I Can't Believe it's Almost November...

Hello everyone,

             I hope all is well as it is nearly November...I can't believe it! I have been here for over two months. Life has been so chaotic so I'm sorry that I haven't posted anything for a few weeks. I don't have a lot of time this morning so let me catch you up on everything that's been happening the past few weeks.

             First, I was able to go shopping in Seoul with a friend I've made here. We went to Myeongdong; one of the best places for shopping here. While we were there, we stumbled across the cutest little coffee shop. So we stopped there...for about two hours and chatted and sipped on vanilla lattes and caramel macchiatos. That was fun! Um let's see, oh I've met up with the Pastor's wife a couple times. Like I said in my last post, God is so good! That has been really encouraging. Then a couple weeks ago, I got to see Elizabeth, a friend I made in Chicago last year. Her and I were in the same TEFL certification class. We met up in Seoul and went to lunch and shopped till we nearly dropped...haha. It was wonderful to see her. She is like the older sister I never had. She is a wonderful God-loving woman. Also, Christie (she's in one of my pictures), her Fiance, and I made pumpkin bread!! She has been so sweet to me. I was missing home and my mama's pumpkin bread, so she was willing to buy the ingredients to make it. That was a fun night!! Her Fiance is so great and very funny too. He's Korean but his English is pretty good. Haha I call them mom and dad because they have taken really good care of me since I've been in Korea. The pumpkin bread was really good too. Instead of sugar though, we added honey. That was pretty tasty! It was a healthier substitution (and I mean as healthy as chocolate chip pumpkin bread can get) than all that sugar we needed.

              I also got to go see my babies at the orphanage again. I love going there!! The babies warmed up to me a lot quicker than the first time I visited. Haha they wanted me to constantly hold them. I also got a couple of them laughing pretty hard...oh babies, they are God's perfect miracles. In a couple weeks I am going with the outreach team to Gangman, Seoul for Justice Weekend. We will be going to the Orphan Care & Foster Care Conference. I'm looking forward to that.

             The past week, I have been battling a nasty cold. I lost my voice completely last Saturday (thank goodness it was Saturday). I am feeling better now, but I just have a horrible cough that has been keeping me awake at night...I hope this cold goes away soon. It's rather annoying.

                Enough with the negativity. God has been so awesome!! I really don't know how else to say it. I have been learning God's desires for me as well as the kind of woman He is creating me to be. He has been opening my eyes and heart to many things and I am so excited to see where He is leading me. :)

Thank you all for your love, encouragement, and prayers. I miss and love you all!

God bless,

Jena

A Month Later...

Hello my dear family and friends!

I pray all is well. :) Well everyone, I have officially been in Korea for 6 weeks...1.5 months. Wow, how time flies. Sorry I haven't updated my blog in a couple weeks...Life has been crazy busy! At work, I am thankful though for the strength God has given me each day. To catch everyone up, we just got done with our end of month report cards for the Kindergartners and Monthly tests for all the students...a lot of testing, but the kiddos rocked them! Very proud of them. 

Christie (she's in the picture) has introduced me to some more Korean cuisine...it is SOOOO GOOD. We had what's called Kimja Hang. Very tasty! In this restaurant, we had to take our shoes off at the door and sit on the floor. It was a very cultural experience...My long legs were asleep the whole time...haha 

Before

Cooking

Finished...ready to eat! 

We also had Shabu Shabu. (Sun, Christie's fiance just said that Shabu Shabu is Japanese...so not a Korean dish, but still delicious nonetheless.) It comes in a huge pot like the one shown above with broth. Vegetables and uncooked beef comes on the side. It's similar to meat fondue. You place the vegetables and meat in the broth and let it cook. Then you take rice paper, dip it in hot water so it softens and then lay it flat on your plate. You place the beef, vegetables, and sauce in the rice paper and roll it up like a mini burrito. It is very good! However, due to my small intolerance to beef, my tummy didn't like me very much for the next couple days...but it was still worth tasting. I really liked it. 

Yesterday, Saturday (Oct. 1) I went to the Cheonan World Dance Festival with a few people from church. Unfortunately, we missed the International Folk Dances, but we got to see them in costume which was cool. It was very fun and also we got to see many booths from all over the world with the country's famous foods and goods. 

This is for you Hailey, Justin, and Elvi

This weekend was a 3 day weekend--Foundation Day is Monday. I am planning to go to Seoul with one of my friends, Jaclyn! I get to take the KTX (the fast train here in Korea) She along with Christie (pictured above), Rosemary and Loriann (both coworkers), and Loriann's husband Emmanuel have been amazing! They have helped me so much!! I've also made many friends at the church I attend; Korean Nazarene University International English Church. They are very sweet, God- loving people. They have been so helpful as well! I am hoping to have coffee with the Pastor's wife, Debbie here in the next couple weeks. She is such a great listener with a kind heart. Yet again, God has provided such a wonderful community for me to be apart of. I am so thankful! I also heard from my friend Seo from UW. Some of you may know him. He's from South Korea and lives near Busan. I'm excited to see him again! 

Also, I am very excited about my church's outreach group I have become apart of. We go to an orphanage twice a month and play with the kids, teach little English lessons, do fun crafts, and also have the chance to play with the little babies...guess where I wanted to be?? Yes, you guessed correctly! I was with the babies...At the beginning, they did not like having a giant stranger in the room. I heard that the babies usually cry for months when there are new people in the room. It takes a long time for them to be comfortable with you. I was kind of sad at first, but then I got to feed the littlest one and after I fed him and cleaned him up, he wanted to be held the entire time, so I rocked him and bounced him and eventually with time he got comfortable enough with me to fall asleep in my arms...my heart melted. I didn't want to let him go. It was worth the time and effort for him to warm up to me. The Korean "mom" in the room, looked at me and smiled as I was motioning to the door that I had to leave. She looked at me and said, "You have leave now?" "Ne," I replied. (Ne is 'yes' in Korean). I thanked her and left but I wanted to take that little one with me...This orphanage is home to many children from small babies to high school. Some of these children were put in what's called a "dropbox" when they were very little or babies because the parents didn't want them and just left them there. I believe some of these children may have one parent but they can't take care of them on their own, so they are in this orphanage. A couple weeks ago, I was really debating whether I should commit to this because these kids start to expect us and are disappointed when some never come again...they have so much hope and then are crushed when they don't see the volunteer they connected with. Then God laid it on my heart that I had to do this. He would provide the time and energy to do so. One of my constant prayers that I have been praying has been, "God, how can I join you in what you're doing here?" Well He laid this orphanage on my heart. He also laid the Bible verse James 1:27. It says "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself polluted by the world." These children help turn one's mind, heart, and perspective from the world. God is good. I am thankful for this opportunity.  

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. I'm still praying for God's purpose in this and I trust, in His perfect timing, He will show me the reason Korea was in His plan for me. 

I miss and love you all and am praying that the LORD protects each of you! 

God bless, 

Jena :)

Trip to Seoul

Hello!

Hope everyone is doing well! :) 


I wanted to share with everyone my trip to Seoul yesterday. I went with a couple coworkers and it was a blast! We had a wonderful time! We rode a train to Yongsan station and then rode a Subway to Gyeongbokgung Palace. This palace was built in 1395 and was home to the Kings of the Joseon Dynasty. It was incredible! We walked around the palace grounds and went to the palace museum! Then we went to Itaewon to grab lunch. Itaewon is the international hub of Korea. I saw people from all over the world there and it has restaurants that I am familiar with. We then went to the Korean War Memorial. This place was so neat and it really made me stop and think about those who fight for peoples' freedom and safety. My grandfather, Harry Hughes fought in the Korean War (1950-1953). He was a pilot and flew planes during the war. Seeing this place really put in perspective the sacrifice one must give during war. Thank you grandad for your service. 

Yesterday was full of history and I LOVED it! 

Here are some pictures I took yesterday, both of Gyeoungbokgung Palace and the Korean War Memorial. I hope you enjoy them. :)

This is for you Grandad. Again, thank you for your service. I love you!

For Hailey and Jamie, I met Kwan! He's rather older than I am though! ;) 

Thank you everyone! 

God bless,

Jena 

Starting to Settle In

Hello family and friends,

I hope everyone is healthy and doing well! Glory to God, each week is getting better. Monday of last week was a hard and challenging day. I was exhausted, didn't feel well, and just felt defeated. However, as the week progressed, things got better. I was able to go out on the town last night with a new friend and we had a wonderful time. We went to a couple shopping malls and helped her pick out workout clothes, went to dinner, then ate delicious carrot cake and drank lattes! We are going to try and travel together so we will be starting to plan our adventures here soon. Went to church this morning, and I just felt the LORD'S presence and His love all around me. The people He has placed in my life are truly a blessing. For example, the Pastor's wife is so kind and though I only met her last week, she told me she has been praying for me all week. I have also made new friends at church. Very sweet!! Next Sunday, we are hoping to go to lunch after church.

So this week, I only have to teach Monday and  Tuesday. It is Chuseok. Chuseok is like a Korean Thanksgiving. Everyone travels to be with their relatives. It's going to be nice having a 5 day weekend!! I'm hoping to go to Seoul next weekend with a coworker! We are in the process of trying to figure something out.

Anyways, here a few pictures I took yesterday while on a 2 mile run and then when I was meeting up with Jaclyn for dinner. :) Thank you all for your prayers! I miss and love you all!

God bless,


Jena

First Week of Teaching

Greetings family and friends!

I hope the start to your September is going well! Fall is coming and that means cooler temperatures...hallelujah! It's been pretty warm here but we did get a touch of cooler weather at the beginning of the week when a Typhoon skimmed us. It was heading north from Taiwan. That weather was really nice. 

Anyways...I made it through the first week of teaching. I am exhausted. I go to work between 10-10:30 am and I teach in the afternoon except on Mondays when I have a couple morning classes. I usually leave around 8:30 pm at night. Last night was a pretty late night, but overall it was a good first week. I teach Kindergarten in the morning on Mondays, 2nd grade Language Arts and Social Studies, 4th grade reading, writing, grammar, debate, and a project based learning class, 5th grade Literature, Journalism, and debate. Haha it's hard to keep all these classes straight. I do enjoy the students though. They are funny and so sweet and they are so smart!! I especially love hearing 'Jena Teacher' from the little Kindergartners. I look forward to teaching all my students and watching them improve. I still need to learn all their names...in time I'll learn them. However, Friday was very rough day. I was tired and grumpy...but we all made it through. I thank God for that. I wouldn't be able to do all this without Him. "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." ~Phil. 4:13. Thank you everyone for all your love, prayers, and support. I truly appreciate it. 

I've also gotten really close with one of my co-workers, Christie. She is like my Korea mama or older sister. lol She has taken me under her wing and I am so thankful and blessed to have her. On Monday after my first day of teaching, she and I met up with one of her close friends and the three of us went out to dinner and had a wonderful time. We also went to this bagel shop...it was soooooo good. I got a plain bagel with cookies and cream whipped cream cheese. YUMMY! It was nice to let down and just enjoy each other's company. 

Here are a few pictures of the city and there's a picture of me eating Bibimbap; a famous Korean dish. It's made of rice, various vegetables, meat, and a spicy sauce. It is very good! Also, a couple of the pictures (the sunset pictures) were taken when I was on the bus driving from the airport to Cheonan. 

Thank you everyone for your prayers. Miss you and love you all!

God Bless,

Jena