LOUK life

birthday cake excitement

2011-09-30T13:04:00.001-04:00

The Power of No

2011-06-11T10:58:00.000-04:00

Athan at 9 & 10 months

2009-11-26T09:32:00.006-05:00

Athan at 7 months

2009-09-24T11:44:00.006-04:00

a couple of David's pictures of Athan

2009-05-29T09:51:00.006-04:00

where have all the posts gone?

2009-05-23T09:08:00.004-04:00

You might have guessed that my subject is not really addressing a sudden outbreak of fence-obsessed klepto activity. Rather, I want to consider the long-time dearth of blog posts on my several blogs. Athan has clearly made repeated appearances on the most recent LOUK life posts, much to the delight of most of our family. But aside from the intermittent rush of photos, my blogger accounts have mostly gone silent. My devotional activity has moved to the more private realm of Accordance Notes (Accordance is a Mac-based Bible software program), allowing for more candid self-examination. And my essays, well I haven't pumped out a serious one since 2007 (not exactly making my twice a month goal there).

Why?
1). We are constantly on the move. We haven't had our own place since July 4, 2007 (that year it was Dependence Day for us). The constant flux of being guests in house after house keeps us on our toes and away from some of the fun things that we want to do.

2). We two are now three. Talk about flux! Athan is such a little guy but makes a big difference. We are relearning what it means to be now that we are three.

3). In Korea, when my blogs were started, most of my work was done on my feet in the front of a full classroom of adorable, dark-eyed students. Sitting at a computer and thinking about things was a welcome change from "A says a a apple." (a common refrain for the kindergarten and first grade phonics teacher). Now, while working to get to Romania, most of my work is done sitting at a desk, staring at a spreadsheet of church contact—phone in hand, hoping to talk that isn't recorded this time. At the end of the day, I am ready to get away from the computer, but often I still need to answer many e-mails and write follow up letters. All this pushes me away from volitional computer time.

Forever?
One way or another, pre-field ministry will end. We hope and trust that by early 2010, we will be in or getting ready to go to Romania. It may not come so quickly, but we trust that it will come. Even if something catastrophic happens and keeps us from going from Romania altogether (which we trust and hope will not happen), we would no longer be working to get to Romania. So one way or another, our lives will change.

Additionally, the experiences of engaging a foreign culture are almost always more interesting than working within your own. So we will be much more inclined to write about what we are learning and experiencing. So, be assured, more substantive posts will come (though maybe not for a while).

Athan pics by Laurel

2009-05-07T14:59:00.003-04:00

the many faces of Athanasius

2009-05-05T16:04:00.003-04:00

second month

2009-04-17T08:56:00.008-04:00

Athan is two months old today (or at least 8 weeks old). I figure it's time to publish some pictures of him. Some of them have been in our prayer letter, but others are new.

Athan, during his second week

2009-03-12T23:08:00.004-04:00

He's not quite sure if he wants to sleep or not. There's a lot of that.

And sleep wins out!

It feels so good to hold him.

So does Daddy.

Not only does Mommy love Athan, but Athan loves Mommy.

She's the best place to sleep ever.

What do babies dream about? suck suck suck . . .

almost a week already

2009-02-26T11:51:00.005-05:00

Athan will be a week old tomorrow, his due date. A number of people have asked about the significance of his name. We have named him after Athanasius of Alexandria (visit the link for historical information) and after Laurel's father, Lloyd E. Nickerson. We chose the name because 1) we like it, 2) the name declines well in Romanian (i.e. - Romanians should not have a hard time using it), and 3) Athan stood for biblical truth in spite of the wide spread error of his day. We hope that sharing the story of Athan's namesake will open opportunities to share biblical truth with people of today.

gas

Athan, a day later

2009-02-23T12:11:00.005-05:00

Well, it came to my knowledge that I neglected to include vital information on the last post. Our baby's name is Athanasius Lloyd. He was born at 8:07 p.m. on Friday, February 20th. He weighed 7 pounds, 11 1/2 ounces and was 21 inches long. Here are some additional pictures of him.

Athan with Grandpa (Lloyd)

Mommy with Athan

A little fuzzy, but really cute

Athan, getting a little sun

baby pictures

2009-02-21T13:36:00.001-05:00

not in hiding

2009-02-09T15:50:00.005-05:00

Well, it may have seemed that I have fallen off the blogging block as of late. I guess that I mostly have. Other responsibilities and forms of communication have been monopolizing my attention. But I am not in hiding, and I will likely fire up the pictures after our little one arrives. In the mean time here are a few pictures from the past several months.

In November we made it to our first Floom Family Cookie Bake.
Here's Grandpa with children who made it to the even.

On Thanksgiving Day, we were given a baby shower. We have much to be thankful for.

Laurel's and my Christmas present to my family was a picture book.
I scanned many pictures, this is one of my favorite. I was so cute.

As I remember it, this was what life was always like growing up with sisters.

The Christmas tree . . . it's not real.

Every neighborhood should have one. They make you happy to look at just as long as you don't live next door. There was music that when along with it too.

wordles

2008-07-19T18:01:00.006-04:00

I came across a wordle on someone's blog and thought it looked fun. As I have several blogs, I have several wordles. I believe that you can click on the pictures to make them larger.

http://louklife.blogspot.com (reflects travel)

http://thegospelinaction.com (ministry focus)

http://loukness.blogspot.com (reflects the fact that I have been studying 1 Corinthians 12-14)

http://louktopia.blogspot.com (It's been so long since I've written here)

digital photography

2008-06-10T16:58:00.002-04:00

We are enjoying a spiritually refreshing time at Synergy '08. I will explain more about it in a later post. For now, here are some pictures I took during a session on principles of composition.

my first youtube video

2008-05-30T15:40:00.001-04:00

From Rockport to Charleston

2008-05-29T18:53:00.011-04:00

This month has been one of much travel. We left Greenville, South Carolina on May 2nd for a missions conference in Massachusetts. While there we visited Rockport and Boston. After the conference we stopped by D.C, staying with my aunt and uncle, before making our way to our next meeting in North Carolina. After two meeting there, we presented at a church in Charleston, SC. Finally, we returned to Greenville. Here are some pictures of some of the more scenic areas.

a harbor at Rockport

I thought these lobster traps (?) looked like a good picture.

In addition to the shops, Rockport is nice for the view.

Even alley ways look nice with water.

I was proud of myself for capturing this in the car.

We visited the Bunker Hill Monument in Boston.

The Richmonds were one of the missionaries with us at the conference.

It took a lot to make it to the top of the monument.

"Old Ironsides" is the oldest commissioned vessel in the US fleet.

They don't make them like they used to.

This statue to Paul Revere is just outside the Old North Church.

Old North Church

Note the bricked in window. The British were so mad that the lamp lighter escaped through the window that they bricked it up.

Old North's organ

One of these things is not like the other.

Here are all the missionary families who were at the conference (Seger, Louks, Richmonds, Diem).

Library of Congress in D.C.

This looked very strange to me.

WWII memorial

WWII memorial

Korean War Memorial

WWI Memorial (D.C. only, not federal)

John Paul Jones Memorial

Hope Diamond

Charleston fountain

Charleston fountain

dolphins

unsuccessful kneeboarder (no it isn't me)

The little girl didn't know what to make of Laurel.

Laurel enjoyed wading at the Navy monument.

Unfortunately a park attendant made everyone get out.

This is my favorite chair ever.

It makes me want to celebrate.

Sunset in Florida

2008-04-16T10:52:00.004-04:00

After dinner last night, Laurel and I went to watch the sunset at a coastal nature preserve. Here are some pictures from our excursion.

Flordia pictures

2008-04-15T11:41:00.006-04:00

Laurel and I have been enjoying the warmer Florida weather. Here are a few pictures from a recent evening canoe ride in the creek behind her family's house.

O.K. the goat wasn't in the river, but she was there to greet us after our ride.

Nickerson Family visit

2008-03-24T08:14:00.004-04:00

This past weekend, we spent an evening with David, Melissa, Emery, Alison, Micah, and Laurel's parents. Micah seems to have monopolized the pictures taken there. We are sorry not to have everyone else in the pictures, but as we've seen Micah the least of everyone, it seems natural that most of our attention would be on him. I hope you enjoy these pictures of our nephew.

Sarah's graduation

2008-03-23T00:21:00.005-04:00

Sarah graduated from Columbus State Community College this weekend with an Associate degree in Radiology. Good job Sarah. We had the privilege of being in Ohio for it. Here are a few pictures from the day before and the day of.

snow and Tae Kwon Do

2008-03-16T13:24:00.003-04:00

Last week we got snowed in while staying with Jessica in Columbus. This weekend we went back to Columbus for Billy's Tae Kwon Do tournament.

to Arkansas

2008-02-15T22:27:00.002-05:00

Laurel and I enjoyed our Valentine's Day. Though we spent most of the day packing for our trip and driving to Pilgrims' Rest in Georgia, we also enjoyed some special time exchanging small expressions of love (Laurel made me yummy heart-shaped white chocolate-chip filled pancakes, and I gave here conversation beans [a Jelly Belly alternative to conversation hearts] and specialty hot chocolate mixes). In the evening we partook of a delightful dinner at Bugaboo's Steakhouse (I especially enjoyed the spring chicken).

Today we met with some people from our mission and then headed towards Oklahoma. We are currently in Arkansas. And we look forward to meeting the pastor and his wife tomorrow and the church the next day.

six weeks

2008-02-13T16:20:00.002-05:00

We are scheduled to leave for Georgia tomorrow morning and don't plan on being back in Greenville for six weeks. Meetings are scheduled in Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska, and Ohio. We will try to take pictures and keep you updated as we have internet access. Pray for our safety, health, and the health of our car.

technical difficulties

2008-02-01T23:35:00.000-05:00

Thursday night brought trauma to our delightful little Mac Mini. I spent the better part of the day trying to fix the problem, unsuccessfully. Therefore, the Mini will be out of commission for three to five business days. At one point we possessed a disc that could have fixed the problem, but it seems to have been lost in our move back from Korea.

On the positive side, the customer service agents that I spoke with were most patient with me and worked very hard to help me. They weren't able to fix the problem, but as was mentioned, I think that I was mostly to blame there. I should have kept closer watch on important discs and documents. Anyway, when I asked what had caused this whole debacle, they suggested that a third-party application was at fault. I have a program in mind; it will not be reloaded after the Mini is fixed.

Laurel's Birthday

2008-01-28T19:04:00.000-05:00

We have just ended Laurel's four-day Birthday extravaganza. It started on Thursday—Laurel's actual birthday. But the fun continued through Sunday when we went out to eat and gave Laurel the last of her presents. Throughout the four days, many decisions were made under the influence of the statement, "well it's still Laurel's birthday." Laurel suggested that we continue this practice for a full twenty-nine days in celebration of her turning twenty-nine. But this policy was not embraced.

short-lived snow

2008-01-21T16:47:00.001-05:00

Our first presentation went well. For more information on that see our ministry website (http://thegospelinaction.com). Towards the end of the service, it started snowing and came down steadily for several hours thereafter. However, by the time I took these few pictures the next morning, it was already beginning to melt.

first meeting

2008-01-16T23:20:00.000-05:00

We had our first meeting this evening. It was at our sending church, Community Baptist Church in Greer, SC. Overall, things went well. The evenings major blooper happened when I was walking up to the pulpit to give the sermon. When climbing the stairs, I felling flat on my face. Afterward, Laurel asked me what happened. It told her, "Nothing happened. That's just me. I fall."

We have another meeting scheduled for this Sunday. Hopefully it will come off without a trip.

Floom Family Christmas

2007-12-31T10:29:00.001-05:00

We had a wonderful time at the Floom Family Christmas Party this year.

This picture isn't from the actual event.

Grandpa played Santa as usual.

We estimated attendance to be around 60 or so.

Grandpa gave all his kids a Roman Catholic Catechism.

ESL

2007-12-28T11:36:00.001-05:00

To truly enjoy this picture, you must carefully read the English paragraph aloud. You can make the picture larger by clicking on it.

Christmas in Ohio

2007-12-27T17:08:00.000-05:00

Laurel and I are in Ohio. Here are some pictures from Christmas.

Here is our tree. Some of the ornaments are quite vintage.

We all had a great time opening our presents and hanging out afterward.

Even Bo-Bo got to open a gift.

Billy spent most of his time in the basement.

funny sport

2007-12-15T23:07:00.000-05:00

This is great. I love Asia!

silent but not really

2007-12-10T08:17:00.000-05:00

Last week brought very few devotional posts and no LOUK life posts. I am attempting to readjust so as to make posting a likelihood again. The reason for this lull is that I started calling churches on November 29th. Because this calling is so time-consuming and because it all takes place in front of the computer, entering the data about each call as it happens, I have not been terribly inclined to blog in the evenings, and my mornings seem awfully rushed as it is. And yet here I am. I must have a communication outlet that doesn't involve answering machines and the phrase "Hello, my name is Joshua Louk."

early morning

2007-11-28T08:05:00.000-05:00

After several failed attempts, I managed to get up for another 6:30 a.m. men's prayer meeting. As began my trip to church by stepping out of the house into the back yard, I was overwhelmed with the chill of the crisp morning air. After thinking that I should have put thicker clothes on, I paused to look up into the clear, sunless sky. The stars didn't seem to be fuzzy as they often are. Instead they shone clearly, boldly, and distinctly, and the moon was abnormally bright too. I enjoyed my brief encounter with nature, and following it with prayer seems a very fitting way to begin this new day.

back again

2007-11-25T13:13:00.001-05:00

We traveled back from Greenville yesterday. The trip was made without the overnight stop that we enjoyed on the way down and was lengthened further by some unexpected obstacles. Thankfully, the car faired well, and we are back safe and sound.

in Florida

2007-11-20T20:32:00.000-05:00

We made it safely to Florida. And though we were concerned about our car's ability to make the trip, it seems to have done it effortlessly (unless you count the petrol used by the old beast as effort).

We had a relaxing first day with Laurel's grandparents today. We spent the day talking and rowing. Laurel saw a small alligator, and a man on the bank said that we were paddling over a ten-footer. But as usual, I didn't see one.

Here are some alligator-free pictures of our trip down Frog Creek.

day trip

2007-11-16T08:47:00.000-05:00

David and Melissa returned from Korea on Wednesday. We decided to go up to Spencer to see them before they headed off again. Laurel and I had a very pleasant drive, and we really enjoyed seeing them. In addition to talking, touring, jumping on a "treadmill," and eating, we also played two rounds of Apples to Apples. Melissa won the first game with ease, but she didn't get a single card the whole second game. Just before we left to return to Greenville, Emery and Alison called to announce the birth of their newborn son, Micah Nathaniel. There was much celebration among the six of us. I'm an uncle!

K. C. I. S.

2007-11-12T07:17:00.001-05:00

The day that threatened to come months ago has finally come to KCIS. About half of its teachers have degrees from an unaccredited institution (PCC). Several months ago, Korea began requiring that all teachers have degrees from accredited institutions. At first the school was told that the current teachers would be grandfathered in. However that grace has been withdrawn, and the teachers must leave the country by December fifth.

Please pray for the school as it copes with a big loss and for the teachers as they adjust to this major and sudden change (one couple has taught there for over five years and intended to stay there indefinitely).

prayer card pictures

2007-11-09T08:44:00.001-05:00

On Wednesday afternoon, Laurel and I went and took several pictures. We hope to use one of these for our prayer card. Leave a comment and vote for your favorite.

in front of steps

short wall

bigger wall

waterfall

vegetation

Our Soundtracks

2007-11-05T14:44:00.000-05:00

If your life was a movie, what would the soundtrack be?

So, here's how it works:

1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool...

Joshua's Soundtrack
Opening Credits: Angel of Music (Phantom of the Opera)
Waking Up: 가곡 우조 이수대엽 (it’s Korean)
First Day of School: Cinetone News (Love’s Labors Lost)
Falling in Love: Oh, Worship the King
Fight Song: They Can’t Take That Away from Me (Love’s Labors Lost)
Breaking Up: Torture (Einhorn)
Prom: Edelwiess (Sound of Music)
Life: Prologue (Into the Woods)
Mental Breakdown: O Magnum Mysterium (Lauridsen)
Driving: Away in a Manger
Flashback: I Remember/Stranger Than You Dreamt It (Webber)
Getting Back Together: How Firm a Foundation
Wedding: O Sacred Head
Birth of Child: Hallelujah Chorus / Amen (Handel)
Final Battle: The Glory of the Resurrection
Death Scene: I Must Get on that Ship (from Titanic, the musical [really no kidding])
Funeral: There’s No Business Like Show Business
End Credits: They Don’t Know (from Thoroughly Modern Milly)

Laurel's Soundtrack
Opening Credits: Regarding the Incredibly Deadly Viper
Waking Up: Be Thou My Vision
First Day of School: Name Medley (Faculty Men’s Chorus)
Falling in Love: Overture to Phantom of the Opera
Fight Song: Sona (Secret Garden)
Breaking Up: Vzbrannoy Voyevode (Thanksgiving to the Mother of God)
Prom: Jimmy (Thoroughly Modern Millie)
Life: Snaky Message (A Series of Unfortunate Events)
Mental Breakdown: The Lighthouse Tale (Nickel Creek)
Driving: Ave Maria (Lauridsen)
Flashback: Glory to God (Handel)
Getting Back Together: 피리독주 자진한잎
Wedding: Wandering Child (Phantom of the Opera)
Birth of Child: I’m Not That Girl (Reprise Wicked)
Final Battle: God’s Almighty Son (Majesty and Glory)
Death Scene: Second essay for Orchestra (Barber)
Funeral: Attack of the Hook-handed Man (Series of Unfortunate Events)
End Credits: The Rumble (West Side Story)

Dr. Insomnia

2007-11-05T01:41:00.000-05:00

Several weeks ago, I was reminded of the importance of husbands taking their wives out on dates. I've been wanting for the right time to do this since that point. Tonight after church, my wife and I went out for dinner. We had a lovely time and enjoyed some scrumptious pizza.

Alas, I also enjoyed a Dr. Pepper. They taste so yummy with pizza, but it was too late to drink responsibly. Laurel warned me, "won't that keep you up?" "Probably, I responded" with foolish abandon. My mind isn't quite working right now, but neither is it willing to slumber. So I'm left in the land of productivelessness. And while I realize that is not a word, somehow it doesn't seem to matter right now.

Good date; good evening; bad night; bad pop.

Korean Lesson #8

2007-11-03T13:42:00.000-04:00

Lack of sleep is a bad thing.

Sometimes I am a rather slow learner. For instance, on Christmas Day of my senior year at BJ, I came down with a cough. The cough stayed with me until after second semester ended. But it wasn't until I was afflicted by similar multi-month illnesses that I finally made the connection. Not enough sleep = get and stay sick.

I get projects started and don't want to stop them. If I get started in the evening, the temptation is to let sleep pass me by. Don't get me wrong, I go to sleep. But if I'm working on something, it's tempting to go to bed at 3:00 or 4:00.

I can cope with one night of this, but when it happens night after night, my health suffers. And that is a bad thing. I learned this lesson definitively in Korea, four years after my first episode.

piles and boxes

2007-10-30T20:36:00.000-04:00

There is a small table in our bedroom with a number of papers that have needed filing for about a month. This pile has been growing and growing. But other tasks kept me from addressing the problem. Thankfully, I was finally able to wipe it out. Filed and trashed, the pile is no more.

We tried to get together with Phil and Shanna several weeks ago but never heard back from them. On Monday they let us know that they were moving to Washington this Wednesday but that we could come over on Tuesday to help pack the truck, clean, and eat pizza. We weren't able to stay for the pizza or cleaning, but it was nice to see them a bit while many people loaded up a really big truck with stuff from their condo.

Korean Lesson #7

2007-10-24T09:09:00.000-04:00

It’s okay to say no to people.

If you are ministry-minded and hard-working, you will never have any lack of things to do. I was recently talking to someone about a mutual friend of ours who is perpetually busy. The person I was talking to kept on expecting the other person to enter a less busy time only to discover that said person filled up completed tasks with new ones. That's not necessarily bad. But each person needs to know his or her limits.

While I was teaching in Korea, my limits were frequently pushed to the max. Actually, my limits were often exceeded. It gave me opportunities to rest in the Lord and to see His strength in my daily life. But it was also a lesson to me in priorities. By the end of my time in Korea, I didn't say yes to any opportunity that presented itself. I learned to say, "no, I should not (or cannot) do that." What helpful words these were.

punctual

2007-10-20T16:41:00.000-04:00

Last night I attended my first University Chorale Concert in the audience. It was strange to have Dr. Cook face away from me during a concert and not to have heard all the music over a hundred times already. But I enjoyed it even so.

The music was written by Dan Forrest, a composer whose music I enjoy greatly. One fun little peace was a setting of Emily Dickinson's poem "Lightly stepped a yellow star."

Lightly stepped a yellow star
To its lofty place,
Loosed the Moon her silver hat
From her lustral face.

All of evening softly lit
As an astral hall--
Father, I observed to heaven,
You are punctual.

I had never considered using such a word to describe God, but it is accurate. He is never late. Everything that He does is perfectly orderly and always on time.

Korean Lesson #6

2007-10-16T21:51:00.000-04:00

It’s good to be kind and patient to foreigners.

I still remember the first time that someone called me a foreigner. To me it seemed like a dirty word. "I prefer guest," I thought. But the description was accurate. Everything around me was strange and foreign. I was the minority. I was the foreigner.

As a foreigner, I was often out of place and was at the mercy of the people I met. On many occasions, normal tasks like going to the pharmacy or buying wallpaper seemed insurmountable. I didn't know where to go, how to find out where to go, or how to make my purchase once I got there. Time and time again, a Korean (often Na Sang-hoon) would find the place and go with me. His kindness made life's normal chores possible.

When he (or others like him) was not around, I mostly had to rely on the patience of those with whom I interacted. My Korean speaking skills never developed beyond a rudimentary level. Therefore, I engaged in many a bilingual discussion with unsuspecting store workers. I would speak in English and they would speak in Korean. Neither of us would understand the other so we would attempt to use non-verbal communication while utilizing our useless words. This exercise required quite a bit of patience. And if the person didn't have it in them to labor with me, I didn't get what I needed.

Korean Lesson #5

2007-10-15T11:11:00.000-04:00

I love kids, all kids.

I have always loved kids. They are fun, uninhibited, and sometimes painfully honest. My time in Korea a prolonged exposure to hundreds of children. I loved it. I didn't always love my job, but I always loved the kids. There were times that I would laugh out loud at their humor or silliness. Other times my heart would melt when they hugged me, when they told me that they loved me, or when they prayed that their parents would work less and spend more time with them. Being in Korea helped me realize that I always want to be doing something with kids.

social

2007-10-13T15:33:00.000-04:00

Laurel and I had a wonderful time with Kevin, Melissa, Todd, and Lorna last night. We went over for dinner and to explain what we saw in Romania. After looking at pictures from the survey trip we played Wii. I was familiar with the concept before but thought it was stupid. Wow, was I ever wrong. We had a blast.

The Romania explanation was the second first time presentation we did for someone with the pictures. The meeting prompted me to reorganize the pictures and put them in video format for better presentations. Hopefully, our next explanation will be much smoother.

Korean Lesson #4

2007-10-12T09:33:00.000-04:00

Marriage is wonderful.

The first twenty-seven years of my life were great! I often longed to be married, but I found great contentment while still single and believe that a person can serve God perfectly as a single person if this is what God has directed him or her to do. But as for me, God had something better (not that it is necessarily better to be married but rather it is better for me to be married).

The one flesh principle extends far beyond a physical relationship into all aspects of life. I do not go to a fast-food restaurant without first considering that I am not alone, that there are two of us who are one. Some might view this as a burden, but I view it as a helpful encouragement to think before I act. I run things by Laurel before I do them, keeping myself from foolish decisions that would negatively effect both of us.

And not only that, but I am far less lonely. I spent three and a half years in Korea, and only the last year was with Laurel. There were times during the first two and a half years that I was so lonely that I cried. When Laurel was with me, I never experienced anything close to that kind of feeling.

Marriage is not the best thing for everyone. And some people's marriages need serious help (because of sin), but for me marriage is wonderful.

2 years of love

2007-10-08T23:03:00.000-04:00

On this day two years ago, I told Laurel that I loved her for the first time. On this anniversary, I am overjoyed by the fact that I love her so much more than then. God is good to have given me such a wonderful wife. Tomorrow is an anniversary too. It is the first day that Laurel told me that she loved me. She needed some time to think about it. Thankfully, she doesn't leave me hanging like that anymore.

Spencer

2007-10-06T21:06:00.000-04:00

I drove up to Spencer, NC and then back again. Laurel's father and I hauled a freezer, a lathe, and a comfy chair in the truck. I've never driven a truck with a major appliance in it before. There were no problems, but man was I cautious. I didn't drive over 60 the whole time, even in the 70 zone. Interestingly enough, it was Laurel's father who had car trouble. About forty-five minutes out his car got a flat.

painting

2007-10-05T20:51:00.000-04:00

I forgot how mind-blowing boring painting is. Laurel wanted us to paint the cabinets in the kitchen for her parents as a sign of appreciation and because the cabinets were really needing a coat of paint. I decided to do the job while she was away to surprise her (so if you see her before Monday, don't mention this post). They are almost done. I'm waiting for the primer to dry on the last section before I finish up. The job has made the time alone zip by, but it is not without its side-effects. I could really go for a good conversation about now.

all alone

2007-10-04T11:47:00.000-04:00

Laurel and her mother have left for Ohio. Laurel's sister-in-law, Alison, is having a baby shower this weekend. This is the first time since we were married last year that we have been in different geographic locations. We will see how it goes.

practice is magic

2007-10-01T22:28:00.000-04:00

I've discovered something that I seem to have missed every other time in my life that I tried to pick up an instrument. Practice works. I have been picking up the guitar for about five to ten minutes every day. It's amazing! Every day I seem to be able to do a little bit more. Something that I can't quite do one day is often magically accomplished the next day. How is this possible? Don't go thinking that I'm already a virtuoso. I only know three chords, and I can only transition somewhat smoothly between two of them. But a week ago not even this was so.

friends

2007-10-01T10:20:00.000-04:00

Laurel and her mother hosted Ellen's baby shower.

I went on a hike to Table Rock with Paul Michael.

We made it to the top.

Happy Birthday to me

2007-09-27T16:05:00.000-04:00

It's been a special day so far. This morning Laurel made a yummy birthday breakfast, a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich on an English muffin. Lunch was garlic pizza. Tonight's supper is a mystery, but we are having birthday brownies and vanilla ice cream for dessert.

While visiting the Howertons in Romania, Laurel and I picked up the practice of singing a song to the Lord before prayer at lunch and dinner. Today before lunch, I was quite surprised that we sang the Happy Birthday song. I'm bound to hear it before brownies too.

It's so nice to be loved.

early morning

2007-09-26T08:36:00.000-04:00

Last night before I went to bed, I set the alarm for 5:50 a.m. so that I could go to the men's prayer meeting at church. When the alarm went off this morning, I asked Laurel, "why did I set the alarm last night?" I really had no idea. When she told me I rolled out of bed, got dressed, ate breakfast, and made it a couple minutes before the beginning at 6:30. It was a good time of prayer. Hopefully next week, I'll remember why I am waking up on my own.

fingers

2007-09-25T18:55:00.000-04:00

Laurel gave me my first guitar lesson today. We only worked on it for about five minutes, but oh, do my fingers hurt. Even now as I type, I wonder how people can do this for a living. Laurel says that I'll get calluses in about three days and then won't feel a thing. We shall see.

meetings

2007-09-24T17:11:00.000-04:00

Laurel and I had two good meetings today. We met with our pastor to discuss the survey trip and our plan for the future. We also met with a Biblical Ministries Worldwide videographer who had some footage of Romania. We expected only to pick up the video. Instead, she showed us some of the video and offered to produce our video for us. We were overjoyed. We still need to write the script and organize some of our footage and pictures. But her help will shave many hours off the production and insure that the quality is much better than what we could have produced ourselves. Praise the Lord.

understanding

2007-09-23T21:37:00.000-04:00

For the first time in over a month, I was able to understand everything that was said, sung, and prayed at church. It was so refreshing. I look forward being able to minister in Romania. But I will need to learn Romanian first.

Poland pictures

2007-09-19T11:15:00.001-04:00

Laurel got her hair cut by Mrs. Augustyniak.

I love this picture

I was amazed at the plant life in the soccer field's bleachers.

While I agree with the assessment in this sign, I was surprised to see it.

I was thankful that we didn't have to ride the tram.
They often looked jam-packed.

We went to Wedel for the much anticipated hot chocolate.
Sadly, three of us were disappointed with it.

I love taking pictures of fountains at night.

We visited an extensive park called, the Bathrooms.
I didn't see a single restroom there.

Beata and Aga

There seems to be such a wide variety of emotions in this picture.

Aga and Beata have been renovating their apartment.
Notice the scene behind them. It's not finished yet.

We enjoyed a lot of ice cream on the trip. This was not my favorite.

to Poland

2007-09-09T07:00:00.000-04:00

We are about ready to head off to Poland. We are done with the survey portion of the trip and are looking forward to visiting with Aga and Beata. We do not expect to blog again until we return to the states (Aga and Beata do not have internet). See some of you soon.

Tirgu Mures Pictures

2007-09-08T14:12:00.000-04:00

Fanel (from a Livada home)

inside a Livada home

the baby I didn't want to put down

a baby Laurel played with

the view from our hotel

more of beautiful Romania

a nice street in Tirgu Mures

Laurel at a fortress we happened upon

people lined up at an orthodox church
we think they were there for relics or something

this was at one of the many stations our first train stopped at

a Romanian traveler

the week with Livada

2007-09-08T04:51:00.000-04:00

Not having internet during the week, here is another week of entries in one day. We took some pictures this week too but not as many as last week. They will be posted soon.

Monday, September 3, 2007

This morning at 6:00 a.m. Joyce and Baron drove us five hours to visit Livada's orphan care facility. The Howertons have been so kind and have done so much for us these three weeks. I do not know what we would have done without them.

The first day at Livada was a lightning tour for the benefit of Joyce and Baron. We visited the foundation's office and the three group homes. The group homes house between eight to eleven kids each with two to five kids in a room (they only have one room with five kids, and they are hoping to move into another house to give the kids a little more space). The Livada group homes seemed much more like a home than the home we visited last week.

After the overview tour we were dropped off at our hotel (glorified hostel). Once we were settled in, we walked to the town center for dinner but went the long way unintentionally. Upon arrival at McDonalds, we decided that we were not hungry so we bought some water, sat on a park bench for a bit, and headed back to the hotel.

Since our route to the town center had been so indirect, we decided to try to find a faster way to the hotel--big mistake. Our "faster way" took us to the top of a mountain near a zoo. Laurel suggested that visiting the zoo would be a good way to see the wolves that we had spoken of, but we figured that the zoo was probably closed already, so we chose to continue our dreadfully long journey home. How we rejoiced when we basically stumbled upon the right street late in the evening.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

We enjoyed our breakfast of bread and sausage at the hotel at 8:30, leaving at 9:00 to make a more prolonged visit at Livada's group homes. We stayed until 2:00 p.m, when we left for the first of two Bible studies. The second study ended at 7:00 with pizza. They had a chicken pizza that I thought quite yummy. Laurel was not been feeling well, so instead of more wandering (I mean exploring) we just went back to the hotel with the benefit of directions.

Laurel has asked me several times on the trip if I had a more concrete idea of what we should do. The one thing that is already concrete it that there is a definite need that should be met. I and I hope the Lord allows me to play a part of His meeting that need. How God will work that out is still uncertain to me. There are many things that could be done.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Today we visited four different state-run group homes. Livada sends several state-run houses to camp and continues to meet with the kids about once a week in what they call "follow up clubs." Some of the homes that we visited were better than others, but there seemed to be some element lacking in them all.

At one point, I was nearly overwhelmed with compassion for a boy named Sergiu. Frankly, I'm not sure why. The situation that he was in did not seem to be too bad. All that I can figure is that it was just because of the potential he seemed to have.

Laurel and I were discussing what particular ministry the Lord might have for us. We are thinking that a big part of it might be working to place kids in foster care, encouraging and equipping Romanians to that end. We also talked about the possibility of some kind of day center for kids who are left to themselves after school by their parents. Again, in all these things, we can plan, but we will have to be sensitive to the need of the children and to the Lord's direction as to how to meet that need.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Today I did one of the hardest things that I have ever had to do in my life.

Today we visited the larger state institutions. We visited two state orphanages and one baby hospital. The first orphanage was the facility that all the Livada group home kids came from. It was abominable. The orphans (ages three through teen) lived in filth and chaos with very few supervising or caring for them. We were told that almost all of the older kids in the facility have been sexually abused. And not knowing true love or even being taught right from wrong, the older kids have in-turn abused many of the younger kids at the orphanage. Thankfully, the younger kids are being placed in group homes soon, but the teens will continue there for some time, perhaps until they are out of the system.

The second orphanage that we visited was technically not an orphanage. To get into the EU, Romania has had to deal with its excessive orphan problem. One of the subproblems dealt with was that they had too many kids in orphanages. They moved some kids into group homes, but to lower the numbers to acceptable levels they changed the classification of many of the orphanages to day center, social service center, or social service complex). So by changed the classification of the orphanage, they have far fewer kids in orphanages. In any case, the second orphanage was staffed by what seemed to be much more caring people. But they were obviously not able to give the sixty children the attention and love that the children needed.

In addition to this slight of hand, they no longer allow abandoned babies (younger than two years old) to live in orphanages or group homes. Instead the babies spend the extremely formative first two years of their lives in a lonely crib of a baby hospital. But since they are not in the orphanages and are not officially in the system, the official number of orphans and abandoned children goes down without really dealing with the problem.

The first two stops, difficult though they were, were not what I referred to at the beginning of this day's entry. That came at the baby hospital. When Laurel and I visited the children's hospital in Timisoara, we only got to see and smile at the children. But at the hospital today, we were allowed to pick the babies up and play with them. There was one baby in particular that just broke my heart. I picked him up and talked to him, putting my head up against his. His eyes lighted up, and he smiled and laughed with such joy. I did not want to put him down, and when I finally did, I left the room saddened only to hear him cry, knowing that no one was going to go and pick him back up. Leaving the baby in that awful place was one of the most difficult things that I have ever done in my life. After a long talk about that and other things, Laurel and I both cried and asked God to send someone to take care of him and the other babies in the hospital.

Friday, September 7, 2007

Our train rides took us from Tirgu Mures to Deva and Deva to Lugoj. The first train was old and dirty but roomy and private. The second train was new and clean but rather cramped. Both trains were non-smoking, but on the second train, our seats were at the very front of the train and the engineer smoked. I couldn't believe it!

This morning, before leaving Tirgu Mures, we visited one more private children's home and a home for babies (older than two) called the Kiwi House. Both of the homes intend to shut down eventually. The first home plans to close because they are based out of the U.K. and with Romania's entrance into the E.U. other Europeans believe charitable work in Romania to no longer be necessary. The baby home plans to switch over to supporting foster care rather than group homes because of the new law forbidding the institutional care of those under two. We had long conversations with those in charge of both places.

The information acquired this week has been vast--far more than what has been written here. And I trust the Lord is using it to put us right where He wants us.

another week

2007-09-02T14:46:00.000-04:00

The plan for this next week is to visit an orphan care facility called Livada in the city of Targu Mures. This city in near the center of Transylvania (so I'll have to be on the look-out for bats and wolves). We plan on departing from Lugoj at 6:00 a.m. on Monday and returning late Friday evening. The Howertons are driving us there, and we are taking a train back. I am a bit nervous about traveling by train when we don't speak the language and have to make a connection, but we will be borrowing a cell phone, and the Lord could take care of us even without a cell phone.

As for the time at Livata, we expect a very different experience there than what we experienced at the last orphanage. Last weeks place had one house with twenty-two kids that we were able to view in five minutes. We have been told that Livada grouped the kids in family units of twelve. We were also told that seeing the entirety of the facilities will take three and a half days.

Please pray that the Lord will use our seeing this last facility and our talking with the staff there to give us clear direction as to what to prepare for and how to prepare for it.

the week in pictures

2007-08-31T14:07:00.000-04:00

Ciprian J

Gabi

Ciprian M

Ciprian J, me, Roberto, Denisa

Gabi picking apples

Maria

Laurel enjoys the fruit of the hike

Roberto

the boys and their bridge

the children's home

these last three pictures were of the area around the children's home

The context of these pictures can be read in the previous post.

at the orphanage

2007-08-31T10:39:00.000-04:00

I wasn't able to post while at the orphanage. Therefore, I used a notepad and have transfered the entries. Pictures will be included in a later post.

Monday, August 27, 2007

After arriving at the children's home (a.k.a. orphanage) at about one, Laurel and I were directed to take four young boys and one girl down to the swimming hole. On the walk over, five became seven as two boys from the villlage joined our group. More joined from the children's home later along with additional supervision. Those who came later were much yournger and only stayed for about an hour. Our group stayed until just before supper (6:00). Activities at the swimming hole included splashing, playing king of the innertube, pretend baptisms (we were told that their church had just had a baptism the day before [the kid's baptisms looked more like forced conversions]), skipping rocks, and talking to the new American visitors. With the exception of the really young kids, most of the kids seem to speak English rather well.

After dinner, I raced bikes up and down the rarely traveled, treacherously stoney road in front of the home. After biking, we spent some time on a see-saw and some time as a human jungle gym.

I am amazed at the liberty with which these children show affection. The staff and owners obviously care for the children, bthe children clearly long for affection, and they gave it so freely that it melted my heart.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

So this is what it is like to be a parent of twenty-two children when you out-source your cooking and cleaning. From 8:00 a.m. until 9:30 p.m., the activity never stopped. I've done so many things that I don't even remember everything that I've done.

After a breakfast of shredded meat and vegetables in a tomato base served over bread, I tossed a football around with three boys; passed some stuffed, fuzzy, multicolor fish around with four other boys; and played a game very similar to Dutch Blitz with countless boys and girls.

Next came a lunch consisting of chicken, tomato, and cucumber salad, white bread, chicken noodle soup, and the most buttery mashed potatoes that I have ever consumbed (the potatoes go down and the cholesterol goes up). After eating, I played dominoes with Ciprian J and Roberto until Mihai came and disturbed things.

At about one, Laurel and I took the older kids on a hike up a big hill (mountain) to collect some very tasty green apples. The trip took one very hot hour, and the boys really wanted to go swimming again after the hike. After dinner we played kickball, sardines, and some more Blitz. We are exhasted!

The children seem to have an insastiable desire for love, but giving that love leaves you with so little of yourself. If we end up with this kind of ministry, the Lord will be the indispputable source of strenght for us. For our strength has been expended in the first full day.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

I will stop giving the blow-by-blow and switch to overviews and reflections. It was Diana's birthday today. We had an apple cake after dinner. Before the cake, I was entertaining everyone by singing"The Yodeler" and "The Three Little Kittens."

We will only be here for one more full day, leaving sometime on Friday. I think that it will be hard to leave. I love these kids already and wish that I could stay with them. Tonight I was sitting and talking with Roberto. He said, "I want to be your friend." I said that this would be fine. Then he said, "I want to be your son." Truthfully, I want that too. He has been a delight to be around. And I would love to be a father to him. But Romanian law doesn't allow foriegn adoption. I also had a hard time tonight when Ciprian J hugged me and looked up at me with such delight.

Later in the evening when several of us were playing tag on a dark soccer field, Roberto was making angry animal noises from behind some tall grass within the fenced area that we were playing. His noises were rather convincing, and as we were headed for the house Cipri J jumped into my arms out of fear. I was slightly concerned that there might really be an angry animal near us. But it felt good to be the person that someone would run to for protection.

Earlier in the day, Karen and Ruiben offered to let us come back to Romania and stay in the apartment to be house parents/administrators that we might learn how to run a facility. It was an offer that we will be considering.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

All of the muscles in my body hurt. I had forgotten how difficult it is to play. The kids don't really understand the concept of "I need a break." Therefore, I am broken: my back is sore from lifting kids; my legs are tired from tag, capture the flag, and walking; and my ankle hurts from when I twisted it during capture the flag.

I took five boys swimming this afternoon. We took a break from swimming and walked down the stream. At one point I was attempting to find a spot where the rocks were close enough to jump from rock to rock accross the river without getting my shoes wet. When the boys saw me doing this, they proceded to make a rock bridge for me, carying many heavy rocks and testing them for me before I stepped on them. I thought about just taking my shoes off and walking accross, but when I saw how fervently they were building the bridge, I decided that it was best for me to walk on the bridge even if it ment getting my shoes wet. While I was going accross, they walked beside me in the stream, trying to keep me from falling. I made it. Their love and kindness continues to overwhelm me.

the weekend

2007-08-27T04:31:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, we went to the children's hospital to visit--handing out books, coloring books, and baby toys. It was such a joy to see the faces on the children light up when given something as simple as a coloring book or just a little attention. Most of the children there had families, though there were two abandoned children under the age of two with nothing wrong with them. They were at the hospital because there was no where else for them to go. Children under the age of two are not allowed to move into the orphanages. So if individuals do not take them in for foster care or adoption, the children are just left at the hospital. Joyce and Baron said that the other times that they have visited, there have been around ten abandoned babies each time.

On Sunday, we attended church with the Howertons. The services were in Romanian, so understanding was a bit of an issue for us. During the morning service Laurel and I thought that we were understanding something that was said in the message. It was so exciting. However, our excitement was dashed when we asked about the statement later only to discover that we had completely misunderstood. We won't be translating just yet.

Today, we are heading out to a children's home after lunch. We plan to stay there through Friday. We are uncertain if the internet will be available there. But if so, we will send more pictures along soon. If not, they will come on Friday.

cleaning

2007-08-24T11:22:00.000-04:00

No pictures from today. We spent most of the day over at Erin's house cleaning, organizing, and putting up curtains. We are planning on going to a children's hospital tomorrow. Thank you for your continued prayers.

Day Center

2007-08-23T15:27:00.000-04:00

We traveled to Timisoara today to visit a ministry to street children. When we arrived at 11:00 a.m, there were several children waiting for the place to open at 11:30 a.m. By noon there were eleven children ranging in age from about ten to early adult. The smell was rather difficult to deal with and several of them were clearly suffering from the effects of drug abuse. But the most difficult thing for me to get my head around was the fact that these kids actually live on the street. They don't go home at night. It is one thing to see them on pictures or a video. But to interact with a child who lives on the street was mind-blowing for me.

Four of the eleven left after about twenty minutes even though they are supposed to stay until five. I think that they might have been kicked out for the day because of poor behavior, though I am unsure what they did.

Baron kicks the ball during game time. By the way, Laurel won the game.

The boy on the right is Elvis. He seemed like a rather sharp kid. He ran away from his parents when they decided to get a divorce. After six years on the street, he is considering contacting his grandmother to see if she will take him in.

The man in the middle is a leader in the center.

The boy on the left is a very active and distractible ball of life. During the spiritual challenge, the boy kept on making waves with his stomach muscles.

safe arrival

2007-08-22T15:39:00.000-04:00

We are safe and sound in Romania. Though Laurel suffering through a difficult fourth day of her cold today, we had an enjoyable day. Our room has no windows, and so we slept much longer than expected. After we woke up we had lunch and ran some errands with Baron Howerton. We discovered that Romania doesn't convert won (S. Korean currency) into Lei (Romanian currency). After dinner, we went to church for a Bible study. It was all in Romanian, so I kept thinking, I hope to be able to understand this eventually. Tomorrow we are scheduled to visit an organization run by New Zealanders that works with street children during the day.

I didn't take many pictures today. But here they are anyway. I hope to send more in the days to follow as I have time and internet availability.

This picture is actually from Tuesday in the Munich airport. It was so peaceful in the area that we were waiting. And there was complimentary tea and coffee. I had black tea with milk. Laurel had some green tea with an added fruity taste. Sorry about it being crooked. I was pretty tired at the time.

This is a street in Lugoj where we stopped on one the errands. We went to two banks, two phone stores, three hardware stores, and three residences.

This is the view from the top of the stairs, leading to the guest apartment that we are lodging in.

catch you later

2007-08-20T09:01:00.000-04:00

We are scheduled to depart for Romania this afternoon. I am not sure how regular our access to a computer will be, so my entries may be few in number for about a month. In the mean time, please pray for us.

back from the beach

2007-08-18T21:15:00.000-04:00

We just got back from our week-long visit with my Ohio family. We went to our traditional vacation spot, Cherry Grove, South Carolina. It was a great week.

A short-lived storm rolled in and out early in the week.

Here's mom at the second put-put place we visited.
The first place was rude to us and didn't get our business.

Jessica prepares to audition for a Coke commercial (not really).

Mom relaxes.

The simulated pirate fight caused some nice mist to spray upon us during the heat of the game. But the effect was quickly lost when the fort burst into flames.

The whole family

It was windy and the sun was in our eyes, but other than that, the picture is great.

The Flooms invade!

Geoffry and Elizabeth

Norm and Steff

Abbie, Molly, Moriah, Caroline, and Melody

not balmy

2007-08-10T06:06:00.000-04:00

After church on Wednesday night, Laurel and I were sitting in the car, and before I started it and its air conditioner, I commented on the extreme heat of the evening. "It is balmy!" I said with confidence. Laurel protested, saying "I think you mean muggy." This prompted a discussion as to the meaning of the word balmy. From time to time, we have this kind of discussion. Most of the time, my definition is correct. But when we looked up the word balmy, we discovered that it meant pleasantly warm. This most certainly does not describe the condition of the weather this week. Upon further reflection, muggy was not the right word either. Instead, let us describe the weather as rather like a blast-furnace.

games, games, games

2007-08-07T08:47:00.000-04:00

Whereas last week was the week of organization, this is the week of socialization. In the morning, I managed to have devotions, exercise, purchase our tickets to Romania, and call our health insurance company. I felt rather productive. In the afternoon and evening, we stopped accomplishing tasks and started enjoying fellowship with people who we hadn't visited with in over a year. At separate times, we visited with Carissa and Paul Michael. In the course of our visiting, we managed to play Apples to Apples and some fiendish square/diagonal tile game called Blokus. I won a single game Apples to Apples, but Paul Michael pounded Laurel and I in both rounds of Blokus.

boxes, boxes, boxes

2007-08-01T10:56:00.001-04:00

All of the twenty-five boxes have been unpacked and mostly organized. It was a colossal undertaking, but it is mostly finished. We still have a little desk that needs to have the piles removed and organized, but we need to buy a file box and another bookshelf before the organizational nightmare can be forgotten.

preparation

2007-07-30T20:57:00.000-04:00

Laurel and I had a good meeting this morning with our pastor and our mission director. We discussed our plans, goals, and desires. It was nice to see our mission director interacting with our pastor. It was encouraging to see the philosophy of the mission (taking the role of supporting and not controlling the local church's ministry with the missionaries) fleshed out in real life.

In addition to the meeting, we worked on organization, preparing for the transition to pre-field ministry.

Korean Lesson #3

2007-07-27T16:05:00.000-04:00

Social norms are not universal.

In America, asking an adult's age is not a polite question, especially if the person is a woman. In Korea, it is almost always one of the first questions that is asked when you meet someone new.
In America, toilet paper stays in the restroom. In Korea, you may see it sitting on tables in some rather nice restaurants. They use it just like napkins.
In America, most people would not tell you if they think that you are overweight. In Korea, my boss once told me "maybe, you are a little bit fat."
In America, you eat the food on your plate and no one else's. In Korea, sometimes you don't even have a plate; everyone eats out of the same communal dishes.
In America, you would almost never talk about someone sitting right next to you. In Korea, wifes often say "please pray for my husband, he came home drunk last night. I was very angry." They say this with their husbands sitting right next to them. The husband wouldn't be shocked or angry at all.
In America, stripes, plaid, and polka dots don't go together. In Korea, they are a perfect match.
In America, ladies wear sneakers or boots for hiking. In Korea, it is not uncommon for ladies to climb hills in high heals.
In America, teenage boys don't hold hands. In Korea, it is quite acceptable.
In America, high school lasts no more than six hours a day (Monday - Friday). Some Korean students are in school from 9:00-9:00 on the weekdays and a half day on Saturday.
In America, good birthday presents are nice looking things that you may or may not ever use. In Korea, good birthday presents include practical gifts like haircuts and socks.

only eating

2007-07-27T15:56:00.000-04:00

Well candidate orientation is all finished for me. Laurel is at the ladies' tea, and I am left to pack up for our trip back to Greenville. All that is left on the schedule before our departure is eating dinner.

We have had a wonderful time and are so thankful that the Lord has directed us to Biblical Ministries Worldwide. God has wonderful things in store for us, and I feel privileged to participate in them.

appointees

2007-07-25T19:47:00.000-04:00

Today the mission board announced that they voted to take us on as missionary appointees. After welcoming us, they read some scripture to encourage us and then prayed.

We have two more days of candidate orientation but are now officially with BMW. After orientation, we plan to prepare for pre-field ministry, visit with family, take a survey trip, and then get started visiting churches.

relief

2007-07-24T22:39:00.000-04:00

We met with the board this afternoon. I really believed that it would not be difficult, but for some reason I was extremely nervous before I got in there. Once we went in, I felt fine and had an enjoyable time sharing my testimony. The men were very encouraging, and Laurel said that I did a good job. Tomorrow will reveal the final answer.

spud

2007-07-22T23:13:00.001-04:00

Laurel and I had a wonderful conversation with a man at church tonight. Everyone calls him Spud, but his real name is Charles Willoughby. He had an amazing testimony of the opportunities he has had to minister as a missionary in South America. He spoke of the Lord protecting him and his family from an armed group of people who broke into his house and of the Lord using a great tragedy in his life to help him to minister to people who were hurting in ways that I just cannot imagine. It was an encouragement unto faithfulness and trust in the Lord.

half-way

2007-07-21T22:48:00.000-04:00

Well we have completed our first week of missionary candidate orientation at Biblical Ministries Worldwide (BMW). Our time has been both enjoyable and profitable. We came to BMW not knowing if we would be a good fit here. There were several large questions that Laurel and I had in our minds that could have potentially keep us from joining BMW. All of these questions have been answered in a reassuring way. We have been surprised to find how much we agree with the mission. From what we know so far, we would encourage any Fundamental Christian missionary hopeful to take a look at BMW.

Complete acceptance into BMW will not come until the end of next week. We are only half-way. So far, we have gone through five days of introduction and training classes. And we have had meetings and/or interviews with eight different people (not counting casual explanations) to explain our beliefs, values, goals, and testimony. These meetings have taken different forms. The most intense of these was on Tuesday. There were three separate hour sessions in which several different people asked us to explain and/or defend our positions on different doctrinal issues such as the Bible, the trinity, Christ, salvation, and the Holy Spirit. I have never had to do this verbally before. It is quite different from circling letters on an answer sheet. I only blanked out once. Laurel had a migraine during the sessions but managed to answer the questions quite thoughtfully in spite of it. She managed to avoid blanking out at all.

On Thursday we got the results of the DISC test that we took a month or so ago. I tested as a high C (for conscientious [translation: pedantic or OCD]) at work. This was not a total surprise to me. I was surprised, however, to see how overwhelmingly high my C category was. I am consoling myself by thinking that I am a high C only while teaching. We took a shorter DISC test during the class session. That test was not based on work and put me as a high S with a second place C. That seems more palatable some how.

Next week will bring more training sessions and more interviews. Perhaps the most intimidating of these is the board interview. We do not really know what to expect, but if the godly character and kind spirit of the administration, staff, missionary appointees, and other missionary candidates is any indication, the board probably doesn't have it out for us. In any case, at the end of next week, Laurel and I will either be missionary appointees with BMW, or we will be back to the beginning of our efforts to determine how we should go about getting to the field.

Korean Lesson #2

2007-07-15T12:54:00.000-04:00

God may be using me even when it does not seem that way to me.

As I noted several posts ago, I was surprised by the outpouring of affection that Laurel and I received from those at the bilingual service. I always felt shackled by my ignorance of the Korean language when attempting to minister at the bilingual service. Our numbers were sometimes very small, but we attempted to minister to those who came. I really enjoyed the opportunity to open God's word on so many occasions, and I counted it a privilege to work with the people there. But I often questioned the real value of what I was doing.

Likewise, in school, I wondered the extent to which my three and a half years would leave a lasting effect for good in the lives of the students. I believe that Laurel had similar thoughts. But when we were recording goodbyes from our students, they expressed a thankfulness for our teaching that was unexpected but very encouraging. I also had occasion to talk to a parent of someone who was in the youth group before moving to California. He told me that his son spoke of me often. Again I was surprised.

The events of our last two weeks in Korea helped me to realize that even when I do not see or hear a recognizable response from someone, God may still be doing something wonderful in his or her life.

Korean Lesson #1

2007-07-14T16:44:00.000-04:00

I cannot depend on my abilities.

It almost seems inaccurate to refer to this lesson as a Korean lesson. I did learn this lesson while in Korea. But this has been a life long lesson that I just cannot seem to get through my thick head. God has gifted me in quite a few ways. But I make the sinful mistake of attempting to rely on those abilities, thinking that I am sufficient. God allows so many things to come into my life that my abilities are clearly seen to be insufficient. When I look to the Lord for strength, I see His all-sufficiency anew.

Like college and grad school, my time in Korea was used to teach me this lesson. I did way more stuff than I wanted to. I did way more stuff than I think that a person should do. I did way more stuff than I could do. At times it was frustrating. At times it was infuriating. But when I looked to Christ for strength, He was always enough.

errand world

2007-07-12T07:26:00.000-04:00

When I was young my mother would often tell me that she had to go run some errands and that she would be back at such-in-such a time. For some reason I completely romanticized this concept. Errands seemed so mysterious and exciting. I was too young to run errands myself, but I really wanted to. Aah, how times do change. Laurel and I have been doing many errands over the past several days. I no longer consider them to by mysterious or exciting.

Take yesterday's major errands for example. We wanted to get a driver's license and update our car's tags. To simple tasks right? Ha ha ha! When we went to the DMV, we were told that we needed more identification and proof of residency. Well, I wasn't excited about having driven out to Greer for no reason, but I figured that the requirements were reasonable. We then made our way to the Greenville County Office to pay our road tax. They wouldn't let us. "No, no, no, please don't pay your taxes." The problem again was that we didn't have sufficient proof of residency. This was a mystery to me. Why do you have to prove something in order to pay taxes. I guess that this mystery might qualify errands as mysterious, but it wasn't what I had in mind when I was young.

Anyhow, we had gone several places and accomplished nothing. It was then time to pick Laurel's mother up from the Furman library and head home. After accomplishing this task, we headed back to the DMV to wait an hour away before we got our new driver's licenses. I was so sad to have to surrender my old Ohio license, I feel like a traitor to Ohio. But the lady at the counter said that I wasn't allowed to have two licenses.

We finally accomplished our first goal, and we hope to be able to pay our road tax today.

half-way through

2007-07-10T05:21:00.000-04:00

We are back in America and are doing well. I took ill on the plane, but I am am doing much better now. Alas, the illness seems to have made readjusting to our new time zone more difficult than usual. Laurel's adjustment is slow going too. We are both waking up really early and having great difficulty falling back to sleep. This is why I am blogging at such a monstrous hour.

logging off

2007-07-04T12:07:00.000-04:00

I am about to put our delightful little Mac Mini into its original box before packing it in my carry on. So there will be no more internet action from us in Korea. We have a long trip ahead of us. If you read this before 6:00 p.m. EST, pray for us. I look forward to seeing some of you soon.

unexpected sadness

2007-07-02T10:31:00.000-04:00

This weekend was a weekend of closings. On Saturday afternoon, Laurel held her last girls Bible study, and then we presented our burden for European street children at the Haven that evening. We were very happy to see so many of the young people attend the presentation.

On Sunday morning we hung our hat. It is a tradition at the Haven to hang a hat with your name on it before you leave. Our hat also had the url to this blog. This is not a tradition. We are the first to do such a thing. Here are some happy pictures from the event.

the hanging

Laurel and I with Pastor Stewart

Laurel and I with Grace and her mother

Laurel and I with Ruth

Laurel and I with Dan

On Sunday afternoon, we went to our last bilingual service. I expected the bilingual service to be difficult for me, but I was surprised at how difficult it was. I was also taken back by how difficult it seemed to be for the people at the service. Many of us were close to tears, if not actually in tears. It is sad for me to leave them, but I am glad that the Lord has used Laurel and I in their lives. I count it a privilege.

a surprising desire

2007-06-28T23:31:00.000-04:00

Well, changing things up from yesterday, when I told a class that I was going away, Moses said that he was happy. Miss Shim (my boss) assured me that he probably misunderstood, but it didn't seem that way to me. It seemed to me that he was just being ornery. Strangely, Moses is a student who I have always found very easy to love.

a surprising request

2007-06-27T23:32:00.000-04:00

Almost every class has its problem child, frequently they are the bright but board kind. Well today, in one of my kindergarten classes, I told my students that I was leaving in a week. Alphonse (definitely a student who has required extra love) responded by telling me that he did not want me to go back to America. I was sad that I was leaving him, but I was gratified to know that the extra love (hard though it was to give out at times) was received.

concerns allayed

2007-06-27T00:33:00.000-04:00

Laurel has been under the weather recently, and I have been trying to help her to recover. In connection with this, we have been taking it easy on the preparations for returning to the states. However, she discovered that our lack of action was concerning me. This morning I came back from work and saw her packing. It made my heart swell with love for her--not because of what she was doing but because of why she was doing it. She was trying to allay my concerns. Unfortunately it produced a new concern, that she will not get well as quickly because of overdoing it.

5 more

2007-06-26T10:16:00.000-04:00

The excitement continues to build as our commitment at K.C.I.S. is nearly fulfilled. We only have five more days of teaching left. How is this possible?

forms, forms, forms

2007-06-23T09:21:00.000-04:00

As we continue the application process with the mission board that we are considering, we are coming into contact with forms, forms, and more forms. I was warned by others who are already with different boards that this would be the case, but for some reason, I didn't really believe them. I thought, "yeah, yeah, it will probably be like an application and a query or two." Ha ha ha! Oh how I show my lack of knowledge and wisdom. There are many, many forms to fill out. I think that one point of all the forms must be to see if you are really interested or not. It's a real life personality test that determines persistent you are, getting rid of the faint of heart early on.

realization

2007-06-22T02:57:00.000-04:00

Last night Laurel and I were talking about scheduling a phone conversation with someone in Germany. I commented that we didn't have anything to do this weekend, meaning that we didn't have anywhere that we were scheduled to be or anything that we had scheduled to do. She responded by saying we had to do a lot of things, mistaking my comment to mean that we could just relax all weekend. Her misunderstanding brought me to an unpleasant realization of the shortness of our time here and how much we still have to do before we leave. I knew this to be true before, but our conversation brought it to the forefront of my mind. It is intimidating.

a Korean exodus

2007-06-20T17:19:00.000-04:00

Yesterday the Threlfalls and the Mahaneys left Korea. On Sunday the Mertz family is leaving. And we are leaving on the fifth. Will anyone be left in Korea after this flood of departures? Most likely.

I broke down and started counting down. I'm not sure how many calendar days that I have left, but counting the day that is just beginning, I have nine more days of teaching.

surrender

2007-06-19T00:01:00.000-04:00

Thus far Korea's summer has seemed surprisingly mild to me. We are more than half way through the month of June, and I have not turned on the air conditioner in the apartment even once. However, our apartment is in an alley, and this helps prolong coolness.

I'm happy to say that my classroom large and bright. But with the weather turning warmer. Today I found myself standing in front of the fan and still sweating buckets while teaching my K5 phonics class. So I've broken down. I've resisted long enough. The air conditioner has been turned on. It feels better already. Hopefully I can resist starting the energy consuming beast a little longer at the apartment.

year of cries

2007-06-18T21:57:00.000-04:00

Each year at our school's kindergarten orientation in February, the kindergarten teachers look at the new students interacting with their parents, and we postulate concerning who is about break into tears. There are usually about three or four that cry at the orientation and another five or so that cry the next week when school actually starts. But after the initial shock of starting school, the crying has always stopped.

Unfortunately, this year has proven anomalous in this matter. I can usually be assured of one or two students crying each week, and we are into our fourth month of school. I'm not sure what has brought it about, but I've discovered that a baller really makes it difficult to sing happy little kindergarten songs.

picnic

2007-06-16T03:51:00.001-04:00

Today, we enjoyed a nice picnic on top of the mountain today. Ryan, Mary, Ruth, Laurel, and I went with our lunches and ate a relaxing meal on some benches under an arbor. Mary is leaving tomorrow, and we will be gone by the time she returns to Korea. It was nice to spend some time with her today. We plan to say our final goodbye tonight at church. They are coming to see Pastor Stewart's daughter and son-in-law at the evening service.