1st Day of School

For Todd and the kids, today was the first day of school. The first two days will be half days so I decided to go with them this morning. Todd must work a full day so I would be needed to take them home. We left home at 7:00 and arrived at school just before 8:00. Zach was extremely nervous and Lia was extremely excited. Todd was a little nervous himself but Lia said, "Dad, don't you worry, you're going to do great!"

All in all they had a very good first day. Zach had a situation with one of the boys in his class during recess and it broke my heart to see him so sad and confused. There are culture differences that he must get use to and that is not always easy. Korean children, like adults, don't really have a sense of boundaries. They aren't being mean but they were pulling Zach, asking him to do things in very broken English and then said something that was inappropriate--he didn't know what they meant and it made him sad. It was a learning experience for him and for his classmates. Thankfully, the teacher is Korean but has lived for over 20 years in the US--she hugged Zach and comforted him and he was able to say on the way home, "it was a pretty good day!" He is so brave and I'm so proud of him.

hwa-jang-shil . . . toilet

Our toilet has been leaking for several days. I have tried numerous times to contact the front office to explain that we have a "leaking toilet." Each time I call the office, the voice on the other end hangs up on me and another day passes and the toilet continues dripping. Yesterday while chatting with my friend Somer, I decided to get out the Korean phrase book and attempt to string a few words together--I was hopeful that I could be somewhat understood. Somer stayed on Skype while I called and heard me trying to communicate in my broken Korean. After several tries, the voice on the other end again hung up on me. All I could do was laugh.

I then decided it might be helpful to go see Helen. The kind lady from the Jehovah Jireh cafe on the first level of our apartment building. She explained where the front office is located and I ventured off with my Korean phrase book in hand. There was a very sweet lady who greeted me and said she knew "very little English." I flipped to the word "toilet" and then "broken" in my phrase book. She nodded but didn't seem to follow. I then attempted to draw a picture of a toilet, a bucket and leaking water. If I had been playing Pictionary--my team would have laughed. I was laughing. The kind receptionist then made a phone call and said that I should return to our apartment--someone will help.

Well, that was yesterday. Today the toilet is still leaking.

Friday was the last day for Teacher Orientation. Todd had a good but hectic week. School begins Monday. I attended a new parent meeting and took a tour of the school building. It's really lovely--each class has an amazing view of mountains or trees--some classrooms can see both. The staff are extremely kind and helpful--I think they will have a good year. Todd is back at school this afternoon making final preparations for Monday. The kids and I have been hanging out at the apartment waiting for their school uniforms to be delivered. I'm not sure they are going to make it today--something we are starting to see as a pattern. The phone guy still hasn't come, the toilet is still leaking and the uniforms are . . . coming. :-)

The trip to the school was quite an adventure. The kids and I took the subway to Jukejeon . . . where Todd promised to be waiting for us. And he was. We then took a bus to the area where the school is located. It was a very long, steep hill to climb where the actual building is. We tried to make it fun for the kids but they weren't so much buying it. It will be quite a story when they have kids, "I remember the day when we took a subway, bus and then climbed a hill to our school."

A few funny little facts:
1. Zach lost a tooth while we were visiting Todd at school. He's been slow at losing them.
2. We turned on a sports station Thursday night and a Royals game was showing--how weird is that.
3. Mike Bickle was on station called "GoodTV". (Mike Bickle is a pastor from KC)
4. Most woman here wear high heels--I just think that's crazy. I will not be adapting to this. It would be embarrassing.
5. Public transportation is fun, scary and challenging. I like it.

Jehovah Jireh

Thursday is coming to an end. It's hard to believe that we were arriving in Korea just one week ago.

Todd has had a wonderful week at Teacher Orientation. He has enjoyed leaving each morning and taking the subway to work. Tonight he went out to have a beer with one of the other teachers. Tomorrow he will continue preparing his classroom for the first day of school--Monday. He is very excited about teaching and seems to have found his niche here. It seems like he's been here a lot longer than a week.

The kids and I went to a shopping center today. We really just need to get out of the apartment so we went for a walk to the 2001 Outlet shops. Basically, it was a 5-6 level department store. There were women everywhere digging through piles of clothes frantically trying to find the right sizes. The clothes seemed to be good quality and if I didn't have the kids in tow I may have joined in the madness.

On the bottom level was a Kim's Club. We bought a few items and then went to get an ice cream cone. Baskin Robbins! Jamoca Almond Fudge. Yum.

We tend to get a few stares when were walking. Not sure if it's because we are Caucasian or that Lia is with us--perhaps both. Lia doesn't seem to notice and hasn't mentioned yet that everyone looks like her.

People never make eye contact or smile. I read and have been told that it's not polite so I'm trying to be sensitive to the cultural difference and yet be myself. While standing at the light to cross the street, I noticed a woman smiling at us. I returned the smile and a bow. She smiled just a little bit more and bowed towards me. It's cultural respectful to bow to one another when meeting. We didn't exchange words but I was so grateful for that one smile. Perhaps I felt acknowledged in this new land and that made my existence here seem worth something.

When we arrived home and were waiting for the elevator the little woman we see almost every day in her shop, Jehovah Jireh, waved at us and then came out to greet us. What a lovely lady. Helen--that's her English name. She spoke wonderful English and we chatted for several minutes. Her daughter is currently studying in Chicago at North Western. I'm sure I'm going to be visiting Helen often!

Blessings from Bundang.

Korean BBQ, Subway

Last night we visited a restaurant behind our house to try some Korean BBQ. It was obvious that we had no clue what we were doing so the very kind hostess assisted us. It all began with her pointing to the menu board (all written in Korean) and asking what we would like. We politely smiled and she nodded. We had no idea what we ordered and waited with some trepidation and a little excitement. The hostess brought out several small dishes with various vegetables, kimchi (which is served with everything) and seaweed. In the center of the table she placed a grill and we cooked our beef. After the meat was finished cooking we began to assemble our vegetables in a lettuce wrap--the hostess giggled and then showed us what we should really do. Todd and I enjoyed the meal very much. Zach liked the meat and rice but couldn't stand looking at the rest of the food. Lia, enjoyed the same things and decided not to try the various other dishes on the table.

We asked some of the teachers at the school if perhaps they could go with us so that we can be better prepared on how to actually eat the meal. They laughed and graciously said they would enjoy that very much.

This morning we woke up early and traveled to Yatap by subway. The Subway ride was fun--a first for Zach and Lia. Most of the riders were sleeping or listening to their ipods. No one was talking--that's so contrary to how I normally relate. We arrived at Yatap and made a 3 minute walk to the the church/kindergarten building. We thought we were all going to get a physical but it turned out that only Todd had to--the kids were relieved!! No blood drawn or peeing in a cup!

While Todd was getting his physical the kids and I walked over to McDonalds and had breakfast. Much to my delight just around the corner was a Starbucks!! TEA!!! My tea was expensive--almost $3 for a grande. I have to admit though, it was worth it!

Jasmin, one of the Kindergarten teachers, was very concerned about me taking the kids to get their school uniform fittings. She said, "Oh, I'm very nervous for you. You don't know Korean and they will not know English. I will come with you." I am so GLAD that she did. I would probably have never found the place and wouldn't have been able to communicate, outside of charades, with the seamstress. The kids will have their uniforms Saturday--they are going to look so cute!

On the taxi ride home I noticed that our driver had a Korean Bible on his dashboard and a small cross. I pointed to these treasures and said, "Christian?" He smiled very big and nodded yes! I pointed to myself and said, "I am a Christian, too." He then pointed to the Bible and then put his hand on his chest and said, "Daddy." Yes, Abba Father! In every lanugage, He is Father, Daddy, Abba.

Another highlight of this day was praying for one of the teachers at the school. She told us that she has been losing her voice and the doctors want perform surgery. She does not want to have surgery. Scott and Dionne who have taught at BHCS for several years asked if we could gather around this precious teacher and pray that Jesus would bring healing. It was a very powerful and beautiful moment. I hope for many more opportunities to pray and see Jesus minister to people.

Updated contact information

A couple of experienced teachers at BHCS suggested that we give the school address to receive mail. It's probably just a little bit safer to ensure that our mail is always received.

Big Heart Christian School
Todd Stewart, Teacher
510 Yatap-Dong, Bundang-Gu, Sungnam-City
Kyunggi-Do, Korea (463-840)

We still don't have phone service or cell phones. We hope to have those two things taken care of in the next couple of days.

We've had a leaky toilet today and I've tried to call the front office a couple of times but they don't understand me and I of course don't understand them. It's pretty funny.

What an adventure!

Thoughts from Zach & Lia

Zach and Lia's perspective on our first few days here in Korea. While we were resting, I grabbed the note pad and asked them, "What things have you seen in Korea that you don't see in Lenexa, KS?" Here's their list:

1. Buses, Taxis and Cars--everywhere!
2. Tall buildings and apartments as far as you can see.
3. Mountains & hills
4. Signs on buildings--they look like huge posters
5. Korean language
6. Women carrying umbrellas (even though it's not raining, it's to protect them from the sun)
7. Taking the taxi instead of driving a car.
8. different money--Won
9. crowded
10. tunnels. we drove through a lot of tunnels when we drove from the airport to our apartment.
11. Smells
12. Walking to most places.

I asked them what they have liked so far:
1. People have been very nice to them.
2. It's very beautiful.
3. Seeing mountains.
4. Legos
5. Skype

Short video post

I don't edit these videos. I'm sure you'll figure that out when you watch it. It's reality Stewart video. We tried to do another short video this evening and Lia got so mad that I didn't video her fast enough and started throwing a fit, stopping the feet and the stink eye were included. Though it might be funny to watch, I'm going to cover my sweet little girl and not post it.

We've had a really good day. We visited the church that is affiliated with the school. The entire service was in Korean but we were able to recognize a few songs--Hillsongs! The message was translated for us but my headphone set kept breaking up so I didn't follow the entire message completely. At the end of the service the Lord's Prayer was sung. I believe in every language hearing that prayer is beautiful and powerful. Same Father, Son and Spirit--language doesn't change that.

After the service a meal was prepared downstairs and pizza was ordered for the new teachers. I really wanted to try the traditional Korean food so one of the other teachers, who is Korean and speaks English fluently took me under her wing and taught me how to prepare the foods that were set out.

There were two different meat dishes--one very spicy and the other less spicy. I chose the less spicy (see previous post about mouth on fire meal). There was also lettuce, rice, Kimichi, soup and a side of seaweed wraps. I tried it all. Process: take lettuce leaf, put a small amount of rice and meat and then enjoy. It was delicious. The seaweed wraps were also good--you take the seaweed wrap, place rice in the center, roll and enjoy. I did enjoy.

This evening we wanted to eat Korean BBQ so we decided to go out a little earlier so that the kids wouldn't be so tired. We were too early. Most of the restaurants around our house didn't start serving until 6:00. We ended up at Outback Steakhouse. Unbelievable. It did have it's own little Korean flare so it wasn't completely like back in the States.

After dinner we took the kids to get ice cream. While we were there, the manager wanted to give Lia a necklace. It's a huge heart shaped necklace that flickers different colors. She loves it--lots of bling.

Day number three is coming to and end. Todd begins teacher orientation tomorrow. I'm not sure what the kids and I will do. Perhaps another trip to E-Mart.

Mouth on FIRE

We are just about finished with Day Two in Korea. Thankfully, we all slept pretty well last night.

We've had a good day. We unpacked some more of our stuff and organized our little apartment to make it feel a little more like home. The cable guy came to hook up our TV service. He didn't speak English and we don't speak Korean but somehow we managed and he showed us how to find CNN--he thought that was imporant. We just laughed and laughed after he left--pictures, pointing and charades are a universal language when other barriers seem to keep us from communicating.

We waited the rest of the afternoon for the phone guy and determined around 4:30 that he probably wasn't coming so we went for a walk around the neighborhood. The streets are busy with cars, buses, taxis and people . . . shops line the streets and each of them seem to be busy with customers.

Just about a block from our house we found a small park. The kids played for a little while and we watched some boys play baseball. It seems that Koreans are passionate about baseball.

After our walk we grabbed a taxi to E-Mart. E-Mart is a cross between Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Hyvee and Best Buy. It's 4 levels high--enormous! Each floor has greeters and each department has sales people--they are everywhere!

As I was checking out at the E-Mart, the cashier greeted me and I smiled. I have no confidence in saying Hello in Korean. After she rang up my items she asked me a question and I just stared dazed and confused. She then picked up a bag and I smiled, "Yes, I do need a bag." I'm sure given time I will be able to communicate on some level. My friend, Bethany, is praying that I learn the language--it will be a true miracle if I do.

When we got home the kids were exhausted. We should have tried to eat before all of our running around. Todd decided to do a little walk around the neighborhood and find something to bring home. I've been trying to keep the kids awake until he gets back!

Well, he found a tastey beef dish--and yes, I'm pretty sure it's beef, or at least it taste like beef. It looked spicey and I typically can't eat foods that are too spicy but I thought to myself, "you have to try it. you're in korea!" So, I took my first bite and wow!!! burn my lips off hot! i ate several bites, trying to be tough and adventurous but my lips and tongue are numb and still tingling--it's been about 15 minutes since my last bite. Wow! Note--any sauce that is red, is mouth on fire, HOT!

I'm thankful for all the ways that we can communicate while here. We were able to talk to several friends today--it was wonderful for us and the kids to see people they know and who know them.

We are going to have some noodles and get to bed. I'm sure we will sleep well tonight!

Day One

I look extremely exhausted but thought it would be fun to post a video message. It gives a little taste of what our apartment is like and the area we are living in. Todd and I are both happy about the area we live in. Wonderful shops and places to eat all around us. Our apartment is considered a "medium" sizes apartment on the Korean scale--it will work just fine but will be an adjustment as we try to determine the best layout for living. The view is lovely and we hear the sounds of the city around us.

When we arrived this morning we were greeted by Mrs. Bae (school administrator) and Pastor Kim. They are very kind and have been extremely generous to us. The drive from the airport to our apartment was beautiful. The sun was rising, the sky was arrayed in color and mountains surrounded us. I was also surprised at how many trees there are. Thankful for that!

Lia talked non-stop for the entire 1 hour drive. Not hiding any of her spicy personality.

After we dropped off our belongings at the apartment Mrs. Bae took us out to breakfast. She desired to take us to a local place for our first meal but it was closed. Where did we go? McDonalds. Yes. I couldn't believe it. I think it was probably good for the kids--something familiar.

We unpacked and rested most of the afternoon. I tried to keep myself awake but was too emotional not to just give in to what my entire body was pleading with me to do--SLEEP. I slept 3 hours. Nice.

We went the California Burger place for dinner. The kids both crashed while we were there so we grabbed our food and came home.

I need to get to bed. I keep staring off into space. More to come . . .

Safe and Sound in Bundang!

Funny! When I opened our blog to post, it was all in Korean. Weird.

We're here! We arrived safely to Korea this morning at 5:00am (that's 3:00pm Thursday for all of your back home). The kids did a great job traveling--only a few minor complaints--thankfully, both of them slept for quite awhile on the long flight.

I will post more of our first full day here a bit later. I'm not focusing very well right now. :-)Feeling a bit loopy.

a few more things

Thankful list continued . . .
16. gift certificates to chik-fil-a from our friend Bethany
17. our friend, sharon, gave us two travel trunks.
18. phone calls and e-mails.
19. We found out that we will have a 3 bedroom apartment in Korea.
20. GRACE.

4 days and counting

This is most likely my last post before we leave for Korea--it's going to be long. For the past several days we have been busy packing, loading suitcases, selling and giving away our "stuff". There are random items laying around every where and I'm not really sure what to do with them. I'm sure they belong somewhere but it's a bit overwhelming to think about.

Here's what the next few days look like and why this is probably my last post before our traveling adventure begins.

Sunday: We are going to visit friends at Grace Church in Lees Summit. After church we are going to meet our dear friends Brian, Somer and their kids just outside of KC to enjoy a couple of hours together at a Winery. We will then celebrate our beautiful Savior with our community here in Kc, The Gathering Network, www.gatheringnetwork.org

It will be a full and wonderful day.

Monday: Final cleaning and clearing out our house. We will move ourselves and all of our luggage to a friends house and stay there until we fly out Wednesday.

Tuesday: One last visit to our house. Carpets cleaned. The rest of the day we hope to rest and spend time together. I hope to visit with some friends I use to work with at the Bux too. Tuesday evening a few friends are coming over to enjoy a cold tasty beverage with us before our departure.

Wednesday: GO! Our dear friend, Chris, will pick us up at 3:00 pm. We will head to the airport and fly out of KCI at 6:00pm

A few things that I'm grateful for these past few weeks:
1. Being prayed over at the Gathering. It would have been incredible to have been sitting out in the blue chairs watching as people prayed over us. It was beautiful.
2. Dinner with the ladies that I have been part of a Bible Study with since we moved here. It was a great evening of fellowship with one another and our husbands. At the end of the evening they prayed over us.
3. Sending party at the Wootens. Wow! That's all I can really say about that.
4. Meals brought to us all week by our friends at the Gathering.
5. Provision. God is faithful.
6. 24 hours of quiet and fellowship at Conception Abbey. Emphasis on the quiet.
7. Our house is rented.
8. Friends loving on our kids.
9. Family pictures taken by our friend Jenae. Check out her website: www.imijfoto.com
10. Our friends Phil and Deb driving to KC just to have lunch with us.
11. It hasn't happened yet but I'm excited to meet at the Winery with the Larsons.
12. My manager at the Bux donated 6 lbs of coffee for the office staff at the school that Todd will be teaching at.
13. Vanessa cut my hair and Natalie highlighted my hair--thankful.
14. Picnic with the Millers and Stirnaman's at Shawnee Mission Park.
15. GRACE.

Be strong and courageous

"How are the kids doing with everything?"

We are asked this question often as we prepare for our move. Both Zach and Lia have had a mixture of excitement and fear through this process. Todd and I have endeavored to prepare them but we ourselves aren't certain about what our experience will be like so it's been hard to describe what life will be like in Korea. One thing that is certain, we will all be together!

Last night at bed time Zach told Todd, "I don't want to go!" The reality of what's happening hit Zach as Todd prayed and his precious little heart was overwhelmed. I went in to talk with him and he just laid in my lap and cried. For twenty minutes he cried, I rubbed his back and told him how much we love him. My heart ached for his.

We know that this is the right direction for our family and yet seeing the pain in Zach was incredibly overwhelming. He needs to cry. He needs to say how difficult this is. He needs to say, "I don't want to go!"

We know God is with us. We pray that Zach experiences the reality of the amazing truth that God is with us, everywhere we go!

A friend shared this verse with us a couple of days ago from the books of Joshua,

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. The Lord, your God is with you wherever you go."

We are all learning to be strong and courageous.

Date of Departure

We have a departure date. August 19.

We are in full swing for the final countdown to leave for South Korea. This is not a dream, it's really happening.

Todd had to travel to Chicago today to interview for a teaching visa at the Korean Consulate. That wasn't in the plan but we are trying to roll with all the little surprises and enjoy the process.

Packing has begun--for all the things that will be in storage. A pile has been started of things to bring to Korea. Items have been sold on Craigs List.

12 days and counting . . .