son-flowers

sadness

stirs inside us

silent screams, dreams

soul-searching

breeds

serenity

slowly

secreted in the crevices of our eyes

painfully we arise

dutifully we perform

until the son-flower is born

watered by our fears and

tears

(inspired by the concern trent and i feel for our parents -- his dad and my mom -- each of whom is battling pain or disease)

board again

we hit the slopes for the third time this weekend. it's probably our last time at phoenix park... we couldn't resist the thought of colliding into thousands of koreans and losing our hearing due to the loud speakers blaring ballads.

indeed, the mountain was like an ant hill... (see pic below) but we carved up the hills like they were turkey... i (em) am in love with snowboarding. good-bye skis! there's something so freeing about being one with the slopes... it reminded me of the tension needed in one's relationship with God: you need just enough trust to let the board lead you, coupled with the right dash of self-control (so you don't lose the board).

trent mastered the 180-degree jump on his board today. we did a lot of falling, and a lot of laughing. in the end, we'd each mastered something, which felt truly good.

we snapped photos of a couple of funny signs... "intermedia and above" and "tissue service" (available at every chair lift!)

tomorrow's sunday, and we'll be hosting a former young life leader who's visiting korea. his name is tim. no doubt a rousing game of 'settlers' is on the menu :)
we hope you are all well and thriving on winter's snowy wonders!

inside these walls...

here is a collage of pictures from within em's classroom. first we have grace, and her new book "the dog." :) her smile is awkward, but her spirit is beautiful. then we have some artwork and photos of my youngest students....














two boys named 'owen' and 'robert' who are bright and quirky...


and finally, a controversial yet provokingly profound paper by a girl named 'patty', and a lovely piece of 'prose' by a boy named MJ.

abstract reality

it may be a phrase referring to art, but isn't life comprised of this too? abstract realism? things which catch you so off-guard that you wonder if time is standing still? or a phenomenon like love which is so... abstractly real?

ya. ponderings stemming from a day spent at a Van Gogh and Picasso Exhibit in Seoul with my girlfriends, Hieu, Naomi (plus her boyfriend Darren) and Jill...


trent held down the fort while i went off to scope the legends left by my two favourite artists. Seoul's Art Centre was architecturally beautiful... and the paintings were inspiring.




















one little korean girl (dressed in pink) was walking around outside of the exhibit in her 'squeaky shoes', chasing birds... she was, in my eye, a beautiful work of art.













following the exhibit, we shopped in the foreigners' district of seoul where i bought a stunning trapper hat. :) we also stumbled upon a 'kiddie gym' (naomi and i are sitting in front of it) designed to work out young aspiring body-builders. following a delicious meal at a thai restaurant, we wearily made our way home.

and so, the winding maze of 'abstract reality' continues, and it's off to another week at school. thanks for tuning in, and may God give you peace! :)

grace's gift

i have a student named grace... she gave me a gift the other day. the gift of a storybook about her hamster.

grace is no ordinary girl. she has a huge smile and intense eyes, and her hair is brown and always done up in cute bows. her mother takes pride in her, but grace is always nervous. timid like a mouse.

when someone shows interest in her, she thrives on it. it's obvious her mother puts pressure on her to excel.

i love grace. i love her quirky sense of humor. she is so easily distracted, always asking questions, always in her dreamland. yet she's the one who brings me gifts... one day it was an egg with some salt; the other day it was this storybook.

God shows up in these gifts. he gives me a piece of 'grace' with such gestures. i hope you have these people in your life. we all need them. especially on dark days...

grace is moving to seoul. i will miss her big smile and quirky spirit deeply. i praise God for his gift of grace.

today, in light of eternity

what should i do today -- in light of eternity?
should i paint a picture, when it might never be admired?
do the laundry, when it will only get dirty again?
write a song, when it may never be played?
speak some words, when they may never be truly heard?
step out of my door, when i might never return?
say a prayer, when i may not get what i'm asking for?

nevertheless
these things i shall do today --
in hope that they shed light on eternity.

flames vs. the oilers

this t-shirt was one of many amusing artifacts decorating the canadian pub we stumbled upon this weekend in seoul.

trent and i bussed into the city to get our chinese visas (for our trip in february). we then bought pitas, spent the night at the 'jimjilbang' where we bathed in public baths then watched too many episodes of 'my name is earl' (a must-see if you haven't)...

sunday morning, as dutiful christians, we made our way to the local church... woops, i mean Tavern :), to watch the Flames play the Oilers. yup, we uncovered a piece of canada in seoul -- the Rocky Mountain Tavern -- which not only plays great tunes nor serves succulent wings, but plays hockey games on the big-screen. anyway, trent was thrilled because the flames burned the oilers' bums. :) it was a sweet weekend.


as two side-notes: below you'll see a man covered in cucumbers; he was selling vegetable slicers in the subway, and decided to demonstrate just how thin the cucumbers can be sliced :) as well, emily found some amazing glasses for $40 in total. ya gotta love this country!

peaceful power

blue stream
trickling like a ribbon
flowing curtain-esque 'round
the world:
peaceful power...
don't let me freeze over
become an ice-block
slippery slope of sullen
pride
keep me ever-flowing
a refreshing river
splashing the spirit of God

purified, purifying
ever-flowing

(emily's prayer inspired by her mother's dream)

new year resolutions

some believe resolutions to be silly and unnecessary; i view them as reminders to step on, to keep growing, maturing and becoming the woman of God i was created to be.

all of this is attained by looking beyond ourselves... i recently painted this picture of a person striving through sadness to see the beautiful flower that stems from sorrow. this person's shadow is in yellow, representing the holy character God is developing in us.

i find it so hard to sit still. so one of my new year resolutions is to sit more, to reflect and let the voice of God speak.

another resolution? to not give into my fears. my friend sacha has really challenged me to do everything that frightens me, in order to live free of fear. thank you sister.

in short, i resolve to let holiness be my guide, and to leave myself behind. please keep me accountable in these things. love em.

snowed-in saturdays

a mother packing snowballs with her small son;
four tiny girls in big cardboard boxes perched atop a snow-drift, about to slide down...
cars slowly putt-putting down the slushy highway, timidly turning;
my slippery shoes slap-slapping the pavement as i listen to korean lessons and swipe snowflakes from my face.

it's a lazy saturday morning; we awoke late to a wonju blizzard. most of january will be spent this way... a tumble between slow weekends and school-packed weeks, as we've both taken on an extra class in the mornings.

as a reward for doing the extra work, we're visiting both japan and china in february... until then, we're focusing on loving each other, painting, hanging out with our wonju buddies (two of whom are below -- jill and naomi) and enjoying our countrified city.

carving out the future...

when i say 'carving', i'm referring to snowboarding :) this new year's eve was spent with our pals, sacha and nathaniel, snowboarding in korea. i, emily, can officially board! off with the skis, and into the boarding culture i plunge :) it was awesome. trent patiently coached me all day, as nate guided sacha, and by the end we could successfully carve out a path down the mountain.

in honour of entering a 'fresh phase' (2007), i cut off my hair... all by myself (with a bit of help from dear sacha). i feel the short cut suits my personality better, and am excited to enter the coming months with a new look.

we pray for you, dear friends, that this new year will also be one of new outlooks and fresh perspectives. may you find God and crave His company, and may His angels protect and guide you. love em and trent.