Tonight, we had a local ministry partner, his wife and 2 daughters over to look at some of our stuff and share a meal together. It was a nice visit. While they were here they noticed that I was still limping some from my knee injury. The physical therapy did help a lot, but my left knee is still very sore by the time the sun goes down. They HIGHLY suggested I go visit a friend of theirs who is a Chinese Medicine doctor who does accupuncture. This is a couple who lived in the States for 3 or 4 years while attending seminary. Both of daughters were born in America and they are very familiar with Western Medicine...but they really think this doctor could help me. Now, I am seriously considering it. I hate the pain in my knee. It doesn't kill me, but it keeps me from being able to go as strong as I would like. So, what do you think...should I give it a try this week? It is only going to cost me about $10 because the man gives a missionary/pastoral discount! Am I crazy for thinking about going in there and giving it a shot. I want your opinion...so PLEASE comment!!

Today was our first weekend day to work on packing and WOW we made a LOT of progress today! With no little boy to baby sit and no homeschooling to be done, we got TONS of work done. I labeled and taped shut all the trunks and boxes I had packed all week while Clark took care of all the things we had put on the porch for recycling. I emptied out the girls closets while Clark continued taking care of recycling...we got rid of a LOT of stuff! I packed all the girls summer clothes for the crate and put their winter clothes in their suite cases. Their closets are completely empty and they are living out of bags now...LOL! I also finished the book case and framed pictures in the living room. We don't have any pictures hanging or set up anymore. It looks SOOO bare it isn't funny! Clark entertained visitors and talked on the phone with people we are trying to get to take some of our stuff! He is a much better salesman than I am! I went through all the magazines and newspapers we have been throwing in the magazine basket in the living room and sent those down with Clark to recycling. To top it all off, we even dusted and vaccumed the living room and school room AND we cleaned the kitchen and guest bathroom! The girls were GREAT and spend most of the day playing together in the school room. Bug is such a GREAT big sister and Bean just adores her!

To make the day EXTRA special we got TWO boxes in the mail. Mommom (my mom) sent a box with the girls Halloween Costumes. We now have a little red headed Lucy Pevensie from the Chronicles of Naria running around our house and the cutest little Flounder from the Little Mermaid that you ever did see! The box also had some YUMMY (but diet ruining) Halloween candy for us to indulge in as well as some other snacks for us to put away until we make the long flight home (snack size gold fish, granola bars, fruit snacks, and more). THANKS MOMMOM AND G-DOUG! The second box was small, but special. Gramps (Clark's Dad) sent us 3 DVDs...the Special Edition Little Mermaid, Over the Hedge, and A Prarie Home Companion Show. We may have to curl up for the next few nights and watch a movie together each night. THANKS GRAMPS AND GRAMMY! Every time we get boxes, it feels like Christmas! :-)

Tomorrow is Sunday, our Sabath, and we are going to rest. We will start out the morning with french toast and family worship. At noon we have one more person coming to look at our propane gas grill to possibly buy it. Then in the afternoon we are heading to the movies for the first time in a LONG time...don't know what we are going to see, but we are going to see SOMETHING! Then we may head outside to a park to let the girls let loose and have some fun playing. It should be a relaxing Sunday.

Well, it is after midnight, the girls are sleeping, and I need to get some rest as well. So, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I will be back soon!

It is 7 am here and I am just so excited about the day ahead, that I HAD to post. Since I started babysitting a week ago we haven't been able to get out of the house (except last Saturday for those blogging lessons and the surprise festival). It has been rainy and yucky bringing in that fall weather quite a bit. The days when it was pretty outside the babies decided to take 3 1/2 hour naps and we didn't have time to hit the playground! But today, yes even though it is Friday, we are heading out for the day. Yesterday was our last day with C and we worked extra hard to get 2 days of school done! Bug still has some seatwork to do, but she is going to do it in the van while we make the drive over the mountain!

At 9:00 we will had out and drive to the other side of the island to watch 2 precious women be baptized! They are new believers that one of our team members lead to Christ! Because of homeschooling, I usually miss out on these mid week special events. After the actual baptism, we will head out to lunch together to celebrate their outward symbol of their inward decision! It will be special!! You can bet I will be bringing my camera and taking pictures! I will share with you tomorrow! :-)

After the baptism and celebration we are staying over there to check out the movie theater and/or go to the BIG park (it was just built and Bug drools every time we drive by it...she can't wait to test out all the new playground equipment). We are staying over there until dinner time because we all have a taste for some GOOD pizza and that is where Pizza Hut is...no Chicago (not the real one, promise...a Korean rip off) for us tonight...we are getting the real stuff!

Did you notice what we are NOT doing today? NO PACKING! We will get back on it Saturday, but today we are putting the boxes and packing tape down and just spending time as a family! :-)

Last night the girls uncovered an oldie but a goodie in the toy bin labled Random Toys. We very rarely get this bin out but today they decided to go explore it. They dug down deep to the bottom and found Mr. Potato Head! This may seem REALLY strange to post about, but it was SOO much fun! Clark, Bug, Bean, and I all 3 sat in the playroom for TWO hours laughing and playing with this classic toy! It doesn't make any noises, it doesn't have any lights that blink, but it is the most fun we have had playing with a toy together in a long time. Watching the girls creativity was awesome. Watching the baby realize we were trying to make faces LAUGH when we put eyes in the mouth hole or a tongue in the ear hole. The giggles were contagious until we were all laughing so hard our sides hurt. Who says you need the newest toys to have a fun time when you can have a Mr. Potato head! :-)

WOW! I can't believe how much progress we have made in just 2 short days of packing. Today we attacked our biggest project...the STORAGE CLOSET...AUGHHH!

Right now Clark is on the long road over the mountain to take all the extra Korea/English Bibles, Jesus Film Videos/DVDs, Bible Study books, tracks, and more to the guest apartment where we store all the extra supplies. After he left, I threw away any photo copies or random papers that we did not need anymore. Then, I loaded a trunk full of homeschool materials that we will not need again until at least March of 2007. I pulled out all of the Christmas and Easter decorations. and sorted them. I packed a small box of special things that I couldn't part with, I threw away a grabage bag full of things that have seen their better day and then I have one box left to give to the first taker (ahem...TALI...lol)! The only thing left in the closet is our empty suitecases and trunks just waiting to be packed in the next few days and weeks. I can't believe in one day we knocked out the biggest project I thought we had!

Not only did we finish that, I also was able to complete a FULL day of homeschooling with Bug AND Keep Bean and C happy and entertained without a minute of TV! YAY!!! I say it was a VERY productive day!

Tomorrow we will attack the book shelves in the living room! YIKES...it is another BIGGIE! Have I mentioned before how much Clark and I like to read and how much we HATE to part with good books?? Well, tomorrow we will go through books and decide what to keep and what to give away. Then we will pack up the books that we are taking home! The "to be crated" pile in the girls bedroom is getting bigger by the day!

So, I am off for now, but I will be back to keep you posted on our progress in packing...I know you are just sitting on the edge of your seat to hear every boring detail of adventures in packing! ;-)

Well, it's official...the packing has begun! Clark stayed home for half a day today and took apart the crib. I kept Bug going on homeschool and kept Bean and C (remember the boy I am baby sitting) entertained while he did so. When that was finished and I had the two babes down for a bap and Bug working on seatwork, so I packed up all the princess decorations in their bedroom and went through the few small piles/drawers of clutter. All that is left to get ready in the girls bedroom in their clothes and books! YAY!!! One room down..way too many to go!

Tomorrow Clark is taking another half day at home to help me attack the storage closet. He will take all our Korean/English Bibles, Bible study books, Jesus Film videos, and stuff like that over to the guest apartment while I figure out which homeschool stuff is mine and which belongs to the Seoul office. I wil also figure out which 6 suite cases/trunks we will be using to travel home and which we will use to pack our stuff for the crate in.

WOW...so much to do and so little time to do it! After taking the first steps in packing today I must say it is truly bitter sweet. I am SOOO excited that we are coming home. We are longing for more than 2 weeks of quality time with our friends and family. However, Korea has become home! We have been here for 4 years and we have our very own "Korean Family" not to mention our "mission family." Leaving is going to be HARD to do!

On a side note, we got rain on and off all weekend and that seems to have brought in a cold snap. SO, to kick off the cool weather and get us through our first few days of packing, Clark made a BIG pot of Chili last night. It is something else!! It will put your mouth on FIRE but it is GOOOD! I love our annual first pot of Chili...makes you feel all warm inside (well that is after you can stop thinking about how your mouth is burning up) LOL!

All in all, it was a very productive day!

Saturday morning we woke up early to head over to Jeju City. Clark had a class to teach at the University and I was going to a team members house to teach them to blog. Clark and I both finished up around 12:00 and headed to lunch. After lunch I was supposed to teach a second team member all about blogging but we heard about a festival going on so we met up with 3 other team members and headed that way to check it out.

We ended up having a fun time. The walk to get to the actual festival area was lined with rows of booths selling anything you could possibly want! There were booths to buy food, drinks, hats, bags, clothes, socks, toys, and lots more! We enjoyed shopping as we walked. It took about 30 minutes just to make it from the van to the actual festival.

The festival had face painting, a moon walk for the kids, a place to learn to dye scarves with the Eulalia plant, a place to try a hand at flower arranging, and lots of other fun things. Bugs favorite was a horse drawn buggy covered in silk flowers. We stood in line and waited for about 15 minutes and when our turn finally came and Bug looked at me with those beautiful blue eyes and said "This is a DREAM come true...riding in a white buggy all covered in flowers." It was just too sweet!

We also saw a live perfomance about beggars. The cast performing are quite popular and we hear them most mornings on the radia doing a show. They were funny but LOUD! Bean didn't like it too much, so we didn't stick around for too long.

For those interested, the Eulalia is a plant/weed that grows all over Mt. Halla (which is a large part of the island). The fields of them are absolutely beautiful they look like seas of silver and gold rolling waves when the Jeju wind gets them. The Jeju people have done an amazing job of learning how to use them in a productive manner as well.

It was a fun day out. Unfortunately, we took so long playing at the festival I didn't start my second blogging lesson until 5:00 and we didn't get home until after 9:00. It made for a long day and we had 2 pooped little girls on our hands!

In true form, I took some pictures and thought I would share...ENJOY!

I am due a serious blog about what God has been doing in my life...it has been a while...so here goes nothing. Bear with me, it has been a TEN hour day of baby sitting my new little buddy with all the normal team work, homeschooling, cleaning and whatnot as well. I am a bit tired, but God has placed this on my heart and I feel I should share!

At every turn these days God is reminding me that I have been called out of this world to be HIS! This is not my home and I am not to adjust and grow accustom to it. 1 Peter 2:11 says 'Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage aginst your soul.' WOW...what a calling! I know what it is like to be a "legal alien" in another country. I do not belong here, but I live here. I have picked up many Korean customs and traditions without even trying. However, I have also strived to keep American customs and traditions very real and alive in my home so that my girls know what being an American is. God is calling me to be a "legal alien" to this entire world. I am HIS and Heaven is my home.

So, my first question is this, can anyone tell that I am an alien to this world? Do I live like this is not my home. Or have I adapted to the world around me and (I shudder at the thought) become tolerant of it? God has called me to love the lost but he has not called me to be tolerant of the sin. He has called me to be compassionate to those in need but he has not called me to be accepting of their ways. Loving the sinner and hating the sin is what He wants from me (but that is a whole seperate blog that may come in days to come...because God has placed a lot about this on my heart as well). Does this mean that I am sin free..of course not. I do not want to sound holier than though, because I will be the first to admit that I am a sinner simply saved by grace. However, when he saved me he pulled me out of this world. Unfortunately I fall each and every day back into it and have to run to the Throne of Mercy way too often! In seeking to live as an "alien to this world" I am striving for holiness.

My husband just posted an amazing blog on holiness...you should go check it out because I know I cannot word it as well as he does! But, here it goes. My second question is, what is holiness and how do I get there. Well, on this side of heaven I know I won't reach it but I can sure strive for it. Holiness is living as Christ did. Holiness is living pure and righteous. As the song goes, "Holiness, holiness is what I long for. Holiness, holiness is what need." This has become my prayer. I want to strive daily for holiness. This means taking a look at every aspect of my life. What is on my TV? What is on the radio? What is coming out of my mouth? What attitude do I have? What books and magazines do I read? What is on my computer? What are my thoughts like? If a stranger came into my home would they see Christ or would they see the world? If a stranger spent the day with me would they see something different in me or would they see someone who is just like everyone else they know? Don't get me wrong, this doesn't mean being serious and reverant at all times and never laughing and having fun? NO, I believe Christians should be able to have more fun than anyone else because we have more reason than anyone to celebrate...we know our sin, what we deserve and have been given an amazing grace! However, it also doesn't mean conforming to the ways of the world and taking those ways as our own.

Finally, if I am living as an alien to this world and striving to live a life of holiness am I living it out in such a way that everyone can see? Am I doing it so that people can see a difference in me that they want to have. I feel like I am trying to live a different life but because of my own nature I often come across as busy, stressed, worn out and just plain tired. How sad is that. Why would anyone want to be like me? Why would anyone want to spend their days striving for holiness if they would come across like I do? That means that I am still showing way too much of Peanut and not nearly enough of my Savior! God is calling me to change that. He is calling me to continue to strive for holiness and even step it up and make it the focus of my life. However, He is also calling me to give it all to Him and to let Him be my strength, energy, my refuge and my fortress. In Him I know I can live a life that invites others to want to know what is so different in my life! But the key word there is IN HIM and not in my own!

So, my final questions...are you different, an alien to this world? Are you living it in a way that does not accept the ways of the world but rather invite them to yours? If not...why? If we are called His we are called to be different, to be aliens to this world, to stand apart and not tolerate the ways of the world but show them HIS way!

Many people have asked if we know what we are doing when we leave Korea. We have been hesitant to answer that question as God always seems to throw in some change at the last minute that we aren't expecting. I mean for an entire year we prepared to go to Japan and if you don't count the airport in Tokyo, we have never stepped foot there! Instead at the last minute God called us to Korea! We were supposed to be in Korea for 2 short years...it is now 4 years later and we are finally making plans to come home. We have learned from experience NOT to get ahead of God!

About 6 months ago, we began writing out our resumes! WOW, it had been a LONG time since we had done that! However, after a lot of rough drafts, we finally got them all made up. We were approached about submitting our resumes for a new position being started at William Carey University in Mississippi. William Carey's heart has always been for reaching the World and they want to do that through the college. They have decided to hire a couple who has experience with Asian Culture to mentor and assist the International Student population. It sounded like an awesome opportunity to continue to work with Asian Students (who have stolen our hearts in the past 4 years) as well as continue our education (we will begin to work on our Masters as a benefit of working for the school). So, we applied and so began the waiting game.

The Board of Trustees for the school met in August and the last week of August we were finally offered a position. As of January 2007, Clark will be the International Student Coordinator for William Carey University. I have been hired on part time to assist him and work on the schools webdesign team (I have a LOT of learning to do..LOL)! I will work from home a lot and continue to homeschool my oldest daughter. We are SO excited about this new opportunity to serve!

However, January is a few months away...so you may be wondering what will be happening in the next few months. The tentative plan is as follows. We will stay on Jeju until a few days before Thanksgiving. I will continue to homeschool and Clark will continue to minister to the Jeju people. We will also begin packing in early November we will send our personal belongings to Seoul to be crated and shipped to America. We will load our 6 suite cases in the van and take the ferry off the island and drive on to Seoul. There is a week of meetings in Seoul that begin with all of us celebrating Thanksgiving day together! After the week of meetings we will drive back down to Pusan/Yangsan and spend a week saying good-byes to the people we used to work with. We will return to Seoul a few days before we fly out to America.

The first week of December we will fly out of Korea and I know it will be a SAD day! We will fly to SC and begin our time home with a week to fellowship with Clark's family and many of our old college friends. After 1 week we will probably rent a car and drive to FL. We will settle in FL for 4 to 6 weeks. Bug and I will continue homeschooling. Clark will have many opportunities to share with churches and we will spend some MUCH needed time with family!

Sometime in January we will pack our stuff up again and drive to SC for another visit. We will also get all of our stuff out of storage and load it in a moving van to make the trip to our new home in Mississippi.

Please keep our family in your prayers as the next few months are going to be constant changes and times of transition. I know it will have many wonderful moments, but there are sure to be MANY sad and difficult moments as well. We treasure your prayers! If anyone has any questions of something I may not have covered, please ask away and I will do my best to answer! :-)

Actually, the rest of the day wasn't that bad at all. Compared to the massive nose bleed, nothing was that big. Bug and I continued pushing our way through homeschool and Bean and C played together. Lunch came faster than I realized it would and it went VERY smoothly...not even a spilled glass of water! YAY!!

After lunch, Bug went right back to seatwork without a fuss or complaint! I read Dora the Explorer books to the two little ones and the both fell asleep for their nap during story time. They slept for TWO hours and Bug and I were able to finish school in record time! We were done before 3:00!!!!

When everyone was awake and ready to go, we headed out to the play ground for 30 minutes but the big kids got out of school and took over, so I got the little ones home. I then put in a Little Einsteins Video and popped some popcorn and everyone was happy for an hour. After the video we played some more in the school/play room and then it was time to go home.

I must say that little C has stollen my heart though...makes me want a little boy...LOL! When he woke up from nap he looked around and wasn't sure where he was. I called him to me and he climbed up in my lap, put his arm around my neck and put his head on my shoulder. It was SO sweet and precious! I never knew boys could be SOOO cuddley! He is such a sweetie...a ball full of curious energy...but a sweetie all the same.

I also must say that I am EXTREMELY proud of Bug! She was such a BIG helper today! She was right there helping me every step of the way! She did her school work very well AND fast! She kept an eye on the kids when I was making lunch or cleaning up. She cleaned up a lot of messes that she didn't make! She acted WAY older than seven today and I couldn't be more proud of her!

One more must say...promise my last one...I must say that today was a GREAT day for Bean. It was the first time she has been around another little one. He is about 1 1/2 years older than she is, but he has a speach delay and isn't potty trained yet, so they were very similar. With him here she started using her words that she hasn't used much with us! Today she said all of these words: mine, cup, Momma, Dadda, bye, see, that, yes, no, dog, and go. I can't forget this one...for the VERY first time EVER she said "hug" while walking up to C and giving him a BIG hug! It was just TOO sweet!

When C's mom arrived she said that he seems much happier here than he had every day in the school. She also said that he was using a LOT more words than he had been using in the school! So, I think this is very good for him.

So, day one of my new baby sitting adventures was a BIG sucess! I was VERY happy with the way it went! Tomorrow morning at 8:30 will come all too soon though! But, I just pray that it is as good a day as today was...maybe minus the bloody nose!

Well, this morning started a new adventure for me that was quite sudden. 3 days ago Clark went and did our weekly grocery shopping and met a new westerner. You may or may not know this, but when people meet my husband, he brings something out in them that makes them feel comfortable enough to share their life story. This was no exception...in fact, she also told of her friends life story and begged for our phone number to see if I would be willing to lend a helping hand.

The next night I recieved a phone call from the friend. It seems she came to live and teach in Jeju on the promise of a very good deal that has not turned out to be so good after all. She is a single mom and her son is really getting the raw end of the deal. He is a 3 year old little cutie. I let her know that we would be moving soon, but I would be willing to lend a helping hand however I can.

Last night I got another phone call from her. It seems things got a lot worse in a matter of one day and she asked if I would be willing to baby sit for her the rest of this week and then see about finding someone else and keeping him until we move or she finds someone else. I seem to have a problem saying no to one in need and I now have a little 3 year old boy added to the mix of my crazy day. I thought homeschooling with a toddler was rough, you should see what my morning has looked like with a 2nd grader, a toddler, AND a preschooler! Oh the fun!

It really hasn't been that bad. C is a delight and plays very well. I am happy to say that Bean is getting some good play time in with other little kids...something she hasn't had before. She is having her first lessons in sharing and communicating with other little ones. It has been a lot of fun to watch. She LOVES to copy him...I don't know if that is all good though! LOL!

Our biggest adventure of the morning was the ball pit incident. You see they were happily bouncing and playing when all of a sudden I heard sputtering and turned to see my new little charge sputtering blood every where! It seems he got a bloody nose. We rushed him and Bean who was also right there in the ball pit and got them cleaned and the bleeding stopped. Then we dumped the balls in the bath tub and they are soaking in bleach and a load of laundry (from blood stained clothes) is running now as well.

I have also now secured all of my glass candle holders, my picture frames and my nic-nacks from the places in Asia we have visited. I have put up all the exercise equipment, my camera case, the video camera, the play station 2, and anything else that little fingers would like to find. I had no idea how un-preschool proof my house really was. I guess we trained Bean early on not to play with those things. But, it seems in about 30 minutes all of these items can be spotted and removed to totally preschool proof the house! LOL!

We have played with action figures (3 times), balls (2 times), watched Scooby Doo Kids, played with legos, had a snack, had the nose incident and all kinds of other stuff that I cannot recall at this time and we have only been going for 2 hours ! Lunch is coming up soon and then movie time and NAP time! YAY!!! I think I am going to be ready for bed by the end of the day.

I am sure that my new adveture is sure to bring LOTS of fun blogging moments. Please pray that as I do this, I would be able to share God's love with him and his mom!

Once again, I am falling behind. It just seems that durring the week I can't find any time to sit at the computer long enough to post. My bloglines are filling up too because I just don't have time to read either!! I just wanted to stop in and tell everyone that I will be back soon...I have a lot of reading and commenting to do! LOL! I hope to get on tomorrow and post about the doors that God has opened for us next! We are getting excited as we enter this time of transition, unfortunately all of the packing and traveling is going to keep me away from blogland. OK...for tonight, I am off to bed! I will be back tomorrow though (just don't hold your breath because you NEVER know)!!

As I am doing my series on Life in Korea I thought I might share a typical Sunday for our family with you. We have 3 different types of Sundays, Korean Church Sundays, Team Worship and Family Worship. We must admit that family worship is our favorite these days. Being missionaries, Monday through Friday is homeschool for the girls and work in the city/villages/University for Daddy. Saturday usually means we get to be together as a family but it often brings meetings with team or with local Koreans. So, by Sunday, we are ready for some good family time and we sure did get it this past Sunday.

We woke up at our typical 6:30 to 7:00 and then had the girls up around 8:00 or so. We all went through our normal morning routine and then had breakfast together. After breakfast we all chipped in and cleaned up the apartment some. Even Bean helped out by copying Sissy and putting toys in the toy bin. By lunch the apartment didn't look too bad, so we grabbed a bite to eat and headed out. We got to Cinnabun/Seatles Best (our favorite family worship site) around 3 or so.

We stopped by the swings our front to let the girls play. We all sat on one swing for a while but when the second one was free the girls headed over there and Clark and I actually got to sit alone for 15 minutes...that NEVER happens (so maybe it wasn't so typical a day after all...LOL)! After about 45 minutes on the swings the girls were ready to go inside and get to the business of eating some Cinnabuns!

We headed in and ordered our 2 Cinnabuns, coffee for Daddy, hot choco for the girls and a strawberry ice drink for me and then waited in the Sunday line for our food. When the order was finally filled, we headed upstairs to the comfy chairs! We got our favorite spot in the corner and enjoyed our treat. These times are the best. Sitting and felllowshiping as a family. No TV, no telephone, no internet, no work, just time to be a family! We talked, we shared, we even laughed till our sides hurt. It was a FUN time!

When Bean had enough of the sitting in one place, she headed out to explore the balcony. Bug wasn't far behind her (after she made sure every last bite of the Cinnabun had been consumed...LOL)! I cleaned up and moved our stuff out to the balcony as we let the girls run off some of that Cinnabun sugar high they were on. I snapped some awesome pictures of them while they played! They really got a kick out of the donkey making noises across the street! We have no idea why there were donkey rides across the street today, but it did keep the girls entertained!

When the started to calm down, we settled in to worship as a family. Our time started with a family prayer time and then we sang worship songs. Bug picked all of our songs today. We sang Behold, Amazing Grace, and Step by Step. Then Daddy taught us. Bug read the Bible passage, Bean scribbled on napkins, and we all got a message from God. While Daddy was giving us the message we paused to watch the sun go down. As we worshipped the Lord, we were able to see HIS glory surround us as we experienced the BEAUTIFUL sunset! God is SO good.

As we closed worship time, we played just a little more on the balcony snapping a few more pictures and then headed to the van. We didn't make it all the way as we had to stop by the kaghe (convenient store) to get some water and crackers for the drive home.

This is a very typical Sunday for us and I hope you enjoyed me sharing it with you. This didn't have a lot of Korean culture in it, but it did give you a glimpse into some family time of a missionary family. Hope you enjoyed.


Create Your Own!

No, it isn't some strange Korean word. It is the part of my knee that I have injured! :-)

I went in to the doctor today to get my knees checked out. We went to the same doctor that we used when Clark herniated the disc in his neck. He is a great doctor who speaks great English. He asked me a few questions, watched me move, then examined my leg and immediately had a feeling it was my menisci (the cartilage that acts as the cushion between my femur and tibia). He sent me back for x-rays to make sure I didn't have any bone damage and when that came back clear he was pretty certain I was dealing wtih a meniscus injury. He said that to be 100 percent sure he would have to send me in for an MRI at the local hospital or I could start physcial therapy and see how I react to it. I am moving around enough that he knows it won't require any surgery to fix...YAY!!!

I, of course, chose physical therapy. It looks like the Orthopedic Clinic is going to be my new home away from home. I will be going for at least the next 7 days and possibly 11. I had my first round of treatment today. WOW, it felt amazing. I had electro shcok therapy, heat applied, an ultrasound massage, and a hand massage. Then I was taped up and sent home until tomorrow afternoon. It was a very peaceful 30 minutes and I think I am going to enjoy it for the next week or two...LOL!

The doctor gave me 3 days of meds. I have some anti-inflamatory stuff and some pain stuff. I also have some medicated pads to put on my knee every 4 hours. I also have some strength building exercises to work on at home. Oh, I feel like I am getting old WAY before my time! I shouldn't be having knee injuries at 28 years of age! I will be sure to keep you updated on how my recovery goes!

Well, here I sit at my computer, catching up on all the blogging entries that I have been promising because there isn't much else I can do...but more about that later. This is my last one for the day though, I promise. After this I am off to update the girls website because I have neglected since I have been blogging so much recently! I am warning you ahead of time...this is a LONG one! :-)

Anyway, on to the post at hand. Yesterday (10/8/06) Clark, Tali, the girls and I went to climb Mt. Halla (the big volcanic mountain in the center of the island). It is also the highest peak in South Korea. It was Tali's birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY one last time Tali) and no one else on the team was crazy enough to give her what she wanted for her birthday...a climb to the top of Hallasan. We have made the attempt once, but started too late and had to turn around before we reached the top and we REALLY wanted to be able to say we had made it to the top! SO, Clark and I decided to go with her! And we had a GREAT day with quite the adventure thrown in there.

We woke up yesterday morning, packed a picnic lunch (PB&J's, trail mix, tangerines, apples, crackers, and Hershey bars), got our water ready and headed out to the base camp of Hallasan. We arrived there around 8:30 and were hiking by 9:00. The hike to Halla is 9.3 K and the elevation is 2,000 meters up. We headed off keeping a GREAT pace. Bug was walking and Bean was riding along in the sling. The first 3 K were the easiest but the early morning and the sudden realization that we were going to spend the day hiking the mountain hit Bug and the whining began. LOL! Tali, Clark and I took turns trying to make it fun and encourage her to keep moving. When we made it to the 3K marker we stopped for a short break. We snacked on tangerines, trail mix, and chocolate. As we were resting I realized that my right knee was starting to hurt. It seems that somewhere in that first 3 K I twisted my knee. I figured it was just a slight little thing that would be easily walked off. Bug and Bean enjoyed the time to play around the path.

While enjoying the break, we noticed a metal bar going up the mountain and were trying to figure out what it was. We couldn't tell if it was an irrigation system or a pulley of sorts or what until we heard a strange sound. We looked up to see a little tram style contraption coming up the mountain on the track. It was too cool. It was loaded down with Ramien and water to sell at a stand towards the top. Remember this tram system, because little did we know, but it comes in handy later on!

After a 15 minute break or so, we headed out again. The second 3 K were fairly easy as well. The path had a lot of loose rocks, but wasn't too bad. Every so often there was a nice wooden stretch of the path that gave us a nice break from all the rocks. Bug did MUCH better this time and was really starting to enjoy herself. Bean was still content to hang out in the sling. We were enjoying the beauty of God's creation and thanking Him for how Awesome He is! We came up on the 6 K marker at 11:00. 6 K with 2 kids in 2 hours wasn't too bad. We hadn't eaten a big breakfast, so we decided to pull out the sandwiches and have a quick lunch. Bean was happy to be out of the sling and Bug was happy to be sitting down. LOL! It was a nice picnic lunch.

We soon packed up and headed for the last 3.3 K! We figured we would be there in 1 hour since we had made the first 6 K in 2 hours total. This last stretch ended up being MUCH more difficult and Bean was no longer happy riding along in the sling. My knee started feeling more and more sore as it got steeper and Bean squirmed. I was slowing everyone down, so I sent them on ahead and let them know that Bean and I would be coming behind them.

A side note is needed here. Because of how early it gets dark here, there is a certain point you must reach by 12:30 or you can not ascend to the top. I didn't want to keep the rest of the group from making that point and that is why I sent them ahead. I let Bean play along the path while I rested my knee. When she was ready to get back in the sling we headed on again. We made the point at 12:26 and I just HAD to go on. Yes, my knee was hurting worse than ever, but I was only 2.3 K from the top! I had made it SO far. This is where my pride kicked in. You see, my Dad has always taught me that when it comes to sports "No pain, no gain...suck it in and keep going" My husband has always told me that I am one of the toughest women he knows. I enjoy being tough, I HATE being a wimp. I hate to admit defeat. Yes, I am just a little competitive! LOL! I love it when I complete a physical task. Plus, there were Korean grandmothers who were going all the way up! If a GRANDMA can do it, I can SURELY do it!

I absolutely refused to wimp out 2.3 K from the top...SO...on I went with Bean hanging out in the sling. I had no idea where Clark, Tali and Bug were, but I kept on going. I would climb for 15 minutes and then sit for 5 minutes while Bean played. Then we would go for 15 more and break for 5. You must reach the peak by 2:00 or turn around. That was my goal...2:00! My pride kept me going and those I past kept feeding that pride even more than the pain brought it down. You see every Korean who past me told me I was strong or I was doing a good job or that I was doing a difficult thing. The big group that had been near us at the beginning of the climb saw me at one point and they all stopped and applauded me. Now, can you see my head getting bigger and bigger. With all these people encouraging me on, I just COULDN'T turn around or stop and wait for Clark. I felt the sharp pain in my knee with every step but that darned pride wouldn't let me pay attention to it. It only made me push harder to prove I could do it!

I got to the point that said 0.8 K to the top. I looked ahead and saw the steep climb that awaited me and felt SO discouraged. But then I saw 0.8 K and I could never live it down if I gave up 0.8 K from the top!! So, on I went. I saw a couple of westerners and asked them if they had seen a little red head at the top of the peak and they said "Sure did and she is one strong little girl!" Well, that did it, my pride went through the roof! That's right...that is MY girl...tough just like her Mommy! A fighter for sure!

I pushed on and I finally spotted Clark, Tali and Bug at the top taking pictures. Bug was the first to see me! I heard that sweet little voice yell "MOMMY!" and I was SO glad I had made it to the top! Clark looked at me and grinned the biggest grin! I just know he was thinking "I was right, she is one tough girl!" LOL! He immediately asked me how my leg was doing and I *truthfully* told him "Oh, it hurts some, but I am ok...I made it didn't I?" Well, my loving husband knows me TOO well and he said "You are one stupid, stubborn woman!" Then, he lovingly gave me a BIG hug! We took pictures and took in the amazing view. Oh it was BEAUTIFUL!

If only the story stopped here, it would be wonderful! But, you realize that I am now 9.3 K and 2,000 meters up a mountain with a busted knee and I HAVE to get down before dark! We only had about 10 minutes at the top before the ranger told everyone it was time to go!

Every step I had taken to this point had been UP! I had never thought about the big difference in movement from climbing up and down. Well, whatever I did to my knee effected the downward movement MUCH more than the upward one. Every step I took down made me feel like I was going to buckle and fall. It was awful. I could not bend my right knee. I tried to hand the Bean to Clark but she screamed and screamed for Mommy. Between the pain and the task at hand her screaming for me was too much to handle, so I took her back and strapped her in the sling.

We sent Tali and Bug on down to the ranger station (2.3 K down) to see if there was any way to let me ride that wonderful little tram down the mountain. However, I still had to make it 2.3 K down feeling like me knee was going to snap. My wonderful, amazing, caring, loving, hero of a husband of mine held my hand and helped me with each and every step I took! As I favored my right leg going down I took a wrong step and twisted my left knee as well. At this point I couldn't take a step that didn't hurt. My legs felt like 100 pounds each. I know that if Clark hadn't been there helping me and encouraging me I never would have made it down. In only the way he can do, he had me laughing through the pain to get down the mountain. In my frustration I would yell "Oh Darn" or "My Word" and he couldn't help but laugh at his goody two shoes wife. He kept telling me to give him something better and "oh shoot" didn't help him stop laughing at his wife who won't say a curse word for anything. At one point I even swallowed a bug...GROSS!

Every time someone else would pass us going down and see me in pain my big head of pride deflated just a little more! LOL! Then 2 men came up on us. He stopped me and made me sit down and we soon discovered he was the ranger. He sprayed my knees with some bengay like spray and told me to take it easy and he would wait for me at the tram and take me down the rest of the way. Knowing I ONLY had to make it to the ranger station was a sweet answer to prayer, but also a big blow to my pride.

It took me 2 hours to make it 2.3 K down to the ranger station. As I had to be helped up onto the tram platform I took my BIG ole bite of humble pie! Knowing that Korean grandma's, my 7 year old daughter, and all sorts of other people had made it all the way up and back down and there I was wimping out and taking the tram down. It was a 2 hour ride for me to sit and ponder all of this. There I was climbing this beautiful mountain. Surrounded by God's Greatness and I started thinking about what a good job I was doing! What is wrong with me? God is SO great. When we loose focus he tries to gently steer us back to Him and when gently doesn't work, he takes us completely out of the game to make us slow down and focus on Him! Praise the Lord that He cared enough about me to take me out of the game long enough to see that He is the Creator of the mountain I was climbing and He is the Creator of me!

About 1 hour down the tram ride we came across Tali and Bug. Clark hopped off the tram and let Tali and Bug ride on down with me while he hiked the last 3 K down. Bug was SO excited that she had been able to help by telling the people at the tram station that her Mommy needed them. Then she got to climb up on the tram and ride down with me. She was such a trouper yesterday. About 5 minutes into her ride on the tram she had fallen asleep and snoozed the rest of the way down. Tali and I got to see a deer and beautiful fall leaves. It was a beautiful ride down and I was able to take in the beauty of Gods creation! We got to the bottom of the mountain at 7:00 and after 2 hours on the tram my legs were so stiff that I could barely move. It took me 10 minutes to get the short distance to the van.

We got home as quick as we could, ordered Pizza for dinner, took baths and headed to bed. This morning I woke up very stiff and my knees are still hurting. Clark is going to call the doctor that worked on his neck last month and get me an appointment. Until then, here I sit, not able to do much of anything and feeling rather helpless. But, when I won't be still before the Lord, I have learned that He will make me be still! So, today, that is what I am doing, being still before the Lord, and it is good!!

Here are some pictures from yesterday! I hope you enjoy them!

On Saturday (10/7/06) our team of missionaries ran a booth at the International Festival in Jeju City. It was a festival where people who live on Jeju set up booths to teach everyone about their home country and culture. It was FULL of yummy food, lots of games to play, amazing traditional wear, and lots of other cultural information from all over the world. I had no idea that so many countries were represented on our little island of Jeju. Of course there was an American booth but there were also booths from Nepal, Mongolia, Pakistan, Thailand, Philippines, Russia, China, Japan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Indonesia. There were also booths run by Koreans. There was a booth taking pictures of people, a booth doing face painting, another where you could dress in traditional Korean wedding clothes, and so much more. The girls loved the free cotton candy and the moon walk. Bug also loved the Chinese booth because they had a fun game similar to hacky sacks that she spent the afternoon trying to master. Clark and I enjoyed the special area where you could get samples of food from all the countries represented. At the end of the day there was a fashion show and talent show that showcased clothes, dances, music, and martial arts from many different lands.

We spent all last week getting things ready for our booth. We decorated our tent with maps of America, American flags, and all kinds of info on America. We also had patriotic music playing and my computer running a slide show of famous American landmarks. There was a table full of American landmark coloring pages to entertain the kids and coffee, tea, and hot chocolate for the adults. Not to mention mini snickers for everyone who came to visit us. :-) The first 200 visitors to our tent got gift bags with lotion, a hand towel, a pen, an English/Korean bible and some other goodies. Then, we had a raffle drawing at the end of the day to give away a few prizes. It was an awesome opportunity to be representatives of our country AND to let them know why we are here. We had over 300 visitors to our booth and I know that God's word was spread in an amazing way! How awesome is that!

We also got a fun surprise over at the picture booth. I was walking with the girls when the students running the booth stopped me to take the girls pictures. They started asking where I was from and where I lived. After they found out I lived in Seogwipo, had 2 daughters, was a missionary, and homeschooled they asked do you now Missionary Clark? I informed them that he was my Nam Pyon (husband) and they all started clapping and saying "CCC, CCC". Come to find out that all of Clark's Campus Crusade for Christ students were running the booth. He teaches this class on Fridays when I am homeschooling and I have never been able to meet the students. They were SO excited to finally meet the girls and I. I told them to wait a minute and went to find Clark for them. We came back and had a GREAT visit. They took a family picture of us and it turned out really well! As we were leaving them, we ran into another group of students that Clark teaches. They came and hung out at our booth the rest of the afternoon. It was SO much fun to get to spend extra time with all of Clark's students. It really turned out to be an great day!

You know me...there can't be a post about something that has happened without pictures...so here you go!