Hello friends and family-I know it has been quite a long time since we've posted anything but I want to assure you that it is our hope to continue our blog about our journey as missionaries in South Korea. I am determined to get postings up on a regular basis.
We do want all of you to know that we are in the process of trying to adopt (a very challenging situation living overseas) and we have a new blog up and running that we invite you to follow as well.
I also want to take a moment to thank everyone who supported us both prayerfully and financially as we traveled to and from America for the duration of Beth's dad's cancer and recent passing. We could never have been able to be with him and family without all of you.
Please keep on keeping us in your prayers!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Dear friends and loved ones: As many of you already know, our family has been serving as missionaries in South Korea at Wesley Mission School since February of 2007. It is is our privilege to serve God in this beautiful land with equally beautiful people.
For those of you who are not familiar with what we do, we work in partnership with a local Korean church in providing after-school care for the village children whose parents work. For a Christian church to provide this service in an area that is only 30 to 40% Christian is a huge outreach opportunity. Our students come not only from Christian, but also from Buddhist and traditional Confucian families. Here, they get homework help, English classes, an evening meal and get to experience the Love of Christ in a real and practical way. We also teach English phonics and Bible at a kindergarten in the mornings.
The worldwide financial crisis has hit hard here in rural Korea. Our supporting church has been wonderfully generous with us, but with rising costs, our small stipend no longer covers our basic needs . We are hoping to recruit 200 people to donate $50. In planting a tiny seed in our ministry, this faith-gift will allow us to continue in our work here for an entire year.
We are contacting to request your support in the form of a tax-deductible donation of $50.00. However, please note that any donation no matter how big or small, is always welcomed. Those who donate can receive a receipt for tax purposes if requested.
We are believing God to work through you to enable us to continue His mission.
I thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to whatever support you can provide. If you have any questions please feel free to email us at pickett77@hotmail.com
Yours in faith,
I know it's New Year's Eve here, and I should post something about how great this last year was, and how I can't wait to see what God has in store for us in '08, but this blog is really James' thing, so I will let him do that. I do, however, want to share my overflowing joy at the fact that it has been snowing for over two days now. James is a snow scrooge and if he mentions that it's snowing, he is sure not to be happy about it, so I am writing to say that Abby and I are most happy about the arrival of snow.
So just in case the previous video wasn't long enough, here is our Christmas week in Seoul, for your viewing pleasure. We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and will have a very blessed New Year.
The principal and staff of the local elementary school took me out to lunch today. I've been filling-in as their English teacher for their summer term and they wanted to say thanks. We went to a little restaurant (they're ALL little) that I had walked past several times but had never been into. It was delicious! Apart from the 12 side-dishes and the ubiquitous kimchi, we had Galbi (beef short-ribs, heavily marinated, that you cook yourself on a grill that is embedded in the table) and Naengmyun (a partially frozen noodle soup). They tasted fantastic and the soup was very refreshing on a hot summer day.
In the mornings, Tue-Fri, I've started teaching for an hour at an elementary school in the neighboring town of Deoksan (or 덕산). It's really nice, the teachers and staff treat me like a dignitary and the place seems very efficiently run. I enjoy the break from Sabkyo (삽교) but getting up early to get there isn't fun! =) On my first day there, I was waiting in the teachers lounge when a lady came in with her son. She sat down facing me and said, "You are very handsome. I think you can teach my son English. I will pay you. I need your phone number." Apparently in Korea if a person is 'handsome' that also means they possess not only an ample command of the English tongue, but also an acceptable pedagogical style to instruct small children. Maybe they think 'handsome' means 'well put together' or 'appears capable'. All but one of the teachers that I work with at the Deoksan school are male. The one who is female teaches third grade and I have her class on Thursdays. She has a good class. The kids are bright and eager to learn. On my ride home, I asked the school caretaker what the female teacher's name was. (I'm bad at remembering names and wanted to write it down.) He told me her name and then shockingly stated, "She is a virgin." I thought I had misheard him, after all who says that kind of thing about a colleague, so I said "she's a what?" He replied, "a virgin." Did he mean what I think he meant, or did he mean 'young' or 'single' or even 'Catholic.' I just don't know. -JNP
Well graduation has rolled around again. But this year is special. "Our" youth group is graduating this year. Some of you we called and it was wonderful talking with you. Some of you we couldn't get a hold of, but you are still in our hearts. We want you all to know that we love and miss you all. We are sooooo proud of you guys. You are still and always will be in our thoughts and prayers. God bless all of you in all your new adventures. Our advice to you-well my advice to you is remember to let God be in control-but realize that He does have a sense of humor. James' advice is to memorize your roommate's student ID number. Sara and Alexa-don't do that. Lots of love Beth and James
Easier than having photos invade your inbox, we now have a album you can look at anytime. Just check out the links section on the right and click on "photos" -JNP
So this week in one of my classes we had a unit on music of the world. I would try to explain the different musical genres by acting them out and trying to give the class a feel for the style. We did opera, jazz, rap and country. Then we got to salsa. I said: "SALSA can get really hot and steamy! It's exciting! for SALSA dancing you hold your partner really close and you move like this;" (execute intricate salsa-like move with a spin). "SALSA is like being in a bullfight. SALSA makes your whole body twist and turn and sweat! SALSA. . . what's the matter with you guys?" The whole class is rolling on the floor with laughter. I'm not that great of a comedian and they didn't laugh like this at the other musical demonstrations, so I ask, "what is so funny?" "Teacher," one of the kids chokes out, "salsa is Korean for poo-poo. WATER poo-poo!" Another teacher looked it up in a Korean phrasebook and sure enough salsa=diarrhea. It really makes me wonder what else I've said wrong.
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."
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
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
