Phone Booth

The Korean people, as a rule, are neither large nor tall people. I am, in fact, the tallest man in town. So why would it be necessary to have a phone booth large enough to accommodate Andre the Giant. I'll let you be the judge.

Because they're just dead.

In Sabkyo, there seem to be a disproportionate number of old women (65+) to old men. For every elderly man you see there are at least 7 women. What's even more puzzling about this is that about a third of the old women have severe rickets, a vitamin deficiency which bows the spine, and none of the old men have it. So I asked my high-school class why there are so many more old women than old men and they said, "Because they're dead."
"Yes," I said, "I know they're dead, but why?" They held a short discussion in Korean and came to the philosophical conclusion, "Because they're just dead."

Flying Yogurt

A learning experience in Korean discipline:
OK, so one of my classes has some real troublemakers. Yesterday the ringleader of the group threw a full, liquid yogurt at my head. It missed and splattered spectacularly on my white-board, floor, wall etc. So I sent him without ceremony to the director's office. When class dismissed I carried the backpack that he had left to the director. I found the two of them alone in the auditorium. The student was standing stock-still with his hands held out, palms up, in front of him, tears rolling down his face. The director was standing to the left of him holding a cane. He told me; "Umm uh, I call his mother. . . Uhhh. . . she say to me that he is very bad boy. Umm. . . He bad at school all day and . . . Uhh. . . he come here and bad every day.. Mmmm. . . mother said ok to hit him." I didn't know what to do. I sat down his bag and left the room.
Today he showed up for class, gave me some apple candy, and apologized. He acted better than usual, though still not great. We'll see if it lasts, although I don't know if I can bear to send him there again.
-JNP

Posting from Korea

Well,
It has been WAY too long since I've updated and I apologize, but I do have a couple of excuses. (excuse #1) - this website and the page that I use to update the blog were written in korean. I guess the site can tell where we are and use the local language. I fixed that today. (excuse #2) the first two weeks we were here, we had no internet connection and couldn't do anything online. Korea is BEAUTIFUL! We love working with the kids and are adjusting to the culture.
Okay, excuses done I hope to update on a more regular basis. Our hope is to update at least weekly with day-to-day events and cultural differences as we find them. It'll be fun!
Lots of Love
-James, Beth and Abby

Ready to go!

Praise God for taking care of all of our needs! All we have left to do is clean the house (yuck) and get on the plane. We're leaving on Thursday the 22nd at 12:10 pm. Pray for us as a 14 1/2 hour flight with a one-year-old could be challenging.

Focus on Korea

As you may have already heard, Beth and I have recently accepted positions as missionaries in South Korea. We will be teaching English at the Wesley Missionary School and helping Korean kids to share their faith in the international languages of English and love.

This is a fantastic opportunity for us to be able to give of ourselves from the blessings God has given to us. It is also a huge step of faith. The school is providing us with housing and a monthly stipend to take care of our needs once we arrive, so we don’t need to raise monthly support, but we do need your help before we go. Here is our list of needs:

• Three plane tickets to Seoul, South Korea (estimated total $2700.00)
• One medium sized dog crate
• Money for three visas (estimated total $200.00)
• Two expedited passports (total $300.00)
• A foster home for Stella (a very well-behaved, very sweet, spayed, lab/golden mix)
• One or two LARGE suitcases
• Medium and large boxes for packing
• Storage space or money for rental of storage (estimated $500.00) for one year
• Vaccination costs and quarantine fees (estimated total $300.00)
• Lots of Prayer!!!!

We ask that you pray with us that these needs will be met and, if you are able, to please give generously to allow God to use us to reach the children of Korea. As with any mission work, the ongoing support that we receive through your prayers is the most important way that you can help. We are very excited and looking forward to this new opportunity for God to show us his wondrous love.

wesley mission school

check it out

http://www.wesleymission.yurx.com

Best Smile Ever

Auld Lang. . .whatever

A new blog for a new year, but why? Am I so egotistical as to believe that people really want to read my senseless ramblings? . . .maybe. In any case, the rambling begins here.

Do you ever feel stuck in a rut? Like your life was supposed to be something or mean something but you just got held-up along the way? 2006 really sucked. At the end of it I sit here as a 29 year old, former youth minister, still stuck in a low-paying dead-end job, still stuck in Denton, still stuck with the same frustations and stresses as last year, still just stuck. I used to tell the youth group that God had amazing and wonderful plans for their lives but I find myself doubting that those plans might ever apply to me. And with doubt comes confusion and disruption until you find yourself in a downward spiral of despair and depression.
I don't want to give the wrong impression, the content of my life is wonderful, it's the direction (or lack of direction) that's the problem. I have a beautiful, loving, supportive wife who I am absolutely in love with and a brilliant, adorable daughter who lights up the room when she walks in. It's not the people or the stuff or the ways that God provides for me. I have more blessings than I could ever count, but I can't escape the feeling that I am supposed to do more than just sit and wait.
SO . . . I am a man in search of a purpose, a direction, an outlet, a ministry. I need to be re-directed into something meaningful, even if it's small.
If you find it, let me know.