The Roberts in Korea

Busy Week Misc.

The following is an overview of some of our activities this past week.  Thanks to all of you who check our blog and are interested in our lives--it means a lot to all of us.

This past week the community at TCIS celebrated "Korean Culture Week."  The week was full of classroom presentations, displays throughout the schools and special programs.  Here is Sarah working at an art station in the high school atrium.

One night after school and work we all slipped up town and went to a new new coffee shop called "Chesed."  The coffee shop serves coffee, tea, milkshakes, smoothies, you name it.  It is a very nice place to sit and read or visit with friends.  "Chesed" is unique in the fact that at one end of the facility there is a "foot soaking" area.  There are little tubs built into the floor complete with benches for relaxing and tables for food and drink.  The servers prepare the water, throw in some epson salts and provide a towel.  Dina and Sarah decided to give it a try.  They loved it.

Halloween is not a recognized holiday or event here in S. Korea.  So last Friday night some of the TCIS families decided upon a Halloween activity.  All of the TCIS staff children dressed up in costumes, "trick or  treated" at other staff homes and apartments and then went to a culminating party at the end of the evening.  Becca dressed up in a beautiful Vietnamese outfit (thanks to the Zickefooses) and Sarah was a baker, complete with a chef's hat and flour on her nose.  Becca and Sarah had a great time "trick-or-treating" wth Korte and Alexandra.

On Saturday Becca and her soccer team participated in an all day soccer tournament hosted at TCIS.  Becca's team played three games--they won one game and tied the other two games.  It was a beautiful day and a great time.  This is Becca's first year to  play soccer.  At times she feels like a beginner playing with the Korean students who have been playing all of their lives.  Basketball and volleyball seasons are just around the corner and Becca is excited.

Village of Peace Orphanage

On Saturday afternoon we--Dina, Becca, Sarah and Ryan--had the unique opportunity to accompany the TCIS Key Club on a service trip to the Village of Peace Orphanage in Daejeon, South Korea.  The Key Club at TCIS is made up of approximately thirty high  school students whose main focus is as a service club to the school community and to surrounding needs and entities in the  city of Daejeon.  Every other Saturday during the school year this group of students goes to the Village of Peace Orphanage to assist with cleaning and upkeep of the facility as well as taking time to play with and spend time with the children that live in the orphanage.

Our new friends from Canada, Brian and LeeAnne Lavender, serve as sponsors of the Key Club and invited our family to accompany them on the visit to the orphanage.  It was an extreme blessing and privilege for our family to spend time with the TCIS students and the children at the orphanage.  I was very proud of our TCIS students--first, that they would take time out of a busy high school schedule to serve and secondly, I was touched by the way that the students interacted with and loved the children at the orphanage.

Upon arrival at the Village of Peace our family of four, as well as the rest of the group, began playing with and interacting with the precious children at the orphanage.  Within minutes, in the midst of paper airplanes, soccer balls, singing songs, teeter totters, swings and crayons, there were smiles, laughter and hugs everywhere.  It was a blessed time--Becca spent a lot of time with the little fellow in green,  the little sweetheart in red and blue stripes wouldn't let go of Sarah, Dina lovingly held many of the little ones and helped them draw pictures and look through picture books and Ryan had a blast making paper airplanes and singing songs with many of the children.

It was a blessing.....to us.  We didn't do the children at the orphanage any service, they, their precious lives, were a service unto us.  In Matthew 18:5 Jesus says, ". . . whoever welcomes a little child in my name, welcomes me."  We are so thankful to have had the opportunity to go to the Village of Peace Orphanage and to spend the day with Jesus.

Please notice the Orphanage photo album.

Band Concert

Last Tuesday night Becca played the saxophone in her first TCIS Middle School Band Concert.  It was a wonderful evening.  The performers included the TCIS Middle School Choir, the High School Band and the Middle School Band.  The music was excellent!  Some of the songs that the Middle School Band played were:  "Migrations," "Prospect" and "Colonel Bogey."

Becca is keeping busy musically here at TCIS.  Becca is a member of the Middle School Praise Team and  plays the bass guitar and sometimes the piano for the Middle School Chapels, she is taking piano lessons every Monday night from Dr. Yun and is preparing to play a Chopin piece for a late November recital.  All this and she plays alto saxophone in the Middle School Band...we are proud of and thankful for Becca.

Please note the new "Band, Science and Other" photo album.

Science Expo with Mr. Seo and Family

Last Sunday after church we met up with Mr. Seo, his wife, Mrs. Lee and his son, Jung Min for a fun afternoon together.  Mr. Seo is the purchasing manager at TCIS, a native Korean and a wonderful guy.  Mr. Seo speaks English well, however, his wife and son speak very little English and the Roberts family speaks little to no Korean so....at times communication was a good challenge.

On this Sunday afternoon we met up with Mr. Seo and family at the Lotte Department store near our church in Daejeon and from there we all piled into Mr. Seo's car and drove to Mr. Seo's favorite restaurant for an authentic Korean meal.  It was a delicious meal and a unique and memorable experience.  From the restaurant Mr. Seo drove us to the Daejeon Science Center where a community Science Expo was taking place.  The expo was filled with booths where people of all ages could learn about science and participate in science experiments.  It is a challenge to go to these types of informational activities and have everything written in a different language other than English.  During our short visit to the expo we learned about nuclear power plants, how to extract the DNA from grass and we observed that when dry ice is put into a sealed balloon the balloon increases in size.  Many of the booths were handing out different brochures, cards, puzzles, etc. and one booth  was handing out some handy dandy fold out visors and everyone was wearing them!  When in Rome.....  There were  some cultural booths at the expo as well.  Becca and Sarah got the opportunity to wear some clothing from the Mongolian culture and they looked marvelous!  We had a wonderful time at the expo and most of all we enjoyed spending time with our new friends from Korea.

Pastor Cymbala

Last Wednesday morning I, Ryan, had a real treat.  I boarded an early morning bus bound for Seoul and I went to the large Onnuri Church for the first day of a three day leadership conference.  I only attended the first day of the conference because the first day featured the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir and Pastor Jim Cymbala.

Pastor Jim Cymbala is one of my favorites.  He is the pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York City and he is well known for his wonderful book, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire.  I have always wanted to visit Pastor Cymbala's church in New York City and hear the choir and hear him preach.  It is interesting that I had to come all the way to Seoul, South Korea to hear and see Pastor Cymbala and the choir.  It was a roundabout way...but it was worth it! 

I so greatly enjoyed the three inspiring messages by Pastor Cymbala.  Over 5,000 people were in  attendance at the conference.  There were people from all over the world in attendance but the majority of the attendees were Korean.  Pastor Cymbala used a translator.  He would say a statement in English and then the translator would repeat it in Korean.  It was great, except that I would get the jokes first and laugh out loud before the Korean people had time to hear the joke in Korean!  Needless to say I stuck out in more ways than one in the mostly Korean crowd of 5,000 people.  The music and worship services prior to the sermons were amazing.  The entire experience was a huge blessing and a wonderful memory.

Friends

The morning bright is crisp with the delight of child's play,

Three souls from worlds apart share of themselves this day.

A simple wave, an outstretched hand, a smile beckons fun;

A time of joy is had by all as they slide and swing and run.

Laughter, hugs, squeals and shrugs serve as the talk today,

There is no language lost in words that love can say.

As our hearts reach out and lives extend, unstopped till each day's end;

We find great value in each other, the treasure of a friend.

"A friend loves at all times..."  Proverbs 17:17

Seoul Trip

Last weekend we took a two night, three day sight seeing trip to the city of Seoul, South Korea.  Seoul is the capital of South Korea and is one of the largest cities in the world, weighing in with an approximate population of 13 million people.  On Saturday morning we boarded and rode the KTX Bullet Train from Daejeon to Seoul hitting a maximum speed of 299.2 Kilometers per hour.  It took us 49 minutes to get to Seoul (in a bus it takes two and a half hours on a good day). 

We taxied to the Itaewon Hotel, dropped off our luggage and then we headed for the Seoul City Tour  Bus.  The first stop on our tour of Seoul was old Korean Folk Village where we observed many different facets of historical Korean life.  One area of the Folk Village included this large time capsule.  It was put into the ground in 1996 and is slated to be opened in 400 years. We may not be around when they open the capsule but Dina's initials will be as she carved them into the lid.  (That's a lie...just making sure you are still awake.) In the background is the famous Seoul Tower and that was our next stop on the tour.

The Seoul Tower is the highest man-made vantage point in all of South Korea.  The view from the Seoul Tower was breath taking.  We spent quite a bit of time up in the tower just taking it all in.  It was a lot of fun.  From the Seoul Tower we  went back down into the city to a famous shopping area called the Namdemun Market.  You name it, you can buy it at the Namdemun Market.  It was amazing--it was endless shops and endless people.  We finished both of our days of sight seeing with a delicious Thai dinner at a   restaurant near our Hotel.

On Sunday morning we got up early, jumped in a taxi and headed for the Yoido Full Gospel Church.  This church is known as the largest church in the world with 800,000 attenders.  It was an amazing experience.  We attended the 11 AM service along with nearly 10,000 people.  I think Sarah was the only fair haired person in the building.  The singing/worship of the congregation was amazing--they sang the Lord' Prayer in Korean...10,000  people at full voice!

From the church we taxied to a famous building in Seoul called "Building 63."  It is famous because it is the tallest building in Seoul--63 floors (the Seoul Tower is higher in elevation because it is situated on a hill).  We went  up to the top of the Building 63.  The elevator to the top is situated on the outside of the building and is made of glass--it is quite a rush to watch yourself go up in the air 63 stories!  The view from the Building 63 was wonderful.  The bottom floors of the Building 63 are made up of shops, a food court, an IMAX theatre and an aquarium. Following our trip to the top we spent quite a bit of time down on the  bottom floor with the fish.

From the Building 63 we taxied to the Korean War Museum.  What an amazing place this was to visit.  The presentation inside and out was very honorable, grand and pristine.  The exhibits were in both Korean and English and we learned a lot about the early days of Korea and about the most recent Korean War.   We finished our Sunday adventures with a great dinner at the Thai Restaurant (again) near our hotel.

On Monday we slept in, visited a few more markets in Seoul and then boarded the KTX Bullet Train for  a quick trip back to "home" Daejeon.  We are thankful for a great time and trip to Seoul, South Korea.

Please take a look at the new Seoul Photo Album.

Chusok Break

We have been out of school all of this week for what is called "Chusok Break" here in S. Korea.  On Friday, Korea will be celebrating "Chusok" a Korean holiday in which families gather together, celebrate with thankfulness and honor their ancestors.  There is a lot of gift giving during the time of Chusok.  Every Friday we have a street market in the parking lot/street of our apartment complex.  In the background you can see some stacks of colorful boxes.  These are types of Chusok gifts.  In the boxes are fruit.  One of the most popular fruits to give as a gift at this time is the Asian Pear.  They are huge and they are delicious.  They are not like pears in the states.  The Asian Pears are crisp and juicy, much like a good apple.  We have been enjoying our week off for Chusok break.  We have been spending a lot of time together as a family and we have spent some fun times with friends here at TCIS.  Happy Chusok!