Freedom ISN’T free…it does cost blood…

Sometimes we have students who express disgust in the fact that America and it's allies fight other countries' enemies.  They think it's terrible that someone dies in war…and that is true…it isn't pleasant to think that some mother's son is dying somewhere in the world to help another country gain freedom…

But when we begin to ask them if they would be happy living in North Korea under the dictatorship of Kim JongIl, they immediately say 'no'.  then I ask them, 'so, are you glad that America and the allies came to South Korea in 1950 to help you be free?  Did someone die for your freedom?  Their face and attitude begin to change.  Even as Christians…blood was shed for our freedom…and our freedom was not possible without someone dying for us…Praise God!  Jesus died for us to be free from the greatest bondage of all…SIN!

We often have older Koreans come up and shake my husband's hand…they can't speak a lick of English, but the glow on their face tells the whole story and their feelings of gratefulness that SOMEONE cared enough for their country to come to help in a time of great need.

I am grateful, too, to our guys in the armed forces who continualy lay their lives down on the line for other's freedom.

Korean Dancers…comments

We were so fortunate to catch a small performance at a festival of these beautiful traditional women dancers.

Koreans love these beautiful hues of color in their attire.Although generally Koreans do not wear these colors in their every day lives, they do when wearing traditional clothes.  Interesting, huh?  The younger generation now is wearing the 'gypsy' styles which are very colorful.

The dance you see in the pictures is very graceful, peaceful, and elegant.  It is difficult to adequately describe the beauty of the group performing.  I just wish you could see it in action!

Korean Dancers

An Ancient Korean casket….

We took this picture in a museum.  It is a Korean casket.  We thought it looked like a giant peanut!  You know, it is amazing how each country's culture has its' own unique styles of graves, tombs, caskets, along with all of the other cultural differences.  It makes for a very interesting world, that's for sure!  It seems to me like this casket could be a 'one size fits all and adjustable for height' casket…don't you think?

Strawberry Festival in Korea

We had a great time at the famous Strawberry Festival this year.  It was held in NonSan city.  We tasted many kinds of strawberry products, one which was a strawberry hot sauce.  It was very good.  We had strawberry jam, fruit smoothies, pancakes (out of this world…delicious), candy, jello squares (kind of), tea, and yogurt.

We even got interviewed by the local news media cameramen.  So, maybe we are a little famous in Korea, too!

At any rate, it was great fun.  We met some Korean friends there that we hadn't seen in a long time, too.  That made it really special.

TaeKwonDo! It’s a fantastic martial arts!

This is a picture of the TaeKwonDo missions major group.  The team is fantastic to observe during demonstrations.  How in the world they can move and jump the way they do is amazing.  It is interesting to watch them pantomine through TaekwonDo moves to illustrate a Biblical truth.

They train for many hours each day, often beginning around 6:30 a.m. before classes.

AFter classes they again train until about 8 p.m.

They also travel to other countries during their summer and winter breaks.

 TaeKwonDo is not a destructive martial arts.  It is for defending only.  It is a very disciplined art and requires much devotion.

Actually, I studied the art for about 2 months before the class dismissed for the summer vacation.  I didn't resume in the fall because my schedule did not allow it.  But, it was great exercise and very challenging!

Flowers are very inexpensive and beautiful!

This is a typical bouquet of flowers that you can buy at the florist's shop.  This one only costs about $10.00.  Isn't it amazingly beautiful?  All of the bouquets are wrapped in a beautiful stiff netting or a beautiful paper.  When the students or professors give a recital or concert, all of their friends buy bouquets and give to them after the finish.

Sometimes the performer has an armload of such bouquets ranging from a few flowers in one to many flowers in one.  I love it.  It is a very special custom, I think. 

Also, this bouquet is about 18" wide and about 24" tall.  It isn't small by any means, although in this picture you cannot tell how big it is. 

Here is the Korean ‘picnic floor’!

Okay…I found a picture of the typical picnic floor.  The picture is kind of small, but maybe you can see it well enough.  These floors are very common and plentiful in well visited parks and trails.  Interesting, huh?

Korean Picnic Tables…or should I say ‘Picnic Floors’?

Hi again!  So sorry about the long time between posting.  I actually try to post every day, but the server refuses to let me do it many times.

This is very typical for a picnic surface.  The first time that the university took the foreign teachers on a picnic, we were so surprised when we arrived at the park.  There were no usual picnic tables as we are accustomed to seeing…there were only square surfaces on foot-high legs….no chairs, no tables.  This picture is a fancier picnic furface…it has a roof, which most do not.  The Koreans take their portable cookers which are very small and which are propane fueled and cook their food in the center of the picnic floor.

I have not seen an American style picnic table in a park yet…I did see one in an apartment one time.  Let's just say that it's 'unique'!

The KEBS group: Korean-English Bible Study

This is our English Bible study group.  The group consists of two highschool seniors, some university students, and a few career adults.  It is very rewarding to see these young people give English speaking a good try.  They are very shy in speaking, but very studious in English.  Most of them need English if they are going to work at any important company.

We have done many things together with this group including, skiing, sightseeing, playing UNO and SKIPBO, going to the singing room together, and studying together.  They are great fun.  Wish you could meet them!