Happy Chuseok!! (The Korean Thanksgiving or Harvest Festival)

It was an extremely busy week at YISS!  We call it Celebrate Korea Days and it is always packed with so many activities to share Korea and celebrate Korea with all of our students from over 45 countries!  During the busy week I was also able to meet with some of my wonderful SYME Korean university students I had the privilege of teaching and building relationships with when I was teaching at SYME.

Monday started off with all of the elementary school heading to a theater in Seoul to see JUMP - a comedic martial arts performance!  Over 400 students, teachers, and chaperones (parents) were loaded on to 15 + buses to travel to see this Korean performance.  They loved it and one of our teachers, Mr. Williamson, was brought up on stage during the performance to do some ad lib acting!  The kids absolutely loved that!

Above is a large poster of the actors in JUMP.  I was hoping I could take some pictures during the performance but that was not permitted!

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Tuesday was a very special day for me, and it turned out to be a very special day for students and teachers in Grades 4 and 5!  When I was headmaster at Mercer Christian Academy, a wonderful friend and awesome teacher at MCA introduced me to a book titled The Royal Bee.  I loved the book and it was one I brought to Korea when I came in 2008.  The Royal Bee was written by two sisters, Frances and Ginger Park.  They are Korean-American and also operate a delightful chocolate boutique in Washington, DC called Chocolate Chocolate.  When I came to YISS, I learned of other books written by the Park sisters.  One of those is titled My Freedom Trip and is an inspired fiction book which tells of the Park sisters' mother's escape in 1947 from North Korea to South Korea.  Each time that book is read to our students at YISS, they break out in applause; many are crying.  I met the Park sisters last June in DC and asked if they would come to Seoul for an Author Visit.  They said they could not travel to Seoul but would be delighted to do a Skype visit.  I was delighted!  I asked them if they could surprise our students and have their mother, who is 82, come on during the Skype visit to talk with our children!  They agreed and their mother was a great hit with our students!  The children were thrilled to meet the lady who was a girl in My Freedom Trip and hear of her many experiences escaping North Korea and meeting the man, who would become her husband, in South Korea.  Teachers and students thought it was one of our best author visits.  Frances and Ginger told me later that this was the first time any school had asked to have their mother share and she was so happy to meet our students.  The Parks said that the YISS children were their best audience ever and asked such great and creative questions!

Here are Frances and Ginger Park in their chocolate store, Chocolate Chocolate in Washington, DC.  Hope you can visit them some time there.

Above is the mother of Frances and Ginger at a book signing for her daughters in the DC area.  She certainly made a hit with our students.  What wonderful stories she has from her early days in North Korea and her escape!

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Wednesday was Korean Hanbok/Korean Sports Team Day!  Students and teachers were encouraged to wear their Korean Hanboks or jerseys/caps/uniforms from their favorite Korean sports team.  What a fun day it was!  You can see many more pictures of this great day on my Facebook page.

Above is Ms. Greaves, our 4C teacher with two fifth grade students modeling their Hanboks!

Above students from Grade 5 are modeling their Taekwondo uniforms!

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I also had to administer a couple MAP tests on Wednesday.  It was so fun to go into Grades 2 and 4 to proctor these computerized tests that measure each child's individual growth in Reading, Language, and Mathematics!  Many were taking the test while wearing their Hanboks.  It was so wonderful to observe!

Above are several fourth grade students taking their Mathematics MAP Test.  They showed great focus on the particular task at hand!

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Wednesday evening after school it was my pleasure, as always, to meet with my dear friend, Gunmo.  We wanted to meet and talk before he left to go to his father's home for Chuseok.  Please pray that Gunmo will get his needed rest and be able to do his job at work as well as finish his online classes so that he can complete his Business Degree to become a "businary."  We are both praying that his father will accept Jesus during this Chuseok visit!

Above is Gunmo at Ho Le Chow, the Chinese restaurant where we had dinner.  I love this shot of him!  It shows his amazing smile that comes from his heart!  We had a very yummy Chinese dinner + some wonderful discussions and fellowship!

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Thursday afternoon was quite busy and exciting in the afternoon as parents from each class in the elementary school came to school to involve the students and teachers in Kimbab and Rice Cake Making.  I was able to visit each class and did some sampling of the finished products as well as help make some of the tasty goodies!  The kids were having a ball!  Some looked like they put more of the rice cake powder on themselves than on the little rice cake balls they had prepared.  You should come over and join in during this very festive week of learning about Korea!

Above are some third grade students with some of the parents preparing Kimbab!  I love Kimbab - especially Chamchi Kimbab (that would be tuna Kimbab)!

This little guy was so proud of his finished Kimbab.  All he needed was to have one of the parents assist him in cutting the Kimbab roll into pieces for eating!

This is Ryan!  He has so much energy and could not wait for the knife to cut his Kimbab!  He was showing me how he was going to eat his!

One of our kindergarten cherubs making rice cakes!  They all were having so much fun!

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Thursday evening was a special time for me!  I had not seen my excellent friend, Jungmin, for almost a year.  We have talked via phone and text messages, but not face to face.  We had a tremendous evening at Suji's as we discussed so many things.  We usually get talking about government and politics.  We had a wonderful discussion about this year's American and South Korean Presidential elections!  Jungmin continues to study for his degree so that he can serve God in the area of politics an government.  His studies are going well; he is just too busy studying and taking these very difficult exams in order to go on to the next level in the field of government in Korea.  He would love to be a leader in a government organization that helps those in need or a Professor at a university.  I know he would value your prayers.  

Here I am with Jungmin having a yummy Suji's dinner on the open terrace level of Suji's.  It was a gorgeous night and I just wish we had a longer time to spend together.

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Friday was a busy day with Chapels, OASIS assembly, After School Activities, and a special Market Day in Grade 4C!  Several grades have Market Days from time to time.  Students earn "money" through behavior and leadership opportunities within the classroom.  Then they each bring in something to "sell" with other students and teachers.  They are using skills in math and communication.  It is so exciting to watch them enjoy this activity.  A particular group of boys in 4C heard that Mr. Garman enjoys whipped cream!  All week they kept reminding me of the time for Market Day on Friday and continued to ask me if I really loved whipped cream because they were preparing treats that would need whipped cream + they would have extra cans so that I could get enough!

I now call these boys - "The Whipped Cream Boys"!  Here we are posing for a picture.  They had prepared a cup of only whipped cream for me and then brought the can to me.  Later they were practicing eating whipped cream out of the can "like Mr. Garman does."  It was so much fun!  (and I loved the whipped cream!!!) :-)

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On Saturday, the first day of the Chuseok celebration, I met with two former SYME students at Yongsan Station.  Above is Jaeman (Jacob) and Byung Jin (Christian) enjoying some coffee at Starbucks with me.  Jaeman is planning to go to seminary to be a pastor/missionary to North Korea some day.  Byung Jin is a professional photographer and does really nice work.  He has invited me to his studio near my church so that he can prepare a portfolio of photos of me.  Pray that his work will not keep him from participating in his church.

Jaeman and I went to enjoy a yummy Korean lunch after Byung Jin had to leave to meet his parents to celebrate Chuseok.  Jaeman wanted us to be a bit crazy so he could play with one of his apps on his IPad.  Such fun! :-)

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Just a little note to let those of you who were praying for me, the choir did a great job Sunday morning with the song, In the Garden!  There were a number missing from choir and many missing from the congregation because so many had gone to their family homes to celebrate Chuseok. Korean Thanksgiving.  All went well and I appreciate your prayers.

Please enjoy a delightful October.  I can't believe there are only three months remaining in 2012!  Thank you for your many words of encouragement, love, and prayers.  Please pray for our Walk-A-Sock-A-Thon coming up this coming Friday, October 5.  The PTO has informed us that for every 2 hundred Won coins students and teachers bring in, they will add another 100 Won coin!  The kids are really excited!  

Love, Gregg

PS:  Here are the answers to last week's riddles.  Congratulations to my friend, Greg Ginion, for sending in correct answers!!

1 - Few

2 - The jeweler sells watches and the jailer watches cells.

3 - Only one - the "last" one.

4 - Once. After the first calculation, you will be subtracting 5 from 20, then 5 from 15, and so on.

5 - None.  The rest of the crows flew away when they heard the gunshot.

Beautiful Weather Retuns!

After a heavy rain all day on Monday, beautiful fall weather has returned to Seoul!  The sun has been shining and the air conditioning has been taking a break.

This past week was busy with helping to administer MAP tests in Grade 2.  I will be doing some more of those next week and then should be finished for a little while.  I actually enjoy getting into the classrooms and seeing the kids and working with the computers.  I also had some subbing in Grade 2A for Ms. Weir.  Always enjoy going into her classroom.  There are four children from 2A who sent me a cute homemade card calling me "Mr. Gardener" and telling me that they are my secret admirers!  So cute!  Then I was subbing for Mrs. Harding in her 4th grade music classes on Friday.  That was fun, too!  I love being able to get back into music classes.  I usually am playing a piece on the piano as they enter or conducting the music to a recording I have on the computer speakers.  They love that I sing with them and are always surprised that I can play the piano.  It was a fun day with Music!!

On Wednesday mornings this year the teachers meet in small prayer groups.  Many of the groups are self-formed while others have a particular theme for prayer.  I meet with a small group of colleagues to pray for North Korea.  I have been so impressed with the passion from each participant as they pray for our many concerns for North Korea.  I have never been in a prayer group like this.  There is rarely a Wednesday when the Kleenex box is not being passed around as people pray with tears pouring down our cheeks.  I am especially interested in North Korea because of people like Gunmo who wants to be a "businary" there some day + there are several on staff who were able to go into North Korea last summer to play basketball and conduct basketball clinics with North Korean young people.  I am learning so much about the passion of prayer.

As you think of me, you can pray as I put together another quarter of after school activities.  I am presently working on activities for Quarter Two and it is quite a puzzle to put everything together especially when space is limited because of the expansion construction going on.  Thanks for your prayers.

Some of you know Ross Williamson, a teacher who came to YISS in 2011 to teach in our Student Learning Center in the elementary school as well as teach some Math classes in the middle school.  Through my friend, Margie, in PA, I was able to connect with Ross and have him apply for teaching at YISS.  This past week was his birthday and I took him out to treat him to a belated birthday dinner on Thursday evening.

I asked Ross to choose a place for his birthday treat.  He said he was in the mood for a nice steak so we went to Butcher's Cut, a restaurant that opened last year in Itaewon near the school.  Here we are enjoying out steaks.  Ross said it was the best steak he has ever had!  Ross continues to be so involved with the students at YISS.  He is really excited about what is happening in the SLC and especially enjoys his middle school math classes!

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Friday after school I was able to meet up with Jae Hong (Dr. Fred) for a yummy dinner at a Greek restaurant - Jae Hong's choice!  You may remember that Jae Hong was the first SYME student I met back in September of 2008.  When I arrived in Songtan to go to my little room located in Dorm 404 at SYME, Mr. Spalding took me to my room.  When we walked in, there was Jae Hong sleeping in my bed.  He was embarrassed and immediately jumped up and left the room.  (Later he told me that he thought I would never be his friend because he was sleeping in my room.)  Since that first meeting Jae Hong and I have become great friends.  Recently he graduated from Word of Life's Bible Institute on Jeju Island.  I know he would appreciate your prayers.  He is going through some struggles now of doubt.  We had a great discussion over dinner about these struggles and his doubt and how doubt causes one to be stronger in his faith.  Jae Hong is a thinker and worrier.  He believes he is to go into some medical profession and is looking at a medical school in Hungary. 

Jae Hong and I enjoying a very delicious Greek dinner in Itaewon.  The windows were open and we had a nice view of the busy Itaewon street and the many people going out on a Friday night.  Jae Hong is heavy on my heart right now and I know he would value your prayers as you think of him.

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Another great friend, Yeongmin, returns this weekend from a week in London with some of his coworkers at SK Telecom.  This was a vacation for him.  Some of you may have seen the picture I posted on Facebook, but here it is again.

Yeongmin sent this picture to me from London.  He knows that I am a "Gregg" and not a "Greg" so when he saw this, he smiled and sent it to me.  I hope I can visit this bake shop some day and meet the Gregg who owns the shop.

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My excellent friend. Kent, from Chambersburg, PA surprised me when he called and said he was in Seoul on company business.  I am always thrilled when someone from home comes to visit South Korea and makes a point to connect with me.  

Kent and Jenny,his coworker from Volvo in Sweden, were hungry for steak after walking all day in Seoul so we met at Butcher's Cut for another delicious meal.  They also said that it was one of the best steaks they have had!  After we ordered, the hostess came to our table with the lovely salad pictured below.  It was delicious - especially the dressing.  She said it was a "service gift."

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This next week is going to be a very busy week with many activities for the students as we enjoy Celebrate Korea Days at YISS.  Thank you, once again, for your many words of encouragement, prayers, love, and support!  Please enjoy a great week!

Love, Gregg

PS: Some riddles this week.  Perhaps you have heard some of them.  Enjoy!  I will not give the answers.  You can write and ask for them or wait until next week! :-)

1 - I know a word of letters three, add two and fewer there will be.  

2 - How are a jeweler and a jailer alike?

3 - How many bricks does it take to complete a building made of brick?

4 - How many times can you subtract the number 5 from 25?

5 - If there are fifteen crows on a fence and the farmer shoots a third of them, how many crows are left?

Time Continues to Zoom By!

Having trouble realizing that we have had school for over a month and we are half way through September!  There is no stopping of time!  Monday we had off school and I spent some of the day just sitting at Starbucks and reflecting on time and what it will be like to someday not have to worry about time and deadlines!  Eternity!  It still boggles my mind to reflect about a time that will never end; it will go on and on!

When I returned to YISS on Tuesday, I was greeted by a young student, Matthew!  He was in 8th grade when I met him during my first year at YISS.  We connected and it has been a joy to continue to get to know this young man.  He is very talented, but has struggled with depression because of man hurts in his life with his family.  Matthew is now a sophomore and this year he seems to be happier.  This week we had some excellent conversations and I am praying that he will come to have a strong faith in Jesus.

Above is my wonderful friend, Matthew! He stopped by to chat on Friday.  He had lost his notebook with all of his notes in it.  Even though he was depressed about it, his attitude was so different than last year.  I am excited about the growth in this young man.  He let me pray with him about his missing notebook and called me Dad.  Please pray for Matthew; he is always on my heart!

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I had the privilege of assisting the Curriculum Director with some of the MAP Testing in a few of the elementary classes last week.  These tests are individualized for Math, Reading and Language for students.  They take the test on the computer (which they love) and the questions are adjusted to each child's level as they answer questions.  

It was also my privilege to substitute in 4A as well as teach in OASIS assembly this week.  I loved how the 4A students are learning to think!  We had some great discussions on the character trait of "joyfulness" with students showing great enthusiasm in our discussions and learning.  In OASIS I also was able to share concerning "joyfulness." After school on Friday one of the 3rd grade students commented about the assembly in front of her parents.  She said, "Mr. Garman, I have a question...well, really a comment.  I love hearing you in assembly.  The stories you share tell me that you have an exciting life."  I told her that I have truly had an exciting life and have enjoyed many amazing experiences which have taught me so much.  Please pray for Michaela that she will want to discover an exciting life with Jesus.

After School Activities continue to go well.  We did have to cancel our two soccer activities on Thursday since it was raining.  That usually is a nightmare to contact parents (there are 52 students in grades 2 - 5 involved in soccer) to cancel and set up an additional day.  Through the great help of Mrs. Baek, Elementary School secretary, that process went very smoothly.  It has been exciting to visit each of the After School Activities and see students enthusiastically involved in learning something new!  I have shared some pictures from the Ceramics class this week.  I hope you enjoying seeing these cherubs in grades 1-3 creating their ceramic pieces!

Here are a couple more from the Ballet class!  These five girls from Kindergarten - Grade 2 have so much fun and are so cute!  They are learning so much!

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I am in the process of making final preparations with our Elementary School Librarian for an Author Visit via Skype with our fourth and fifth grade classes.  The Librarian and I have read two of their books to children in Grades 3 - 5 the last several years and the students love the books.  You might want to take a look at them: My Freedom Trip and  The Royal Bee.  The authors are Frances and Ginger Park and the stories are historical fiction based on the real experiences of their mother and grandfather.  If you are ever in the Washington, DC area, you should check out the Park sisters' chocolate boutique, Chocolate Chocolate.  I was able to stop there last summer and meet Ginger and Frances and enjoy some most yummy chocolate!!  The sisters are excited about their visit through Skype to YISS on September 25 during our Celebrate Korea Days!  

Here I am with Frances and Ginger Park in their Chocolate Chocolate boutique in DC last June!  I was delighted to meet these wonderful ladies and talk about their books as well as enjoy some most delicious chocolates!!!  If you would like to read an exciting story of how their mother escaped from North Korea to South Korea and met their father, check out To Swim Across the World written by both sisters.

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The Elementary School Walk-A-Sock-A-Thon is coming up on October 5!  This year the kids are collecting their 100 Won coins to fill their fun Korean socks.  They will bring them to school and, depending on their grade, will enjoy some fun activities around the school or walking to Namsam Tower and back.  The coins will be sent this year to an organization called Mountain Child in Nepal to help the children and families in the mountain areas of Nepal to get clean water.  It is always a great time and the kids raise a lot of money without going around asking people to give.  Many have been saving their 100 Won coins since the end of last year's Walk-A-Sock-A-Thon!  Thanks for your prayers for this special event!

I am enclosing a link for you if you would like to look at some of the pictures the PTO took last week at our Back to School Picnic.  What a fun evening we had!  Here is the link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/117789262758755123949/BackToSchoolPicnic2012?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJWDtIWW7dn1dQ&feat=directlink 

Thanks so much for your continued encouragement, prayers, love, and support!  Please enjoy a great week!

Love,  Gregg

PS:  From my friend, Margie in Yardley:

A little back-to-school humor:

Times sure have changed!

It's all about relationships!!

More and more I am convinced that God created us for relationships!  I am continually excited about building relationships - old and new relationships, relationships by phone and Skype; relationships through email and Facebook, but am continually excited, challenged and impacted by face-to-face relationships!  Over the years I have been given the tremendous privilege of establishing long-lasting relationships with many people throughout the world.  The many experiences this week at YISS and throughout South Korea I have been reminded once again of the tremendous significance of investing one's life in others!

Many of you know that I have been stretched with the After School Activities program in the Elementary School this year.  I have met many new people through conversations by phone, email, and face-to-face: instructors, parents, new students, persons in our facilities department, technology experts at YISS, and the list goes one.  Yes, it is a major task, but it has been so thrilling to work with so many people to bring some excellent after school activity choices for out elementary cherubs!  Through a project that I initially feared, God has brought many wonderful folks into my life!  I have especially enjoyed meeting parents who had questions or wanted to clarify things or came to pick up their children at 4:30 after the activity was over.  I am so blessed and so grateful!  The first week of ASA went extremely well, with only a few glitches.

There are many activities in which the children can get involved, but there is one that I especially enjoy: Discipleship Group for Grades 4 and 5!  I have been involved with this activity since my first year at YISS.  I get to invest my life into the lives of a small group of boys from grades 4 and 5.  I have three young men this year and I am so excited about what God will do in their lives.  My first meeting was on Tuesday with Paul (Grade 5), Joshua (Grade 4), and Ethan) a new student in Grade 4).

This is Joshua!  It was fun to watch him as I shared.  He likes

to copy all of my hand motions and expressions. :-)

Ethan is a new student to YISS this year and he is very excited about being in our group.  He is still trying to figure me out!

Paul  is the fifth grader in my group and is so excited about learning more about God!

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Relationships can continue to grow even when someone departs.  Leaving has never been an easy thing for me, but with technology today you can continue relationships until you are able to be face-to-face.  Last year two beautiful students left YISS to return to Brazil.  I had a hard time saying, "Hasta la vista!"  I still miss Fabio and Bia, but Fabio continues to write to me and share what is happening in his family's life.  Just this past Monday I received an email from Fabio telling me how much he missed the relationships he had developed at YISS.  He wanted to share that they have a new home now in Brazil and a new dog!  Please pray for Fabio and Bia as they readjust to living in Brazil and as we continue to build our relationship.

Above is a picture of Fabio and Bia with their new puppy in their new home! 

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Many of you have been praying for my new friend, Jisan (Jared).  Thursday evening he took me to a violin recital where his younger sister, Jiwon, was performing.  Jiwon has been studying violin in Austria and returns there on September 28.  Jisan wanted me to meet his family.  He also knows that I enjoy classical music so invited me to this beautiful recital.

Here is Jiwon at the Win Art Hall performing one of her selections.  Jiwon performed pieces from Schubert, Bruch, Paganini and Ravel demonstrating tremendous skill and expression as she played!  It was a beautiful recital!

I was delighted to meet Jiwon!  I also had the privilege of meeting her family.  Here I am with her grandfather (veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars), her mother, Jisan, and her father.  They were so proud of Jiwon and thrilled that I would come to hear her perform.  Some new relationships have been formed!

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Friday evening we enjoyed excellent weather (nice and cool, too) for our YISS Back to School Picnic! I always enjoy this evening of food, fun, fellowship, and relationship building!  One of our biggest problems at YISS right now is parking!!  With all of the expansion construction in progress, parking is quite limited.  There were no major concerns with this on Friday night and everyone seemed to enjoy a great time!  There are different games and booths set up for the children as well as many food vendors + lots of musicians!  It is so wonderful to see families connecting and sitting down together with new families and beginning to establish relationships!  

Some of the families eating and talking while musicians were performing!

Two of the elementary girls who wanted to stop and talk with me.  One wanted to model her face painting for me as well.  

This second grade boy had just finished playing with the water guns

and was quite wet, but was eating very vigorously when I stopped by.

His mother was laughing at his fat cheeks stuffed with food and a towel

wrapped on his head to help get him dry!  He was having a great time!

A special friend from the middle school, Eugene!  He was soaked from being drenched in water during a water gun battle on the soccer field at the YISS Picnic.  Eugene is an amazing young man and I am so excited to see what God is going to do through him.

My wonderful middle school friend from Israel, Ziv!  He loves when I stop in the hallway and tease with him.  he always has a big smile for me.  Ziv's English is getting better and we are starting to build a great relationship.  Your prayers for him and his two brothers at YISS would be appreciated.

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And finally, I had the privilege to attend the wedding of one of my former SYME students on Saturday.  MinSeok (Jeff) was a great friend and student at SYME and we have continued to build our relationship ever since he left SYME in 2009.  He called me last March all excited and nervous to tell me he was going to get married in September and he wanted me to be there!  MinSeok continues to ask me many questions about my relationship with Jesus but he still has not put his faith in Him.  Please keep praying for him.  He is such a wonderful young man.

The wedding was another beautiful Korean celebration!  In addition to celebrating MinSeok's special day, it was a "relationship reunion" of some former SYME students and the Spalding family!  What a beautiful day!  I was thrilled to see my friends, the Spaldings!  I was also very excited and proud to see former students I taught, but also have continued building relationships with!  We had such a great time sharing special memories and sharing what is happening in our lives at present.  I will share only a couple pictures, but you can see more at my facebook page.

I was able to meet with MinSeok and his bride in the Bridal Photo Room prior to the ceremony and reception.  The photographer was shooting many pictures of them and Gunmo asked him if he would allow me to interrupt for a picture with the couple.  Here I am with MinSeok and his beautiful bride!  They left for Hawaii after the ceremony for their honeymoon.  Thank you for praying for them!

Here is part of the "relationship reunion"!  We grabbed MinSeok after the ceremony and took a picture of those former SYME students who came to celebrate with him.  (After we took a couple pictures, the photographer came running and ordering Minseok to return to the front of the Wedding Hall for more pictures.) In the back row left to right: Younghyun (Daniel), Chang Yong (Chad), Su Yong (James), Jaemon (Jacob).  The row behind MinSeok from left to right: Jae Hong (Dr. Fred), Joonsoo (Carlos), Sung-in (Josh), GGG, Gunmo (Steve), Yong-Jin (Gene), and Kwan-ho (Jimmy). These young men are amazing!  I love them so much!  Thanks for praying for them.  I wish I could take the time to let you know what each of them are doing currently, but I have already taken too much of your time.  Please do not hesitate to ask me about any if you wish.

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Enjoy a great week!  Thanks for standing with me as I seek to invest in others through relationships!  I trust you will go into your world and invest in a relationship or two this week!  

Love, Gregg

This week's joke is from one of my tenor friends in the New Harvest Ministry Choir.  His name is Jaejin. He, and many of my Korean friends, enjoy American English jokes and riddles.  We have been  practicing the song, In the Garden, the last two weeks.  The song reminded Jaejin and me about a joke you may have heard before, but the choir didn't and loved it.  Here it is:

A Christian man had just died and was on his way to heaven. When he got to the gates of heaven, he met an angel. The angel asked him what God's name was. 

"Oh that's easy," the man replied, "His name is Andy."

"What make you think his name is Andy?" the angel asked incredulously.

"Well, you see at church we used to sing this song 'Andy walks with me, Andy talks with me.' "

Happy September! A BUSY and rainy week!

The last week of August was a very busy one at YISS plus we experienced back-to-back typhoons!  We did not have much damage or injuries in Seoul.  Most of the loss of lives and damage was in the western part of Korea and on the sea.  Two years ago when a typhoon went through Korea, we had much damage on the soccer field at YISS.  That closed the use of the soccer field for almost the entire year in order to replace fencing and make the field secure.  Thank you for your prayers.

The other Elementary Assistant Principal, Beverly Birmingham, was in the States all week assisting her oldest daughter begin her freshman year at college.  I will be so happy to have her return on Monday! In addition to the final preparations for the first week of After School Activities, I was involved with a number of bus discipline issues and some classroom discipline issues.  Then there was our Elementary Open House on Thursday evening.  Many parents came and it was a delight to meet so many of them.  The evening was quite busy for Dan Lazor and me, but especially exhausting for our amazing classroom teachers!  I am thankful that we all had a day off on Tuesday because of Typhoon Bolaven!  I was able to complete most of the ASA work (much more than I anticipated, but it has been going well) and teachers were able to be refreshed in time for for the long day on Thursday.

We are excited that our Kindergarten-First Grade Art/Physical Education/Music teacher decided to accept the position of Grade 1 teacher!  You may remember that one of our first grade teachers had to return to her home country because of her health.  Thank you for praying for her health and for the replacement.  Ms. Liz Ku is our new teacher in Grade One.  She is very experienced and has already developed great relationships with the students in her class.  I know she would value your prayers.  We are now seeking someone to teach the Kinder-Grade One Art/P.E./Music position.

Friday evening I was to meet, Luke, a recent graduate of Pyeongtaek International Christian School.  My good friend, Tony Kuhn, introduced me to Luke two years ago when Luke was on his basketball team.  We have developed a great relationship and he keeps wanting to meet with me.  On Friday I developed a nasty headache (usually don't have any of those) and was feeling quite exhausted from the week.  I contacted Luke to see if we could reschedule so I could get some rest and be in better shape.  Luke said that would be no problem.  I texted him, "Thanks for understanding.  You really are a great young man."  His reply caused me concern.  He said, "Not really, especially since I'm growing away from God."  Would you please pray for Luke and pray that we will be able to meet real soon.  He is heavy on my heart right now.

Before I finish this week, I am going to include a number of pictures of some of the YISS elementary students on "Say Goodbye to Summer" Fun Day!  Usually the last Wednesday of each month we have a Fun Day for the kids and they get to dress up in the theme of that day.  They love it and so do I.  I wanted you to see some of the special cherubs that I have the privilege of seeing each day.  I hope you use the pictures as a reminder to pray for YISS and our teachers and staff and students!  Just showing a few of them to let you see the variety of summer outfits they chose to wear!

I hope that the pictures brought a smile to your face!  I love these and all of the kids at YISS!  The last picture is of Nina.  She is such a delight and has grown so much in her English speaking abilities and in her interest in learning about God.  When you see her picture, I hope you will pray for Nina!

On Monday, the ASA program for Quarter One begins!  I would really appreciate your prayers!  I especially am praying that the rain will hold off for Monday.  We have 27 students in 4th and 5th grades + 23 in 2nd and 3rd grades who are involved with the After School Activity of Soccer.  They begin on Monday and it is to rain on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  I really do not want to cancel their first day but if it keeps raining, the soccer field will not be able to be used.  Contacting parents concerning canceling classes this large is always a "delightful" challenge. 

Saturday I received a text message from the USA from one of the first SYME students I had the privilege of meeting and teaching.  His name is Nam-Gyu (David Baek).  He was the Resident Assistant in Dorm 404 (where I lived my years at SYME) and is such a wonderful Christian man.  It has always been a struggle for David to learn English, BUT he has succeeded and is now at Word of Life Bible Institute in New York!  He texted the following to me Saturday morning, "Hello, Mr. Gregg!  I came to America and I can't believe it!  Wow!  It is amazing and I'm really thankful to God.  Mr. Gregg, I have learned so many things from you and pray for me to keep focus on God and have boldness and wisdom."  I love this young man so much!  He has a missionary's heart and is so eager to serve the Lord!  Would you pray for Nam-Gyu as  he studies at WOLBI.  

Above Nam-Gyu and I were playing a really cool game at one of the full time staff at SYME in the fall of 2008!  Nam-Gyu loved playing games and loved it when he won this round and got to punish me by slapping my wrist with three fingers.  Sounds terrible, but it is the Korean way.  It actually stung a bit, but I survived and played again.  I actually got to return the three finger slap to Nam-Gyu! :-)

Nam-Gyu was in my first Family Group at SYME and loved having fun as well as serious conversations.   He loved singing!  Here he is with one of his funny poses at SYME!  Thanks for praying for him!

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Saturday evening I was able to get together with my great friend, Gunmo.  We have both been too busy so it was great to get together with him and share what has been happening and our prayer requests.  Please pray for Gunmo has he continues to work very hard at his work.  He will be taking six online courses (starting soon) in addition to his workload.  He plans to start up once again his English class over lunch at his work place with the coworkers in his office.  Continue to pray for his father to come to know Jesus.  I am hoping to meet his Dad over Chuseok at the beginning of October.

Saturday evening we enjoyed delicious Greek food!  Here is Gunmo with his great smile preparing to eat his Greek Chicken dinner!

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I hope you enjoy a wonderful September!  Thanks to many of you for keeping in touch and for your many words of encouragement!  

Love, Gregg

A few jokes from my friend, Rhonda:

How Do You Catch a Unique Rabbit?
Unique Up On It.

How Do You Catch a Tame Rabbit?
Tame Way.

How Do Crazy People Go Through The Forest?
They Take The Psychopath.

What Do You Call a Boomerang That Doesn't work?
A Stick. 

What Do You Call Cheese That Isn't Yours?
Nacho Cheese.