Spring Break and my birthday celebrations actually began last Friday, March 21 as YISS had an Early release for students and staff. At the close of a very hectic Bus dismissal on Friday around 12 Noon, I noticed teachers coming into the Elementary Office. They kept coming as I was trying to locate a missing child. (The child was located and all was cool!) All of a sudden, Mr. Lazor, our Elementary Principal brought out a cake with candles and everyone began singing "Happy Birthday" to me. In the middle of the song, I had to run out because of an emergency bus situation. I came back in and they started singing again. I had to leave again and came back and yes, they started singing again. A little girl waiting in the office was laughing because of the teachers singing to me three times. They presented me with some beautiful cards and then we enjoyed cake - after I blew out my candles. I am so glad they could not locate 65 candles! Not sure I could have extinguished all of them in one breath! :-) It was such a great way to start my week of birthday celebrations! I love the wonderful staff of elementary teachers and principals God has brought together as a family at YISS!!
Mr. Lazor lighting the candles on my birthday cake
in the Elementary Office!
Here I am after blowing out all of the candles on my
yummy cake! Mrs. Yoo, our wonderful secretary,
would like to have seen me attempt blowing out
65 candles! :-)
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Sunday evening I was surprised by three of my "Korean sons," Gunmo, Chang Yong and Jin Seok. Gunmo had invited me to meet him for dinner on Sunday evening. I said that would be great. When I got there, he was there with his girlfriend, Soo Jin, Chang Yong and his girlfriend, Eun Jung, and Jin Seok! These same three "sons" were instrumental in surprising me at SYME on my 60th birthday! We enjoyed a wonderful time at Ashley's restaurant. I had not been there in a long time and we shared a huge steak and enjoyed the scrumptious buffet! But more importantly, I was able to spend a fantastic time together with my special friends who gave me some very special gifts and a yummy cake!
I love this group!! Sunday evening at Ashley's!
Clockwise: Eun Jung, Chang Yong, Gunmo, Soo
Jin, GGG, and Jin Seok! Do you like Gunmo's
new hair cut? :-)
GGG blowing out the two candles on the cake Jin Seok
brought for me! They all made comments that they would
like to have had 65 candles, but the cake was too small!
I may have to punish them!! :-)
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Monday (my real birthdate) was a relaxing day plus I went to YISS to work a few hours on the After School Activities program for Quarter Four. I enjoyed a nice quiet meal at On the Border in Itaewon and then went home. I received a text from my wonderful friend, Yeongmin, who asked if he could stop by to give me his birthday gift. He was coming back from a trip to Jeju Island with a colleague from SK Telecom. He said he wanted to stop before March 24th was over to wish me a "Happy Birthday" and give me a gift. It was a nice visit, although very quick, and I now have a brand new wallet! My old one was getting a bit worn. I am sorry but I was not able to get any pictures of Yeongmin's visit. :-(
On Tuesday evening I met with Hojae, my friend and former accompanist of the NHM Choir. If you remember, I had asked in an email back in January for contacts in Manhattan where Hojae could practice the piano while preparing for his auditions at numerous music conservatories. Hojae wanted to take me out to dinner and tell me about his 40 days in America and his auditions at conservatories from Los Angeles to Ann Arbor to Manhattan! It was one of the best times of conversation I have had with Hojae and it was exciting to hear him share how God led him throughout his entire visit to America. Hojae is now receiving official proposals from five of the conservatories who were greatly impressed with his gift and ability. I will have more details in a future post about his final decision - once he makes it. I knew that those who heard Hojae play would be very impressed and I was not disappointed. I know he will have a difficult time deciding where to go for his Masters in Music Keyboard Collaborative Arts. I learned so much about this relatively new and exciting degree! Hojae took me to a new restaurant, IP Boutique Hotel in Itaewon. It had a yummy buffet and we enjoyed fine food and a wonderful time of fellowship. Please pray for Hojae as he makes decisions about which conservatory to attend.
Here I am with Hojae at IP Boutique enjoying a
great time of fellowship and yummy food!
Just a glimpse of the array of goodies on the buffet!!
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On Wednesday, a former SYME student and great friend, Jae Hong Park (Dr. Fred), took me to another new restaurant experience in Itaewon. (There are sooooo many restaurants in Itaewon. I doubt I will ever get to all of them.) We went to a very yummy Brasilian Meat Buffet! When I led a team from Mercer Christian Academy on a mission trip to Sao Paulo, Brasil I enjoyed my first one of these and they are amazing. They just keep bringing different cuts of meat to your table and you slice off what you want and enjoy! They will keep coming as long as you keep eating! It was so good! Please pray for Jae Hong as he is studying for an English test so that he can go to America to study Nursing.
GGG with Jae Hong at the Brasilian Meat Buffet!
A sample of some of the tasty cuts of
meat we enjoyed together!
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Thursday evening was my first session with Nam Gyu (David Baek) in our accountability. Nam Gyu had contacted me about 2 weeks ago asking if he could meet regularly on Skype or in person once a week for accountability. You may remember that I sang at the wedding of Nam Gyu and his wife Victoria back in January. Nam Gyu and Victoria wish to serve as missionaries and would love your prayers. We had a wonderful time together on Skype Thursday evening and plan to meet next Thursday to follow up on the assignments. I am so excited about this young man and his wife. He has such a passion for serving the Lord. Please pray for this delightful couple!
Here I am with Nam Gyu and his beautiful wife, Victoria having burgers earlier this year!
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As I mentioned, I was able to do a lot of reading and walking and reflecting this past week. I love to walk! I love singing or talking to the Lord as I walk. I know....many people look at me strangely, but I am used to having people look at me strangely! :-) I use these times to reflect on what I have been reading. I am so grateful for the extra long walks I had this week. I walk every week, but usually not as long as I was able to this past week.
One morning the weather was so nice I decided to walk to one of my favorite little restaurants where they make these fluffy omelets! As I walked, I noticed that so many trees were in the process of breaking forth into full bloom! It was a beautiful walk and when I got to The Pancake Story, I decided I would try something different. I enjoyed their strawberry pancakes with whipped cream (never enough) and sausage with a delicious cup of coffee. So good!! here are a few pictures from the walk.
Today, as I write this, there are even
more of these blooming!
The Forsythia are blooming so beautifully!!
And some more beauty on my walk!
I love these murals throughout the streets in Seoul and other cities in Korea. You have to be careful though. It is what inside that really matters. Many of these murals are hiding something inside. Behind this wall is a garbage collection place! I decided not to take a picture of what is behind it so you can just enjoy the outside! :-)
After my walk I enjoyed this yummy breakfast!!
Not nearly enough whipped cream as you can see!!
After eating breakfast, I walked to YISS to do some work. I noticed this sign! I love it! An "i" in Korean is usually pronounced like a long "e" in English! The person who made the sign thought that "eat" should be "it." :-)
Above is a view in my apartment complex! Love the Cherry Blossoms and the Dogwood!
A picture from my camera of Seoul on Sunday afternoon right before I sent out my post! The Cherry Blossoms are so beautiful!!
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Thanks so much for your faithful love, prayers, encouragement, and support. I would really value your prayers this next week as we begin Quarter Four. Teachers will return to YISS and need to have their Quarter Three Comments and Grades to me this week for checking. I know they would value your prayers as they prepare them. Please pray also for Quarter Four After School Activities. Everything is ready to go, but there will be last minute changes - especially since we had a week off and parents realize they didn't sign up or they signed up for the wrong activity. Thanks so much for all you do to partner with me as I serve Him here at YISS in Korea.
Love, Gregg
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