Exhausting, yet Exciting!!!

It is still cold in Seoul, but starting to warm up.  However, Friday morning I woke to a beautiful snow!  We received a couple inches but it didn't last long as the temperature warmed by Noon and most of the snow had melted by dismissal time!  My kind of snow - especially in Korea where they don't have the equipment for the effective removal of snow!

Exciting news!!  Monday morning at 8:00 AM I received a text message from our Elementary Principal, Dan Lazor!  He was giving me the excellent news that his wife gave birth to their sixth child at 8:00 AM on February 18!  Lucille Anne (Lucy is what the family has been calling this little angel) is so cute!  With the arrival of #6, Mr. Lazor was home on paternity leave. Before I forget, here is a picture of the proud Daddy and Lucy shortly after her birth!

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It was a very full and busy week for Mrs. Birmingham and me since there were numerous teachers out because of bronchitis or attendance at a conference or taking their students to music or athletic competitions in Korea or Japan! I enjoyed opportunities to substitute for various teachers throughout the week.  I really enjoyed being able to sub in our SLC (Student Learning Center) for Mrs. Pallesen.  I had a most delightful time one-on-one with Josh, a Grade 5 student, who needs extra teaching in English and Writing.  After giving Josh his Spelling test, I had the joy of seeing his rough draft of a writing assignment he is working on!  He is one of the fifth graders who are involved with the MIT Scratch Computer Programming after school activity.  I was thrilled to work with him on his computer to assist him with his writing skills.  I have seen so much improvement since I met him when he was in Grade 3.  I also had the pleasure of reading a Geometry Exam for a middle school student, Gracie.  That was fun and brought back many good memories of my Geometry class with Mr. Byers at Chambersburg Area Senior High School - long, long ago!!

Mrs. Harding, our fourth grade Music teacher was at an orchestra competition with our Middle School and High School orchestra so I had the special treat of teaching her fourth grade cherubs in Music.  They are studying various composers and this week they were focusing on Ludwig van Beethoven!  We had an awesome interactive discussion of Beethoven - his life and his composing genius.  I was thrilled that so many of these young ones are learning to love his music and Bach's!  It was a great time!

A special treat for me on Friday was to be the Lunch Recess teacher for Grade 5!  After lunch I took them up to the large soccer field and there were several activities going on.  I was watching one group of fifth grade boys playing soccer and just had to jump in and play with them.  They were amazed and excited that "Mr. Garman is playing soccer!"  I had so much fun!!  However, I probably forgot that I am nearing 64 years old and maybe got too crazy.  My legs and back are aching this weekend! :-)  But each time I feel the aches, I think of boys like Joseph, Victor, Majid, Mahav, and Andrei who were smiling and enjoying seeing an old man play with them.  I really want these boys to come to believe in Jesus!

This week was a very active week with the Read-A-Thon.  Wednesday was Mystery Reader Day and many teachers, parents, and staff visited the elementary classrooms to read some of their favorite books.  I am going to allow the pictures to tell you about this special day and week!

Above is the Bulletin Board the students gather around to view each day with the total of minutes they have read during the Read-A-Thon!  That number has increased but I don't have the latest total at present.  The students continue to make their fingers like scissors and run them through their hair each time they see me!  They smile and say, "I'm going to shave your head, Mr. Garman!"

I have read The Royal Bee to Grade 3B

each year during Read-A-Thon!  It is an

inspired fiction account of Frances and 

Ginger Park's grandfather when he was 

a very poor boy in Korea over 100 years

ago.  The students love the story and

when I finish they usually applaud - not 

for me, but for the little boy!  They want

the story to go on!  This year was no 

exception!  You might want to read it

if you haven't!

 In addition to being a Mystery Reader for Grade 3B, I was invited to be the Mystery Reader in 2B!  I read two fun books to these cherubs!  One was Tacky and the Winter Games!

Here I am reading Tacky to the cherubs in 2B!  They

loved it and we had a great time of talking about new

vocabulary and being the person God made each of them!

The other book that the kids seem to always enjoy when I read it is A Giraffe and a Half by Shel Silverstein.  There were a number of parents in the room as well when I read it to Grade 2B.  I am not sure who enjoyed the reading more! :-)  I love reading it and challenging the students to write there own stories!

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Two more highlights this past week were two time that I had to speak with a couple girls about their behavior.  One third grade girl, Robyn, had not buckled her seat belt on the bus and I needed to speak with her about that.  Robyn just started at YISS in January so she is not too familiar with the bus rules.  I had a delightful conversation with her and discovered that often her seat belt is stuck under her seat and she can't buckle it and has been afraid to ask for help.  The day after I spoke with her, she came to me and said, "I have something for you, Mr. Garman."  She had prepared the following note:

One little kindergarten cherub, Jade, had a little problem one day last week.  She likes to tease and make funny faces at me.  On Thursday as she was leaving the school with her mother, she smiled at me and stuck out her tongue.  Her mother told her right away that was inappropriate.  I told her a story of the trouble I got in when I was about 10 and stuck out my tongue at a lady who had made me angry.  The parents had a nice talk with Jade and helped her to understand that she needed to be careful with her silly faces.  I also had a nice talk with Jade and she was so responsive.  The following day she came to me with the following note.

Both of these notes are in my "Encouragement Folder" and ones that I will treasure.

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I close this week to ask you to pray for my wonderful friend from SYME days in Songtan.  His name is Alex, but I called him Baby Hippo and he called me Papa Hippo when we were at SYME together.  When I met Alex, he would not speak hardly any English, but would always smile this brilliant smile!  We started a crazy greeting when we saw each other at SYME and it became our trademark.  The other SYME students loved it.  And because of our crazy greeting, we became good friends and Alex starting coming to me and practicing his English.  He has since served his mandatory military time for the Korean Army and is finishing his university studies.  He loves the Lord and asked me to pray for him to keep growing in his walk with God.  Following are some pictures of our special time together last Sunday evening.  We had not seen each other for over a year and we had such a great time together!

Yes, a picture of food!!  Surprised?  I don't think so!

Our choices for our yummy dinner at The Alley!

We chose a most delicious Tiramisu for dessert accompanied two refreshing teas!

Alex (Baby Hippo) and Papa Hippo enjoying our

meal and conversation at The Alley!

As we left The Alley, we stopped to get a crazy picture of the two of us giving our special greeting call!  The server taking the picture had a difficult time concealing his laughter! :-)

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This next week we have one of my favorite times at YISS - Student-Led Conferences with parents!  That will be on Thursday and it is always thrilling for me to walk around and meet parents and observe students leading the conference with their parents as they show them their academic work and progress via the computer and various other methods!  I love seeing the students use their presentation and communication skills!  Friday, March 1, is a day off for students, teachers, and staff to celebrate Samil Day (Independence Movement Day) in South Korea!  It's an observance commemorating a day when Korean openly resisted the occupation of the Japanese and fought for their independence.

As always, I want to thank you for your love, your prayers, your encouragement, and your support!  What a special blessing you are to me!

Love, Gregg

February is Half Over; Happy Valentine's Day!!

It is still cold in Seoul and February is half over!  We are midway through Quarter Three!  So hard to believe!  I trust you enjoyed a special Valentine's Day.  I hope you did not forget the real love demonstrated to us through God when He sent His son to die for us!  What amazing love!

YISS was a place buzzing with all sorts of activity last week!  Read-A-Thon continues and the elementary children are so excited about reading and the possibility of witnessing the shaving of Mr. Lazor's and Mr. Garman's heads!  They love coming up to us and making their little fingers go snip, snip, snip as they pretend to shave our heads.  On Wednesday teachers were encouraged to dress as one of their favorite book characters!  The kids loved seeing the many book characters represented.  My favorite was a group who had planned to come as characters from TheWizard of Oz!  The kids loved it!

Here is almost all of the ones who planned to be characters from The Wizard of Oz.  Left to right: Mr. Lazor, Ms. Weir, Mr. Williamson, Mrs. Birmingham, and Ms. Stair.  Ms. Greaves dressed as the Cowardly Lion but was not present when the group photo was taken. :-(

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Throughout the week Middle School students had volunteered to come to the elementary classrooms to read some books to the students.  I loved seeing some of the former elementary students coming back to read in some of their former classes.  I was able to see a few of them as they read and was so proud of them.  They did a great job and the children loved having middle school students read to them.

I was especially proud of this Middle School

Reader!  This is Ankit, now in 7th grade!  He

came to YISS in Grade 5 and then had to go

to another country, but returned last year near

the end of the year.  He was amazing with

these second graders!  He used different voices 

and used such great expression!

 Ankit continuing to read to very interested second graders!

This is another 7th grader, Harper.  The kids enjoyed 

her readings as well.  

 Harper continuing to read to the second graders while Taylor and Ankit await their turn to read!

One more picture of Harper as she reads to the cherubs
from Ms. Moon's Grade 2!

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In addition to the activities of Read-A-Thon, we had a busy week of MAP Testing in grades 2 though 5.  I always enjoy going in to some of the classes to administer the MAP test and get to know the students.  I also had the privilege of teaching 3 classes of 3rd grade music for Dr. Harding.  Please pray for Dr. Harding.  He has been battling several health issues and was recently placed on a stronger dose of meds.  he thinks this is causing his sudden attacks of nausea, etc.  I had great joy being able to teach the 3rd graders a piece of music with their recorders.

It was a very busy week for teachers as they taught a full load of classes and prepared Mid Term Progress Reports for Quarter Three.  Mr. Lazor, Mrs. Birmingham, and I then proofed the reports to prepare them for distribution to parents on Friday afternoon.

This week I want to ask you to be praying for those on staff who are giving birth during Quarters Three and Four.  In February, the wife of Mr. Lazor, Elementary Principal, will give birth to their 6th child!  Then in March, Mrs. Oh, an amazing lady who is the main receptionist and attendance coordinator, will give birth to her first child - a boy!  Our elementary secretary, Mrs. Baek, gives birth to her second child, a boy, in April.  Finally, Mrs. Jang, who does an awesome job in our Business Office, will give birth to her first child, in May!  We are going to really miss these three ladies as they leave to give birth and raise their little one.  They are such tremendous assets to YISS!  Pray as we hire replacements for them.  Pray also for a replacement for Mr. Lazor as principal.  He and his family will be moving to the southern part of South Korea to assist in opening an international school there.  We still need 2 or 3 elementary teachers for YISS for 2013-14 because of the expansion of classrooms.  Thanks for praying.

Saturday I had a delightful and refreshing time at Brunch with two of my favorite Korean young men: Gunmo and Chang Yong!  I had planned to meet Gunmo at 11:00 for Brunch.  I told him I would have three new options for him to select from for a place to eat and talk.  Gunmo is one of only a few Koreans who knows that I am still not used to being late for a scheduled meeting so we both make it a game to see who will be late.  Whoever is late must select the place to eat.  Well, neither of us are usually late so we have had to change our plan a little bit.  We have a great time deciding.  He selected Holly's Coffee since he didn't know they had a brunch.  We were enjoying a very nice Brunch and conversation when he picked up his phone and talked in Korean to someone.  A few minutes later I was in for a surprise!  Gunmo had arranged for Chang Yong to come and surprise me!  I hadn't seen Chang Yong in several months so Saturday was an extra special treat, and one that was so refreshing.  Would you please pray for both of these young men as they seek to serve the Lord + they both want to find a wife! :-)

 My dear friend, Gunmo, and I at Holly's Coffee for Brunch on Saturday morning!

You know you wanted to see what we 

had to eat! :-)  So here it is!  Quite tasty!

My excellent friend, Chang Yong, arrived as a surprise during our Brunch!  I love his smile that always calms me!  Please pray for Chang Yong and his work situation.  He is working most days about 15 - 16 hours!  He is a great worker but he is getting exhausted!  I know he would value your prayers.

Here are all three of the bad boys: Chang Yong, Gunmo,

and GGG enjoying a most refreshing and relaxing time of 

sharing together!

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Once again, it is always my pleasure to thank you for your encouragement, your prayers, your love, and your support!  Please enjoy a great week!  Stay warm!  Behave! :-)

Love, Gregg

Snow Day, 100th Day, PJ & Pancake Day, and COLD Days!!

Happy Lunar New Year to you!  Yes, it is that time of year when Korea celebrates a big holiday, Lunar New Year!  To begin our busy and festive week at YISS, administrators had the pleasure of calling teachers on Sunday evening to let them know that Monday, February 4, would be a Snow Day!  It was to be our 100th Day and kindergarten teachers were a little disappointed since they had made big plans for this grand celebration. Most teachers were thrilled and certainly needed a little break!  Tuesday we all returned to a very busy schedule for the week!  The 100th Day celebration went on as if Monday was not even a Snow Day!  It was a really special time with many parents coming to assist our two amazing kindergarten teachers carry out the great plans they had for this special day!  I was invited to do the opening welcome and read the 100th day of Kindergarten book selected by the kindergarten teachers.  It was so much fun!

The kindergarten teachers had numerous 

stations/centers that students went to in 

order to celebrate their 100th day in 

kindergarten.  This one was to create a 

picture of themselves when they are 100

years old.  This is Jacob with his!

Here I am reading Fancy Nancy; The 100th Day of School to the kindergarten students and their parents!  So much fun!!

One of the cherubs with her poster of 100

finger prints!  She was having so much fun!

This young man was creating his 100 Day eye glasses!

Another cherub working on his 100 Day
eye glasses!

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The Read-A-Thon opening assembly was also planned for the Snow Day so we had to quickly revamp a few things and then quickly prepare the cafeteria for the assembly to kick off the Read-A-Thon month at YISS!  I will be delighted when the auditorium is finally refurbished and ready for use - hopefully, in April or May.  The PTO Read-A-Thon committee did a great job and the kids are certainly excited about reading!  They were so thrilled with the announcement of the reading goal of 700,000 minutes.  Why?  Because if they reach the goal, Mr. Lazor, Principal, and I will publicly have our heads shaved!  I can't tell you how excited these cherubs are about this.  I greet them in the morning and tell them that Reading is not allowed in February, and they have been prompted by their teachers to take their fingers and pretend they are scissors and it is so cute to see them smile and make their "scissor fingers" go through their hair and point at Mr. Lazor and me.  They look at me and say, "Tonight I am going to read 3 books!!" Then they show me little razors they have made from construction paper to taunt me!  We shall see.  Maybe I will like saving money on haircuts and hair products! :-)

The PTO Read-A-Thon Committee had prepared a

kick off play, written by Mrs. Foster (YISS Drama

teacher).  These are the main characters in this cute

little kick off play!  Everyone loved it!

Here is a scene from the play with some of the 400 

elementary students watching in our cafeteria.  It was 

a bit crowded but it went well considering everything!

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Then on Wednesday was one of the elementary school's favorite days - PJ and Pancake Day!  Wednesdays are also days during the Read-A-Thon when PTO photographers roam the school in attempts to get photos of kids "Caught Reading."  I love having breakfast food at lunch or dinner and I have found that most of the kids love the pancake breakfast at lunch as well!  Enjoy some special pictures from that day!

Some second graders "Caught Reading!"

Some second grade boys "Caught Reading."

Grade 2A teacher, Ms. Weir, in her PJs with two

fifth grade girls in their PJs; one with her stuffed monkey!

A group of fifth grade boys enjoying PJ & Pancake Day!!

This is one of my newest buddies this year.

Joseph is new and he has the greatest smile.

Although he makes me think that he does not

like it when I tease him, he gets upset if I don't.

He is in the OASIS class and I would ask you

to keep him in your prayers as I seek to share

Jesus with him.

For those who must see a food picture each week, here is a picture of Catherine in Grade 5 reading and eating her yummy breakfast at lunch!

Two more fifth grade ladies reading and 

eating during PJ & Pancake Day!

Some kindergarten cuties eating their breakfast in their PJs!

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In addition to PJ & Pancake Day on Wednesday, I was assisting in second grades classrooms as they took the Math portion of the MAP Tests we administer via computer to 2nd through 8th graders twice a year.  The kids enjoy taking the tests in Math and Reading on the computers + it gives teachers and parents almost immediate feedback as to how each child is doing.  It is an individualized testing program that can determine where a child is in math and reading development.  It was enjoyable watching the kids take the Math test in their PJs; some holding their stuffed animal which they brought for PJ Day.

MAP testing in Grade 2B during PJ & Pancake Day!

The little girl in the nightcap is the daughter of the

pastor at New Harvest Ministry.  Katie was loving

this special day!

Two ore second graders during the MAP Testing.  If 

you look closely, you will notice a little stuffed bear

on the little girl's lap.  I told her the bear could sit with

her as long as she/he did not give her the answers.  

She smiled and said he would be a good bear! :-)

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The week was extremely cold for Seoul and every day we had to have indoor lunch recess.  Temperatures reached a low on Friday morning of -16 degrees Celsius (3 degrees in Fahrenheit)!  It did not get above -7 until Friday in the late afternoon!  After having the kids inside all week, I am sure teachers are thrilled that Monday is a holiday for the Lunar New Year in Korea!

I am excited because I have been invited to enjoy a Lunar New Year feast at the home of Yeongmin!  He called on Friday to let me know that he and his parents wanted me to come to their apartment Sunday afternoon and evening for one of Yeongmin's mother's amazing array of most yummy foods!!  I can't wait!  I haven't seen Yeongmin's parents for about a year and love spending time with them.  Please pray that they will want to know more about God and Jesus.

Saturday I had brunch (no pictures!) with a young man, Luke, who has a very complicated family situation.  His mother is Korean; his Dad (who left him when he was 2 years old) is a British citizen.  Luke now almost 20 was born in Indonesia but has a British passport.  He has no means of support right now and would like to work in Korea or go to university, but cannot do anything in Korea. He has to leave Korea to renew his visa.  When he comes back, he can only stay 90 days and then would need to leave again.  We spent a long time talking about possibilities - all of which create complications - and about finances, which he does not have.  My heart is heavy for him right now and I would appreciate your prayers for Luke.

Happy Valentine's Day this Thursday!  Thanks for all of your love, prayers, encouragement, and continued support!

Love, Gregg

Yeppers, It's February already!!

I think when one enjoys what he is doing with the gift of life God has given him, time goes by so quickly!  I have loved every position where I have had the privilege of serving Him, but am especially loving the opportunities I have here in Korea to build into the lives of teachers, students, parents, former Korean university students, and others!

This past week was a bit warmer in Seoul for which I am grateful!  After School Activities have begun for Quarter Three and I am already in the middle of planning for Quarter Four.  I am praying that I will be able to offer some new activities and build on the usual ones.  If you ever want to come over for 6 or 7 weeks to lead an after school activity, that would be wonderful!  What do you think?

I am going to begin to ask your prayers for some discipline issues that we have been facing this past week.  One fifth grade boy, Ryan, has been a very interesting boy ever since I met him in Grade 3.  He has this great smile and he is so caring with others, but he can change so quickly and become so depressed.  On Friday at the close of school he became extremely depressed and began talking of ending his life.  One of the tough things with Ryan is that his parents are so busy with their business lives that he does not see them often.  When his mother was called on Friday, she told the teacher that she would call her back in a few minutes because she was in an important meeting.  My heart breaks for Ryan and others like him.  Our high school counselor came right away and began the process of getting help for Ryan.  Please pray that the parents will realize the importance of the life of this precious boy.

Another boy, Yaejoon, in grade 4 has anger issues.  He is one of the most intelligent boys I have met and so full of energy and passion, but has been used to getting what he wants by demanding it.  When things don't go the way he wants them to go, he lashes out at the student who has upset him.  This past week he began hitting a classmate for no reason except that Yaejoon did not like what the classmate was doing.  He caused some physical damage to the boy and Mr. Lazor is taking appropriate action.  Please pray that we will be able to help this young boy!

On Wednesday afternoon I was invited with other administrators and some of the parents to a food tasting event sponsored by the catering company (J & J Catering) who prepares our delicious meals at YISS.  I am going to show you some food pictures so if you do not want to see, you better scroll past them!  We had a delightful tasting some possible new additions to the menu at YISS.

Above are some of the taste testers!  They include two PTO representatives, our Community Relations Director, Admissions Director, High School Principal and Elementary Principal!  We had a great time!

Very tasty!!

I hadn't had yummy Brussels Sprouts in such a long time!  These were actually very yummy!

Not my favorite, but still very good!

I didn't think this would be very good, but I really liked this lasagna!

A bit spicy for some, but I enjoyed it very much!

This was quite interesting, but actually tasty!

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Thursday was a real highlight for our students in Grade 5 and me!  I have always wanted to attend a Special Olympics event but have never been able to coordinate my schedule.  This past week Korea was hosting the Special Olympics World Winter Games - 2013 in PyeongChang, South Korea.  Our fifth graders were asked to come on Thursday to cheer on the Special Olympic athletes from all over the world.  What a great day our kids had!  I was so impressed with their attitude and their care and their encouragement shown to these special people!  They also were able to have a surprise meeting of a former Special Olympian, Loretta Claiborne.  What an amazing lady.  She was born in York, PA and was not able to talk or walk until the age of about 5.  Her courage and string faith in God helped her to learn to run and compete in Marathons all over the world!  It was a grand day!  I will let the pictures do most of the talking.  You can see more pictures on my facebook page.

This is Edward, my seat buddy on the 

bus ride to and from PyeongChang!  He 

had this special bubble gum and shared 

it with some classmates and me and we 

had fun blowing HUGE bubbles!  It was

great getting to know Edward!

Some of our fifth graders were captured by the Korean TV network, KBS, for interviews!  The kids loved it and I was so proud of the way they responded and their thoughtful responses about the Special Olympic athletes!

Here I am with two of the Russian snowboarders after

their runs down the slopes!  They were awesome!

My special group of fifth graders for the day!  These kids were amazing!  We developed a special dance as a group!  We had out own special singing note to locate each other when we were separated!  From left to right: Maya, Lucas, Joshua, Justin, Rachel, and Jane!  So awesome!

This is my favorite picture of the day!  This is Ben, 

a fifth grader with Asperger's Syndrome, getting an

autograph on his Korean fan from Loretta Claiborne!

When Ben started at YISS, he would not say anything 

to most people including me, but now he communicates

so well!  It took a lot for him to go up and ask Loretta

for an autograph on his own!

 I was delighted to have my picture taken with this amazing lady!  Please Google her and check out her background and all of her accomplishments!  She even has a movie that was made about her!  I am wearing her scarf.  As she posed for pictures and gave autographs to our students, her scarf kept falling from her arms as she signed autographs.  I took it and then almost forgot to give it back to her at the end.  We had a good laugh together!

On the left are three of our fifth grade boys who took 

the initiative to go up to these two Team USA Special

Olympic athletes to congratulate them and ask them for

their autographs!  You can see Benton at the bottom left 

talking with the athlete on the far right!  It was such a joy 

to witness this by these young boys!

Above Loretta is sharing an inspirational and motivational message with our students!  She saw our kids and as they gathered around her, she began sharing!  The kids were thrilled!  She gave them some awesome advice!

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In our Chapels and OASIS assemblies we have been centering in on bullying.  This is a very big issue in Korea especially, and is very secretive and is not always found out because parents keep quiet because they fear being shamed.  I had the privilege of reading, and then discussing with the children, a book entitled The Juice Box Bully.  I was greatly impressed with the listening attitude of each student from kindergarten through grade 5.  We had a great time on Friday and I am praying that our kids will learn what it means to stand up and do the right thing when they see another classmate being hurt or bullied and not be a bystander!  Thanks for praying for our precious cherubs!

Read-A-Thon has its kickoff on Monday morning as we have our kickoff assembly!  Students were given their Read-A-Thon packets on Friday and throughout the day students came up to Mr. Lazor and me with a big smile on their faces saying, "I am going to read so many books!  I want to see your shaved heads!"  So the word is out and I cannot get out of it.  Oh man, what a very weak moment when I agreed to this!!  My mother would be happy though since she always had my brother and me have GI haircuts until high school!  Maybe I will like it? I am thinking of the money saved on haircuts and hair products, too! :-)  This next week the exciting events begin for the Read-A-Thon!  It should be a great month of reading!

Again, I hope you realize how special you are to me!  Thank you for your words of encouragement, your prayers, your love, your gifts, and your support!  Enjoy a wonderful February!

Love, Gregg