It has been five days since we arrived in Guri-Si City in South Korea. God has blessed us immensely! So far Marjorie has been sitting in on all the classes that she will be teaching. She has a total of two main classes in the morning for EWAS (English With A Smile) and Four different classes in the afternoon which run between 30-50 minutes long. Each class is structured very differently, but all have the main goal of teaching the students to use English properly. Her favorite class so far would be those attending the James White class. It consists of about 10 six-seven year olds. They are wonderful students with a spunky personality. Some of my favorite students so far: Justin - a brilliant kid, but very goofy and hilarious; Chloe - shy and timid when the attention is on her, but very sweet and so carefree; Aleen - she has a strong personality and tends to be easily persuaded; Emily - marches to her own drum and tends to lead out, extremely bright; Sophia - very cautious in her decisions, tends to be unsure, afraid of making mistakes and tends to be a perfectionist, but has a kind heart; Natalie - she is actually in my second class called Prince, she tends to be one who stands out because she is fearless. She doesn't care who you are, she'll tell you what she thinks. Her first sentence to me was "Why are you black?!" I just had to laugh.
Michael spent the week mainly setting up the apartment that we live in. He has been busy cleaning and cooking dinner since he has some spare time on his hands. He also has received some job opportunities here such as teaching a private Adult English class and possibly tutoring students. This is such a blessing and our host has been very accommodating with all our needs. We are so grateful that all things have been prepared for us.
We have learned a lot about Korean culture as well as their many diverse foods. Our favorite so far is a food called "kim-bob" it is sushi, but vegetarian. It has Korean vegetables that unfortunately we are not familiar with. However, it is very tasty!
Below are pictures of the kids that had birthdays. Every two months we celebrate each students' birthday within those two months. We have a huge celebration. During this time students stand before their peers as they answer questions such as "What is your favorite color?" In which, students respond back in English. It is part of the school tradition of keeping the students involved and feeling included in the teachers' lives. This is one aspect of the school system that is very different; many students are not SDA, however they feel very loved and cherished by the teachers and because of this they turn their families to the faith. Most of the students who attend EWAS also go to KIDS CLUB on Sabbath, which draws the parents to attending the church. Many church members have been converted due to the influence of their children. What a blessing children have had on their parents! Amen to God.
Due to the fact that EWAS is a SDA institution, we have been commissioned to assist with many of the church functions. Michael will be helping with pathfinders, while Marjorie assists with Kids Club. The duties range anywhere from going on social trips, teaching Bible lessons, doing special music and or praying with the children. We are just so ecstatic to become involved and grafted into a new family!
Lastly, we would like to thank you all for your support and for thinking of us. We are still in need of prayer just so we can be a good example and hopefully lead many to Christ.
