Hello from Korea

Sending Greetings to the Other Side of the World!

I am still surprised by the emotional shifts that come from living abroad. I can be staring at pictures or watching videos from home and wishing that I could just pop over for that service, choir practice, youth event, et cetera, and in the next moment, I feel that echo inside of me that for now (time unknown) this place is home. That does not scare me for I grew up with many places called home. It does not, however, extinguish that two-places-at-once (at least!) desire. You are loved and missed by a girl on the other side of the world.

In This Corner of the World

It really seems like winter now the snows have come. At this level, I can handle it, and it is not unbearably cold. People have been saying for a bit that they expect this winter to be much worse than the last. We shall see what that means. ^^

The new AIMer has arrived and has launched right into the work here in Korea—doing anything and everything that is asked of her, even eating some food that she otherwise would not. Due to her schedule, she is not able to join the gang often, but we are all looking forward to seeing The Phantom of the Opera together the weekend after Christmas.

Christmas is different here in South Korea. As such, we only have Christmas day off; thus, I will not be traveling up to Seoul/Gwangmyeong to celebrate with my friends and church family. I am excited, though, to have a skype date with the family. Also, I purchased a little Christmas tree and am contemplating further decoration. Again, we shall see.

Of late, my days have been filled with final exams and a national test for the G1 and G2 students. The G3 students completed theirs some time ago in order to expedite the high school application process. They increasingly consider themselves to be practically high schoolers, but as yet, they have not gone too crazy. They still tolerate my attempts to actually still teach them a little English. Another group that I shall miss! I am borrowing from the future with that comment, so I will just focus on being grateful for the time I have with them.

At the church, the Sunday school classes and youth Bible studies continue to take place.We will have a Sunday school planning meeting this coming Sunday, so I desire your prayers as we plan for the coming year. I have loved watching them grow little by little thus far, but I know the best is yet to come.

Thank you for being with me in prayer and love!

God bless,
Heather