Christmas Letter

I'm trying to send this out to my whole "update list", but I'm a bit behind. So I'll post it here, too :) And be sure to see my latest December pics! MERRY CHRISTMAS! The end of December marks the celebration of the Birth of our Savior, the beginning of a new year, and the half-way point of my time here in Korea. That's right- I've been here 6 months. It's kinda hard to believe, isn't it? I'm thankful to have reached this point, though. I'll be more than ready to come home when June gets here. Not a whole lot has changed since I last wrote. We've begun a new term at school which means new books and a few new students. The balance between discipline and friendship with the kids is still a tough one to attain. I always feel like I'm leaning too far in one direction or the other. We also gained a class of high school students that I teach twice a week. They're more like the adults because they've chosen to come and learn. One of them has decided that I look like Casper the Friendly Ghost.... :) Probably the biggest change has been a new roommate and co-worker. Abra arrived in the last month of November to take Cori's place. She's an American from California (most recently- she's a military kid so has moved around a lot). It's funny to see her experiencing so many things that have just become "normal" to me. It reminds me of how long I've actually been here and how much I've actually learned. It's cool to have a new person with new experiences to share, and someone new to tell our experiences to :). And, she's a Christian so I have someone to accompany me to church. It continues to be interesting to have a group of non-believing friends, as well. Some are interested in discussing the Bible- well, more like attack the Bible, really- but most just want to leave it unmentioned. Please pray that God will grant me the wisdom to make my conversations always "seasoned with salt" as discussions come up. But more importantly, pray that His Spirit would be at work in the hearts of those around me- specifically Tracy and Ben. The holidays, as you might imagine, have been no help in keeping me from being homesick. But, we're trying to make the most of them since my roommates and I are in the same boat. For Thanksgiving we put on a big dinner for our eclectic group of friends, involving lots of cooking and clean-up. We had a small Christmas party here for the high school and adult classes this week. I even used a friend's oven to bake some cookies and pies. Christmas itself will be pretty quiet. I'll go to church as usual and I think we'll just open presents together in the apartment that afternoon before going out for a nice dinner. We've been enjoying listening to Christmas music (although we're always sure to skip "I'll Be Home For Christmas"!), watching Christmas movies, drinking hot cocoa or tea, decorating, and doing Christmas puzzles. And there is PLENTY of snow! Last year they didn't get much at all, so this year has been quite a surprise. All the Koreans say it's an unusual amount of snow. Having grown up in Wisconsin, and now living in Chardon, it doesn't faze me a bit :) All things considered, it's been a nice Christmas season. And as always, God is faithful. He's been faithful to give me the strength to make it this far, and I know He'll be with me the rest of the way through. I trust that He's working in me and refining my character in ways that I can't see now. He knows what's best. Enjoy your holidays with your relatives or whatever "family" you find yourselves with, and thank God for the blessings He's granted you this year!