the only thing more beautiful than vesper light...

i thought my next post would come sooner than it did, but it has turned out to be one of those weeks yet again! wonderful, yet full. this is the first day this week i got off work early - home at 8:30! and guess what?


SO MANY NEW PICTURES of about one hundred or so of my favorite people in korea!!!

this last week and weekend have been nothing short of exciting.

best lesson in geography class so far:
i got to teach my students the word "precious" (as in precious gems, precious metals from our discussion of the mining industry). how else? i used Gollum from LOTR.

i also really enjoyed (as did my students) talking about conservation and being a good steward of the earth. i had heard about the work of Seattle-native Chris Jordan before, art made to show how much we consume. check out the link - it was a great way to get their attention and produced a strong reaction.

friday, i took my camera to school. i want to cover my homeroom walls with pictures of my students, so i took a few that you can see on my facebook photo link. here's my beautiful 9-3 homeroom:

from left to right -

back row:
hanuel, gahee, sarah, noah, levi, james, andrew, joshua

front row:
jessie, runa, johnny, simon, miriam, david, seonghak, eileen, faith






yeah, best homeroom in the school. obviously.

friday night, the students and a few teachers and staff headed to Goesan, to the Cheung Cheon campus of KICS in the mountains. its a much smaller school of only fifty students, but their school challenged us "city slickers" to a soccer match.

number one highlight: the bus ride from bucheon to goesan. i had very little sleep nearing the end of that week, so i was expecting a dozey bus ride. instead, i was surrounded by a sea of joy...
all the students on the packed KICS bus sang loudly and passionately almost the whole way. after seeing them mumble the english hymn lyrics every morning, i was indescribably at peace the whole ride. CCM, Korean hymns (both of which are not allowed in chapel) - i sang along in English when i knew the tune. ah! so much joy in that bus! a slice of heaven, worshiping with your brothers and sisters in one soul and heart in every tongue - freedom and genuine community. this was also the moment i decided to start working harder on learning korean - to better understand the heart of each student which they express better in korean. there was an undeniable presence of the Spirit during those three hours.

saturday at Cheung Cheon was a day for fun and games with both campuses together which culminated in a soccer duel between the two campuses, which of course was won by Bucheon - five to one. slaughter. i spent the entire day taking photos of the students, having a blast, and running back and forth under the beautifully warm and sunny sky to change the angle i shot from. after the students played, we also had a teacher-student team vs student team. the teacher team won. i, of course, was the only girl on the field.

this week so far:

monday: we had a discussion in 9-3 about the meaning of "what the...". apparently, they pick up american slang better than their geography terms. it ended in a nonsensical exclamation by simon - "what the my wife!" which left half of the class laughing (including me) and the other half watching in bewilderment.
the dynamic in every class is so different, but one thing all classes have in common is the vast gap between the level of english among the students.

blessing point #2: i was exhausted and somewhat discouraged after a late night and a long discussion about the problems with our 11th grade class. back at the dorm, three students and i spent an hour in my room talking about life. i've missed that :) i love hearing their stories and their hearts, hearing about their families, their dreams, their gifts, and then sharing mine.

tuesday: i was unwillingly volunteered as a model for a KICS brochure. they made me brush my hair.

tuesday night: lightning storm. so good.

today (wednesday): during my attendance, some of the students were talking quietly and then out of nowhere levi (in 9-3) started singing "you...are...so beautiful, to me". i never know what to expect with that kid. in 9-1, sarah started singing "it's raining men" and as i walked to the front of class i sang "hallelujah!". my kids never know what to expect with me either.

blessing point #3,4,5,6: yesterday morning i woke up freezing, so i was pleasantly surprised to feel the heat as soon as i stepped out of my bed this morning (heated floors, yesssssssssssss). first time they've had eggplant at lunch (ahh!). perfectly warm with a perfect little chill at 3:25 pm outside on the roof of KICS before chapel (lovely). and the vesper light...

please pray for renewed strength (my eyes were so heavy today! half of the teachers passed out at about 2 today at their desks...), for the students' endurance as they prepare for midterms next week, and for the leadership of KICS. i love you all!