Saturday, February 21, 2015

Happy Seollal (Lunar New Year) from Seoul! Shortened, but Busy & Relaxing Week!

Yes, I wish each of you a wonderful Seollal from Seoul, South Korea!  "Seollal (Lunar New Year; January 1 of the lunar calendar) is one of the most celebrated national holidays in Korea. This year, Seollal falls on February 19 of the Gregorian calendar. More than just a holiday to mark the beginning of a new year, Seollal is truly a special occasion for Korean people. Not only is it a time for paying respect to ancestors, but it is also an opportunity to catch up with distant family members who travel home to get together for this special occasion. During Seollal, Koreans traditionally wear hanbok (traditional clothes), perform ancestral rites, play folk games, eat traditional foods, listen to stories, and catch up with one another. Read on to discover how Koreans celebrate Seollal." (from Korea Tourism Organization)


This is always a very special time when students and teachers at YISS have a shortened week and are able to refresh and relax.  Students had only a day and a half of school; teachers were working two days.  Everyone had off on Wednesday through Friday.  It is always a time when I get to catch up with some of my Korean friends from SYME days, read a lot, walk, and just enjoyment some refreshment.

Before getting into the Lunar New Year week activities, I wanted to share with you a poem that I received on Valentine's Day from my friends Douglas and Deborah Goshorn-Stenger.  Deborah has written poems fro many years and usually sends one to me.  This one arrived through regular old fashioned mail last Friday, the day before Valentine's Day.  I thought I would share it with you.  Take a look at Deborah's last question.  I try to ask that question to myself each day as I go to YISS.



Deborah's Living Love poem!
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Monday was a very busy day at YISS.  I was asked to present some gifts to the Chadwick family before they leave for Singapore.  The Chadwicks came to YISS when I did and the Dad, especially, has been very involved with volunteering for many projects sponsored by the PTO.  When parents, who have been very active at YISS, leave for another assignment, the PTO presents some gifts to them.  I was delighted to be the one who was selected to present the gifts to Mr. Chadwick on Monday morning in my office!  I was hoping to see Rob and his two boys one more time before they left and it was a great time of saying "Hasta la Vista" to a great family.


GGG presenting a couple special gifts from the PTO
     to the Chadwick family.  Mrs. Chadwick had to 
                   finish some packing at home.


The Elementary Secretary was taking the pictures and snapped this
one as Rob said, "Are you going to give your usual 'victory' sign in
the picture, Gregg?" I laughed and then said I would refrain, but as
I moved my 'victory' sign away from Conrad's shoulder, Mrs. Yoo
snapped the picture right when my 2 fingers gave Conrad donkey 
ears. Rob was laughing! :-)                         
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Monday was also the day the PTO displayed the students' calendar art projects for its 2015-16 School Calendar.  This year there were 88 submissions from Kindergarten through Grade 12.  On Monday in the new multipurpose room some teachers, administrators, and parents were asked to come and judge these 88 submissions on the theme: "Seoul, Where I Live!"  I was one of those who had this privilege.  It is always difficult!  Eventually the 88 will be narrowed down to 18-20 pieces that will be used in the 2015-16 School Calendar.  Here are some of the pieces that I really liked:








This is a picture of the tables that were set up in the  
multipurpose room with the 88 submissions ready for
judging on Monday!                      
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Tuesday was busy all day for me as I continued to work with Abby Williamson on Quarter Four After School Activities. We should have quite a collection of activities!  Now we just need to be able to find locations for each of them.  Thanks for your continued prayers as this After School program continues to grow with many exciting activities.

Wednesday began some delightful outings with former SYME students and great Korean friends. They continue to shower me with abundant love and care.  Wednesday I was so happy to meet with my dear friend, Ji Sang!  He asked me to meet him in Gangnam so that he could take me to lunch at Brick Oven of New York  Pizza!  Ji Sang loves Buffalo Wings with Ranch Dressing + pizza. It is always very interesting that he loves pizza with cheese on it but will NOT eat cheese alone, especially cheddar cheese. :-)  We had such a great time together!  Continue to pray for this dear young man as he seeks to serve God with his many gifts.


Ji Sang and GGG at the Brick Oven of New York in Gangnam on Wednesday!


Some of the Buffalo Wings with Ranch Dressing and
a spicy sauce!  Ji Sang ate most of these!  He LOVES
                                   them!  :-)


When our pizza arrived, Ji Sang was very happy!! :-)


Our Trio Pizza: Italian Sausage, Bacon, and Grilled Chicken!!!!  
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After lunch and coffee with Ji Sang, I came back to Itaewon and headed to the Grand Hyatt Hotel. This is the hotel where the President of the USA stays when in Seoul.  I had won a gift certificate at one of the raffles at a YISS Fun Fest and decided I would use it over Lunar New Year.  The certificate allowed me to stay one night in a beautiful room and enjoy a most yummy buffet breakfast in the morning! It was a great evening and morning of rest and refreshment.  No food pictures but I did get a picture of their winter lights on the trees outside the main entrance.


The Grand Hyatt Seoul - my home for one night! :-)
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I was scheduled to meet my awesome friend and former SYME student, Jungmin, on Saturday, but he texted me to ask if he could visit me in my apartment on Thursday.  His parents had prepared some delicious Korean food for Lunar New Year and wanted Jungmin to bring it to enjoy with me in my own apartment.  What a great time!  I have had some of the Kims' delicious food before and Thursday was no exception!  So tasty!  Although Jungmin and I cannot get together as often as we would like, we are able to continue our conversation so easily and naturally.  Please pray for Jungmin as he has been accepted at a position at POSCO Energy in Gangnam.  POSCO was a leading steel producer in Korea and is now expanding to include a Fuel Cell division.  Jungmin is excited about this area of using renewable energy sources to help in countries needing inexpensive energy sources.  He has a particular interest in expanding this to North Korea - especially if reunification happens.  He wants to be ready to move into North Korea to assist in having electricity that is affordable and won't be a drain on the economy.


In my Seobinggo apartment with Jungmin preparing to eat a very
                tasty Korean meal on Lunar New Year Day.


Jungmin putting the finishing touches on the yummy food his mother sent for us to enjoy!


A sample of the tasty food!!  There was more + a great
variety of fresh fruits.  Sorry, no pictures. :-(         
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On Friday I was scheduled to visit Yeongmin at his parents' home for a wonderful dinner, but his parents had a change in their plans which caused them to have to travel to relatives on Friday. However, Yeongmin met on Friday evening and we were finally able to see the movie Unbroken. I had told him about the book, Unbroken, and wanted him to see the movie.  After seeing the movie we went to K-Dining Restaurant, a Korean restaurant in Ichon where we enjoyed some excellent conversation and very tasty food.  Continue to pray for Yeongmin as he still asks questions about God and Jesus.  Pray as he begins a new position at SK Telecom on Monday.  He continues to impress his managers with his many gifts.


Yeongmin and GGG at the K-Dining restaurant in Ichon.


A very yummy Braised Fish over boiled radish and a 
                          delicious spicy sauce!


A platter of veggies with acorn jello with a vinegar dressing.
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Saturday was a day of reading, walking in the rain, writing, and cleaning.  All greatly enjoyed - even the cleaning. :-)  Just want to thank those of you who read my posts and for your encouragement, love, prayers, notes, cards, emails, and support.  I hope you enjoy a wonderful week!

Love, Gregg




Saturday, February 14, 2015

RAT Continues; Love and Lunar New Year Break

The Read-A-Thon (RAT) continued this past week with children reading many minutes and many books!  Students in each grade were surprised by "Mystery Readers" on Thursday.  It truly is a joy to see our YISS kids so interested in reading!  Our "Stand Up and Be a Guardian" emphasis continued as well with reports of many of our elementary students doing some wonderful things to demonstrate they are really understanding what it means to stand up when they see other children being picked on, teased in a mean way, bullied, etc.  I have been so thrilled to see students caring for their fellow students and looking for ways to make those "invisible" students more visible!

I want to post a picture of our Elementary Office Family!  I love these women and the individual strengths and gifts each of them bring to our elementary school at YISS!  It is a pleasure to work with them.  Please pray for all of us when we come to your mind.  The picture below was taken with my camera by the photographer on Thursday when he came to take Class photos at YISS.


One person on facebook gave this picture the following caption: "Charlie and His Angels." :-)  I love this wonderful group of angels.  Standing from left to right: Mrs. Krista Roll, Assistant Elementary Principal; Mrs. Beverly Birmingham, Elementary Principal; and Mrs. Jane Yoo, Elementary Secretary.
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Throughout this past week various members of the PTO as well as teachers and staff were trying to "catch students reading" in various locations.  I always love these times.  The great thing is that many of our students are reading books even when we don't have the RAT program.  It is a habit with many of the YISS students.  Here are some pictures that were posted on the main RAT bulletin board by the PTO chairs of the RAT throughout this past week.  Some of them are mine and some are other teachers or parents.  Enjoy!  Oh, I have number the photos.  If you care to respond and let me know your favorite picture, just send me an email with the number of the picture set.

                                              Set # 1

Set # 2

Set # 3                                    

Set # 4

                                               Set # 5

Set # 6

Set # 7                                               

Set # 8

                                                    Set # 9

Set # 10
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"Mystery Reader Day" is always a highlight for our kids during RAT each year.  This year was no exception.  Many teachers and administrators in the elementary school as well as some in Middle and High School signed up to come and surprise one of our elementary classes on Thursday during this year's "Mystery Reader Day."  It was a great day!  The children absolutely love these times and get so excited and are asking all week, "Who is our Mystery Reader?"  I wasn't able to get a lot of pictures since I was involved in reading on that day but here are a few of the Mystery Readers.  The following were pictures posted on the RAT Bulletin Board in the main YISS lobby by the PTO chairs of the RAT - 2015!


Reading one of my favorite new books to Grade 2A!


One of our Teacher Assistants, Ms. Kathy Lee, reading a Mo Willems' book to a kinder class.


I thought this was our Elementary Media Specialist,
Ms. Henspeter, but she says it is not she.  So I am  
not sure who this Mystery Reader is; still a mystery
to me!  :-)                               


YISS Middle School Principal, Brian Remsburg, surprised his son's elementary class as the Mystery Reader!  The kids loved his Superman outfit!
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Since Friday was the day before Valentine's Day, many of the students were sharing love with their classmates as well as with teachers and principals.  It has been so exciting to see our kids combining our special emphasis in February, "Stand Up and Be a Guardian; Protect our School Climate," with acts of love and kindness throughout the week and especially on Friday.  Last Friday the OASIS classes prepared about 20 posters highlighting our "Stand Up" month and then placed them throughout the school.  I have placed a few of them here for you to see.  It was exciting to see genuine acts of love and kindness throughout the week.  In Chapels and OASIS assembly on Friday, it was wonderful to have teachers relate specific acts of love and kindness they witnessed students among our students throughout the week.  There was no special award or reward; we are just trying to get our students into the habit of consistently demonstrating love and kindness to fellow students, especially those who are "invisible."  I witnessed two boys in grade 1 come alongside one of our new students whose English is not so good.  The new student was looking very alone and lost and I watched the other two boys as they observed the new boy.  They immediately, without any prompting from teachers or me, came to the boy and were so patient with him.  One put his arm around him and realized that the new boy did not know what to do when he finished lunch.  Both of them walked him through the process so patiently.  What a delight it was to see the new boy respond with this huge smile!  Later in the week I saw all three of them playing together and enjoying one another!

Here are three of the "Stand Up" posters created by the OASIS Assembly students last Friday!



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I have two special prayer requests for you.  One is for a young boy in Grade 3.  He came to YISS about 2 years ago.  His English is still not the greatest.  He always has a huge smile and he loves talking with me and having fun with me.  It broke my heart when I discovered that after his After School Swimming activity each Monday, there is no one there to pick him up on time.  I usually wait for him for about 45 minutes to an hour until we finally get someone to come for him.  I am learning that his mother and father are not together and when Dad comes to visit in Korea, there is a lot of arguing and fighting.  Diego (not his real name) and his younger brother often are left to themselves; maybe their aunt and uncle are there; Mother goes back to her home country on business trips, etc.; and Diego is never sure who will pick him up.  In all of this, Diego continues to smile and have the most amazing attitude.  When someone finally comes for him, I go to my office and cry and pray. Diego has taught me a lot about loving in spite of our circumstances.  Would you please pray for this dear boy?


Here is Diego being "caught reading."  Thanks for praying for this dear boy!
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Another young student in Grade 3 is Joan.  Oh my, what an intelligent and delightful young lady. She is so kind and loving and demonstrates this unconditionally to classmates.  Joan continues to teach me so much about love and using one's gifts to honor God while keeping humble.  This past week one of our teacher aids came to my office and said that Joan asked her to give me the portrait drawing that Joan did of me.  I love it!  She has picked up many of my sayings and little quirks.  I love being able to sit and chat with her during lunch every so often.  Please pray that Joan will continue to use her many gifts and talents for God while remaining humble.


Above is the portrait Joan drew of me. I love it!
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Saturday was another special day!  After working on some writing on Saturday morning at my little spot at Starbucks, I left to go meet my long time friend, Tony Kuhn.  Tony is teaching at Pyeongtaek International Christian School in South Korea.

As I was walking to meet him, I was stopped by two Korean university students.  This is a common experience for me in Seoul, especially on Saturdays.  This couple came up to me with big smiles and said, "We were wondering if you had a couple minutes so we could interview you for our English class.  We saw this gorgeous man coming our way and thought you would be the right person for our interview."  I began looking around to find the gorgeous man and started waving for a man I saw walking to come over.  Finally they understood my humor and said, "Oh no, you are the gorgeous man."  Then they made my Valentine's Day even more special when they gave their response to this question: "How old do you think I am?  They had just asked me how old I was.  They responded, "Maybe 50 or 52 years old."  Although I think they need their eyes examined, I love them!  They would not believe me when I said I would soon be 66 years old. :-)  We had a wonderful interview together!


Here are my two new friends who I met Saturday morning in Itaewon!  We had a great time together! They were so excited that I took a few minutes to let them interview me.  They were very curious about my teaching Bible and English to university students.
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After the interview I met Tony at Suji's Restaurant and had a very enjoyable time together talking about our schools and our experiences.  It is always great to catch up with Tony.  Please pray for him as he is trying to sell his home in Greencastle and has had some setbacks with the first realtor and rental agent.  I know the feeling so I told him I would be praying and hope you will also.  He would like to sell it so he has some funds to continue his graduate education work. Pray as he teaches at Pyeongtaek.


Tony Kuhn and GGG enjoying a yummy lunch at Suji's!  Great time to catch up with Tony.  His wife, Sue, will return to Korea on Monday evening.  She had gone back to Pennsylvania for the memorial service for her step mother.  I know she would value your prayers.
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This coming week Koreans will celebrate one of their big holidays, Lunar New Year!  In Korean it is called Seollal.  Seollal (Lunar New Year; January 1 of the lunar calendar) is one of the most celebrated national holidays in Korea. This year, Seollal falls on February 19 of the Gregorian calendar. More than just a holiday to mark the beginning of a new year, Seollal is truly a special occasion for Korean people. Not only is it a time for paying respect to ancestors, but it is also an opportunity to catch up with distant family members who travel home to get together for this special occasion. During Seollal, Koreans traditionally wear hanbok (traditional clothes), perform ancestral rites, play folk games, eat traditional foods, listen to stories, and catch up with one another.

YISS has three days off this next week (Wednesday through Friday) so that students can spend time with their families and enjoy this special time of the year together.  A lot of travel will happen during this week.  I am hoping to be able to catch up with some of my former SYME students in Korea during this next week.  I already received a surprise package from a former student, Andrea, whose wedding I attended a couple months ago.  Andrea sent me a box of delicious dried persimmons!!



My box of dried persimmons from Andrea!  Yummy!
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My wonderful friend Gunmo will be on a missions trip with a group from his church this week.  I know he would value your prayers.  Jin Seok will be traveling 4+ hours to Busan to be with his family.  I hope I will be able to see at least JiSang, Chang Yong, and Jungmin, three other dear friends this week.  I just found out that Yeongmin wants me to come to be with him and his parents on Friday of this coming week.   Please pray for those who will travel and take some time off from their jobs.

I leave you with a picture of a new Middle School friend I made during the past two weeks at YISS. He is new to YISS and joined Taekwondo this quarter.  The Middle School students join with the elementary students for the Taekwondo classes in the After School Activities.  I can't remember his name at the moment but God knows him.  He is from one of the countries in Africa and he and I seem to have hit it off.  His mother always picks him up and is so happy that I have befriended him.  



My new Middle School friend from Africa!
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Thank you so much for all of your love, prayers, encouragement, emails, and regular mail!  I thank God for each of you as often as I can!  I trust you will experience a wonderful weekend of love on this Valentine's Day in 2015!

Love, Gregg

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Many "Ups"; A Few "Downs"!

This past week began with a lot of pain!  I had been having some bad pain during last weekend.  I thought it might be the beginning of another kidney stone.  The pain was strong on Saturday.  It came and went on Sunday.  Then Monday morning on my 5:45 AM public bus ride to YISS, I had a severe attack of pain.  I could not get a comfortable position on the bus.  The Korean riders on the bus must have thought I was a crazy man or a drunk man as I kept grabbing the seat in front of me, standing up, sitting down, moving to this position and then another position, and making strange noises and peculiar facial contortions.  I thought that I was going to throw up before the bus was able to get to my stop near the school.  I finally was able to get off the bus and then began a very painful walk up the hill to the school.  The pain got worse and my administrative colleagues ordered me to go to Dr. Kim and then go home.  I went to Dr. Kim and he did an ultrasound and took an Xray and blood work and discovered a kidney stone in the making.  He gave me some medication to help pass the stone plus some pain medication.  I went home and rested all day Monday.  It was the first day of After School Activities for Quarter Three so I didn't want to miss school.  But my boss told me to stay home or she would have to have some of the Korean men on the YISS facilities team come and tie me down. :-)  I am glad she made me go home.  Since Monday, I have not had any pain and it appears that the nasty little stone has left the building!

As you know, I have been getting treatment for a burning rash on my inner thighs from my regular doctor, Dr. Kim for about 3 weeks.  He decided to send me to a dermatologist, Dr. Park.  He diagnosed the rash as a severe case of eczema.  Dr. Park also checked out my feet.  I have had very dry feet for a long time and can never get shoes to really fit me.  I get these delightful corns and other strange things on my toes and between my toes.  He ordered some strong cream, for the eczema and gave me an injection (in the normal Korean location).  He also prescribed cream for my feet and said he would check out the one painful corn, that I can't seem to get rid of, in a week.  I returned to Dr. Park on Friday evening and he was very happy with the progress with the rash.  He wanted to look at my feet again.  He said he was going to scrape away some of the corn that was growing quite large and continuing to be very painful.  I like Dr. Park!  He speaks very good English and enjoys my teasing!  He gives it right back to me. :-)  I am to continue doing the treatment at home on the rash and see him about three weeks.

The remainder of the week was busy as the After School Activities began in full force.  One of our new activities, Speed Cup Stacking, has been a big hit as well as our new Tap Dance and Jazz Dance classes.  I love watching Mrs. Abby Williamson, work with all of our elementary dance classes. Abby is the wife of our Grade 5A teacher and has been a great help to me in the mechanics of the After School Activities program + providing some great teaching for our Ballet, Tap, and Jazz Dance classes.

On Wednesday morning there was an Ed Tech Elementary parents' session.  This went along with our emphasis of the month of February: Stand Up and Be a Guardian; Protect Our School Climate. There was a good group of parents in attendance to learn how they can help their children at home with our campaign against cyberbullying.

In addition, our Chapels and OASIS assemblies are working hard on dealing with teaching our students what they can do to stand up against bullying and stand up for what is right!  On Friday we encouraged those students who purchased the "Stand Up" T-shirts to wear them.  In Friday's Chapels and OASIS assembly Mrs. Franck and I were encouraging students to stand up when they know they should.  I have been reading The Invisible Boy each week in these sessions and the interactive discussions during Chapels and in the classrooms has been fantastic.  Students were left with a homework assignment for the next week.  Look around your classroom and throughout our school for those who seem to be "invisible" (left out, alone, etc.) and began to show a simple act of kindness (as they learned about in The Invisible Boy) and see what happens!  It was exciting to see the kids get excited about standing up for what is right and standing against that which is wrong.


This is the book I have been using in Chapels and OASIS assemblies the last several weeks.  I have been impressed at what the kids are remembering and actually putting into action from our readings and discussions.


    A group of second graders leading the Grades 2-3
                               Chapel in music.


Some of the second and third grade cherubs singing our "Stand Up" song in Chapel!


More music with Second and Third grade students in Chapel!     


   Some of our Kinder and Grade One cherubs singing in Chapel!!


3B teacher, Ms. Corbett with two third grade boys, Thiago and Luke modeling their new "Stand Up" T-shirts.  On the back of the shirt it reads "...and be a Guardian!"
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Another very exciting "up" this week was my visit from my dear friends from SYME days in Songtan.  David and Annie Kim with their son, Daul, came to YISS at the end of the day on Wednesday for a visit with me.  I hadn't seen them since before they gave birth to Daul so I was so thrilled to see them and catch up!  We had a great time at YISS and then went to eat dinner together at Los Amigos.  It was such a great time with this beautiful family.  Please pray for them as they have many decisions to make concerning their future and how to see SYME in Korea grow.  There are some very complicated issues that need to have God's intervention and I would really appreciate your prayers for this dear family.

David and Annie Kim with Daul in my office at YISS!  My first
              time being able to hold Daul!  He is soooo cute!

Here we are getting ready to eat our dinner at Los Amigos.  Annie wanted to eat Mexican!

Daul loves trains and he brought this set along to play with!     


And Daul loves reading books!  Here he is with Annie as she reads to him.  He kept asking her to read more!  I love it!!
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During the visit at YISS by the Kims, I lost my keys!  I usually get very stressed when I lose something that is very important.  This set of keys is on a small key ring and included a master key to almost all of the facilities at YISS.  I have been doing much better when things like this happen during the last number of years.  Almost immediately I spoke a prayer to the Lord asking Him to help me locate the keys.  I still was worried, but there was a real sense of peace that came over me.  I took the Kims on a tour of the building and still NO KEYS.  We were on the 3rd floor in the cafeteria at YISS and about ready to leave the school.  I had already informed the YISS Security Manager to have his staff on the lookout for them.  Almost all of the YISS teachers had departed.  As we were ready to head down the stairs to go out the front of the school, one of Middle School Phys. Ed. teachers, Mr. Davis came through the cafeteria.  I was talking to the Kims, but stopped to say hello to J. J. Davis and introduce him to the Kims.  I told him that if happened to see a ring of keys, they were probably the ones I lost and have been looking for.  We said good bye and headed down the stairs.  J. J. went on to the Middle School area.  We were almost at the first floor when we hear this loud yelling from the 3rd floor.  J. J. said there were keys in Ms. Murphy's room on a desk.  He described them and immediately I let out a joyous scream thanking the Lord.  I had been in Ms. Murphy's room earlier in the afternoon and was teasing with some of the Middle School students.  I had been acting crazy with one of the boys and put my keys on the desk and then made a quit escape from the MS kids.  I forgot all about it!
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Saturday evening I was invited to a "Going Away" reception for one of our families at YISS.  I have known the Chadwicks as long as they have been at YISS.  They came to YISS with their two boys the same year I arrived.  They have been so involved in the program at YISS.  The boys are great young men and it has been great to see them grow during these last 5 years.  It is a "down" to have to say "Hasta la vista" to wonderful friends, but it is such an "up' to have gotten to know such a wonderful family.  Please pray for them as they relocate for their next assignment to Singapore.  The last day at YISS for the boys will be February 17.  Thanks for praying for them as they go.  It is especially difficult for Conrad, the older of the two boys.


GGG with Randi and Robert Chadwick at their Going Away Party!


Some of the guests at the party.  This picture was taken while a number of friends shared memories of the Chadwicks!

Rob and Randi posing with one of the gifts their friends presented
to them at the party on Saturday.                           

                                  

Here is a recent photo of the entire Chadwick family.  Pierce is on his mother's lap and Conrad is standing beside his Dad.
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I thought I would leave you with this wonderful sign that appears on the two water coolers in the cafeteria at YISS.  They just put these signs on the coolers this past week.  Our cafeteria service is operated by a Korean catering company, J & J Catering.  I am not sure who does their translating, but I am still trying to figure out what exactly the want the kids and staff to do when they read this sign. :-)


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Thank you so much for continuing to encourage me, love me, pray for me, and support me.  You are very important to me.  Thank you so much!

Love, Gregg