, flavorful beer?

Eight more months until Grandma's waffles? Mom's anything and everything? Eight months until the Circle X? the 600? Hauling hay? Splitting wood? Hunting? Stars? Rattlesnake Rock? Pondboarding? Tarweed? Blackberries?

Eight months until Diesel, Kinhly, Lola and Rachanon?! Katie, Anni, Hannah, and Ryan? Andy and Sarah's baby(they're going to have one, I just know it...wait 8 months might be too soon for that...)? Andy and Sarah? Zeke and Bekah? Amanda? Marcus (and Jenny!)? The rest of my enormous family in various states(sorry I can't name you all, but I miss you dearly)?

Eight months until Grandma(s) and Grandpa(please Lord, please)? (I literally cried while I was writing this...I don't think that's ever happened before).

Every second that goes by, light travels 186,000 miles from it's source at the sun and the billions of other stars in the universe...so no matter how I feel, or how fast or slow it feels like the time is passing, God is in control.

Around Pyeongtaek

2009-12-13T01:06:00.000-08:00

We commonly see Mothers and Grandmothers carrying babies tightly on their backs with there normal sized coat or sweatshirt zipped up over them.

Here's a closer picture.

Anyone want some "Mommy" for lunch?!

A rainy day in Korea.

Luke was proud of this one...a hands free umbrella!

What Can't You Cook With A Rice Cooker?

2009-12-03T00:48:00.000-08:00

Luke and I have somewhat recently discovered that a rice cooker has an array of baking/ cooking abilities.

Some of our recent creations have been: yeast breads, banana bread, yellow cake, and mac n' cheese. Believe me, this is only the beginning. We fully intend on experimenting until we are "rice cookered out."

Since ovens seem to be a bit of a rarity in Korea, we were so thrilled to find a way to enjoy fresh, warm, homemade goodies!

Here's a few pictures with recipes:
On a side note: we don't have anything to measure ingredients with besides a rice cup. We completely guess for most things. A couple scoops here and a few spoon fulls there...it all works fine.

Our beloved rice cooker. Nothing fancy; just a single switch.

This banana bread is a favorite so far! It's delicious! When I get home, I think I'll continue to cook banana bread in a rice cooker, rather than the oven. The steam gives it the perfect texture!

Here's the original recipe: I added a single serving of plain yogurt (for texture) and split half white sugar, half brown sugar. Totally make it your own- add and substitute until you get just what you're looking for.

First you will need to coat the bottom and sides of the rice cooker bowl with oil or Crisco.

Combine all the dry ingredients straight into the rice cooker bowl.
1 1/2 C. Flour
1/2 C. Sugar
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Cinnamon

Then mix in wet ingredients, try and leave it a little lumpy.
1 large Egg
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
1/4 C. Milk
1/3 C. Oil
1 1/2 C. Mashed Bananas (2 large)

Once it's all mixed together, stir in 1/2 C. nuts.

Close the lid and press it down to the "cook" setting. It will need to pop up to "warm" a few times. After it pops (each time) let it sit for 5-10 minutes before pressing it down to "cook" again. Just check it every once in a while. It won't ruin it to open the lid. Just don't do it a lot. Remember that the underside is getting cooked a little faster than the part you see. So don't be afraid to use your rice spatula to pull the sides away to look at the bottom. When it's done, the top will be slightly sticky. After it's finished, pull the bowl out, place a large plate over the top, and flip it over (upside down) to get it out. You will have a beautiful loaf of bread on you plate all ready to eat. Add some butter and serve!

Amazing Mac N' Cheese! It's so simple...you can't mess this one up!

To prepare, you just throw everything in and press it down to "cook." You may have to let it pop to "warm" once, wait a few minutes, stir it, than send it through one more "cook" cycle. Just eat when it's at a desired texture.

2 C. AL Dente Macaroni (we used Penne)
1 C. Whole Milk or Half and Half
1 1/2 C. Cheese Mixture (We used sharp cheddar and powdered parmesan)
2 Tbs. Butter
Add spices to taste. We used black pepper and garlic powder.

We also added strips of onion, it was fantastic! I bet mushrooms would be great as well!

For a topping you can caramelize onions and brown Panko (or any bread crumbs) with butter on the stove top. Just add before serving.

This is Luke's creation. It's roasted garlic, peppercorn bread. It kind of failed to rise...but it still tasted great. :)

He has made wonderful white bread that rises really nicely. The warm setting on the rice cooker is a perfect way to help the dough rise before cooking it. I'll have to get better pics of this one.

This is Luke's birthday cake. I have to admit that Mom and Dad sent a cake mix from home. It was so moist! Please excuse my table covered in flour! :)
By the way, cake from scratch is totally possible too...

Three Years

2009-11-24T20:07:00.000-08:00

Today is our anniversary; Luke and I have been married for three years.

I praise God for what he has taught me through our marriage...and for creating marriage! This has been an incredibly amazing, and at times challenging, road so far. I am so thankful to have this relationship with Luke...the greatest guy ever!

We just want to thank our friends and family who have been a support and role model to us. Your love, prayers, and advice have been of HUGE value to us! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Here's to love and more years of worshiping God together!

Persimmons

2009-11-22T23:15:00.000-08:00

Well, it's persimmon season and everyone loves to eat them here. There are persimmon trees all around our neighborhood and the fruit has recently ripened. The supermarkets are packed with them in the produce section and they are quite a popular item. I have now been offered fresh persimmon on a number of occasions, and have recently started getting them for our own home. You can buy them dried or in baked goods, but they seem to mostly eat them fresh.

There are a variety of different types of persimmon here and the hard ones are most popular for snacking on. I really enjoy this new fruit. They are slightly sweet and crispy. I like them more than Luke does, but he'll still eat them.

All ready to eat!!!

The Changing Gingkos

2009-11-10T18:30:00.001-08:00

The Gingko tree branches look as though they are completely covered with bright yellow butterflies, that slowly flutter down onto the sidewalk. We have been enjoying the fall season with changing trees that we are not used to at home.

Shelby's Adult Class

2009-11-03T17:16:00.001-08:00

I teach five wonderful women twice a week, in a classroom at Luke's school.
Their ages range from late twenties to early forties. They are all teachers of different subjects, and most of them are married with children and have very busy schedules. It's been wonderful spending time with them and getting to know them better. In class I often email them current American news articles to discuss, teach them pronunciation and vocabulary, or just play games. Like the girls that I tutor, I have them use English names in class. We have a great time together and I hope to build lasting friendships with them!

It's quite a contrast to working with the girls that I tutor. I'm thankful for the experience of working with two different special groups of people in very different walks of life.

Last night I had the women over to eat pizza and hang out. We had a great time. Something that I wasn't aware of, is that in Korea, when you are invited to someones house for the first time, you bring gifts. So it was quite unexpected when they came walking through the door with a big box of presents. They got me practical gifts; like Sweet Potatoes, a plant, and even personal hygienic things for women. I love what they have taught me first hand about their country. What a unique experience!

Here are pictures: There are only 4 because one student(ROSIE) couldn't make it.

From Left to Right: HOLLY(Park, Young Kim), SUNNY(Hewe, Jo Sun), JANE(Lee, Bong Jo), and VIVIANA(Kim, Jong In). Viviana is the teacher of the mentally handicap children who I volunteer with.

While we were eating, Holly announced that she is pregnant with her second child!

Shelby's Tutor Girls

2009-11-01T19:54:00.000-08:00

I wanted to show you pictures of the delightful girls I get to tutor.

Grace(You, Hye In = Korean Name), is the girl who I'm in the pictures with. I teach her English at our apartment 3 times a week in the evening. She loves to ask questions about America and we laugh a lot together. She is in Middle School and her father is a teacher at Luke's school.

Rachel(Jieun) and Mina(Minjin) are sister's who are also in Middle School, but they attend a different school then Grace. Their Mom is a teacher at Luke's School as well and used to be in my adult English conversation class. These girls come to our place twice a week an hour and a half before Grace. I teach the sisters together.

The girls are all between 13 and 15 years old and really enjoy learning English. Their English is quite good already because they are taught it from the time they're in Grade School. The sisters used to be in an English Academy which was an after school program. In Korea these are called Hagwans. The reason they all have an American name, is because in their English class in school they get to pick a name and they keep it all the way through their schooling experience.

Teaching these young women has taught me a lot and I have really enjoyed doing it. I have to admit it's been much more challenging than I was expecting. When I was asked to tutor, I figured I was being asked to do what we do at home when we tutor a student; help them with homework, focus on things they're struggling with, maybe introduce some helpful new concepts, etc. I didn't realize the term had a different meaning here. In Korea, "tutor" means "private lesson". So as you can imagine I was a little unprepared to start teaching them from scratch without any materials or curriculum. God has been really good though, and I've been able to get advice from friends who have done it in the past, and I've also been using a lot of the Internets resources. I have even managed to come up with a few of my own ideas for teaching. So far it has been growing and stretching me. I have been really blessed in this whole experience.

I want to thank everyone for their prayers! You have been an amazing part of helping me with this! I really want to be organized and effective in my teaching, and most importantly, I want to be a light for Christ in these girls' lives.

I would like to ask for prayer that I can be a witness to these girls. They know that I'm a Christian and I've expressed the importance of God in my life to them. But I really want to challenge them with the truth. I'm not sure how to do this, but I pray that it will come naturally and that God will use me in a way that will touch them. It's difficult when we only have a short time and the focus is to teach (not to hang out and be their buds). Also, I don't want to offend their parents, so that they stop letting me teach their children.

I shouldn't fear the "what if's" though. God has proven Himself to us over and over again, and I have no reason not to trust!

Love you all...Here They Are.

The peace sign is really popular to do in pictures here

Mina(the little sister)is on the left and Rachel(the older)is on the right

I was trying to get Rachel to smile...she's shy :)

Working at my kitchen table...I like to give them cookies and drinks!

T.P.

2009-10-29T22:07:00.000-07:00

So this might sounds strange, but I thought I would share a random difference between the States and Korea. It's cute and kind of odd, but Korean's use toilet paper for many things here; namely the real intended purpose, for tissue, and napkins. I know what you're thinking..."So do we." But it's a little different than that. You see rolls of toilet paper everywhere! They even have the funny little colorful prints on them sometimes, like the t.p. you can get at home. There are rolls sitting on the counters in banks, on the tables in restaurants, in the classrooms and teachers rooms at school, and in buses, etc.

Here's a picture of a roll that's hanging from an express bus window in Seoul. They were in practically every row of seats. It's completely normal here and everyone uses it.

Goodbye Mogis!

2009-10-20T19:59:00.000-07:00

So I guess I spoke too soon with the last message. We haven't gotten any Mogi bites in two days! Luke only killed three last night in our bedroom. YAY!!! Thanks for all the advice Dad, but I think we'll be able to hold off on the sleeping net and zapper until next summer! I guess that cool winter air is just too much for them to handle.

Mogis!

2009-10-17T04:54:00.000-07:00

Mosquitoes are called Mogis (MO-GEE)in Korean, and they're driving us crazy!!! Since we've been here, we've had an ongoing problem with them in our apartment. Every morning I wake up with about 3-5 new bites. As you can guess, this adds up to MANY bites after awhile! I currently have ten bites on my hands, and Luke has eight on his back, not to mention the other bites we have all over our bodies. We kill 8-10 Mogis in our bedroom every night, but we can never get them all. They have super powers and fly right through human hands! They also disappear out of thin air, and return within seconds. We've tried many different techniques: sprays, plug-ins, fans, lights on in other rooms to distract them...and we're sure to keep all windows and doors closed at all times. What do we do?!!!

We have been assured that as soon as the weather gets cooler they will no longer be a problem, but I fear that won't be soon enough. I've been itching like crazy, and the most annoying thing is that I have eczema, so when I scratch I get rashes over the bites. AHHHH!!!! The Lord is teaching me something here, and I know that part of that is self-control. Luke is so good about not scratching and tries all that he can to encourage me. Anyways, I just had to vent.

Asian Pears!

2009-10-13T22:15:00.001-07:00

This is an Asian pear and it's wonderful. The one that I'm holding is a small to medium sized one, and they get much larger. I'm pretty sure that this particular kind is grown locally and is very popular in Korea. Luke and I have been really enjoying these, and though we have given up other kinds of fruit that aren't available here, I'm going to have to say it's been worth it for this (at least this far). They are really juicy and crispy. Luke and I share one, and it's plenty! I'm afraid that they are almost out of season because they just got really cheap at the grocery store and are a little over ripe...what am I going to do?!!! This will definitely be something I miss when I go home!

We're Back!

2009-10-07T20:39:00.001-07:00

Hello all, we are home from our trip and right back into our busy lives. We had a wonderful time. The eastern side of the country was beautiful and we got a nice mix of mountains and beach. We were quite surprised to find the water to be crystal clear and turquoise, and the sand to be fine and very light in color. The water wasn't too cold either, which is odd considering how far north we were. We weren't too far from the DMZ/ North Korea, so that was interesting. Because of this, the coast was lined with high barbed-wire fences so that spies cannot get in. There was a problem with that a few years ago. It was wonderful to have so much space and fresh air. There were hardly any people at the beaches and the crowds were very manageable at the park. Sokcho is a beautiful port town with a large fish market and fishing boats everywhere. The boats are lined with lanterns to attract squid. There were hundreds of squid on dry lines, drying in the sun! We were able to borrow bikes and have a picnic on the beach as well as try some incredible sushi. The bus ride through the mountains was wonderful too. We saw a lot of farms with traditional style farmhouses and vibrant green rice terraces that climbed up narrow valleys.
At the hostel, the owner (Mr. Yoo) was very helpful and spent a 1/2 hour showing us all the best places to visit (for view and food), and told us the exact travel time and price for each one. We had our own room (with A/C, fridge, t.v and bed softer than our own), free breakfast, internet, and bikes. He even ordered pizza for us. Best hostel we've ever stayed in...and only for $13 a night (per person)!

Here are some pics:

Oh, and in case you are wondering while you look through these, yes, I really did crash that bike. That tiny little curb got me good! And the cute boy sitting with Luke may look sweet and innocent, but he came out of no where and stole Luke's chicken leg. It was hilarious! Okay, so he really was precious, and it started with him tapping Luke in the back, then he opened his mouth really wide. When we didn't give him any, he went right in for the kill. Ate the WHOLE thing!

Funny Translations

2009-09-29T23:01:00.000-07:00

I just thought that I would share these silly pictures. They tend to make some really interesting translations into English over here :) We see these kinds of things all over the city.

This first one is a salon close to our villa. It is indeed called "James Dean Man Hair" and their motto is "For Beautiful Your Life."

The second picture is a pet store just down the street from us...I can't really explain this one.

Tests

2009-09-28T18:26:00.001-07:00

I'm sitting at my desk at school, "enjoying" a cup of instant coffee, and definitely enjoying a break from teaching. For the next three days, the students are taking mid-term exams and I don't have to teach on those days. It will be a little boring, as I do have to come in and sit at my desk all day, but I am looking forward to getting ahead on my lesson plans and also getting some work finished up on my online TEFL course.

Shelby and I are excited for the upcoming four-day weekend which starts on Friday, because we are going to Seoraksan National Park. It is supposed to be one of the most beautiful places in Korea, with mountains, rock formations, waterfalls, and beautiful fall foliage. Our extended weekend is due to the Korean holiday of Chuseok. It is called the Harvest Moon Festival, and is a time to honor ancestors.

The weather has been gloriously cool and overcast the last few days, with a little bit of rain thrown in. It has been marvelous, especially when we're hearing about the hot California weather. We had a relaxing Sunday, spending most of the day at the Trammells. We had a powerful time of worship with singing and communion. John shared some thoughts on communion that he had prepared and we dialogued and encouraged one another with our own thoughts while breaking bread and sharing wine together. It was a unique and I think a much more authentic way of remembering the sacrifice of Christ than what we usually do in church. Afterwards, we we whiled away the time playing Settlers of Catan and just enjoyed being inside while it rained.

Looking out the window from my desk, I can see the clouds breaking up and the sun returning, hopefully, not with a vengeance. I had better get some work done. Also, I would trade all the Kimchi in Korea for a chile verde burrito from Cuca's.

Grace and peace to you all. Thank you for your prayers.

We Now Have The Internet!!!

2009-09-22T20:12:00.000-07:00

A nice man rang the doorbell around 4:30pm yesterday and yelled t.v. through the door. I wasn't sure what that meant, but knew that it had to be good. It only took him ten minutes or so before everything was up and running. Yay for the internet! Hopefully we will post more frequently now.

Also, Luke and I have officially been here for one month now...it's gone so fast! We've really been enjoying our time. Thanks for all your prayers!

New Updates

2009-09-20T21:03:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! We wanted to share a couple new things:

We got in touch with Kelly, the Adventure Teaching Impact leader, and she invited us to her church in Suwon. We attended this last Sunday and it was wonderful. It's called Life Church and it's in an International School. We really enjoyed our time and got to meet many other native English speakers from all over the world. It was nice to chat with people and hear their stories. Meeting Kelly we really special too! She introduced us to several of her friends and talked of having a big BBQ so we could all get to know each other. It's going to be difficult to hang out regularly because we live pretty far away from all of them. It took over an hour just to get to church, including a 15 minute walk, 20 minute train ride and 30 minute bus ride. The congregation has about one hundred people, both Koreans and Expats. We felt very encouraged and had many people approach and welcome us. The church has a wonderful worship team and they sang in English and Korean as well as projected both languages on the screen. The church family has people of all different ages and walks of life. It was so fun to see little children running around and playing together. I do have to say there were a lot of people our age though. Something that was really neat was that our friends here in Pyeongtaek came with us, so we had a group of five! We also were able to meet Jason and Gail there, a couple that used to live in Pyeongtaek before we arrived, which gave us a group of seven. We have just started getting to know them as well. We went to lunch afterward and invited another couple that we met at church. When we got back, the five of us went out for coffee to discuss our first impressions and tried to make a decision together about how often we would go and how it may affect our house church gatherings. We don't want to stop meeting with just the five of us because it has been really meaningful and helped us to grow in our walk. It's wonderful to have friends that challenge and encourage us regularly.

To change the subject, I also wanted to mention that I have more things to keep me busy while I continue to seek out opportunities here. This is a wonderful answer to prayer, so THANK YOU for that. God has been showering blessings on us!

I currently have four new things in my schedule, two of which will not start until the first week of October. I have been volunteering at Luke's school in the Special Education Department, twice a week. It's a wonderful time with two different classes of Junior High boys. It's been neat because I've managed to develop relationships even though we have a language barrier. It's amazing how far body language can get you. Some of the boys are sweet and quiet, while others are quite feisty and like to give me a hard time :)I love them all, and they make me laugh so much. We have lots of fun together! Besides this, I teach an adult English listening and speaking class. It consists of 7 teachers from Luke's school and takes place on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I've only had one class so far, but it went pretty well. I could use prayer for what I should teach and how to do it. This class is completely made up and I have no text books or curriculum. They insist that I just come up with things to teach them. This will be rewarding but very challenging. I have no training in teaching conversational English...yikes! That's okay though, they seem to be very kind and patient people. Thank the Lord!
For the other two things starting in October; I will be tutoring one Junior High aged girl (who's father works at Luke's school) and two High School aged sisters (who's mom works at Luke's school). One will be twice a week and the other three times a week, both in the evening. I am looking forward to helping and spending time with these girls. Please pray that I can develop a special relationship with them and be a good example. I want be more than just a tutor; more like a mentor.

Thank you for sticking with me during this long entry. We love this place and feel like the Lord is teaching us so much here. You are missed and loved. Please remember that we would love to hear from you as well. Prayer requests or just what you've been up too.

Here are a few photos of random things!

We are getting better at using chopsticks! Luke is much better than I am though. It's probably a good thing because he needs more food than I do :)

This is a very popular part of Seoul that our Korean parents brought us too. We had a great time!

This is a huge shopping center that's connected to the train station, and has everything. I am currently writing this blog entry at a coffee shop inside of it. The coffee shop is called "The Story of the Best Coffee"...cute huh!

Sorry

2009-09-15T00:29:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I'm sorry it has been so long since the last update. This will be a short one as I just got off work and want to go home to see Shelby. There isn't a whole lot of new news, but things have continued to go well. Shelby has been beautifying our apartment and making it more of a home. She's been decorating and is getting ready to get some pictures printed so that we can see some of your smiling faces on the wall. I promise we will write more often once we have internet at our apartment. Thank you so much for your prayers. We miss you.

Luke

Suwon

2009-09-07T01:13:00.000-07:00

Today, Shelby and I went to Suwon, the capitol city of Gyeonggi province. We went on business rather than pleasure because we had to go to the immigration office to apply for our alien resident cards. It was nice to get outside of Pyeongtaek and see the countryside, even if it was from inside the metro train. We really enjoyed the time spent together and are having a coffee together at the train station / department store where we have found some free wireless internet.

Today is the beginning of our third week and we are surviving and so much more. It feels like home already in so many ways. It is such a change for us to live in a city and to have all that comes with that accessible by a short walk or bus ride. Even stranger is to have made such close friends within such a short time and we are so unused to having close friends our age so close and accessible. We have been blessed with wonderful fellowship in our little house church with Johnathon, John, and Ferial on Sunday nights as well as hanging out during the week.

Work went pretty well the first week, and I think it will get better as I understand more of what is expected and desired of me. I'm teaching an extra class every day beyond what the contract states, which means I will be making a little more than we thought with the overtime that I will get. It's more work, but the extra class is much smaller and without a co-teacher, so I get a chance to know the kids a little bit better since I see them everyday. Please pray that it continues to go well and even improve as time goes on.

We went to our first Korean church service on Sunday with one of my co-teachers. It was nice, but as it was in Korean, we understood basically nothing. It was certainly a neat experience to see the way they worship and to see them loving the same God we do.

That's all for now, we miss you and hope you're all doing well. We'd love to hear how you all are doing, so feel free to comment and let us know.

More Pictures

2009-09-03T22:28:00.000-07:00

I thought I would post some pictures to give you a better idea of where we live and what we've been up to.

Our lovely new friends (minus Jonathon)

We discovered that we live close to what the Koreans call "a mountain"
It's a beautiful area with nice exercise equipment and hiking trails. We hope to picnic here with our friends this weekend

The entrance to Luke's school (Pyeongtaek Middle School)

Luke's school

Another view of Luke's school (couldn't get the whole thing in the pic, it's really big)

Our balcony

Our apartment building

Updates

2009-09-03T21:47:00.000-07:00

I mentioned that we would write about Luke's work situation. It started out a bit challenging because of the difficulties with communication and unclear answers for his questions. Of course this was to be expected for moving to a different country and starting a brand new job.

It was confusing the first couple days when he would approach a class in a particular way, and the co-teacher would give him suggestions on how to improve something, then the next co-teacher for a different class would suggest just the opposite. But everyday gets a little easier and he does enjoy it. He has five different co-teachers that he works with throughout the week; they are wonderful and very helpful to both Luke and myself. He enjoys eating lunch with them and visiting outside of class time. We've even received welcoming gifts from some of them! The school has taken very good care of us, and we actually have another school party to attend tonight (for the new Principal). We feel so blessed for this job that Luke was given. From talking to others, we have discovered that we are in a quite special and unique situation. Praise God!

The Lord has been very good to us. Adjusting to all the new changes has been quite pleasant. Thank you so much for all your prayers. I would like to ask for specific prayer for opportunities for me. I love to have the day to explore and do things around the house, but having a plan would be nice. I'm sure the Lord has something in store for me, but I just need to figure out what that is. Thank you so much.

Spending Time With Our New Korean Parents: We had to post a lot to catch up...Sorry!

2009-09-01T20:04:00.000-07:00

Grinding Rice

Ginseng Garden

Traditional Korean Game

Ginkgo Tree: They're everywhere!

The Country Flower: Known as the "rose of Sharon" It's a type of Hibiscus
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You're probably getting the idea that we eat a lot over here: It's TRUE! It's sooo GOOD!

Pyeongtaek

2009-09-01T19:17:00.000-07:00

Huge covered market

Traditional clothing shop

Our Apartment

2009-09-01T17:37:00.000-07:00

Our Balcony: completely closed in with sliding windows

The Laundry room: Our new washing machine/ dryer now sits there :)

No Counters: Koreans use the floor for cooking prep

The little room to the left is the shoe room. All apartments have these because Koreans don't wear shoes in homes, some work spaces and some restaurants

We now have a large standing air conditioner the the left of the desk. It's wonderful!

New Friends!

2009-08-30T21:08:00.000-07:00

So Luke and I have made some new friends: Jonathan, John and Ferial. They are wonderful and since we wrote last we have been able to fellowship with them, eat out (Italian Food!), and they even took us to a Lotte Mart which has everything we could ever need. We actually got milk and cereal. We have found that finding western food is not very difficult at all. It helps to know people:) Oh, did I mention we got ice-cream. It's actually pretty funny how close we are to places like McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Baskin-Robins, Domino's and other fast food places. The more we become familiar with the city, the smaller it seems to get. I even found my way to the coffee shop all by myself today!

Sorry, I got sidetracked. I was talking about our new wonderful friends. They love the Lord and Korea. They are from the States, but have become very familiar with the culture and lifestyles of the Korean people. I'm excited to learn from them. They can read, write and speak some Korean. Luke and I have been trying to learn the alphabet lately, it pretty challenging!

We have also been able to spend more quality time with Juyoun's parents...they're wonderful! They took us to a Korean Folk Village that shows the lifestyles of the ancient Koreans. We even got to eat traditional Korean meals. They have been so generous, and we are really thankful for all that they've done for us. We call them our Korean Father and Mother, and they call us their American children. The relationship that we're building with them is very special, and such a BLESSING.

Luke is currently teaching for his first full day. We'll have to write and let you all know how it went.

Until next time... LOVE YOU!!!

2009-08-29T22:50:00.000-07:00

We finally found some wireless internet today at a coffee shop, so now we can show you some pictures of our apartment and the other interesting things we've been seeing.

Goodbye at the airport

Our hotel room

Our first meal. Bibimbap(rice bowl) with donkasseu(pork cutlet)

Pyeongtaek

We will have more pictures and more updates on what we've been up to soon, but everything is going fantastically and we have been very blessed.

Home

2009-08-26T19:21:00.000-07:00

Shelby and I have been so blessed during our time in Pyeongtaek. I still haven't started work yet, because of a Swine Flu quarantine, but I will go for the first time tomorrow. We moved into our apartment on Tuesday, spent most of that day cleaning and most of Wednesday unpacking and arranging the place. It is much nicer and bigger than we expected. We already love it and are starting to feel at home there. It is a one bedroom apartment, with a large bedroom and living room/kitchen. There is an enclosed balcony, with a space for our washing machine. We will post pictures of it as soon as we can, but we don't have internet hooked up in the apartment yet.

We've had a great time trying new foods, often not having any idea what we are ordering. We've been pretty lucky for the most part. We've been getting more familiar with our neighborhood and recently found a nice grocery store within walking distance. We could spend hours exploring the isles and trying to figure out what everything is. It is a challenge to not be able to read anything. Everyone has been very friendly and polite to us, but most Koreans are very hesitant to try and speak English, even if they know it.

There are two co-teachers that I will be working with and they have been very helpful. They have helped us figure things out with our apartment and in learning how to do different things. One brought us a meal and took us shopping at a grocery store, and the other took me to the hospital for a health checkup. Eating seaweed and rice for breakfast might take some getting used to, as well as the smells of the city. Even so, we are loving it here. It has been quite hot and humid here, but it rained last night and a little bit this morning. We heard that we might get an air conditioner in our apartment, but we are trying not to get our hopes up.

Last night we were able to meet Juyoun's (Mom and Dad's exchange student) parents. They drove down from Seoul and met us at the AK Plaza, which is an enormous mall at the train station. They took us out for an excellent traditional Korean meal. We had bulgogi and other grilled meat, mushrooms and onions. The table was packed with rice, crab and tofu soup, kimchi and other side dishes, and plum soda. We were able to grill and cook our own food on burners in the middle of the table. Afterwards they took us out for coffee and we continued to get to know each other there. They are a delightful couple and told us that they want to be like our parents for the year we are here. We are planning to spend more time with them on Saturday, and are looking forward to doing the same in the future.

Thank you so much for all the comments and the prayers. It is nice to hear from home and to know that you are thinking of us. We miss you all and are thinking of you. If you want to comment on the blog, you may need a google account or something similar in order to post a comment, but facebook is fine as well.

Internet in our apartment may be as much as a week away, so our updates may be a little bit sporadic at this point. We love you all.

Happy Birthday Juyoun!

We're Here!

2009-08-23T19:11:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone

We had a long day yesterday, leaving San Francisco at 2:10 PM arriving in Seoul at 6:45 PM the next day after a 12 hour flight. We took the bus to Pyeongtaek and were met by my very nice Co-teachers at around 10:15. We had a very short drive to a hotel where we stayed last night and will stay until our apartment is ready, probably on Wednesday. We have today to relax and rest, but tomorrow will be my first day at school. I won't have to do much but be introduced, and get acquainted, so it shouldn't be too stressful. We've enjoyed wandering this morning and seeing a little bit of the city. We are definitely far from home. We can't read much of anything and there are bright lights and colors everywhere. We love and miss you all, and will write more when we can, but it may be a little while until we are settled.

we appreciate your prayers. God has been so good to us.

Departure Date!

2009-08-19T12:20:00.000-07:00

We now have our tickets. The wait is over!
Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us. Luke received his visa on Tuesday and we got an e-mail with a departure date of Aug. 22nd. Our flight is with Singapore Air at 1:15. Wow, that's this Saturday :) Things are moving along quite smoothly. We have spent some really special time with family and loved ones, to say goodbye. We wish we could have seen more people, but such is life. Know that we will miss you all. We are overwhelmed with the amount of love and support we have from everyone. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! It means so much to us.

We wanted to mention that we would love to receive updates from viewers of our blog; to see how we can pray for people at home and stay connected. We want this to be a two way thing. It would be wonderful to hear how things are and whats new!

Off to Korea

2009-08-09T21:02:00.001-07:00

Shelby and I are leaving sometime in the next few weeks to go to South Korea. I will be teaching English at an all-boys, public middle school in Pyongtaek, a city about 1.5 hours from Seoul, the capital. I start work on August 24, but we still don't know when exactly we will be leaving. Shelby is hoping to volunteer at an orphanage near us, but we don't have specific details about where she will be able to get plugged in yet. Once we are over there, we are planning to update this thing much more regularly.

We've been having a busy but really fun summer. We've moved out of our house, which was a horrible pain, but have had a little bit of freedom to do some fun things. I've been working on a TEFL course online, and we've both been doing a lot of paperwork and so on in preparation for leaving. Shelby has helped out my Grandma by doing some cleaning for her and giving her a break from watching my Grandpa with Alzheimers. It has been wonderful to spend a lot of time with both of them. Shelby's mom has been with us for the past week and it has been wonderful to spend time with her before we have to leave. Her Dad will be coming down next weekend and we are looking forward to seeing him as well.

It seems incredibly unreal to think that in a matter of weeks, we will be in an apartment, literally halfway around the world, which will be our home for the next year. God surely has an incredible adventure in store for us, but I need to remember Proverbs 3:5-6, as it is far too easy to worry and fret about where He is leading us. We would love to have your prayers as we embark on this new adventure and look for opportunities to serve the Lord in Korea.

I almost died...

2009-04-28T17:11:00.000-07:00

because my wife went to Hawaii for a week and then stayed in Portland with family for a few days. I managed to survive, but it was a close one.

She had a marvelous time, and thanks to those girls that she went with. She loved spending time with you again.

I ended up going surfing for the first time ever and watching Tim Lincecum strike out 13 in 8 shutout innings and still not get win. If Andy would send me some pictures, I'd put some up.

Random thoughts

2009-03-05T12:55:00.000-08:00

in no particular order

I forgot I had a blog

I wish I got paid by the hour

Shelby and I are trying to figure out what in the world we are doing after the school year is over

It is almost Friday

the Giants beat the dodgers yesterday

I miss my wife because she is at home on thursdays. No lunch with her today

God's grace is amazing

I'm going to shoot some guns this weekend

I really hate being a teacher

I really love being a teacher

Waking up at 5 am is nice once you get used to it

I have a cousin named Ryan Michael (Steve and Shannon must really love the office)

trip slideshow

2009-01-20T16:30:00.000-08:00

at the bottom of the page

White Christmas

2008-12-27T10:22:00.000-08:00

Shelby and I enjoyed white Christmases in both Astoria and in Portland. We spent time at her dad's in Astoria, and are with her sister's family in Portland right now. We are having a great time with her sister's kids. They are pretty ridiculously cute. this is baby Lola.

Shelby's brother Josh is 12 and he and I had some pretty good snowball fights.

He was hiding behind some cars so I couldn't get him with
a direct shot so I threw a snowball at the snow hanging off of the
roof above him and this was the result.

We had a fantastic time there seeing Shelby's family and friends and will be in Portland for a few more days.

Pictures

2008-12-16T16:59:00.001-08:00

The Bean in Chicago. It makes you look funny.

From Trip pictures

Our first few days in Prague

From Trip pictures

I carried this behemoth all over Europe. That might be why I lost 20 pounds while I was there.

From Trip pictures

This is the Fer family who graciously hosted us in Kutna Hora, CZ. Jan (in the front) was a friend of Shelby's Grandfather and was able to show us his grave. We had a great time with he and his wife Magdalena(next to Shelby).

From Trip pictures

Hmm, that's all I've got for now. This picture business is tiring.

Life

2008-12-16T16:35:00.000-08:00

Shelby and I currently live in Potter Valley, California and rent a house from my parents. We are both employed at Deep Valley Christian School where I am teaching just about every High School class imaginable and she is working as an aid in the Kindergarten and teaching elementary PE. This is my second year hear and Shelby's first. She worked at a bank last year, and absolutely loves what she is doing now.

We had our 2nd Anniversary on November 25! It's amazing how quickly time passes.

We spent 7 weeks out of our summer touring Europe. We spent time in Germany, the Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Switzerland, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. We stayed in Hostels, campgrounds, and with exchange students that my family had hosted in the past. It was great to see them and spend time with them again. We also stayed with friends of Shelby's family in the Czech Republic where we got to see her grandfather's grave.

Shelby got me a laptop for my birthday/Christmas/birthday(next year)/Christmas(next year)...

I've been slowly transferring pictures to it so here are a few.

actually I still need to figure out how to do that. new post later

I just made a blog

2008-12-08T14:06:00.001-08:00

really

This happens to be us in Italy this summer. I guess I should get some recent pictures.