Hot off the press...

It seems Brian and I have a hard time staying away from publishing, even if it's on a small scale. This week the second edition of our school student newspaper, The Golden Dragon, arrived back from the printer. I am the staff advisor for the newspaper and the school yearbook this year, and my newspaper crew is a fantastic group of 10 hard-working students. Here are a few of them! We're trying to challenge each other to produce a paper that influences students on campus to think more about themselves and God's world - a good, and difficult, challenge!

Sunset over Taejon...

On Saturday (Nov. 18) Brian and I hiked up KaeJokeSan (Chickenfoot Mountain) to watch the sun set over the city. What a beautiful view of Taejon nestling between several mountains! Now if only I can get in shape so I don't feel like I'm going to keel over about half-way up the mountain!!

Chaotic Harmony...

TCIS high school students are engaged in a 3-day Spiritual Emphasis Week this week (Wednesday - Friday, Nov. 15-17). Called "Chaotic Harmony", the week is themed around understanding how God speaks to us and creates harmony in the midst of this crazy, loud, frenetic world. A speaker from Louisiana has presented some very challenging messages to us, and on Thursday and Friday I took students downtown for 1 1/2-hour blocks to hand out hot coffee at the train station. Rebecca says the week has been very cool, and that she is in love with the lead singer of Una, the Christian band from California leading us in worship. Here are some photos from the train station, including one of an exceptionally interesting older man I met (doesn't his face indicate he has an interesting life story?). God has been doing some great things this week at TCIS.

Exploring a traditional neighbourhood...

The city of Jeonju, located 1 1/2 hours southwest of Taejon, is one of the few cities left in Korea that has a traditional neighbourhood still intact. So many buildings were destroyed in the Korean War, and since then many cities have torn down traditional houses in favour of apartment buildings and high rises. So it was a treat on Sunday, November 12th, to take a bus to Jeonju with our friends Sue and Steve. Full of courtyards and traditional homes with fluted roofs and rice paper windows, there were many buildings you could explore in the Hanok neighbourhood. Traditional Korean arts and crafts (such as paper-making, wine-making, pottery) and tea houses and restaurants dotted the neighbourhood. It was a beautiful day! (The photos feature leaves from a 500-year-old ginko tree and a visit to a traditional tea house.)

Pedalling at Ppuri Park...

On Sunday, November 5th, 3 members of our family roamed around a park on the edge of Taejon. Named Ppuri Park, this wooded area is full of monuments celebrating Korean surnames. It also boasts trails, a large area for soccer and kite-flying, and a small bay that was home to a fleet of swan-shaped pedal boats. Brian, LeeAnne and Cora enjoyed all the park had to offer, and it was a fantastic break from city life for the afternoon. Alas, Rebecca was shopping with friends and Hannah was working on a group homework assignment, so they missed out on the fun. (Excuse the quality of these photos - they were taken on our Korean cell phone!)