I arrived at my office on Monday morning at my usual time (6:00 - 6:15 AM) and saw right away it was going to be an interesting day and week! I looked at the elementary calendar and saw that four elementary teachers were absent because of sickness, personal day, or death of a family member back in the States. I was planning on subbing in Grade 2C, but that changed quickly and I was scheduled to sub in Grade 2D. God used the cherubs in 2D to give me a passion and love for teaching once again and direct my focus on the Lord rather than my circumstances! It was a wonderful day of refreshment with this wonderful group of cherubs!
In the middle of subbing on Monday, there were also concerns about the first full day of After School Activities. The weather was beautiful so Soccer did not have to be canceled! Everything flowed very smoothly and it was one of our best afternoons for Bus Dismissal. No calls from the Contact Teacher on duty with the 22 buses. We usually have to call 2 to 4 parents to find out about their son or daughter concerning riding or not riding the bus.
Monday prepared me for the remainder of the week and this coming week. Wednesday I had the great privilege of subbing for a couple hours in Grade 5. I was able to teach Literature classes to two sections of fifth graders. Oh, how it made me remember the joy and passion I had at the beginning when I was teaching fifth grade at Guilford Hills School! On Wednesday we were looking at some of Emily Dickinson's poetry and it was so thrilling to interact with these kids and challenge them to do some critical thinking. I loved being with them!
Thursday I was in Grade 4A subbing for a brief time. These kids always make me smile. I love their passion for learning and interacting!
Friday was my opportunity to substitute for the Kinder and grade 1 Art teacher. I was able to teach Grade 1D. They were so fun as we worked on creating our Kandinsky Circles. There were two new students in 1D; Woo Chan and Adityah. These two boys seemed to fit right in. You can pray for Adityah especially. He seemed to have more difficulty than others in staying focused and understanding the circles. Here are a few pictures of some of the 1D cherubs working on their Kandinsky Circles.
This little guy is new to YISS this year and it has
been so thrilling to see him grow. He is always eager
to do his best and show his creativity.
Another wonderful cherub in 1D working on his circles.
Valentina has come a long way in her short time at YISS! I love watching her work on her project!
Kennedy hard at work on her Kandinsky Circles!
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Wednesday was also the morning of the performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for the elementary school. The kids loved it and I thought the Drama Club did a super job for their first performance. One of my good high school friends, James Bai had the lead role of Joseph and he did an amazing job! Everyone did actually. There was a group of our fourth grade students who had singing parts in the performance and they were delightful. I went to see the opening night performance at YISS on Friday and they did an even better job! I have included a few pictures of their performance on Friday night! Enjoy! I wish you could have seen the musical!
My friend, James Bai, following his lead performance in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Friday's performance. He is such a great spiritual leader at YISS and is heading to Stanford in September!
Joseph with the Choir/Dancers singing right after
receiving his special coat from his father! The coat
was amazing!
The fourth grade choir singing and dancing with Joseph after receiving his special coat!
The brothers selling Joseph to the Egyptian traders.
How do you like the camel?
Joseph in prison singing with back up from the fourth grade singers!
I loved this picture of some of the fourth graders
singing during the prison scene.
The Baker, Daniel Choi, and Butler, Eugene Mok, singing about their dreams in prison!
Joseph reunited with his brothers in Egypt!
Joseph finally reunited with his father, Jacob!
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Please continue to pray for many of our high school seniors who are making decisions concerning where they will attend university this September. Your prayers are appreciated for a couple of our elementary teachers who have had to head back to the States because of family members who are in serious medical conditions or have passed away. Please pray for Celina Horne who has just returned after being back to the States for the memorial services of her grandmother. Pray also for our 3D teacher, Deb Biersteker, who was called back to the States because of the very serious condition of her father. She left on Friday afternoon in hopes of being able to arrive before his passing. Thanks so much.
Some of you may know that a number of our key administrators are leaving at the end of this year. Please pray for the new administrators as they are hired and as they transition to YISS. Our headmaster, Dr. Beeson, will return to the States to be Superintendent of a Christian school. All three principals (elementary, middle school and high school) will be leaving at the close of the year. I know that our elementary principal, Mr. Lazor, would really value your prayers as he does not have a position for next year as of yet. He and his family know that God wants them to move after 8 or 9 years at YISS, but they do not know where yet. Pray for Mrs. Birmingham as she takes over as elementary principal. I am excited to see how the Lord is going to work in all of these changes. Thanks for praying!
I also had the joy of having lunch on Saturday with Gunmo and dinner on Saturday with Yeongmin. It is always special to enjoy times with these special young men. Gunmo continues to enjoy his new job with GrapeSeed and shared more with me about his father. You may remember that the company said that he had to retire but shortly after Gunmo told me that, the company changed its mind and have allowed him to work until September 2015! Gunmo's Dad is very happy about this. Please keep praying for him to come to know the Lord. Yeongmin and I also had a nice conversation. He continues to enjoy his job with SK Telecom. He had picked up a little sore throat and I know he would appreciate your prayers for his health. I continue to pray for his salvation.
On Sunday evening I will get to have dinner with Jin-Seok. We also always have a great time together. I know he would appreciate your prayers as he prepares his resume and application for a full time position with the National Tax Service of Korea.
It is always my pleasure to thank you for your many prayers, your great encouragement, your love, and your support. You are very special to me as I serve here at YISS. Enjoy a great week!
Love, Gregg
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