We smiled recently as we re-read the Threlfalls spring prayer asking for a furlough replacement. They mentioned wanting an older couple, without children, with pastoral experience. Well, Jocelyn and I are a couple, at least!
Our children, however, have been a blessing more than a hinderance. It was expensive to bring them and sometimes a distraction to care for them, but they are our open door to the Korean people. When I go out in public by myself I am largely ignored, but when we go out with the kids we are immediately the center of attention.
Complete strangers stop us on the street and ask if we can get together so their kids can play with our kids. The primary reason is to practice English. All Korean kids are learning English, sometimes for hours every week, and their parents seem to see it as the ticket to get ahead in life.
Here is a typical scene in the park. Hannah in the blue stroller is the bewildered center of attention. Talking to my wife is Mrs. Joh, who has "no religion" but she attended a missionary school as a girl. She is very friendly and open to talk, as are many of the Korean mothers we meet.
Stephen is eager for a chance to play again with Mrs. Joh's son Mark (Moo Jin). They have a daughter You-nah who is Hannah's age. Here Hannah, You-nah, and Mr. Joh try out the "foot exercise path." We want to follow up on all these contacts and spend time with these people but we are frankly overwhelmed with how many contacts we have and how short a time we will be here.
Here is another contact. Dr. Oh is the pediatrician who treated Hannah when she was sick. His wife, Dr. Park, is also a medical doctor, and Mrs. Threlfall's Korean teacher. Korean women do not take their husband's name when they get married, leading to no end of confusion for Americans like us. There is apparently not even a word for "Mrs." in Korean. We are still greatly confused about what to call whom. In any case, doctors Oh and Park have two sons the age of our sons, and are very friendly. We are hoping for more chances to spend time with them.
On Friday Jocelyn and the kids went to a museum with Mrs. Choi, another contact from the park.
Young-Joo, a Christian from Seoul Bible Church, invited us to her apartment for a traditional Korean dinner on Sunday. Her mother (center left) was recently converted from Buddhism. Sue (far left) is another Christian from church. Melody Lenox (far right) is a teacher at the school.
Koreans have a table FULL of side dishes. Seated behind Elliot is Beth Barth, another one of the school teachers.
Bill was back in the Christian school for another science lesson this week. He also spoke at the high school graduation on Friday.
Stephen and Elliot visited school for one afternoon this week. Ronald (behind Elliot to his left) is a new friend from Pakistan. Camilla Becker teaches 3rd-4th grade where Stephen visited.
Here are some more glimpses of life in Korea. This is E-mart, our American-style grocery store. I can assure you we are not suffering here in Korea. No open air markets, no dog meat, no bartering over prices. And note the McDonalds in the back. Other than an inability to read anything, shopping is much like at home.
Here is a favorite food not available in America - Chocolate Chex!
You may notice that Koreans generally dress very nicely and modestly in public. This is a pleasant change from home. There is one odd exception - coloring your hair has become popular amoung the young people. The color in this photo is not not a wig and is not exaggerated. Purple and yellow are available as well.
Below is my view as I leave the subway station in downtown Sanbon coming home late at night. The town is alive at night, and not just with adults and night life as in America. Families, people coming home late from work (like me!), people shopping. It is quite a sight.
Also shown is the street during the day. There is ALWAYS a crowd in Seoul - if you can't handle crowds don't come to Korea.
After speaking 23 times in 19 days, I decided to take a vacation day and we took our kids to the zoo.
