One More Week Before Christmas Break!

It is very difficult to believe that we have but one more week remaining in the first semester of this school year...and then Christmas Break!  This past week has been another busy and exciting one.

Monday evening the YISS staff gathered at the Millennium Seoul Hilton for the YISS Christmas Gala!  What a wonderful evening of yummy food and great fellowship!  We also heard special music from the YISS HS Orchestra and the YISS HS Show Choir.  One of our fathers at YISS (he and his wife have two boys in the Elementary School) is the Director of Operations at the Seoul Hilton and he goes all out to give us a grand experience!  Thanks so much, Mr. Subbaiah!

Here I am in front of the huge tree in the

  foyer of the Millennium Hilton at the

            YISS Christmas Gala!

One of the wonderful scenes under the huge Christmas tree!

The ice sculpture prepared for the YISS

Christmas Gala by Seoul Hilton!     

My first plateful of food!  There were large serving areas of all kinds of food.  I posted many pictures on Facebook.  You can check there for more food if you wish to be tortured!

    Here I am in front of the ice sculpture with the

Director of Operations at the Hilton, Mr. Subbaiah!

This is a picture of all of the children of staff at YISS!  Well, Mr. VanGalder got in the picture because he was making sure his little girl didn't fall.  She isn't quite one yet.

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In the middle of a bitter cold week with a little snow we had our second of three elementary Christmas concerts.  This one was the Kinder and Grade 1 cherubs performing on Wednesday evening to a packed audience in the YISS auditorium.  You can see five of their songs on video clips that I posted on Facebook.  Ms. Shauna Weir, a truly outstanding and gifted teacher led her first music concert at YISS after teaching grade 2 for a number of years.  She did an amazing job with these little ones!  I have been listening to the practices of Grades 2 and 3, and their concert on December 17 looks to be another amazing one!  One of our new After School Activities in Quarter Two was Strings Performance Ensemble.  They are performing a five-minute prelude before each of the three elementary concerts.  These second through fourth grade students did an outstanding job for their first public performances! (I could not get the little video clip of the Strings performing to load on here so you will have to check out my Facebook page for that.)

Kinder and Grade 1 cherubs performing on Wednesday!

The Hickey family and me!  Chloe is in the center and was in the concert!  The Hickeys have to leave on a new assignment to Ireland!  What a great family.  Mr. Hickey was the Director of Culinary Services at the WWalker Hill Hotel in Seoul.  Joshua is in Grade 5 and he has grown soooo much!

This is my buddy Pranav and his mother.  Pranav is

in grade 2 but came to the concert to see his buddies.

He is such a cute and smiling boy!  Can't wait to see

his concert.  He is one of my buddies!         

This is a new family to YISS in the last 2 months! Ketumile if the little girl at the left who sang in the concert.  She is in Grade 1 and did a super job!  This is her mother and Middle School brother at her concert with me!

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Throughout the week there were many other events including a MS/HS Orchestra and Band Concert.  I am sorry but I was just so tired from all of the elementary events that I was not able to attend.  I did hear parts of the concert as they rehearsed throughout the week.  They are very good!

It was also the last full week of After School Activities for Quarter Two!  I was so excited to be part of a little ceremony in the Taekwondo class for several students who earned their next belt! There was a lot of excitement in the Chess Club activity as Mr. and Mrs. Franck were conducting a mini tournament among the 32 students from Grades 4 and 5.  Our Scratch Computer ASA has been received so well.  We continue to have students on a waiting list for this class.  We are talking with the instructor and our IT person at YISS about a possible Scratch Robotics class along with the beginning Scratch class for Quarter Three.

Above is an amazing Kinder boy, Noah, receiving

his orange belt from Master Kim at Taekwondo! I 

   wish you could have seen Noah pass his test!

And this is Tei in Grade 1 receiving his yellow belt!  He is so full of enthusiasm but with Master Kim he controls it so well! :-)

Chess Club students in the middle of their tournament!

Mr. Franck checking students as they compete!

         More students at the Chess Tournament!

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Last Sunday evening I had my first invite in my four years at YISS to a YISS family's home for a Christmas celebration!  It was such a fun evening at the apartment of Karen and Steve Kim and their two children + two other families and one of the pastors from their church.  There was so much tasty food, awesome fun and fellowship, and Wii dance competition!  That competition began with the kids who were present, but then I was dragged into it.  I was placed against Zachary, a first grader full of energy who edged me out by 900 + points!  What good laughs we had!  Hopefully Mr. Adams (a YISS first grade teacher) will not post my performance with Zachary!  You might be sick! :-)  But it was fun!  Oh yes, Mr. Adams, his wife, and a kinder teacher, Ms. McGinnis also were at this special Christmas celebration!

Above is Mrs. Karen Kim preparing the yummy ribs!! 

Beside the beef and veggie dish (on the right) is one

of my favorite Korean dishes - especially when it is 

cold outside - Kim Chi Chigae (not sure that is how

you would spell it in English, but that is as close as 

I can get; the Chi is pronounced like chee). 

                      Soooo yummy!!

A close up of the ribs!!

Here is most of the group who enjoyed this great Sunday

evening!                                 

Here are the kids playing in the play and music practice room!

I am about ready to devour some of this most tasty

  dessert - Flan!!!  Oh man, it was sooooo good!!

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There has been a new tenor at New Harvest Choir.  He has been studying in America and Canada and is back now.  He and I have hit it off very well and last week he wanted to have a picture of us.  So here is Mark with me at Choir practice last Sunday!

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Saturday was a special day.  My good friend, Yeongmin, and I celebrated his niece's 1st birthday (quite a special event for Korean families) and then Christmas.  We had a great time together with Yeongmin's family and then went to see a performance of Mamma Mia! at the Blue Square Theater located right across from YISS. Please continue to pray for my dear friend that he will stop looking at those pretend Christians and that he will see his need of Jesus in his life.  Please pray for the entire Baek family that they would come to know Jesus.

Above is Yeongmin and GGG and the little cherub!

I asked Yeongmin's sister, the mother, if I could hold her princess.  As she handed her to me, I was greeted by this enormous cry!  I quickly returned her to the secure arms of her mother.  Yeongmin captured this picture right after she let out her scream of terror! :-)

What a cutie she is!!  I love this picture!

Here is Yeongmin with his family!  His parents are on the far right!

My first of many plates full of tasty food which we

enjoyed at the Sheraton in celebration of Yeongmin's

               niece's 1st Birthday Party!

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I trust that each of you will enjoy a special week as you prepare for the celebration of the Lord's birth!  I would value your prayers as I prepare to travel on December 23 to come back to PA and Washington, DC for the a brief visit this Christmas.  Thank you so much for your love, prayers, encouragement, and support!

Love, Gregg