The Roberts in Korea

MS Retreat 2012

Last weekend we (the Roberts family) spent the weekend at the Middle School Retreat.  No, we don't have any middle school students in our family, but we jumped at the chance to be a part of one of the great activities that make up the TCIS educational program.  Ninety middle school students, ten staff members, eight high school students and the Roberts family all boarded buses and headed for the West coast of South Korea for the weekend.  The retreat was held at Chunjungdae Beach.

Becca and Sarah and the other eight high school students at the retreat spent the weekend working and helping out at the event.  The high schoolers led the music and worship during the chapel times and they helped lead games and activites on the beach.  Dina helped out in the kitchen at the retreat and Ryan kept tabs on the high schoolers, managed the sound system, played bass guitar and had a blast.

It was a super time.  Middle schoolers are so much fun.  At the retreat we were all involved in lots of rowdy singing, playing crazy games, performing outlandish skits and laughing.  The weather was perfect.  The campfire, s'mores on the beach and the salty sea air combined for a delicious memory. 

Middle school retreat was a great way to spend a weekend!

Ifest 2012

TCIS hosted an International Festival (Ifest) on its campus on the first Saturday of May.  Nearly 2000 people took in the grand event.  The weather was beautiful and everybody had fun visiting the display booths, eating way too much at the various food booths, soaking teachers and administrators in the dunk tank and enjoying the various acts and activities at the main stage. 

Becca was busy running the dunk tank for most of the day.  Sarah and her friend sang a song on the main stage.  Dina jumped in on the hoola hoop contest and the faculty jazz band played a few songs before the fireworks lit up the sky.

Ifest 2012 was a blast.

May Madness

May is a crazy month at TCIS.  It seems that there is something on the calendar for every night of the month.  There are end of the year concerts, sports banquets, final IB exams, retreats, Honor Society induction ceremonies, Prom (actually, Prom preparation is the killer), farewells and the like.  The "May Madness" around here is accentuated for us with the fact that Becca will be graduating from high school on May 25.  Yipes.

This past week it was fun to see both Becca and Sarah recongnized for their participation in both varsity basketball and volleyball at the end of the year TCIS Sports Banquet.

Last week nearly all of us participated in the last music concert of the school year.  Becca and Sarah sang in the choir and our staff jazz band played a couple of numbers.

 

May madness is wild, crazy, tiring and....fun.

Trip to India

The Roberts family spent Spring Break 2012 in India.  Dina and Ryan led a student service trip to a children's home in Bangalore.  We had an amazing time.  The student team was great and the kids at the children's home were precious.  If you are interested here is a video glimpse of our trip.

Dorm Spiritual Retreat

During Easter weekend TCIS hosted a spiritual retreat for some of the dorm students and for a few guest participants.  Sarah (who lives in my house) enjoyed the opportunity of being one of the guest participants.  Becca participated in the retreat last year and this year served as a worker (along with some of her friends) at the retreat, leading music and worship and setting up for and cleaning up after each activity that the retreat participants were involved in.

On the first night of the retreat I (Ryan) enjoyed the opportunty to speak to the retreat participants and lead them in a time of praise and worship.  We gathered on the roof of one of the dorm buildings under the night sky.  It was a memorable time.

Pics and People in India

We must keep ourselves in touch, not with theories, but with people, and never get out of touch with human beings, if we are going to use the word of God skilfully amongst them.  --Oswald Chambers, Workmen of God

Pics and people in India...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Week in India

Last week we spent Spring Break in India.  Dina and Ryan led a team of high school students on a mission/service trip to a children's home in Bangalore, India.  Becca and Sarah were two of the students on the team, so it was a family affair. (It was our fourth time to visit this wonderful place in India.) We all had a great time hanging out with the precious children at the home.  The children's home is on the outskirts of the city and could be described as hot, dry, dirty, run down and isolated, but with seventy precious children running around it is more aptly described as fun, active, joyous, full of relational warmth and overflowing with love.

Our week was filled with teaching school, singing praise songs, doing crafts, giving hugs, pushing swings and playing and more playing.  We had no Internet and no email for the entire week!  (In fact, we didn't even have electricity for about six hours each day.) During our week in India we played soccer, volleyball, cricket and a local game called Lagori.  We took cold bucket showers every morning, we saw lots of monkeys that were inhabiting the trees around the home (Rocky, the guard dog, kept the monkeys away from the children's home) and we ate authentic South Indian food for lunch and for dinner each day.

India is a fascinating place to visit, but the highlight of the trip was the children.  I will be posting pictures from the trip over the next few days.

Shanghai sights at APAC

In February the TCIS girls' basketball team participated in the Asia Pacific Activities Conference (APAC) basketball tournament in Shanghai, China.  Becca and Sarah play on the basketball team so Ryan and Dina felt the need to be good and diligent parents and went along with the team to China to cheer the girls on.

It was a fun tournament and great visit to Shanghai.  It is an amazing city.  One night we (Ryan and Dina) got to go to the downtown area called the Bund.  We enjoyed the sights, the lights, and the experience.

This Place

Here are a couple of pictures of this place (South Korea) that we live in.  It is amazing how we so quickly take for granted all that is around us.  The city of Daejeon is a very nice place to live in South Korea.  It is a big city (1.5 million people), complete with a wonderful mass transit system (taxis, trains, subways and buses), but it still has a small town feel.  Mountains, hiking trails, lakes and streams can be accessed within 30 minutes from the city and thanks to the Bullet Train, that runs right through Daejeon, we can go North to Seoul in 50 minutes and South to Busan in 90 minutes. 

There are lots of people in South Korea.  We were grumbling a bit about the traffic and the people the other day when we were Christmas shopping.  It didn't last long though as we remembered the great privilege it is for us to live in this unique place.

Merry Christmas 2011

Here we are on Christmas morning wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas!  Our Christmas morning started early this year, but it wasn't because our children were eager to see what Santa left under the tree.  It was our privilege to lead the music and worship at church this morning so we were up early for the set up and preparation at church.  We opened gifts in the afternoon.  It was a treasured time--mostly because we were together as a family.

May you be blessed this Christmas with the realization that the God who came near did so out of love for you.