Out of the Frying Pan and into the Fire

Dear Everyone,

So when I was complaining about the food at our seminar I had no idea that soon fishy food would be the least of my problems. Trev and I moved into Seoul from the retreat on last Friday. So, so, so much has happened since then.

First, we were greeted by our Korean co-teachers and were each taken around our new schools. We met the staff and we both got a glimpse of our classrooms, and consequently lives, for the next year. This part was great, it is what follows that has caused so much drama. The night before leaving the retreat we were told that our housing money had been dismissed and that we were going to be staying in school housing. There was nothing that we could do about the problem at that time as we were not in Seoul and were secluded at the center in Suwon. So we arrived in Seoul expecting to come to some agreement with our schools about our provided housing. We were secretly hoping that the house that they would be providing would be sufficient and that they would let Kimchi live with us. We could not have been more wrong. My teachers dropped me off at the Co-op, the school housing, after our brief introduction. We were greeted at the door by a man who told me that Trevor and I could not have people stay in our room, there could be no "outside" food in our room (whatever that means) and that we could under no circumstances have a dog. My kind and generous teachers who were as baffled as I was helped me carry my bags to our room and watched as I opened the door and burst into tears. Our accommodations were no larger than a small hotel room. My staff voiced their disgust and left us for the weekend to get some rest.

This is when we phoned Pastor Bill. He had been looking around for apartments for us the week before and when we had heard that we HAD to stay in school accommodations (no exceptions we were told) we had asked him to hold on the searching. He came right over and within 24 hours he had moved us out of the Co-op and helped us sign a contract on a very spacious three bedroom apartment that was in a neighborhood close to two subway lines and right smack in the middle of both of our schools. Not to mention he helped us find furniture from people in the church, obtain a cell phone (free of charge), buy new appliances and move all of our belongings from one end of the city to the other. God really does care for his children. I have never seen life move so quickly and smoothly as it did last weekend. We thank Pastor Bill and his family for all of their help, but the real miracles came from God.

So our struggle is not over right now we are praying that the government will give us funding for our housing like it says they will in our contract. We are in negotiations right now and as of today it looks as if we will get our funding. This is not for sure yet, but this is just another step where we have to trust that God will provide. He has brought us this far and I am sure that he is not going to drop us now.

We are happy in our apartment, it is a good fit for us. We have a few too many rooms but it is a welcome change from last year when we were so cramped. And now we have room and time to spend with anyone who may happen to pop into Korea. We love our new schools and although it will be a challenge to teach 700 plus students, who have a level 0 in English, how to speak it will be exactly what we both want to be doing.

Thank you for your prayers. God is faithful.
Rachel and Trevor

The Good, The Bad, and The Downright Disgusting

Let's start with the good news. We are back in Korea for yet another year of adventures, learning and embarrassing cultural blunders. This coming year we will both be working for the Seoul Metropolitan Board of Education. We are excited about this change as its perks include holidays together, close interaction with Korean teachers, and life in a neighborhood which is close to our church.

Now for the not-so-attractive side of our new lives...

For our first week back in Korea we were stationed at a retreat center, south of Seoul, in a city named Yongin (close to Suwon). While the scenery was beautiful and the air was clean, the food left something to be desired... well a lot to be desired. Above is a picture of breakfast one morning. Now Koreans are not famous for their breakfasts but this is something else altogether. What you see above is a combination of all of the dinners that we had failed to finish the nights previous. If you look closely you can probably pick out that the chunks are large pieces of fish (skin, eyes, bones and all). And I am sure if you inspect just a little more carefully you will find that there are remnants of kimchi, old vegetables, pork, a few chunks of chicken and if you are lucky you may find a hot dog somewhere in the mess. Yum, Yum!!

Four of My Favorite Things

On a beautiful day, one of our last in Canada for quite some time, we got together with my long time friend Kirstin and her great husband Brent. Late last Spring we had vowed that one day we would make it up to the tea house on the Plain of Six Glaciers at Lake Louise for a long chat and a warm cup of Earl Grey. Trev and I were both exceedingly happy that we set some time apart to actually make this trip a possibility. Despite the wind and the fact that we are all getting old, with our aches and pains, it was one of the most delightful trips to the mountains that I can remember.

Built in 1924, this rustic stone cabin was to sustain guests of both the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Lake Louise Chalet on their day outings. It is unique in that it's structure, a stonework frame, deviated from the norm of that time period, the usual log construction.

Trevor, mountains, tea, Kirstin and Brent, these are four of my very favorite things.

Christmas In July...Well August

As we walked up to Dave and Karalee's on our last night in Red Deer we noticed a little something that seemed out of place. Hanging on the front door the day before had been a beautiful summery wreath; now in it's place was an unmistakably festive marker. "Christmas!!" Trevor snorted, "I think Karalee's gone a little loopy."


As we entered we began to notice that the front door was not the only thing in the house that had been decorated in the spirit of Christmas. All over the house were touches of red, green and gold. Right when we thought that our visit home couldn't get any more memorable, our family decided to surprise us with Christmas and all of the trimmings. Unbeknownst to us everything from stockings to Christmas crackers, presents to pumpkin pie and marshmallow salad were prepared and decorated.


It didn't take long for us to catch on and before Mom could enter the house the letters forming the word 'NOEL' on the cupboard top had mysteriously been changed to 'LEON'. While Trevor took the brunt of the blame for this little redecoration, I smiled to myself amazed at how a few decorations, family and an old CD could make August feel so much like December. I even caught myself peeking outside to see if there was a fresh white blanket of snow.

Jasper

(Sunwapta Falls at sunset)

(A sunset view looking towards the town of Jasper from the old highway)

(Maligne Lake, Jasper)

(A beach on Maligne Lake, Jasper)

(The 1st Bridge at Maligne Canyon, Jasper)

Bad Landing

As we were packing up camp and heading out we ran into a news reporter from Edmonton. This being an altogether odd experience, we inquired as to his awkward presence in the mountains. Obligingly he informed that there had been an accident in the vicinity the day before. It seems that there had been a helicopter crash. Fact is, one of the Icefield choppers had gone down in the lake after a few mechanical difficulties. We feel that the above picture best captures his interest in the heart of the David Thompson Wilderness.

We were relieved to discover that no one was injured and that the two French tourists escaped without harm. Really, the only harm done was in the leaking of jet fuel into an awe-inspiring clean mountain lake.

Campfire

Becki and Ryan enjoying a late night campfire on the mountain plains.