Christmas... here and at home...

I am sorry to say that I don't have any Christmas pictures from Jody's and my first Christmas here in Korea. It was a challenging week for me and for him. Jody was sick with a terrible case of the flu, so he spent most of the week in bed. When he wasn't sleeping, he was coughing and lying on the sofa. He got Monday off from work, and Tuesday for Christmas, but he had to drag himself to work the last three days. But the Lord is good! Finally, on Saturday he felt well enough to venture out.

Despite the sickness, Christmas day was wonderful. Rather than going to friends' houses for both lunch and dinner, we stayed inside. We watched The Nativity Story and Charlie Brown's Christmas. They were excellent. We read the Christmas story in Matthew and Luke and prayed together. We made a pizza for dinner. It was a relaxing and wonderful first Christmas!

My sisters also put up pictures from Christmas at home, so I wanted to post them for you all!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Holiday Preparations...

Greetings to you all, dear family and friends, this holiday season! It is almost Christmas!!

At the moment I am sitting in my classroom as my children contentedly work at the tables. The room is filled with the whir of the heater and murmurs of children working in their small groups on a poetry assignment. We are learning poems for a poetry recitation next Thursday, which is a pleasant respite from the rigors of daily classwork.

Overall, Jody and I are doing well. Yesterday was Presidential Election Day here in Korea, so I did not have to go to work. It was wonderful to have a little bit of a break, and I was able to do a little Christmas decoration in the apartment to surprise Jo when he came home from work. :)

This year is our first Christmas together as a couple, so it seems different to me than the previous two Christmases I have spent apart from the family. People have said on several occasions that the great pleasure for us now is in making our own customs/traditions together. However, it is proving slightly challenging to do that here, simply because Christmas is only barely acknowledged (and only from a commercial standpoint). Still, I am hopeful. We are planning to go over to our friends Chris and Dana Sikkens' home on Christmas Day. Dana is an expert cook, and she has promised to show me how to cook up the suckling pig to perfection! I am delighted. We may be joined by friends Dan and Carrie Buller, also wonderful friends from our church.

Which reminds me... last Sunday night Jody and I joined 3 other couples for an amazing night of MEAT. Yes! We went to a great Brazilian restaurant near Samsung Plaza (Seohyun Station), where Dan translated (he's Brazilian) and we got all-you-can-eat meat and buffet side-dishes. It was glorious. Jody and the men were in ecstasy. Afterwards, we all went over to Dan and Carrie's place to watch The Christmas Story. It was my first time, and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and the dynamic of all of us together. God has been good!

yes, jody is the one holding the sword. lol

dan, chris, and jody. look at their faces....

carrie and dan.. and pineapple!

Sidenote: The new Korean president is Lee Myung-bak of the conservative Grand National Party, and he won by a landslide (48.7% of the votes). This is after 10 years of more liberal leadership, so it looks as though change is in the air. The president-elect is a former CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction, and sadly he appears to be entering the presidency already in scandal. I'm not sure yet what it is about, but it seems a tragic beginning for Korea's new government.

the way of american theology:

musings from across the globe...

seeing the korean christians beings swept up by waves of self-help books disguised as messages with true Scriptural integrity is very disheartening to us.

what are we talking about, you may be asking.

mega-church pontiff joel osteen.

yes, friends. joel osteen has come even to korea. his books are advertised here. churches are recommending that everyone in their congregations should read his book. i (ruth) was even lent an audio version of his book becoming a better you from a korean co-worker of mine last year.

as the popularity of his ministry increases exponentially - effecting even korea - we feel it is important to truly test what he's saying against Scripture, as should all Christians with anything they are being fed. though he may be the pastor of the largest church in america, if he is not preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then his ministry is off the mark - simply put. and after listening to part of the audio tape of his book and reading about his messages, we are seriously concerned that the body of Christ is eating up a message of blessed and prosperous living based incorrectly on the Word of God. his message is one suited for the self-help section of the bookstore and should not be given from the pulpit or served as spiritual food to hungry people who desperately need the Truth.

to read further about how osteen's ministry has gone awry, the first link is to a blog written by a teaching pastor who gives Scriptural basis for his observations. the second link is a book review done by michael horton. (we have deferred using Scripture to reproach osteen's teachings, to these men, who have done their homework well.)

http://www.colossiansthreesixteen.com/archives/1834

http://www.whitehorseinn.org/osteenreview.htm

GO FORTH, AND DISCERN WELL, GRASSHOPPER.

Wedding Pictures!!

I have finally uploaded a smattering of the bazillion wedding photos we have.... And you are welcome to check them out. As before, I posted them on facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=75795&l=c5ff8&id=853925610

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=73458&l=073f5&id=853925610

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=76064&l=f1967&id=853925610

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=76077&l=acae3&id=853925610

ENJOY!

another update...

just wanted to let everyone know that jody got his visa and had a great time in japan. he was able to team up with a few others on his same flight who were doing the same visa run. one man had been to the embassy before, so he guided jody once they got into osaka.

jody described japan as much cleaner, neater, quieter, and more orderly than korea. and far more innovative in style and architecture. it was also, however, extremely expensive. he bought me an earwax picker as a present. Yesssssssss! It's pretty cute, too, and almost looks like a long decorate pin to use for your hair. :)

spiritually he described japan as void of everything. what a heartbreaking analysis. apparently there are casino-like betting places, and men were waiting outside these buildings in the early morning before the doors opened... and not a single church in sight.

i cannot imagine life without the body of Christ.

love to you all. keep us posted.

A Little Update in the Beens' lives...

At the moment, Jody is in Osaka, Japan. He has gone on a 36 hour run to get his visa, and he should, Lord willing, return this evening. I saw him off to the airport limousine here in Suji yesterday morning and heard from him when he'd gone through customs at the Incheon airport. Apparently Americans can only stay in Korea on a tourist visa for 30 days, not 90 like we had thought. Woops!

The trip should be a tight one for him, as it takes 24 hours to process the visa. I hope he will not have to miss his flight and catch a later one.

Once he has his visa, Jody will start working on Monday, the 3rd. He has yet to observe any classes and knows only that he'll probably have to wing it those first few days. Also, it is very Korean for things to change last-minute. So nothing is set in stone, as Westerners tend to think. We talk and negotiate, we decide and shake hands on the deal. The deal is done. Finished. And your word is everything. If you don't fulfill your promise, you are not trustworthy. Here, it is not the same. Jody's boss has thrown him some curveballs already, and so we're praying for grace and wisdom, as well as favor in this beginning phase of his job. Pray for him.

I, on the other hand, am plugging away at my teaching. My first class is 6 children all around 9 years old. And they're as silent as the grave. We're working on getting them to talk and to be more creative. Please pray for creativity. Children in Korea are robots and do not know how to think creatively at all. It is the greatest tragedy, and I'm desperately in need of new ideas.

My second class is 9 children - far more advanced in speaking and understanding - and much more confident in their English. My old students Danny, Nina, Bryant and David are in there. The five other children are from Korean classes. These children are almost out of control. I am praying for wisdom in dealing with their behavior, because they are so unkind to one another. They are concerned only with being #1, and they will laugh at each other's mistakes. It breaks my heart. Mrs. Kim and I are discussing what should be done.

The third block is planning time for me, and I desperately need it. Usually Jody will meet me for dinner at the Korean restaurant downstairs (yay!) and then I return upstairs to grade or type up tests/quizzes, etc.

My last class is my Step 3 advanced class. I have 7 children, ages ~11-13. There are 5 boys and 2 girls. As time has passed and they adjust to my system, they are doing much better. Summaries are slowly improving, quiz grades are decent, and conversation in general is becoming more congenial. I am praying for victory with these children, as well.

Please pray for both Jody and me as we seek to be lights and truly effective teachers in our schools.

So that is all for this update. I should go and get ready for school. Love to you all.

Happy Thanksgiving (a little late)!

I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.

- Psalm 69,30

So a Belated Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, our dear friends and family! I hope this finds you well and enjoying the goodness of God. We have so much to be thankful for.

Jody and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration at our home this past Saturday. We invited friends who would be missing home and family to come and enjoy some good food with us. It was a potluck meal, so we didn't have to buy the food for everyone. In the end, about 18 people came... and there was more food than we knew what to do with. It was wonderful! We ate, played Scategories, ate, talked, and people got to meet new people. God is soo good!

stefanie, naomi, danielle, and hillary

WE HAD TURKEY!!! YAY!!! and mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, cranberry, and PUMPKIN PIE. most of which is very hard to come by here in the koreas. :) God is SOO GOOD!

christan

john

ji yun, a sweet young woman we've met through her boyfriend, jb.

dan and carrie buller, new friends at our church

then everyone decided to play a few games of scategories...

with chris and alex, whom jody used to work with at AEI. they were teachers in taiwan for a few years and are here to save money before they embark on their trip around the world.

dana and naomi, the serious team

soyon and john

christan, yorda, and jb

and that is all for the pictures from our thanksgiving dinner this year!

meet the newest member of our family, dona

that is, prima dona!!!!!!!!!!!!

after years of treading the sidewalks of korea and watching multiple pairs of shoes bite the dust, a few weeks ago jody and i decided to invest in a hyosung rally prima!! now we own the streets and strike fear into the hearts of those who mill about on the sidewalks. this 50cc beast is more than a sufficient steed.

next time you're on the sidewalk and you hear what sounds like a swarm of killer bees.... WATCH OUT. it could be dona.