As soon as we get DSL hooked up at the house we will be on Skype a whole lot more and will actually be able to talk to everyone :). We’ve been working through a Korean man in the office here to get that arranged and it’s been going kinda slow, but I think he’s ordering it for us today and he said that it should be installed on Monday or Tuesday. So… here’s hoping 
Hey!
Well, the first week of school has gone well, for the most part. My day starts with a prep period, study hall, and another prep. This makes for a VERY long, slow morning, and a very busy afternoon! My first class is 8th grade Spanish, which is a new class this year and has no textbook. I am enjoying that class very much, for the most part, although many of the students in it are very quiet. Next is Spanish 2, which is one of my wilder classes, but for the most part they seem to be trying and excited about speaking Spanish. They are probably the class that is giving me the most trouble as far as my teaching abilities, because it is in this “in-between” group that I am most painfully aware of my lack of background in Spanish Ed. There are so many things I take for granted, only to find out that I’m wrong! Spanish 1, after lunch, is my largest class. They also, for the most part, seem to be excited about using what they are learning. It is really a blessing to have so many of my students eager to learn! The day ends with the Spanish 3 class, which is only 3 students. It is nice to be able to relax a little with this class, in which the focus is on writing.
Pray for wisdom as I’m trying to create a classroom environment that is both fun and promotes learning. Also, pray that I would be self-disciplined during my long morning, so that I can get things finished at school and not have to take them home.
- Mandie
Well, we’ve joined a church here. Uijongbu Baptist Church is pastored by Rick Kelley and has been in operation for eleven years reaching the community and the military population. Mandie and I are getting involved in music and the children’s ministries. Please pray for us and the church that we would have an impact for Christ in the community. The church already has an amazing ministry, pray that we would add to it.
Sorry this took so long… I ran into a few snags last time I tried to do this, but we have pictures of our flat! All except the bedroom and the entry way
(aparently Mandie missed the entry way… and yeah, the bedroom isn’t
ready to be photographed yet :)).
…. er… ok… maybe not…… it seems my blog is having trouble talking to the server….. hmmmmmmmmmm…. i will get them I promise!!!!!!!
Well hello everyone. We made it safely here to Korea and got into our apartment last night. We’re in the midst of trying to get everything unpacked. We are currently at the school where Mandie and I arranged her classroom and I was shown my office. This afternoon, we’ll be going to the base, Camp Redcloud, where we have temporary access until we receive our official base passes. There we will be receiving a tour.
Everything went well with the flights. It was a long tiresome day, but we made it OK, which is especially great because both our flights from Cincinnati and Chicago left about an hour late but we were still able to make our connection in San Fransisco without any trouble (though we never had much of a layover :)).
Luggage made it ok, and so far nothing broke. Our dishes all survived as did Mandie’s picture frame. (and yes, the PS2 still works :)). The only thing we lost is Mandie’s jean jacket, in which she had some makeup and her seamstress tape. She left these on the airplane that we rode into San Fransisco because we were in a hurry to make our connection. We’re assuming there’s no way to get it back, though if possible I will try to contact the airline. Just pray that we will be able to either replace or live without them :).
Thank you very much for everyone’s prayers. We love you all very much. Orientation begins in earnest tomorrow morning (this evening for you Americans :)).
Praise God, we received word today that our passports have made it back to Colfax with our visas stamped on them! That means, we are all set (legally) to go to Korea. Now we just have to spend the next two weeks deciding what to take and what to leave. ACK
Please pray for us as we ready our hearts and minds for the move.
Well, PFO is now over and we’re headed off to Springfield, MO for about 4 days so that I can get some extra job training. Thank you for your prayers, we had a wonderful time of fellowship and making excellent good friends.
One of the ways that God has very much blessed us is that the school for whom Mandie and I will be working is in the mature stages of its development, which means that they have the capacity to pay us a salary. This is wonderful because it means that we don’t have to raise support. However some of the families we have met here do not have this luxury. In our particular small group there were two couples who still need support. One couple is going to Peru, and the other is going to Africa. Since it was not necessary for any of our friends to support us financially, we would just like to ask that they would prayerfully consider whether they would be willing to help support these couples. We have greatly appreciated the love and support (prayer, housing, transportation, etc) everyone of you have given us and we would love to share your generosity with them as well. Thank you so much.
This morning, we received an email telling us that our Visa’s have been approved by the Korean government. This afternoon we are sending in our application and passports to the Korean Consulate in Chicago to have our visa’s attached to our passports.
Please pray that this process will go quickly. We’ve heard horror stories, but we also talked to a couple yesterday who said that when they sent theirs in, they mailed them on a Monday and had them back by the next Thursday. This is all up to God’s Sovereignty.
This is the final major hoop (at least that we can see right now) that we need to get through in order to make it to Korea. Thank you all for your prayers
Hello Everyone. We made it here to Southaven, MS safely. We’re ready to begin our 3 weeks of training. Thank you for you prayers. We’ll try and keep you posted as our sanity allows.