Before writing anything else, I just want to share that exciting things have been happening in the lives of our students. Another elementary student accepted Jesus as her Savior! A Kindergarten student also has been sharing about the Bible and Jesus with her parents. The mother, who is from Japan and a Buddhist, contacted the teacher to ask the teacher if she could teach her more about Jesus and the Bible. Her daughter comes home and shares what she is learning and the mother is now very interested. I was also able to be present in the MS/HS Chapel this past Tuesday and Mr. Mooney began a series on love by introducing the three types of love, phileo, eros, and agape. I was watching the students during his talk and almost every student was so intent on what he was saying. Mr. Mooney captured their attention and gave a great introduction to this study. Please pray as these Chapels continue.
Wednesday: The day began with a profitable meeting with those teachers and administrators involved in the ELD (English Language Development) program. Because of the growth of the number of students needing this extra teaching in English, we are developing a policy for the program as well as working on the curriculum. We are also seeking an ELD Coordinator/Teacher for the program rather than having 3 or 4 teachers teach an extra class and sometimes not with the same students. It was a good beginning and on Friday we were able to interview a prospective teacher for this position. Please pray that Mrs. Dale Amos will be open to our offer to her for this position. We had such a delightful interview with Mrs. Amos. Her husband also joined later in the interview. They seem to be a very good fit for ICS-P as well as the position. They are currently serving at a school in China and seemed to be very excited about coming to ICS-P. When we shared that we had two positions that Mrs. Amos would qualify for (Grade 5 teacher or ELD Coordinator/Teacher), she got this huge smile and then said it was an answer to prayer - especially about the ELD Coordinator/Teacher position! Hopefully, I will have a firm answer from Mrs. Amos next week!
Between meetings on Wednesday, I had a nice interruption when our Music teacher, Mrs. Kim, brought the Kinder cherubs to my office to show some of the guitars they were working on in Music and Art. They are studying stringed instruments so Mrs. Kim and Ms. Lim (Art teacher) worked on the project together. Such fun! They were so excited about showing me the instruments they had created.
Mrs. Kim with the Kinder cherubs and their guitars in my office!
Another picture showing one of the students explaining their creation!
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Another delightful surprise on Wednesday was the arrival of an "After Christmas Surprise" package from my dear friends, Paul and Anne Duvall, from Greencastle, PA. I always love mail and this special package was not expected! It was a great way to end my Wednesday1 Thanks so much, Paul and Anne!
My "After Christmas Surprise" goodies from Paul and Anne Duvall! :-)
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Thursday: Most of Thursday afternoon (12:30 - 4:30 PM) was spent with the ICS-P Field Leadership Team in planning meetings to finalize the School Calendar, Parent-Student Handbook, and Faculty Handbook for 2017-18. We made some excellent progress as we completed the School Calendar and 95% of the Parent-Student Handbook. Please pray that we will be able to get some uninterrupted time soon to complete the Faculty Handbook.
In the middle of this planning session, we met with the Pyeongtaek International Exchange Foundation (PIEF). You may remember that this is the group that provided us with three major Field Trips in December without cost for most of our students. I had gone to meet the leaders of this group back in December to thank them for their generosity in providing these trips. They are excited about working with us on various projects! They asked if they could come to the school and meet us to talk about various ideas. We arranged the meeting for February 2 at ICS-P. The leaders (four of them) came to ICS-P on Thursday afternoon and we had such a great time of sharing how we could help each other. They are excited about continuing to work with us in some upcoming projects. They were delighted to see our facilities and the opportunity to share with us.
Here are three of the PIEF leaders (the one who was taking the picture did not want in the picture) along with Mr. Mooney, GGG, and Mr. Kuhn outside the ICS-P main office.
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Friday: What a crazy busy day! It began with news of four teachers who would be absent on Friday. So we had to find substitute teachers. Two of our teachers were involved in organizing and carrying out the Boys' Basketball Tournament for our division. ICS-P was the host for this year's tournament. Some of the teachers who were absent had agreed to work at the concession stand at different times. So subs had to be found. I was involved for the first couple hours + in taking care of the concession stand and showing others what to do. All worked out and it was a good tournament - except out boys did not win. They are in a growing year and they put up a good fight and never gave up. There is next year! :-)
The Girls' Basketball Tournament was on Saturday. I wasn't able to go to the Girls' Tournament, but our HS Math teacher, Ms. Gaul, was able to travel to the tournament and give us updates as the day progressed. In their first game of the tournament, ICS-P Girls won and because they were first place in the conference, they automatically went to the championship game. They played Dwight International School for the tournament championship and after a very hard-fought game came up short 33-29. :-( Although they lost on Saturday, we are all very proud of this group of young ladies! They have had a fantastic season! Great season, ladies!
A photo of our wonderful Girls' Basketball team for 2016-17! They came in first in the conference and second in the tournament. Great job, ladies! Assistant Coach, Mr. Edwards on the left; Ms. Dather Coach on the right!
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On Thursday evening, we received word that Charlie and April Mooney had to once again return to the hospital with baby Cora. Late Thursday night, they found out Cora had pneumonia. Other situations developed throughout the night. I am going to share what Charlie shared with the staff. I would ask you to pray for baby Cora and the Mooneys right now. I would also ask you not to post anything on social media and just keep these details between you and the Lord.
"Friday morning - Urgent update: Cora has a severe infection that is not yet identified, and she is severely dehydrated. She was moved to ICU and is in critical condition. We've been told not to leave the hospital until she is stabilized. We're sleeping in the waiting room. It is 3:30am. We can see her again at 10am, but the doctor wants us nearby in case he has to call us in.
Friday afternoon - We got to see Cora. She was on less oxygen (good) and has started urinating a little bit suggesting slightly restored kidney function. (We're praying she doesn't need dialysis.) Her blood pressure was stable finally. She was sedated because they put in a "central line" to get medicine in her system faster. They won't work through possible leukemia evaluations until about Monday. A few inches forward with yards to go. Just when you think you're out of rope you find the Lord has given you more. Cora's the toughest Mooney yet.
Friday evening - We've learned that Cora has a severe UTI, "low meningitis," impaired kidney function, pulmonary edema, and they are watching closely for possible leukemia. Her vitals have improved slightly but she is not yet stable. We are broken and have no words. Please pray fervently for our sweet Cora. We want nothing more than to take this for her.
Saturday afternoon - Say a prayer again for little Cora. She was admitted to the ICU (at Ajou Hospital in Suwon) again for severe infection, impaired kidney function, labored breathing, and dehydration. After three days, she has already improved a lot but she has a long way to go. We do not know how long she'll be there but this is considerably more serious than her last time in the NICU. Pray that her doctors would better understand all underlying issues and treat her effectively. We're grateful that she has been so strong and has already improved a great deal."
Saturday afternoon - Say a prayer again for little Cora. She was admitted to the ICU (at Ajou Hospital in Suwon) again for severe infection, impaired kidney function, labored breathing, and dehydration. After three days, she has already improved a lot but she has a long way to go. We do not know how long she'll be there but this is considerably more serious than her last time in the NICU. Pray that her doctors would better understand all underlying issues and treat her effectively. We're grateful that she has been so strong and has already improved a great deal."
"Cora looking better on Saturday morning." - from Charlie
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I would like to end this week's post with two announcements that I would appreciate your prayers for:
1 - Saturday, February 11 will be a special day as we attempt to raise some funds for our students participating in our "Week Without Walls" in March. Our Business Manager, Mylene Haselman, is an excellent cook and she will be working with our kitchen staff to host a "Mexican Fiesta." Please pray that many will come out to enjoy some great Mexican food and fellowship as well as help us with our "Week Without Walls" Project!
2 - Dates of ALC (Annual Leadership Conference): I will be attending the NICS' ALC in Southaven, Mississippi from February 14 through February 23. This is an annual conference for Directors of the NICS' schools throughout the world. I would value your prayers as I have much to do before leaving for this conference and then will have lots to do at the ALC. It is also a time when NICS hosts a Job Fair (a live broadcast to various locations is also available) to recruit teachers needed at our various schools throughout the world. I am praying that we will only need one or two positions by the time I attend the conference. Your prayers for safety in travel would be appreciated as well.
As always, thank you very much for your love, encouragement, care, mail, emails, prayers, and support. Your continued prayers for our finances at ICS-P are greatly valued. Our staff have been doing a great job dealing with the reduction in their salary during this tight budget crunch. I hope you will continue to pray that the Lord will provide the students and finances to operate ICS-P in an efficient manner and that all of the needs of our staff would be met.
Happy February!
Love, Gregg
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