mission Papa Johns

We are keeping true to our promise. One video each month. Here is number two! This weekend we decided to brave the city crowds in the name of Papa Johns. It's no walk in the park and we wanted to show our friends and family a typical day downtown.

precious moments

I've been dying for a schedule and now I finally have one. This week we started language classes again and I'm reminded how difficult class can be. With only two students (me and my roommate) in each class, there's definitely no day dreaming going on. It's basically tutoring. We are intently listening and speaking nearly the whole 3 hours of class every day. 

For the first time ever, I feel like I'm actually learning a lot. I spent last year feeling like I'd barely gained any knowledge or language skills. Now it's much easier to build on the base from last year. PTL!

Besides class, the Lord is still proving to be faithful (isn't he always?) but I'm just realizing it now more than before! He is allowing me to see how he is working in the hearts of others around me. He has let me have sweet conversations with girls who want to believe in him. I have to stop and remind myself I need to thank him for showing up in those precious moments. 

The weekend before beginning class, we decided to head to a nearby hot springs/water park. The water park consisted of a few water slides but the hot springs proved to be more interesting! We had fish biting the dead skin off our feet and we could jump in any hot tub of Asian medicine, menthol, red wine, aloe, and the list goes on. Here are some pictures!

on top of the world

My roommate and I made a goal. We will make videos this year...possibly one video each month (if the world is lucky). Videos are way more entertaining than pictures and they can help show our friends and family what life is like in Asia town. Maybe we can even recruit some people to spend a year or two in Asia like us. Our life is fun and we want everyone to see. So here's the revealing of our first video. 

Preface: It begins in Chicago where we had a week long training. We met our team and others coming to East Asia. Then we journey across the world. There are a couple of videos of us bowling. It needs requires some explaining. The boys made a bet on the bowling game. Our friends, Michael and Beth, have a dog that wears a shock collar. The boys decided whoever scored highest in bowling could shock the person with the lowest score. You'll see when Sean realizes he's lost and he's in for the shock of his life.

they say, "home is where you live"

A new year calls  for some changes. I've got a new roommate and we decided to redecorate our apartment a little bit. I'll show you how we made some changes with the resources we've got in the orient land. I wish I had some before AND after pictures...but I guess the after pictures will suffice.

got some new photos printed off and framed, about $25 all together

making sure we hang them up real straight

found these at a junk market in town, then added some postcards

it's the underside of a bench, about $15 each

all of it together!

We had a bunch of photos in these frames and repainted the frames...then decided we liked the frames without any pictures in them!

another junk market find, this is actually a "mattress" I think

$23 for the fabric for pillows and curtains then about $30 to get it all made at a shop down the street

thanks to Beth we learned how to paint our own chalkboard wall

let your faith be bigger than your fear

artwork by my talented roommate

continual black chalk rubbing off

this collage took a good 2 hours to figure out and properly hang, now praying nothing falls on my head while I'm sleeping

nowhere to hide

The last few weeks I've been studying Jonah. Everyone has heard the story over and over but the Lord has truly taught me to see Jonah from a new perspective. Jonah avoids Nineveh and "rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord." He tried to put some space between him and God. I've started to ask myself- how am I running from the Lord? My first thought was, "I followed him to China! I'm definitely not running from him." But as I started to question my motives, I realized I still run from him...in less obvious ways. I often avoid having a face-to-face encounter with the Lord.


Whenever I feel like I am unworthy or "too sinful," I ultimately punish myself by fleeing from God's presence. His presence can be the most comforting or the most burdensome if I am avoiding his direction or correction.

Last semester I spent the majority of my time avoiding the Lord. My heart was hardened to him. I felt like he wasn't choosing to use me in China. I lost hope and faith. This year I am praying the Lord will change my mindset. I will choose to have hope. I will choose to believe in God's Word and I'll pursue God's presence. Even if that means he chooses to correct me or direct me to a new place.

the smoggy city has been kind of beautiful the last couple weeks

watching the Auburn Clemson game, war eagle anyways!

the boys decided to get hamsters

this one's name is Sam

proud parents

This one's name is Kelsey

Kelsey chewing on a sunflower seed