The Roberts in Korea

Fore!

Golf.  It started out with a couple of lessons this summer and then a couple of weeks ago Dina bought Ryan a set of used golf clubs for his birthday.  Now the only problem is time and money.  Golf takes a lot of time and it is very expensive in South Korea.

There are quite a few "driving ranges" in South Korea.  They are affordable and a great place to hit some balls.  The driving ranges are giant netted areas that are between thirty to one-hundred fifty yards long.  The have a ball on a rubber tee that pops up out of a hole in the floor.  As soon as the ball is hit off of the tee, another ball pops up.  It is cool.

I (Ryan) stepped away from my DMin paper a couple of times over the past two weeks to hit some balls at the driving range and then play a round of screen golf with some friends.  I thought my DMin paper was a challenge!  Golf will have to wait until the paper is done.

Sunday Fun

This Sunday our family led the music/worship at the International Church that meets on the TCIS campus.  When I say "our family" I mean Dina on the piano, Becca on the bass guitar, Sarah singing, George Zickefoose on the drums and Ryan leading and playing guitar.  We have been "together" a long time.  It is such a joy to share in this experience together.

After church the Zickefooses, the Roberts and our friend Alice headed up town for lunch.  It was good to get out and about a bit.  We enjoyed some delicious Italian food at "Bon Bons" and then as we were wandering the streets of downtown we had to stop for a mile high ice cream cone.  It was a good time and a good day.

Beauty in Nature

Adjacent to the TCIS campus is an old missionary housing complex that was established by the Presbyterian Church nearly sixty years ago, right at the close of the Korean War.  It is a green, beautiful and lush area of trees, bushes, plants and flowers tucked away in the midst of miles concrete and hundreds of towering buildings.

I (Ryan) went for a walk through this area the other day and found the natural beauty of the place a bit unnatural.  It seems that the owners of the land recently added some trees to this area.  They tied them together as a means of support.  The ground is wet here in South Korea and the roots don't quickly grow deep.

Funny, isn't it?  It doesn't do much for the beauty of the place.  Can you imagine being the one that had to tie all those ropes?  I am sure there is a life lesson in this.

Still at it...

Just a note to let you know that we are still at it...  Life here in Korea has been keeping us all hopping--in a good way.  Becca and Sarah are living the challenging and exciting days of high school filled with friends, homework, friends, sports, friends, studying, friends, projects, friends, practices, friends...well, you get the picture.

Their mother and I cherish the few moments that we get to spend with them.  This picture was taken on a Sunday afternoon after church at a coffee shop where we had a good time eating waffles and hanging out together.

Dina is working hard to keep up with her Kindergartners this year.  She is having so much fun with them.  Her classroom is filled with quite a culturally diverse group of students with kids from Australia, Germany, Turkey, Canada, America, Malaysia, India and South Korea.

I (Ryan) am keeping busy at work and am still chipping away at my DMin dissertation project.  I need to carve out more time to get this done.  Lately, I have enjoyed the privilege of doing some speaking/teaching to various groups of adults on topics of religion, spiritual formation and Christian living.  I don't have time to do this, but I love doing it.  In fact, I don't have time to blog, but I can't get you, my faithful few readers, out of my mind and heart.  So, I write to let you know that we are still at it...and I will keep at it.

Sarah on the Court

The volleyball season is in full swing.  Sarah is playing on the Junior Varsity team and Becca is playing on the Varsity team.  Last week we played our sister school, GSIS and all of the TCIS fans showed up in Dragon black.  Mr. Moimoi, the Middle School Principal, really got into the spirit with his crazy wig. 

It is fun to see both Becca and Sarah on the court.  Sarah is looking good with great passing, strong blocks, crushing spikes and powerful serves.  Both girls are getting in  shape and are having a good time playing volleyball this season.  Their parents are enjoying the season too!

Filling a Lull

There was a lull in the game so I asked the crowd to smile.  These are just a few of the great people that make up the TCIS community.

It Begins

Saturday was the first game of the girls' varsity volleyball season.  Becca is on the varsity team and played well in the first match of the year.  It was a non-league match against a school that is smaller than ours.  We beat them pretty soundly.  Becca was voted by the team to be one of the two co-captains on her team.  We are looking forward to a good season.

 

Sarah is on the junior varsity team and her first home game is Saturday.  We can't wait!

Prayer at the Pole

"Every time we pray our horizon is altered, our attitude to things is altered, not sometimes but every time, and the amazing thing is that we don't pray more." - Oswald Chambers

Last Wednesday they held a "See You At The Pole" prayer time at the TCIS high school.  It was a beautiful morning and students, teachers and administrators gathered near the grand staircase of the school and prayed for the world, the countries of North and South Korea, the city of Daejeon and for the TCIS Community.

Prayer isn't logical and seems impractical, but it is an act of obedience unto God that speaks of our need, trust and hope in the One that is able to do more than we can ask or imagine.  Becca and Sarah were at the prayer time.  It was good.

Renew Passports

Last Monday we took a half day away from school and caught an early morning train to Seoul.  The girls' passports were due to expire in the next six months and to expedite international travel it is good to have your passport as current as possible.

It is hard to believe that it is already time to renew the five year passports that we got for the girls just months before we made our move to South Korea.  It seems like it was just yesterday that we were immersed in the details of moving to Korea. What we thought was going to be a two year experience has turned into a five year adventure.

We got to Seoul early--before the heavy traffic--and made our way to the US Embassy.  The visa renewal process was relatively painless because thankfully we had all of the necessary documents.  Becca and Sarah should have new passports in hand in just a couple of weeks.  Becca's new passport is good for ten years this time as she is considered an adult--yipes.

Outside the US Embassy there were some sights that we hadn't seen before so I took a couple of pictures.  We had a good time being together.