Missing you

So I've come to realize that pretty much the rest of my life will be spent missing people. I had a conversation about this with Jess Becker a while back, and it definitely rings true.

Traveling has always brought me so much joy - and traveling to Korea to work and live for a year has been nothing short of a true adventure. But I miss you all back home. I miss the people I've met and who have left. I have come to realize that some of the amazing people I've met here (some of which I consider family) will have their days numbered here eventually. There will come a moment for me as well when I begin to mark the days on my calendar.

Anyways... my point? It hurts.... to always be missing people. Even worse, to know that I'll always be missing people. It's nice to know that simple and special moments with people should really be cherished, because they might not ever be able to happen again.

It's allowed me to gain a more thankful perspective on people who are in my life.

So please know I miss so many of you and think about you often.

Much love.

Olympic Torch!

My life here in Seoul is....absolutely amazing... I can't imagine my life any other way than what it is right now. Living overseas has been nothing short of incredible. I'll need to go into detail about how... this, I know. But for now... I want to show you all a bit about what I've been up to this weekend.

It's been another fantastic weekend. James Blunt concert on Saturday night and then tonight after church we headed to City Hall to watch the Olympic Torch come through. It was such a busy site! Here's some pics and video clips to show you a bit of what it was like.




My friend Lindsey was part of the earlier events that started all the way at the other end of the city and was caught in the middle of some pretty interesting riots. Love this girl. She loves adventure!



There wasn't any of that going on this evening though when the torch came through to City Hall. Really though, I was amazed to be amidst a part of history. There are so many tensions and frustrations with China and it surprised me to see so many people embracing China and not even realizing the incredible ways the country is run. Click here to read an article about one of the issues. Here's an interesting photo sure to spark some debate:



I don't know how we got so lucky to be up front... but we were SO close to all the action it was amazing! I really can't imagine how incredible it must be to be in Beijing right now! So I'm pretty seriously considering taking a trip for a weekend to Beijing to experience all the excitement!








This was the (not so intimidating) police force brought in to secure the area:



These guys on the other hand... yes... VERY intimidating:

Me and Linds- Although not too proud to represent Chinese Nationalism, we do love China and it's people. I haven't met someone yet who hasn't been to China who doesn't have a special place in their heart for China and fond memories of their time there.

And we decided to hit up On The Border in Sinchon (I of course never get tired of it)

L to R: Michelle, Lindsey, Myself and Sarah

Sarah just came on Tuesday -- welcome to Seoul Sarah!


I love living this amazing adventure here in Seoul. All I can do is soak in each and every day as they turn into weeks and now, into months! I'm so thankful.

NEVER a dull moment

Here are some videos I've taken over the course of the past week. I HOPE YOU ENJOY! I know that every time I watch I laugh - so hopefully you guys do too.


It's been a great spring so far.... been a bit chilly a few days this week, but I was still able to be out and about to enjoy the sun! Here's some video so you can see how green it's getting! This is Cheonggyecheong during the day when my friend Mark and I met up for lunch before teaching on Thursday:

I really could visit here everyday. I love coming to Cheonggyecheong!

Here's me totally kicking butt arm wrestling Sharon (per a student's request). I totally kill her with the right arm, but lose in no time up against Sharon's ambidextious left:



My student Michael arm wrestled me a few weeks ago. I of course won. So... he said that this week we would have a rematch. Only this time if he loses, he told me he'd buy me ice cream. Since I have become an ice cream addict since moving here, I decided it was worth it. I even made sure I didn't work out my upper body at the gym over the weekend just to dominate and win some ice cream! Who wins? Watch to find out :)



Michael will be bringing me ice cream on Monday :)

Onto the next video. This is what I walked into during one of the breaks in Eddie's classroom. All I can say? BOYS WILL BE BOYS! Haha - they crack me up!



I've been teaching on Saturdays and it's really fun since not everyone is here. There's only two classes and this Saturday I was the only teacher... well... teaching that is. Tom was in to do some voice over work. Listening to him was definitely a highlight (I couldn't stop laughing) - so I decided to capture it for you guys:



And of course who can resist having a good time when I get to hang out on Saturday with this kid:




We have a good time - Can you tell?



Did I mention we also like to abuse our students? Haha - all the boys LOVE to play rock scissors paper with Tong Pa. Jun was a little tired this day though so he seemed a bit fearful. My goofball Sean (AKA - Skunk) decided he was going to be tough and play too.




And last but NOT least, here's a group shot from Bible Study on Wednesday night as we celebrated Rachel's birthday. The week before that we celebrated Vanessa's birthday! So.. Happy Birthday to Vanessa + Rachel! We all also had the fabulous opportunity to meet Rachel's folks who are in Korea from Canada. Such wonderful people!

From L to R: Michelle, Rachel's mother, Vanessa, Jess Crew, Rachel + Kimchi, Myself, Jess Becker, Cathy, Jungmi, Alicia and the boys at the bottom: Trevor, Eric and Nate.


I also wanted to give a shout out to my childhood pal Holly - who I was able to get back in touch with this week. It's been way too long... but I really do love this girl! (Haha... if I ONLY had the pictures to show you when we were in 6th grade) Wow. Anyhow... she's considering a visit to Seoul in August. I hope she can make it work!

I'm moving toward month 6 here less than a few weeks. Where has the time gone? God continues to challenge me, humble me and teach me patience as well as perseverance. I still have been so thankful for what an amazing time of rest my time in Korea has been so far. I feel tremendously blessed.

I appreciate all your prayers and support - until next time!

Blessings!

A busy blessing!

K guys - brace yourself! It was a busy weekend and I've got the pictures to prove it!

As I mentioned previously in my post below, Sammee was in Korea.



After my fantastic "field trip" to the U.S Military base on Thursday, Sammee decided to make the journey into Seoul for me to show her a good time around the city! We started out by heading to dinner for dak kalbi once I finished work on Friday night. So here it is folks. The fun begins.

MMMMMM - Ddak Kalbi. Basically it's spicy cabbage and chicken and other stuff all grilled up. It's superb. Except this stuff was a little more spicy than usual!

Below is the picture of all of us: Justina, Sammee and Sharon. (Minus Ruda).

Afterward, we headed out to a favorite place of ours in Sinchon to eat some snacks before heading to Hongdae. We of course stopped to grab some ice cream. By the way... I'm becoming addicted to since moving here).

Yeah! SHREK!

Here's a picture of me with the awesome graffiti with my name. Love it!

I throughout the night just couldn't help but soak in the amazing sights of this city, even after being here for more than 5 months now. Here's a great shot of a food cart really late into the night in Hongdae as we were leaving:


I randomly ended up running into my training roomie (Lindsey) and her boyfriend! (Unfortunately don't have any photos to have captured the moment) But it was really great to see her.

We ended up at a Noraebong - this one was one we were pretty excited to sing at. Here's a clip of us singing. Keep in mind we're kind of tired at this point... but totally trying to stay strong.




Afterward, Ruda, Sammee and myself on our way out say "So... what's next?!" Poor Sharon... at this point she looks as if she's about to kill me for dragging out night out. But we all weren't tired at all. We were ready for more.

So we decided to go watch the sunrise (because at this point, it's about 4 a.m.) So after a quick pit stop for McDonalds breakfast (always a fun treat living here in Seoul) we headed off to watch the sunrise.

Here we are - still goin strong....

Bright and early at about 6 a.m. the sun began to rise through the Seoul skyline.

This is me with no sleep and no shower. On my way to the river I'm definitely starting to feel the effects of no sleep...

Not the clearest day, but still amazing nonetheless:


Me and my gal pals. I appreciate both of them and learn so much from them - definitely love these ladies:



In this photo you can see the 2 trade towers (to the left) then the next building to the right of the trade towers is the 63 building (the tallest building in Seoul) and finally, the National Assembly. I wish I lived closer to this area so I could ride my bike and run along this path every morning!

Ruda enjoying the lovely morning sun:

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

Lamentations 3:22-23

Despite the pollution, it was still such a beautiful thing to witness the sunrise. Such a beautiful thing we get to experience every day!

After all this - we decide to head back home. I of course need a few hours of sleep because I had to teach at 2. So I was able to get a few hour nap in. I woke up feeling absolutely like death. Holy cow! Really... I could barely move. But we got ourselves up and I managed to get myself ready in time to take Sammee to the subway station to make sure she got on the train alright and to say goodbye. *Sniff*

Thanks Sammee for spending time with us all night in Seoul! Hope you had fun!

So of course I was tired, but there's never a dull moment with these kiddos! Below we see Jae Yong (AKA- Penguin) and Clayton (AKA - Monkey). They decided to show off their muscles for me.

And of course Clayton with his Alfalfa hair:

After work I headed for a quick bite to eat, because I had plans to meet up with Justina and a few other ladies for what was called the Snow Show. I was starving and so Sharon and I headed to the Japanese restaurant across from our apt and I can't tell you how AMAZING it was. MMMMM. These noodles are served cold. It's so refreshing, especially with how warm it was this day.




So yes - headed out to the Snow Show and had a fabulous time. Here's a picture with Justina and I with one of the clowns from the production.

The music in this performance was amazing! The show integrated an intense amount of audience participation between a huge cobweb spread out across the audience, large balloons to bounce around and of course, fake snow!

Here's the lovely Justina and I. I swear this woman is a life saver - she's definitely a plethora of knowledge of things to do and good things to know here in this city!


So what next after Snow Show? We went to a movie. I didn't make it home until about 1 a.m. Needless to say I rested ALL Sunday morning until Churchie (as they say here in Korea) and enjoyed the message, the great fellowship and some fun celebrating a friend's birthday at an amazing Thai food restaurant. (Sorry... forgot the camera for this event)

So there you have it... one busy, fun filled weekend. I'm blessed to have good friends around to share my life with!

Please continue to pray for the ministry here in Seoul and for unity among our church. As time goes on, it will be time for others to move on, and others to join our community. May Christ be glorified!

Be blessed.

"Congratulation"

Is it possible to have a bad day when I get to hang around this? I mean, really....




These little guys bring so much joy and happiness into my life!

Yay for visitors!

So - what another busy, yet very fun filled weekend. There's so much that I will be starting out with my Thursday in this blog, and will take a look at the rest of the weekend in another!

My friend Sammee was in town to visit her parents who live a few hours outside of Seoul. Needless to say, from pretty much the first day that I left, I have thought about Sammee every day because of the fact that everything here kind of reminded me of her.

Sammee and I know each other from college, and even though I don't know every single detail about her, I can honestly say I know her well. We've had the amazing opportunity to sit through some very intense communication courses together, a couple of which explore relational dynamics VERY intensively. So much more I can discuss on that topic - but, I'll spare you.

Let me just say this though: this woman is amazing! I absolutely adore her and love every minute that I spend with her. She's got such an intense desire to pursue life with reckless abandonment. She's selfless, confident yet humble, and she's not afraid to pursue an adventure.

I had the pleasure of joining her and her mother, Kimberly on an exciting trip to the U.S. Military Base! WOOOOHOOOO!!!! "American food here I come" I thought to myself. What I really meant was... "MEXICAN FOOD HERE I COME!!!"

Here's a picture of the two of us as we got to part of the base:

And this is me.... eating TWO meals. Yes. That's right. Two. I was hungry man. I felt like I hit the jackpot! The waitress laughed at me. I simply smiled and didn't care. I was gonna load up on my mexicana I miss so much! YEAHHHH!

The base was a pretty cool place to visit. Everyone spoke english, and instead of paying in won, dollar amounts were listed. It was quite odd to even see American dollars. Very interesting to examine the way I felt. I definitely missed home and it was amazing to me that I suddenly felt not so foreign. Messes with your head I tell ya!

We departed on Thursday happy to have spent some good time to talk and catch up. Gosh, I'm dang thankful for this girl. So thankyou to Sammee and her mother for treating me to a little piece of home while I'm here!

Uganda makes my heart smile

Last week was looking back on my time in Uganda last May and was reflecting upon it while looking at some of my pictures. It's amazing it's been nearly a year since I was there. I missed the people incredibly and the country itself.

Here's the links to see some photos:

ALBUM 1

ALBUM 2

ALBUM 3

I find it ironic I have heard from two very memorable people I met during my time there. I've heard from them all within this week. The same week that they have been on my heart and I've been reminded of what an amazing trip it was. One woman, Sera, emailed me to say:

Hi Jess hpy 08 it`s bin quite awhile.I ms u alot n pray every day that i`l see u some day.Praise God i got a job! I pray for God`s Grace n Mercy to stay witchu.Ma Lav 2 All.

Sera(Calvary Chapel Kampala)

I was very excited to hear this because it truly was such a testament to God's faithfulness. In a place like Uganda, jobs aren't easy to come by. She struggles with having perfect english skills and has some physical disabilites as well. Praise the Lord for her newfound job!

I also received this message from a fellow brother named Kasibante in Uganda that said only this:

"hey Jessica, the Pearl of Africa is missing you."

This warmed my heart. I'm thankful to have been able to serve that country and the people, even if it was only for a short time. I have become aware of how much I miss my fellow team and the amazing people we met during our service in both Kampala and Entebbe.

Here's how you can pray for the Church in Uganda:
- Pray that they would continue to be building disciples of Jesus even through the midst of hardship their country and culture challenges.

- Pray that God would raise leaders up prepared to fully preach the Gospel to a nation that is consumed with so many things that distract them from the beauty of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

I'm so thankful!

Top Cloud Restaurant

After a long week at work, Sharon treated me to a formal dinner at Top Cloud, one of Seoul's finest restaurants. It's located at the very top of the Samsung building (Floor 33) that overlooks the city. We got there at about 7 and as we ate, the sky turned darker and darker. It was beautiful!

This is a shot right from the table we sat at:

And across the restaurant:

After sundown:

All dressed up!

I can't help but show you the (also) amazing view from the ladies room. The sink is one large basin in the center of the room. It was fab.


The food was superb, the live jazz band was very enjoyable, and of course, my favorite part was the company of Sharon. This was Sharon's treat and gift to me to say "thanks" for my friendship. (Insert awwww)


Cheonggyecheong

Later we met up with Ruda and did some walking along Cheonggyecheong, which runs through part of the city. This actually used to the "shanty-town" area until it was reformed and now it's such a wonderful and thriving area!

Me and a good guy I like to call RudaLaLee:

We can't help it - we love jumping pictures!

End of the stream:

Of course we resort to doing something silly:

Here's some more shots from Cheonggyecheon I shot today while I was out and about trying to get a new phone and sign myself up for some health insurance. I had my quiet time here and did some reading. It was perfect. The weather was gorgeous, and the sky was actually blue today!



The Blue House

On Sunday Sharon, Ruda and I decided to meet up and go for a Sunday stroll before church. I just have to show this picture to communicate why I adore these two. HAHAHAHA!

This time our adventure lead us onward to The Blue House ... yes folks, that's right ... our equivalent of The White House. We're not sure if Lee Myung-bak (S. Korea's Prez) actually lives there or not, but it was definitely one of the cleanest and nicest areas in Seoul! It was a bit of a walk, but enjoyable!

Check out this sidewalk chalk art along the way! Isn't it fantastic? I love living in the big city for simple interesting things such as these.


In this photo you can see the big wall with a mural that looks like the palace building. You can see in the distance (center of photo) the actual palace building. This palace is undergoing renovation and it's very heavily guarded, but still cool to look at. I'm always really tempted to run past the police and do something illegal only because the police here in Seoul look like a joke. They're not intimidating whatsoever! Don't worry Mom and Dad... I won't :)

I think Ruda actually made us pose for this picture (I don't remember) but it's still a great shot!


This is right when we got into the area of The Blue House - it was very heavily guarded and was a very quiet and peaceful area.

This is my dream job: traffic cop

Family portrait

Cherry Blossoms

Entrance to The Blue House area!

Ruda looks scared. I look happy. We all love to take silly pictures!

Yes... I do believe our jumping pictures have become an addiction. Sharon has me hooked. We actually took more jumping pictures later that night too.

Hooray for Spring!

TACOS with mi amigas

Later on that evening, our lovely Justina had us over for tacos - YUM! Yes... truly, we all love our Mexican food and we love Justina for opening up her home to us.

From L to R: Myself, Christina, Michelle, Justina and Sharon

I continue to enjoy my time here! It really has already been five months and it's shocking to look back at my experiences to see what I've learned. Especially in the ways I have fallen flat on my face only to be put back on my two feet again stronger than I was previously. I'm so thankful to have a loving God who loves me all the time no matter what!

It's been fun to experience Spring in Seoul, even though Spring in Boise is one of my favorite things of all time. It's been amazing to see the Lord's faithfulness in so many aspects here in this city. Please continue to pray for unity of our church here in Seoul, and for me personally that I would continue to be prayerful in seeking God's will as well as in my ability to love others.

Be blessed.