My son Justin is pictured above. He is working with the sound team at church most Sundays.

There is a Bible Verse about hard work that is worth mentioning. “A sluggard’s appetite is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied." Proverbs 13:4

It may be difficult to teach children the value of discipline and hard and work, but it does have its rewards! 

Justin, my eldest son, came home from school last week with two awards. It was a pleasant surprise for this parent! He and his friends got a bronze medal for an English project where they interview yours truly about Sejong High School. The other project was more individual. He received a silver medal for creating an anti-smoking poster. Apparently, my child’s artistic talents are starting to blossom! And Daddy rewarded him with fried chicken as a late night snack.

The English project that he and his friends won for was something! I remember the day they interviewed me. I was simply asked to say, “Tell me about your school, Justin! I want to learn about your school!” It was one of those days where I had many small things to do and I was a little annoyed because it was an unusual request. The rest of the video is Justin and his friend walking around school showing anyone who was watching the video the buildings. The English was quite good even if my initial question was more than a little awkward!

Jordan also did some great work at school. He and his classmates put together a multicultural show for parents last Wednesday morning. They all prepared little dance numbers! Jordan was wearing a Chinese traditional hat and I was genuinely wondering what they were going to do before they started dancing to ‘Kung Fu Fighting’. His friends and he were reasonably coordinated as they performed it and the parents broke out into laughter when they heard the song. 

The other song that the whole class performed was ‘Jumbo’. It’s an African song that has a Korean counterpart. While they were performing I understood why I had heard him humming the song so many times at home. While they were doing it, I could hear many of them singing. And, of course, they broke out into hysterical laughter when it was all done! I commend the teacher for pushing all those second-graders to perform so well. I will remember that day for a long time!

Aidan and Jordan go to Taekwondo every night at 7:00. When they have worked hard, the teacher gives them tickets. These tickets are 10 points, 50 points, and 100 points. Aidan was pleased as pie to receive a ticket for 50 points last week. It was the same night that they all received chicken from Daddy so all was well with the world!

Hard work and perseverance are difficult things to teach. Each boy was able to show some aspect of perseverance last week and I was very proud of them all!

“A sluggard’s appetite is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied." Proverbs 13: 4

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Advent begins on Sunday. They boys looks forward to the little chocolate gifts in the Advent Calendar but I look forward to the read-alouds!

My family will be reading Ann Voskamp's The Wonder of the Greatest Gift along with other holiday favorites. This year I will wrap up books for them to choose, two or three, and we will read that book in the evening. We will light candles, read The Wonder of the Greatest Gift, hang an ornament on the tree, and read the book they have chosen. I look forward to this bonding time with the boys!

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For those of you who are curious, there has been a delay with the book I’m publishing. The Giver: The Life of Jesus and the Book of Acts (Fifty Sermons for Children) will be published in January. I am still very excited about the book!  I hope you will be too! 

​The month of October has been full of activities for the Kim Clan. Some of the activities have been planned and some of them have just happened. The picture above shows an impromptu Sunday outing to a park. One of many autumn adventures. Let’s get started.

Let’s start with the youngest. Jordan loves to play dakchee. It’s a game where you slam down a piece of plastic that is oddly shaped like a Korean cartoon character onto another cartoon character and do what you can to make the one on the bottom jump. If you do make it jump you win that dakchee. It’s a skilled game that the boys here love to play. And it’s a great tragedy when you lose one to another player.

Jordan went out on last Sunday after church with one dakchee. He came back with sixteen dakchee! His brothers congratulated him on this amazing feat. It proved that he can do something very well.

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.
​Ecclesiastes 9:10

This is the same child who cries when he doesn’t want to memorize a Bible verse or he doesn’t feel like brushing his teeth and tries to trick me. But he is able to do something wholeheartedly.

Aidan is a truth-teller. 

The other day he looked up from what he was doing, smiled, and exclaimed, “Mommy, you have white hair!” 

“Yes, I know. Your mother is getting old!”

He considered that for a moment and then said, “Age is only a number!”

I was a little dumbfounded by this and made a plan to fix my hair shortly after that.

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Proverbs 15:1

That is Aidan. He works on being charming, but sometimes he is still very “honest” about what he thinks. 

Justin is also rather charming. Last weekend he asked me to help him with a school project which did turn out well. His friend had called and asked if I would be the “glue” to their promotional video for Sejong Boys High School. I saw “glue” because his friend decided I was going to be the start and the end of the video. I was supposed to ask about their school and how things got done. 

I was actually in the middle of something else when Justin asked me, and I didn’t seem overly pleased with the idea behind it. I actually got a little upset. 

“Mom, why are you upset?”

”I’m working on something else Justin!” 

“It will only take five minutes.”

”Okay, Justin.”

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Proverbs 15:1

I did help him that day. Five minutes turned into twenty five minutes with the “help” of his friend. I also know he was doing damage control between myself and his friend.

The boys are getting on well but dining room table is always loud. They are slowly learning that a soft answer turns away wrath.
​

This is the month my book comes out! It's entitled The Giver: The Life of Christ and the Book of Acts. I'll be posting in the next couple of weeks. Be sure to click on the link.

Sleep is a precious commodity for those who are blessed enough to get it. We are having trouble sleeping with the change in the weather and some cute things have conspired with my little people.

Jordan is one of those who just does not want to get out of bed! And then he does not want to get up in the morning! What a way to be but we had a cute encounter the other day. I was waking him up and I said, "Jordan, it is time to get out of bed!"

He cracked open one eye and smiled at me, "Just one hug," he said drowsily.

I, of course, bent down and gave him hug. "Just one kiss," he said as I was starting to stand up.

"Alright. One kiss and then you have to get up!" I said. 

And he did get up that morning after the one kiss and the one hug!

Justin is not as fortunate as Jordan or Aidan. He goes to bed around 12:00 or 12:30. I am hoping he is doing his best work between 9:00 and 12:00 when I don't see him. 

I wake Justin up at 7:00 every morning after I have had a shower. It's a similar thing every morning.

"Mom, five more minutes."

"Sure, I'll come back in five." I then proceed to get Aidan's and Jordan's clothes which takes up about two minutes. Then I go back into the room and wake him up again. He hasn't really caught on! 

Aidan is the kid who has really similar sleep habits to me.  He likes to cuddle before he falls asleep. And then he falls into a deep sleep and doesn't wake up until early the next morning. He then goes to the washroom and then crawls back into bed with a bit of a flourish. He will sleep until I wake him up.

​My husband is the odd one out. He sleeps whenever he wants to. He has no problem taking a two hour nap in the middle of the day! He won't go to sleep until 12:30 or 1:00 in the morning and then he wakes up at 6:00 or 7:00. How is that possible for one person to function on 5 or 6 hours of sleep? He does and it remains a mystery. It's a Korean mystery that I just don't quite understand!

Myself? I sleep. I've had a few exceptional nights where I have gone to bed quite early. I'm thankful that I have a late start of Monday morning and I was able to sleep for on Monday from eight until 10. I was also able to repeat this on Wednesday. 

I love those little boys and I love the big boy too! There is a lot of love and a lot of sleep that goes on in the name of peace.

I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, Oh Lord, make me dwell in safety. Psalm 6:8

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I have a project that I have been working on! It's a book of sermons for children. It covers the life of Jesus and the Book of Acts, and I would love for you to be a part of the book launch! I will post an amazon link to the book when it is published and you can click on the link and download it! 

Aren't they cute? 

School began last week and I am thanking the Lord for the good teachers and administrators who are working hard to positively influence Justin, Aidan, and Jordan. I was thrilled to be home with them for a while and I am thrilled that they are back at school.

We are back in the swing of things with piano, Taekwondo, and study room as well. (For those of you who are reading this and are not in Korea, study room is an after school program where students in grades 4 to 6 go over study materials that they need to pass their grades) This has given my husband and myself some much needed quiet time. By this, I mean we are sleeping!

This morning my husband slept until about 11:00 because he went to a funeral last night. He was tired from the funeral and I was tired just from life!

We celebrated our anniversary a little early (next week!) by going to Outback Steakhouse for lunch. We had a lovely meal and I absolutely love the warm bread with the whipped butter! The bread melts in your mouth as you eat it! 

I had a second serving of bread at a friend's place this afternoon. Eugene took a baguette and spread a little butter on each slice along with garlic salt. She then baked the bread in the oven for about five minutes. Her daughters and I happily ate this amazing snack for about fifteen minutes!

My husband just sat down on the couch and happily ate the last pastry. I asked for half and he looked at me like I was crazy. He gave half about a minute later. 

Needless to say, this was a bread day.

Jesus said he was, "The Bread of life". Have you ever wondered what he meant by that?

He was born in the House of Bread, Bethlehem. Bread is a symbol of spiritual sustenance. He directs to two feeding miracles. One with two five and five loaves which results in 12 baskets of leftovers. With the second feeding miracle, there are 7 baskets of leftovers. 

In John 6:35 Jesus explains plainly, "I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry again, and no one who believes in Me will be thirsty again."

His ministry culminates in the Last Supper when he holds up a piece of bread and say, "This is my body. The bread that will sustain you will be broken. And after it's broke, it will feed everyone who believes. Take it, and eat it." Everything that has bee taught up to that point about manna was a foreshadowing of the Messiah. 

This rabbi wanted to fill your mind with the goodness of God. 

He wanted you to taste, see, and experience that the Lord is good. 

He is the bread of life so you can taste, see and experience that the Lord is good. 

By the way, the boys ate the bread this afternoon. They enjoyed it with mango butter. I just kept thinking about Jesus and bread. 

 

The boys and I are on vacation! Last week, we went to Elior Camp in Tae-an. This is fairly close to the beach which is great except that it rained a little too much! But the boys enjoyed playing with their friends and I enjoyed listening to sermons related to being children of God. 

Children of God was the theme of this camp. I was in charge of the Bible verses that needed to be memorized before meals. Four days of memorizing verses for breakfast, lunch, and supper does take it's toll on people. Near the end of the last day, the Koreans were more than a little weary from everything and I did extend some grace their way. They were just required to read those verses. It's biblical to give grace, don't you think?

As I meditated on the verses, the theme of suffering kept appearing. After we have suffered a little while, we will enjoy the fellowship and grace that Christ extends and become children of God. We are children of God.

It was good to see old faces and I enjoyed the new people I met. We went swimming on the second day out in the ocean. I remember I was having trouble going completely under water. I was a child playing in front of my maker. I remember taking a nap that afternoon. It was only about twenty minutes but it felt good. I felt like I was being taken care of. God was there. I walked home with two African students. One was from Swaziland and the other was from South Africa. I loved listening to their accented as they compared notes on what had gone on that afternoon. The one was giving the other a hard time about finding a boyfriend. "My mother said that I should study. Don't look around for boys. You can look for a boy back home!" I remembering things that they were just so young and full of life. Children of God.

I taught a short lesson on Zaccheus to the children. They were running around and screaming quite a bit, including Aidan and Jordan! I was trying to teach them a song about Zaccheus and how much he had changed. He did a 180 turn around. That short tax collector was changed by that encounter with Jesus up in the tree. He went from bad to good. He was darkness and became light. He stopped stealing money and probably returned quite a bit of it. Zaccheus was a child of God. 

We wandered in the sand-dunes the following day before it rained. We were dressed in white so it was easy to spot everyone. Jordan, of course, slowed right down until we were close to being dead last. I remember seeing pockets of white and looking out over the ocean. It really was amazing. I had this great picture of what the Red Sea must have looked like right after the big miracle where the waters parted. We then started moving through 'the wilderness'. Sand-dunes just covered the area and I was paying attention to all the flowers that were popping up everywhere. 'The wilderness' really was beautiful. And right on the edge of the sand-dunes were trees. A forest of trees to get lost in. It was a lovely hour where I felt like an Israelite. We wandered, we walked, we enjoyed, we complained. We did everything the Israelites did. 

I also remember the drinks the ladies bought immediately following this. It had started to rain just as we finished and I remember thinking that it was just interesting timing. As we tucked into a small convenience store, the ladies went looking for ice coffee and drinks for the children. Very thirsty children of God. 

This was the theme for the week extending all the way into Sunday night's prayer time. (We pray together as a family every Sunday around 8:00 pm!). Jordan thanked God for lemonade after the English Sunday School was finished! He also thanked God for his brothers and his mom and Dad. Aidan was a little more serious in thanking God for lemonade and lunch. Please notice the L's in that last sentence. He also was thanked God for family and prayed for mommy and daddy. Justin also thanked God for his shoes! And he prayed for God's blessing on our family. 

They are a mischievous bunch but they are my family and I love them all, including that the big one! (Yes, Daddy!) We are all children of God. 

June 25 is the day the war ended in Korea.  Those who remember celebrate that day.  It is also the day that Justin was born. 

I remember that eventful day quite well. We had gone to the doctor to make sure everything was alright. The nurse was able to check my blood pressure and other things were normal. She said come back in one month. I was back in less than a day!

Hansung had gone to work, and I was exercising. I kept running to the bathroom and wondered why and I  remember feeling pain in my back. It was happening! I called Hansung and told him. He said "Mumuma" on the phone and told me he was coming. He also called Pastor Bill from the church to give me a ride. 

I remember thinking that the back pain hurt a lot. I just didn't have anything in me. Then Pastor Bill showed up. He helped down the stairs and into the car. And off to the clinic we went!

When we arrived, they checked everything. I was poked and prodded. I remember the doctor said "Rapid progress". It was then that Hansung arrived at the clinic. This was good for me.

I remember walking up and down as the pain got stronger and stronger. Hansung didn't really know what to do to make me feel better. I thought taking a shower would help. We had planned for a water birth. Why not? I thought to myself.

The water was like a sting ray on my back! That didn't help at all.

I walked around some more. Two nurses told me to come to them. I obediently did what they asked. 

I remember being propped up and thinking that it was all very weird and how very, very tired I was. The nurses were talking to teach other. And then they were talking to me. 

Someone was telling me to push through the blur. I pushed and the other nurse pushed on my stomach. I remember the calmness after that. I was so tired and the baby, dear little Justin, was fine.

He was so little. And I was so tired. I closed my eyes almost immediately. 

They took me to my room and I slept for quite a while. I remember when the nurse came in and gave me my son. What a beautiful little thing he was! I remember the angels came knocking on the door after that. I felt like one was watching us as we looked at each other. 

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Fast forward sixteen years later. Justin is in his first year of high school. I never really wanted him to be in high school while we were in Korea, but he is in high school. He is studying many different things and doing projects. 

He is handsome. 

He is funny. He is fun-loving.

He is a bit of a goof-ball! He plays with people. He plays with me. He plays with his brothers. 

He is patient. Patient with his father. Patient with his mother. Patient with his brothers.

He is continuously on his phone until I tell him that he needs to get off. Can't win them all!

His father says he could do anything. He just needs to put his mind to it. 

He has decided that he wants to be a pilot. We talked about it last night actually.

I saluted him and asked if we were going to get a discount on our travel expenses. "I think so!" was his reply.

We all ate cake last night to celebrate his birthday. Happy Birthday Justin! For your mother, your sixteen years is a beautiful thing!

The LORD bless you, and keep you: The LORD make his face shine on you, and be gracious to you: The LORD lift up his countenance on you, and give you peace. Number 6:24-26
​

It is no secret that the Kim clan loves the printed word. There are reading and study nooks in almost every corner of our home. Despite the clutter, I believe that books should be everywhere to inspire the boys to read. And they do read. Picture books, comic books, and early chapter books are all over the house. 

Over the past six weeks, Aidan and Jordan have been participating in a book contest designed by yours truly. I give them points for listening to picture books in English, more points for short chapters books, and lots of points for comic books. I will say that there is a magic to comic books. 

The magic of comic books started with Justin. He has probably 30 Maple Story comic books that he started reading in elementary school. Aidan and Jordan both love the Dragon Village  comics where dragons fight out epic battles of good and evil. The latest comic book series has been Kakao friends which is a great package of comic book plus little gift. There is also a comic book series for Old Testament and New Testament stories that is very, very good. The boys got their points doubled on Sunday if they read anything from this series. 

I also love the Why? books that so well done here. There are why? books for just about everything that I used to find in the Encyclopedia Britannica. Aidan and Jordan have learned about the South Korean president and the beloved figure skater Kim Yun-ah. 

We've been able to do this also because of the development of libraries. Our little local library in Jochiwon has a great selection of English books. As well, there is another great library in Sejong City. We go every two weeks on Saturday and stay for a couple of hours. 

The how-to's of this have been worked out over the years. First, they are allowed to pick books that they want to read, not just what I want them to read. Second, I have had to let go of the idea of them reading well in English. They do not read terribly well in English yet, but progress is being made slowly with the read-alouds we do for points. Related to the English is challenge is the Bible verse challenge. They are to practice handwriting in English every weekday with some material that I picked up years ago. It's a short 5 to 10 minutes period where they learn the printed and cursive alphabet. Third, the read-alouds are generally pretty short.  10 to 15 minutes is what they can handle in terms of listening in English. Fourth, I aim for short reading periods when they read on their own. These periods are before bedtime. Devices are to be turned off at 8:00, and the books come out. EPIC is the one exception to this as that application has so many beautiful book options. 

The boys have earned a lot of points, and I want to do something to celebrate this. Interestingly, Jordan pulled ahead of Aidan in terms of points and that's when the idea of cooperation popped into my head. (Aidan is still trying to figure out how his brother go ahead of him!!?!!) We need to go to an amusement park or a movie to celebrate their achievement of over 6000 collective points. 

Reading is a gift to their development. The concentration and perseverance it takes to read through an entire book relates back to their character development. They are developing patience, faithfulness, and self-control, all fruits of the Spirit. 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:23 ESV

He has Risen and spring is in bloom. We celebrated Easter Sunday in April and for the first time, I truly understood the beauty of "God is for us". God calls us to accept Christ as Lord and Savior. We come to a realization of our own depravity, our sin. We turn from that depravity to God. We repent and come to faith. The celebration at Easter is more profound then at Christmas. At Christmas, we understand that "God is with us". At Easter, we know that He loves us through the death and resurrection of Christ.

And through the resurrection of Christ and his love, we are aware of how all things grow. I am focusing on the fruit of the Spirit in this post as the boys are growing in these areas in different ways.

Jordan has had some amazing movements into love, joy, and peace.

He is a beautifully emotional boy who cries easily when he does something wrong. Perhaps it is his age, but I see him full of love for his family. Every Sunday night he thanks God for his family and has at least one story about a sweet or great food that he enjoyed over the week.

He expresses his love for family and his delight and joy in friends, food, and family relationships. He smiles delightfully when he talks about his seatmate at school. I still receive sweet expressions of love every evening and morning from this dear child.

He is learning peace. We spend quite a bit of time learning Bible verses from Sunday School during the week. He does this with great enthusiasm most of the time. 

(Jordan being delightfully mischievous!)


Aidan has been working on patience, kindness, and goodness.

This child has an unending amount of patience. He endures teasing from his older brother, and encourages his younger brother to try things when scared.

His endurance for kindness can be seen in his aptitude for service. He enjoys helping around the house. This past Saturday, he did one of Justin's chores. He took out the wet garbage and washed the pail. He returned it to the kitchen perfectly clean and proceeded to show me.

​He also continues to work on goodness through the memorization of Bible verses. This seems to come easily to him and has resulted in fewer emotional outbursts. 

Justin has started high school; he is learning faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.

This is the child who had incredible hills and valleys of learning in middle and elementary school. He seems to be getting a grip on faithfulness. He is starting to understand commitment and what Eugene Peterson coined as 'a long obedience in the same direction'.

Faithfulness is becoming a habit! He is learning to breakdown his learning into manageable chunks that are done little by little over a long period of time. He will say, "I am angry" when something happens that he doesn't like, but he does this in his gentle and funny ways. 

Self control is an thing that many adults still aspire to. A little over a month ago, Justin expressed to me that he wanted to be like Aquaman. He wants that actor's build and particularly the long hair. "I am going to get a flat stomach Mom! Then, I am going to work on a six-pack!" Well, he has the flat stomach, and is working on the six-pack.

The fruits of the spirit are about growing in Christ, and they reflect growth in personality. I'm excited to see what will happen with their lives as they grow into who they are in Christ. 

The fruit of the spirit are about growing in Christ, and they reflect growth in personality. I'm excited to see what will happen with their lives as they grow into who they are in Christ. 

We all grow in the fruit of the Spirit. We are saved by God and then we grow into who he calls us to be, but we all grow into love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Which of these virtues are you contemplating lately? 

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Just one more shot that happened this morning! Too good not to post!

In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety. Psalm 4:8 
​

The turn in the weather has a blessed thing here in South Korea. The sun shines, the temperature climbs, and March has beautifully come in.

Our family has enjoyed March as a season of beginnings. The school year has started, the new semester has begun for my husband and myself, and the season of Lent has started.

Aidan passed a Taekwondo test a few weeks ago. He, of course, was brilliant on the day of the test! I am one proud momma! And we are still waiting for him to bring home the actual belt. 
​

Aidan's birthday was March 21st, but it was much more like a birthday week!

On the Sunday before, he had no problem putting up his hand in church when the announcer asked if there were any birthdays. He gleefully accepted a box of chocolates. I was not surprised when he asked if he could eat a few before lunch, but I told him to wait. He enjoyed most of the box after Sunday School.

On the actual day, we went out to eat at the one and only Uzbeki restaurant in Jochiwon. Justin also brought him special chicken on that day which all of the boys ate on the way to the restaurant. Aidan ordered a really lovely pork and rice dish, but he couldn't finish it all. 

We let him have a couple of friends over on Friday night for a pajama party and sleep over. They had a great time eating pizza and cake, drinking cola, and playing games on their devices until 11:00! Apparently, this was way past their bed time for all of them. Interestingly, they all got up early to play more games together, enjoyed chocolate pancakes for breakfast, and went off to spend the afternoon together.

In other news, Justin has started high school, and can't you tell from this picture that he is quite proud of his uniform? LOL!

I admit that I am not exactly comfortable with him going to high school. What happened to that energetic, rambunctious young boy who bounced around like Tigger from Winnie the Pooh? He grew up! 

We prayed for him the night before he started. I hugged and cried my eldest boy and the reality of it all set in. I hope and pray that he will continue to improve himself in high school! Strive on to bigger and better things young man!

And for those of you who are wondering, it's an all boys school! There are only a handful of female teachers, so he will not be learning how to flirt or any of those other skills that are necessary for relationships of the opposite sex! Mom will continue to be the main woman in his life for now.
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And Jordan! A wonderful mischief maker, lemonade stealer (yes, the lemonade in the picture was mine), and all around fun kid! This is the child who still get excited about dances with Mom, picture books, and hidden cookies in the pantry.

This is my sweet trinity of sons. Our home is full of love, and I am blessed by each of them.

And I need to end with the man who has been with me for over twenty years. Hansung Kim is a husband, friend, father, professor, and part-time singer. Next month, we get to celebrate his birthday.

For now, I just thank God for all of these gifts. Aidan, Justin, Jordan, and Hansung. 

But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children--
Psalm 103:17

Life definitely does through things at you! January and February saw a number of life events for the Kim Clan. First, my eldest, Justin, graduated from middle school. Jordan and Aidan passed their grades with flying colours. Jordan will go into grade two and Aidan will be going into grade four in March. January and February also brought news of three different deaths. A dedicated teacher in the KOTESOL passed away, my neighbor's father, and the elderly father of the blessed soul who organizes things for English Sunday School also passed away. Quite a few ups and downs for the beginning of 2019.

​Let's begin...

Justin will jump into high school! His graduation was on a Wednesday in January. I finished my class early in order to get to the ceremony that started at 11:00. He was one happy camper and thrilled that his aunt from Seoul came to celebrate with us. Aidan was also rightly proud of his brother.

January also saw a jump into responsibilities. The boys were finished their classes before my winter class was finished. I gave them a list of things to do during the day and came home to find that most of it was accomplished. Hansung was teaching a seminary class in Nepal, so the boys really were alone in the house for a good part of the day.

The end of January saw us take a trip to Cambodia. It was a trip that I had wanted to take for quite some time. Out of all the places I have seen in Asia, Angkor Wat has been a favorite and I wanted to see it again. As well, we got to spend time with Shannon Smith, Justin's former youth pastor from Korea Nazarene University's International English Church. She is now a missionary with the Nazarene church and is learning Khmer. We were able to hangout for two days and had a grand time together.

We had a few days to recover before the Lunar New Year holiday. In Korea, this is three days. The first day is to travel to wherever your family lives, the second day is the holiday, and the third day is to travel back home. We went up to Seoul to see Grandma in the nursing home on the second day, as its only about an hour and half up to Seoul. 

Grandma was ready for visitors! Considering that the woman is in her nineties, she really does have quite a bit of energy! She was well dressed, smiling, and had prepared the little bit of money all children receive after they have bowed to their elders. We visited for about an hour before she showed signs of getting tired.

In other news, I finally got around to putting a world map up on the wall beside the kitchen table. I had fun watching Aidan the other day look at the map carefully. He found the state of Virginia (Mom's name!), Austin (his cousin's name) and Dallas (my sister's name) in the state of Texas, and Jordan (his brother's name) the country and the river. I was greatly amused when he asked if there was a city or town called Aidan or Justin somewhere in the world!

The boys and also also spent three days at Elior English Camp, which for me has become a spiritual retreat of sorts. The mountain air, the good food, the conversations with friends, and the workshops all were blessings that brought me through all the grief and depression to a place of thankfulness. 

The three big lumps in February have been the laundry lump (or amazing pile up), the food lump (putting together three meals a day when you are used to only two can be a challenge), and handwriting lump (the boys are writing out Bible verses everyday morning and writing in their diaries in English)!  God bless the women who homeschool and do this as a regular part of their routine. I am already tired and looking forward to when the boys go back to school.

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9