I would like to share at the beginning of this post this week a picture of my friend and colleague, Mr. Craig Mooi. Craig teaches 4D and he does a great job and he has developed some excellent relationships with his wonderful group of youngsters. On Tuesday morning (elementary staff meetings are at 6:50 AM - to my delight and to the dread of most others) we were having our elementary staff meeting and I noticed that Craig was having a very difficult time keeping awake! :-) I couldn't resist a picture of him. He says that he was praying, but we were not praying at the time. Mrs. Birmingham was giving some details concerning events coming up and Mrs. Franck was sharing about our three-day VBS in the elementary during the final three days of school. You judge for yourself. :-)
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I know that Mr. Mooi has been quite busy as he finishes his After School Activity in Quarter 4 - Volleyball. In addition he and Grade 4D have been working on a travel exposition project for their Social Studies class as well as arranging student interviews with administrators and teachers concerning "The Cost of Following Christ." I have developed some close relationships with four of the boys in 4D. They always greet me at lunch and want to talk with me during lunch. They were having a difficult time deciding who was going to interview me. One of the boys, Ryan, asked first so Mr. Mooi gave him the task of interviewing me. I had such a great time with this delightful young man! He had his questions ready and listened intently and then wrote, erased, wrote again, erased some more, and wrote one more time. What a wonderful opportunity to get to know Ryan better and share with him about following Jesus. I asked Ryan if he had received Jesus and believed in Him. He was so happy to share his testimony with me. Great things are ahead for Ryan! Thanks for praying for him.
Ryan intently writing notes as I answer his questions
concerning "The Cost of Following Christ."
Here we are at the close of the interview in my office.
I am looking forward to a continued and growing
relationship with Ryan! So excited for this young man!
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As I mentioned, MAP testing was completed for grades 3 - 5. Our students are doing very well in these MAP tests, scoring higher than other international schools. This past week was the close of most of our After School Activities for this quarter. Please pray as I seek to work with the Headmaster and CFO on some new policies for the After School Activities Program. It is our desire to keep our purpose in mind not only in our classes during the regular day, but also in our after school program. I thought I would share a few pictures from several of the activities that finished this past week.
Master Kim and our elementary students who are in the Taekwondo After School Activity! They had just finished testing for their next belt!
A finished Ceramics product by Sora!
Alex's finished flower vase!
One of our 1A students, Dahyun as he works on
completing his ceramic vase!
Four little cherubs finishing their beautiful ceramic vases!
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Thursday evening was our 4th Grade Spring Music Concert. Dr. Harding was able to return to school to get them ready for their concert which featured all of the fourth grade students playing their recorders in a selection by Paul Jennings entitled These, The Endangered: A Suite for Recorders and Orchestra. In the second half of the concert the students sang a collection by Teresa Jennings called Jazz, A Swingin' Celebration. They did a very good job - especially with the Jazz selections!
Fourth Grade students playing their recorders with a background
orchestra accompaniment!
Front of the program for the 4th Grade Music Concert!
4th Graders performing Jazz Is On Its Way - one of the selections
in the Jazz portion of their concert!
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On Tuesday, May 27, Grades 2 and 3 will present their concert, Springing Into Song. They will be sharing a few seasonal pieces that they have been working hard on during this past quarter using recorders, xylophones, drums, and their harmonious voices! Ms. Weir has done a great job getting them ready. I wish you could be here to hear these delightful cherubs sing. It has been my joy to substitute in these music classes during this year. I can't wait to see my buddy, Conner, sing. Also the String Performance Ensemble will present a mini-prelude to begin the concert. This is one of our after school activities and although it is a small group this quarter, they are doing a great job!
Second and Third Grade students rehearsing for their Music Concert, Springing Into Song!!
String Performance Ensemble practicing during one of their After School Activity times!
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I am excited about the commencement exercises on May 31 for our seniors! I have developed some great relationships with about seven of the young men in the senior class and am very excited to witness their graduation. It will be hard to see them move on, and I would value your prayers for them, especially these young men: Jae Eun Lee (student body president), James Bai, Andy Halter, Jay Kim, Alex Rios, Al-warith Alharthy, and Joseph Yi. Al-warith is the the oldest son of the Ambassador from Oman to South Korea. He continues to ask me many questions and we have become excellent friends. Please pray that he will come to know Jesus.
There were also elections in the high school for student body officers for the 2014-15 school year. I was excited to learn that my friend, Samuel Lee was elected President of the student body! He came to me right after he found out the results and asked, "You aren't leaving YISS, are you? Please tell me you will be here next year!" Please pray for Sam as he has already begun making some plans for the coming school year. He is one fine young man who has a strong faith in Jesus!
Above is one of Sam's campaign posters! I am excited to see how God uses him next year in a leadership role!
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One of the Middle School teachers stopped me on Tuesday and said, "I wish you could have been in my class today. Paul Oh was sharing his Power Point presentation and he said so many wonderful things about 'Mr. Garman' - the man he most respects." I was so humbled and I started to cry because some of you will remember that Paul was in my Discipleship group when he was in grade 5 and then this year he emailed me to ask for recommendations of books on his level that would help him to understand Jesus Christ more and help him to be certain that he is a Christian. When you read the screenshot of his first slide in his Power Point, you will understand why I am so happy right now. Paul and I continue to have many conversations in the midst of our busy schedules. Thank you so much for continuing to pray for him!
Above is the screenshot of the beginning slide of Paul's presentation to his class.
Here I am with Paul and Joshua during one of our Discipleship
times. This one took place at McDonald's (their choice!).
Paul in one of our Discipleship times in my office! I am so excited
about his growth and his desire to follow Christ. I love that he is no
longer afraid to ask questions about his faith and the Bible!
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Friday evening was so great! I was able to have a reunion dinner with three former SYME students and excellent friends! I was so happy to be able to catch up with Jae Hong (Fred), Joon Soo (Carlos), and Sung In (Josh)! All three of these young men are facing some big changes in their lies in the next month! Jae Hong and Sung In will leave South Korea on June 18 to go to Melbourne, Australia to attend Deakin University. Jae Hong will be studying Nursing and is quite excited about this. Sung In will study Sports Management. Joon Soo will leave on June 14 to travel to California where he will be studying Accounting at Glendale Community College near Los Angeles. I know that all three of these young men would value your prayers as they seek housing and make all of the other necessary arrangements. Pray that they will be surrounded by a good community of believers.
While we waited for Joon Soo and Sung In, Jae Hong and I
enjoyed a tea and coffee at a favorite coffee place, Chansbros -
owned by the Dad of Francis Park, a sixth grader at YISS!
Here we are at Taste of Thailand - a favorite Thai restaurant of
mine! What a wonderful meal and great time of catching up with
these delightful young men!
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A busy week is ahead of me! Thank you for continuing to be so encouraging, so faithful, so loving, and so supportive! That means so much to me! I trust you will enjoy this last week of May. Can't believe I will be heading to the States on June 11 for a little respite.Love, Gregg
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