Much to be Thankful For!

This month we've kind of slacked off on the blog but that is probably because we've been out of town 3 out of 4 weekends. It's been an extremely busy month for us but also very challenging. There have been several hard things we've dealt with culturally, personally and in the lives of our families. So needless to say, we have been feeling worn out! But our God is faithful to see us through these times and we have so much to give thanks for as we navigate through this holiday weekend away from home.

The first weekend in Novemeber we had a chance to visit Cheonan, the capital city of our province. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and everything fell into place so well that we knew it was a special gift from the Lord. We took a bus early Saturday morning and basically shopped till we dropped! Kayleigh needed lots of winter clothing items and I was her "What not to Wear" fashion consultant. We actually both found several things we needed and went back and forth to a few choice stores. We stopped for lunch and ate delicious sushi. It was on the revolving little assembly line just like what I was used to seeing in Japan. It was a very fun treat since we can't find it in Gongju!

Then it was back to business. When we could no longer carry our bags any further, we pitched them in a locker and headed to the upstairs movie theatre for a taste of America. It's funny how you forget where you are and we have to remind ourselves as soon as it's over that we're in Korea and, yes, we don't understand anything. It's a nice escape into English World!

After the movie we ate dinner at this amazing salad bar buffet. They also specialized in BBQ but we were so full on salads, soups and breads, we didn't even try the meat. Next time! It was a beautiful day and we walked around the city and even got a Krispy Kreme doughnut. Yum!

Another gift that arrived soon after that was also a little bit of home. Kayleigh's mom sent us 3 packages filled with all our favorite goodies. Thanks Karen!!

We had an opportunity to catch up with some friends from AZ last weekend. Our sweet friends Bok Ja and Bae Hoon used to work and live in Tempe and returned to Korea about a year ago. They are living in Seoul and so we worked out a plan to go visit them. They have adorable twin girls and it was really fun to be around some kids for a change. We visited some shopping/art districts, Itewon (known as foreign town) and then went to Seoul Tower to get a good view of the city. My pictures don't do it justice at all! In Itewon, they have about every foreign restaurant imaginable and Kayleigh and I splurged on some mouthwatering Mexican food. Words can't describe how happy we were.

Sunday after visiting our friends, we headed to Daejeon to go to church and they had a "Thanksgiving" potluck after the service. There weren't ALL the usual dishes but it was more than satisfying. We ate and ate and then ate some more. I even got apple and pumpkin pie! Who can ask for more? This week has been a little hard teaching every day about Thanksgiving yet knowing I wouldn't be at home to experience it. But God blessed both of us in different ways on Thursday and it has ended up being a great holiday. All the foreigners in Gongju are getting together on Monday night to make a Thanksgiving Dinner. It should be a blast and there will be more to come about my first attempt at cooking a turkey and how God absolutely provided one for us without us even asking. I am so glad that He is especially fond of us! I hope you have enjoyed a special Thanksgiving with your loved ones and look forward to the coming Christmas season!

Conquering Sobaeksan!

This month we went on a trip with a group called Adventure Korea. They plan weekend trips for foreigners to travel around Korea. There is literally something every weekend and so we took our first trip with them in mid-Oct. We headed about 4 hours away to a Ginseng festival where we were able to see the "many" benefits of eating, drinking and ingesting ginseng. We had a ginseng peeling contest, tried fried ginseng, stuffed our feet in ginseng powder to improve circulation, made ginseng wine and harvested our own to take with us. It was a fun cultural experience and we learned that ginseng takes 4-6 years to be ready to harvest. After our tour of the festival we stayed the night in a traditional Korean village. We fit 4 of us in a hobbit home complete with a little door we had to crawl into and walked around exploring the beautiful trees and scenery. Wasn't much to do after dark so we had some serious card tournaments and went to bed early.

The next day we were going to hike Sobaeksan mountain. Now if you know anything about Korean hikers, you know they are intense. They've got the gear, hats, backpacks, Northface jackets, hiking sticks etc. They ain't messing around. So we knew we were in for a climb. I did not know however, how difficult it would really be. We got dropped off by the bus and had to climb up a steep curvy road to our starting destination. I was already out of breath and the hike hadn't even started! Yikes!

We began hiking and were able to go at our own pace, Kayleigh's was speedy and mine was not so speedy. She was actually one of the first people to reach the peak. Big surprise...sigh. The hike was a grueling 4 and a half hours and extremely steep. There were probably about 200 stairs too. I felt like I was Frodo making my way to Mordor. There was a section that we had to use handrails to pull ourselves up and I thought I'd never make it. But I was determined to do the best I could and even though, I knew I could turn back at any point, I managed to make it to the top! I was exhausted and hurting but proud that I had made it. The view was beautiful and I enjoyed seeing all the fall colors. It was some good alone time for me and God. I just keep repeating Phil. 4:13 "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me!"

We finished the hike and ate lunch and shortly after headed back to Seoul where we'd get a bus back to Gongju. On the way back, Kayleigh and I decided to brave the public baths. It was quite an experience which I won't go into detail but I will admit, it felt great to sit and soak my hurting muscles. Now we're true Koreans! :) Hope you enjoy some of the pictures. Fall is in full swing!