On Our Way

We'll be leaving in just a couple very short hours to come home! We can't wait to see everyone! It's so funny though, I was laying awake last night with a similar kind of sleeplessness that I experienced before we came here. I had so many questions on my mind. Will we seem like different people? Will home seem like a different place? Will we have to adjust to our own culture now? What will it be like? On and on...I think mostly, though, it'll just feel really good to be home again. So many stories to tell - it'll take way longer than a month, I'm sure! Can't wait to see everyone!
Love, Sarah

Hong Kong

We just got back from four fun-filled days in Hong Kong. We attended an A.C.S.I. conference at an international Christian school. During the day, we went to seminars with speakers like Dr. Gary Chapman and Dr. D. Bruce Lockerbie. We learned a great deal about Christian education and came away with renewed vigor and energy toward teaching. After the day's sessions, we went out on the town. Hong Kong has a fabulous skyline and nightlife. We packed so many things into the three nights of adventure. This is the largest post I've ever made at one time to flickr. This trip was also a great way to bond with our co-workers. We are trying to fight the let down that inevitably occurs after such an amazing trip. Now we must return to life and get back into the swing of things. We are now three weeks from coming home for Christmas. Don't forget to check out the Hong Kong pictures. Ask us about our trip when you see us!

The Glory of God

Kevin and Kate have been blessed with a beautiful baby girl! Thursday afternoon at 4:30, Hayoung was born. Her name means, "Glory of God". I love that name. It really reminds me of how God's glory is so evident when a baby is born. We visited the lovely family at a postpartum clinic today. They said the labor pains lasted two days! Apparently she wasn't dropping the way she was supposed to. She weighed under 4 kilograms. That's around 6 lbs. She is very cute and sweet. Kevin and Kate are both staying at the clinic for two weeks. It's a very nice place. They said the food is really good. We only got to see the baby for about seven minutes before a nazi, I mean nurse, came and took her away. She put her behind the glass where we couldn't breathe on her anymore. Hayoung is the cutest, most beautiful baby in Korea and probably the world. Don't take my word for it, check out the pics.

~Proud "Uncle" Micah

The Secret of the Old Clock

The Hidden Staircase. Two Nancy Drew books were included in the birthday box that I received this week. Although I loved opening all of the wonderful surprises included in my birthday box, this one brought a giggle (yes, giggle) of delight from my lips. NANCY DREW! I used to love reading Nancy Drew books when I was a kid. I used to love opening the first few pages knowing that another dramatic and mysterious adventure awaited my discovery. I love being known so well - thanks, Ang. I also love that I received three of the exact same shirt in three different colors - I know this concept will make perfect sense to probably any girl reading this, and if not, it definitely makes sense to a Sterrett girl:) Thanks, Rach. And, I would just like to add, that I have already worn all three of those shirts! They add the perfect amount of pizazz to any outfit! They go especially great under the cozy sweater that Mom and Dad gave me (along with the shoes that I have also already been wearing! So cute! Thanks, Mom and Dad!). I guess all that's left is for me to start enjoying the intrigue awaiting me in my new books! And who ever would have possibly guessed that it could all begin in a secret held by an old clock?! Yes, I know, I know, this is why I must begin reading!

Long Walk Home

Saturday was an interesting day. Sarah had to work and I did not. Normally, we decide everything together. We're in a foreign land that has become only slightly less foreign to us over the past 9 months. Sarah is my best and closest friend and I am hers. Our relationship has grown stronger since we moved halfway across the world. We have to rely so much on God and one another that all of those relationships have grown deeper and stronger.
My point is this: I had no clue what to do all on my lonesome on Saturday! If you don't want to know what I decided to do then just stop reading right now. All you other brave souls, read on!

First things first, I slept in. This gave me a chance to reset my internal clock and build up the energy necessary to do whatever I may do when I woke up. I was ready to embark on my adventure at around 12 noon. The skype rang as I was about to leave so I spoke with Emily, Josiah and Donovan. Then I went down to the new building to check on Sarah. Sarah was fine and I had the whole day before me.

I boarded a bus knowing not whither it went. Actually, I did know whither it was going, it was going to Suwon Station. Suwon Station is a huge train station with an equally huge shopping area. I made a beeline for the book store. They have an English section and I love to read. They did not have the book I wanted so I had no idea what to do next. I went to Burger King and had a Whopper Jr. meal with fries and a cider. I felt like a king. My Whopper Jr. was flame-broiled to perfection. I was an hour and a half into my grand adventure and I was already out of ideas.

I started walking. I walked like Forrest Gump ran. I didn't stop walking until I was at our apartment at the top of the hill. If you've never been to Suwon Station, you may not know that it is not at all close to our school. I didn't set out to walk all the way home, it just kinda happened. It is the farthest I've ever walked in my entire life! It gave me such a huge sense of accomplishment. It also gave me a huge sense of having extremely tired legs. I took pictures the whole way home. It was fun and cathartic. I'm pretty sure I know what that word means, too. Be sure to check Flickr for some of the shots from my walk.

Love to all, see you in six weeks!

~Micah

17 Leaf

This is the title of one of my latest pictures. I don't know why I called it that. I guess it just came to me. Sarah is reading over my shoulder. We are about to do "Quiet Time", which is what devotions are called in Korea. I would like to thank everyone for their prayers over the past couple of weeks. I was on some meds for my stomach and I will be watching what I eat and drink very carefully from now on. It looks like bread and water from here on out. We are both feeling much better than we were.

Yesterday we went to Seoul just to get out of the house. We went to Coex Mall and had lunch at Quizno's. It was the best Quizno's I had ever visited. I bought a book: Empire of the Sun. After the mall, we went to Seoul Tower. It was raining again just as it was the last time we went. This time, however, it was also lightninging. Seoul Tower is the highest thing in Seoul, if not the whole country! We rode in the rain up the cable car and took the elevator the rest of the way to the top of the tower. It was AWESOME!!! We ate at nGrill which is an ultra-fancy revolving restaurant that revolves. By the time we sat down for dinner, the rain had moved on and the view of the city lights was amazing. The restaurant revolves a little more than one full rotation in two hours. It was really nice to get out of the house but also just sit and relax.

Our vineyard meeting after church today was also very lovely and relaxing. Two of the ladies in our group are taking a cooking class together and they prepared some of their newfound recipes for us. It was delicious. Kate said it was the most she has seen Sarah eat since we've been here!

Thanks again for all your prayers. We love you all and miss you, but we'll see you in 8 weeks!

Blue Sweats and Red Thermal

This is my favorite new outfit. Sarah and I went shopping yesterday after church at Suwon Station. They have a GAP! I got a long sleeve, red thermal shirt in honor of Autumn. There is also a store called Who A.U.(pronounced who ah you). It's patterned after Abercrombie and I got some really nice, thick blue sweats. I am in a blue sweats and red thermal frame of mind. It's a good thing I found the outfit. The weather is tremendously gorgeous!
Sarah and I watched "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" the other night. So many great memories came rushing back to me. Memories of sorting candy as a child, more recent memories of going to the pumpkin patch with C.H.S. When I was about 4 years old I dressed up as the Incredible Hulk for Halloween. In my young mind, I was the Hulk. I hulked out constantly. I guess I still do, I just don't always have the green face paint. Harvest Parties, hay rack rides, bon fires. I love this time of year. Will someone please eat some candy corn for me? and a popcorn ball. and a caramel apple. and a Nathan's hotdog roasted over a bon fire. I'm hungry! Go Fall!!!

Compassion or Sympathy

Everyone wants to be understood. It is one of our most basic desires. God is teaching us how to listen. Language is only one barrier when it comes to understanding one another. More often, impatience and lack of genuine compassion are greater hindrances. I recently read a definition of the word compassion that made me stop and consider whether I had ever known its full meaning. According to that definition, compassion is sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it. (Merriam-Webster) Compassion does not stop at mere sympathy. Jesus is our ultimate example of true compassion. He has paid the greatest price possible to alleviate the distress of sin and death. I am afraid that many of the times that I have considered myself compassionate, I have only been sympathetic. Our sympathy does little good unless it is accompanied by action.

It's a Beautiful Day

Today was a beautiful day. After church, we decided to go on a picnic as a homegroup. It was Kevin's idea and everyone agreed that it was a great one. We went to a large garden/park type of area. We discussed our praise reports and prayer requests while lounging in the warm late Summer sun as it found its way through the outstretched branches of the trees. I took my big camera and I was so glad that I did. I got so many pictures. The garden was created by the guy that started Samsung. He liked peacocks, so there is a plethora of peacocks strolling the grounds. We ate popsicles and simply enjoyed God and His wonderful creation. It was wonderful. Enjoy these shots of our glorious day!

Lazy Sunday

I hope you enjoy this image. I've gotten some positive feedback on flickr from this one, so I thought I'd share it with those who may not check flickr. (Check flickr)!!!

Rest is so important. The fact that I'll be thirty-two soon seems to be conspiring with the fact that I have moved halfway around the world. I get tired easily. I'm not saying I'm old, I'm just saying I'm not as young as I used to be. Add to that the amount of work it takes just to leave the house for a simple evening out and Micah is one tired boy. My energy as well as my will to keep chuggin' along comes from God. Knowing that He is the one that put us here makes all the difference.

I have no widget to share my music with you as you read our blog, but I would like to recommend some of the music that I have been enjoying lately. Here are a few songs and artists in no particular order: Brooke Fraser (almost any song that comes out of her including The Sound of Silence from one of her live performances), Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing as performed Sufjan Stevens and another version by Fernando Ortega (I also really enjoy a Korean version sung by one of the worship leaders at our church), a new-to-me Christian band Above the Golden State, Dave Brubeck: 50 Years of Dave Brubeck, Live at the Monterey Jazz Festival, Chasing Pavements by Adele, Brandon Heath: Give Me Your Eyes, Healer from Hillsong: This Is Our God(this song is pretty good, but I just found out about the author of the song faking terminal cancer! this is a parenthetical update). Those are some of the tunes I'm spinning nowadays. Listen to all of them or none of them, but please listen to all of them.

I'm out,

Micah

Island Adventure

As many of you may have heard, I went on an island adventure with the sixth grade students last week. We went to Cheju Do, (chay-ju doe). If you were to look at a map of Korea, you would see a rather large island off the southern coast of the peninsula. That's her. It is a beautiful place that many describe as a Korean Hawaii. The island was created by volcanic activity. There are some amazing formations of volcanic rock around the coastline.
We spent four days touring around the island. We took a submarine ride which was very interesting. We hiked down into a cave that consisted of a cavernous tube that had formed in the molten hot magma. Don't worry, the magma has cooled off considerably. In fact, it was about 90 degrees in the sunshine and about 65 degrees in the cave. There was freezing cold water dripping from the ceiling of the cave. I was hoping that I wouldn't encounter any vampire bats and I don't think I did, but it was pretty dark in there.
The trip was partially described by Sarah in the previous post. Each night, we would head to the youth hostel for a worship service and message. I played a set of Roland electronic drums for the worship service every night. I didn't have a monitor and I couldn't hear much of what I was playing. I was told that it sounded pretty good overall.
I was really upset at the way some of the kids acted during worship. When I talked to our chaplain about the situation he said, "Maybe it's because they're tired?" I said it was not from being tired. After a couple more suggestions he asked if it was the "darkness". I said, "That's the one." I was appalled at some of the behavior I witnessed. The way I see it, I have the next four months to do my part to help these kids before they hit junior high. At one of my low moments, the students began nominating their fellow students to receive a song of blessing. It was great to watch. After that, they sang a blessing to the teachers and gave out hugs. I got hugs from two very sweet kids. God reminded me of the scripture that Pop Dan assigned to me before we left: Psalm 27. You know the song, "I would have despaired unless I had believed that I'd see Your glory." I can be brokenhearted for these kids, but I don't have to despair. God is firmly seated on His throne and I will see His goodness in the exuberant Earth.

Speaking of, we were thrilled to tears to hear the great news from the Butler camp!

The island adventure was fun, but very exhausting. I had to sleep on mats on the floor without my wife. It was miserable and wonderful depending on my immediate circumstances. That reminds me of the kids' memory verse this week. I Thessalonians 5:16 -17. Read it, it's a good 'n'.

Love to all,

Micah

At Long Last

Whew! Our blog is finally up and running again. We're not sure why, but sometimes the blogger site is broken from our end of things, which means we can't post anything! So, anyway, sorry for the long delay in updates. As you probably know already, we just had some wonderful visits from Kimi and our mothers. It was SO GOOD to see them! And it served to make us miss everyone all the more - but it did give us a boost until Christmas time when we can see everyone! We will find out this next week exactly when we can leave here to visit home - school here is technically in session through the 24th of December! We will try to leave here on the 23rd day (insane travelling ahead I'm sure!) and be home in time for Christmas. We should be able to stay for almost (if not all) all of January, so it'll be a nice long visit. Can't wait!
We've had such a good time getting to know people here, but it will be nice to see familiar faces and catch up with everyone back home - there's just something about talking to people who already know you!
Micah just got back from a long and tiring school trip. He had some fun, but it gave him a good chance to see how students are really doing. While he was pleasantly surprised by some students (think of this retreat as a sort of Rock the Planet summer-camp thing) and how soft they were to God, there were a handful of students that are not doing well at all. He was really saddened over one student in particular who seems very hard towards God, and in fact is pretty bent on being rebellious. And this kid seems to be actively trying to negatively influence his peers. Not a good situation - we would really appreciate prayer for this student. He's a young boy in the 6th grade. We don't really know anything about his family situation. Micah really felt the boy should probably be expelled from the school for some of the behavior he displayed, but I know what we'd rather see is that his heart would be turned towards God. Please join us in praying for this student.
Tomorrow is the official start of our 2nd semester. I am so excited for it too! There have been some positive changes made with my schedule that should help this semester to be much less stressful for me and my students. For length's sake, my mom can fill you in on the details of this if you'd like. (or you can call us through skype, ya, pick that one!)
I really can't believe how quickly time is flying by here - and I keep hearing that the 2nd semester goes by 10x's faster, which is hard to believe since the 1st semester zoomed by! So, basically, we'll be home in no time! Although, I don't want to give the impression that we're just pining away and moping around here thinking of nothing but being home - that's not it at all! We actually didn't even know how well we'd adjusted until our mothers and Kimi came and we toted them around all over kingdom come with us! (Of course, there was that ONE time when I foolishly decided to go to Seoul alone and got myself lost coming home, but other than that, we're getting around pretty well;) And we adore the people here! We're learning so much! I know for me personally, there are two people here especially that have seemingly made it their life's calling to push me out of my box. This would be the wonderful couple by the names of Joshua and Esther Hong - our Korean Lotterer's. You can shuffle through our pictures on Flickr and find them. Just to remind you, Joshua is my co-teacher/principal and Esther is his wife who is also the English Curriculum Cooridinator for my grade. They are very forthright, honest, and encouraging people. I feel very honored to have them so directly involved in my (and Micah's too) life. It's so funny because the three of us could sit down to have a meeting about the Immersion Program, and then end up having a Sarah-get-out-of-your-box-be-bold-and-be-what-God-destined-you-to-be kind of meeting. And they do it with so much encouragement and such big smiles and such belief in their eyes. And the great thing is that they don't just disappear after that, but rather offer constant support and creative ideas to actually help me do it. Esther has actually told me that she is not just here to help me with my class, but that she is investing in my life! When you realize that somone is putting so much effort towards personally seeing that you succeed in what God wants, it just - well, it just breaks you. I am truly honored. And I know that they are definitely on my list of people that I will always be able to point at and say, "It's because of their sacrifice..."
As always, we deeply appreciate all of your prayers and comments. Micah is sick today, but I am sure he will want to update you as well when he's feeling a little better. Please keep his health in your prayers.
Thank you all for your faithful friendship! You're on my list too! Love, Sarah

More Shenanigans

Olympic Gold!

Enjoy!

Peace Sign, Go Fast!

The Peace Sign video is one of my favorites - the boy at the end is a twin (yes, both twins are in my class, and they are always so polite), and his reaction to the camera is so cute.
The Go Fast! video shows me and my autistic student (Sejin) "going fast" - this was all part of my ploy to convince him to go - throughout the hike we kept losing the rest of the class, so we'd have to run to catch up. It's really sweet how all of the children take responsibility for him and help - he is loved by one and all, and I love that he's growing up in this environment. ~Sarah

No Mud

This is a video of Sarah and Sejin. Sejin was very upset that he had gotten mud on his shoes just a couple minutes earlier. That didn't stop him from heading straight toward the mud. When Jingu tries to help steer, Sejin screams. This was all on a hike that we went on with Sarah's entire class. It was hot and humid and there were many mosquitos, but it was a great time. Sorry it's sideways.

~Micah

Do You Like Video Posts?

I do, I do!

Christmas in July!

Micah & Sarah & Kimi From Suwon. Yes, Kimi has made it safely to South Korea. Not only has she graced us with her presence, but she brought us presents. Part of it was a care package from my mom. The rest was stuff she just bought for us before she left. Patti and Amy put in their input as to things we might like. We also received some great mail. Pictures from family, letters and cards from some of our friends. We are enjoying everything!
Sarah and Kimi are having loads of fun with Sarah's students. Today, they went to a big play room with four of the students. There was popcorn and smoothies and ball pits. I'll let them add any details or pictures that they would like to add. I'm tired. Please forgive my lack of enthusiasm in this post. I've been doing non-stop grades all week. I hope to be finished by the end of the day tomorrow. I have to write comments on over 100 students and then give them each 4 different letter grades. 1 for reading, writing, listening and speaking. Time consuming but satisfying work.

Much love to my peeps, I'm out ~Micah


From Sarah:
Kimi and I had a hilarious time this afternoon with 4 of my students. These 4 students have worked extra hard this semester learning how to read - I facilitated a Hooked on Phonics session for them every Wednesday this past semester; and now that they've completed their books, we celebrated by going out for smoothies and popcorn. We then went to the Teddy Bear Museum, which has all sorts of, well, Teddy Bears; but, as Micah mentioned, their was a huge ball pit that we played in for about an hour! I couldn't even believe how much fun I had acting like a total lunatic throwing little plastic balls at little children! They ganged up against Kimi and I and it was an all out war! When the moms came and picked us up, we were all exhausted! The kids' hair were soaked with sweat. One of the moms dropped us (Kimi and I and 3 of the kids) back off to the school, and I just cracked up looking at them flaked out in the back seat, munching on left over popcorn. One girl didn't even lift her head from the seat - her hand just aimlessly dragged popcorn from the bowl and barely dropped a little fistful into her mouth. I grin now even reminiscing. I get payed for this!
It has been awesome to have Kimi here, and I love that she gets to see what we're seeing. The gifts she brought were a delight to receive - and there were some near ugly cry episodes as we read letters, looked at pictures and giggled over American brands that we'd totally forgotten about! Who would've guessed that I could forget about Golden Grahams so quickly?! And I hope that my teeth don't fall rotten out of my mouth as I munch on my new batch of Nerd ropes! Have I mentioned the Honey Almond Accents yet? We are spoiled! Thank you to all of our wonderful friends and family!
Last week was quite stressful for me - which is almost laughable because nothing bad actually happened. I was in high-stress situations that I assumed would be bad, and my own melo-dramatic outlook got me all worked up. I came home crying my eyes out to Micah, who was bravely bracing himself for the bad news. By the time I finished my story to him he just stared at me and blinked. When was I going to tell him the bad news? In order to save time, I will let my mom and dad retell the story (if they can); but let's just say that parents came in to observe my afterschool classes last week, and I was very stressed out at the thought of them coming to one of those classes because I have had an extremely rough semester with the children in that particular class. I have been overwhelmed, however, by the amazing and supportive parents that I have this year. And this week I received a letter from one of the moms that made me ball my eyes out. I will probably carry it in my pocket for the rest of my life. God is so good. Why did I have no faith that He would work everything out? He is the One who brought me here afterall!
Well, it is getting late here, and this post is becoming too lengthy! I will say goodnight for now. We value your prayers and comments. Love to all! ~Sarah

Summer Break Approacheth

Our first semester is rapidly coming to a close. We have loads of work to do before we can take a break. Most of the work includes grade card preparation and things of that nature. Sarah has been doing assessments of her students that will include written comments on their progress. Please, pray that we push through and come out on top of the pile of paperwork.
This Friday is the Fourth of July! Except here they call it, (drum roll please)...Friday. I have found a few tiny fireworks, but nothing like back home. I would ask Kimi to smuggle me a One Bad Mother-in-Law from Jake's, but I don't want her to get caught at customs, 'cause then they would confiscate my fireworks.
Speaking of Kimi, we are also busy making preparations for her visit to South Korea. She will be staying with us for most of her visit, but Kevin and Kate are looking into the possibility of a home stay with a family from church. It sounds like it could be a really great part of her experience abroad. We're getting excited to have a visitor. We'll get to walk around like we know something about this place for a change. We're going to go on a photo safari. That's where you go around "hunting" for photographs to take. It will be 'da bomb. Kimi will also be helping Sarah with Creative Camp Week. That's a camp that lasts about a week where the kids are creative. It'll be sweet.
That's a quick synopsis of our next few days.
Please, enjoy the picture of Sarah's students and of the winged robot guy fighting with Tigress from Kung Fu Panda.
Love to all,
Micah

Healthy Hunger Harms Health

It's Wednesday night for us. No homegroup, no Rev. Church. Our version of homegroup meets after church on Sundays. Sarah and I are playing Scrabble on our iPod. We're not addicted, but isn't that what all addicts say? I think we'll go for a walk around the grounds. I asked one of the men in the main office if I was healthy. (we were waiting on our medical checks to come back). He said, "Well, you're fat." I was like, "Okay...?" When non-native languages are involved, tact loses priority. He said my blood pressure is a little high and I need to take care of my liver. Basically, I need to make sure I don't have a sedimentary lifestyle. I'm going to start swimming three times a week. I will also eat fewer Aussie Cheese Fries. I just found out today that it is the worst food in America, containing 2900 calories.(worst food in Korea, too, I guess). I love Aussie Cheese Fries. I'm sad. If I make the proper changes, I will be much more healthier. So I got that going for me, which is nice.

ps - I had to look up alliteration.

Back Home

Hello, everybody!
We usually write about things that happen in South Korea. We think that is probably the best way to go since we live here. This time, however, I would like to write about something that happened in Pittsburg, Kansas.
On Saturday, my mom moved to her new house. I've heard great reports about how well everything went. There were lots of friends and family of mine present to help. I would like to personally thank everyone that helped with the move. You have blessed my mom greatly and in doing so you have blessed me greatly. Thank you.

Here's something that happened in South Korea. Sarah and I met Soo in Seoul! It was so great to see her. She brought goodies that she picked out with Kimi's help. We really scored. (Chips Ahoy, Ritz bits, mac und cheese, deodorant, Keebler cookies, Whoppers, Reese's Pieces, gum). Seeing Soo was a hundred times better than the generous gift. We ate at Mr. Pizza and walked around Coex Mall. After the mall, we went to Soo's church for a Saturday night worship service. It was awesome. Soo asked what we thought. We said it was great. She asked if it was great even though we couldn't understand it. We told her that we understood that God was being worshipped. We know the Korean names for God and Jesus, but the Holy Spirit's presence and the people's hearts were evident. God is God of the universe. Language is a technicality. ~Micah

Amazing Concert

We went to an amazing concert on Sunday evening. It was an orchestra called, Heart-Heart Wind Orchestra. It was made up almost exclusively of young adults with some sort of physical/mental challenge. I believe most of them had some form of autism. It was awesome. They played several songs with great proficiency. There was a soloist on most of the songs and they did really well. It was a very moving display of what can be accomplished with the right direction and hard work. The orchestra was formed about two years ago with no previous training. The group worked about three months to learn each song. I tried to get pictures but you really "had to be there".

Now, it's Tuesday evening. We just got back from Outback Steakhouse. (my favorite). We had Aussie Cheese Fries and Alice Springs Chicken. Scrum-diddly-umptious!!!

Tomorrow is an office day for me. That means no English class, just grading and paperworking. I hope it rains so I can watch out the window. I hope it doesn't rain in Pittsburg for a while! My mom could use some dry weather for the big move. She is moving on Saturday from her house by the college to a house on Georgia. My bedroom from the time I was 12 will no longer be mine. (it's been painted pink with purple and white Barbie stencils for about the past 7 years for the grandbabies, so I guess I won't miss it that much). Oh, great! Now I miss the grandbabies! We are so thrilled for my mom to be able to move. I'm sure she has plenty of great ideas about how she wants to turn her new house into her home.

Speaking of moms, our moms are taking a trip together this Summer. They're coming to visit their favorite children (that are living in South Korea). We are stoked! It will be radical! Dude.

I had a chance to do some professional photography the other day. The Hong's found out that I am an actual photographer, so we went to their place for a photo shoot. Their kids are so cute! A fun time was had by all. This Thursday, I will be trying my hand at some sports photography. The U.S. Women's Soccer team will be playing at Suwon World Cup Stadium. It will pretty much kick hiney.

I have some thoughts that I've been thinking about. They are these:

If a straw bends, bend it! Life is too short to be drinking out of straight straws when you could have the joy of drinking from a straw that is bent.

When someone says I have an eye for photography I guess they mean my left eye 'cause I close my right eye when I take a picture.

If God opens a spicket from heaven, run under it with your face upturned and your mouth gaping.

"Open up the sky, fall down like rain. We don't want blessings, we want You. Open up the sky, fall down like fire. We don't want anything but You." ~Jonathan Stockstill and Deluge

We love you guys. ~ Micah Levi

It's Been a While

Yes, we're still here...so sorry for the long delay in writing. I think at this point we're pretty much caught up in the daily busy-ness of life here. Although it still hits me periodically "Oh my goodness! We're in SOUTH KOREA!" and then I have that sensation you have in those dreams where you're falling but wake up right before you hit the ground! Know what I mean? If I don't think about it, I could just be anywhere else living life like I always have, but then I do think about it and BAM! My mind is officially blown for awhile! (Is it a while, or awhile? Or are both acceptable?)
Life here is still going really well. Why, just today I was eating my seaweed soup and the thought floated to my consciousness "I kinda like this soup. I'm not just eating it to prevent starvation. Hmm, interesting *small smile to myself*." And you gotta try the cucumber kimchi, delicious! Mashisoy-yo!
Did you hear that our friends from Texas are now expecting their first child! They are! We're all so excited for them, and they're really thrilled about it! A little scared, but thrilled to pieces! They (and we) know that God has His hand upon them, and His timing is perfect (Divine!). Everything will be just fine.
The weather here is starting to feel more like summer and less like spring, but not too bad.
This past week was busy-busy, I worked late a couple nights trying to get things re-organized, re-planned, and materials prepared. I have been meeting with Esther (Joshua's wife) to discuss and actually set goals for the Immersion program - which I am so excited about! One thing that the English teachers have been discussing and meeting about with the pastor is that there aren't any goals for any of the English programs - we're all just kind of thrown into things, and it is all just a teensy disorganized. But, we all know that the potential is vast; so there's a real buzz around here with all of us young teachers eager to make a difference and make this the most cutting-edge and dynamic English program around! Anyway, Esther. She has been such a God-send for me! We met nearly everyday this week to discuss goals for the Immersion program (which is a totally different beast from all the other English classes offered) and to discuss curriculum planning and - well - pretty much all things Sarah felt were going to cave in on her! She is such a great "big-picture" person - and she's unique in that she makes the big-picture seem very attainable, and can help you establish step-by-step goals to get to the big-picture. It seems like most people tend towards either "big-picture" stuff or "the details" (which is where I generally fall), but she really keeps the big picture in mind and sees all the little steps it takes to get there! Anyway, I know that seemed like a really repetitive statement, but I'm just so relieved to have her helping me that all I can do is repeat how relieved I am!
Sorry for all the ramblings! If you would like to pray for us, you could just pray that God would have His way with us here. That He would show us what His will is for us here. There was a little small talk about us doing some kind of English Sunday school program, and other brainstorming type things that may or may not ever happen. We've been praying earnestly that God would show us what it is we're supposed to do while we're here, and your help in praying in that direction would be incredibly cherished. We feel God's hand ever strong in our lives, and He has continued to meet us and provide for our every need. It's weird (a good weird:) how faith grows. It really does start out as maybe a little dab the size of a mustard seed, but then it just begins to take over the whole garden. That's how we feel. Not saying that we're always walking in perfect confidence or whatever - perfection isn't really our strong-suit. But, we really feel that we just offered God our little bit of faith, and He waters that mustard seed, and we just know that He will come through and He will accomplish His perfect will. I'm sure that little analogy was all botched up, but I hope that you get the idea anyway - *sigh*. Well, it's getting sort of late here, and I feel completely exhausted (Micah is already asleep in the recliner, but don't tell him I told you!). We have some videos of here and Japan that we tried to upload a couple of weeks ago, but they wouldn't upload, so I think we just gave up on it; but we'll try again soon! Love you all so much, and thank you for faithfully commenting (even though we don't faithfully write!). ~Sarah

Work Visas!!!

We are back from Japan and we have shiny, new work visas! It is such a great feeling. God continues to be so faithful at every turn. I'll let Sarah write about some of the details of our trip. It was such an interesting outing. Japan has an oppressive feeling, at least the area we visited. Our hotel was in an area saturated with bars, nightclubs and gambling parlors. We escaped to our hotel room at around 8:00 Wednesday night. We made sure to pack a Bible and it came in handy. In order to ward off the bad vibes, we prayed and read our Bible a little extra that night. I'm afraid most of my pictures might include some sort of wierd religious symbolism that I am not aware of. Hopefully, they look cool. Check them out by clicking on the flickr link on the top right.

Thanks for sharing in our glee about our new visas. Praise God!

Back to Japan

We are going back to Japan on Wednesday morning. We finally have everything we need to receive our work visas! Thank you to everyone that has been praying about this situation with us. We will go to the Korean consulate in Osaka, Japan as soon as we leave the airport. After we leave our information with them, we will head to our hotel. We will wait until Thursday morning to go back to the consulate to pick up our passports, freshly stamped with work visas. Depending upon when our return flight...returns, we might be able to do some sightseeing. There is a huge aquarium in Osaka and two giant ferris wheels. If I promise not to rock the gondola, Sarah might ride one of them with me. Sarah and I just got a new camera. It's a Canon G9. It takes great pictures and really nice videos and it's much lighter than my DSLR. We will be posting pictures from Japan soon! Stay tuned!

Heaven on Earth

Merriam-Webster defines inclusion as the act or practice of including students with disabilities in regular school classes. According to the 'special needs' coordinator in my building, "Inclusion is like heaven on earth." She was afraid that I wouldn't be able to understand her broken English but I think she got her point across quite effectively. Instead of spending their entire day sequestered away from the other students, the special needs students at Central Christian Academy spend much of their day in the regular classroom. It's hard to tell who benefits the most from this situation, the special needs students, or the students that learn to help the weak and the less fortunate, not to mention the English-speaking teachers from Southeast Kansas that have the great fortune to witness it on a daily basis. Heaven on Earth? Yeah, I think so.

From Japan to Prince Caspian

What an awesome weekend we had! We began our Saturday cleaning the third floor of the new building. We cleaned with Kevin, Kate, and a few of the other members of our homegroup. We were in charge of windows and walls. After we had all cleaned about ninety percent of the walls, I got in trouble for cleaning the upper part of the wall that was painted.(the bottom half of the wall was some sort of waterproof covering). I just took the blame and when the cleaning police guy was gone we all had a good laugh because we had all been cleaning the top and bottom for about two hours. At 3:00 we headed outside for the festivities. It was the 13th anniversary celebration of the church. The kids had an inflatable slide and a bouncy castle. Sarah had some cotton candy and we each enjoyed grape slushees. The soccer area had been converted into a concert area with hundreds of plastic chairs. At around 5:00 the worship started. One group of church members had prepared a couple of songs with only horns. There was also a more basic worship team and an all men's choir. The highlight of the event was a group from Tanzania that came to worship in their own unique way. It really reminded us of times that P.S.U. students from Africa would do similar presentations. It was amazing. They sang in English and worked on getting the crowd into it. (a little beyond a typical service). I put some of the pictures on flickr.
That evening we loaded up in Kevin and Kate's beautiful new car and headed for the mountains. We went to an old lodge about an hour away from our apartment. Our church scheduled an ice breaking, relationship building retreat. We go to church six. It's the best one of several services offered at Wonchon Baptist Church. It's quite a bit different than any baptist church I've ever experienced. Much more like Covenant Harvest. Anyways, back to the retreat! We traveled well off the beaten path and finally arrived at almost 10:00 Saturday night. By the time the rooms keys were all sorted out it was 10:15 and we were completely exhausted. Then we found out that we had a meeting at 10:30. We were running on fumes but it was still fun. God's grace. The fact that Kevin and Kate were there helped. We slept on thin mattresses on the floor. (Korean style). We stacked up all three that we had in our closet. Our homegroup leader and his wife shared a room with Kevin and Kate so we could have our own room. We were fine sharing, but I think he just wanted to be extra accommodating. We slept likes stones, became part of the mountain that rested beneath us. Sunday morning we all gathered in an amphitheatre that had been built into the side of the hill. Pastor Joseph Kim preached for a while and then we moved to a shaded area and broke into groups to perform team building, ice breaking exercises. Lunch was followed by an afternoon of free time. Sarah and I hiked throughout the entire resort. The view of the mountains in the distance was beautiful. After our hike we gathered for a meeting for couples. The pastor and his wife tag teamed the meeting. Then we had dinner and headed home. It was a great weekend.
On Monday, we went to Japan. No big whoop. Oh, you've never been to Japan? I hadn't either. It was very nice. We were on a God-trusting adventure. We don't quite have our work visas, so we went to Japan for a few hours so we could re-enter Korea with a new thirty-day tourist visa. We also got stamps in our passports that said we overstayed our first thirty-day visa. Immigration may or may not push us to pay the penalties. The school is looking into it, but we know God is in control of the situation. (the penalty is $100 per day per person, we overstayed about 57 days, You do the math!!!). I can't wait to see what God does. He is so amazingly and abundantly awesome! I think the worst case scenario is the school paying the fines, but we don't want that to happen either. Pray with us and rejoice with us when God shows His power in this situation.

Today (Thursday) was Teacher's Day. We received hand made cards from our students that reminded us very much of a package of letters that we got in the mail yesterday from all of our young friends at Covenant Harvest School. Thank you so much! It was great to read all of your letters over lunch in Blooming Beans. We love you all so much! Your thoughts and prayers mean so much to us.

I'd better get some rest. Tomorrow I'm going with the sixth graders to see Prince Caspian. I have such a rough job! ; ) ~Micah

The Life of a World Traveler x2

First of all, it was amazingly great and wonderfully fantastic to see and speak with everyone on your Sunday morning. We were able to watch and listen to the rest of the service. I fell asleep on camera toward the end of the message. It was great to hear Scott Parish, it was just 3:00 a.m. here. We had Monday off, so we slept in comfortably.
Now, it's already Friday evening. Our week has gone by in a flash. Last night, Sarah and I went with Kim Soo-hyun and Sejin(say-jeen) to a concert in Seoul. Soo-hyun is a Special Needs teacher in Sarah's building and Sejin is one of their students. His mom was playing the piano in the concert. Things did not quite go according to plan. Soo volunteered to drive her car.(we don't have one). We left the school at about 5:17 p.m. Seoul is usually about an hour or an hour and a half away. Last night, for some reason, it took us over 3 and a half hours! We got to the auditorium about 2 minutes before the last song was over. Sejin had slept almost the whole way so he was full of energy. I tried to keep up with him with my camera. I'll post images of our adventures. His parents came out of the concert hall a few minutes after we got there and we all went to dinner. They paid for our meals even though we missed the concert. We had Japanese noodles at Saporo at 9:30. After dinner we went to Cold Stone Creamery! Sejin couldn't wait for Cold Stone, so he was sitting with his dad in Baskin Robbins with a huge ice cream cone. On the way to CSC he saw a case of ice cream outside a small store. He gave up on the Baskin Robbins cone for a convenient store cone. It was pretty amusing.
Soo was very upset that we had taken so long to get to Seoul and that we had missed the concert. We assured her that it wasn't her fault. Then Sarah prayed for her as we drove home. It was almost midnight when we got home. I was a little tired today, but I don't regret going. It was so much fun to spend time with Soo and Sejin and his parents.

This weekend is going to be very full for us. Saturday will begin with calls to our families. Then at two in the afternoon we go to clean the church building.(sound familiar). : ) Saturday evening we have an outdoor gathering on the grounds then we load up and head to some sort of retreat area where we will have dinner, a meeting, and spend the night. We come back Sunday afternoon. Monday is yet another day off. (buddha's birthday). Instead of sleeping in and taking it easy, we're going to Japan! We will have to get a taxi at about 5:00 a.m. to take us to a place that has a shuttle to the airport. Our flight leaves at 8 or 8:30. We will land in Japan at 9:15, spend the day doing very little and head back at around 3:00 the same afternoon. This trip is to obtain a new ninety-day tourist visa. We are still patiently awaiting all the paperwork for our actual work visas. It makes me wonder if Master Card was the way to go. (hi, Kelsea).
Thank you to everyone who helped to push us well over 9 comments on the last post. Maybe this one will hit twenty! We love you, goodnight!

Dear Heart: For Pop Dan

A miracle of God's creation
the human heart is vast,
its capacity unrivaled.
It pounds and pangs and pines
beats and breaks
And the heart loves
Oh, how it loves!
Without bound, without self,
Without end
When flesh and blood and bone are gone,
The heart lives on.
The heart that houses Christ lives on.
Live on, Dear heart.

Rolling Days

My how the days are rolling by! I can't believe it has already been a whole week since one of us last posted! Time is seriously flying by! We had another full and great week. My learning centers continue to be successful, praise God, and by some miracle, the students are learning! On Wednesday, I was involved, quite unexpectedly, in a prayer meeting. I was told either that morning or right before I left on Tuesday that we were going to have a prayer meeting while my students were off to their other classes, a 2 hour period of time. I didn't really know what to expect. It turns out that all of the mothers of my students gathered together in my classroom, along with Joshua (my co-teacher for those of you just tuning in:). They started off by singing a song of blessing to me and then praying for me. I cried my eyes out, though I tried not to. We then prayed for the school, the parents, and the students. It was incredibly powerful. We prayed for God's wisdom in showing us how to guide each child into what he/she was designed by God to be - that God would preserve their destinies and show us how to unlock their gifts and graces. How amazing is that!
After praying, things turned into more of a meeting mode where parents shared positive things that they are seeing in their children through this program, and areas that they would like to see improved. In my head I kept thinking "pros and cons" and I was worried about the cons, even though I really wanted suggestions on ways to improve this program for the students. However, I discovered - and was very humbled - that each mother was very greatful for what they were seeing in their children and were too embarrassed by their own English to thank me themselves. Joshua had to translate. Needless to say, by the end of it all, I was a blubbering mess! After the meeting, mothers kept coming up to me and giving me great big hugs and telling me that they understood how difficult it is to adjust to a new culture, and that they know that I am working so hard and that they're so thankful that I'm here teaching their children! They're worried that I'll have too much on my plate...I was overcome with emotion! They showed me such grace and kindness, encouragement and understanding. And now I just keep thinking "how awesome is this!" If I were in the States right now as a first year teacher, I would totally not be receiving such support, understanding, and encouragement as I am now! I see all the more clearly that God placed me here on purpose. Sometimes I hate the fact that I'm one of those people who requires large amounts of encouragement to even halfway believe that what I'm doing does matter and that I am making progress, and yet, God always seems to allow me that encouragement just the same. I totally don't deserve it, and I often wish I could just "suck it up" and "get over it" - and maybe there are times for that, but how thankful I am for these times when God finds way to send a monsoon of encouragement my way. They get me through the "suck it up" moments in life. Love you all, Sarah

Inside Blooming Beans

Please, enjoy this video. That's a new shirt. The video resolution doesn't do it justice. Sarah got a great new outfit, too. I'll try to make sure she is in the next video I post. Don't miss the new post below the video.
Love you all,
Micah

Sad Week

Last week was a bittersweet week for me. I had a great week in Korea and at work and in the midst of it I learned that my last remaining grandmother had passed away. My dad's mother had been in ill health for quite some time. She lived in Frontenac at the nursing home that our church visits. Each time we went on those Sunday afternoons I would seek out my grandmother and Sarah and I would talk to her. She once hollered at one of the nursing home workers then, when they had left the room, she looked at us, grinned and said, "That's how I talk to the help." We laughed and laughed. Helping her smoke felt strange and wrong somehow. It was only one smoke after a lifetime of smoking and I guess it calmed her down. Her favorite candy bar was Mr. Goodbar, definately in my top five. Grandma Bunn, I wish I could have been there. My family understood, but being around them would have been nice. I once read that the reason it hurts so much when someone we care about passes on is that it was never meant to be that way. Death was not in the original plan. Pray for my family. Thanks ~ Micah

Testify

I thought I would take a minute and update you all on my learning centers that I keep talking about:) Today was the first day that students actually went to the centers and did the activities on their own. We've been talking about some of the center procedures and expectations, but we didn't turn 'em loose until today. It went GREAT! The kids responded really well to the centers! I couldn't believe how well it went, especially for their first day! It was such a good feeling to see them be so on-task and engaged in the activities. They did just what they were supposed to do - partners really teamed up and helped each other out. My principal/co-teacher (Joshua) was really impressed with everything too. We prayed before class started this morning that God would help us and show us how to best run everything. I found out afterschool that he'd been really uptight about the whole concept - learning centers are unheard of here! I had no idea how uncommon they were here! Joshua's wife (Esther - she's actually from Canada, so she knows about centers as well) - who has helped me tremendously with the organization side of things - was really excited too! She was really impressed with how well things went on the first day - I don't think any of us had expected the kids to respond so well the first day! Since it went so well, we're really thinking this could set a pattern for how other Immersion classes are run, and possibly give some of the Korean teachers some ideas for another approach to teaching. I believe these learning centers are really an answer to prayer. I'd wanted to do them from the beginning, but had been discouraged from doing so by another teacher who told me that that's really not how "they" do things around here. But then Esther came to me a few weeks later with the idea again, and once I felt that approval, things have really taken off! She really helped Joshua get on board with the idea, and now that he's seen them in action, he is really excited for the potential they hold for our classroom and the school. I am totally stoked by it all, and really feel that God's favor is being abundantly poured out on all of our endeavors. I feel as though my hope as been renewed for this school year - I had been feeling really overwhelmed by feelings of helplessness; I saw all these students who were all at such different levels, and I had no idea how to effectively reach them all. But now, that is all changing. My students really are learning, and these centers are going to help even more than we'd first imagined. God is so faithful in the way He gives us ideas, and then helps all of those ideas fall into place and just, well...work. I am so excited that I have a feeling I'm just starting to ramble...so I will stop writing for now:) Thank you all for your continued comments and prayers - we really feel your prayers and gain so much encouragement from each comment. There have been so many times, especially the last couple of weeks, that we've been feeling particulary low - but then suddenly we feel God's presence, and we just know that people must be praying for us. We've shed many tears lately; we really miss home, and Micah's grandmother passed away this last week. We were both a little under the weather this past weekend, but have pulled through just fine. We've had some really awesome prayer time in the midst of it all; we feel as though we're under a faucet of God's favor, and we have no idea why! It reminds us, though, of Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT), "God saved you by His special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it." Love, Sarah

Spring is Here

Such a beautiful day today. As I walked up the steep incline to our house, I was distracted by all the trees in full bloom - the sun casting a warm glow through their branches, as a gentle breeze made the blossoms softly sway. I took in a deep, cleansing breath and let the weekend exhaustion from working late roll away. I have been working a lot of extra hours trying to prepare for the learning centers that I mentioned in a previous post. The hours of hard work don't seem to quite matter anymore. God is good. It is Monday, and life has moved on. All the labor of the previous week and weekend paid off - smooth sailing today. Home at a decent hour.
And now I'm free to enjoy this calming weather. I love that spring makes me feel new too - design of God perhaps? As my thoughts continue to meander, I remember a couple of positive things that happened (though there were several) today. First, I was given a compliment by a staff member today. She said that I am a good teacher - that it is not easy to prepare all those materials. I'd never really thought of the ability to gather and make good materials as an aspect of being a good teacher, but her saying that really meant a lot to me - and, again, made me feel like the extra work wasn't for naught. Second, Micah and I were invited to dinner on Thursday night by one of the second grade teachers. It was such a sweet gesture, and something to look forward to all week. Life here is going well, many adjustments, of course, but going really well. The understanding, support, and comfort that people here have shown continues to overwhelm us. Please continue to pray for our health and strength to adjust to the newness of everything. Strange how we can have made so many adjustments already and still have so many more to face - perhaps this is why culture shock can really overwhelm people; it's not so much that any one adjustment is too difficult to face, it's just that they keep piling up. Some days we feel like we're still at home and we're having a great time; some days we feel like hiding under our bed and not coming out (haha)! All in all though, I believe things are going great, and we feel very confident that God brought us here, and He will continue to lead, guide, and care for us. We have so much to be thankful for! Love, Sarah

Magnificent Monday

I realize that it is now Thursday, but I just had to write to let you all know how my Monday went. It was possibly the best Monday I've ever had! I even thought to myself "Wow, is this really a Monday?" As you all know, I was whining and crying on Friday about how hard it was to teach children who couldn't even understand me, and I was worrying about whether they were even learning anything...and so forth.
Well, it's amazing what can happen when you really "cast all your cares upon the Lord" because this past Monday was magnificent! The kids came in and were like a different set of students! They were responsive in class - even eagerly raising hands to ask questions and make comments, I could barely hold 'em back! They could understand me! We went on a big science nature walk later, and they were all eagerly coming up to me to show me what they had found, and all throughout the day students were excitedly coming up to me and talking to me! Even the shiest of students were asking questions and offering comments in class! I could barely believe my ears! This whole week has been going really well - an amazing turn of events! Thank you all so much for your prayers - God is really answering them! Love, Sarah

Seeing Things More Clearly

Hello, Everybody! I am finally taking a moment to write! It's been ages! I have been very busy with school; trying to plan lessons for students with such different English levels is very difficult and incredibly challenging. I have some students who can't even read, and then others who are ready to write novels! Because of this, I have been working extra this week trying to prepare materials so that I can set up learning centers to better reach the needs of more students. I have experienced some really low points because it can really be draining to teach all day to students who can't even understand me. There are several who do understand, but at least half of the students still can barely understand my English, and there are some who can't understand at all. I keep going to God for ideas as to what to do, and there are some really great staff members who have offered me much support and encouragement. It's funny how on one hand I can feel such a huge amount of stress, and even sadness, and yet, on the other hand, there are always such amazing people to offer wise counsel and assurance that the students really are learning and that I will make it as a teacher; I still can't help but cry sometimes because God has just been so good and so faithful to me. And the students that He has given me are such fabulous little people! They are so sweet when they come up to me at random and say to me phrases that I know they have been practicing and practicing; they are funny and hilarious and precious and cute - downright adorable! I had one little girl come to school one day with some new grape-colored glasses - she looked just as cute as can be, which of course I told her. Then, later that day, I noticed that her glasses had no lenses! She was wearing them purely for vanity's sake!! I nearly died of laughter at this discovery! What a quirky and hilarious girl! I wish you all could see her - and all of my students, really. Each one is so special and unique. Everyday I ask God to give me the courage and grace and patience it will take for me to teach them anything.
Micah did home visits this past week, and I the week before. It was one of the most unique and interesting experiences we've ever had. We got the chance to meet all of our students' families and see them in their home environment - it was so neat. All of the families were so hospitable, and we walked away with several gifts (even though they weren't really supposed to give gifts, they just couldn't help themselves!). So sweet and caring. These children have books lining their bedroom walls, and many even had their own offices with books floor to ceiling! It is amazing to see the sacrifice these parents are making to see their children be successful. One thing I have noticed about this culture is that everything has to be the best. If they're going to do something, it is going to be done with excellence - there are no short cuts, no easy-way-outs, no room for average. It blows my mind to watch it all, and it demands that we put our very best effort into this, which is good - no excellent!
As you can see from the picture, I have new glasses. It has been a few years since I've gotten new glasses, so I didn't really know what to expect when Micah and I walked into the eye clinic. I'm not sure what my vision is now, but it must have been considerably worse because I had to watch my step! Everything seemed like it was zooming at me! It took me several days just to adjust to them, but now I can see much better. It's a funny thing, not seeing clearly, because you don't realize how blind you were until you have a new set of lenses - then the difference is overwhelming! Reminds me of when I was first saved; I just didn't know how blind I was until Jesus came along and showed me how things should really look, and this, too, is overwhelming!
We love you all, sorry we haven't written much this past week; I sort of suspected that we wouldn't always be able to write everyday, but I was hoping to keep it up for at least a little bit longer! I'm sure it'll just depend on the week. Thank you for your continued prayer and support. Each comment that is made is so valuable to us! I wish we could reply to every comment! Love to all! ~Sarah

Great Week Already

Why are we surprised when God does what He has promised time and again? Surprise might not adequately describe what we are feeling. We are completely awestruck by His perfect faithfulness. Last week was probably our most difficult week so far. It is only Monday and we have already had one of our greatest weeks so far. It started as most weeks do, on Sunday, but I'm going to work sdrawkcab.
Tonight, (Monday night), as we were watching August Rush, our 'homegroup' leader called us to see if he could drop in. (I'm a big fan of the drop in). At 8:37 he and his wife arrived at our door bearing gifts and an adorable, chubby baby girl. They gave us two dozen Krispy Kreem doughnuts since we had missed two homegroup meetings in a row in which they had been purchased primarily for our enjoyment. They also gave us a great book entitled Educating for Life: Reflections on Christian Teaching and Learning. They wrote a two page note of encouragement in the back of the book that included 1 Corinthians 1:25. Their best gift came last- the gift of prayer. We stood in a circle holding hands as Daniel's wife, Esther prayed for us in Korean. The spot between our front door and the kitchen became holy ground if only for a moment. We were in a battle and these people, these servants in God's kingdom went to war for us and with us. They prayed for us yesterday in our absence and they came by tonight to pray with us in person, eventhough they had initially come to deliver doughnuts. After they left, we had to retreat to our bedroom to sit on the bed and ugly cry. Our tears began to mix with laughter which naturally overflowed into praise. Selah (the action, not the music group).
Earlier this evening I was browsing through some of the new releases on Itunes. I rented August Rush which was actually a bit of alright. We really enjoyed it, but I digress. As I was preparing to download the movie, I checked the new releases of Christian music. I found Deluge. It's presented by Bethany, the same church that brought us Chasing After You and Let the Church Rise. Jonathan Stockstill is the worship leader on Deluge also. We have only listened to a couple of the songs, but it is really good so far. We bought the entire album. It just struck me as that type of album. It's a live worship recording. I highly recommend it.
Sunday, we skipped homegroup with Kevin and Kate. Kevin's back was bothering him after they had spent over two hours in traffic to go twenty miles to Seoul to visit Kate's parents. After church, instead of eating with the homegroup at the church building, Kevin and Kate took us to an awesome restaurant. Kevin called it 'Pig House'. We grilled slabs of pork over natural wood charcoal, it was so good. We had endless sides and they threw rolls at us. (wait that's another restaurant). After we ordered but before the food came, Kate nonchalantly mentioned that we could see her baby in November. Kevin and Kate are going to have a BABY!!! Their due date is November 17th!
Thank you for all of your comments and prayers and encouragement! We love you all so very much!
God is great, magnificent, awesome, amazing, God!

~Micah

Rough Week

We have had a rough week. This picture was the highlight of my week. The very next day(Thursday), I became ill at school. I thought I was going to pass out in front of a class of children. Everyone was very understanding. The chaplain of my mini-school prayed for me. He asked if I knew "speaking in tongues". I said that I did and he prayed in English and in tongues unknown to us. I took the rest of the day off. Friday I felt good enough to go back to school. I took it easy and didn't eat much lunch, but I got through. Being sick at home is bad enough, but being sick so far from home is very depressing. We have been leaning heavily on God and on each other. Sarah was recently informed that some of her major deadlines had been moved up. She had already been under quite a bit of pressure to get her planning done and this just added more. We were both up in her classroom until midnight on Wednesday night. I'm sure that contributed at least a little to getting sick on Thursday.

Sarah met her deadlines and I was able to get some rest. Now it is Saturday afternoon. The skies are swathed in shades of gray. It has been sprinkling all day. This evening we will walk over to the church building to watch SonShine Kids perform. I think it will be a fun song and dance praise type of thing. I hope to get some good pictures of the kids.

I'm sorry if this is a gloomy post. Your encouraging comments and prayers are welcomed and necessary. We do keep reminding each other of God's goodness and faithfulness. We love you guys tremendously.

Easter Sunday

We hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. The one-man drama sounds really cool. I can imagine it being very powerful. For our service on Sunday, the walls that usually separate the large chapels into three different sanctuaries were magically lifted to the ceiling leaving one huge sanctuary. We met Kevin and Kate early enough to get good seats and to take a few pictures during worship practice. They had STRINGS!!! Worship was really good. We sang some hymns that I knew but Sarah didn't. (At The Cross, Because He Lives, ekg). The pastor preached about the importance of the Sabbath and the kind of rest in God that the Sabbath entails. It is interesting to know God's presence without understanding every word that is being preached. Kate did translate some of the message also. Especially the scripture references. Luke 23:54-24:8, about the women that went to the tomb after the Sabbath was over. It was a really good service. Many of my coworkers were in attendance. There were also quite a few children dressed up for Easter. They all had tiny baskets made of paper, each holding an egg. We found out later that it was similar to a hardboiled egg. They were cooked on a hot stone instead of in water. The white of the egg turned brown. I think Kevin might have been the only one to eat one. After the service, Kevin and Kate gave us a ride to homegroup in their beautiful new car. It rained all day and Kate tried to give us her umbrella when they dropped us off at home, but we couldn't let her. The gathering was great. We had snacks and each person shared something that God had been dealing with them about. When everyone was done sharing, we split into groups to pray for the specific areas that had been mentioned. We were grouped with Kevin and Kate. It was a great time to spend with them and God.

Our Easter weekend was awesome. God is so great, for everything that He is and does!

Good Friday

Greetings and salutations!

Sarah and I went to a huge Good Friday service at a church in Seoul. It started at 7:00 and lasted until around 9 or 9:30. The main worship portion was facilitated by the worship team from Jubilee Church.(where we had gone last Sunday). The worship leader is apparently a pop star in Korea. He seems pretty genuine for also being a secular artist. There were also some good specials by various folks. The main speaker was the chaplain for the U.S. Army base here. He had a great message about the veil in the temple. He was pretty funny, too. The service was organized by AIM Korea.(Association of International Ministries)? It was for all the English speaking churches in the Seoul area. Afterward there was an afterglow-type thing. There were snacks and beverages on tables in the large lobby of the church. I grabbed a Capri Sun and stood against the back wall waiting for Sarah to emerge from the ladies room. As I stood there a man began to approach me slowly from the middle of the crowd. There were hundreds of people at this service. We looked at each other and tilted our heads inquisitively as we tried to decide if we were seeing what we were seeing. It was Huni! In a city of 11 MILLION people, Huni walked up to me out of a crowd of hundreds! We talked for several minutes and exchanged digits. When Sarah found us, Huni asked her if she recognized him. HUNI?! It was so great to see him. He actually teaches a bible study at Jubilee Church. I don't think we will be going to that church, but we will hang out with Huni as much as is convenient for all of us. God is so unbelievably amazing! We are still not quite sure if it was real or just a crazy dream.(not really, that would be kinda strange, not being able to tell dreaming from waking). Anyway, that's my Good Friday story. When viewed in relation to God, the world really is very small.

Blessed Twice

Last night, Sarah and I went to Homever to get some pizza. As we approached the restaurant, a very excited first grader came running out and screamed, "TEACHER!" It was a beautiful scene. He kinda halfway hugged Sarah then didn't know what else to do so he said' "Bye", and went back to join his mom in the restaurant. We laughed and waved through the window at her. When we went in I chose a table near theirs. We ordered these really tasty garlic rolls and a pizza that's actually on sale now. We also asked for two ciders to wash it all down.(it's like Sprite). As the waitress brought our meal the boy and his mother were leaving. They came back to our table and the mother informed us that she paid for our meal. Sarah and I had to fight back tears just to eat our pizza. As our pizza disappeared a piece at a time a waiter brought out a huge dish of pasta with alfredo sauce. Not only had she paid for our meal, but she ordered even more for us. We finished the pasta and saved two pieces of pizza and one garlic roll. It was such a wonderful feeling. It's difficult to describe. The welcome that we received would have been enough to make our entire evening. God blessed us twice! Praise God!

It's All Downhill

I've been thinking about our hill. We have to walk in an odd, almost uncomfortable manner to walk down the hill. We slow ourselves because the hill is steep and would have us practically running down it otherwise. I wasn't feeling especially spiritual when I started to mull this over, but I believe that God gave me this brain at the very least, so I give God all the credit for anything good that comes out of it. I hope this is good. Let me know what you think:
If you are going down a hill, everything is going downhill, it's all downhill from here, you're feeling down, you're down in the doldrums, down in the mouth, down and out, down; don't slow your feet, you may need the momentum to carry you through the valley. God has already promised to be our help. Our steps are ordered by God. Step with that confidence.

Psalm 23 The Message //Remix
A David Psalm
1-3 God, my shepherd! I don't need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
you let me catch my breath
and send me in the right direction.
4 Even when the way goes through Death Valley,
I'm not afraid when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd's crook makes me feel secure.
5 You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with blessing.
6 Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life.
I'm back home in the house of God for the rest of my life.