THANKSGIVING DAY

Thanksgiving Day started with a solid reminder of the GOSPEL and the life I have in Christ. What more could I be thankful for? Throughout the day, I received several reminders of God's incredible grace...

A Thanksgiving Package
As I was leaving for school, I noticed a package waiting for me at the front desk. A package on THANKSGIVING day?! How perfect. From my mother, of course! I hopped on the bus and eagerly (yet carefully) tore open the festive, autumn-designed envelope and found... Nana & Papu's nagatoli's (priceless!), coffee & cookies from Josh's trip to the Dominican (mmm... REAL coffee!), a spiced pumpkin Yankee candle (which I've been enjoying thoroughly), homemade PUMPKIN bread (delicious!), a sweet Christmas ornament (can't wait to start decorating...), and the most recent school pictures of my sibs. The pictures caught me off guard... or maybe it was their card... but I soon found myself tearing off a piece of tissue paper in substitution for a Kleenex. I felt a bit like a baby... but they were good tears, I think. I'm so proud of my siblings... and I really miss my family. God has truly blessed me with an incredible family - thoughtful, loving parents, quality brothers, and a dear sister.

Love from the Cheongryang Teachers
I thought the tears would be finished once I got to school, but that was not to be so. When I arrived at morning devotions, Mrs. Moon poked her head up and said, "Holly!!!" She was excited to see me... and just made me feel so welcome. Then her and Jang Myung sun noticed my eyes were a bit puffy and inquired... and the tears flowed again (for the second day in a row at Cheongryang Middle School this week). They thought I was crying because of the 3rd graders because they knew Wednesday was rough for me. So, I had to explain that it was not the 3rd graders that were making me cry this time, but just a bit of homesickness. They were comforting and so was Mr. Chong. (He doesn't speak English, but seems like a father to me sometimes). They all prayed for me... and when we finished, I saw Mr. Chong wiping away some of his own tears.

Then Myung sun and I walked back to the teacher's office and I showed her, Mrs. Moon, and Teacher Lee the contents of my lovely Thanksgiving package. It was fun to share the nagatolis with them - they seemed to like them.

A Sweet Time with Kyunghan
During third hour, Kyunghan (one of my lovely co-teachers) came to visit me because she had questions about the essay I wrote about my experience in Korea. We had such a delightful time together! She brought some grain tea for us to enjoy together, which was so delicious! She thought the nagatolis tasted "exotic." I never would have described anice flavoring as exotic, but I don't think she has ever tasted anything like it before.


I was so blessed by our little date during third period - so refreshing to me!

Thoroughly Enjoying my First Graders
Although my third graders have been difficult, my first graders have been delightful and a breath of fresh air. This week, I was teaching about the First Thanksgiving and then had the students reflect on what they are thankful for. I gave them turkey coloring pages and had them write something that they are thankful for on each feather. It was so fun! We even listened to the Nutcracker Suite while they were coloring. It was good for my teacher heart to see them bring pens to class, listen attentively, and eagerly work on their turkeys. (Not all of the classes were perfect, although my 1-7 class was pretty much perfect yesterday.)
Some pics:






Even my 3rd graders cooperated today... prayer is powerful!



So proud of these kids!

Dinner at Bok ja's with Sara
Bok ja invited Sara and I over for Thanksgiving dinner. It was such a special time - definitely a blessing! Bok ja definitely went out of her way to make a very special Thanksgiving meal - American & Korean-style chicken, salad with Italian dressing, bulgogi, mondu (dumplings that I love), kimchi (of course!), sweet & sour chicken, noodles... even cream puffs (which I mistakenly thought were dinner rolls), Songpyeon (traditional Korean rice cakes usually served during Korean Thanksgiving) and pecan pie! We sat Western style - at a table with chairs (instead of on the floor). She blew up balloons and put them on the wall with our names on them. So many little touches that really showed her thoughtfulness. Her twin daughters (Chong-mi & Song-mi) were such a delight to play with.

We all shared what we were most thankful for during the year of 2008. It was really hard to choose just one thing... but I finally decided that God's provision has been a huge blessing this year - amidst NUMEROUS changes. Yes, He's always been faithful to me!

I don't have pictures from Sara yet... but as soon as I get them I will post them!!!
Hope you all had a marvelous Thanksgiving!!!