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.