A night view from my room in our hotel,
the Shangri-La Hotel in Bangkok!
One night some of us went to the Bangkok Boardwalk! Lots of shops and restaurants and fun!
This is just one of the pictures I took of the
electric wires running throughout Bangkok!
A delightful break in the afternoon at the conference was this Caramel Latte and Double Chocolate Chip Cookie from the Chocolate Boutique at the Shangri-La! Yummy!!
One of my favorite workshop presenters, Rick Wormeli,
sharing about quality assessment, formative and summative
assessment, etc. Went to four of his workshops!
Nine of our YISS team attending the EARCOS conference enjoying a delicious dinner at a restaurant on the Bangkok Boardwalk.
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Tuesday morning I started right in with getting all of the little situations worked out for the After School Activities. There were a number of students who had to switch classes and some had to cancel so there I had my hands full making all of the changes and making sure the Bus Lists and room locations were accurate, etc. By the end of the week everything seemed to be running smoothly. We had 32 students sign up for Chess Club and it was exciting to see them all busy listening to Mr. and Mrs. Franck teach them things about the game and then watching them play. Many of them have been playing for some time and were doing quite well. There is a tournament coming up and they are all excited about preparing for that.
In addition to all of the After School Activities, this week was our SEW, or Spiritual Emphasis Week in the Elementary School. It is always a delight to have John and Diane Windle from Wisconsin as our guests speakers for SEW! They did another outstanding job with three sessions each day, Tuesday through Friday, with our 425 elementary cherubs. This year's theme was "Amazing Grace for the Human Race!" The kids love the Windles and it is so much fun to watch them interact with John and Diane. They love the puppets that John operates masterfully! Numerous children expressed a desire to learn more about God's amazing grace! Thanks for your prayers.
One of the kids' favorite puppets of the Windles - Hairy!!
Here is Diane sharing in SEW while Hairy (operator is John Windle) interacts with Diane and the children.
Some of the YISS children in the auditorium during
SEW enjoying the Windles!!
On he last day Several students were called up to help "Hairy" and Diane with a learning tool on giving and receiving! The kids loved it and the impact of the illustration was so great!
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Because a number of teachers were out sick or taking a personal day this past week, Mr. Lazor, Mrs. Birmingham and I had to be involved in subbing in various classrooms. I had the pleasure of subbing in Grade 4A on Wednesday for most of the day, and then I was subbing for our Elementary Librarian on Thursday. I enjoyed both experiences! It's always a highlight for me when I can get into the classroom and interact with the cherubs. I also had the joy of recess duty for grades 4 and 5 on Wednesday.
Students in 4A hard at work with their Literature
Circles on my Subbing Day! I loved interacting with
them as they worked on their reading and writing!
Two of the boys deeply involved in their Literature Circle!
Group interaction and computer work during Science in 4A.
Above is another Science group hard at work!
Kinder students were learning about
David and Goliath last week! I wish
I would have taken a video of the teachers
and the Kinder cherubs during this lesson!
This is my buddy, Hoonie (Stephan). He is such a bright boy yet he can do the craziest and silliest things to make me smile. He always brings his lunch and above Hoonie is modeling his new cap - his empty lunch box!
Side view of Hoonie's "Lunch box" hat!
He cracks me up all the time! I love him!
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Saturday morning I had a nice coffee break
visit with my wonderful friend, Gunmo.
He wasn't able to go with the other SYME
students and teachers for lunch because he
went to see his sister and new nephew in
the hospital. Thanks for your prayers.
The trees around the Noksapyeong Subway station. I enjoyed them while I waited for the SYME teachers and friends to arrive for lunch.
Here is the wonderful group of SYME teachers and
students who gathered at Taste of Thailand for a yummy
lunch and some great fun and fellowship!
After taking taxis to the man-made river in Seoul (near Yeongmin's office at SK Telecom), we took a walk to enjoy the Seoul Lantern Festival and then enjoyed coffee and tea together at a Singapore Coffee Shop! Do you recognize any of these people?
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I want to leave you with some prayer requests this week:
* Our headmaster, Dr. Joe Beeson, announced last week that the 2013-14 school year would be his last at YISS. Please pray as he looks for another position and as YISS seeks a new headmaster.
* YISS will also be looking for a new Elementary Principal for the 2014-15 school year. Mr. Lazor will step down as Elementary Principal but has not decided what his next step will be.
* My wonderful friend, Gunmo, has become an uncle once again! He now has a nephew! Please pray for his sister and brother-in-law right now. Gunmo's nephew will have surgery on Monday at Severance Hospital in Seoul. Gunmo will know more early next week. This surgery is supposed to allow the little man to be able to eat properly. Gunmo is also resigning from his current job at the end of November and would appreciate your prayers for his next step.
* Another of my great Korean friends, Jin Seok, is interviewing for a translation position with a Korean company, LG, that would take him to South Africa for at least three years if he is offered the position and accepts it. I know he would value your prayers.
* Continue to pray for Ji Sang, another dear friend. He finished his job at the coffee shop yesterday and is finishing his studies at Liberty University. He faces many decisions and I know he would value your prayers.
* It was great to see a former SYME student and wonderful friend, Jae Hong (Fred), on Saturday! He recently went with his mother for a month to visit his mother's sister in Virginia. Continue to pray for Jae Hong as he continues to have many questions about his faith in God.
* Many of you have been praying for Matthew, a high school student at YISS. He has been fighting depression for a few years. The last several weeks (after a rather nasty couple of weeks) he has been doing better. Thank you for continuing to pray for Matthew.
* My heart is aching for a 6th grade boy, Alex. I got to know him a little bit last year when he was in fifth grade. This year his school work has been suffering. His mother came in for a meeting with the MS Principal. Her comment was, "I really don't have time to make sure Alex does his work or help him. He's old enough to take care of this." The parents are divorced and Alex is left alone to complete work and take care of himself. At moments like this, I just want to grab Alex and take him into my home. I have been making concerted efforts the past two weeks to make sure I run into Alex and see how he is doing. Thank you for remembering this dear young man.
OK, I need to stop. Thank you so much for your faithful prayers, notes, emails, encouragement, love, and support. I am fighting off a sore throat and some coughing right now and would also appreciate your prayers - especially with the busyness of these next two months.
Love, Gregg
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