A Blessing Money Can't Buy

Twenty Ten!

2010-01-09T08:56:00.006-07:00

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of may kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" James 1:2-4

I still continue to feel as if my presence in Boise is one that has been intended to stretch me, to cause me to rely more on my faith in Christ and less on myself and it's evident it's a continuous process in learning perseverance.

And although difficult some days, I am loving it. My life is rich. I am blessed and I am daily reminded that I get to share my life with some pretty special people each day.

The holidays were good. I am glad I was able to be home to experience both Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.

Mom and I - Thanksgiving Day

Mom and Dad - I love that they love each other so much!

Chanceman - Christmas

My dear friend Marty and I out on the ATVs on Christmas Day

Grandma Yo! I absolutely adore this lady.

New Years! My good friend Benj

Marty's Birthday!!! Marty sadly leaves tomorrow for Moscow. I will miss him terribly, but am so excited for this new season in his life.

In some other (and VERY exciting) news.... I head to the southern states at the end of this month! I couldn't be more excited for the adventure of heading to Arkansas and Texas. I'm heading over to visit a very good friend and to explore the big city of Dallas! Can't wait :)

The Little Brother

2009-11-19T20:47:00.002-07:00

Chance is one of the coolest and funniest kids I know.

Whether he knows it or not, he's my hero and I absolutely adore him.

Living For Today

2009-11-19T19:02:00.013-07:00

"Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34

“Invest yourself entirely in the here and now.” -Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese scholar and activist

What an incredible amount of time that has passed since my last blog. I traveled through Europe, (which sadly, I still need to post pictures of most of the trip), moved back to Boise and have been doing my best every day to basically relearn life as an American IN America :)

Since I've not done my due diligence in keeping things updated, I guess I just lay it out there the best way I can.

My first week back I was incredibly blessed to line up a job, get a car, phone and new place to live. I stood back and marveled at how well it came together. I spent my summer enjoying every marvelous thing I could: family, friends, grass between my toes, river rafting and floating, hiking, BBQs, fellowship with my church family at Calvary Chapel Boise, celebrating turning yet another year older, Taco Bell... I really could go on.

Sarah, Kara at a fabulous 80's party

Me and Pops out in Sweet

Chance and Sissy

In Portland to visit Christina :)

Saturday Market with the girls :) Linds, Kara and Alex

Silly times with Grandma Yo and Chanceman

Along with these amazing things I was able to experience during the transition of moving back, there have also been many painful times of heartache, confusion, uncertainty, a new found realization of self and the learning the importance of boundaries. Naturally an optimistic person, this process I have gone through over the last few months has been a shock to my entire being. Once the 'Reverse Culture Shock' skeptic, I have now been living and going through exactly that.... and in a very big way. I have been more homesick for Korea than I EVER was homesick for Boise while living abroad.

BUT... I am getting through it.

With that said, I am a continuous work and testimony to God's grace and faithfulness.
I encourage us all to live fully in today, to not be so busy looking ahead that we forget to invest in what's coming at us right now.

More to come, folks. Stay tuned :)

XOXO
J.

My Father

2009-06-25T04:12:00.003-06:00

It was Father's Day last weekend and I'm just now getting around to sharing with everyone why he's such a great Dad.

We have somewhat of a unique family situation and because of it, I've been able to see my Dad's love for me as completely unconditional.

He's taught me some really important lessons about life, has made me a strong person and has always been someone I can completely trust and depend on.

The older I get, the more I see truly what a great guy he is.

His approval means everything to me and there's not a single time I am not thankful for him in my life.

I love you Dad.

Greece

2009-06-19T13:07:00.007-06:00

Greece really is as beautiful as you see in any photo. I wish I had more time to write about the places I've visited. I will most likely have to update at a later time. I want to get somewhat caught up though.

Sarah and I are having a great time in Italia so far... especially with all the shopping around us. We might be getting ourselves into trouble. Our motto? When in Rome...

But here's a look at what I had the opportunity to experience in Greece:

Athens

Ios Island

Me and Sarah

Manchester. London. Amsterdam. Berlin

2009-06-07T12:39:00.007-06:00

I have spent the last week and a half traveling around with about 17 or so others from Calvary Chapel Boise. What an amazing group of young men and women the Lord brought to Europe. I have been so thankful to spend such a great amount of time with my church family from Boise. It makes me eager to spend a good amount of time at home with friends and family beginning July.

From community BBQs in the suburbs of Manchester, England to sharing the Gospel with prostitutes and those who walk the streets of the world-famous Red Light District in Amsterdam and then to experience the culture and history existing within the city walls of Berlin, there has been much to see, much to reflect on and so many things the Lord has done!

The power of the Gospel changes lives.

Here's a few photos to capture the essence of what has happened lately and what I've seen in the last week and a half:

Meet Sam Crager:

Kirk and Mindy Crager serve as missionaries and pastor the church in Stockport, England. This is their oldest son. He's absolutely hilarious and all of their kids are delightful.

Pablo sharing with a man on our train to catch our ferry to head to Amsterdam

London:

The beauty of Amsterdam completely captivated me.

Dublin

2009-05-28T03:17:00.004-06:00

I have arrived in Manchester as of this morning and almost missed my flight! I sprinted for about 8 full minutes and was able to make it to the gate in time to board. Go figure it was the last gate in the ENTIRE Dublin airport. Here are a few shots from Dublin.

So far travels have been great and I'm so glad to be meeting up to do some ministry and evangelism with my home church.

Ahnyoung!

2009-05-27T13:18:00.005-06:00

Friday May 22 marked my last day teaching at CDI. It was hard to say goodbye to some of my students, but I feel confident about moving on. Saturday was the going away party.

I am in awe of how many amazing people I have in my life. I feel so loved. I felt the same way I did when I first left Boise to come to Korea. It's really cool to see it come full circle and to see the thriving community of friends that I have in Korea.

Thanks to everyone who came out! I proudly proclaim that each person who was there has been a valuable part of my life in Korea and has taught me about life in one way or another.

Her Morning Elegance

2009-05-12T20:37:00.001-06:00

I figured this was worth a post. I think it's beautiful.

Enjoy!

Baby Bumblebee

2009-05-11T08:16:00.004-06:00

A piece of preciousness with my student Jack. Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy being his teacher!

Love Love Love

2009-05-11T00:18:00.014-06:00

Today is Mother's Day. I called my mom to wish her well, but my absence by living abroad leaves me feeling empty and powerless to actually let her know how thankful I am she's my mother. She's a wonderful woman who has always directly and indirectly taught me about life. There are moments when I realize I am becoming much like her and it always brings a smile to my face.

She's made many sacrifices that upon thinking about, choke me up because I realize I don't know if I'd truly have the courage or strength to pull through the way she has.

I love my mother and I gladly call her my friend.

That being said, I'm two weeks away from my big Europe trip and that much closer to being back in Boise to spend time with my family and friends. Destination?

Ireland

England

Netherlands

Germany

Greece

Italy

Spain

I'm also two weeks away from being finished with my job. I have been amazed at how wonderful it's been to work here; however, a few weeks ago I experienced frustration that has been somewhat of a challenge to deal with. The challenge has been a learning experience and overall positive, but I will be glad to move on to the next chapter, but will greatly miss many of my dear students.

I feel like maybe this challenge has a lot to do with what Mr. Oswald Chambers has put really well:

"Now He commands me to show the same love to others by saying, ". . . love one another as I have loved you" ( John 15:12 ). He is saying, "I will bring a number of people around you whom you cannot respect, but you must exhibit My love to them, just as I have exhibited it to you." This kind of love is not a patronizing love for the unlovable— it is His love, and it will not be evidenced in us overnight. Some of us may have tried to force it, but we were soon tired and frustrated."

I am sorry for the love that has not been true or genuine and am challenged by the reminder that God's love will not continue to grow in me unless it is nurtured.

What an amazing Lord I serve that deals with me in such a gracious way regardless of my faults, failures and insecurities.

Praying for authentic love,
- J.

Muuido for the weekend

2009-04-21T22:34:00.009-06:00

Every time I take a trip like this, I feel like I become a renewed person. There's something about the adventure of traveling that quite literally allows me to be myself and feel free. I also can't help but appreciate new faces I encounter, special times of getting to know someone better and the many laughs to be had.

I proposed a weekend away to an island off the west coast of Korea called Muuido. I had gone there a time before on my own, but this time I was graciously accompanied by quite a few good friends.

To get to Muuido, we took a subway ride out to Incheon (airport area) and then took a ferry out to the actual island. It took us quite a while to get out there, but even the journey out there was a blast.

This is the type of hut we (Kristen, Myself, Mikey and Trevor) stayed in right along the beach. It fits four very tightly. BUT we fit and at 20 bucks for the night between four people can you really need anything more?

I spent some good (and exhausting) time playing with these kiddos. They were so full of energy and couldn't get enough playtime with Kristen and I.

We couldn't help but to take full advantage of the beautiful sunset:

There was much time spent exploring the ocean and some of it's fun little creatures. The tide goes out during the day so a vast majority of the beach is walkable.

Hello Mr. Crab with the REALLY cool eyes! If you touched him, they'd go down just like windshield wipers!

Saturday night was spent with many different people who had also come to the island alongside a big bonfire and singing songs with guitar and enjoying the night.

I also took some photos for the lovely Kristen and Trevor. They are newly engaged and we thought it would be fun to get some shots of them. They are such a fun couple and they love each other so deeply. I'm excited to be part of their lives here.

I don't have a photo to capture what happened the next day, but a few of us went out to do some crab digging to see if we could initiate a huge crab war. A lot of the older Korean men (Ahjuhshees) were really curious as to what we were doing. They were really helpful to aid in our collection of sea creatures, so soon we had a bagful of sealife. A little while later, I decided to walk up to their little group and see what THEY were up to. They were using their car keys and the like to pick at the life stuck to the huge rocks on the shore (which appear to be barnacles, by the way). The man shows me that they are eating whatever it is on the rocks. He tells me it's "very delicious" so in my mind I think to myself 'I should walk away before they find one and offer me one to eat'. Well I think I spoke to myself too soon, because before I know it, I'm offered a nice salty sea snack. I ate it without hesitating and although I was laughing inside, it was a great exchange and I was thankful to have done it.

Lastly, what adventure of mine isn't complete without some good jumps? Thanks Trevor and Mark for joining me in the excitement.

It's amazing to me that my time here in Korea is coming to a close. In just a short month, I'll be jetsetting to the next traveling adventure: Europe. For now though, I'm embracing and taking in all that my life here has to offer and the amazing people I'm completely BLESSED to know and have in my life here.

I am thankful. Thankful a lot for a lot of things.

I hope you are too.

All my love
J

In light of the current economy...

2009-04-06T05:09:00.001-06:00

I thought this was a good quote:

This is no time for ease and comfort. It is the time to dare and endure.

Winston Churchill (1874–1965), British prime minister during WWII

Also. I'm really sick. It's bound to happen when you work with kids all the time :)

Meet N Greet

2009-03-23T19:44:00.004-06:00

Thought I'd give you all a peek of a few gems in my week:

Meet Jack

After checking his homework, I look up to find this:

And then, while checking another student's homework I hear Jack say to me "Teacher! Look. I make 'H'" And I look up and find THIS:

Kids are wonderful. So creative, so daring and not afraid to do what comes to mind (this can be good and bad at times). He definitely brought a smile to my day!

Meet Liz

This is my little doll. She is so darling. She often wears her hair in pig tails and her outfits are always so cute. She's a great student and loves to come say hi to me before class.

It's hard to think about not seeing some of these kids in just a few short months.

Fun in Fukuoka

2009-03-18T07:56:00.016-06:00

My trip to Fukukoka, Japan was absolutely amazing. There are so many thoughts, ideas and wonderful experiences I wish to share with you all. But I will try to just stick with the basics of where I went, what I did and who I came across. It's hard to express how meaningful this trip was for me.

In a nutshell : It was an exciting adventure with many different sentiments and I will forever hold them dear to my heart.

Here's a map to show you where Fukuoka is at on the map.

The trip was full of adventure, solitude, exploration, and new friends all in one trip. I did this trip completely on my own and couldn't have been more excited to do so. Here was the main purpose of the trip though:

The Visa Run.

I arrived to Japan on a Friday morning and immediately went to take care of business. Since I had been there previously to do the same thing, getting around and to the Korean Consulate was a piece of cake. The Consulate was actually not really near my hostel I was going to be at, but near the beach. So I locked up my pack for a bit and decided to stroll around and get some pics. I was so excited to be near the beach (even if it was a bit chilly).

I was definitely excited to see the fabulous Fukuoka Tower that graces the city's skyline along the beach that stands at 234m and has daily tours:

One of the views from the top:

After trekking around and taking in everything for the good first part of the afternoon I decided I should check into my hostel. Which is where I met this man:

This is Yohei. He works at Guesthouse KAINE. He quickly got me acquainted with the hostel and we spent time chatting about Japanese and Korean culture for the first hour I got there. I can't rave enough about this place! Yohei and Mizue were so wonderfully kind and the Guesthouse was so quaint, clean and definitely an enjoyable place to be. I give two thumbs up for my stay at Guesthouse KAINE.

Thanks Yohei and Mizue for such a memorable experience!

For dinner that first night, I went out with some of the other guests for some dinner at a really great Ramen restaurant. I usually stay away from Ramen here in Korea, but OH MY GOODNESS! This authentic Japanese Ramen was absolutely INCREDIBLE.

Day 2 I went to a temple that sat right next to a big shopping area called Canal City. Here are a few shots from the shrine I looked around at:

This couple just got married and were having a HUGE photoshoot. I was actually really excited and asked one of the photographers if I could jump in and get a few pictures. They were so gracious and warmly welcomed me to the event :)

I was giddy inside because of the fact that I really was getting to experience their culture like this. I am definitely so blessed.

Fukuoka has a HUGE 5 floor shopping area called Canal City. I only made it through the first couple floors and had to go back to finish looking around. Here's a look at a performer that was there:

I later met up with some other foreigners and we ended up exploring together:

L to R: Jose, Myself, Matt and Dave. Jose is from Switzerland, and Matt and Dave are exchange students from Tufts (USA) and are studying in Hong Kong.

Day 3 I went to Dazaifu with Seth, a hostel volunteer who's actually on his way to Korea to teach English. Dazaifu is an area about 30 minutes from the city and walked around a traditional folk villiage and tourist area.

Beautiful Zen Garden:

Japanese Cherry Blossoms:

The most exciting part of my day: Meeting this talented monkey and performer!

Later that day I went to fellowship with a small church and was so thankful to do so. What an incredibly encouraging message that night and some (yet again) warm and friendly people. Here's a glimpse at one of the darlings there that night:

My last day, I went to Ohori Park, a very large park with a beautiful pond in the middle and was able to capture some really great moments from the people there in Fukuoka.

I was thankful for the time to read, journal and walk around endlessly and take in all the new sights. I'm officially legal to work in Korea now (which always feels nice) and I'm glad to have taken the time to experience more in Fukuoka this time around.

It's amazing to me that I set off alone but in the end, spent time with people and was able to share the love of life with them.

I thank the Lord for His provision and faithfulness in my life and for the opportunity to tell people about it while I was in Japan.

Much Love
- J.

Something I don't care to reminisce.

2009-03-11T09:41:00.004-06:00

I came across this photo tonight as I was editing photos. This must have been a shot Steph took when I wasn't 'looking' (haha).

This was the day after my LASEK eye surgery. Oh, I definitely don't miss those horribly painful three days!

Went to the eye Doc today for a routine monthly checkup. I continue to have increased anxiety about the fact that my eyesight hasn't really improved much and everything is still blurry. The general time period for healing is about 4 weeks. It's been nearly 6.

The doctor took a look and assured me everything looks great and actually dug up some paperwork I've probably got around somewhere mentioning that it is possible for it to take up to three months.

Dr.'s orders? Steroid drops 2x/day and anti-inflammatory drops 4x/day.

... pictures of Japan coming soon. I promise!

Coming Soon

2009-03-10T17:28:00.002-06:00

Pictures and an overview the journey to Fukuoka. It was so much more wonderful than I thought it would be. I'm excited to update, but have to wait to get some time to get my 700 pictures from the weekend organized.

Stay tuned.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to Kristen who took the task of taking over my classes. And organizing my massive pile of blankets upstairs :)

In other news - I have another eye Dr. appointment today. I'm STILL not able to see at 20/20 vision yet after the surgery. I'm hoping they can tell me what's up.

And lastly, a quote that I have thoroughly enjoyed. I feel like it's been a slogan for my days lately. I'm been quite ambitious in a lot of areas and find it quite exhilarating.

Shun idleness. It is the rust that attaches itself to the most brilliant metals."

Voltaire (1694–1778), French writer, essayist and philosopher

Ahnyoung!
J

History Repeats Itself

2009-03-01T21:49:00.004-07:00

It looks like I'm heading to Fukuoka, Japan this weekend for yet another Visa run.

Although I consider it extremely inconvenient timing, I'm going to look at it as a time of retreat, adventure and solitude.

I plan on doing a lot with my time for my duration in the beach city of Fukuoka this time and want to take time to be thankful for the (not so convenient) opportunity!

I'll be sure to let everyone know how it goes.

Also - I just have to give a big shout of praise for the new church I've started attending. Jubilee here in Seoul. Gangnam to be exact. What a POWERFUL, convicting and stirring sermon we listened to yesterday.

There's not a day that goes by that I'm not just more and more stoked to be living in this city and experiencing life over on this side of the world.

God is GOOD!

XOXO
- J.

Cousins

2009-02-20T17:35:00.004-07:00

This is a picture of my cousins from my Dad's side of the family taken from this summer in Destin, Florida! I'm the oldest which means I sometimes feel like auntie Jess. :)

I LOVE MY FAMILY!

Photos were done by the lovely Brad and Sundra Paul with Ananchel Photography. And thanks to Grandma with her handy dandy new scanner, she sent this to me this morning. Thanks grandma!

Enjoy <3

Don't Worry - BE HAPPY!

2009-02-17T20:16:00.002-07:00

"In every life we have some trouble, but when you worry you make it double. Don't worry. Be happy."

Bobby McFerrin (1950 – )
American music artist
10-time Grammy Award winner

Vocabulary Testing & Wondergirls

2009-02-13T03:06:00.004-07:00

This week we've had vocabulary testing. Upon grading one of my student's tests this evening I came upon an unusual definition of the word provided.

The word: Important (adjective)

His response: You go girl~! Nobody~~

The "Nobody" he's referring to (if I just HAD to guess) the very popular hit song by the Wondergirls.

It brought a smile to my face. Kids are so funny! Here's the hit song for you. And in case you're wondering... YES! I do SO enjoy K-Pop music. :)

Now introducing 'Nobody' (translation included) by none other than THE WONDERGIRLS!!! Enjoy!

Gee Gee Gee Gee Baby Baby Baby

2009-02-11T23:58:00.002-07:00

I have to admit... these catchy K-Pop tunes are not only a hit with the kids I teach, but you hear this song along with a few others EVERYWHERE!

This is a girl band called Girls' Generation. Enjoy!

The moral of the story is...

2009-02-11T10:22:00.004-07:00

DON'T FORGET TO LOCK YOUR DOORS!

That's the moral.... now here's the story:

So after an exhausting (yet great) Wednesday was coming to a close, I was washing my face and realized there's something wrong with my left eye. There's like a little flap of skin that seems to be lifting around the bottom of my iris.

With that, I spent some time in prayer, texted my doctor to have him call me in the morning ASAP and decided getting some rest would be the best idea. (I, feeling extremely happy to be doing this at 12 a.m. was pretty stoked)

I was in a peaceful slumber UNTIL....

I hear something downstairs in my apartment. (I have a loft upstairs where I sleep).

I say "Hello" in kind of that 'I feel crazy for even saying something because someone's probably not even there' kind of way.

Except there WAS someone. A man. In my apartment. In the middle of the night. Fear and adrenaline surged through my body immediately when I realized the situation at hand, so I don't quite remember the mumbled, accented english this Korean man spoke.

I started yelling immediately "GET OUT! GET OUT! GETTTT OUUUUUTTTTT!" I heard the door open and close. But for some reason I had a feeling he didn't actually leave. "Was there two of them?" I thought. And then YES my suspicions were true; he didn't leave. I hear his cell phone ring! So then I start screaming "GET OUT" at this point and absolutely screaming it as loud as I can possibly muster.

Eventually the door opened again and closed. I immediately called my coworker Austin (who lives two doors town) and plead inside my head during the ring tone hoping he's in his apartment. SUCCESS! He answered and came over and checked out my apartment. Then I looked down at my entry way and ask him. "Are those your shoes" to which he replies: no..... THE BAD GUY LEFT HIS SHOES IN MY APARTMENT!!!

Assuming that he's just some drunk Joe with no intention of really hurting me, I decide to throw his shoes out in the hallway for him to pick up later. Austin texted me about 20 minutes later to confirm he found the guy, who was really drunk, really scared and also really sorry.

Finally.... peace of mind......... until:

My (now) locked door was violently shaken by someone obviously wanting to come in. Not at peace anymore. So I called Austin (once again) and had him come over. He didn't see anyone this time but offered to sleep on my floor in case something happened again.

Now, you might be asking "JESS! Why didn't you lock your door?!" Well.... at around midnight, I decided to make myself a grilled cheese. Grilled cheese is not complete without ketchup to dip it in. So, you see, I went to the grocery store for KETCHUP and when I came back, forgot to lock my door. I know, kudos to me.

Still.... A pretty scary experience.

Now, if only I didn't have that late night craving for a grilled cheese...

Drawing encouragement

2009-02-10T01:37:00.004-07:00

I listened to a sermon by the always insightful John Piper on 1 Samuel 1:1-25 and have been able to draw some encouragement from this part of scripture as of late:

"If we died with him, we will also live with him;
If we endure, we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself."

- 2 Timothy 2:11-13

I can't say that I have been to a point where my faith has diminished; however, It's literally the prayer of my heart that I would remain FAITHFUL to God's purpose for my life: to love people as He loves me.

After the ski adventure...

2009-02-06T23:38:00.011-07:00

So for an update real quick... the eyes are doing well. I experienced three days of horrible pain from the Lasek, but doing much better now. The eyesight is still pretty blurry, but is expected to get better in the next few weeks. Thanks to everyone for your continued prayer and support. It's so much appreciated!

Jeongdongjin

I never finished what happened a few weekends ago. Since we had a long weekend due to the Lunar New Year, after the ski trip Steph, Wayne, Chris and myself decided to take off and have an adventure of our own. And it was! It was great and really fun to travel so well with this group. We had no plan. No expectation.

So after a taxi cab ride later, we ended up in Jeongdongjin.

It's located near the eastern coast of Korea somewhat close to a beach called Sokcho that I visited in the summer. I was figuring it might be something really great. So after a few bus rides late at night, we found ourselves in a place not knowing exactly what to expect. So we found ourselves a 'love motel', got rid of our packs and headed out to see what this little town was all about. Most interesting, what was this huge cruise ship on the cliff for? To say the least, we were all excited to explore it the next morning...

We made our trek toward the cruise ship after a very hospitable stay at our motel. The owners were so sweet. We definitely have a place to stay next time we come back!

And what we found was BEAUTIFUL! I was amazed and couldn't believe I didn't try to spend my entire summer here!

We just had too much fun with the props as we neared the ship.

I wish I knew the idea behind the hands....

The ship is nothing but a hotel/resort.... as well as a Wedding Hall. We had a blast exploring the area and taking a look at everything. It would be a wonderful place to spend some time at during the summer months. The grass is dead and the palm trees are all bundled up for the winter, but hey, you get the idea ;)

This is the view from the top of the revolving restaurant/lounge at the very top of the ship. It really was stunning. God's creation is truly amazing :)

The tribute to one fantastic weekend. Thanks guys for the awesome memories.

LASEK

2009-01-30T02:10:00.005-07:00

Firstly, I can't say thank you enough for all the prayer people have covered me with as I prepared to go in for my LASEK procedure today. I am so provided for and thankful for everyone in my life.

The procedure itself wasn't bad at all. I was determined to be tough and not make it worse than it needed to be. I was done in about 15 minutes. I'm experiencing some pain, but I just keep telling myself how much it will be worth it.

The highlight of the entire experience though?!

They played the CONGRATULATION song at the end of the procedure. I just about died from laughter. The Congratulation song in Korea is very popular, you hear kids singing it a lot. Often for birthdays even!

LASEK is different than LASIK in that there is no actual incision to the cornea of the eye, instead an alcoholic solution is applied to the eye to then remove the top layer of epithelial cells. Laser treatment is then done and finally a bandage contact lens is applied.

*THIS IS NOT MY EYE- it's really interesting to watch, but don't watch if you think you can't handle it ;)

Ryan was gracious enough to pick me up from the clinic this afternoon to guide me through the halls of the train stations. Stephanie, Wynn and Chris are all headed up from Cheonan tonight to spend the weekend with me. I can't help but be so thankful. Big thanks to these guys!

Lunar New Year Holiday

2009-01-29T16:26:00.003-07:00

Last Saturday myself and some friends and co workers decided to venture up to Yongpyong Ski Resort to take advantage of our 3 (some of them 4) day weekend!

It was beautiful and so much fun to spend time with such fun people. As a skier, I decided I'd snowboard Sat night and ski on Sunday. Well, we ended up renting off the mountain so I had to choose. I chose a snowboard. I'd been a few times and can make it down the mountain, but was not prepared for what would happen!

I hit a SOLID piece of ice at the base of the mountain just before the lift area. The immediate fall took my breath away, forced me into a frozen position, with the exception of my back, which was spasming. The contractions of the back only became more painful with every second I was there. So I decided to just lay there for a bit and wait until it wore off. In the middle of all this, friends called and said they'd be right down. By the time they got there, I was being strapped and boarded to the stretcher. But THAT'S not all. I was strapped a total of 3 different layers and was zipped up ENTIRELY in the orange bag. Now I'm not one to complain, but this was definitely not my favorite moment of the weekend. Especially as being a borderline claustrophobic.

In all, my tailbone was actually pretty damaged. After some pain pills and an order to lay low, we were back at the hostel and spending time with friends.

The weekend was packed full of adventure (I'll post on that later) but overall it was great. I was convinced though that every vaction/trip I try to take is always tainted with somthing going awry.

Oh well..... C'est la vie. It's what makes it full of excitement, right?

Back in SO KO

2009-01-11T18:44:00.005-07:00

So I've been back for the last week and from the moment I walked of the plane, I felt an immediate sense of relief to be back to a place I really do like to call home. After a really terrible time getting back (my luggage even came through!), I came back with a renewed sense of purpose, excitement and hope to finish out the next 5 months here in Korea.

I have to say, one of the highlights to coming back were all the Koreans who live/work near or in my building. They were so excited to see me! It warmed my heart to know they noticed I wasn't out and about in the neighborhood!

I met with Joo Hyeok on Thursday night for a hot choco and he was speechless. From him, and from many others, they tell me my face looks much better and happier. I think the visit to Boise and some time off from work has done me good :)
Joo Hyeok and myself

And his gift to me... socks. How very kindly Korean of him. Actually... I was excited about these socks.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to do some ice skating and meet so many new people (which I'm always a big fan of). The skating and skate rental for one hour of skating cost cheon won - 1,000 won or about a dollar.

In other news.... I'm getting Lasek eye surgery done on Jan. 30. (The reason for all the eyewear in the above photos) I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous, but I'm really looking forward to the end result. I went in for some testing last Thursday and as a result had dilated pupils for like 9 hours. Not fun to teach and work with that whole mess going on.

Anyways - back into the routine of things and definitely enjoying my life of Korean culture once again.

Peace and love,
Jess.

Currently Reading...

2009-01-04T17:48:00.003-07:00

Those of you who know me well know I read like 4 or 5 books at a time. Call me ADD whatever - I don't care.

I'm currently reading this book:

It's incredible. I think you should read it too.

Have a blessed week!
Jess.

Courage!

2009-01-02T07:33:00.004-07:00

Yet another quote I love:

"To have courage for whatever
comes in life – everything lies
in that."

-Mother Theresa

I'm heading back to Korea today - as of right now I'm in the Boise airport. My flights have been switched around due to a delay and the customer service lady doesn't realize what a rockstar I am in airports and thinks it might be best if I give myself more time for my connecting flight :) No really though - props to the customer service gal, Jen - she's the real rockstar.

I'm thankful for all the sweet memories and time I had in Boise with friends and family. I'm so thankful to have such a wonderful place to come back to.

xoxo
Jess.

Home Sweet Home

2008-12-24T23:13:00.008-07:00

Well, so far I've definitely been enjoying life's simple pleasures and taking in the amazing place I'd like to call home - BOISE.

It's been packed of snow adventures.... which has meant lots of bruising.

I've been busy catching up with SO many great people in my life here. I am so richly blessed!

My best gal pal - Alex

The girlfriend who's known me the longest - Holly Hawk

One of my favorite people to spend time with - Trent

Some friends I can always count on for a good adventure - Austin, Kristen and Kyle

Snowshoe extravaganza! With Christi and Katie
Some amazing people I get to spend my time with - Ali's Birthday! So honored to be there. Love you Ali!

The amazing baker and best person to entrust all my stuff with at my house! - Miss Kim

One INCREDIBLE mama - Amy Jo as well as Cade and Carson Tucker :)

More babies and yet another AMAZING mama! Keri Sue and Mr. William and Katelynn Sue :)

Christmas tree hunting - definitely got the best one!

Meet Chance - The little brother.

Me and Pops

Me and my mama

Oh - and did I mention I got a ticket? Yeah, I'd say I deserved it... except I don't. I've been SO careful and driving at the speed limit. *sigh*

So far, there have been a few Korean tendencies such as:
- Bowing at the car who stopped for me to cross the street
- Pushing doors instead of pulling them to go inside (I think America needs to jump on board with the double hinges!)
- Running into people because I now consider myself a left hand side walker instead of on the right
- Taking my shoes off upon entering any home
- Handing my money to cashiers the "respectful" way (giving money with my right hand with left hand under my right arm)

I can't believe I'm already getting ready to head back to Korea - I have feelings of peace and confidence as I enter into my next round in Seoul. God is so good.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!

Peace and love
Jess <3

MMMMM I like it!

2008-12-12T11:32:00.000-07:00

"Have the nerve to go into unexplored territory. Be brave enough to live life creatively."

Alan Alda (1936 – )Actor, screenwriter and director

Up and at 'em

2008-12-12T11:24:00.003-07:00

So my delay in blogging has to do with my whirlwind of a week back in the fabulous BOISE! The plan was to be laying on the beautiful white sandy beaches in Thailand, but long story short - it didn't happen :)

Instead of wallowing in the disappointment, I've decided to just be excited to be back to a place I call home and enjoy it.

And today I get to enjoy some of life's simple pleasures - CHRISTMAS DECORATING. Actually, as I write, I hear mom yelling from upstairs to help her drag down boxes. We cut down our Christmas tree a few days ago. (pictures to come folks, I know I'm slacking). I am so thankful I get to enjoy this wonderful time of year here in Boise.

I have yet to upload some photos from Kara's visit. I'm on vacation... everything has kind of been at a standstill (Jess.... at a standstill?!) yes... it's true. But just one aspect. I've been busy as ever meeting up with people and catching up with old friends. It's been amazing.

I'm most looking forward to spending time with the little brother this Saturday and seeing him off to his first school dance tonight. Ah, they grow up so quickly ;)

Take some time to do something special for someone today.

All my love,
Jess.

Ouchie!

2008-11-29T10:31:00.004-07:00

OUCH! Look at my tongue - yes, it really is as bad as it looks!

I think I burned it eating really spicy or really hot ddokpoki a few weeks ago. Grr!

In other news, Kara (a great friend from back at home) is here visiting me and we're having a BLAST. Pictures to come. Also - we had a Thanksgiving feast here at my place tonight and it was AH MAY ZING. Pictures to come with that, also.

And finally - please take some time to pray for our travel situations we're about to embark on. If you haven't looked, please google the situation in Bangkok (yes, the city we are to fly into on Wednesday) *sigh.

All my love,

Jess.

Warrior

2008-11-25T04:54:00.006-07:00

So I came across a message I sent to a friend a while back and shared this with him. I forget who it's from (Probably either John Piper or Oswald Chambers.... my personal faves) but I REALLY wanted to share this with you all. It's written in the context of God giving you a certain reminder on what the perspective should be.

It's personally so encouraging for someone like me who CRAVES adventure every second of the day and admittedly always thinks "what's next... it's go time". Enjoy.

You want to be a warrior? Be a warrior of need and surrender. Make fighting for a relationship with me your greatest cause and see what other causes come out of that. See what other causes I put in your path. I can bring you adventures, but those things are small. Those are tiny compared to the cause of surrendering your heart and soul to me. That's your cause right now. Daily, hourly surrender of your heart and soul to me. You ARE on an adventure, the big one that I cheer loudest about from the bleachers of heaven IS FOR YOUR HEART. The adventure that begins every morning. That is the adventure I care about. Don't miss that one.

And I do - I miss it all the time because I focus on "What's next" instead of "What's now". I get so lost thinking I need "to do something for him" instead of "be in a relationship with him". Rev. 2:4 says that I forsake my first love. Repentance. Forgiveness. A minute by minute all consuming need for God.

America the beautiful... almost

2008-11-21T05:11:00.004-07:00

I'm about a month away from America. Here's a list of things I can't wait to experience.

1. My amazing friends and family - oh you people rock my world!
2. Spending time at the fire station with Dad
3. CALVARY CHAPEL BOISE!!! I love love LOVE my church family.
4. Massive girl party/sleepover at Alex's
5. YO QUIERO TACO BELL!!!!
6. Clear blue skies, foothills, and North End gloriousness.
7. PITA PIT
8. LASANGNA
9. Driving
10. Albertson's because "It's your store"
11. Java - ahhhhhh
12. Organizing boxes and boxes and bags and bags and bags of my life stuffed in the basement on 14th street.

13. Drying my clothes.... in a clothes dryer!!

I love how a lot of my list consists of food... I can't wait to relax, catch up and cherish every waking (and resting) moment of my time in Boise.

Can't wait!

All my love -

Year One: Check

2008-11-21T04:25:00.004-07:00

Those of you who know me well know that I'm kind of a busy person. I am ALWAYS on the go and you know what? I LIKE IT THAT WAY! I'm sure one day when I get married and have kids I'll possibly become more of a home body, but until then... it's go go go!

Well, so lately my style has been cramped. I've been rediculously sick. For quite a while too, I might add. So despite how much I despise going to the Dr. (unless REALLY necessary) I went today. For a few reasons: friends were REALLY starting to get concerned and I needed a medical check to renew my visa anyhow.

So I went - and how did it go? IT WAS HORRIBLE! It wasn't but 45 minutes in before I was abruptly reminded why I hate going to random doctors/hospitals. I don't trust them. So rather than ranting on what a terrible experience, I'd rather just leave it at this:

Two X-rays, 5 tubes of blood and a urine sample later with a "Everything seems to be fine" later, I was given a prescription. I've got the stupid meds, and yes, I'll take them and we'll see what happens.

P.S - Can I just say I'm not surprised when I hear "We just don't know what could be wrong"? My whole medical history in all my life. With FEW exceptions.... that's what I hear.

Ahem - moving on.

Friday marked my last night of my year contract - although I'm now on vacation, I don't really feel quite the sense of excitement I'll feel once Kara gets here on Wednesday. I still feel like there's SOOO much to do. I'm hosting a Thanksgiving dinner next Saturday at my place, so I'm definitely looking forward to it. I feel like my mom. In fact, I'm so much like her... but I learned from her that it's always more important to pack a small house full of lots of amazing people than to have a huge house with no one to fill it.

That will definitely be the case for this Thanksgiving. It will be quaint, but more than anything I'm just super excited at the wonderful friends that will be filling my "home".

The gem in my week:

Rachel

I went to see my student Rachel participate in her English Competition at her public school (it was a GREAT excuse to leave my "bed rest"). I was so excited to show her my support. I was excited to see another former student there as well. It made my day to see Rachel speak and sit with her parents. I felt like a proud parent myself :)

My day has been full

2008-11-15T08:44:00.003-07:00

My day has been full of nothing but life's simple blessings. (I'll have photos to come soon) but until then... I just wanted to share why it was so full of joy. Life's simple pleasures are not to be taken for granted!

- Had a sleepover last night with three awesome gals - Sharon, Jung mi and Abbey. We talked, laughed and loved our girl time! Bed time.... oh around 4 a.m.

- Slept in. Noon baby! Enjoyed relaxing and not having to be somewhere.

- Made breakfast for all the lovely gals at this place. I LOVE hosting people and cooking for them! I think I need to start making banana pancakes more often! Wow. They were good.

- Dyed Sharon's hair! Weeee! What sleepover isn't complete without some sort of makeover? It turned out super and she loves it.

- Went to an amazing worship service tonight and PRAYED. So encouraged by tonight's message. Again. Shared this time with some amazing women of God - Sarah, Eva, Alison and Abbey.

- Ate at Outback Steakhouse - ate so much food I can't even hardly move. The best part? I have leftovers for tomorrow. (YEAH!)

- My cab driver taught me some Korean and he had a mad mix created featuring (but not limited to) Akon, Blue's Traveler, Jimmy Hendrix and an amazing eclectic mix of other artists. Made my night! Makes me miss home though.

It's been a wonderfully refreshing day. I'm thankful for the faithfulness God continually demonstrates in my life. His provisions are ALWAYS perfect and I never would have foreseen the way He's divinely brought some of us together here and how much He continues to shepherd and teach me in His ways.

I guess you can say I'm definitely stoked with where God's got me right now.

All my love

- J

D Day

2008-11-12T23:15:00.004-07:00

So when can aircrafts be not permitted to land during perfect weather? Oh... you know, on the national test day here in Korea. The magnitude and the societal pressures of this exam are quite mind blowing. This test is for all high school students to await their fate. See, the exam score determines which college they can go to. Which then determines whether or not the student can get a good job. And of course, if you aren't successful, have a good job or wealthy, you pretty much won't be happy for the rest of your life.

In essence, the 17/18 year old student is literally taking a test that impacts THE REST OF THEIR LIFE!

Click here to read an article with more details.

Gyungbokgung

2008-11-12T00:17:00.006-07:00

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Gyungbokgung.

It's the oldest palace in Seoul and it's massive and absolutely beautiful. My friend Joo Hyeok took me around and we had a great time (despite the huge blisters I gave myself from new shoes.... hah, imagine that... ME with new shoes?!)

Meet Joo Hyeok:

You can truly see the autumn beauty captured in this area. I'm really enjoying the fall season here in Seoul! God's creation is truly nothing short of marvelous!

I think this doorway must definitely be for the Koreas - what do you think? ;)

As we were winding down our tour of the palace, we ended up out toward the Blue House... or where Lee Myung-Bak (the president) lives. It's one of my favorite areas to be. It's so beautiful around this area and the air seems so clean and fresh.

I know... I'm so Korean with my peace sign. BUT really... it's the best thing you can do with your arm for a picture. I love it, and yes, watch out because I will be bringing it back to Boise with me!

I'll be catching you up on all the fun I had cleaning up vomit from a young child named Ryan this past Saturday. For those of you who don't know... I come from a mother who has the worst gag reflexes known to man... one look at the vomit and I almost lost it myself. I chaperoned a field trip to Independence Hall on Sat. More to come... stay tuned!

The storm is coming...

2008-11-11T03:27:00.007-07:00

I decided to hop on the comic craze and dress up as Storm from Marvel Comic's X-Men. Typically not too thrilled for Halloween, I had a blast picking out my wig and coming up with this idea to be Storm! We headed out to Itaewon (foreigner district in the city) and hung out at Hard Rock Cafe Seoul. SO much fun and was thankful to spend it with so many fun people.

Prior to heading out for the night though, I wore my wig to school. This is my favorite class this term. Such bright and wonderful students. Love them to pieces!

Judy and Stella. Judy decided to try my wig on for size and give her go at dressing up for halloween. Ha

My co-worker Samara :

And with Ryan Foster Teacher:

And with one of my darling students, Rachel. I adore this little girl.

This is my peacock of a friend Sarah (and my amazing personal makeup artist for the night). I love and appreciate this woman on so many levels. We had a great time dancing the night away :)

Ryan, Trevor, Sarah and Kristen

Laura, Karissa, Sarah, Lindsey, Trevor, Eva and Kristen

Daejeon

2008-11-11T02:45:00.007-07:00

I'm a bit behind on updates - I've been a tad under the weather for the last week and a half or so.

A few weekends ago, a few friends and I made our way down to the third largest city in Korea - Daejeon. I was excited to get away and to do some hiking and exploring. Our adventure was filled with an all nighter Friday night, turtles, 7 people all on one floor for bedtime, and sneaking into an amusement park in the middle of the night. I felt like I was about to experience a scene in a horror film. Here are some pictures. Enjoy!

The following pictures are courtesy Eric Fernung. PLEASE check out his website by clicking the link from his name. His skill in photography is nothing short of captivating and inspiring.

99 Balloons

2008-10-30T01:55:00.002-06:00

It's worth watching the entire video.

Thanks Ben for the link.

Be Blessed.

<3 J.

Quote of the day

2008-10-24T04:22:00.000-06:00

"Time is limited, so I better wake up every morning fresh and know that I have just one chance to live this particular day right, and to string my days together into a life of action
and purpose."

Lance Armstrong (1971 – )
Cyclist, seven-time Tour de France champion and cancer survivor

My new hobby

2008-10-22T21:12:00.006-06:00

So last week I had the pleasure of partaking in the amazing game of shuffleboard for the first time.....

Well, I did again this week and I really think I'm getting the hang of it!! Even some "old" guys at King's Tap (amazing pub, by the way) were impressed.

So, as my kids would say .... YESSSSSUH!

Watch out Korea!!!

Changing seasons

2008-10-21T11:35:00.009-06:00

I always get really reflective when the seasons change. I guess it's always a time when the fact that time is always passing us by and life is happening is shoved abruptly in my face. I've been exceptionally contemplative as it seems that all seasons have come and gone full circle while I've been here in Korea. With that said, Korea has been an incredible experience. Full of a lot of joy, and with that has come so many different challenges.

The Cherry Blossoms in Spring were pretty amazing, but fall in Korea is nothing short of stunning. This weekend I had the opportunity to spend some time with these ladies:

Janet, Cathy, and I

We spent our time hiking around Soyosan (a mountain about 30 minutes north of where I live) Here's a peek at what I get to enjoy:

Be blessed.

I desire...

2008-10-21T01:10:00.004-06:00

To be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Mr. Oswald Chambers daily convicts and stirs my heart in his rich and meaningful devotional called "My Utmost For His Highest".

Here's something from today that I particularly found great:

"Discipleshiop is built entirely on the supernatural grace of God.... We do not need the grace of God to stand crises, human nature and pride are sufficient, we can face the strain magnificently; but it does require the supernatural grace of God to live twenty four hours in every day as a saint, to go through drudgery as a disciple, to live an ordinary, unobserved, ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus... We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things, to be holy in mean streets, among mean people, and this is not learned in five minutes."

Have you seen the news lately?

2008-10-13T23:57:00.004-06:00

I don't know if I've just been doing a little bit too much "catching up" on world events lately or what not... but our world right now is in a lot of hurt. It leaves me feeling some feelings of sorts I really can't describe and I don't think I've even experienced them before.

Does anyone feel the same way? If you do, I'd love to hear about it.

a picture worth a thousand words.

2008-10-12T03:43:00.007-06:00

This is how my heart feels lately:

There has been such an amazing transformation in my heart in the last month. I have such a clear and pristine perspective on certain aspects of my life here.... it's been profound and very exciting. I feel so released of such burdens, frustrations and fears that I now realize I was pretty tangled up in for several months. I'm no longer letting certain people or things distract/take me away from the excitement of what is happening in this time in my life. I just want to share it with you all because I praise God for the amazing joy - because it is truly only found in Christ.

This last weekend was full of good friends, shopping and the Passion concert. Oh, and also some really great American breakfast (Don't worry... pictures of that to come later).

Shamra came up for the weekend and we did some MAJOR shopping at Forever 21. Very busy and exhausting (right Sham?) but so fun! I am so glad you came up Sham!

Sham, Sarah and I on our way to Passion... we had been out and about the city all day

But we finally made it to Olympic Park

PASSION - Please check out the website. www.268generation.com

What an AMAZING glimpse of how wonderful it will be to one day praise Jesus with all of his faithful disciples. We worshipped in two languages with thousands of young adults. It was nothing short of beautiful.

Here's a few of us: A , S, T, J and K

Amid the economic crisis at home, the cold I'm coming down with, preparing for a big trip in the very short few months ahead and responsibilities at work, I'm encouraged, refreshed and really thankful for God's grace.

I was encouraged and excited from a verse I read today. It is found in Philippians 3:13-14

"Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

I never updated what happened last weekend, so here are some pictures from Busan from the International Film Festival!

I'm also getting very excited to return back to Boise to see friends and family. I know it's not until the end of December, but I know it will be here before I know it. Here's to looking forward to it.

Be blessed!

Guess what!

2008-10-07T00:35:00.001-06:00

I think it's going to happen... I'm coming home for Christmas.... then better yet... my new contract will end MAY 22 and not JULY 5!!!

I'm Boise bound!

YAYYYYYY!!!

A running late me...

2008-10-01T09:24:00.007-06:00

Ha! I think this is funny.

me. no makeup. running late. Thought it would make all of you laugh (ok, maybe not laugh, but at least a smile?!)

Also in my day - I had the opportunity to visit a family from church this morning and we had some amazing Indian food (yummmm) and then I was off to tutor and then to Bible study.

I am always amazed at the richness of God's Word! Tonight we went through 1 Peter 2:11-17. Good stuff you guys! It's been interesting reflecting back on my time here (almost one year!) and the ups and downs. I do know I can still say God is faithful and while I will definitely take another post and talk about things I have learned and ways I've grown here, I do know that one thing is for sure: I'm constantly being sharpened and refined to learn what it means to serve myself less, to love others more and to please Christ and Him alone.

The music in my heart tonight? 'Only You' by David Crowder. Ironically enough, it's on my playlist at the bottom of the page. (Check it out if you're interested):

I will worship you Lord, only you Lord

I will bow down before you, only you Lord

Take my fret, take my fear

All I have, I'm leaving here

Be all my hopes, be all my dreams

Be all my delights, be my everything...

It's just you and me now

Be Blessed. Love to all.

I like this.

2008-09-30T05:05:00.002-06:00

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.

- Henry Ford

I'm just catching up...

2008-09-28T06:30:00.007-06:00

I am excited. Let me tell you why. Well first, because the love of God is amazing. I've been so encouraged... so touched by the amazing love of Christ lately in this last week. Here's part of 'Enough' by Chris Tomlin:

All of You is more than enough for all of me

For every thirst and every need

You satisfy me with Your love

And all I have in You is more than enough.

It's quite amazing to fully be ok with only the love of Christ... and not needing anything more than Him. God is so good!

Also, a friend of mine from back at home wrote something that has really resonated with me, but more than that, took the words right out of my heart. (Thanks Dave Hess) It's as follows:

"I can't imagine my life - whether flickering out or shining bright without the ebb and flow grace that is Jesus Christ"

Secondly, I have been catching up on all my photos --- organizing the thousands. Between losing 2 batches worth of ORGANIZED photos (1 recovered, 1 NOT), getting a new computer, getting two.... yes TWO new cameras, it's made it a bit tough. So basically, the following are/(will be) a few of my favorites (or the most meaningful... or with meaningful people). I will be updating as I go. Check back regularly :)

So - Enjoy!

Be blessed!

63 Building: One of the tallest buildings in Seoul

Some shots from Sokcho beach when I took the trip with my co-workers a few weeks ago:

me. (an OH so happy girl) to be on the beach and ryan

A, R and J

Jindo pup. Cute <3

Meet Sir Winston

2008-09-23T09:59:00.006-06:00

Meet my new buddy. He's a bit sick at the moment (stuffy nose) but I took him to the vet today and he got two shots (ouchie... mommy's so sorry) and he's got some antibiotics (of course he won't eat his food because it's mixed) so I may be resorting to the syringe method in the next day or two.

Some things about Winston:

His favorite place to sleep is in the front pocket of a piece of luggage I have stored underneath my staircase (Weirdo).
He meows more than any kitten I've ever heard... I guess I have a knack for choosing high maintenance animals?
He likes my toes
He really... I mean REALLY hates shots
He doesn't like to be crated. I have never been SO ready to get off the subway in all my life. I had about 10 angry Koreans moving to the other side of the train to get away from Winston. I look at it as a good way of therapy for me to get over the fact I hate people staring at me. Ha!

Grace and Peace,

J and W

Early Riser

2008-09-21T16:41:00.006-06:00

Today I woke up at 6:30 a.m. I haven't been up this early in I don't know how long. Kind of weird. But since I'm up, I cleaned my house and now decided to sit down for an update (much needed) since I've totally let my blog go the last few months.

It's mostly because I have not organized my pictures and haven't felt the need to.... therefore I think I can't blog? Hmmm... interesting logic, don't you think?

In all honesty, the REAL REASON why I haven't blogged a few different times this week is because I don't think I have anything nice to say! It's been a hard week! Really hard! (So beware... it's not my most positive post.... but here it is)

I need a break. And I tried to do it two times within the past two weeks and my parade has been rained on. Literally. That's the whole reason... the STUPID RAIN!!

I really do hate rain. I always have, and I despise living anywhere where it rains and is cloudy any more than like 30% of the time.

Anyways - I went to Jeju island a few weekends ago (the Hawaii of Korea) and while it was great to tour, I was less than impressed with my pasty pale skin at my arrival back into Seoul. Regardless, here are some pictures from the trip.

Steph's Here!! I'm so blessed to have her in my life and here none the less!! This was pre boarding the plane to Jeju (notice the happy faces)

The view outside our hotel. Pool - check. Water slides - check. Beach- check. POOL DRAINED? No pool and slides.... RAIN?! No beach....

But we made the best of it :)

All in all though, we had a good time. I just was REALLY looking forward to working on a MUCH needed tan. Here's the group shot:

N, R, S, J and B:

B, N and J:

Funny things in my week

2008-08-14T04:40:00.003-06:00

1. So I have a student named Andrew... he's really smart, and really sassy. A few things about him:

If I say something to him, he often replies "That is your opinion". ('lil punk)
He told another instructor he wants to take a bomb and blow up the city he'll be in.
He hates girls. I mean REALLY HATES them. He refuses to talk to them, play on the same team as them, and definitely not sit by them.
I have nicknamed him 'Cham Chi' which means tuna in korean.
He has nicknamed me 'Saury' which is also a fish.
I once was on the same train as him and he gave me a death stare for being in 'his' territory. I told him he better hurry, because I might beat him to the exit. He'd have none of that and he booked it through the station. HAHAHAHA it was so good to watch his little legs go as fast as he can... just to get away from me.
He laughs like a little girl. I told him so and he said "It's because it has not cracked yet. I am no man"
He gave me 200 won (about 20 cents) for my birthday and told me it's because "to keep the economy is important"

Anyways, I got him good this last week and dished out the whole "that is your opinion" to something he said, and the class was in an uproar. AHH the sweet feeling of revenge with a 12 year old.

2. My new gym rocks - it's a bit spendy, but I'm excited for all my yoga, step and "play with the ball" classes

3. The Olympics unite us!

My cab driver turned on the gymnastics because he thought I might like it :) Yep... he was right. It brought a sense of unity and excitement in the car. I loved it.
While doing my stretches at the gym, I suddenly noticed about 15 sweaty koreans staring at me. Feeling a little self conscious, I just kept going... until more started watching. After feeling REALLY self conscious, I got up to look.....

...... only to see the 9th inning of the Korean/USA baseball game was being broadcast right above my head.

I'm excited and looking forward to my friend Stephanie's arrival next week, the end of intensive classes and the beach this weekend!

Be blessed! Ahnyoung!

Rough Waters Ahead....

2008-08-04T04:28:00.002-06:00

I really could use everyone's prayer and support right now... the next few weeks will be nothing but absolutely intense. My time and my energy will be stretched farther than I think it has in my entire time in Korea... It's looking like 13 hour workdays for quite a few of them at work. Partly my job responsibilities, partly because of the extra classes we've got until Aug. 20.

And somehow I'm supposed to celebrate my birthday in the midst of the chaos? Really?

I'm thankful that God's grace sustains...

Thanks in advance for the prayers and support.

Be blessed!

A peek into my last few weeks!

2008-07-26T13:34:00.013-06:00

GET READY FOLKS! IT'S JAM PACKED!

(P.S - this post does NOT include my farewell to my closest friend here in Seoul, Sharon. For her... she gets her own post within a few days.) It also doesn't include my move into my new apartment. So yes, if it seems like I've been busy, you're correct. I've barely had time to breathe! But God is good and so gracious and humbling me and encouraging me along the way.

ENJOY!

Upon returning to Seoul, I decided I just couldn't get enough of the beach.... and I realized I needed some alone time and so I decided to go on a personal adventure. WEEEEEEE!

Instead of running a ton of errands and getting caught up, I decided to take advantage of the clear blue skies (rare in Seoul, first of all... second... the rainy season was destined to come any day)

I headed down to Muui Island (a small little island located off Korea, near the airport which is about 2 hours away) I had to take a ferry to get there.

After a few ferry rides...

a trek pretending not to be lost...

exploring a famous "drama" (soap opera) shooting set...

meeting a random Korean man (Willis) who acted as my tour guide...

some great sea shells ...

and saying hello to some sand crabs...

I finally made peace with being back to a place I call home... yay Korea!

That weekend I headed out with all my friends to attend MUD FEST in Boryeong (about 2 hours south).

Here's my friend Linds on our bus ride down there:

The whole gang - SO MUCH FUN!

Me, Rach and Hil

MUUUUUDDDDD!

Next up? The DMZ. What an amazing experience. Here you see S. Korean soldiers outside. They wear glasses not only to intimidate, but to protect themselves from making eye contact with N. Korean soliders.

These are N. Korean guards (taken with a telephoto lens)

Spying on us - the window is slightly open on the left with a guard looking through binoculars. We were instructed to not make any movements or gestures to the N. Korean guards at any time.

You can't really tell from this picture, but they stand only halfway exposed in case of a situation with gunfire, so they can be protected and not easily harmed.

I'm standing in N. Korea in this picture... this S. Korean guard would stop me if I tried to pass, because if I do, I'd be nabbed by N. Koreans.

And last but not least... My amazing Friday Bridge Listening class.... they knew about my ice cream fast during the month of June (and how much I hated it) and I decided to celebrate with them after class one night.

Playing Catch Up

2008-07-23T10:30:00.011-06:00

So I haven't been able to take the time to finish uploading pictures until now from the fabulous vacation in Florida with the entire family (from one side, that is).

****ATTN FAMILY! If you want copies of these pictures..... click on the picture (so it will be full size) then save from there. (ie - right click, then save to your computer) :) That way you can have copies.

It was so wonderful to see my Mom, Dad and brother. I will never forget the feeling walking off the plane and getting ready to surprise them the way I did. I have missed them so much. Here's a VERY in depth look at our vacation with the family. I loved being able to spend time with EVERYONE, and it was definitely a highlight to meet Keylie for the first time. I had such a good time.

I'll post more pictures from my last few weeks back here in Korea, but for now... just Florida.

Here's a few highlights since I've been back:

- Moved into a different apartment (4 floors up, and it's BIGGER!)

- I took on FULL Head Instructor responsibility at work, which means I've been busy out of my mind

- Started teaching Intensives (an extra three hours each day)

- I attended Mud Fest with my friends (more pics to come for sure)

- Tomorrow I say goodbye to my dearest friend here in Korea, Sharon. :(

- Did a DMZ tour and stepped on North Korean territory and explored an underground tunnel built by the N. Koreans.

ENJOY THE PICTURES FROM FLORIDA!

_________________________________________________________

Ryan, Sabina and Adelisa

Aunt Gretch and Keylie

Miss Adelisa

Keylie!

Uncle Jay, Alexia, Iley and myself

The tremendous sand castle - Good Job Ryan and Sabina!

Chance, Brandy and Grandpa Bob

Chance scopin out the waves

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for an awesome dinner and beach house!

Brandy and Keylie

Can't get enough of this baby! Chance and Keylie

How old do you think he is? He's two weeks younger than Chance (13 years old) and he's taller than me!

The crab shack we ate at

Just Me and Mom :)

Chance and Brandy

Just Me and Pops :)

We love those cameras :) Me and Iley

Beautiful Girls! Alexia and Keylie

Me and Chance

On our way to dinner... via the beach. HA!

Me and Mom

Me and the boys: River and Chance

Chance and Riv

All the grandkids!

Aunt Gretch and Uncle Jay

Gretch, Grandma and myself

Chance and I at the beach :)

Rob and Beth

Dad and Chance at the pier

Me and my buddy <3

Ah the BEACH!

2008-07-06T23:14:00.005-06:00

So I do apologize for the intense delay of updates with what's been going on. Rather than doing a chronological post sesh (I think I'd be too overwhelmed to do so), I will post what my last week has consisted of.... the sunny beach in DESTIN, FLORIDA.

That's right folks - I went back to the states.... and surprised the fam.

I don't think I've ever been so anxious in my entire life. As I was sitting in the airport in Seoul, it seemed like the time would never come.... but then it did. I flew into Atlanta, Georgia where my aunt Gretchen picked me up (who was in on the surprise ambush attack)

An update?

2008-05-27T00:59:00.001-06:00

I need to post one... I know, right?

Life's been marvelous lately. I will post and give a good photo update shortly. Hang tight!

Much love to ya'll.

Be blessed.

China VS. Korea - My story

2008-05-12T08:48:00.008-06:00

Today as I sat in my classroom in the middle of class and looked on MNSBC.COM I saw something that took my breath away. Chengdu, in the Sichuan Province of China, was hit with a 7.5 magnitude earthquake.

I'll explain why it took my breath away. I will now explain my story and testament to God's faithfulness in my life and how it is I truly came to Korea.

THIS is my story -- (and yes... it's worth the read)

Five years ago I had my first experience overseas and went to China. It's a trip that literally transformed my life and the Lord really showed me what it is to have a heart for the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20). I had a heart for China and couldn't wait to go back.

I spent the last years in college praying for an opportunity to go back to China to live, to serve and to be part of what an amazing place China is. I was discouraged when I realized I had taken a really great job at a marketing firm called The Brick Group and wasn't packing my bags to head overseas again.

But then that all changed. My life as I knew it really began to seem a lot easier to give up... the things that I felt really were holding me in Boise were no longer a burden or an issue within my heart. So.... I began to look into teaching opportunities in China, after kind of casually scoping out Taiwan.

The Timing
The process was moving right along for my placement in China. My recruiter and I were just waiting for the "right job" to come along. Ironically enough, Jeff Reynolds and Ron Baker (The Principals of our firm) came to us one Monday morning to inform my amazing team at Brick Group that they were closing the doors. I was actually about a week away from telling them about my future endeavors, so they immediately supported and encouraged me in the next step. I felt immediate affirmation and peace. However, I still needed to lock myself into an actual position and had no concrete plan. I had about a month of pay still coming so I had some time.

China
I had told my recruiter I was interested in Shanghai or Beijing. The thought of being in Beijing made me silly with excitement because of the 2008 Olympics. Every interview I had with the schools though, it just never seemed like a good fit...

Until one night - I talked with the Director of an amazing International School. We immediately clicked and had a fabulous conversation. I couldn't have been more pumped at that moment. I still remember it all so clearly. I was offered the position and started right away on getting my documents and formalities in the mail to her. The initial red flag was the timing of getting there. You see, the Visa process was going to take a bit longer and it was looking like January. I didn't have until January! With Brick closing down, it was time to move forward. Still, I was excited and trusted the Lord would provide and it would all work out. The other hesitation... the area. It was in Chengdu. There was no real reason or anything I could seriously in particular put my finger on.... but it just didn't seem right. I didn't have a feeling of peace about it. Still though, I was determined to "follow my dream" and get back to China.

Korea
I was on the phone with my recruiter one day talking to him a bit more of what I wanted and he said something I really didn't want to hear at the moment. "I think maybe you should look into Korea. They have amazing paying jobs there."

I just kept thinking to myself "NO! I don't care about Korea. Why would I want to go to Korea? What are you thinking... I told you. I want to go to CHINA!" As peeved as I was, for some reason I took it a step further and somewhat awkwardly said.... OK. I was put in touch with the recruiter who handled the Korea placements. Before I knew it I had an interview with a man from CDI (An English academy) in Seoul and he asked me if I'd be available to come out in a week. I laughed as I told him... 'actually, yes'. He had a few more things he needed to get confirmation of but within a week, I had been offered a position with one of the largest companies in Seoul. It definitely piqued my interest.

The Decision
So here I was. Faced with a decision that I really didn't feel I could make. I had never been so stressed out about making a decision in my life. I knew that either one was a huge decision and each one would basically change my life - both in very different ways. I didn't know how to cope with that. After much prayer I made my decision to come to Korea. My feelings of excitement and joy sometimes masked my insecurity of wondering why I was coming to Korea and not to China. Inside I felt like I was letting someone down and not keeping my end of the bargain for some reason. I never could put it into words the disconnect and hesitation I had with that specific position in Chengdu, China. And it hurt me tremendously to not understand.... but I pushed forward in faith, fully trusting there was a reason.

I arrived in Korea on November 10, 2007 not speaking a word of Korean, not knowing anything about this nation I was about to dedicate a year of my life in. I was in for a pleasant surprise.

Doubt and Affirmation
Soon after arriving in Korea, I still definitely thought I'd be headed to China next year in 2009. As I have grown as a person, met some of the amazing people who have come into my life here in Korea and as I have fallen into an even deeper relationship with Christ, I now have a desire to serve not only just China, but other nations as well. This, of course has some days sent me into a whirlwind of questioning myself and questioning the heart I once had for China. Not that I still don't ever want to go back to China, but my passion has grown deeper and more meaningful for not just China, but for places like southeast Asia.

Every time I see some of my student's faces and the laughter that comes from them, my job and my purpose here is so evident. It is deeply rich and rewarding. I see God moving and shaping me and so many people around me. It's incredible to see Christ glorified in so many ways. I'm in awe of how blessed I am to be here. It feels like a big present every day because I never know what to expect and totally trust the Lord with each day here. I've seen myself fall flat on my face in some ways here, but I'm wholly aware it's only made me stronger and has made me realize my need for such an intense intimacy with my Lord, Jesus Christ.

As I step into a new and promoted role as Head Instructor at my school, I can't help but be thrilled to be the lead on getting things done, to make people feel comfortable, to coach the instructors and encourage them to be the absolute best they can be - to be someone who is approachable and trusting. It's clear to me that through my relationships there that I have made, especially with Sharon, that I know I'm RIGHT where I'm supposed to be. This was the feeling of affirmation I had as I left my Head Instructor training this morning. This morning was a huge breaking point. I finally, after 6 months really felt no regret. No more questioning and wondering "why" and demanding to know the answer. It was incredibly liberating.

It was only a few hours later as I looked at that web page, within minutes of that earthquake - I realized that God offered His incredible protection over me. A whirlwind of emotion came over my body as it was made so crystal clear. My hesitation, or my lack of peace was I think an act of God offering a hedge of protection over my body. The earthquake hit the exact place I would have been in China. Not saying this earthquake would have been fatal for me, because I could have been spared even in the midst of it... but the point is that the Maker and Creator of the universe has a plan. He really does direct us in the small things AND the big things and this is a day in my life I will never forget. I'm so thankful for the amazing gift of life we can have through Christ and the ability to walk with Him and to serve the living and active Almighty God.

He makes our paths straight, He unites us, He's a jealous God who desires all of us, not just some of us and I'm so thankful that He does not need me to bring Himself glory, but rather that He chooses me. He chooses us all.

That's my story - the interesting weave of events and seasons in life that have lead me right here to be in Seoul, Korea and it has humbled me more than ever, to know that I am not in control of my life. I want to thank all of my friends, but especially my family who has given me nothing but complete and flawless support over the years who has made this journey one that has been so much easier because of their very UNCONDITIONAL love.

Peace and Love

zoom zoom ZOOM!

2008-05-05T04:32:00.019-06:00

It's been a busy week on the go.... and now I've come down with a cold! Am I surprised? Not so much....

But this past week I've been out and about before work. (I work at 3 p.m. and teach until 10 p.m.) It's been a stretch but I feel like I'm getting my stamina back! You see, living here in Seoul I get so tired! Back in Boise it was always go go go. We attribute it to all the walking, traveling and teaching we do here.

Here's a little peak as to what my week consisted of:

Seoul Forest
Miss Lindsey and I decided to venture out to Seoul Forest. I had never been there and neither had she. I'd heard some cool things about it and read up online and eh.... it was nice... but I was definitely expecting something more. Here's some pics though. Most of all I was just thankful to spend some good girl time with Linds.

The U.S. Military Base
WOOOHOOOO! A little bit of America per the lovely Justina. I enjoyed a wonderful meal which consisted of a grilled chicken and brie sandwich along with some tasty french fries. YUMM.

Here's one happy American enjoying my fabulous western meal. I'm definitely a happy camper!

And YUM - Donuts!

Saturday = shopping + teaching + dinner + Buddha's Birthday

Wow - so Saturday PACKED with stuff to do. This weekend there was tons going on to celebrate Buddha's Birthday. Goodness! It was full of festivals and parades.... oh and did I mention lanterns EVERYWHERE?! It's been beautiful.

Earlier on in the day I met up with Sarah and a few of her co workers to take her shopping - here's us taking a break to get some lunch:

After some teaching I met up with Jess Becker for dinner... we treated ourselves to some yummy Shabu Shabu (a total favorite of mine).

Here's a picture of Jess and I. I'm so thankful for her! It will be sad to see her go at the end of August.

...then it was off to round some of the friends up for a fun Saturday night enjoying the festivities.

Here's some video from inside the temple in Insadong:

Here is a small glimpse of the lanterns directly outside the temple:

And here's a fish who's got personality! I think he reminds me of Shamu when I worked at Sea World. Too bad he'll be dinner, if he hasn't been already. Poor little guy:

Dr. FISH!
So Hil's mom and sister are visiting, so we decided to check out Dr. Fish. This was my second time. (I did much better this time, by the way).

Here's me (looking really tired at this point) and Hil:

Here's Hil, myself, and Myung Suk (Hilary's co-teacher):

And the Hontz sisters. They're so cute I just had to post them for you all to see. It was a pleasure to meet her mom and sister and to hear about what their experience has been like to see Korea from a vacation/visitor perspective.

Dobongsan

Dobong mountain is only about 20 minutes away from where I'm at. So despite feeling really crummy this morning, Ruda and I decided to embark on an adventure to Dobongsan and just chill since I wasn't feeling good.

And I get to see amazing stuff like this. My life is pretty cool? Yeah.... I agree :) I'm so blessed!!

And here I am with the ahjummas who fed us:

Who can forget my fabulous kiddos? This past week was level up testing for them. So here's a picture of Sean (obviously worn out from level up testing):

And here's what I ran into as I was grading Karen's test this week. She's so cute! I received this compliment from her.

"Superstar Karen's English Day. It's level up test today. I'm very nervous. Jessica is look so pretty today"

And I finally got my ice cream from Michael from the arm wrestling competition I won:

Phew! Hope you guys enjoyed the update of my past week here in Seoul. I think these next few days I'm going to work on laying low to recover from this cold I seem to have.

Much love!

Missing you

2008-04-29T03:44:00.004-06:00

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!

2008-04-27T09:56:00.011-06:00

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

2008-04-26T09:42:00.015-06:00

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!

2008-04-21T09:58:00.026-06:00

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"

2008-04-21T09:33:00.002-06:00

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!

2008-04-21T07:52:00.003-06:00

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

2008-04-18T04:26:00.008-06:00

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!

2008-04-14T00:46:00.017-06:00

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.

I love shoes!

2008-04-10T20:28:00.003-06:00

Here's a look at the new shoes and new purses I bought the other night! I just can't get enough of how many shoes they have here. It's overwhelming....

One thing I love though is that I have memories of each vendor/salesperson from each pair of these shoes and handbag.

I got some AMAZING deals for some particular reason this night I decided to go shopping. I love sales!

My little rascals and a taste of spring

2008-04-09T06:23:00.009-06:00

So this is a little taste of some of the things we do during my EC3 class. They are just too much fun.... so I always set aside some "silly time". It makes my day to spend time with this class each Wednesday and Saturday.

Here's another one - be sure to watch the boys (Jae Yong and Gun Hyeong) in the background in the beginning of the video.

Signs of Spring

Here's a little taste of the beautiful blooming flowers here in Seoul. The cherry blossoms are blooming and I couldn't be more excited for the new season!

Ruda and I spent today out and about at Ewha Women's University and Yonsei University today. Everyone had the day off because it was the Congressional Election Day - it was a little cloudy, but still wonderful.

Cherry Blossoms!

2008-04-07T00:47:00.004-06:00

So the most visible sign that it's spring in Seoul is the Cherry Blossoms! I will post some pictures soon, but I must tell you about a story that happened today at work. Again, this story involved Robin.

This guy is a crack up. As I was behind the main desk trying to fix the blasted printer, Robin and I had a conversation about cherry blossoms. The conversation went like this:

R: Have you seen the cherry blossoms outside?
J: Oh yes! They are great.
R: Oh good. Yes, they are like you.
J: Haha, what? What do you mean the cherry blossoms are like me?
R: Well.... they are.... bright, smily, cheerful and well...... just wonnnnnnderful!
J: Hahahahahahahaha, thank you!
R: SHhhhhhh! Don't tell anyone I say that to you.
J: Ok. Thank you Robin. You're silly.
R: I know. I'm sillyboy.

This was definitely good for a nice laugh to start my Monday, and I appreciated the compliment. I must get a picture of Robin soon to show you. I'll have to be sneaky about it though, because I'm sure he won't smile voluntarily.

More news.... I bought a bike today! Yay! I'll post pictures and video of my outing this morning when I get home from work tonight.

Blessings!

IWE's 10th Anniversary last weekend

2008-04-04T11:51:00.003-06:00

Here's the video from Hil, Jess and I singing at IWE's 10th Anniversary Celebration. IWE (International Worship in English) is a ministry of Young Nak Presbyterian Church here in Seoul. We had a good time. Hope you enjoy the footage!

Korea never ceases to bring a smile.... even if I'm sick!

2008-04-02T01:07:00.006-06:00

So I woke up this morning after tossing and turning all night and feeling sicker than I've felt all week, so I decided to not run the errands I had planned for the day and decided to rest up instead.

It's pretty dreary and rainy outside today, so it was a particularly good day to stay inside and not do a whole lot.

I talked with a few different friends from back home today so it really warmed my heart and it was good to talk to them and was amazed as I was telling them I've been here for nearly 5 months. YES! Can you believe it? Nearly 5 months. On the 10th.

Even I can't believe it, because as I was walking out of my apartment to teach my cute kiddos from my EC3 class, as I watched the hustle and bustle of the street vendors, the bent over ajummas (old women) and as I looked upon the construction and the westernization around me, I too, was struck with the fact that truly, yes, I am in Korea.

This brought a smile to my face and a peace in my heart, because I am so happy to be here.

Let me just say I've only been here at work for about 45 minutes, and so far I have about 4 different humorous stories I could tell. So I'll start:

1. Robin (a Korean staff member, who speaks pretty good english) says to me, "Do you have a test?" I tell him, "Well... vocabulary test is on Saturday. Review test is today and speaking test on Saturday." (Keep in mind I'm a little confused why he's asking me)

He appeared to be a bit confused as well. At this point I was about to head back to my classroom since I had finished making my copies for the day and he starts to head toward my classroom. He turns around midway and says to me "Why are you following me?" He said it with such a seriousness, I couldn't help but laugh. I simply replied, "I'm heading to my classroom too!"

This is the same man that the other day, when I realized we were out of paper, I say, "Oh, SHOOT!" He looks at me and very candidly says "Jessica! I thought you were a good girl?"

I quickly realized he thought I cursed, and had to explain to him that I said shoot, not the other word. Robin is actually a new employee and I'm starting to see he's a pretty funny character!

2. So I'm in the process of looking for a bike. The plan was to go today, but alas, I'm sick... so I decided to not go out and about. So, one of the other Korean staff members, M.K. (who is also, pretty new) tutors some of the students with grammar. Although, his english.... not so good. But he tries very hard and likes to take us to dinner to work on his conversational english.

He said hello as I came in today and proceeded to say "So when do we go and ride bikes together?" I tell him kindly that I still don't have a bike, but I'm looking for one. I of course wonder how much of what I'm saying he understands, but still.... I try.

He eagerly says to me "I provide it for you. I take you to make sweet memory in Korea." (I kind of smile and nod) as he continues "Along beautiful Han River" He quickly points to some date in May and communicates to me that's when we'll go.

So apparently I have a bike date with M.K. in May. That should be interesting. :)

3. This story also involves M.K. (He's a funny fellow) but I was inside my classroom prepping for class when he knocks at my door. I motion for him to come in, but no avail. So I get up and greet him at the door. He's holding a pastel purple colored patent leather belt wrapped up. He says, "This is gift for you." I kindly accept and bow to him. See.... in Korean culture it is extremely rude to not accept what someone gives you. This belt is hideous, but goodness.... I thought it was so kind that he found it (whether it was lying on the ground in the street, or if he bought it) and thought of me. This brought a smile to my face and definitely a few chuckles out loud.

Don't worry... I'll upload pictures of this belt shortly.

4. This one involves the kids (keep in mind these were all within the first 40 minutes of arriving, so by this time I'm definitely not able to wipe the smile off my face).

I play my music on my computer before class starts while the students come in. The kids happened to come in during a song with a very strong beat. Instantly, my kids (all boys of course) :) began so start making sounds to go along with the beat of the music and shaking their heads. I only wish I would have brought my camera to capture how hilarious of a sight this was. Their immaturity and carefree character is refreshing and all I could do was embrace the childhood moment and join with them. We all had a good time and laughed as the song came to an end

It's times like these that I realize what an amazing blessing it is to be here to spend time with these kids!