Mon 25 May 2009
Yay for May! I love spring: Gray rainy days to enjoy from being comfortably indoors…warm windy days to go out and enjoy the new buds and the sweet smells…..evenings to enjoy listening to the crickets and frogs chirping at night…and the really hot days to…..enjoy from indoors again. Just kidding, we go outside on the hot days too. Just not in August.
This past month has been one of the busiest and most productive ever in our time here so far.
Will’s Japan Trip
Will spent a week in Japan. He was part of a peace exchange group that visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He visited museums, parks, schools and churches. He heard stories from people who had survived the bombings and he saw photos and monuments depicting the devastation of the two atomic bombs dropped during WWII. The damage from the attacks left behind stories that could either turn your stomachs, tug at your emotions, or spurn you to action, depending on which one you heard. He was surprised to find that the people in those two cities hold no resent towards America, only a commitment to rid the world entirely of nuclear weapons. Every nuclear weapons test since WWII has been followed by a letter sent from the mayor of Hiroshima protesting the test and asking that their residents be the last to suffer from such an attack. The people he met were all very friendly, as polite as Canadians, and the cities were beautifully treed and full of park space. He gave a mini-sermon at a gathering in one city and was almost offered a job as a pastor/English teacher the other city.
***For pictures, see Will’s Facebook profile, or feel free to email him for copies***
Our Anabaptism History Seminar
Ever since we came to Korea we’ve been hoping to use our musical as a teaching tool here, and also to have an opportunity to share our (mostly Will’s) knowledge of Anabaptist history with interested members of our church, for those who have joined JVC without knowing a whole lot about Anabaptists, and for those who want to learn more. We were given a 3-day time slot in April to put on a seminar to do just that.
We put together a thick booklet with a translated summary of each scene of the musical, a time line, hymns that we sang each night and discussion questions. Each night Will opened will a mini-sermon, then we showed a few scenes of the musical, followed by a more detailed explanation and Q & A. We also had a quartette perform one of the songs from the musical, and a soloist do another. For the last night I prepared “Mennonite” snacks, like deviled eggs, tuna sandwiches, cupcakes with M&M’s on top and fruit salad. All in all the seminars were a success and greatly appreciated by all.
From L to R: Will giving a mini-lecture the first night; More mini-lecturing; The program; The “Mennonite” snacks I made; The soloist sings “Wittenberg Cathedral; The quartet sings “Hymn of Hope”; Ana accompanying the quartet
MC Witness/Connexus/KAC retreat
The week after the seminars was the retreat, which we had to plan. We have a friend whose parents own an ??? ? (Day Care Centre) in a small town NE of Chuncheon called ?? (Yaw-ryang), and they let us use the space for a few nights. Using our setting for inspiration, we decided that the theme for the retreat would be “Children in God’s Kingdom”, and share about our understanding of why children are so special in Jesus’ eyes. It was Ruby’s first big trip away from home, and she handled it quite well.
On our first night, there happened to be a music festival going on nearby, and so we got to enjoy a free concert of ABBA songs being played on traditional Korean instruments. We were all excited to see the ball-room (and a few of us jumped in), the mini toilets and sinks, playground and emergency slide going down from the second floor. It looked so fun and inviting we were plotting emergencies we could cause just so we could use the slide.
During our stay there the group got to see a nearby town and folk village, a tall waterfall and river, and they experienced the famous rail bikes! We barely got tickets for that. Will had to get up a 6am that morning, along with another member of the group, to stand in LINE for 3.5 hours to buy tickets, and even after THAT, we barely got tickets for the last time slot of the day: 7pm. It’s such a popular past time that people actually camp out there to buy tickets. It was nice to experience the bikes in the evening, with the colourful lights along the tracks and the cool summer evening breeze.
From L to R: Traditional dancers in the nearby town; At the folk village; Statues showing a different time; Our friends being goofy; Bird on a rooftop; Agriculture of the time; Trip to a nearby river and statue; The 3.5 hour/6:30am rail bike line up; Bridge near the waterfall; Waterfall from far away; The group enjoying the falls; The bridge from another angle; The group ready to rail bike
Then we made our way to Sokcho, on the east coast, but halfway there, the Connexus van (called “Cheap Grace”) broke down. She needed 4 hours of repairs, so while the group was happy to stay on the nearby beach all afternoon, Will and I went ahead to make sure we had rooms at the hotel in Sokcho (we were also eager for a way to put Ruby to sleep, whose patience was wearing thinner the longer we were away from home). Repairs were successful and the group met us at the hotel, where they enjoyed an evening of mini-biking, and a pancake breakfast and beaching the next morning.
Before we left for home, we brought Ruby to the beach (her first time), but she was deathly afraid of the water, and clung to Will SO tightly when he tried to dip her feet in the water. Can’t say I blame her. I didn’t even want to put my feet in the water. On our way home, we stopped at a restaurant that had a most spectacular view of this valley, with mountains and a river winding around them, and thousands of white pollin fluff balls in the air that it looked like it was snowing. Our friend said it looked like the “Promised Land”.
From L to R: Will looking pensive; The view of the “Promised Land”; The town’s mole mascot
Thoughts from the Retreat: Why babies are superior
I prepared some thoughts about what I’ve learned from Ruby that I wanted to share at the retreat. Jesus spoke a lot about how we need to be like little children to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and he always welcomed children to his side. I know why we need to be like children, but what about being like babies? What can we learn from them? I’ve learned a few things about babies from being a mother myself, that convince me that babies are superior to adults:
1) They are quick to forgive: If a baby hits their head, or is made to wear a dirty diaper for too long, they get over it pretty fast and they’re back to smiling again
2) Everything is new and wonderful to them: They have the gift of seeing the world through new eyes, and appreciate the wonder in everything
3) They trust unconditionally: Babies trust their parents for food, warmth, comfort, safety, and love, without questioning it. They just ask (or scream) knowing it will be provided, and they are not uncomfortable with that reliance. We should be that confident with our God
4) They are worry-free: Babies are not burdened down with worries, simply because they don’t know enough to worry. We, as adults, obviously are more aware, but should still try to follow that example.
5) They are easy to please: They find the simplest things entertaining, and usually don’t even need the expensive toys or play pens. Something like being tickled, a water bottle, a twig from outside, can keep them happy for a long time. Oh, that we could be made happy by simple things
That’s just a few examples…
Ruby: 7 months
Time is just FLYING for us as parents and Ruby’s growing so quickly. Having a child really teaches you to cherish every day, because a lot can change in one day. Ruby is now walking, with support (of course), and working on crawling. She’s gotten the hang of eating solids and more of her personality is showing through. She bobs to guitar music, bangs on the piano, does this funny head tilt with a goofy smile, loves spinach (of all foods!), her face lights up when I sing and she’ll hum along, she absolutely loves strangers and smiles to everyone, talks to herself so loudly that I have to take her upstairs during church, she still loves bath time but HATES getting her face wiped after meals, and gets hiccups a lot. And when she laughs she kinda sounds like a donkey…maybe a baby donkey.
From L to R: Family pic near the waterfall on retreat; Mom and Ruby on the rail bike; Ruby in her first sink bath; Ruby and her friend sleeping at the JVC outdoor worship service; Ruby going for a walk with some friends; I’m starting her young on piano lessons
