Christmas with Some Special Friends!

Christmas week was relaxing, yet filled with many joyful experiences with some special friends!  It was a very cold week but my heart was very warm!  We even had snow on Christmas Day and then again on Saturday!  This morning going to church and choir was very "skiddy" as one our neighbors used to say! :-)  I made it though without falling although I saw a number of people taking a spill on the slippery sidewalks and streets!  It was worth getting through the ice and snow just to hear the choir sing Handel's Hallelujah Chorus and the excellent message form Pastor Park!

I think I will let the pictures tell the stories of this past week!  I trust you enjoyed a very special Christmas with family and friends!

Monday, December 24 -  Lunch with two friends from Pyeongtaek, Luke and Andrew, at Sjui's, their choice!

Here I am at Suji's with Andrew and Luke, two friends who graduated from Pyeongtaek International Christian School.  Tony Kuhn introduced them to me and we have become excellent friends.  Your prayers for these two young men are appreciated.  Andrew is a freshman at Seattle Pacific University and Luke is seeking to enter the Air Force.

Luke chose the chocolate chip french toast with 

whipped cream!

Andrew chose the Lumber Jack breakfast!!

 I selected the Jason Deluxe Cheeseburger.  Of course 

all tasted a little of each other's meal - as is good Korean

manners! :-)

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Monday, December 24 - Dinner at the Hamilton Grill with a former SYME student and Doosan Bears' fan, Kangwook (Aidan) and his girlfriend!

Christmas Eve with my very good friend, Kangwook and his girlfriend, Seul Hee. Kangwook went to SYME for a couple terms and then returned to university.  He is now working as a Research Engineer for the Hyundai Motor Group in Korea.  They are a delightful couple and I was so happy to spend Christmas Eve with them.

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Christmas Day, 2012 - Carol and Ivan Franck invited YISS staff who were in the Seoul area and were not going anywhere on Christmas to their apartment for a Christmas feast and celebration!

These two pictures show Carol and Ivan Franck, as they
prepare the punch and Hot Chocolate for our Christmas
feast in their apartment.  What a great time we had!

The Francks' Christmas tree - just part of the beautifully decorated apartment to put us in the Christmas spirit!

Above is my first plate of delicious food!  I won't tell you

how much more I ate!  And this did not include desserts!

Above are those who were able to enjoy this special Christmas with the Francks.  The Bridegmans and Lazors joined the Francks and me for a great time of fellowship and fun!

This picture was taken right after my "girlfriend,"

Nora - one of the Lazors' children - brought me a

slice of pumpkin pie with whipped cream on it.  Nora

wanted the little antler hat she has on her head and I 

had gotten that as my white elephant gift.  Nora knows

she can bribe me with whipped cream so that's what she

did!  It was so cute but she doesn't like getting her picture

taken so she has on her "mean" face! :-)

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Thursday, December 27 - Lunch with a YISS high school senior, Arnold, at Suji's - his choice!

I am with Arnold, a high school senior at YISS, at Suji's.  He had never been there and heard a lot about it so he wanted to go there.  This young man is such a joy!  He has a heart for making money so that he can help those who are in poverty.  He has been accepted at Penn State University and New York University.  I know he would value your prayers as he decides on which university.  He lives with his father and brother and hasn't seen his mother since he was in 7th grade.  

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Thursday, December 27 - Dinner with Jin Seok (Simon) at a new restaurant for me, Autumn in New York!

Here is my excellent friend, Jin Seok at Autumn in New York in Itaewon!  This was the first time at this restaurant and we both enjoyed it very much!  Jin Seok is studying interpretation and translation at Handong Global University near Pohang in the southern part of South Korea.  I asked him if he had any prayer concerns.  He said his studies, but then added that he really wants to find a wife! Thanks for praying for Jin Seok!

Friday, December 28 - I went with Jin Seok to Hongik University to an art exhibition put on by the senior art students at Hongik.  His cousin, Gil Bin is a senior there.

I wish I could show you all of the paintings we saw at

the Hongik University College of Fine Arts Senior Art 

Exhibition.  Above is one of Gilbin's paintings.  There 

were over 30 paintings in the exhibit and hers was the 

first to be bought! Above is Gilbin and her friend, then

Jin Seok and me.

Above are two of the paintings that caught my eye as I went through the exhibit!  There were others but I don't have room for all of them.

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Saturday, December 29 - A delicious brunch with Gunmo at Pancake Story, a restaurant I discovered near my home.  I am sure I will be going there more often!!

I had a delightful time with my excellent friend, Gunmo, at the Pancake Story, a restaurant I have heard good things about but never went.  Saturday I took Gunmo there for our Christmas Brunch! We always have a great time talking about many topics and Saturday was no exception.  We also exchanged some Christmas gifts.  You will note that Gunmo gave me the perfect gift!  Yes, that is correct; a can of Reddiwip Whipped Cream!!  Please continue to pray for this dear young man as he continues to study and prepare to serve the Lord.  I am excited that he may be able to stay in my apartment.  He is currently living with his sister and brother-in-law and their two children.  He loves that but he really has no quiet time or privacy.  Thanks for praying for him.

This is perhaps the most delicious omelet I have ever eaten!  At the Pancake Story they specialize in "Puffy" omelets.  I had the Mozzarella Omelet and Gunmo enjoyed the Garden Omelet. They were both amazing!

Gunmo captured this picture of me right after I received my omelet.  I could not believe it!  Sooooo good!!

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Saturday, December 29 - Today included a late afternoon visit with Yeongmin to see Les Miserables, which we both enjoyed.  Yeongmin was seeing it for the second time.  He was very moved during different parts of the movie - especially with those parts dealing with forgiveness and redemption.  Praying that we will be able to continue to talk about these concepts and that he will come to know Jesus Christ.  After the movie we went to another new restaurant called Blacksmith with his university friend and mine, Sungmin.  I am sorry but I failed to get pictures Saturday evening so you will have to imagine the yummy spoon pizza and pasta we enjoyed!

OK, that's it for this week. More next week!  By then we will be enjoying 2013!  I trust that you will experience a great New Year!  Thank you very much for your love, prayers, encouragement, and support!  What a blessing you continue to be to me!

Love, Gregg

'Twas the Week Before Christmas!

The week before Christmas was a busy, but very relaxing one!  I traveled to Chiang Mai, Thailand and stayed at a beautiful resort for those who are involved in ministry throughout the world.  It is called The Juniper Tree!  I was able to relax, read, enjoy Chiang Mai, walk, enjoy WARM weather, visit a former PBU (Cairn University now) student and friend, meet new friends, ride an elephant, play with the tigers, and so much more.  I will not be able to include everything in the blog.  If you haven't checked me out on Facebook yet, please click on "Gregg Garman" on Facebook and ask to be added as a friend.  Then you can see many more pictures!

The Juniper Tree - A group of former missionaries set up a foundation and developed this beautiful and relaxing resort in Chang Mai to be used on a donation basis by those who are in ministry throughout the world, but especially in Asia!  I as able to make some wonderful new friends and enjoy some delicious food!  I loved sleeping without an air conditioner and waking to the beautiful singing of the birds!  It is just a very relaxing location and truly enjoyable!

The main reception area with the Business Office at Juniper Tree.

This was the entrance to two of the cottages.  Mine

was on the left side.

Many mornings and late afternoons I would come here

to read and think and relax!  It is a beautiful and calming

area around the pool especially when very few are there at the time!

 One of the new fruits I enjoyed!  This is
a mangosteen!  It doesn't look so nice on the
outside, but once inside...sooo yummy!

Above is another fruit I learned to love!  This is the

Jackfruit!  Again, not very appealing on the outside,

but inside is a yellow and very tasty fruit!!  I am going

to start searching all over Korea for these fruits!

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Masea Elephant Camp and Tiger Kingdom - On Tuesday I had the delight of traveling to these two locations and spending the day with elephants and tigers!!  It was so much fun!  I loved riding the elephant, but I must say I could not be a Thai elephant trainer and rider! Oh man, I do not know how they ride those huge animals every day!  I loved riding up the hills, but when they came down the hills, I thought I was actually going to fly ride out of the seat I was sitting in on top of the elephant and go right over the Thai trainer and the elephant to somewhere unknown!!  I loved the bathing of the elephants and the elephant show where the elephants painted beautiful paintings, played soccer and basketball, bowed, and did all sorts of tricks!

These two elephants were quite frisky!  I thought the trainer was trying to put the hat on me, but later discovered it was the elephant!  The one on the right was using his trunk to inspect most of my body!  He actually put his trunk inside the front of my shirt and people watching began laughing very loudly!  Then he reached around to my backside and I was just trying to behave! :-)

Here I am coming down the hills!  The trainer had just slid off the head of the elephant and was taking my picture as the elephant kept walking!  I thought I was going to fly, but I made it!

I was able to go inside the cages of the small tigers and the largest tigers at Tiger Kingdom and play with the tigers.  I spent time with 5 small tigers and 5 very large tigers!  People have asked me already, "Were they stuffed?"  No, they were real.  In fact in the large tiger playground, the one tiger let out a huge growl just as I was about ready to get settled down with one of the other tigers.  Many people were frightened but the trainers said there was no worry!  All settled back down and we all enjoyed a great time with the tigers!

Here I am with one of the small tigers!

I had the pleasure of being with 4 others

but this one captured my heart!  Look at 

the size of that paw!  Isn't he cute?

Then I went to the biggest tigers and had fun with 5 

of them!  This one was my favorite.  Look at his eyes!  

He loved it when I rubbed his back and belly!

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A LOT OF THAI - I had a very special opportunity with 6 other people to visit a hoe where a Thai lady and her husband have developed a Thai cooking class.  Yui, the Thai lady who was teaching us has written a cook book and has been on several TV shows including one in America called "Extreme Chef" where she was a judge.  That was is still to be aired.  She was amazing and patient and taught us how to make five Thai dishes.  We made them and then ate them!!  Oh, you should have been with me!  We learned about chili peppers and how to tell which ones are hotter than others... so you can adjust for your degree of spiciness.  She also said that not everyone uses the fish sauce that is in most of the Thai food and you can keep it out and it still can taste very Thai!  Yui also took us to the market to show us where she buys her ingredients!  It was an amazing day - yes, it was all day from 9:30 until 5:30!  I was very full when I left, but enjoyed every bite!!

On the right above I am preparing one of the five dishes Yui taught us!  This one is Fried Brown Rice with Thai Herbs!  I loved all five dishes we made!  On the left I am with Yui as she shows the Thai cookbook she has written.  She had just autographed it for me.

This is my presentation of Kaow-Pad-Sa-Moon-Prai (Friend Brown Rice with Thai Herbs).  It was quite yummy - if I must say so myself! :-)

Here are the six other people from various parts of the world who came to learn and enjoy Thai cooking.  We are eating our Fried Brown Rice dish!  After each dish, we sat down and enjoyed eating it!

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Special Surprise: Meeting Mike Riley - Through Facebook I discovered that a former student of mine at PBU is now serving with World Team in Chiang Mai!  Mike Riley and his delightful family live only about 10 minutes from The Juniper Tree! What a wonderful reunion we had!  Please pray for Mike and his family as they are working with junior high students at the church + working to help get rid of the sex trafficking in Chiang Mai and Thailand that has been devastating Thai girls and boys.

Above I am with the Riley family!  Mike and his wife,

Daniela with me in back.  Suzi and Will up front on the

porch of their nice home in Chiang Mai!

Mike took me to the Wawee Himping Coffee

Shop, located on the Ping River in Chiang Mai.

We had a great time catching up with each other

and enjoying some good coffee!

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Chiang Mai - Chiang Mai is a beautiful city.  What I loved was that almost every Thai person I met was so quick to smile and show kindness to me!  I loved walking the streets of Chiang Mai during the day and at night and observing the people.  If you can go to Chiang Mai, you really must experience the Night Bazaar!  What an experience!  Sooooo many people - both buyers and sellers!  It is wall-to-wall people.  It was so crowded on the streets that I tripped over a chair and several people!  I think I scared everyone, but I was fine; just upset with myself that I had to make an entrance in this manner!

Some of the many flowers for sale at the 

Day Market in Chiang Mai! I was told that 

the King of Thailand got rid of all of the 

opium plants on the hillsides in Chiang Mai

and asked people to replace them with flowers

that they could sell.  It has been great and

there are flowers everywhere!

I am about ready to eat my Thai dinner at the Cultural Dinner and Show I attended on Thursday 

evening!  The food was so good and the cultural dances and show were wonderful!

Above is one of my servers at the Cultural 

dinner show!  He was great!  Notice the great 

smile that was always on the Thai faces when

you stopped to talk with them!

This is the beginning of the Night Market!  Burger King is on one corner, Starbucks on another corner and McDonalds on the third one.  Then the streets are just filled with vendors and people crowding the streets to purchase some of the goods!

I stopped at this dear lady's booth and purchased some

bracelets.  She told me that her son makes them so he

can earn some money to go to school.

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Christmas Brunch with Yeongmin at Walker Hill - Today, Sunday, I had made reservations four weeks ago for the Christmas Brunch at Walker Hill Hotel in Seoul!  It is a famous hotel and the Sunday Brunch is well known throughout the city!  The Director of Food Services at Walker Hill is the father of one of our 4th grade students, Joshua.  Mr. Hickey and his wife have been encouraging me to come to the brunch so often so I finally decided to go!  It was a very special afternoon!  But Yeongmin and I ate soooo much!  We were very full with so many taste treats.

Yeongmin and I at the Walker Hill Sunday Brunch!  It was great to spend some tie with Yeongmin and catch up a bit.  We had a very wonderful Christmas Brunch together!  I am so sorry to my choir members at the New Harvest Choir.  They had a special Christmas lunch today but I could not attend.  I had to get reservations for the Walker Hill Christmas Brunch 4 weeks ago and did not know about the Choir Christmas lunch until 2 weeks ago.

My first plate of goodies!  I will not tell you how many 

times I returned to fill a plate!  But I enjoyed every bite. :-)

This is one of the dessert bars at the Brunch!  That is a chocolate fondue machine at the back of the table!  I had some pineapple dipped in the fondue as well as a mini pastry!

This was the view from our table!  We looked out on 

the Han River during Brunch!  It was a wonderful way

to begin Christmas week!

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I want to take this opportunity to thank you for being so encouraging and supportive of me as I serve at YISS!  It is great to have a couple weeks of rest and relaxation.  I will be going into YISS the  week after Christmas to work on the After School Activities Project.  Administrators only get one week off at Christmas; last week in Thailand was a week where I used 5 days of my vacation time.  It was worth it!  Thanks again for all you do for me!  Please enjoy a wonderful and meaningful Christmas!  Happy New Year, too!

Love, Gregg

Quarter Two Ends; Christmas Break Begins!!

This past week was a cold one outside, but it was quite warm and lively inside the walls of YISS! High School students were taking final exams!  The Elementary School had its 7th and final Christmas concert!  The YISS staff and their families were treated to a magnificent Christmas Gala at the Seoul Hilton Ballroom!  Christmas was everywhere; class parties, Christmas Dress Day to the delight of the teachers and elementary students, the Elementary Christmas Assembly in the High School gym, and much more!

I think I will let the pictures give you a glimpse of the very busy week!  I still can't believe Quarter Two is finished and teachers have three weeks to refresh and celebrate Christmas!  Please pray for the staff.  Many are flying back to Canada or the States to be with family.  Others, including me, are heading to nearby warm countries!  Still others are celebrating with family or friends in Italy, Germany, and France.  Pray that they will have safe travels and return refreshed and ready for Quarter Three!

YISS Christmas Gala! The YISS staff were treated to a very delightful Christmas evening on Monday at the Seoul Hilton.  It was a beautiful event and everyone had a great time!

This is the gorgeous Christmas tree that 

greeted us as we entered the Seoul Hilton!

Here I am sitting in front of the other side of the Seoul Hilton Christmas tree!

The picture on the left above is the center section of the large ice sculpture that had been prepared by the staff at the Seoul Hilton for our group!  On the right is the table setting awaiting us for dinner.

Above is my plate of food after my first trip to the huge
buffet spread!  The food was amazing and so plentiful!!

Above is Mr. Lazor, Elementary Principal,

with one of his daughters, Nora.  Nora is my

girlfriend and gave me her special look in this 

picture!  :-)  She is so cute!  She always asks

me if I have any chocolate for her!

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Quarter Two After School Activities End! This was our final week of After School Activities in Quarter Two.  I am working on finalizing all of the activities for Quarter Three.

Above are three pictures of three of the 2nd and 3rd grade students who were taking the Ceramics After School Activity this past quarter.  They were working on making a reindeer this past week!  I love the intensity and focus they are expressing in their creations!

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Class Christmas Parties All Week!  Each elementary class had a party sometime during the week.  Everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time and learning about the real meaning of Christmas.  I was very moved by one of our 4th grade sections.  Instead of bringing gifts, they decided to have a Market Day and give the proceeds to an organization called Gospel for Asia.  They always invite me and always have whipped cream ready for me.  I believe three boys had some food items that they put whipped cream on.  They are always surprised when I only ask for a cup of whipped cream! :-)  One even had freshly made whipped cream!  I was enjoying eating my whipped cream! :-)

Ms. McGinnis took her kindergarten cherubs to several classrooms to sing Christmas songs.  Above are some of her delightful children singing for Grade 1C.

Here are a few of the 1C students listening

to KB students sing!

Mr. Adams with his 1C students enjoying the  KB

students singing for them this past week!

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Friday was a Christmas Dress Down Day and our big Christmas Assembly!

 On the left is a little boy from Grade 1 and on the left is a little girl from Grade 2.  They came to school dressed in these wonderful costumes!  They are so cute!

Above (left) is one of our great second grade teachers, Ms. Weir, in her Christmas

outfit! (It was also Starbucks Friday and Ms. Weir is proudly holding her Toffee

Nut Latte!)  :-)  On the right are Ms. Everett from Grade 3C and Ms. Greaves from 4C 

wearing their masks which appear to be a mix between Santa and Rudolph!

Friday we also had our annual Christmas Assembly for the entire Elementary School.  It was a wonderful morning as Mrs. Franck had puppets doing a skit that asked and answered the question: What really is Christmas?  Above is the entire elementary student body getting ready to listen to the fifth graders sing Handel's Hallelujah Chorus. 

This is Ms. Bandy, grade 5C teacher, with Havin, Mr. Murphy's (grade 5A teacher) daughter.  They were enjoying the puppets at the time.  It was a great morning as all the students head once again about the coming of Jesus Christ and His gift to all people.

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This week I want to leave you with a picture of me with one of the seniors.  Arnold Byun met me the first day I came to YISS when students were present.  For the longest time he thought I was the Headmaster!  We still joke about that.  He is a fine Christian young man and has received early acceptance at Penn State University at the main campus.  Arnold is very active in many organizations and is on the Cross Country team.  He has a passion for business and finding ways to help those around the world who are less fortunate.  Arnold is the president of a campus group called The Supply, one of the most rapidly increasing non-governmental organizations.  YISS is one of 13 high school chapters and the first chapter in South Korea.

Arnold and I in the Elementary Office right after he finished his final exams.  I am really enjoying getting to know Arnold and am excited about what God has planned for his future!

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Actually I will leave you with two more pictures! :-)  Saturday afternoon I had a delightful visit in Insadong (a part of Seoul where many tourists go to sample Korean food and their arts and crafts) with three SYME friends.  Yeongmin and I met up with Allison, a former SYME teacher, and Lauren, one of our former students.  Both Yeongmin and I had not seen these two ladies in a long time.  Yeongmin took us to a famous restaurant in Insadong that prepares traditional Korean food.  One of its specialities is a dumpling (North Korean style) handmade while you wait in the restaurant.  The food was so yummy!  We had a great time catching up and enjoying one and another.

Here we are preparing to eat our yummy Korean feast!  Clockwise: GGG, Yeongmin, Lauren, and Allison.  

This is the dear lady that helped prepare the dumplings for us at our table!  It was a really tasty lunch!!

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I leave for Chiang Mai, Thailand on Sunday afternoon.  I am looking forward to some warm weather and some relaxation and sightseeing, and of course some yummy food!! :-)  I also want to ride an elephant!!  Thank you so much for your encouragement, love, prayers, and support!  Please enjoy a really meaningful Christmas with your family and friends!

Love, Gregg