While I was in Itaewon, I took the time to go to the International Bazaar at Yongsan International School of Seoul. It was originally scheduled for May 12, but since I had already committed to having a part in Jay Chae's wedding that day, I wasn't able to go. Well, it rained heavily on May 12 so YISS had to postpone the Bazaar until May 19. SO I was able to go. I loved being able to see many of my colleagues from YISS days as well as a number of students. It has always been hard for me to leave a place where I have been involved, but it was good to bring closure. I wish I could have seen more of the students and my former colleagues. I may be able to see some more on May 26th when I go up for my 11:15 AM appointment with Dr. Kim. Here are some of the photos of my Saturday afternoon at the YISS International Bazaar. Wish there could be more, but I probably won't be able to share even those that I did take.
Some of the crowd gathering in the YISS Courtyard to enjoy the
many food vendors as well as some live music and great fellowship!
Another photo of part of the crowd. Many more were gathered
for games and activities for the kids on the Soccer Field!
Mrs. Harding and Ms. Gronski
greeting me in the Lobby!
Mrs. Jane Yoo was so excited to see me. She is the Elementary Secretary and she is awesome. She was such a huge help to me when I was at YISS in charge of After School Activities!
Ms. Shelly Lewis, MS teacher of English!
These two little men (brothers) came racing to me as soon as they saw me. They always brightened my day at YISS!
Ms. Esther Stair and Mrs. Krista Roll!
Esther is heading to Cambodia next year.
Krista and her hubby and son are heading
back to Kansas. Krista was the Elementary
Principal at YISS.
One of the excellent Kindergarten teachers at YIS, Ms. Kelly Han!
This is Brian. He came to YISS in Grade
3 and was very shy at first. He saw me and
came over right away. He has grown so tall.
What a great conversation we had!!
Dr. Harding is back at YISS this year with his wife after they had returned to the States for a couple years.
The former High School Secretary at
YISS with her husband and two girls!
She has decided to be a stay-at-home
Mom!!
My friend and MS teacher at YISS, Mr. Craig Mooi!!
Min Ah from the Business Office with
her little son!! I was so happy to see her
little guy! So cute!!
Here I am with the Elementary Principal at YISS and a great friend, Mrs. Krista Roll, and her son Dax! First time to see Dax and he is such a cutie! Dad (Jeremy) had stepped away and wasn't there for the picture! They have been tremendous supporters and encouragers of me!
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Last week for ICS-Pyeongtaek, it was Teacher Appreciation Week! Our Member Care group did so many delightful and fun things for our teachers and staff last week. Each morning there was a new treat on the table in the Teachers' Lounge along with a creative and encouraging poster for the teachers! On Thursday, the Kitchen Staff under the direction of our CFO, Mrs. Haselman, prepared a very delicious luncheon for the teachers and staff. It was a great week and teachers and staff were greatly encouraged!
Monday's early morning greeting for staff!
This was Tuesday's greeting!
Thursday's Greeting for Staff!!
And Friday's Welcome Message!!
Part of the yummy luncheon provided for Teachers and Staff!
Teacher Appreciation Cake!
GGG's first plate of taste treats!!
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Senior Exit Interviews began this past Tuesday! Each of our seniors selects a mentor from the staff to give them guidance as they prepare for the exit interview! I was asked by two young men to be their mentor. It was a great privilege for me to be the mentor for Steve Choi and Joon Ha Kim! Both of these young men were first on the list. On Tuesday, I was present for Steve's interview and presentation and then on Wednesday was on the panel for Joon Ha! I was very impressed with their presentation skills and their excellent work in sharing how they each accomplished the five Expected Student Learning Results (ESLRs) during their years at ICS-P! Both shared how they were well-prepared for going to university because of the impact of teachers at ICS-P. Both are believers and have been tremendous students at ICS-P! Steve will be attending the University of Illinois at Chicago and Joon Ha will be heading to Georgetown University. Before their mentor, GGG, gave the final prayer of blessing for these two young men, they asked for prayers concerning the adjustment of a small, close-knit community at ICS-P and the much larger community at these two universities. As you think of these two young men, I know they would value your prayers.
Six of our Seniors! You can find Steve and Joon Ha above!
Our other five Seniors!!
Here I am with Steve Choi in the school's lobby!
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During March I reconnected via Facebook with one of the 39 students I had in my very first year of teaching. The school was Portico Elementary School and it was the last year for 6th grade being in the elementary schools. The very next year, 1972-72, 6th grade moved to the brand new Chambersburg Middle School. One of the students in that large class at Portico was Mary Margaret! Mary Margaret is now married and a 3rd Grade Reading Teacher at Falling Spring Elementary School in Chambersburg. She is now Mrs. Osterman! Mrs. O found out I was in South Korea and connected on Facebook. She said her class was reading about Korea in their Social Studies class and was excited to connect with me. I prepared a number of books about Korea, appropriate for Grade 3 students, and sent them along with some Korean magnets and Korean bookmarks + some other items for the children.
Her children LOVED the books and souvenirs! They especially loved two of the books I sent them from my dear friends, Frances and Ginger Park. Their two favorites were My Freedom Trip and The Royal Bee. Mrs. O had each of the 21 children write beautiful thank you notes to me and prepared some items related to Chambersburg and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania + some souvenirs from Falling Spring School and Hershey and Gettysburg. She mailed those to us to use in our 3rd-grade class at ICS-P. The package arrived on Tuesday, but the students in our Grade 3 were on a field trip and I was away for a Directors' Meeting of a Korean Directors' Association and they will not see the contents until Monday. On Friday evening (Korean time) I did a Skype visit with Mrs. O's class at Falling Spring. They were so excited and so was I! What a great time I had of answering their excellent questions. I plan to visit Falling Spring Elementary next school year and do some reading of books for Mrs. O's classes. Hopefully, our third graders at ICS-P will be writing some thank you notes to them and Ms. Colgain and her 3rd grade will continue this relationship next year.
The package of goodies from Mrs. O's
Grade 3 class at Falling Spring Elementary!
Above are the books, notes, and other goodies from the Falling Spring Elementary students!
Falling Spring was chosen as a Blue Ribbon School! The letters on the left side are 21 individual thank you notes and questions from the cherubs of Mrs. Osterman!
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Update on Positions at ICS-P for 2018-19
Many of you have been praying for our needs for a Director and some teachers. I want to give you the latest updates and also ask you to pray for the remaining needs. God knows who He wants in these positions. We are praying that He will make it very clear to us.
1) Director - Both of the candidates we had interviewed and given feedback to our NICS Home Office decided that they could not accept the position of Director at ICS-P because when they saw the contract offer, each of them said that it was not enough money. The NICS Home Office will continue searching for a full-time Director, but for the school year 2018-19, they have announced that our current Academic Principal, Mr. Charlie Mooney, will be the Interim Director for 2018-19. I believe that Charlie will do a great job! He has accepted the position and I know he would value your prayers.
2) High School English Teacher - With Mr. Mooney taking over as Interim Director, the NICS Home Office took our recommendation to have the current HS English Teacher, Mr. Collin Thornton, replace Mr. Mooney as Academic Principal (K-12) for 2018-19. Mr. Thornton has nearly completed his Master's Degree and has been majoring in school administration. I believe he will do a very good job! Please pray for Collin as you think of him. Since Collin had been the HS English Teacher, we now need to find a qualified teacher for the High School English Teacher position. If you know someone who would qualify and like the experience of teaching at a wonderful school in a great country, please send contact information to me.
3) Still need EITHER a MS Math/General Science Teacher OR a Physical Education Teacher/Athletic Director. Your prayers are greatly appreciated!
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I want to close with an update on Ben Coyner
First Update
"Hey, ICS Community~~
Thank you for your faithful contributions to our mission at ICS. This time of the year is always challenging, so I am very thankful that you are part of this ministry.
As has been recently shared with staff, my doctors at Severance Hospital have confirmed that the same type of cancer has returned, but is now at the upper portion of the back of my throat (near, but not including the original tongue base location).
This reoccurrence suggests a systemic issue, so I will begin a more aggressive treatment plan from next Monday, May 21. The exact plan depends on some more testing on the cancer cells.
I will find out the plan on 5/21. One chemotherapy option would require about four days of hospitalization, while the other immunotherapy option is a 30 minute dose.
My current challenges are that I have recently had trouble speaking, as well as problems swallowing food/drink, frequent coughing and some breathing issues when reclining.
Today my primary doctor examined this area and said the speaking issue doesn’t look too bad in my larynx, but can be assisted with a simple procedure later, if necessary.
I also have Lymphedema from my March surgery, so I have a lot of swelling every morning on the right side of my face that is very bothersome, but not a primary concern at this time.
My prayer requests are:
1) To find better techniques of eating more, especially during cancer treatment
2). To handle end of year work well with extra precautions.
I am not worried about my situation, but look forward to being more healthy in a few months.
Thank you for remembering me in your prayers. Please also let me know how I can pray for you."
Second Update
"Hello, ICS Community!
I just got my phone from Pyeongtaek and was a little surprised to find messages of concern from members of my church in Seoul from the late morning.
Thank you for your concerns and sharing with people who know me in Seoul!
After I was admitted to a local hospital ER in Pyeongtaek, I was able to get my breathing stabilized (clear passageway) pretty effectively.
Now I’m stuck at northwest Seoul’s Severance Hospital Emergency Room for the night because there were no more beds in the hospital (once the doctor’s finally decided I wouldn’t be discharged and needed to be admitted for a tracheotomy).
I was hoping not to have another surgery on my neck, but my throat is 70% closed and my oncologist is planning on starting me on new immunotherapy drugs that can cause more throat swelling, so she ended up winning the debate amongst my doctors due to her liability.
Thank you! I definitely welcome visitors.
Just a head’s up: I should be admitted to a hospital room sometime Friday (tomorrow). I might have my surgery tomorrow, but it’s not official. I’ll post a comment update to this post after my surgery is set.
Enjoy your Happy Friday! I wish I could join in on the celebration at ICS!"
Third Update prior to Friday Surgery
"Please consider remembering me in prayer today because I will have an emergency tracheotomy surgery sometime between 11 am — 2 pm today (Friday).
Due to my current conditions and radiation therapy from last year, this surgery has more complications than a standard tracheotomy. More difficulty, time of surgery, and potential risk factors.
I wanted to not do this procedure, but my oncologist insisted due to additional swelling that will occur due to side effects of the immunotherapy therapy I will begin on Monday.
So I will be hospitalized for another week to recover from both surgery and the immunotherapy drugs attacking cancer cells.
Thank you for your prayer support and encouragement."
Final Update from Friday, May 18:
"Praise God! The surgery went well well~~
Here’s to a new week of immunotherapy to kill the cancer in my throat from Monday~~
Thank you for your prayers!"
Here’s to a new week of immunotherapy to kill the cancer in my throat from Monday~~
Thank you for your prayers!"
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As always, thank you so much for all of your care, love, encouragement, emails, mail, prayers, and gifts of support - especially during this busy time for the school and for me personally as I sort and pack and try to make sure I am completing everything that needs to be completed prior to my departure on June 20. May He bless you!
Love,
Gregg
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