I can't believe it.

I just got back from a ski resort about 45 minutes away from SongTan. Our church group went out there for three days. I had never been on snow like this before. I have been water skiing, but this was WAY different. I first started out on a little hill that actually looked as though it was angled off a cliff. This was the canyon that they were planning on teaching us on. What were they thinking? I couldn't even get up on the snowboard. I should stop and tell you that I chose to snowboard rather than ski because I thought that I would look cooler. It didn't work. I was taught a few things and then headed for what we liked to call the "baby bunny" hill. It was actually on top of the ski rental house. The slop was a little less than that of a sidewalk across the middle of Kansas after a professional builder made sure that it was level. I actually had to wiggle the hips back and forth just to get the board moving. I went all the way "down" the hill and took the lift back to the "top". I did this several times getting better and better. I thought I was ready for the big time. The students that we took with us were nice enough to help teach some of us newbies. This was so that we didn't have to go through the four hour course that they offer there. The only thing that we would have gotten out of that was being able to fall down better in Korean. Anyway I felt better about my skiing ability but the day was over since we got there at 2:00 and after the learning and the waiting in line to go back to the top of the "plains" the slopes closed at 5:00 to get ready for night skiing. I went to dinner with dreams of racing and tricks and someday entering the X-Games. That night I laid on the floor, which is how they sleep over here in Korea. They call them Yo's. The other, sometime very cool thing, is that the heating system here is sent through the floor. It is actual little tiny pipes that run through the floor. When it is cold out it is fun to lay on the floor and get the heat. It makes sense because if heat rises where is the best place to start the heat? At the bottom, right? Anyway our rooms heat was broken and was stuck on 30 degrees Celsius. Which translated into terms that we all can understand was three degrees hotter than the surface of the sun, during the summer, of a heat stroke. And this was what we had to sleep on. It was VERY hot. I really didn't get any sleep. The heat and the fact that I was dreaming about great things in my snowboarding skills. I woke up, got some breakfast and then headed for my board. I had a plan. I would go on the baby bunny hill to make sure that I still "had it" and then go for the gusto. I was barely able to get my big feet into boots that were only meant for Korean feet. The Korean size was 300, but let's not talk about that. Anyway I sat down on the snow, in my shorts, and strapped on. I pushed myself up only to topple over face forward. Okay, that wasn't exactly what I had in mind. But never-the-less, I was going to be a star. I flipped back over and got up. I think I fell down seven times in the next 100 feet. I went to the lift with my head down trying to figure out what just happened. I figured that this was a fluke. I went with four other students and they were trying to talk me into going over to the REAL "bunny slope". I was feeling the need to impress my students with my athletic ability so I was talked up to the top of the bunny hill. Were they serious? I stood at the top of the "bunny hill" or should I say "THE WORLD". Looking down from the top the thought of greatness left faster than it came. Now my only thought was that of survival. I thought about taking the snowboard off and just walking down the hill. There was no shame in that was there. Walking down the middle of the slope while skiers and boarders went flying by? I mean what were the patrol people going to do, I was four feet taller than any of them and I don't speak but a few words of Korean. But I also knew that I had to look good in front of my students. SO I sucked up my pride and let it all hang out there. I started out by strapping on again and then standing up. I looked down the slope and couldn't believe that I was about to do this. However the fear left as I started down, only to be replaced by terror. The students were laughing at this sight, but then again I couldn't blame them.
I mean if I saw this sight I probably would be dying too. From this picture you can see the resort that we stayed at in the background. I had one more slope that I had seen that I was anxious to ride out as my goal before I left. After I got to the bottom of this "hill" (enter rolled eyes here) I was going to take a break...(not literally speaking thank goodness). I went and sat at the heaters with our Bible teacher who sort of organized this trip. We talked for a bit while I was resting my muscles and bones. I think I found a few muscles that I never knew that I had. Anyone who has ever tried a new sport knows that muscles just appear and than say to you "hey I've been here the whole time and because you have never felt me before I'm going to make sure that you know me now... he he he he" And boy did these muscles. Anyway Right before lunch the second day I was coned into taking my chances with the Peak that I had been eyeing since I got there. We got the the lift and then again the male ego kicked in again. I was very nervous but thought that because I hadn't fallen the last time down the "bunny hill", that I was ready for the next step. Silly me.

In this picture the peak that I am talking about is right in the middle straight up. The bunny hill is far on the right.

Once at the top of my new found "hill" I had to snowboard down an extremely steep slope just to get to the point where I got to go down the face of this one. I am more than happy to tell everybody in the world that not once did I fall down this hill. However, my muscles wouldn't allow me to finish in one attempt. They gave out and I had to sit and rest twice. Not too bad. I think that in the long run I would go back but I would do one of two things. I would do skiing next time or I would see how much it would cost to make my own board. These boards were built for Koreans. The center of gravity for these boards is like my ankle. My feet were practically together. With my height I needed to spread my legs apart further. I really had trouble with balance and that isn't common for me since I love to rollerblade and ice skate. I usually have pretty good balance. I'll put a couple more pictures on of our trip. Enjoy.

Later on...peace out.

This is from the 11th floor of the resort of the two hills that I got to go down. It also has the top of the rental house where the "baby bunny" hill starts.

This is looking down the other way from the "baby bunny" hill. I can't believe they even have a lift for this. All you really need is a good push.

New information for those keeping up.

Okay, here it is. I know that some really close friends and family read this and so I figure that I'll put it on here first and then slowly put it out for others to know. I have decided that my life here in Pyongtaek, South Korea is NOT over yet. Every year we are required to fill out a paper stating our intentions for the next year. If we intend to stay or go, or even if we don't know. This year, my third year, I marked that I wasn't sure. I guess sort of hoping that this would give me more time to decide. It lasted not even a month. At our Christmas party our principal told me that he had been given a resume from someone interested in the pe/ad position that I currently hold. John, our principal, told me that I now had a week to decide. I did a lot of praying and thinking in my so-called timed showers. What these are, are wonderful timed events. They really allow me time to think and pray and have some quiet time with Christ. I turn the shower on and then plug the drain. I then sit down and once the water gets to the top of the tub I unplug the drain and let the water out. Once out I stand back up, finish washing and then it's over. The whole process takes a half hour exactly. Sometimes I re-plug the drain and do it all over again. It is great especially during these cold winter months. Anyway, back to the choice. I have had other offers and things have come up but I really feel that this is where God is calling me to be. I weighed all my choices and looked at things from all angles. Without having a job back in the states it makes it really hard to leave one that is so rewarding. I DO have responsibilities back in the states, monetarily speaking, but even back in the states I wasn't making any head room. I don't plan on ignoring these duties, but at the same time I believe that God will help provide for those needs if I am following Him obediently. I know that I am going to be met by people that don't understand this. There was a saying that I heard a long time ago and I really took it to heart. It was "Christ has a call on our lives independent of anybody else's expectations or desires upon our lives." My life over here is busy and a constant struggle, with trying to maintain a good pe program alongside a great sports program. I just feel like my work here isn't finished yet. I do not think that this is going to be a life long job, I just feel that Christ has other ideas for me here. At least for the next year.

Several of the student here have begged me to stay and coach them until they graduate, however this could continue over and over again forever right? :) This next year I there won't be a student at the school that I haven't taught. These are two students that I have both taught and coached. The one in the clue shirt is Beckie Hennessey and the one in the black dress is Amy Peterson. Both will be playing soccer this year for me.

Anyway I just wanted people to know what has been going on in my life as of late...stay tuned for my next installment. I have a few things that have really been weighing me down. More so than my coaching schedule or my business. But it is well worth the wait. Everyone have a great Christmas and I'll be in touch soon.

Peace out...later on.

Finally

This blog is dedicated to my sister and my new neice. I should have put this on a long time ago but again busy is not enough of an excuse.

The little on in the picture is my first neice. Her name is Bethany Grace Wilson. She was born Nov. 9th and weighed 8 pounds 6 ounces, and was 19 inches long.

This is a first for her as it becomes a first for me. I have never been an Uncle before and it is a weird feeling. I guess I still in some ways think of Kim as a little kid still...it's hard to believe that she has been married now for almost three years, and now add to that that she now has a child. This is just weird to think like that. I might post some more pictures of her but for now this is what you get... :)

Women shoes are you kidding me?

New shoes are taking the Asian market by storm.

I just thought these were really funny. I have been over here in Korea now going on my third year and I have yet to see these. Someone sent these pictures to me, with the comment that they were all over Asia. I have not seen them as of yet but I have seen VERY high heels. It is understandable since the height over here is very short. But anyway, this is my funny picture for today.

I know that it has been a while since I last blogged. I can't believe that it has gotten this long since I wrote anything. I used to be so good and now look at me. I think that sometimes I get to a point where I am only writing to myself, and sometimes I guess that is all that I need. It is actually a few things put together. I think in part I want to get things off my chest and the other thing is to let people from around the world know what's happening in my little part of it. I'll try to do more posting as I can. I know that I use the fact that I am so busy all the time. Dumb answers huh?

Harvest Time here in Korea

Okay folks...I know it's been a while but sometimes I hate updating this without a picture to apply something to. So here I am with picture in hand as I write this out...It is harvest time here in Korea and that means the rice patties are coming down. I know that while I was in the states and even saw movies that had people out in the patties working it was mainly at planting time...now it is harvest time...What really happens. Well what you are looking at on the left is the starting point of a field. They will cut what you see by hand and place them nearby so that the machine will be able to get in there and get a start at the rest of the field. The machines that harvest are small and there is just enough room for another farmer to stand on the machine and by hand keep bags moving to catch all of the rice. Rice is typically like grain in that the part that is harvested is at the top like what corn looks like before it drops down to start growing into ears.


The picture to the right is of all of the bags that the farmers have caught in big 50 pound bags. They lay them all out in long lines until they have a chance to empty the bags sort of like you see towards the left of this picture. This is all done right there in the middle of the field. This field happens to be right there in the front of our school. They will drop them off of the harvest machine. Another little single engine weird looking machine will go around and pick up the bags which have been dropped around the field. They will bring them to this point and lay them all out so that they can do the next step.







This is the next step in the process. They will open all of the bags and spill out all of the rice. The rows look like they are made by a rake or some other machine...right??? No, they are actually made when the farmers put on their rubber boots and drag their feet as they walk through the rice. Nice, huh? Gives you something to think about when you eat that next helping of Minute Rice... :)












This is a close up picture of the rice sitting on the black tarp. What they do is dry out the rice which will make it easier to crazy when it goes to the plant. This is a great way. They let the sun dry everything out. After it gets to the dried out stage, they bring in a big machine that picks all the rice up and puts all of the rows into one huge bag.




One more funny picture and then I'm gone:


Peace out...later on

Wow it's been a while

So sorry for those who read this. I have been busy because of the end of volleyball season and then parent teacher conferences. This schedule doesn't get any easier. I will be unbelievably busy starting this coming up Friday. That is our family gathering. There are three school like ours in Korea and all the teachers and staff will get together on Fri. I'm excited because I have the best p.e. area out of all three and am anxious to show it off. John, our principal, is also excited because he is really happy with the way that it turned out. But as nice as it is going to be to see everyone, he has also put me in charge of running a volleyball tournament in the afternoon up on our soccer field. Don't get me wrong I am so ready to play some volleyball, but I would just rather play it than run it. Just last Tuesday, the teacher got to play the students. Well let's not say play, it was more of a "let's stand there and pray that the ball doesn't come to me". Paul (our art teacher), Emily (our English teacher), and myself were pretty much the only ones that had even played the game before. Our secretary at the school (the principals wife) and our first grade teacher, decided to change the plan for the games five minutes before the game. The plan was to play the guy teachers against the boys volleyball team and then the female teachers against the girls volleyball team. Well that didn't make the few female teachers happy. They wanted to be a part of the guys game...the problem was that NONE OF THEM COULD PLAY. And I don't just mean oh look they are holding their hands wrong, I'm saying "Oh look, a net". Then they wanted to rotate in after every side-out. Well this would leave five or possibly six players on the court who were lucky to find the ball if it hit them in the face. So what that means is that the ONLY time that they would rotate out was if the guy players hit the net on the serve. Then with six teachers sitting on the bench, you were luck to see the court again. Paul and Emily had to leave a little early to go to praise team practice, so that left me being the ONLY teacher who had any idea about volleyball. Now for those at our school that might read this. I am not upset at you nor am I trying to make fun of you. But there is an element of compromise and the ONLY people hat did ANY compromising were the ones that had the idea to play the game in the first place. Next year the plan will be set ahead of time and there won't be any changing. Anyway my attitude probably wasn't the best and I got yelled at several times about it too, and I bit my tongue wanting to shout out things like "Hello, this was suppose to be a challenge for the volleyball teams", or "I don't remember asking you to play", or "Look bundt cake" Meanwhile back to my crazy schedule. after this Friday and the family gathering, the very next Monday is our annual hoedown at church on the 31st. They do it as an alternative to Halloween. After that the very next Friday the 4th of Nov. is our annual Fall Festival at school. This is a late night event where each class will make up carnival like games and try to get as many tickets as they can. So within the span of seven days there are going to be three major events taking place. The next week after that our school will start basketball. Since our boys coach from last year had a child, I will be coaching the boys basketball team. I also will be coaching the girls basketball team like I have done for the last three years. Our tryouts will be the next week. Games and practices and tournaments are sure to follow, followed closely behind by the girls soccer season. Please be praying for me as I am going into my extremely busy part of my school year. Okay I better close so that I can go bake some cookies to prove to these teachers that I can fend for myself. I'm going to attatch a photo because like another teacher has said in her blog it is the pictures that people understand a lot better so enjoy. "They found Nemo. " Peace out...later on

Back in Memphis

This is an amazing place at the "Mud Museum" In Memphis TN. The last day of PFO was a lot of meeting that really had nothing to do with some of us...so I took the opportunity to go up to Memphis to do some exploring. I went up with this teacher from Lima. Kyle Boles, she was at PFO for the same reason that I was. We both missed our PFO the first year and so we had to be there this year. The last day had lots of insurance and stuff like that talked about and so I borrowed a car and we drove to the NICS headquarters and then went to downtown Memphis and saw this "Mud" place and thought that we'd take a chance. What you see in the picture is around the museum. It is a small replica of the Might Mississippi river. It is huge and I think they said that the scale was about 1:1000 or something like that. It took us about 45 minutes to walk the whole thing. At the one end I tried to throw her in the Gulf of Mexico. This
is an even closer picture of part of the river. Most people would take their shoes off and walk through the water. In some places it would get pretty deep. There were several different places that empty into the Mississippi and those were all represented. We had a lot of fun. After our little trip to Memphis we drove back to the SBEC where we were staying, which is a huge school in South Haven MS., we stopped by Maggie Moo's and got so amazing ice cream. As we walked back into the school the other teachers were jealous of what we were bring back after their boring meetings. Thank you Kyle for a great afternoon.

Electronics Market here we come.

It's been a week and I think I have a little time to write a little something. This picture is taken with the backdrop of the electronics market. This is a section of Seoul, that people can buy ANY type of electronics. I have gotten so many things up here. They have phones and cameras, computers, dvd's and divx players. It takes about and hour and a half by subway. Most of the guy teachers just drool when we go up there. There are several buildings going about five blocks and five to ten stories high. You can also build your own computer. There are several other things here that we love to go for. But most of the girls hate going here because they lose the guys attention. You know but turn about is fair play. There is another place called the fabric market. It is eight floors, four buildings wide. And they will get mad because the men don't want to come and help carry all of there purchases back home. I know where are our manners. But this is how it is here...for at least a little longer huh?

Peace out...later on.

Steven Curtis Chapman

"S C squared"

I couldn't go much further without telling people about my favoite singer. This is Steven Curtis Chapman and his family. I didn't really know a whole lot about him until a few years ago when our Sunday school class had a sign up to go to one of his concerts. I thought that I better prepare so that I didn't look like I didn't know who he was. I pulled out a c.d. that I had that I hadn't even opened, that was given to me as a gift. I think it was his "Heaven in a Real World" album. I got hooked on the song about the ships. I got to the concert and just went nuts. The man is amazing. He sang all night, ADN he was funny. At this concert he also did something called "Beyond the Gates of Splendor" It was the story of Jim Elliott and the other missionaries who were killed by the Auca Indians in South America. After he showed the slides he actually brought out Jim's son Steve. I thought that was so cool and then Steven took it one step further and brought on a man by the name Mincaei. He is a member of the Auca tribe. He in fact was the man that murdered Jim Elliott. To see them standing next to each other on stage was awkward. But anyway, I really took a liking to Steven Curtis Chapmans music. I liked it so much in fact that I went out that next and bout the "Declaration" album, which was the one done at the concert. I memorized every song but still couldn't get enough. I looked on line and saw that his last concert was going to be held in Oklahoma, at the Cook center. I told my dad about it and he thought it would be a great idea to go and he even wanted to come too. We made a day of it. I had to work in the morning, but I took the aftenoon off and we drove the 5 hours to Oklahoma City, had a great time and then came back

My home church

College Church:

Wanted to show everyone a couple of pictures of my home church in Olathe, Kansas. This is a picture taken from the choir loft on the last Sunday that I was home for the summer. This church has been such an amazing influence on me. I went to the college that was affiliated with this church. We would have to go to chapel's every Tuesday and Thursday. The I had bible classes and it was just exhausting to go to church again on Sunday morning. Then I met a fellow student, whom I later dated, she asked me if I wanted to come and join the choir. I had never sung in my life, at least loud enough for people to hear me. I was so scared in the fact that I thought that I would have to "try out" sing in front of 140 people? Are you crazy? But I got there and met David Hubbs, and all he asked was what I sang and then pointed me to a seat. Another main reason was that I wanted to be a soldier in our play called "The Victor", which I later found out that I really didn't have to join the choir for. I can still remember taking my music home every week so that I could be prepared for the following Sunday. But I was laughed at by Amy and several members of the tenor section. I learned pretty quick how to just blend my voice with the really talented people like Doug Lott, Mike, Galand Gott, Kevin. All these guys are just amazing singers, it has been a gift from God to just stand in the loft with these guys. I can't wait to get back there and join these guys.
As you can see we are a pretty large choir and I have really loved the songs that we have sung. Probably my favorite so far has been a song that has been sung with the quartet called "Mountain Get Out Of My Way" all I can say is WOW. This choir has even made a few c.d.'s and I was lucky enough to be involved in the one called "Sunday's Best". Our church is rather large and has two services but the second one is the one I enjoy the best. I also am involved heavily in the Sunday school class called "Oasis". Again something that I can't wait to get home and get back involved with. I also have been keeping involved by playing some volleyball. This is where I hone in on my kill skills. This is a great chance to get active. I have been playing volleyball ever since we started the nightly volleyball session. I have usually been the main stay. We have had as many as thirty and as few as three. We will find a way to play with any amount. My favorite to play with is an older woman, Michelle, I have met some other amazing people at volleyball like Denise and Julie and Sarah.. This is an amazing church that has really added in my development as a christian. I know that I wouldn't be here in Korea if it hadn't been for the teaching that I received here. We have been choosing a new pastor now that pastor J.K. Warrick has gotten promoted to like God's aide or something like that. If ever in the Kansas City area please give me a call I would love to show you the finer points of this church.

PFO Speech

A lot of you who know me know that I was at PFO and was the comedy person for the talent show. Something in which I took great pride in doing. One of the things that I did was to write a speech and then read it like Ryan did with the Constitution. The problem was that I was interrupted before I could finish...like I was suppose to be, but I still wanted people to be able to finish hearing the speech so I thought what a better place than right here to express myself openly, so here it goes:

O say can you see. Fore score and seven years ago, I had a dream, that this was one small step for man...and one giant leap for mankind. To be or not to be because basically I feel the need...the need for speed. When you are floatin' like a butterfly, and stingin' like a bee, a dry vodka martini,shaken, not stirred is the only way to be. Show me the money and Ask not what your country can do for you, because you had me at hello. That which does not kill you makes you stronger. Frankly Scarlet, I don't give a circle of life. I have not yet begun to fight. You have nothing to fear but there's no place like home. It's not easy being green. And always remember "Read my lips"...I am not a crook.

Peace out...later on.

School

Just wanting to show everyone the school that I teach at. This picture is taken from the soccer field that I take the students to everyday. There is a little white strip by the telephone poles...that is a rice patty road. Our school is the three story building just off to the right. The light green looking grass is actually rice. We are surrounded by rice patties.
This was a beautiful day...probably about 80 degrees and a light breeze. I think we were playing football up on the field this day. At our school right now we have about 200 students between the grades of K-12. Most of them are Amerasains. Most classes are at about 17 students or so. I have one of each K-8th grade and then one highschool class. We have volleyball, basketball, and soccer. I coach the boys and girls basketball and then girls soccer. The picture on the right is from another angle and you should be able to see the very ripe rice ready to be harvested. The road you see in this picture is the road that I take up to the soccer field. It is about a half-mile one way so I get a lot of exercise during the day just walking. The next picture is of my students in my highschool class. This is Charles in the foreground. Shin is holding the cone in front of his face and Clara is the girl on the right. Just on the left you'll see two large poles, these are the lights for the tennis courts. Behind the students is the soccer field. The soccer field is all dirt. There is no grass, except for the archery field. They don't believe in walking on the grass anywhere in the country. Hope this gives you an idea of where I teach.












Peace out...Later on.

Pranks, pranks and more pranks

Ah tis the season for pranks. This is my old apartment. It is the home to Tad and Teal Romsa. Tad teachers second grade at my school and has no key to get into his apartment. The key pad has never been changed and so I could go in whenever I want. He likes to be a little of the prankster and so everytime he goes down the steps it sounded like he would knock on my door and run away. So last night I had a little fun of my own and took six rolls of toilet paper up to his place and went to town.

It turns out that it was his son that was having the fun with my door so from now on it is war between me and the eighth grader. I just thought that you might like to see the pictures from my triumph. Anyway I'll leave you for now to see what I am capable of and I'll blog again real soon.

Peace out...later on.

It is that time of the year again.

Well it is that time again. Right now as I write this it is 10:00 Sunday night here in Korea, while back in the states they are getting ready for the Kansas City Chiefs season to get underway. How I wish that I could be there to watch the season opener against the Jet there at Arrowhead. I have been to several games at Arrowhead and possibly I'm a little biased but there isn't a better place to watch a football game. If you look in the picture you will see a wave of red. Not one other teams colors will you see among the 80,000 fans that pack every single seat. With the way the stadium is built it holds the sound inside better than any other stadium even the ones inside. It has been as loud as 116 decibels, which is louder than a jet taking off. They say that the official scoreboard operator cannot tell the crowd to be louder or they will fine the Chiefs...well as you can see by this sign that never stops them. I have seen several teams play against the Chiefs and when the opposition goes into the huddle the noise begins and doesn't stop until the play is over only to start back up again. I have sat all over the stadium from lower level about 20 rows back right at the goal line to upper level last seat in our section and there isn't a bad seat in the joint.
The thrill begins at the National Anthem singing before the game. Everyone sings and when they get to the last line "...and the home of the brave." All the fans replace the word brave with a deep and loud "CHIEFS". After a touchdown or a field goal, the crowd has a little chant that they all do. It goes something like this.. "Hey...Hey...We're gonna beat the heck outa you...you...you...you...you...you." Something you have to be there to actually experience.
The reason I became a Chiefs fan was as simple as any other. We used to live in Kansas City before we moved to L.A. I think I would have been in about the 6th or 7th grade. Probably didn't know anything about football. But My dad took me to two Raider v. Chiefs games. I still don't remember who won those games but I was enthralled by the atmosphere. The smells, the yelling, the games itself. Even to this day the Chiefs tailgaters are usually are the winners of "The Best Taigaters In The NFL" It's hard to describe the sensation when you have to park about a mile away from the stadium, but you don't mind because of all the barbecues that are up and cooking. And usually those that are doing the cooking are more than nice enough to share their bounty. Add the fact that they are the best to the fact that one of the things that Kansas City is known for is their incredible barbecue sauce and skills, and you will have smells and tastes that you can not get anywhere else in the world. The fans are also in one unit usually, meaning they are friendly and eager to please. This picture of a tailgater is on the grass a long way from the stadium but you should still be able to make out the lights of Arrowhead in the background. Multiply this picture times the 80,000 fans and you will begin to see what I am talking about.
Now the players: When I went to my first game the quarterback was Bill Kenny #9 the teams were horrible I think they would go 4-10 or something like that every year. Quarterbacks would come and go and we would end up getting the greatest ever in a trade. Joe Montana was ours for a few years. My mouth dropped when I heard the news. We also had Rich Gannon and Dave Kreig. Now we have the best offense in the NFL. Led by Trent Green, Tony Gonzales, Priest Holmes, Dante Hall and Larry Johnson. This year 2005 is the best on paper that I have ever seen. Add that to the fact that the coach is Dick Vermeil, and my expectations are very high.

Well, now that you have heard my feelings about the chiefs maybe you can understand my attraction towards them. I know not everyone is going to read this whole thing, but for me and the people that care about me you have to understand my obsession about them. I use to get physically ill when they would lose. I also would go and buy something with a Chiefs emblem on it every week of the season, thinking that that would help the boys in red win that week. Now I have grown up, a little bit, and just enjoy the game. I still try and find a way to watch all the games. Now that I'm in Korea, I have offered my students extra credit if they will record a game and bring it in the next day. I also will at least find a computer and listen to the game on the 101.1 "The Fox" radio station. There are a few problems with the games over here. One is the fact that the game is taking place at 2:00 in the morning Korean time. The second is that when a Monday night game happens in the states, it is Tuesday morning, and the temptation to check the score is great, but I even threaten the students with failure if they tell me the score, because the game is recorded and then shown on AFN that evening and I want to watch it not knowing the outcome. So far two football seasons and still doing fine. Gets hard but I will manage. Go Chiefs beat those jets this weekend. Always makes the week go by even better with a win to start it off with.

Cute Signs

This sign was seen on a little trip to the city of Cheonon. This is a little pub and is supposed to be based off the 1953 movie "Roman Holiday" starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn. Some of the signs here are funny and some sad. The main problem that is the cause for these signs is the fact that the Korean alphabet is based on 24 letters or symbols. Some are even interchanged, like the p and the f. For example if you have had too much to eat you are not full you are pull. Understandable since english is the most confusing language in the world. Korean is pretty simple because it's very mathematical. Like in the picture above you see some Korean... the first symbol on the top looks like a 2 the sound that makes is a "l" but also is the sound of an 'r' below that you see a laying down line with a short line sticking up that is sort of an 'ah' sounding symbol. I can read the sign but I still have no idea what it means. I just thought that you guys might like to see something like this. I could fill pages and pages of signs like this. But I'll just stick to this one.

Take care you guys I miss you all and I'll write more later.

Peace out...later on.

In Memory of Bob Denver

I just felt compelled to write a little something about this. I just found out this morning that Bob Denver died of cancer at age 70. Normally I wouldn't make such a big deal but this time I thought I would make a small deal. Bob Denver also known to millions as Gilligan was a hero of mine growing up. I'm too young to have seen the show when it aired in the 60's, but I still remember coming home and watching rerun after rerun on t.v. I would love the humor of Bob and the way that he put it across to his fans. I found out that he got into acting when he found that his law degree wasn't going to do much. He got his big break when asked to play Maynard G. Krebs on the show "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" After this he got the break that changed his life. Best known for his role as Gilligan, Bob was one of only four cast members alive. Now down to three Dawn Wells, Mary Ann (now 67) Tina Louise, Ginger, (now 71) and Russell Johnson, the professor (now 80). Jim Backus, Mr. Howell died at age 75 in 1989, Alan Hale jr., the Skipper dies at 71 years of age in 1990, and the lovely Natalie Schafer, Mrs. Howell died at 90 years of age in 1991.

This ones for you Michelle...

All about the power:

This was a picture from my final night at Tuesday volleyball while I was home for the summer. The young lady who is setting me the ball has become someone that I hold in very high regards. She is a little older than I am and married to a fantastic guy, and the two of them have six, count them six, wonderful boys. Michelle and I played in the Kansas Summer Olympics. We didn't fair very well but Michelle and I know how to have fun anyway. I really treasure my time that I get to play with her. I was only able to play three Tuesdays and yet I got to be on her team every single game. This is the woman that I would love to find sometime. She is an amazing athlete and loves the chiefs. She loves to go out and have fun and she loves her children. She actually is now going back to school to become a nurse. I have no idea where she gets the energy to do all that she does. Michelle thank you for all you do...you really mean a lot to me and I don't probably tell you that enough, thanks.

You say this is what?

John the Baptist Finger:

I know what you are thinking, I said the same thing. The was take this past summer at the Nelson Atkins Museum in Kansas City. What this is suppose to be is a golden reliquaries. A reliquary is a container for relics or objects of religious veneration. In the center you will see a bone standing end on end. This bone is said to be the finger of Saint John the Baptist. I have no idea how they came upon getting this. In fact I really don't want to know. So we'll just keep this under our hats okay. I think what just fascinates me about this is the fact that, whether it is or not, it is just more than a mind full to think that this finger just might have touched the head of Jesus.

Peace out...later on.

Deep thoughts by Big Mac...

NO PICTURE?

Today I couldn't find a picture worthy enough of placing on my blog. So today I would like to talk about some things and hopefully start people thinking...Now before I do let me state here for the record that I am not a bible scholar. I just do the best I can and follow what I believe to be the true will of God.

Today was chapel and our speaker was the youth pastor from our church. One of the things that he talked about was the concept of "Pre-destination". This one topic has spawned more debate than anything. And thinking about it myself I can come to both conclusions very easily. First the against side: If you were against "Pre-destination", you would say that there is no way God knows everything about our future, whose going to heaven and who doesn't because that takes away "free will". Free will is something that is talked about several times in the bible. How can a God that wants us to choose Him have "pre-destination" in mind. You eliminate any choice on the human part which in turns makes us sort of like robots. Now if you believe in "pre-destination" you would counter that by saying that you are putting limits on what God can know. A God that knows how many hairs are on my head, a God that knows us so well that He knew us before we were born. How can you say that an all knowing God, who is Alpha, Omega, beginning and end, doesn't know the future.

Can you understand my confusion. I had a Christian Beliefs prof at Mid America Nazarene University once pose the question..."If you were walking along the street would God know if you were going to kick a stone" At this point I was very much in the belief that God knew me so well that He knew that I was going to. The pro retorted that why would God even waste His time worrying about that. Maybe not in those words but it got me to think which was probably the whole point of the example. Matthew 6 :25-27 says: Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not like more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds or the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life. I really took a look at this...if God knows us birds that well and He takes care of them. How much more important are we His children.

I worked in a snack shop in college and the guy I worked with, he and I would talk about this kind of thing a lot. (he was a bible major) His feelings on this kind of made sense and I thought I would share them with you. He said that God is the author of the book of our life. He wrote it so he knows how it is going to end, He holds the book so He is can also turn to any page at any time, but He is also rereading the book like He has no idea what is going to happen. Not knowing but CAN knowing are two different things. This concept might be hard to wrap around, but as I was also once told, A fish will never know what snow is, there are some things that we as humans aren't suppose to know. That is the best that my little brain can come up with at this point...I hope that I was able to really throw you into a state of confusion right along with me.

Peace out...later on.

Just a quick follow up

SIZE AGAIN

This is a picture of our Histroy teacher Mr. Mooney. We are sitting on metal slides that shoot people down the side of a mountain. We were not going to get down the hill very fast since it should have taken us like two slides to make it work. We would race and Koreans would beat us down the hill on the same track that we were on, that was made for one. Fun day. The ride down took about three hours and the ride up the hill was usually double that time.

Anyway I wanted to get out some more names and correct a place where one of my friends went. Please keep the following in your thoughts and prayers... Simon Bandung, Indonesia, Joel & Karina Belem, Brazil, Kyle who is in Lima, Peru. Peter and Pellen in Singapore. Kristen, Rachel, Lisa and Kara who are in LaPaz, Bolivia. Kara decided to stay in the states but please keep her in your prayers. Sam & Noelle I previously stated were in Germany however I was mistaken and they are actually in Singapore. Daniel who recently got his visa and has been in Brasilia, Brazil for a while now.

These are new friends that I met at my training in Memphis. I really enjoyed it and sometime I'll go into some of the happenings there. It was two of the funest weeks I have had in a while. 140 people all training to go out and do what I have been doing for two years.

Just short sweet and around to the point. Take care all and I'll be checking in with you later.

peace out...later on.

Is he cool or what? Oh and then there's me...

TOURISM

This picture is of me and a palace guard. I would actually love to know what he is thinking. "Here is a 6'6" guy coming over to take a picture with me." "I think I might have to go a wet myself" Just kidding of course. This was taken at a palace in Seoul. It is called the Namdaemun Palace. It is actually the place where the Amazing Race ended one of it's legs of its race. Kind of cool to be able to do things that I know that a lot of my friends and family will not get to see. Not saying that I don't wish any of you guys were here. I love all of you.

God has really been doing some amazing things in my life and I thought I might share a few of them with you. This year at school I was seriously thinking about not coming back for this year. The reason behind this was because of my 9th graders this year. Last year they were really hard to deal with. There were a few students that just brought me down mentally each day...This year it is, how can I say, amazing but times 50? The students that I thought would be a problem are actually the ones that have helped out the most. I still can't believe that this is the same class. Classes are going really well. I really enjoy going to school everyday. Sometimes it can get really hot outside and the students do their whining, but they also respect me enough to know that I love them and only want the very best for them.

I also have been finally getting into reading the bible on a regular basis, to the point that I never have before. I usually get scared off from doing that because I'm not sure that my mind is wrapping around what the bible might actually be trying to tell me. This usually happens when I make a comment about something and another person would tell me that I'm totally wrong. I get discouraged but not this time. I bought a bible last year that is a sports devotional bible that has a different passage and devotion for every day of the week and so I am about four weeks into it and now I can't put it down. Only by God's grace have I been able to do this. I have my new gym that has been two years in the making. Still can't believe that I have this new place to do p.e. God really does answer prayers and I am here to tell you that things in the personal world can also be a little confusing sometimes. But through God's love and grace, everything will work out to His will. I'll talk more about that later.

Okay real quick I wanted to shout out some names that I want to hold up in prayer. These are my new friends that are all over the world now, doing the same thing that I am doing right now... Jan, Debra, Katie, Karen, Ryan who are all in Kabul, Afghanistan. Curt who is in Kunming, China. Trisha who is still on her way to Rio, Ryan and Krista that are in Suriname. Jenny, Kara, Aimee, and other in Seoul. Jamie and his fiance in Uijongbu, Korea. Sam and his new wife Noelle in Germany. I will write more names later, but please keep all of these new friends in your thoughts and prayers. The teachers in Kabul, I can't even imagine the things they are going through.

Well this is all for now...if you have and thoughts or prayer requests please write them in the comment section and I will be praying for you. Take care until next time.

Peace out...later on.

HERE IT IS FINALLY

This is our janitor on the couch asleep. Mr. Song will come into my office and do this every afternoon. He also tells me in very broken English that I am to tell no one that he does this. He is well into his 60s. He does EVERYTHING at our school and we are terrific friends. We are going to try to put this picture in the yearbook. He jokes about getting mad at us if we do...He always tells me "no speekie" about telling people about this.


Here at my desk...this is the one room that needs a lot of work. The high levels of humidity, coupled with the fact that they try to cut costs by adding water to paint has given the walls the look that it has.


This is a picture of my office looking out towards the gym. You will see a couch where our janitor comes in to take his daily naps and a coffee table. Also my desk is just below.



This picture is in one corner looking at the other. You can see the door leading to where my class was the last two years. I have tripled in size and the students have so much room to run around now. They love it.

This is a picture of my gym that has finally been finished. A lot of work has gone into it trying to get it just right. What you are looking at is the main open area. The ground is made of foam pads that are obviously both red and blue. I chose this design because when I pick teams I wanted to be able to have a clear division in the classroom. The pads are three foot square puzzle pieces. When I got back to school from summer break they were almost finished with the room but they hadn't layed the floor yet and so in two days just before open house Emily Williamson and Kyle Williamson and Dakota Romsa all helped me put the floors down. All of those names are students of mine and also have a parent who is a teacher. Emily 7th grade, Kyle 4th grade, and Dakota is an 8th grader. The pillar in the middle of the room is something that I couldn't get rid of since it supports the rest of the building. I told them that would be okay since we would pad it up as well. Which should happen shortly.

Size doesn't matter....WHATEVER

Height

No some people might tell you that size doesn't matter but if you look over at this picture I beg to differ with you. This was taken at our school "Spring Fling Thing". The Korean woman in the picture is Ms. Moon. She is our secretary. Amazing woman, does everything for us. But I'm 6'6" tall and the History teacher Mr. Mooney (in red) is 6'4" tall, and Ms. Moon is standing on three inch heels. Busses, taxi's, subways, doorways, you name it, and I just don't fit. I will walk down a street in Seoul and hear just gasps as I pass by. I sort of let it go to my head. Sometimes I'll even pretend to hit my head on doorways as I walk under them. Just to get the reaction.

Today was a beautiful day. Blue sky finally came out and let my students get outside. I was very grateful and thanked God again and again. Monsoon season is coming to a close but everything still is very wet. My students get very wild if they can't get outside. So today was a very big blessing. Tomorrow I have a meeting in Seoul that I have to go to as the Athletic Director. Please keep me in your prayers as I will be talking with another school about the way he has his teams playing. This is a sister school that is also a Christian school and our two schools love the competition, however, it also leads to fights in all the guys games. Even in volleyball with a net separating the two teams, they love to cuss each other out under their breath in Korean and our coaches have no idea what is going on. The other school wants them to play like this. For example in the last soccer game between our two schools, a game that meant nothing as far as the standings went, saw two students get thrown out of the game for fighting. Two Christian schools. What in the world would others watching the game say. People should be able to look out there and say wow those teams are edifying Christ even in their play. The AD thinks things are okay and we are at the point where we just want to forfeit the games because we want to avoid the temptation of putting these students in a position where they might resort to fighting. Please pray the meeting goes the way that God wants it to. Thanks.

Peace out...more later

There always has to be a first doesn't there?

WOW!!! This picture was taken early in the morning from a mountain top near our little city of SongTan. I couldn't believe that I was able to capture just a little part of what this really looked like. All I kept thinking to myself was the bible talking about everywhere you look there is evidence of God. I just sat up there for over two hours before and after watching the sun slowly come into view and then the brightness of the day.

I realize this is my first post but I wanted those who knew me to see some of the things that I get to see everyday. God truly has blessed me with an amazing job and it is suppose to be all for his glory, however, seeing the things I get to see I just can't help but be left astonished and amazed.

Since this is my first official blog I wanted to take a chance to tell you what I am up to over here. July 15th or so, 2003 I was having a bad day at work and my mom had sent me a web page from Christianity Today. At the top it had a link for jobs. I click to just have some fun and found myself looking at a page that had a school in search of a p.e. teacher and an athletic director. Funny that is exactly what I went to school to be. The only problem was that the job was in South Korea... I went ahead and put my name down just to see what would happen and on the way home I got a call from the principal. THAT DAY!!! He told me all about the school and the country and the fact that I would make 15,000,000 won...(that's like $3.50) in dollars. Joking of course but not by much. Long story short we prayed and I accepted the job and on Sept. 11th 2003 I was in South Korea via Japan to star a career as a teacher.

It is now two years later and I'm beginning my third year. Really don't know if I will be doing any more years or not. This is really exciting. I have never done something like this before ad now here I am learning Korean, going to Thailand, China, Fiji, meeting all types of people and growing in my faith more than I ever thought that I could. During these past couple of years I have had some very good times and some very bad times. Some I have put behind me and others have been learned from. God has a funny way of getting what he wants.

Peace out...more later.