Visiting Family and Attending PFO 

 

June marked the start of our two-month vacation, and we were ready for it! We started out in Hawaii with Malia's family and enjoyed barbecues and days at the beach and zoo. On the 8th, we flew to Oregon to visit Mark's family. Together, we drove to the coast, hiked to waterfalls, and shopped at outlet malls. After a week, we drove up to Seattle to visit Malia's aunt and her family. There, we enjoyed visiting a science center, seeing an Imax movie in 3D, and celebrating Father's Day by eating pho. 

On June 21, we flew to Memphis to attend the Pre-Field Orientation for NICS. For two weeks, we were blessed to hear challenging and insightful seminars on culture shock/stress, TCKs, and educational strategies. While we learned, our kids were taken care of by volunteers at the church--and they had so much fun! Even though this conference was physically draining (stretching from 8 until 5 every day), we appreciate all the knowledge gleaned and the friendships made. Our hearts are renewed in our passions for overseas mission work, and we are excited to return to Seoul and do what God has for us there.

Praises and prayer requests:

~We are so thankful to be able to visit family this summer.

~Mark is teaching an online class for YISS and must find time to complete his planning and grading each day.

~Mark is also taking an online graduate class, which certainly demands time and work.

~At the end of this month, Mika and Coby are both fighting illnesses. Please pray that they heal quickly and return to their usual joyful selves.

Preparing for Summer 

 

This last month of the school year of was full of preparation for summer. As Mark finished up his classes, Malia spent days organizing the house. Mika, thinking she could help, looked through boxes as well--but she did more unpacking than packing. By May 30, we had all our belongings in boxes (to be moved to our new apartment in our absence) and were ready for a long break.

Early in the month, though, we faced the frightening return of Mika's seizures. We realize now that she may suffer from these fever-induced convulsions for a few more years and hope that we can keep her temperatures down so as to prevent them. Even though we know the episodes do not cause brain damage, they are still terrifying for both her and us.

After our first year in Korea, we are thankful for what growth we can now identify in our lives. Through the challenges, our Lord has been faithful, and we have grown closer as a family. We look forward to our summer of traveling!

Praises and prayer requests:

~We will be visiting family in Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington during June!

~Our organization (NICS) hosts a missions conference in Tennessee, and we'll be attending it at the end of June. Please pray for open hearts to receive and serve.

Returning to Thailand 

 

For spring break, we packed our family of four into two airplane seats and flew to Bangkok, Thailand. Although Mark had been back to visit in 2009, this trip would be the first time for our whole family to return to this beloved country and reconnect with our friends there. In addition, we were bringing our two children to meet everyone as well. As we landed in Bangkok, Malia felt tears in her eyes. We love Thailand. 

Our visit was filled with fun moments, good friends, and excellent food. For the first few days, we stayed with our students' (Joei and Joanne's) family in their house then moved to an apartment they have in Parkland, which is the same apartment complex where we lived in 2007 and 2008. Quickly, we reconnected with friends from International Community School, Newsong Bangkok (our church), and Parkland (our neighbors). Mika and Coby had so much fun enjoying the heat, the grass, and the constant attention. While there, Coby also gifted us with his first coo!

When we returned to Seoul, Mika unfortunately fought two serious sicknesses: croup and the stomach flu. Our friends tell us that she is at the age to build up immunities, but it is still difficult to see her so miserable! We pray that she will quickly toughen up to the sicknesses floating around in Seoul, which happens to be quite a polluted city.

At school, Mark continued guiding his students through impressive projects with computers, film, and design. At one art event, his students were able to display their self-designed T-shirts. A number of his students also entered a film festival with their class projects, claiming awards for their excellent work. One particular student won the top award for Korea and went on to win another international award as well!

At home, Malia is finding the rhythm to raising two kids. We are so grateful for how Malika loves her brother Coby. She wants to play with him when he's happy and comfort him when he's sad. It's amazing to watch her naturally slide into the role of older sister.

Praises and Prayer Requests:

~We pray that Mika will soon recover from her sicknesses and stay well.

~Coby is doing better at night and will hopefully be sleeping through soon.

~Mark and Malia are beginning to prepare for their summer traveling.