snapshots of life overseas

it's all over, folks

2007-08-18T21:39:00.000-07:00

for those of you who still faithfully check our blog -- THANK YOU!

we love you for partnering with us through words and photos and for supporting us through the past year of adventure.

unfortunately, every good thing comes to an end. and our snapshots from overseas have concluded...

as you can tell by this recent picture (emily went to the maritimes with her dad, mom, sister, brother, sister in law and nephew), emily's mom is needing some love and care, so we will be living near her for the time being. we've bought a home in blyth, ontario, and are hoping to someday soon start a little family. trent will be substitute teaching, and emily will continue writing.

our hearts still yearn to travel... and we will, but in a while.

for now, you can read emily's updates at: http://canvaschild.wordpress.com.

if you wish to stay in touch, our e-mail is emily.trenton@gmail.com.
phone: 519-523-9903
mailing addy: Box 497, Blyth, ON N0M 1H0

may the Lord bless you, keep you, make his face to shine upon you and give you peace.

in him, emily and trenton.

B-day and Chiakson

2007-07-07T03:55:00.000-07:00

Started my birthday with lunch at Outback Steakhouse with some friends. Check out the crown.

Later picked up Dan and Scott. They came with me as my adult students took me out to 'Garten Bier'. They let the staff know it was my birthday and they gave me a three foot glass of beer and said bottoms up. Later we took the scooter to Chiakson and climbed the five hour hike to the top.

After the hike down we cooled down in the waterfall. Soooo goood.

2007-06-09T22:29:00.000-07:00

Played in another tourny this weekend. We won the first game 6-1, and we tied the second game 2-2. The final game was against the undefeated team. We needed to win to clinch the tourny. The first half we were out played but came out of it with a 0-0 score. They did hit a post that they thought went in. The second half was all us with tons of pressure but no goals till late in the game when i scored. We followed it up with another late goal to win 2-0. Interesting note is that the final team has 4 girls on it. One who plays ice hockey for the Korean's women's team. She is bigger than me and lets me know it around the net. They are all very good. After the game we went to a hotel in Gang Chun. We had a BBQ on the hotel roof with another team. Beer and Soju flowed in our victory celebration. Late night, and trouble sleeping beside some really loud snorers. This morning we ate our breakfast while watching Don Cherry 18.

The view from the stands.

An after tourny photo. We are the blue team. Mir. (Dragons).

By the numbers

2007-06-05T06:45:00.000-07:00

1 new stick

2 nd shift

3 rd game in the last two weeks I have been without a stick.

4 0 $ spent on the stick.

Visiting

2007-06-03T07:34:00.000-07:00

Spent the night at Dong Won's parents house.
Lovely people, lovely house.

Saw ancient stone age type burial ruins.

Fired a little canon.

Dong Won got the big one.

Took a gondola to Seoul's CN tower.

Saw the changing of the guard at a old palace in Seoul.

All in all it was a good trip. Also went ice skating and saw various other sites that you people will never see because I'm not showing you the pictures. I decided that you should come and see them yourselves and I want to start watching 'Titus' season one.

Does anybody remember this show... Teneale do you?

Good times

2007-05-27T06:24:00.000-07:00

Just played a bunch of hockey today. We won every game. Scored a bunch of goals, and had a great time. My team looked dismayed when I answered there question "When are you coming back to Korea?" with a "I don't know". They told me I have to come back because I am their 'ace player.' Apparently I am kind as well. :) After the game we went out for dukkelby again. Sooooo good. Had a great time in the car ride back, showing them Don Cherry 16 on my laptop and chatting about different things. Well, chatting might be a stretch considering their English level and my non-existent Korean speachee.

He shoots, he scores.

The boyz.

It is really good. Basically spicy chicken, vegetables, and precooked rice cake stuff. Then later rice is added. Everything gets fried right there at the table.

teary goodbyes

2007-05-18T18:50:00.000-07:00

final week... tests, videos, games, laughter... sweet notes from students.. confessions of teenage love from korean boys... goofy antics and quiet submission to the inevitable: i must go home.

if it weren't for goodbyes like these, i would never truly ache... i would never know what it means to appreciate something. so for that i'm thankful.

this year has been such a gift from God. trent and i are so close... we have learned much about each other, and about our world. we hope to do this again sometime soon.

for now, i am being called home to take care of mom. but the future is our oyster...

thank you for joining me on this journey. trent will continue to update this blog -- so stay tuned for his stories. here are some photos of my boss, and my students. enjoy.

love and peace! em.

emily's "last hurrah"

2007-05-13T01:20:00.000-07:00

i swear i've never laughed so hard.

these girls made my final weekend in korea something to remember.

on friday night, they helped trenton and angela put on a surprise farewell party for me ... we played mafia and ate chocolate fondu and delicious cheesecake.

saturday they stole me away to seoul, where we wandered around looking at beautiful, random art.

when it began raining cats and dogs, we ran for shelter and found comfort in an ice cream cake, which we destroyed and devoured.

following that, we got a hotel, and naomi and i watched a movie and desperate housewives while emma went off and partied till 5 am :)

early the next morning (7 am) naomi and i found our way to 'yangjae park' where we were registered to run a 10 kilometre race to raise money for kids with cancer. we found ourselves in a luscious, green terrain with hundreds of koreans and only 3 foreigners. it was fantastic. we ran along a river and made it in 58 minutes... a personal best :)

after earning our 'gold medals' we made our way to a local jimjilbang (sauna) where we showered off and then bussed home...

how fitting, that i would run across a literal finish line at the end of my time here. this whole weekend was a gift from God... a package of memories to take with me to canada.

some humor 4 u

2007-05-09T18:58:00.000-07:00

here are some videos of my friend kerri and i, and then one of trenton...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5PKxgUbLW8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w20YHMtP1Uw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmXUA7LWNFw

for those of u who already saw these on facebook, our deepest apologies :)

The road less traveled

2007-05-06T19:13:00.000-07:00

For the very first time in Korea, we were alone for over an hour. Did not see anyone. Now you might be thinking 'What! they aren't even alone when they go to sleep?' And yes that is true. Every half hour or so, some Korean comes into hour house to use our toaster. They really like toast.

We took the scooter about 10 km out of town to the other side of Chiak Mountain. We started by climbing to this temple. And then we found what I was looking for. About 8 months ago I told Emily that I wanted to see these fortresses, but we didn't know how to get there. But now we do... obviously. It was a difficult one hour steep climb to get there but it was worth it. It was here where we saw no one for those precious 2 hours. I am standing on a wall that circles 2.4 km and was used to defend against the Japenese in 1291 A.D.

I spent a good amount of time trying to read what was chisled into that rock. The loose translation is 'The path to enlightenment is like jam spread on toast. Toast is very good.'

Emily and I had a competition to take a picture of the most buetiful thing we could find.
I took the one of the butterfly.

Here I am coaxing emily back to safety.

Oops, I have to go. There's someone at the door wanting to make some toast.

em's recent (albeit controversial) articles

2007-05-05T02:06:00.000-07:00

hey there...

i wanted to share an article which i wrote for The Seoul Times (www.theseoultimes.com) and the Canadian National Newspaper on Koreans' perspective of the Virginia Tech Tragedy:

http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/home/Frontpage/2007/05/04/01534.html

as well, i interviewed Dr. Tom Axworthy (former principal secretary to Pierre Trudeau) on the possible North American Union -- that article is here:

http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/home/Frontpage/2007/05/04/01545.html

peace!

growing pains (by emily)

2007-05-04T06:16:00.000-07:00

recently a dear friend of mine approached me saying she wasn't sure she knew me anymore. after all, i've made a lot of changes recently, and she was afraid i was becoming "hardened" and "cynical."

it's true, my time here in korea has opened up opportunities to learn more about who i am. i have been challenged to think about my responsibility as a person, a Christian, and a consumer. for years i've not cared about politics, the environment, or even health. i think that was very selfish of me.

our lives are too short not to care. too short not to form opinions, especially about things that matter.

recently the Evangelical Association of Christians (representing millions of Evangelical Christians) refused to take a stand on the Global Warming Issue. as well, Dr. Dobson -- founder of Focus on the Family -- has vouched for the war on Iraq, saying it is a "just war."

as i see it, we as believers have two responsibilities: to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts, souls and minds, and to love our neighbour as ourself.

to love God means to love the Creator of this earth -- the Creator of animals, nature, and the universe.

to love our neighbour means, essentially, to treat them as we'd want to be treated. to put it bluntly, it means NOT KILLING THEM.

for us to avoid taking a stand on the environment, and to support war for profit, is to go against the very foundation of what we believe.

loving our neighbours also means looking out for the "little guys" -- such as the mom and pop stores, the farms that are being bought out by 'corporate slaughterhouses,' the jews in world war two, and countries such as haiti who are dirt-poor.

my friend kerri has taught me a lot about living naturally. her philosophy is to live with as little negative impact as possible; she questions everything she does. she still feels convicted for taking an airplane to korea, because it eradicates all of her recycling and bicycling efforts in regards to hurting the environment. she is a vegan, who cares deeply about people and watches little or no television. and she wouldn't call herself a Christian.

how much more of a responsibility do we who claim to know the Creator have?

i've been realizing this, and waking up. as many of you know, i've stopped eating meat except that provided by farmer's markets or the farm directly (in order to fight the corporate farm); i will no longer shop at Wal-mart (one of many 'bad corporations' -- please watch "The High Cost of Low Prices"), and i have given up my greatest love -- coffee -- because it's harmful to me. trent and i are looking into converting a diesel car to 'bio-diesel' when we return, and will be sharing a home with another couple in order to live even more frugally and economically. as well, i've been writing articles about our nation clinging to its identity.

i have changed... i hope you can accept and love me, and i hope it challenges you to think about the choices you make as well. i love you!

japanese food and romance

2007-04-29T02:58:00.000-07:00

a weekend to remember.

friday night... japanese food in wonju with ESL buddies naomi and emma (both from new zealand, both of whom i run with)....

the ambiance was delightful: hanging lanterns, delicious sushi and korean girls getting drunk and throwing up food everywhere (thanks to the power of "Soju"... i've never been so grossed out)

saturday i treated my love to a weekend in icheon... it was a surprise. icheon is famous for its hot springs and its pottery. we stayed at a $195/night hotel called "miranda hotel" which is linked directly with the hot springs.

my favorite part was the weeping willow-lined lake which decorated the land next to the hotel... pink, purple and white flowers danced along the edges of the lake, and fish hungrily nibbled at the water's surface.

we did face masks (yes, trenton did a face mask lol.. that's why we look so ghost-like in this one picture), soaked in the hot springs, played poker and went bowling (i beat trenton two games out of three!!! yippee!!!) -- we bowled next to a group of potters who'd gathered for the international ceramic festival happening that very weekend in icheon. there were potters from denmark, japan, india, america... it was fascinating to even be near them and watch them bowl together.

we wrapped up the weekend by purchasing some handmade clay mugs, a tea pot, and a vase... all of which i'm sure will crack on their way over to canada. sigh.

what a lovely, romantic, albeit expensive getaway.

Dr. Jekyll Hides -- by Emily

2007-04-26T20:39:00.000-07:00

I hide
Not from the dark
But from myself, miniscule, meandering, mind-full
Afraid of what I might do,
Say, think thoughtless thirsty thwarted
Afraid of this monster in my head
Dead to dread, genius, generating germs
This gargantuan hole hellish hidden
Filled with potential
Potent power
I have created a Frankenstein
He appears in my weakness, looming and large
He abides in my stride
Lurks in my shadow, shallow, deep, creep
Whispers “coward” until I cave
To the eerie green light
Some call me bright, a prodigy, a miracle
I call their bluff
My creativity spawns from madness badness sadness
The other side, this dark demonic side
The place I hide from
And in
And cannot live without, drought, no doubt I’m insane
Fear: an unholy terror
Camouflaged in the mundane
A tiny man with a wand who conducts
My daily moves grooves proving to no one I am everything
It’s fear which makes me wane, wanting, weary
“Normal”
Yet I question:
Is it normal to be enslaved to a concept? To a forty-hour work week inside white walls where everyone eats donuts and whispers?
Well, now I’m screaming…

meeting miya

2007-04-22T03:49:00.000-07:00

the world is shrinking by the second...
and time is curling up like a cat on its rug ... for me anyway. i feel that way as i only have one month left in korea.

God is helping me make the most of that month -- and today was proof of that. today i met miya for the first time in person....

miya found me through our blog. she's a 26-year-old korean graduate student in seoul, whose english is better than mine some would say. she's studied in england, and taught in the phillipines.

we wandered the streets of 'insadong' and 'sam chung dung' together: artsy, europeanesque streets of seoul... we were surrounded by fellow artists with large cameras and funky clothing.

miya treated me to lunch (beepimbop -- my favourite, consisting of rice and vegetables) and then i shopped up a storm in preparation for returning home with armloads of useless souvenirs :)

afterwards we scoped out the library, some museums (the museum of tibet, and the national folk museum) and smelled some of spring's most delicate blossoms.

it was a wonderful day of putting a face to a name...

miya is a tender soul with a giant heart. thank God for our shrinking world...

Authenticity -- by Emily

2007-04-17T21:07:00.001-07:00

Authenticity is
Found in the ironic laugh
Dripping from Al Gore’s patented shoes
Leaking from the diesel tank of David Suzuki’s bus,
Oozing from Edward Burtynsky’s photograph equipment as he snaps shot after shot of our manufactured landscape.

Authenticity is
Found in the salty tear
Dripping from a Chinese worker’s eye as she sews together Al Gore’s shoes
Leaking from the pores of Bangladesh laborers, shipping off diesel for Suzuki’s bus
Oozing from a hungry African girl, crouched in a diamond field, watching Burtynsky eat a sandwich and photograph her landscape.

Authenticity is the silence that falls on a casket after the final eulogy has been spoken.

It’s a child’s gasp of horror, wonder or surprise as the world unfolds its mysteries, one gasp after another.

It’s the two coins donated by a woman on welfare, versus the piles of bills offered by the rich.

It’s the quiet heartbeat of humanity being dulled by
layer upon layer of fast food and greed.

It’s the groan of creation watching itself be stripped bare, unable to be heard.

Authenticity is a word whose definition we no longer understand.

the commercialism of christ

2007-04-14T20:47:00.000-07:00

i love my dear Jesus.

i hate how we've once again crucified him.

in my latest painting, Jesus is surrounded by popular logos/corporate symbols.

His mouth has a band-aid over it; His hands are bound, and He too is plastered with "christian" logos...

let's stop marketing our savior.

let's kneel before God, void of corporate or institutional influence, and worship the real thing.

our mountain-top date

2007-04-14T17:51:00.000-07:00

this weekend we abandoned report cards and the stuffy air of our apartment, and went on a 'trenton and emily excursion' to the TOP of chiaksan mountain (a 12 kilometre hike).

we started out taking the scooter, but it overheated, so then we climbed on the bus for the rest of the way...

spring is starting to bloom... we saw random purple flowers hedged by budding branches ... at the peak, snow loomed its ugly head.

this waterfall is full of coins people have tossed in for good luck. so we went fishing... (hee hee)

emily valiently rope climbs up the cliff...

trent pauses to look handsome...

then ponders life as we know it from the top of chiaksan. (behind us were a lot of korean families eating picnics)...

a memorable meeting was with a korean man who hiked the entire way with NO SHOES ON!

we congratulated ourselves by splurging on an evening at The Outback Steakhouse (such a foreigner thing to do, but man was it worth it.)

magnolia madness

2007-04-11T20:45:00.000-07:00

whoever invented the phrase "stop and smell the roses" must never have taken the time to smell magnolias.
white winsome petals
delicate yellow core

sweet scent
like a miracle

growing outside our window

you know it's a remarkable flower if trent comments on it. he can't get over the magnitude of the magnolia. it radiates heavenward and outward, embracing us everytime we leave and enter our home.

on a side note, i spent some lovely time with a new friend named kerri last night... we strummed our guitars, and sang leonard cohen and simon and garfunkel.

she loves korean letter paper even more than i -- the poetry on it is so ... random. sporadically wonderful.

"weak up!" the eggs cry to the unsuspecting letter-recipient...
whoever thought eggs could have so much feeling?

"however, since it was passing together every day, the trouble appeared also in each egg."

and with these deep thoughts, we bid you adieu.

no chocolate bunnies this year

2007-04-08T05:22:00.000-07:00

it was a rough day for trenton. no chocolate bunnies, no hockey tournament (he was supposed to play today in chucheon)... crummy weather combined with lack of communication forced him to wait.

nevertheless, he was appeased by a 'sunrise service' we held with friends dan and angela; whole-wheat blueberry pancakes, strawberries and whipped cream, along with some bible reading and hymn singing started off easter morn.

then we headed into seoul with emily's DEVILED EGGS (first-time folks! see pic -- i'm proud of my babies, lol) and we attended pastor john gurnett's church.

after that we all crowded into john's apartment (us along with a million other people) to devour ham, turkey, salad, chili and rice, perogies, gummy bears, carrot cake and ... well, my famous deviled eggs. :)

after that we waited around for our bus to show up so we could go home to sweet wonju. in the meantime, trent shared my old-man sweater because he was cold... ha ha.

while we miss the turkey, stuffing and good-friday vacation of home, we thank God for the moments we had today. have a happy and holy celebration of our Lord Jesus Christ, everyone!

Thoughts on Easter

2007-04-04T22:30:00.000-07:00

(picture: blossoms outside our window)

Rolling Away the ‘White-Washed’ Tombs
By Emily T. Wierenga

“Come and listen … come and listen to what He’s done.”

These David-Crowder lyrics are a peaceful balm for my weeping heart.

I am crying not for those who don’t know Jesus; after all, they have yet to meet Him. I am crying for the many ‘Christians’ whose tomb remains sealed this Easter. For them, Christ may have never risen. And what is the force holding their stones in place? Hypocrisy.

We live in a world of Pharisees. Churchgoers who wear large crosses around their necks, WWJD bracelets and Nike shoes. Individuals who slander other races and then thank God that they are not like those ‘sinners.’ People who claim to love Jesus yet hurt their environment, shun their neighbors, turn their back on the poor, divorce their spouses, ignore their children, and dance with the devil.

If we rewind 2,000 years and walk in the dusty footsteps of Jesus, we’ll encounter the same ‘holy-rollers.’ Pharisees believing they know the right way to the kingdom of God, and ignoring the hippy-rebel Jesus whose peaceful, loving lifestyle only makes them yearn for a powerful, demanding, ‘God-like’ King.

To risk crossing the line, I will compare Jesus to Shane Clairborne, author of The Irresistible Revolution and founder of ‘The Simple Way.’ Shane is a long-haired, plainly-dressed, ‘hippy’ follower of Jesus who lives with the poor and serves them, day and night. He cares for the environment, as obvious by his vegetable-oil fueled-van; he loves people – everyone from all walks of life – as evident by his open-home; he refuses to sell out to media’s voice by not watching TV (he plants flowers in old TV sets instead) and he speaks with firm yet gentle conviction to the ‘church.’

I will compare the Pharisees to the ‘Protestant Christian’ Walton Family, otherwise known as the richest family in the world. Ironically, Walmart-founder Sam Walton said one of his secrets to success was keeping the store open later than other stores – especially during the Easter season. My guess it wasn’t so he could share the true meaning of Easter with his customers.

Sam Walton was anti-charity; “We feel very strongly,” he wrote, “that Wal-Mart really is not, and should not be, in the charity business.” Money that Wal-Mart donated to charity, he reasoned, would only come out of the pockets of “either our shareholders or our customers.” He also refused to pay his workers more than he had to, and, as explained in his 1992 autobiography, Made in America, he didn’t believe in giving “any undeserving stranger a free ride.”

Add this to the fact that he professed to share the Christian faith and attended The Presbyterian Church every Sunday, and you have the ingredients for a powerful package of hypocrisy. Sadly, as everyone knows, hypocrisy is the father of disillusionment.

One of my favorite parts of the New Testament portrays Jesus walking through the fields on the Sabbath, picking grain for Him and His disciples to eat. Confronted by the Pharisees, he explained that the Sabbath was made for the Son of Man, not vice-versa. On another occasion, he blatantly healed a man on the holy day; turning to face the piercing looks of the ‘righteous,’ he asked them “Which is lawful on the Sabbath? To do good, or do evil? To save a life, or to destroy it?” (Luke 6:9)

Jesus was a hippy-loving lover of the environment, of the poor, of the outcast. He hated hypocrisy. He despised the actions of those ‘white-washed tombs.’

For me, the miracle lays not so much in Jesus dying for the non-believers. After all, as previously stated, they have yet to meet him; they have yet to accept or deny Him. The miracle of the cross lies in him dying for the very people who professed to know God, who professed to be righteous. He died for “Christians” who will never understand the meaning of the word. He died for people who slandered him and praised His father.

As independent artist Elliot Smith sings, “I’ll never know you now, but I’ll love you anyhow.” For me, that is the message of Jesus for today’s ‘White-Washed Tombs.’

'bangs' and bowling

2007-04-01T06:12:00.000-07:00

as you may have guessed, koreans take bowling as seriously as they take everything else.

we felt pretty silly today, showing up without our ball-bags, our own bowling shoes, snazzy pants or sleak wrist supporters. but then it was THEIR turn to feel silly when i scored strike after strike (see photo :))... actually, the funny part is that after trent took that picture, i DID score a strike!
that was it tho. i pretty much stink at bowling.
trent got a strike too --- but, it was foot-fowled during his victory dance. pretty funny.

saturday was rainy, but the gentle pitter patter helped me write an article, paint and write a song on my guitar.

saturday night we went with friends dan and angela to a 'dvd bang'... (bang in korean means room)... we watched 'ladder 49' on a huge projector screen slouched in comfy chairs and munching on sun chips. it was grand.

now it's back to a heavy week of teaching. i'm doing an extra adult class (monday and thursday nights, 9-10:30 pm) so they're long days. we're also being observed this week by our boss. sigh.

thanks for tuning in :)

em's article

2007-03-27T18:43:00.000-07:00

hey guys;
here's the link to a front-page feature i recently wrote for 'The Canadian National Newspaper' on the possible North American Union: http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/home/Frontpage/2007/03/26/01439.html.

love em.

just 'being'

2007-03-25T04:44:00.000-07:00

(by emily)

there are days when i miss canada terribly. days when i don't know whether i can stomach another piece of seaweed, or another teaspoon of red chili pepper. today was NOT one of those days.

the blossoms are bursting on winter-old branches; the air is fresh and saturated with birds' songs... and the koreans are out and about in their red hiking jackets and walking sticks. it's a great season to be in wonju.

why was today so special, you may ask? i'm not sure... i woke up earlyish to go running with my friend naomi. i always love our talks.

then i read the bible for an hour, and trenton worked out. i painted an abstract picture, and ate a salad. nothing out of the ordinary.

following that trenton taught me (once again) how to ride the scooter -- and i finally got it!!!!!!!! yippee skippee (in the words of trent's mom lol) :) it was so fun zooming (ok, crawling) along the streets in my yellow helmet.

the best is yet to come... at 3 pm we gathered with good friends of ours to play a rousing game of volleyball (which our team won!). we then took advantage of a $4 all-you-can-eat korean buffet. this was jill's official going-away party. her contract is finished.

after our stomachs were tight with food, jill, emma (a new girl from new zealand) and i went to the local sauna to scrub and soak and scrub some more.

what a day. i like staying home. i like watching our turtle grow and cooking my husband fried chicken and mashed potatoes (like i did last night), watching documentaries and spending time just 'being'.

my restlessness has ceased... momentarily.

(pictures: trent, in a tree, overlooking wonju; us setting up the volleyball net; naomi, emma and angela doing a cheerleading pose; some korean side dishes; and finally, two of the three crosses that surround our apartment building -- which i treasure)

Hockey Night in C...orea

2007-03-24T04:44:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I had a hockey tournament in Chun Cheon.

In photo number one you can see me completing my hat trick to win the game 8-4.

Photo number two shows me scoring the game winning goal as we won 5-4.

And in photo number 3 I am tying up the game at 3s; we went on to win 4-3.

It was lots of fun. Afterwards we went out for tak kalbi (pronounced duck galby), which is a BBQ spicy chicken. (see photo number 4).

Some players from all the teams went so we had a group of thirty plus. They gave me some lessons on korean drinking ettiquette.

For starters, you are never supposed to fill your own glass. You are never supposed to fill your own glass. When someone pours for you, you must accept it with two hands if they are you equal/elder. They same thing goes if you are pouring for your elder, and if you are going to drain your glass you must have someone join you in a cheers type format.

I also now have a korean name 'Gang Miran'. The 'r' in Miran is haveway between a 'r' and a 'l'. Gang is my last name or family name. It comes from the begining of the province I live in: Gangwon-do, and Miran is name of our Hockey team.

By now you may have figured out that there are no pictures as I FORGOT my camera. But someone was supposed to email me pictures. If I get them, then I will add them. Don't hold your breath.

Trenton

couch surfing

2007-03-19T23:48:00.000-07:00

we just joined a site called 'the couch surfing project.' you can find it at: www.couchsurfing.com. if u make a profile, random world travelers who need a place to crash for the night will contact you! plus, it's a swap-deal; say, for example, some dude from italy spends the night on your 'couch.' the next time you're in italy, you can stay at his place! the world is shrinking by the second... it's really tripping. check it out! (ps. this is the city where we live)

emotional rollercoaster?

2007-03-16T23:16:00.000-07:00

for those of you who aren't married, we decided to put together a little portfolio of emotions that a typical couple might go through together. being overseas has put us through an intensely emotional rollercoaster ride. not convinced? just look at my (Trenton's) face.

this is us angry.

here we're happy.

sad.

very excited.

scared senseless.

now that we've scared you senseless, we'll sign off. it's now time to make 'funny faces.'
As you can tell, I make some awesome faces. Just wait till you see my 'Blue Steel' face...

white day and yellow flowers

2007-03-14T08:39:00.000-07:00

warning: sappy post :)

so this is me, sweaty from my morning run, just having received a lovely bouquet of yellow flowers from trenton in honor of march 14 being "White Day" in korea. kind of a racist day, if you ask me :) but i don't mind... being white and all. just joking, lol. it's actual just another valentine's day, upon which the boy is meant to give his special girl something sweet.

anyway, trent's card was very touching -- it said:

"Dear Mumbles (that's his nickname for me because i mumble all the time), Happy White Day! Will you be my white ... person? I love you. You are the most important thing in my life. SHMILY."

SHMILY stands for: "see how much i love you."

this year in korea's been really good for our marriage. and even tho we're going to have to separate soon for awhile, i know that moments like this will keep us deeply connected forever. ok, enuf mush. just wanted to share :)

jill and i chill with some monks

2007-03-11T20:36:00.000-07:00

this weekend my friend jill pateman (who i've known since high school) and i headed to a place called 'gyeong-ju' for a peaceful temple stay. little did we know, we'd be forced to wake up at 4 am to chant and sit still then walk in countless circles in the freezing cold, all in the name of meditation... but it was an 'enlightening' time in the words of jill. before even getting to the temple (which required a half-hour walk from the bus stop) jill insisted on brushing her teeth by the side of the road. i gave into peer pressure and brushed mine as well. so we arrived minty-fresh at the temple, and revelled in the natural beauty of the place for.... hours... until finally supper rolled around. all of the meals were the same, but thankfully, they were also delicious. steamed rice, various kinds of fresh kimchi, tofu and soy/mushroom soup. the monks insist on doing every quietly... and quickly. meals are wolfed down and conversation, 'opsoyo' (absent). after dinner we learned some martial-arts moves (which i sucked at), did some fancy yoga tricks, then settled down on warm korean floors to sleep at 10 pm. the next day consisted of a trip to visit various temples, as well as the ONLY underwater tomb in the entire world (king mumu's)... below you'll see women burning incense by the japan sea, where the king is buried. you'll also see an adorable little boy who was trying to skip rocks. all in all, jill and i decided that, while we admire the monks for their discipline, we ourselves could not be monks. even in spite of the cool balloon pants that they get to wear (i'm wearing some below). so we headed on home to our cushy apartments, to get some much needed munchies and rest.

information overload

2007-03-08T09:09:00.000-08:00

something's happening here... what it is ain't exactly clear... there's a man with a gun over there, saying "children, you've got to beware"

you've gotta stop, children, what's that sound, everybody look what's going on....

these lyrics are stringing through my mind like endless pearls, driving me nutty at night, because of current information overload. yet i wouldn't change it for the world.

as for my lifestyle, it's definitely going to change. most of you know me as an extremist. trenton, on the other hand, is a very balanced individual. he keeps me grounded. yet the issues we've been facing over the past week require dramatic and extreme measures, in order to make a difference. he and i both agree on that, for the most part :)

what am i talking about?

well, all i can say is -- watch these documentaries! they will change your view of the corporate world, billboards, global warming, life in the red light districts of calcutta, our 'fast-food' lifestyle, and more.

"the corporation"
"born in the brothels"
"an inconvenient truth" (with al gore)
"Jesus camp"
"the grizzly man"
"murderball"
"who killed the electric car"
"super-size me"
"the high cost of low prices" (wal-mart)

also, we've been told to read this book: "the irresistable revolution" -- you can order it through www.thesimpleway.org. we've put in a request for a copy, so we can share it with you once we're done.

another good book (we've been told) is "the fast food nation." and have i mentioned my love of "no logo"?

whirrrrrrrrrr.... that's the sound our minds and hearts are making right now, as we prepare to avoid the corporate hand as much as possible, strap on our bike helmets, and pledge to a 'hippyer' more grassroots lifestyle. because, according to these documentaries, that's the only thing that will save this planet for future generations.

keep in mind, i'm a passionate extremist. but it would appear the world's in dire straits.

a BIG thank you to our friends who've opened our eyes and helped us see how we need to change. we'll never be the same.

simple living

2007-03-06T07:08:00.000-08:00

trent's and my life has been shaken up lately, through the documentary 'the corporation', and the book 'no logo.' next year we will be living with another couple near toronto, and thankfully, they're very conscious of the environment/social issues/and the danger of living under the power of the corporal hand. trent and i are in the midst of uprooting our former way of life and changing everything from how we eat to how we live out our christian faith. if any of you have ideas on how to reject corporations and change the world by living organically and simply, please share them! in the meantime, our friends sarah and ted bingham have really been challenging us and referred this web site to us: www.thesimpleway.org; from this site, i exerpted the following which we're going to try to following over the next year:

A number of people have asked us to come up with some simple, practical ideas around social justice. With the help of our friends at Geez Magazine, we’ve come up with the following… add your idea to the mix and let’s brew up some holy mischief.

Go out to eat with someone who is homeless, or invite them to your home or cafeteria to eat with you.
Leave a random tip in the college bathrooms for the folks who clean them.
Find out who makes the clothes for the athletic department and if those companies reflect the values of Christ.
Learn to sew and begin making your own clothes.
Start tithing 10% of all income directly to the poor (relationaltithe.com).
Connect with a group of farmworkers who grow food for your cafeteria or favorite restaurant (such as Taco Bells Immokalee workers ciw-online.org).
Give your winter coat away to someone who is colder than you are.
Ask to see the budget of your school. What do the workers get paid compared to the administrators? Make sure folks know -- if you are proud of this, affirm the folks who make those decisions... If not, begin a conversation with both workers and administrators of how this could be better.
Ask where the campus gets its energy. Is it renewable? If not begin a plan for moving toward renewable energy (talk to folks at Eastern University about how they have done it by an optional ecological tax that is tacked onto tuition -- it's only a few dollars per student).
Write one CEO a month -- affirm or critique the ethics of their company (you may need to do a little research).
Write only paper letters for a month (go computer free)
Try sitting in silence for 15 minutes a day.
Kill your TV -- or go TV free for a year.
Go down a line of parked cars and pay for the meters that are about to expire... Leave a little anonymous note of niceness.
Beat a war machine into a plow, without hurting anyone of course (Isaiah 2:4) -- NOTE: you might want to plan on a little sabbatical after this one, a little reading and writing retreat -- in jail.
Write to one social justice organizer or leader each month, just to encourage them in their work.
Experiment with a post-oil era by going fuel free for a week -- ride a bike everywhere, carpool, walk or hitchhike.
Gut your TV and turn it into a pot for a plant.
Try reading only female writers for a year (since many of our problems seem to be stemming from men).
Go to a retirement home and ask to visit a few old folks who don't get any visitors.
Spend some time with someone who cleans the campus, get to know each other, share your stories.
Invite one of the college cafeteria staff to your home for dinner or go to their home.
Try jack-hammering the church parking lot to make space for potato plants.
Track to its source one item you eat regularly
Give your car away to a stranger
Convert a diesel car to run off veggie oil.
Try flushing your toilets off dirty sink water (for a little guide, check here).
Buy only used (thrift) clothes for a year.
Cover up all brand names, or at least the ones that do not reflect the upside down economics of God's Kingdom.

i'm a ladies man

2007-03-04T02:58:00.000-08:00

In China I bought I new ping pong racket and I went to my 'ping pong' hang out to test it out. I was hoping to find my regular ping pong guy but he was not in. There were three elderly ladies who where practicing with the coach (the guy with his hands up). He got me to practice with the ladies, and I did for two hours. They are quite good, and all of them have a mean forehand. They fed me a apple, and then ask me out to dinner. I was tempted but alas I am a married man.

Before the ping pong, i watched a bunch of Koreans play some type of game. You can see them playing it here. It consists of throwing four sticks at the same time and you need three of them to stay in a square, and one of them to land out. They were also drinking and singing and eating. They gave me a beer and some food, and tried to talk to me. One guy was very insistent on telling me something, but i did not understand a word he said. But he was drunk so it didn't matter.

(by Trenton)

final day -- panda bears and ipods

2007-03-01T01:34:00.000-08:00

zoos should be happy places. sadly, beijing's zoo was not. its cement walls and bare floors housed lonely, shivering animals from worldwide, animals longing to be set free from their cold prison. nevertheless, the panda bears were endearing... one even danced for us (see picture); another climbed up one side of a slide and down the other (i guess no one taught him how to use it properly).

we also came upon some frozen looking monkeys (the weather was rainy and chilly), an elegant camel and some other marvelous creatures like giraffes, zebras, and elephants.

the day concluded with our visiting a local market, where we happened upon some wicked deals. trent and i scored some sweet snowboarding gear (SPYDER-brand snowpants/jackets, gortex gloves and goggles -- all for under $150 CDN), a ping-pong paddle for trenton, an IPOD nano for Emily ($30 CDN!) and some Abercrombie and Finch shirts...

China's the place to shop if you're in the neighbourhood. we're now semi-regretting buying our camera in Japan :(

thus concludes the official agenda of our beijing trip... tomorrow we'll be wandering the city solo (without a tour guide); Saturday it's back to Wonju to plan our lessons. thanks for accompanying us on this journey. we hope you enjoyed the experience! with all of our love...

day 4 -- temple of heaven

2007-02-28T07:21:00.000-08:00

today the clouds lifted and the sun cyphered through as we strolled through the courtyards of the Temple of Heaven... the temple itself was beautiful, but more enamoring to my eye were the people ...

mothers with their babies,
old folk playing cards, instruments and hackey-sack, and an elderly gent charging people to hold his bird (which sacha and i gladly paid for :)). Nate was tracked down by a flock of admiring Asian girls believing him to be Tom Cruise; they insisted on getting a picture with him.

From the temple we took a rickishaw ride through the old part of the city and paid a visit to Mrs. Woo -- a woman who invited us into her home and shared her life story with us (as translated by our guide). She had a beautiful smile. Following this we re-visited Tiananum Square and captured some pictures, due to the lift in fog.

After crashing for a couple of hours at the hotel, we were then picked up and escorted to a Peking Duck dinner and a Chinese Opera (which ended up being delightful, after the characters stopped singing and started acting :)). We then drove 'home' and celebrated Nate's birthday by drinking beer, eating cake (the two DON'T go together) and playing cards.

Tomorrow we'll visit the zoo and snap some shots of fuzzy panda bears! G'night.

day three -- the GREAT wall

2007-02-27T02:56:00.000-08:00

despite another day of mist, the wall emerged like a secret passageway to a magic kingdom... it is 6,000 kilometres of stone labour, 700 years old. we only walked part of it, but i've never seen trenton happier. his one dream when we decided to come to asia was to walk the great wall. today, as displayed by this picture (standing atop the highest point of the wall), he achieved this goal. at regular intervals along the wall, towers are available for exploration... trenton bought a russian fur hat to honour the occasion :) i accompanied him in my trapper gear.

we also visited "the sacred way" (where we 'rode' stone animal statues), entered the Ming Tomb museum and dined at two luxurious restaurants... the food consisted of everything from sweet and sour pork, stir fried vegetables, fish, and rice wine. we toasted our future together with the latter (as seen in the picture below).

what a GREAT day...

day 2: forbidden city

2007-02-26T07:04:00.000-08:00

today was cold and misty... it included warm memories however. to make it short: an amazing buffet breakfast in the hotel, a fully escorted tour of the 216-acre Forbidden City, the beautiful summer palace and the memorial grounds of Tiananmen Square (where 2-3,000 people lost their life for fighting for freedom). we topped off the evening with a delightful chinese meal of duck and fish, then an amazing and elaborate production called "the kung-fu legend" (you can see sacha and i here with two of the main kunfu-stars). tomorrow we're off to the Great Wall! cheers. (ps.. other pics below include Trenton with our tour guide, henry; trenton outside of the 'pearl market' where we bought real pearl supplies; an elderly woman practicing the art of mandarin-writing out on the sidewalk, trenton and sacha being goofy, and a cute chinese girl.)

day 1 in beijing

2007-02-25T01:36:00.000-08:00

hi there. since this is our last big trip before emily heads home, we thought we'd bring you along. is that ok? this is day 1. in a nutshell, we flew with dear friends sacha and nate to beijing, china, where we were met by our portly, kindly yet somewhat nervous tour guide "Henry." he then piled us into a van, and we toured through the 50-million person city to our 26-floor, five-story hotel... a site indeed to behold. with a six-foot-long chandelier, red lanterns, bowls of gold fish, and cherry blossom trees adorning its corridors, all we could do was stare. the rest of the day was spent soaking in the amenties of 70-channel television, trying out the gloriously western-styled showers :), visiting the local supermarket and being escorted home on a chinese-style 'tuk tuk' (a bicycle taxi). the day was finished by a meal of rice noodle-soup, veggies and meat, and beer. until tomorrow...

"apo"

2007-02-23T05:16:00.000-08:00

in korean, "apo" is the slang for "pain." that's what i feel right now.

today i said goodbye to a number of students who have become my tiny friends. they're leaving because they've advanced to higher grades...

boys who made me pull my hair out, then want to squeeze them. girls who strove to succeed and yet still laughed easily. my youngest, and most brilliant, students, who were little creations of fun and eager minds. eyes sparkling when teacher walked in; hands raised excitedly with the answer... from the older, feigned disgust at 'grammar' and inexpressable relief when i pulled out the games and the pizza. perhaps i enjoyed being a slice of peace in this crazy over-worked, overachieving culture they're being pulled along in.

i loved learning their language and speaking on their own turf. they respected me for it, even when i butchered the simplest of sayings.

it's so hard to say goodbye. so hard to step out and make new relationships. i'm sure you all know how i am feeling. in some ways, it helps to know they'll miss me too.

we'll be gone for the next week to china, with our friends sacha and nate. we're off to see the Great Wall and panda bears :) the tour includes a five-star hotel and an english-speaking tour guide. should be fun. should help to absolve this pain. then it's back for one more term (for Emily) and two for Trent.

thanks for listening. it helps to vent... i can only pray these little people saw a fragment of Jesus' immense heart in me, believed more in His love because of me.

A retraction

2007-02-21T22:44:00.000-08:00

THIS HAS GONE FAR ENOUGH!!! I ate 5 of the 8 octopus balls and Emily ate 3. We were supposed to have split them 50-50. It was Emily who got squeamish not me, as I did eat her last octopus ball. They are not that bad. Just a little piece of octopus leg wrapped in some creamy batter. You can actually see all the little suction cups on the leg. But they don't stick any more, i tried. I could have had more...

(Trenton)

memoirs of japan

2007-02-20T05:45:00.000-08:00

Japan was everything we thought it would be and more. A tiny country filled with countless people, everyone walking somewhere, staring straight ahead, determined not to falter in the race of life. Faces were beautiful, fashion was unfathomable, and the sights were breathtaking. Osaka Castle (Osaka-Jo) was a child’s playground for Trenton, who thrives on history; the cherry blossom orchard outlining the castle gave Emily immense joy. One day was spent visiting the castle, then subwaying across Osaka to see the aquarium – a gigantic land of penguins and funny looking fish.

That evening we bought a digital camera (challenge: decipher which of these pictures were taken by our old video camera, and which by our new “Canon”)… The next day we took the train (JR Railway) to Kyoto, the former capitol of Japan, which met us with open branches and glorious spring freshness. We toured one of the prettiest temples, watched hundreds of tourists drink spring water from “holy bowls”, mourned a bit for those worshiping the Buddha (we pray they would know the living God) and delighted in the cobblestone, pottery-lined streets that reminded us all too well of Europe.

Meals throughout our short stay included a visit to a small local restaurant, where two drunken men blew kisses at us. I ate tempura (battered veggies) while Trent had meat on a stick. We also visited an expansive food market one evening, and tried spring rolls and cheese balls; as well, we partook in some “Sake” (Japanese alcohol) and dried squid. One of these pictures portrays Trenton holding Octopus balls… they were alright, for octopus I suppose. Trenton got a bit squeamish. Don’t tell him I told you that. We stayed in a cheap, Japanese style room downtown, where the beds rolled out and the floors were covered in bamboo. I snuck a shot of a Japanese man asleep in the subway, and of a lovely old gentleman taking photos of the blossoms.

All in all, these three days were stuffed full of delicious experiences and unexplainable delights. There were still so many glimpses of sadness, so many heart-tearing moments where you want to help people but aren’t sure how… I don’t know that we’ll ever escape that until Heaven, but we ourselves were helped out by so many Osaka residents our faith in humankind was restored and our spirits lifted.

(PS. After reading this blog, Trenton insists I tell you he ate FIVE octopus balls, while I only ate three. Touche Trenton. However, I managed to keep them all down, lol.)

octopus, here we come!

2007-02-15T19:00:00.000-08:00

this weekend is 'lunar new year' or "sol-nar" here in korea. no doubt the roads will be jam-packed with families driving to meet up, so we're taking the high road and flying -- out of the country. we'll be in Osaka, Japan until tuesday morning. please pray we make it to class on time lol. :) our plane touches back down in seoul at 11:30 am; then we have to bus into wonju. class begins at 2:40 pm.

please also pray for trenton, as he's battling a cold. we're excited to sleep in japanese-style rooms, taste octopus, get our feet washed at some street-side bath, and visit the world-famous Osaka Castle.

we'll post pictures upon our return. with all our love on this lunar new year, em and trent.

(this is a picture i painted for one of the staff members at our school)

dr. choi's advice

2007-02-13T20:30:00.000-08:00

today i (emily) met with a gentleman named doctor choi for an hour and a half of conversational english. i left feeling motivated and challenged to live a fuller life.

doctor choi is a man who sets resolutions, and follows through with them. he planted a seed inside my heart; a desire to run a marathon in mongolia. despite being in his 40s, doctor choi recently ran a 12-hour marathon in the mountains of mongolia where he describes the scenery as magical; the flowers were colors of the 'cleanest,' purest shades imaginable; grasshoppers and birds were bountiful, and the lakes so translucent you could see the pebbles at the bottom. not another soul was in sight, he described... sure, it meant running up a mountain for six hours, but he really made me want to train. mongolia was just one of four marathons this doctor has run; the others having been in boston, berlin, and hawaii.

doctor choi has a philosophy he lives by, which i wanted to share with you. his philosophy is the secret to a life free of dementia, he claims. :)

1. Do one good thing a day
2. Meet 10 people a day
3. Write 100 words a day
4. Read 1,000 words a day
5. Walk or run 10,000 steps a day.

if we follow these five rules, our lives will be full and our minds healthy, he insists.

i'm willing to try it. how about you?

english contest

2007-02-09T18:36:00.000-08:00

sometimes i wonder if korean hagwons sit around dreaming up ways that they can make kids have nervous breakdowns at the tender age of 7?

after piling on a ridiculous amount of exams and homework, they dreamed up the English Contest... a deal where kids have to 'amgee' or memorize and recite an entire english storybook in front of their peers. the prize? yet another contest where they face the best from every class. ultimately they win a pretty sweet deal -- a bike or inline skates, but is it worth the stomachaches and pre-aged wrinkles in their foreheads?

i thought not. so i threw in a bit of Twister and movie-watching after they'd performed. trenton meanwhile thought it best to add a spelling test to the kids' agenda; i think he's siding with the hagwans. anyway, it was a treat to watch him perform with his tiny kindergarteners, who had to put on a performance of The Gingerbread Man (instead of memorizing the story).

well, we're off to costco now to buy some beef (after going without for 6 months). it'll be a treat to have tacos tonight. thank you to all who have shown their support through email and prayers for our current situation; we love you so very much.

mom's the word

2007-02-05T05:17:00.000-08:00

this is my mother -- yvonne patricia dow. beautiful isn't she? blue eyes, a soft heart, a devoted wife and passionate believer in Christ, who four years ago was struck with brain cancer.

there have been valleys and mountains... our faith has definitely been shaken and solidified. but God has been faithful. this past week, God has been pushing on my heart, to return home early and take care of her.

my father is a hard-working pastor and caretaker of my mother. this past month has been especially taxing, as she's lost the ability to speak, read or even dress herself. not every month is like this. in fact, tonight i had a conversation with her and it was delightful. we pray healing continues... but i cannot bear to watch my father 'bear' it alone any longer. this past week my spirit has been so heavy; i have battled insomnia and cried many tears.

it's a matter of choosing between husband and mother right now. i talked with my boss today, and she assured me that if i left at the beginning of May, i would not be breaching my contract. trent meanwhile would stay on here until august 19. our plan is to 'rendevous' at the end of july during his week-long holiday, somewhere in between korea and canada.

my father has agreed that i should come home. somewhere in the bible it says that if we do not take care of our family first, we 'repudiate' our faith. that is, we have no faith if we don't prioritize and put family first. the koreans are in full agreement with this concept, as demonstrated by the lack of homeless and the absence of nursing homes. familes take care of each other.

so, from may until august, i will be living with my parents in ontario and caring for my mother. i also plan to continue painting during that time (as my exhibit will be moving to Victoria, BC at the end of April) and freelancing.

please pray for us, for strength and vision, for determination and grace. and if you know of anyone wanting to teach english at the best ESL school in korea, give me a shout!

love em.

please come back!

2007-02-03T02:01:00.000-08:00

"onje hanbon toolesayo"... please come back and visit us again!

today skyler, a girl from work who's been a gift from God, and myself (emily) visited our local orphanage. 52 kids snuggled inside a warm building full of televisions and toys, books and music. 52 children wondering where their parents have gone.

one little girl insisted her mom was coming back from china to get her... a boy clung to me tightly, reading me books and teasing me with sparkling eyes and tricks. we brought candy and snacks and tried to feed them with temporal love, but for these children, everything is too temporal. they need a constant in their lives.

"please come back" ... a cry meant not only for our ears, but for those of their families who left long ago. please keep these children in your prayers.

son-flowers

2007-01-30T01:17:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-27T07:15:00.000-08:00

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...

2007-01-24T16:30:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-21T05:12:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-19T08:05:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-16T21:54:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-14T01:20:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-10T06:19:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-07T02:38:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-05T20:13:00.000-08:00

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...

2007-01-01T01:59:00.000-08:00

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.

thailand's smiling faces

2006-12-29T05:23:00.000-08:00

Trenton here. So here we have emily drinking out of a coconut, and the grand palace... And some monks. But i think they're imposters because i saw one taking pictures with his cellphone!

This is a hut we stayed in. Underneath us are bantams and their little chicks. They woke me up, and disturbed my meditating.

here are some monkeys, and below is a blowfish. He puffed up right in my hand! Twice. But he is poisonous so i did not eat him. But i did eat the monkey. Tastes like chicken : )

Emily says i have to tell you i did not eat the monkey!

Emily is sad because i really did eat the monkey. We are going through a small stream covered by mangrove trees. The trees are basically in mud and water, like a swamp.

So i overcame the fear of drowning and swam with the fishes! So many fishes with so many colors. Yes i do teach enlish. I could not catch any fishees but i did touch a few. We stayed in a mountain village and a resort. The pictures are not in order, just so you know.
Emily got a tattoo and a piercing. One of them is fake.

i made a sand-turtle and called him squirmy. i also rode a elephant. All by myself when the trainer fell off. And then we went bamboo rafting and emily got wet.

below is a little girl who's actually a cute monkey dressed in human clothes.

i had two one hour long massages that day :)

christmas in chiang mai

2006-12-24T08:06:00.000-08:00

we're doing our utmost to forget that tomorrow is our favourite holiday of the year... to block out memories of stuffing and turkey, family and laughter, stockings and candles, and simply focus on the gifts of this very moment. however, it's hard. there's something so lovely, so warm about christmas. and for all of you experiencing it, we pray it's a very merry one.

as for us, we're going trekking :) we've arrived in chiang mai... a huge yet strangely town-like city in the north of thailand. today was spent shopping in the sprawling, inexpensive markets, and being entertained by a live monkey show :)

what with it being the flower festival, commemorating the king's 60th year of reign, the city is packed with visitors from all across the world... so tomorrow we're escaping into northern thailand on a two-day trekking trip.

highlights of the thailand trip so far? our snorkelling trip in ko lanta... the waters were clear to the bottom, and we saw fish of every colour... we are now officially addicted to ariel's 'whole new world'. after snorkeling we picnicked on a secluded beach... we were served rice and curry by the thai, and then lounged around in talcom-powder sand.

we've met so many funky folks from all walks of life; in Krabi (on the way to the airport, two days ago) we took a spontaneous boat trip (in one of thailand's long-tailed boats) with some newly-made friends down the river to visit a local cave (where we rock climbed) and then to a fishing farm (where we held all kinds of fish, including a blow fish and a 'block' fish)...

sorry for the randomness of this blog. i am very sleepy. we will write again after the trek. supposedly it includes a bamboo rafting trip, another elephant ride, sleeping overnight in a village, and lots of walking :)

may Christ fill your spirits to overflowing.

elephant ears and crystal clear waters

2006-12-20T22:00:00.000-08:00

you can't come to thailand and not ride an elephant... or so we've heard :) so today, on the southern tip of thailand (in the province of krabi), we rode the thick-skinned, beautiful animals, and then fed them bananas.

it was a neat experience... a slow-trotting, lumbering ride through the jungle. our driver had a huge smile and spoke minimal english. we sat aboard a strapped-on seat and passed rubber trees (which were tapped to bleed rubber) and countless kinds of foliage.

currently we're at an internet cafe on the beach; the water is literally sky-blue, and clear to the bottom. we're taking an express boat to phi phi island tomorrow, and going snorkelling. phi phi is known for its gorgeous beaches... actually, the leonardo decaprio movie 'the beach' was filmed there. we wish we could share our pictures with you... that will have to wait until we return to korea. just picture heaven :)

one last note... trent had the best massage of his life this morning. it was an hour of pulling, prodding, and even standing on his body to produce utter relaxation...

thanks for reading our blog guys. we love staying in touch with you this way.

peace!

from under the sun...

2006-12-19T04:48:00.000-08:00

so much to tell you, so little time:

i am sitting here in the open lobby of the Bed and Boat, surrounded on one side by banana trees and orchids. on the other side of me, the traffic is streaming by... bike taxis, motorbike taxis, and metre-taxis are all begging for passengers. upstairs, trenton is stretched out on our huge bed, watching thai tv, and relaxing after a day of intense shopping and sightseeing in the warmth of thailand's rays.

bangkok is, as one tourist put it, 'insane.' its 8 million people are all crowded onto boat-taxis that ferry up and down the river... today we took a boat tour which not only allowed us to encounter 'river markets' (vendors selling items from their boats) but which let us meet another couple from sydney australia, who we then lunched with, and then accompanied to 'the sleeping buddha.'

this is a very buddhist-influenced country, with hindu undertones... and while trent and i toured the buddha's grounds, my heart felt very torn for the people. i actually felt spiritually heavy.

we then toured the king's grand palace, ordained with gold and glass, and also entertaining very heavy buddhist influences. we hired a tour guide, who taught us the meanings behind all of the many demons and monkeys surrounding the buildings... we weren't allowed to bear our arms or legs, so had to borrow skirts and pants for the occasion. to top it all off, i drank from a coconut :)

after that we hopped aboard the ferry and visited the ever-popular, foreigner-packed 'kau song' road... where trent and i bargained up a storm. we bought authentic thai clothes, bracelets, leather 'diesel' watches, plugs (for emily :)) and more... all at a very reasonable price.

by this time the sunlight had turned a corner and darkness was falling. we ferried back to our hotel, and ate at one of the many 'street' restaurants... tonight we had noodles and duck.

tomorrow we fly to the beaches of ko lanta (where the tsunami hit awhile back)... we will be staying in a resort there. our plans include 2-hour massages, snorkeling, and lying on the hot sand :)

it's a fruit-filled palm-tree paradise of beautiful people and sweet deals. we are resisting the urge to move here :)

love y'all! talk again soon.

an artist's musings

2006-12-14T19:19:00.000-08:00

years ago i wrote a song for my husband, which got lost somewhere along the way... this past week, i wrote my first 'worship' song... it was inspired by a devotion trent and i read together where Peter, one of Jesus' disciples, is asked by Jesus three times if he loves him... after responding, "Yes Lord", Jesus then tells him to 'feed his sheep.'

it feels so good to strum my own chords and belt out my own lyrics. i love that God can pour through us creatively...

anyway, i just wanted to share this milestone with you. i'm sorry trenton doesn't write on this blog -- he isn't much of a writer, but he approves of everything i write before it's posted. most of the time :)

we are off to thailand for a couple of weeks, starting this sunday. we'll still be checking our e-mail and trying to post blogs, but we just want to wish you the holiest of Christmases. we love and miss you!

the irony of it all

2006-12-12T20:47:00.000-08:00

saint nick must be rolling in his grave. after all, he was a devout Christ-follower. the very beauty of saint nick is the fact that he loved people... and he did this because he was doing as Christ did. giving gifts to the undeserved. i find it so sadly ironic that a holiday birthed by God's Son has been overriden by a man who only wished to honour that baby in a manger.

this christmas, trenton and i are striving to share the good news of Jesus with our students. which brings up another sadly ironic factor: while we are teaching in a 'christian' school, there is no mention of Christ whatsoever in our staff meetings or classrooms.

where oh where has my dear Lord gone?

scoping out the slopes

2006-12-09T19:47:00.000-08:00

boarding and skiing in korea are relatively new phenomenons, as we discovered at 'phoenix park'. thousands of young folks piled onto gondolas and chair lifts for this year's first official weekend of boarding the slopes.

having lived near the Rockies, our hearts weren't set on anything 'high' -- but we were pleasantly surprised by the piles of soft powder and the length of the runs. true, only the black and green runs were open -- so we stuck to the black (which is equivelant to a canadian blue) but it made for a pleasant, albeit expensive, saturday excursion.

some quirks and delights:

-families dressed to the nines boarding together

-mothers taking their children on the gondola just to give them a toboggan ride at the top

-hundreds of cellphones snapping pictures everywhere, all the time

-hundreds of people collapsing on the hills in front of you as you manouever your way down

-huge speakers blaring out korean christmas carols and avril lavigne all across the mountains

-a fake tiger appearing out of nowhere in the middle of the woods

-countless air hoses to clean off your boards and skis before returning them

true, it felt lonely to be some of the only white people there, but in the end, God is everywhere, as evidenced by the beauty of nature and the diversity of the people surrounding us.

my cocoon

2006-12-05T21:35:00.000-08:00

once again my husband has come through for me.
i'm the kind of person who needs a 'hide-away' spot... a cocoon of sorts, where i can listen to james blunt and tom petty, and paint. who would have thought that in our tiny korean apartment such a spot would emerge?

just beyond our patio, where we hang our laundry, sits a ladder, which climbs into a tiny attic room just big enough for a table and chair. so trenton, seeing my need, carved out my niche. he set up a computer and my paints, as well as a heating lamp (yes, korea is now in the full swing of winter -- snow is plastering the ground!) ... and there i sit and paint.

i am so thankful. spending time in my cocoon give me the strength to 'spread my wings and fly' .

girls just wanna have fun

2006-12-03T18:18:00.000-08:00

sacha, my 'seoul' sister from pusan, met me in seoul this weekend for a chicks' chill-out weekend. we craved shopping, deep talks and munchies :) we stayed overnight at a korean run international bed and breakfast -- jonnowon... and hit as many areas of seoul as possible in the pursuit of materialistic happiness... lol.

we found shawls, sweaters, christmas lights, gifts for our hubbies back home... and we practiced our minimal korean bargaining at one of korea's most famous markets -- namdaemun -- which boasts 10,000 shops. at night we hit up one of the local 'norae bangs' which literally means 'singing room' where we belted out songs like 'dancing queen' and 'i will survive.'

one our most amusing finds was a pair of hip jeans which, when turned over, revealed a rear plastered with swear words. we couldn't believe it! (see below)...

perhaps one of our highlights was playing in the piles of leaves... gigantic orange korean leaves which we threw all over the sidewalk in childlike frenzy :)

i praise God for deep friendships like these. after all, sometimes a girl just wants to have fun!

what's the point?

2006-11-30T20:07:00.000-08:00

(em's ramblings)

don't get me wrong. there are moments when i really enjoy life. like when my husband has me pinned down laughing so hard tears are dripping ... or when i see a really cute, chubby baby smiling at me. moments like those.

but that's not enough to keep me going. there has to be a point to all of this running around, earning money, spending it then worrying about how to get more. there has to be a reason we're here.

for me, that point is found in being a creation of God. but i've known i am His for my whole life. that isn't enough anymore. i want more. perhaps this is selfish, but i want to know Him as much as humanly possible... because otherwise, i'll feel i've missed the point.

i don't want to just say i love Jesus, like a girl on 'spiritual' ecstacy who thinks she's in love but is really just high. i want to truly love. i want to shatter this shell of selfish pride and step out into the gutter of humility. not for myself. for others. for my husband and my friends. that i might learn to truly love.

that, i believe, is the whole point of this crazy thing called life.

free love

2006-11-27T21:35:00.000-08:00

it would seem that the world is starting to catch on... we all need free love. check out this guy in seoul.

the '60s are being revived. it's an international craze:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diccc7je8tg.

i'm inspired.

let's all take time this week to offer a 'free hug.'

christmas comes early to korea

2006-11-26T03:25:00.000-08:00

so you may be wondering... why are they opening their christmas presents in november? well, to make a short story long, we've created two versions. for those of you who cannot stomach the idea of us committing this atrocity, scroll to story #2. otherwise, here are the bare facts.

we are going to thailand in 3 weeks, and every weekend up until then is full. plus, emily was feeling homesick tonight, so trent lit some candles, poured her some hot chocolate and baileys, put on the christmas tunes, tucked her into bed, and pretended it was indeed christmas morn. (have i mentioned i have the best hubby ever?)

story #2
you've heard there's a time difference between canada and korea, but did you know it's a month's difference? so today was, indeed, december 25. seriously.

yesterday (saturday) we borrowed a friend's costco card and bussed into seoul, where we bought gigantic muffins, a cozy blanket, and ... our very first laptop ... at costco. yup, we're being spoiled. God is really blessing us. who knew christmas could come two days in a row? and in november???? i mean... december.... :)

we want to thank our fabulous family back home for the gifts of canvas, paints, candy, lotions, 'three's company' :), and home-knit slippers! we love you more than words (or pictures) could ever express.

tickled pink

2006-11-22T20:02:00.000-08:00

(by emily)

one of my dreams is coming true... i have my first art exhibit at king's university college! and i'm not even in the country! an old bible school/king's classmate, norton mah, decided to approach kings' drama/ art professor, suggesting that he scope out my web sit (www.canvaschild.com) and think about exhibiting my paintings... bless you norton. the professor has e-mailed me and requested some of my paintings to be dropped off... the one posted here is of "The Afghan Girl" (originally featured by national geographic)... anyway, praise God. just wanted to share why i'm tickled pink... and blue and green and all the other colours splashed upon a palette :)

5 untold truths

2006-11-21T07:52:00.000-08:00

(by emily)
my friend, jason, (who i really only started getting to know after we stopped being co-workers at Living Light News) has 'tagged' me ... which means, i'm the next to share five untold truths about myself. after unveiling these coveted details, i will then proceed to pass the torch onto 5 other fortunate fellows.

1. despite laughing a lot and loving the presence of people, i am, undeniably by society's standards, an introvert. i need my 'alone' time in order to recharge and love people again.
2. i am very, very stubborn. don't try to change my mind on this. it's a fact. just ask my husband :)
3. i feel very very deeply for complete strangers. someone i have never met, and probably will never know, might pass my path... and my heart will twinge for them. i pass them and pray for them. i love people... who are achingly real. on the same note, i despise disguise.
4. my dream is to write one unforgettable book, that will keep people up at night and spawn further writings...
5. i am scared of becoming a mother... because i am highly self-critical, and expect perfection. i am scared of ruining my children because i'll expect too much of them.

there. it's been said. i hope you still love me :)

i'm passing the torch on to...
1. Sacha Joy
2. Abba Girl (even though I just met you through blogging :))
3. Ammee Pearl (even though you're currently driving to California)
4. Keith Dow (my lil bro)
5. Melanie Brasher

spill the beans about yourselves!!

frost-tipped days

2006-11-18T05:17:00.000-08:00

this week we were met with mounds of cabbage everywhere... being pickled and spiced and hiberanated for winter. it's kimchee making time :)

we were also met with a fine dinner in honour of a staff member leaving, at a fancy restaurant known as the "bird's eye"... it was a welcome break from the headache of report cards.

today (saturday) trenton and i buckled down and began prepping for next year. we're feeling led to live near toronto with our friends, sacha and nathaniel. this will give us the chance to not only live closer to emily's family -- she's been away from them for 9 years -- but to experience the community of living with another couple ... we know this will come as a shock to some of you, and are sorry if we couldn't tell you in person. nothing is set in stone -- however, we refreshed trent's resume and cover letter, and began sending them out to school boards in that area. prayers would be appreciated.

the day's monotony was broken by a spontaneous volleyball game with jill, naomi, and four other guys... tonight trent and i ordered pizza and tomorrow we'll continue to venture around this town we barely know, continuing to adjust to foreign customs which are slowly becoming familiar and dear. may you find christmas beauty in these frost-tipped days :)

poker face

2006-11-14T18:25:00.000-08:00

last night it snowed... in korean, snow is "noon". rain is "bi" pronounced "pee". :)

we watched the snow falling from inside the warmth of a pub where we played texas hold'em with our new group of wonju buddies.

remember jill? the friend from high school who i met on the streets? well, we went for drinks; then she decided to start up a weekly poker game ...

last night there were three girls and six guys, all from different 'hogwans' (english schools)... and trenton and i managed to slap on our poker faces and 'ace' the game :) it was pure fun.

we pray God shines through us, as we're the only believers among them. and we praise him for friends from all around the world.

folk village fun

2006-11-12T05:38:00.000-08:00

while the sun was still rising saturday morning, we bussed into seoul and met up with mom and the sisters. from there we took another bus to Yong-In, the town hosting Korea's famous Folk Village. we experienced elderly men on tightropes, young girls leaping from teeter-totters, a korean play, old fashioned homes and gardens, exhibits featuring korean history, a phenomenal equestrian show, and an elaborate amusement park. the leaves are turning and the air is frosted with the promise of winter, but our spirits were warmed by the highlights of the day.

that night we rested our heads in a bed and breakfast, then joined pastor John Gurnett in seoul's second biggest church (attended by a total of 50,000) for a 2 p.m. english service. he then escorted us to a dinner of chinese noodles and mandu (korean dumplings) after which we took the train to wonju, leaving the family behind to continue their venture on to singapore and eventually, home.

'Peppero' Day

2006-11-10T00:24:00.000-08:00

i love korea's 'mini' excuses for holidays. they may not hail Halloween (something i don't have a problem with) but they celebrate everything else: children, parents, sports, and, just because they can -- a cookie called "pocky". they've named this day: "Peppero." the cookie is a wafer-long stick dipped in chocolate. and what date does this fall upon? tomorrow -- november 11. why? perhaps because the sticks look like the number 1. perhaps because 'pocky' manufacterers were desperate to 'up' the sales of this flavourful cookie. whatever the case, my students gifted me today with a beautifully wrapped cylinder of pocky cookies; and i'm not complaining. life should be saturated with reasons for celebration!

family

2006-11-08T02:02:00.000-08:00

an unfolding, brilliant, fragrant flower... family.

some days i hog solitary space. i isolate myself, becoming a sole observer of the human species.

other days i chase after human embrace. a selfish-bred woman i give when i want and take what i need. how many silent tears have been shed on account of my withdrawal? my silence?

should i always be offering of myself? when is it okay to be alone?

for this very reason, the concept of family has always slightly eluded me. like a beautiful flower out of reach. one i'm not sure i want to uproot -- i just like to look at it. for once it's uprooted, it starts to fade. yet perhaps i need to 'pluck' the chance.

it's a pain i don't necessarily want to feel. a need i don't want to admit. but deep down, i am nothing without it. for the sake of myself, and for the sake of my mother, my father, my sisters and my brother, i need to pick the flower and smell it deeply.

like Jesus said, we have to die to ourselves. perhaps, in plucking the flower, and in letting it fade, we are truly becoming what Christ desires. others-focused. self-avoiding.

(emily)

marching to the beat of our own drums...

2006-11-05T19:03:00.000-08:00

the past two days have been a whirlwind of photos (mom is a shutterbug, snapping left right and centre) :), climbing mountains, marveling at bright red and orange leaves, introducing these ladies to the 'orange-pajama' life of the jimjillbang in seoul (the bath-sauna), touring the once royal, now near-deserted former dynasty-capital of 'baekjae' where we learned to dye t-shirts using yellow soil, do korean printing, and play traditional korean drums.

we're tired and yet our faces are wrinkled from smiling. mom shared yesterday that she loves watching the people... such as the man who decided to stop mid-walk and sleep standing up, or the drunken koreans singing their hearts out on the mountaintop.

today mom and her sisters are out braving cold rains on "rodeo street", shopping, while trent and i trudge back to school. tonight we'll share wine and cheese, tomorrow they'll join me in some body and mind-bending yoga, and then on wednesday they're off to seoul while we finish up the week teaching our little ones.

as for next weekend? more adventures in a korean folk village. stay tuned, and thrive on love dear friends :) we certainly are (as evidenced by the many packages brought by our family -- including an oilers t-shirt, and a calgary flames 'sippy cup' which trenton was none-too pleased about :))

mom's the word

2006-11-01T04:03:00.000-08:00

tomorrow night trent's mom and her two sisters will be arriving! we've signed them into a local motel/sauna, and are thrilled about the prospect of showing them around our cozy town. we're also anticipating the arrival of many longed-for items such as popcorn seasoning, deodorant (let's just say koreans keep it 'au natural'), canvas supplies and hockey gear.

... these weeks have been trying due to parents observing our classes and 'critiquing' our style. we're finding peace of mind in watching our turtle grow (lol) and laughing our guts out at The Office (season 2).

signing off for now...

emerging from our 'shells'

2006-10-29T19:12:00.000-08:00

this weekend we took the KTX (korea's fastest train) to busan -- a city by the sea that boasts 4 million people (korea's second largest city). out of those 4 million, we spent time with two -- and were thoroughly encouraged by it. we avoided touristy things, opting instead for fellowship. sacha and nathaniel, whom we've met twice before (emily first met her on an airplane ride 6 years ago), hosted us with grace and warmth. dining in turkish, korean and western restaurants... emily having her hair done (cut and dyed)... trenton being engrossed in one of korea's many 'games rooms'... purchasing our very own 'turtle' (his name is Squirmy) ... playing poker and climbing a mountain ... elements which composed a delightful weekend by the ocean. the connection was so great between us all, it felt indeed as if we were 'emerging from our shells' ...

the sunrise

2006-10-25T21:41:00.000-07:00

(written in contemplation over our leaving young life ministry and moving to korea)

what does it all mean anyway?
wrestling with value, purpose, identity, last night i couldn't sleep. haunted by my own ghosts, little fears dancing above my head, making me lose faith in whoever i've become.
what is this life? and am i stepping along the right path?
why did God let us burn out? did we fail Him?
why did He open this particular door? are we obeying Him here, or solely divulging in self?
help me serve you Lord. help me know your will, and fully surrender.
help me love, for i know nothing can go wrong with love.
forgive me for falling time and again. thank you for picking me up, and for giving us the sunrise. brand new beginnings, every morning.

panmunjom

2006-10-22T00:33:00.000-07:00

Recently, there's been a lot of talk about North Korea in the news, and rightly so. But this weekend we decided to find out for ourselves whether or not things were worth worrying about.

Along with our friends, sam and becky (who are also teaching in korea) we partook in a Panmunjom Tour. On July 27, 1953, at Panmunjom, the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), an armistice agreement was reached, sacrificing the unification of Korea. One of our pictures shows Trent and I pretending to push together the two sides of this beloved, bleeding country. On our tour we entered the four-kilometre wide DMZ zone, where we were led on tour by an American soldier. At one point, we were surrounded on three sides by North Korea. Trent caught a picture of a North Korean soldier standing guard (it's very faint, but you can see it below). While standing in the DMZ conference room (the same room where the treaty was originally signed), listening to our tour guide, Trent and I crossed the boundary and were standing in "North Korea" ...

We also passed by the "bridge of no return", where prisoners of war were given a one-time chance to choose between either North or South Korea as their homeland. We entered the Third Tunnel, one of many tours dug by North Korea in an attempt to invade South Korea in the 1970s.

Following our day-long tour, Becky and Sam joined us at the Shalom 'jimjimbang' in Seoul where we spent the night. For ten dollars a person, we enjoyed a public bath house, saunas, an entertainment floor, a fitness room, and massage chairs, as well as night's rest. The building consists of five levels in total; upon entry, we were given warm clothes to wear and a towel. The girls and boys then parted ways, and joined many Koreans in a 'public' bath experience. The various baths included a waterfall, a mugwort soak, a jade tub, a charcoal soak, a yellow soil bath, a massage tub as well as body buffs. We also slept in separate rooms, lined with bunk beds. It was a delightful, albeit 'exposing' experience.

And, in answer to people's worries over North Korea's recent attack, the soldiers at the DMZ weren't phazed in the least. It was truly a successful failure, another desperate attempt by the madman who rules over his father's nation, to prove that he is indeed worth something. Please pray for the people of North Korea. They are in desperate need of a miracle.

on the streets of wonju

2006-10-17T22:02:00.000-07:00

hot, midday sun. paused at an intersection ... greeted by a 'random' white person, a teacher. i'm oblivious. she's staring at my face, recalling. suddently: her voice says my name -- "emily?" astounded, i realize she's jill. jill from high school. we marvel at the meeting. she's a teacher too. we exchange numbers, both floating on clouds of shock. i pray she calls. we've got lots to talk about.

seaweed and sweat

2006-10-16T21:15:00.000-07:00

there is no better feeling
than muscles breathing deeply
from yoga
taste buds absorbed in "kimbap" (rice, vegetables and meat wrapped in seaweed)
and my sweat
mingling with a smile
knowing i've embraced another
morning

cornerstone

2006-10-15T04:26:00.000-07:00

rarely do we realize our need for the cornerstone until the building is torn down ...
crumbling under the weight of our own skins.
rarely do we realize the freedom of resting on the cornerstone
until we've tumbled to the ground
crying like little children because we can't get up.
today trent and i went to church for the first time since august...
yet we barely made it there ... our marriage under attack from a feeble fight fired by miscommunication. satan's tactic to make us hate. make us fall. yet, while crumbling, we managed to drag ourselves to church, determined to go at least once.

and we're so glad we did. joined by a small gathering of other 'yongo' (english) speakers, we sang -- at first, unwillingly -- songs like "deep and wide" and "mighty is our God"... tears dropping from our eyes and our spirits unbuttoning, exposing hurting hearts. God healed us.
it was so good to be in church.

(picture: wild roses lining our road)

working out, and within...

2006-10-13T18:34:00.000-07:00

i (emily) have discovered the 'healing' power of yoga... but do not fear. i am still a Christian. :)

it is not healing in the spiritual sense. it's purely a physical devotion, an extreme challenge that aches in all my joints and reminds me of muscles that have too long sat dormant.

i was afraid to do yoga. afraid of what people might think. and it's true; in some cultures, cities, and nations, yoga is devoted to worshiping the sun and becoming 'one' with the universe. but after talking with john gurnett (our former bible school teacher) he reassured me that in South Korea, yoga is purely a physical sport. it is also my belief that God can redeem anything and use it for his glory.

i started this past tuesday, and am attending twice a week. each lesson is one hour of intense head-stands, leg lifts, sit ups, back stretches and deep breathing. it's a cultural weaving between myself, the only white person, and dozens of korean women. the lesson is conducted by a tiny, beautiful lady who gently guides me and patiently waits for my body to catch up. it's all unrolled (like the mats) in korean -- an excellent exercise for my listening skills.

i am excited to be a part of this exercise, and find myself able to worship my creator by performing the various positions.

while i welcome anyone's views on yoga, i have ultimately determined that only God can make the final decision for me. he has filled my heart with peace. and so, i continue to work out, while he works within.

paradise beckons

2006-10-09T07:05:00.000-07:00

tossing coins over our shoulders into a 'wishing well,' in the fashion of audrey hepburn and cary grant; eating sweet orchard oranges, resting in a golden resort... all a part of our many adventures on the island of jeju this past week. peruse the next three posts for more of our stories...

jeju's jewels

2006-10-08T02:28:00.000-07:00

this past tuesday we bussed with dan and angela from wonju to gwang-ju, and from there to mokpo, a fish-scented city by the sea. we met up with our former Bible School prof, John Gurnett (now preaching and teaching in seoul) as well as two of his friends -- matt and nicky. from mokpo we ferried for 5 hours to the palm tree studded, orange-sunkist island of jeju.

john arranged for us to stay at Jazz Village, a funky hardwood-floor, high-ceilinged, winding stair-cased resort which played soft jazz music daily. we rented a van and toured the island, with john as our very capable guide. he took the time to teach us how to read korean, to cook us elaborate breakfasts and barbecued suppers, and to lead us into the heart of jeju. we took so many pictures this is only one of three blogs dedicated to our Chusok adventure.

Chusok is the Korean rendition of Thanksgiving, celebrating the entrance of the full moon. it abides by the lunar calendar. all week, families are driving from home to home, dining and drinking in the moonlight. on friday afternoon, after taking the ferry back to mokpo, we were stunned by the millions of cars dimpling the highway. we traveled back to seoul with john, nicky and matt... it took 9 hours, instead of the usual 5. nonetheless, the elaborate rest stops along the way (decorated by bonsei trees and countless mini restaurants) as well as loads of sarcasm and lots of laughs helped us make it through.

trent and i crashed at john's place in seoul on saturday, then spent the day buying christmas gifts and clothes before taking the train home to wonju. it was a full week. today we bummed around home, doing laundry and daily things, preparing for a week's worth of teaching... praise God for rest stops like jeju. and jewels like john.

mini things to see in jeju

2006-10-08T01:37:00.000-07:00

jeju is famous for its two mini museums... we went to one, and 'toured the world'... here are some of the more intriguing sites we stumbled upon; egypt's pyramids and sphynx; the eiffel tower, taj majal, mount rushmore, leaning tower of pisa, marilyn monroe :), the ladies of athens, and more... mini bites into a smorgesborgue of places.

more of jeju ...

2006-10-07T23:37:00.000-07:00

standing in sun-drenched tea fields, feeding fat fish, trailing the peace-filled paths of Mr. Sung's Bonsei tree museum, and delighting in a dazzling Chinese circuis where tiny girls exerted unfathomable flexibility.

autumn is falling ...

2006-10-01T01:41:00.000-07:00

upon wonju, with gigantic red and orange leaves. we tried to capture some of the magic via our poor digital camera. this weekend was a potpourri of happenings; a restful time, spent roaming wonju, digging into its cultural corners and naturistic knooks.

friday night we went with two other couples to a local pub, where we drank soju and ate dried squid and minnows. a young korean man lost a bet to his friends and was forced to come 'dance' for us. the entire pub got into it, clapping and singing. we felt, for a moment, in-communicato with our foreign-tongued neighbours.

saturday we played badminton outside our apartment, then toured wonju on our scooter with our friend Daniel (not the dan belonging to angela) who owns a motorbike. he took us to a coffeehouse in the mountains, then to the streets of wonju where a huge concert was taking place (see korean singer below).

today, we attempted to go to church for the first time, but happened upon the one sunday it wasn't occuring (we will try again next week). so instead, we scootered back to the coffeehouse in the mountains (past korean fishermen and women, basking in fall sunlight beneath their big umbrellas), then climbed a steep mountain to a temple where we prayed and rested (see pictures below). God met us where we were -- as he always does. tonight we plan to do a small bible study with dan and angela. tomorrow we teach, then as of tuesday we're off to Jeju Island with some friends till Saturday (Chusok Holiday). so we'll update you following our holiday! peace.

scooters and ham

2006-09-28T05:58:00.000-07:00

it's thursday night. i'm sitting in my pajamas eating cereal and bananas, writing about the obvious: scooters and ham. trent meanwhile is a bundle of energy upon his new red toy, and is currently scooting around the city. i'm in awe of his childlike passion for ... everything. tonight he called up a random person named "Steve" and asked him to play ping pong. nighttime is when he shines, like a star. i flicker and burn out, like a candle. right now the pasta's boiling over on the stove, so i should go. but first, i'll explain the purpose of this blog: the ham (all 12 bundles of it, plus two bottles of mustard) was a "Chusok Holiday" gift from our school (Chusok is next week; we'll be taking off for Jeju Island). -- and the scooter: this past week, we decided to purchase one. it beats walking. and it's fun. we don't have any divine assurances that we were meant to buy it, but the money was available and, what the heck -- life's all about adventure right? :)

my nhl hubby

2006-09-24T02:49:00.000-07:00

well... maybe he's not quite nhl material, but today he sure reflected one under the hot korean sun. it was trenton's first roller hockey tournament ... he rose at 6:15 am and rode with one of the guys to Chucheong -- a popular city located one hour away. i followed later on a bus to cheer on the sweating, gloriously happy boys. kimbap (rice rolled in seaweed), bananas and kit kats fed the hungry crew. around 3 pm, when they'd won their final game, trent and i hit the streets to wander among countless old women and men selling their wares from tiny stalls ... trent bought some KFC, we marveled at architecture, laughed at the 'athlete's foot' store, then wearily bussed home. truly a sunday that 'scores' high on our list of days to remember :)

students and staff

2006-09-22T20:04:00.000-07:00

so it's saturday and we're ... teaching :( but in exactly one week, we'll have an entire week off in order to celebrate "Chusok Holiday" so that's why we're doing make-up classes today. in order to soften the blow, our boss took us all out for a traditional korean dinner yesterday (see below) -- we ate "taejeegogi kalbi" or "pork kalbi" (pork roasted over a flame in the middle of the table then wrapped in leaves)... plus hundreds of side dishes :). pictured here are some of emily's students; and yes, the hamster is a regular attendee of our classes!

ammee pearl...

2006-09-21T18:22:00.000-07:00

may God's spirit
rest on you like
a bird of many colours
may your prayers be as
fragrant incense
in our father's house
may your head remain bowed
your heart humbled
by the calling he's placed upon you
and go in peace
knowing he's paved the path
you have my complete blessing.
blossom,
sweet yellow carnation

trenton scores some goals

2006-09-19T18:19:00.000-07:00

Well, i have finally made my profesional debut in the roller hockey world. I played in a game that was televised by Korea's ESPN. It will be aired on monday at 5:30. It was awesome. I assisted the first goal and scored the next four as we went on to trounce our oppenents 16-2. In total i scored 7 goals, and was named MVP. Their regular best player was not at this game, otherwise it would have been even more lopsided.
They played three periods of hockey and had multiple interviews during the intermissions. The host of the show played for the other team during the last period. To start the third, they had him and I face off, where i knocked him down. That will for sure make the highlight reel. lol.
The team has invited me to join them in a province wide roller tournament this weekend. There will be 5 teams represented. All in all, this has been a great experience, and the guys are trying to teach me some Korean. One guy is giving me a stick if i come and play for them on Sunday.

Trenton

beauty

2006-09-18T22:33:00.000-07:00

... found in the fragile wings of a dragonfly
flitting along korean pathways
.... in the hunched backs of wrinkled old ladies
bent from years of working in the fields
... in the pale-faced youth who powder their
noses in the hopes of appearing 'white
... in the daring recluse who bears the sun and
allows freckles to sprinkle her nose
... in the large autumn leaves, half green, half orange
and firey red
... in tiny kindergarden children garbed in uniform
running pitter patter with glee
... in the random pigeon, the national bird, proud
in its silver robes

beauty is in the eyes of both beholder and bearer. a universal language everyone can appreciate, and all desire to know.

finding 'seoul-ace' :)

2006-09-16T05:39:00.000-07:00

today we stumbled upon the 12-million peopled capital called Seoul, a beautiful, busting metropolis filled with items from home we've been missing. trenton scored some of korea's few root beers from a hole in the wall otherwise known as the black market. he also bought Iginla's jersey for a mere 25,0000 won ($25) just in time for the start of the NHL season. we purchased a humorous t-shirt remarking on korea's major alcoholic influence (the green bottle in emily's hand -- Soju), some 'copies' of new movies like Click, the Break-Up and Pirates of the Caribbean 2 (copied films are sold at every corner)... we also found a 6-pound bag of pretzels (a must have :)), some used english novels, korean clothing, and a huge international food market. we buzzed around with the other millions of ants in a major subway system, taxis and busses. this past week God answered trent's prayers by providing him with free equipment to play 'roller hockey' with other korean guys every tuesday and thursday evening. he also played some ping pong and was introduced to the korean martial art of 'kumdoo' (which you can see our friend Dan playing below). it's been a good week.

life rolls on

2006-09-13T18:51:00.000-07:00

the air is getting chilly here. the brilliant red flowers are fading, and gardens are being wrapped up and put away ... i hear korean winters are damp and hover around zero degrees. we are in dire need of a duvet and winter gear, so will be taking another trip to E-mart soon. this weekend, in spite of being sick with colds, we are going to take the express bus into Seoul for our first time. we are eager to check out the international food market, and to visit the travel agent in order to book upcoming trips to thailand and china. pray for wisdom and guidance for us. we don't want to overdo it, and yet the world is begging us to poke our heads into its corners and see what we have only read about in geography textbooks! our mornings are relaxed here, spent sipping coffee, strumming guitar, playing settlers online (trenton :)), painting, running, and preparing for classes. our evenings begin at 9 pm when we stumble home wearily in the dark, toast some cheese sticks in our little toaster oven (we only have a gas stove here) and then crawl into bed to flick on the satellite television. last night we watched tom and jerry.

it's a small world after all, and in spite of less appealing ideosyncracies like "squat toilets" and staring men, asia is proving to be a delightful dish of culture which we're slowly adjusting to.

please pray for the work we left behind back in alberta: young life. several of our kids are heavily into coke; another hung himself, and yet another (a new Christian) was killed in a car accident last week. pray for the workers, that God would strengthen and uphold them like never before. thank you.

sokcho's unsuspecting angels

2006-09-10T06:32:00.000-07:00

Sometimes God places angels in our path. Angels who don't even believe in him, yet still do his will. His kingdom coming... on the wings of those blinded to their own path. Below are two such angels: Graham and Yon Nam. We met them at a teaching conference in Sokcho, a city sprawled along the Sea of Japan. On Saturday we met them at the conference, then ate ribs and spent the night along the beach in 'Hotel Good Morning.' Sunday morning, following a breakfast of manduguk (dumpling soup) and beef-fried rice(note the many side dishes which always accompany the meals), they took us, along with Dan and Angela, to Soraksan National Park, where we were met with honey on a stick sold by little old ladies crouched on the corners; by 'pondegi' (silk larvae) which we were both coerced into trying (see pics below for proof :)) and broiled grasshoppers. The mountains were splendid, the waterfalls abundant, and the people beautifully generous. At the summit we drank 'dong-ju' (sweet rice wine) and ate pindaetokk (vegetables and squid thrown into batter and fried like a pancake). At the end of it all, before our bus-ride home, Graham gave me a ... GUITAR! A true answer to prayer. We praise God for renewed perspective, revived blood, and ultimately, for his unsuspecting angels.

running into heaven

2006-09-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

my morning runs are my times of meditation. in the past month i've run in alberta, northern ontario, and now in korea... every morning, my feet slapping against the ground, my eyes absorbing new details and faces. here in wonju, nature springs up at every turn. my run takes me along cobblestone sidewalks, past bright red flowers whose name the locals don't even know. past countless school children in uniform, clinging to each other, their tiny faces smiling up at the 'foreigner', their mouths whispering hello. then i turn past hundreds of crimson peppers lying out in the sun on the pavement. robbery is barely heard of here... to leave something outside is to trust your neighbour. my feet take me along the busy highway, past zooming buses and taxis, past the large wedding hall with its smiling figurines of a man and woman , past tiny shops and gas stations. my favourite part is when i emerge up over a particular hill. i am greeted by billowing sheets of cloud suspended by blue sky, green rice fields as far as the eye can see, and mountains poking up across the countryside. a slice of heaven. i praise God for these times of meditation.

urgent

2006-09-04T18:14:00.000-07:00

please pray for emily's sister meredith. she and her friend were driving from edmonton to ontario when their car flipped and rolled twice on some gravel... they ended up in the hospital. the car was totalled. praise God they are ok, except for some bruises and neck braces. thank you.