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. 

The month of May has more than few holidays here in Korea. Korea celebrates Children's Day and Buddha's Birthday as national holidays.  Buddha's birthday was the more eventful holiday.  We did not go to the temple and eat bibimbap. Instead, we packed up bathing suits and spent the afternoon at Daecheon Beach.

It was a slightly cloudy day, but that didn't stop the boys from having a great day. They helped set up the beach tent, listened carefully to instructions about what could and could not be put in the tent, and then ran into the water at full speed! Jordan, in particular had a great time dancing and singing to a song that he had in his head. Justin and Jordan enjoyed burying Aidan in the sand. We all played, took pictures, ate snacks, got too cold, wrapped ourselves in towels, and just had a fun afternoon.  It all ended a little about 3:30 when it started to drizzle and Dad decided it was time to go home.  

One of my favorite moments was coming home. Justin, true to form, fell asleep in the backseat. He does this quite often right after we have done something really active!

Justin in many ways is a typical teenager.  He is phone obsessed, calls me "momma", and cracks jokes whenever he has an opportunity. The other day I had the pleasure of taking the boy shopping in Homeplus. What a riot that was! I don't think I had taken him with me since elementary school, and he was like a kid in a candy store looking at things, asking questions, and trying to get me to buy stuff for him. The highlight was looking at dustbusters. He thought he needed one just for his room! (I have a hard time just getting the child to pick up the garbage that seems to scatter all the floor.)

Jordan continues to fluctuate between wanting to be a big boy and being a baby. The baby action at the moment is to touch people, declare them "soft", and then run away giggling. The big boy action is to play dakjee with big brother Aidan and other friends in the playground. For those of you who are curious, dakjee are plastic discs in varied forms that the children slam onto the ground in an attempt to get them to jump or bounce. If you can make another kid's dakjee bounce or jump, you get to keep that dakjee. They get quite skilled at this too. 

Aidan continues to be the kids with plans in his head. He is always thinking about the best way to do something. The latest decision is to get up earlier than Justin and have a shower.  I guess waiting to use the bathroom is just too hard when you are nine years old.  He is learning patience. And patience is something we all should learn.  We all need it.

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Ephesians 4:2

There is nothing quite like family living to show you just how impatient you really are!

Beach Update: We will be having another beach day because of some Wednesday’s off in June! Looking forward to it!