We even have a Christmas tree . . .

Yesterday we went shopping over at the World Cup Stadium. We had heard that it had been turned into a shopping mall. Sure enough - we found a huge grocery and department store surrounded by many smaller shops. As we explored, we found a very small display of Christmas decorations. The stores here do not seem to commercialize Christmas like we do in the US. Actually it is quite nice. But anyway, we were looking at the decorations when a polite young clerk, who spoke perfect English, asked if we needed help. She directed us to a sale item - a 3 foot artificial Christmas tree for $5.00. What a deal !! So with ornaments and lights we spent less than $25.00. Nothing is cheap here in Seoul -- but we got a cheap Christmas tree. God is so gracious.

As we look at this special little tree, we are reminded daily of God's constant provision for us. We hope you will join us this Christmas in celebrating, with joyful and grateful hearts, Jesus' birthday and all the blessings that God has given us. Merry Christmas !

Thanksgiving dinner for 50 . . .

John and I cooked Thanksgiving dinner for the faculty and staff at the college of nursing on Thursday. It was a week long project between buying the birds and preparing the stuffing, cranberry sauce and gravy !! We cooked a couple of turkeys ahead of time and only cooked the last one Thursday AM. It was rather trickly to get everything hot at the same time. But we transported everything over from our dorm apartment at 11:30 AM and served a hot and delicious dinner at 12 noon. John had decorated the tables the night before - complete with candles, fall leaves and flowers.

We were able to buy Butterball turkeys at the International Market. Since turkey is not found in Korea and these are imported, each 20 pound turkey cost over $75. We figured we were eating "gold." Most staff and many faculty had never tasted turkey, stuffing or cranberry sauce before. So it was a real treat for them. I used my grandmother's stuffing recipe and it was delicious. The cranberries here are much smaller in size than those in the US and it actually took 3 large packages (about $50 worth) to get the sauce at the right consistency. All the leftovers were scoped up and went to family members and /or colleagues at other sites. One faculty told me there was a big argument at the childcare center where she delivered some turkey for tasting as to which was better with the turkey meat - cranberry sauce or Kimchi. "Kimchi" won, of course.

Kimchi, by the way, is a staple food here in Korea. It is served at every meal. It is basically cabbage and other vegetables that are pickled with garlic, spices and the hottest red pepper sauce we have ever tasted. There is a museum here that displays more than 200 different types of Kimchi. Every family has at least two refrigerators in their home: one for food and one for Kimchi. Kimchi is centuries old and was the primary way of preserving vegetables needed for the long cold Korean winters. It is just as popular today as long ago. Red pepper sauce is everywhere in everything. In the paper last week, there was a recipe for "stuffing." They suggested that one use a "big chicken" and stuff with bread crumbs, sausage, butter, garlic, peanuts, broth and the ever present "Korean red hot pepper paste."

Our Thanksgiving dinner was a great success. Hope yours was too.

John was in Beijing from November 4 to 18.

The city is changing dramtically as it prepares for the 2008 Olympics. A clock in Tienanmen Square is counting down the days (Photo 1.) Mr. Wang Wei, the Secretary General of the Olympic organizing committee took time out of his busy schedule to meet with John and his good friend Dr. Bruce Liu (Photo 2.) Wang Wei is working very long hours to see that everything is ready - John promised him that he would pray daily that Beijing 2008 will be a great success.

John spent lots of time with the Studio Classroom team (Photo 3) and throughly enjoyed their fantastic new office. They are really working well together, and having great success promoting their English training materials.

He also met with his client's organization, China Open Resources for Education (Photo 4) and is preparing financial statements for them. They are a wonderful group of very committed professionals.

John was invited to speak to an accounting class at Qing Hua University- the students had excellent questions. Great fun (Photo 5.)

He enjoyed spending time with his buddy, Rocky (Photo 6 ) and his many friends.

He also made plans for an English-Basketball camp that will take place next summer at Capital Normal University(photo 7), and will involve 20+ American students and 40+ Chinese students.

John had a busy but rewarding two weeks in Beijing - he always enjoys his time there!

The campus is beautiful right now. Thought you might enjoy these pictures of the fall foliage. Photos 1-4. John also would like to introduce you to some of his English conversation students. Photos 5-6. They are all excellent students and a joy to spend time with. John is leaving on Saturday for two weeks in Beijing, so Barb will lead the class while he is away.