The Roberts in Korea

The Little Big Men

While I was in Boise I enjoyed the chance to spend a little bit of time with my two nephews--the little Big Men.  Lukas and Brockton are a couple of cute, sharp, funny and fun little dudes that I love.  I thank God for them and the time that I was able to spend with them.

NNU Visit

From a busy time of teacher recruitment in San Francisco I flew into Boise, Idaho to spend some time at Northwest Nazarene University (NNU), to see some friends and family, and to make a visit to the doctor.

I had a wonderful time at NNU on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week.  On Tuesday I spent the morning speaking in an Education Methods class and in a Missiology class.  I loved sharing with the students about education, ministry, my life work and the school that Dina and I work at in South Korea.  They asked some fantastic questions.

At lunch on Tuesday I had the opportunity to go to lunch with Karen Blacklock, the Education Dept. Chair, Jim Bader, the Dean of the School of Education, Cathy Beals, a professor and friend from college days, Ernie Thompson, my friend and mentor and former college professor, Julia Jolley, the Program Assistant in the Education office and Mike Poe, a professor and friend of mine.  It was a real honor for me to spend time with this wonderful group of people.

On Wednesday I had the distinct privilege to speak in the NNU Chapel service.  I showed some pictures of our school in South Korea and told the students a bit about what God has done and was doing in that place.  I also shared a devotional thought with them from the account of the the Rich Young Ruler in Mark 10.  I enjoyed talking with students after the chapel service and I was especially happy to say hi to my friend Kori.  I knew Kori when she was just a little girl that stood no higher than my kneecap.  We spent some great years with her and her parents when we were living in Baker City, Oregon--a long time ago.  It was great to see her.  She is now a Godly young woman studying at NNU.

I spent Wednesday afternoon talking with friends on the NNU campus and finished up the day in a meeting with two college students that will be doing their student teaching in our school in South Korea in just over a week.  I answered some of their questions and filled them in on a little bit of the school's history.  They are going to do a great job and have a great adventure in South Korea.

I had a great time and adventure at NNU.  It is a wonderful place and I am thankful to have had the opportunity to spend some time on the campus.

Dear Mom and Dad...Thank you

Here is an email message that I sent to my parents this morning...

Dear Mom and Dad,

Happy Anniversary!  Wow, 44 years is a long time...  :)  Your marriage commitment to one another is commendable.  Anniversaries seem to be an event that are only remembered and celebrated by the couple, whereas birthdays and other seemingly less significant events are remembered and celebrated by groups of people in our lives.  I think this is upside down thinking.

Every year of committed marriage that the two of you live, remember, honor and celebrate serve to resonate the faithfulness of God and Kingdom living throughout the lives of your friends, family, coworkers, children, grandchildren and future generations.  A wedding anniversary is a most significant event, and to remember and celebrate your 44th wedding anniversary is truly a blessing to me for which there are no words to express.

Thank you for your lives of commitment to one another.  I pray you have a wonderful day.

Love,
Ryan

On the Road...Again

I am out and about again.  This time I am in San Francisco.  Here is a shot of me in my hotel room with my "Bay View" in the background.  The "Bay View" is nice, but not as fancy as it sounds.  I can see water from the window and the airport and lots of fog.

I am here in San Francisco to attend a teacher recruitment fair.  Dr. Penland and I will be interviewing prospective teachers for both the TCIS and GSIS campuses.  There are just a few more teaching positions left to fill.  We are praying for wisdom and God's help in the process. 

After the recruitment fair in San Francisco I am scheduled to fly into Boise and stay there a few days.  I am planning to see some friends and family, share about our school (TCIS) on the NNU campus and maybe even pay a visit to our family doctor.  I am feeling good, but would like to have his perspective on my health.

I will try to share some pics and stories from my time in Boise and at NNU.  I am thankful to be out and about, but I really miss being with Dina, Becca and Sarah in South Korea.

At least I have my "Bay View."

Bball--A Great Season

The girls' basketball season has come to an end for this year.  Two weeks ago the TCIS girls' team participated in the Asia Pacific Athletics (APAC) conference tournament held at Seoul Foreign School in Seoul.  They played teams from all over Asia.  The team did great, taking fifth place out of twelve teams.  Becca received the "All APAC" award for her team.

A week later the Lady Dragons of TCIS played in the local Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference (KAIAC). They took third place in the conference this year and they took third place in the tournament.  The girls placed higher this year than TCIS has placed in over ten years.  It was a great season and Becca was a big part of the team's success.  We are proud of her.

Blankets With Love

The month of December was a cold one here in Daejeon, South Korea.  As we walk the streets of this city of 1.5 million people we see many homeless people sleeping on the sidewalks and asking for money.  On an especially cold evening in December Sarah had an idea.

She talked with her friends, Anna and Gentry, and upon their return to TCIS after the Christmas Break they launched a blanket drive at the school.  They communicated to the TCIS community the need for the people living on the streets of Daejeon to have blankets to keep warm.  In less than a week the girls gathered more blankets than they could carry.

A week or so ago we bought a box of fifty kimbaps, loaded the three girls and the bags of collected blankets into the car (oh by the way, we have a car now) and we headed for the train station.  There are many homeless people hanging around the train station in Daejeon.  Sarah, Anna and Gentry went around and handed out the blankets and the food to the people in need at the station.

It was a memorable experience for the girls.  Some of the folks appreciatively draped the blankets over their shoulders and ate their kimbap, while others took the blankets and food in a rather harsh and abrupt manner.  Regardless of the response, the girls handed out the blankets and food with love.

"If you have done it unto the least of these, you have done it unto me." --Jesus

Needless to say, Dina and I (Ryan) are proud of Sarah, Anna and Gentry.

More Sweet Sixteen

One of the fun parts about having teenage girls is that it seems that birthdays are week long events.  Becca's sixteenth birthday was on Tuesday of this week and there were minor parties and celebrations to honor her on that day, but then on Thursday night there was a BIG party--a surprise party.

The reason this big surprise party was on Thursday night is because it was the last day of school before winter break.  We are currently taking a week off from school to celebrate the Lunar New Year here in South Korea.  We start school on the second Monday of August, but right now it is so worth it.

Brittney Miller, along with some of Becca's friends, planned a big surprise party for Becca.  There was a bunch of people at the party and it was a blast.  Becca loved it.  The kids played Guitar Hero on Wii, they went out to dinner at a Korean BBQ, they spent an hour or so at the Norebang (Karaoke) and then they finished the evening watching the movie, "The Beverly Hills Ninja."

As a Dad, I like this idea of celebrating Becca's sixteenth birthday over multiple days.  It keeps me from thinking about the fact that she is one week closer to seventeen.  Yipes.

Sweet Sixteen

Becca has always been sweet, but now she is "sweet sixteen."  Her birthday was on February 9.  Becca spent her birthday at school, going to classes, playing piano in the high school chapel and walking the hallways with her friends.  Some of her friends bought her a cake and they had a little celebration in the lunchroom.

On the evening of February 9 we had a birthday dinner for Becca at the Mr. Pizza restaurant near the school.  It was a rainy night, but we had a good time.  The Miller family joined us for dinner and we enjoyed reminiscing about when Becca, Levi and Brittney were much younger, making mud pies together and having the time of their lives playing together in the McDonald's play-land.

I (Ryan) ordered way too much pizza so I called the dorm and had a couple of Becca's friends come over to the restaurant to help us eat the pizza.  From Mr. Pizza we wandered over to Baskin Robbins and enjoyed some ice cream.  We had a good time celebrating Becca.  She opened a few presents at home and then went to work on her homework.  She has plans to do a bit more celebrating this weekend.

Happy Birthday Becca!  You are loved.

I'm Ok...I think.

Wow, it has been a long time since I have posted.  If you are a regular reader and visitor of our family blog I am sorry that I have l not kept up lately.  It seems there have been many factors that all came together at once that left me with little time, motivation or energy for blogging.

A primary factor in my blogging hiatus has been due to my health.  To make a long story short, I am convinced that I do not have and have not had pericarditis.  Following my time in the hospital I (Ryan) continued to have health problems.  After some good counsel from friends, a reflection on my health status over the last year and some research on the internet it seems a strong possibility that I have been struggling with what appears to be malaria.

I have been doing a lot of traveling lately, but it is likely that I contracted malaria in India in Feb. 2009.  All of my symptoms and history point to malaria....except for a blood test.  Malaria is very hard to identify in blood tests.  The doctors here in South Korea gave me some malaria medicine and I am thankful to say that I have been feeling increasingly better since I took the malaria medication.  We'll see.  For now, I am feeling great and am thankful for every day of good health that I enjoy.  I'm Ok....I think.

Please stay tuned for more blog posts.