December 2009

Two days left till Christmas! I can hardly believe this school year is almost half over. Sometimes it's almost frightening how quickly time passes.

School ended for the holidays last Wednesday; I am thoroughly enjoying the time off. I decided to stay in Korea for the break this year for a number of reasons. I will miss (am missing...) seeing family and friends, of course, but the downtime has been very refreshing for me so far.

In school news, we should be hearing a final verdict on our certification status this month. Please continue praying for that situation as requirements and due dates change fairly frequently and it has not been easy to pin down an answer to our request.

The trip to the Philippines over Thanksgiving went very well. Because of some things that came up unexpectedly, I did not end up going on the trip, but all reports were positive and encouraging. The team was able to see God providing for their travels through working out paperwork in the airport, and they had the opportunity to minister to hundreds of people who have lost everything due to the flooding. After several days of feeding people and holding children's and adults' Bible studies, they were also able to purchase enough Bibles in the Tagalog language to pass out to everyone staying in the community center where they worked in Manila.

The two weeks of school in December were a flurry of Christmas program practices for me. Our program this year was about a young girl who organizes a food and clothing drive for the needy and in the process, learns important lessons on the reason for giving. In addition to presenting the program, we collected donations for a local food bank, and had the opportunity to take some of the elementary actors with us when we delivered the boxes. It was a wonderful way to connect with our community, and we hope to continue building that relationship.

This is also the time of year when staff members must decide whether they will return for the next school year. After much prayer and "agony of spirit" (this decision was one of the reasons I stayed in Korea instead of going to the Philippines), I have come to the conclusion that God is leading me away from Korea. I am not sure what next year looks like yet for me, but I do have peace that I am not supposed to return to ICS. It was a very difficult decision to make, and I am still working through the emotions involved, but I am at peace that the Lord is calling me to something else. He just hasn't told me what that something else is.... Please pray for me through the next few months as this will be a difficult transition to make after living here for six years.

I hope and pray that all of you are well and enjoying this holiday season. May God bless you throughout the celebration of the birth of our Savior, and may you find joy in remembering the true reason He came to earth.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Fall Semester Randoms

Just some pictures from this fall semester - mostly from my classes or things I'm in charge of at school.

High school Choir class - one of the boys (Dakota) decided to fill in for me one day.... And yes, my choir is all boys this year - seven boys, to be exact. It makes for an interesting class dynamic.


8th Grade interpreting music with art.






Elementary music classes practicing songs for the upcoming Christmas Program.






Chapel Team getting ready to lead songs on a Wednesday morning.






Chapel Team at my house for an "in-service" and dinner (as always, the best way to get teenagers to cooperate is to offer them food...).




High School Choir opening the Christmas Program - all seven of them. =)




A mix of shots from the Elementary Program; the story line this year was about giving to others in need, so we collected donations for the local food bank as the "admission price."










Of course, no program would be complete without the one child randomly playing with dust particles in the stage lighting....


Lastly, a picture of my cat revelling in the floor heat. She's happy to have me home on break because it means the heat is on all day instead of just at night. =)