please pray for Ruth. She is a high school friend of mine who got into a really bad car accident. I'm not entirely sure on everything and I'm trying to keep updated. It was a bad car accident though. So just keep her in your prayers.

Hmm. China. What do I think of you thus far? You are okay but I would rather be somewhere else right now. God has been showing me a lot and I am trying to focus on that. One thing I have learned is that there are many other places I would rather be than here. Don't get me wrong, it's beautiful in it's on way and interesting, but it's just not my place. I met a great girl from Taiwan here. Her name is Michelle. She is adorable. Came a few days ago and will be here for 6 months for teacher training. She is one of our assistants. She wants to be an ESL/English teacher.

The food here is worse. Charlotte told me it would be. It is also a tad more salty than Korea, but I think that is just the school's cafeteria food. They bought us coke. So I now have a coke can with Chinese on it. I think I might bring it back with me.

I read this in one of the books I brought:

I'll never be lonely
Even if I'm alone
For I've a precious Savior
Who'll come take me home
But while I'm here
His servant I will be
With one foot on earth
And one in eternity.
And I'll gather His crops
To populate His land
And if I feel weary
I'll cling tighter to His hand

we are in china. we are safe. and we are all going crazy trying to prepare for camp tomorrow. 10 days. 8:30am-8:30pm.

for now I'll say see you later.

i don't want to say goodbye to all these incredible people. most of them i am only beginning to know. tomorrow katie and i head to a hotel near the airport around 10.30 am. Our flight leaves at 9.30 am wednesday and off to china we go.

as sad as it is. we get to see most of our group again. either for touring or perhaps right before the last week of camp. i honestly have no idea what it will be like without them when i head back to the US and start school.

i shall miss them so...

and I will praise you, when the tears fall, still I will sing.

Wow. Today was an incredibly hard day for me. I woke up and got on the internet to check my e-mail as I usually do only to find out that a friend from school passed away Wednesday morning. Although he was not a close friend it is so hard to believe. Dan Walker, who recently graduated with an engineering degree died while working at a camp in Colorado. That is all the information I have right now and I will update as I find out more. All I ask is you keep his family, his girlfriend (Brook) and all of his friends in your prayers. There is no doubt in my mind of where he is sitting right now as he was an incredible Christian man. I may not have known him well but the conversations I had with him and the way he lived his life was inspiring. I praise God that Dan can be sitting next to him right now but I also know all of the people here hurting and missing him.

The day of camp went well. It was full of rough times and many trials for us to overcome. We talked about how that just means we are doing all we are supposed to. In culture I shared the Easter story with the children. It was fitting for today as it is only through Jesus we may be with God when we leave this earth. Today was a very sad day for many people.

My thoughts and prayers are with your friends and family.
You were an incredible man and an inspiration.

Teacher Greg dancing with Grace.Teacher Karissa taking a picture of her boys.

Mary, one of the most adorable girls. We twirled in skirts together.

The Green Class.

Grace making bubbles in science class.

Jane one of our translators.

Musical Chairs in recreation because there was no room out side.

Teacher Karissa and Teacher Greg's Blue Class.

The biggest church in Seoul or maybe Korea. (artistic version)

(full version).

Each day has gotten better with the camp. The kids seem more responsive. I'm still sick though. Jennifer helped me with Culture on Tuesday and I did it today. It seems to be going alright. I'm not very comfortable with that area and the kids are the least responsive during story time and culture time. Recreation has been pretty good. We are realizing how to make things work with each different age group. It's been pretty cool getting to work with Greg. He is more active than I am and I am more organized than he is so we make a good team. I am excited to finish up this week and help start another camp and to move onto China for a few weeks but I am also very sad to be leaving this team. We get 16 new people on Friday who will be working on this next camp. Karissa, Greg, Lynn and Daryl will join us for touring in China. Then we come back and most everyone from our original small team of 10 will be here.

More about our team:

Karissa: is my eating buddy. She doesn't like seafood and she is hesitant about spicy foods. We try and sometimes sit with each other at meals. She has such and kind heart and loving soul it has been great to be around here. She is petite and very cute. All of the Koreans tell her she is pretty because she is skinny and has a small face (apparently all Westerners do). She is working with the youngest group of children and they all just love her.

Jennifer: She is a teacher at a middle school. Another eating buddy of mine. She has the hardest group of kids to deal with, but she does a great job handling them. She is sweet and very encouraging and always has some sort of coffee with her. :)

Katie: is a friend from Olivet. She is very pumped to be teaching her own ESL class. She thinks it may be what she would like to do for the rest of her life. Perhaps.

Matthew: If I could make a book of funny faces he would have a great many pages in it. He teaches Science and Cooking and does alot with technology. He's funny, quite sarcastic and is always a laugh to be around.

Robert: Sadly departs this weekend for Tokyo this weekend. He is a quiet one but a very knowledgeable person as well. He knows a bit of Japanese and his host mother knows some as well. It is pretty fun to watch them converse.

Lynn: She is the craft lady and she rocks! She is very very quiet but very centered and she has some really cool creative ways of keeping the kids involved.

Greg: is my recreation buddy. He has a crazy sense of humor and he calls me "princess." Something about my eating habits and such. I'm not sure why but it has indeed grown on me. He loves the kids and he is absolutely wonderful working with them, especially the "stinkers."


That is all the update I have for today. I need to get ready for bed. Katie and I are going to fall asleep to Mulan 2 (yes, mom, they have movies and they are in English (some) so I feel right at home). We might have dinner with our host family tomorrow and we are going to go to the night market with Sarah and her friend. Sarah is a member of our host family. She is 22 and a very sweet girl. We talk to her most because she generally knows the most english, that is her major at the University.

I'll try to update again before we change host homes but I am unsure of internet availability after Saturday (or your Friday). Love you all.

this is not an official update (hopefully tomorrow).

the first day of camp was rough. the second was much better. i have a head cold or something, so that isn't too much fun. but things are going well. and our host mother took Katie and I too the market so our breakfast usually consists of bagels, eggs, watermelon (it is huge here), cereal, and cheese pizza. [mom. no worries. i'm not starving.]

the reason for this random post was to ask you(Mom) a question: have you been taping "So you think you can dance?" i miss it.

okay. that is is for today.

Day One (July 18th)

Our flight didn't seem as long as it was. We slept most of the time. The Western meal was very good. We met Angela who was sitting next to us. She was on her way from Illinois to the Phillipines to go back home for a few months. She explained to us the different things required to be a plane stewardess, it is very complex. All of the ladies were beautiful. Before we got on the plane Katie and I played "I Spy" an America. It was pretty funny and we felt a bit out of place. There were a few American movies played: "Drillbit Taylor" and "Penelope" and a somewhat cheesy Korean movie (I woke up and ended up enjoying the last half of it). We landed and Pastor Lee came to pick us up with his son and his best friend (they are the friends who wrote in my last post). They were all very nice and very welcoming. Daryl always said that they love to treat Americans like kings and queens over here and it's true. John (Pastor Lee's son) and his friend took us to the mart to get some food we wanted to try and we went back to the church for breakfast. Katie and I even tried Kimchi (spicy cabbage) and it is most definitely not really my thing. After we had breakfast Pastor Lee took us to a beautiful apartment/house for us to shower. They heard it was very important to American's to shower every day. It did take a little time for us to figure out how to work the shower. And even the toilet was different. They had this thing on the side with many buttons, who knows what they all did.

After a bit of rest and talking with Pastor Lee and Mrs Lee we went touring with John and Hwa-mok. We went all around Seoul and even to the University where they both attend. After a full day (10am-7pm) we met up with the rest of the Footsteps team that arrived on a later flight for dinner. It was a Korean Barbecue with pork. The meat was delicious but I am still having a bit of trouble with the other food. For one, it never stops coming, and some is spicy and other food has very strange textures. It was a pretty good day indeed. A great start to a hopefully great trip. Katie and I are enjoying a family stay together for a few nights until she moves to a different home. We are with three young ladies and their parents. The young ladies each have Korean names, but also English. Sarah (22), Michelle (19), and Heather (oldest).

Here are a few pictures of our first day in Korea (we got to see alot):

This is City HallThese are our new friends.The city of Seoul.

Enjoying the view.Make a wish.

Cheese Pizza?

A message from our new friends :)

안녕하세요 say hello ( an nyung ha se yo)
감사합니다 say thank you ( kam sa hab ni da)
안녕히가세요 say good bye ( an nyung hi ga se yo)
얼마에요 say how much is it ? ( eol ma e yo )
부탁해요 say please ( bu tak hae yo)
제 이름은 ___ 입니다 say my name is __ ( je i reum eun ___ ib ni da)
하나님 say God ( ha na nim)
화장실이 어디에요 say where is the bathroom? (hwa jang sil i eo di e yo)

Our friends: 이화목 (Lee Hwa-mok .. means reconcile)
이요한 (Lee yo-han .. John)
typed this out for Katie and I. We had our first day here in South Korea and it already feels like we've been here for a week.

...more to come... we are at John's office at his school (Chong Shin University). They took us touring because we arrived earlier than all the other teammates.

8 hours and counting . . .

It still hasn't hit me yet that in 22 hours I will be halfway around the world. I am not sure how much I'll be on, at least once a week. I'll be updating as much as I can. I did change the setting so if any of you reading would like to leave a comment you can. This will most likely be the best form of communication while I am gone.

Well, Katie and I are going to finish up this movie and wait until we head out to the store and to wait to go to the airport. I'll see you all in August.

Tentative Schedule for July 17 to August 23 (Remember: Be Flexible & Adaptable)

Thursday, July 17^th: Fly to Seoul, Korea

Friday, July 18^th: Arrive in Seoul, Korea. Stay at Hyundae Church in Seoul, Korea.

Saturday, July 19^th: ESL Camp Preparation.

Sunday, July 20^th:^: Church/Free Day

Monday, July 21^st through Friday, July 25^th: ESL Camp

Saturday, July 26^th through Monday, July 28^th: Prepare for & help out with ESL Camp. Stay at Suwon Onnuri Church in Kiheung, Korea (25 kilometers from Seoul).

Tuesday, July 29^th: Stay at Incheon Guest House in Seoul, Korea with the rest of the Huadong, China group.

Wednesday, July 30^th: Fly to Shanghai, China/ Camp preparation

Thursday, July 31^st: Camp preparation

Friday, August 1^st through Sunday, August 10^th: ESL Camp

Sunday, August 10^th through Wednesday, August 13^th: Tour Shanghai/Stay at Dorure International Hotel

Wednesday, August 13^th: Fly back to Seoul, Korea & help with ESL Camp in Ansan (25KM from Seoul)

Thursday, August 14^th & Friday, August 15^th: ESL Camp in Ansan, Korea

Saturday, August 16^th: Travel to Suwon, Korea (30KM from Seoul)/Free Day

Sunday, August 17^th: Church/Free Day

Monday, August 18^th through Friday, August 22^nd: ESL Camp in Suwon, Korea

Saturday, August 23^rd: Free Day

Sunday, August 24^th: Fly back to Chicago

My focus...

on this trip and for the rest of this school year:

"And the people who have changed the world have always been the risk-takers who climb through windows while the rest of the world just walks in and out of doors." --The Irresistible Revolution--

"Following Jesus is simple, but not easy. Love until it hurts and then love more."

SIMPLE BUT NOT EASY.

I just got off the phone with Daryl and our flight leaves at 1:00am July 17th. This means I get to spend the night in the airport but the flight goes straight through into Seoul, South Korea. We leave there July 30th to head to Shanghai, China for another camp. From there we head back to South Korea from the 13th to the 23rd of August. It will be strange to get on the plane to head back to the US at 7:15pm on the 23rd and to return to Chicago at 6:10pm the 23rd. It shall be a very taxing but amazing trip indeed.

OH. I get to go to a preliminary futbol (soccer) Olympic game :) talk about incredible!

A change of venue.

I found out, as it was, that the other blog is harder to get to and may not let everyone see what I had posted. Therefore I started this blog in hopes that all would be able to read.

I leave for my trip in 30 days. I'll be updating you on preparations up until my trip and I'll be updating when I can there. Thanks for all your support.