Fall is for Friends

This week I've enjoyed spending a lot of time outdoors and sharing good memories with friends. Last Friday, I took my elementary class to the mountain behind the school, and we had fun playing tag and a Korean version of "red light, green light." I didn't even know I could still run that fast. Actually, I guess I couldn't... when it was my turn to be "it," I couldn't catch anyone, so they added an extra "it" to help me. :-) After all that running around, I was excited to visit my Korean "Mom"'s house and have homemade pizza for dinner!
 

The next day was my dear friend Karen's baby shower. Karen grew up hearing the story of her own baby shower, about how the guests had prayed blessings over her life, and she wanted to do that for her daughter, too. So last Saturday evening, church friends and coworkers gathered to praise God, remember His faithfulness, and pray for the soon-to-be family of three, especially baby Lomie. After the service, we had a delicious baked potato bar--it was the first time the Korean guests had tried it, and they really loved it. What a fun and meaningful baby shower tradition! I told Karen I want to copy her if and when I ever have my own. :-)

(Jin Song Lee gets credit for all the baby shower pics.) 

 
Yesterday, I was really blessed by the thoughtfulness of Faith, one of the teachers at our school. She took me out to lunch at Burger Prince, hands-down the best burger joint I've ever been to, and of course they're homemade! I got the country burger, which has the essentials plus nacho cheese, chili sauce, bacon, and egg. So unexpectedly good!! I also enjoyed spending time with Faith, who speaks English fluently (!) and has a really gracious, cheerful spirit. (I really share her tastes by the way. From haircut to clothes to home decor, I'm pretty sure I'll be her American twin thirty years from now. ;)) This is a picture of Faith and my mom from May of this year.

Today was also full of blessings. My Korean tutor took me and another of her friends out for a tasty fish lunch at a lakeside restaurant made of beautiful timber. She speaks fast and uses vocabulary out of my league, so I only catch about 25% of the conversation. But even so, her faith, gentleness, and love, and especially her childlike delight in God's creation, make me slow down, notice wonders I hadn't seen before, and inspire me to grow in my love and acceptance of others.

After lunch, we went to the National Forest and enjoyed walking through the woods at prime time (mid-afternoon when the pine trees give off their freshest fragrance, which is also good for health). The leaves have nearly all changed color now and many trees have already lost their leaves, but there were still some dark reds, oranges, and yellows clinging to the branches. Halfway through our walk, we sat down for a rest and had an interesting conversation about meditation and freedom. Our mutual friend, as well as the friend who joined us today, are both non-Christians, and I love watching my teacher interacts with them on faith issues. She listens with patience and respect, and shares with gentleness and joy, and in it all, I see real love for the one she's engaging. And then she'll suddenly rope me into the conversation with, "What do you think about this?" and I'm startled and search for the right words, and then struggle to turn them into Korean and kick myself for not being more adept. But I love that we're given these opportunities for friendship. And it's certainly a good reminder that God's call and movement in my life will always require more than I could handle on my own.