Christmas 2008

 
(Our "Christmas Tree" this year was a poinsettia we received as a gift.)

Christmas this year was small, we were so busy with Juhee's birthday and other family events that we didn't have time to put up a Christmas tree and we didn't spend as much as we used to on gifts this year, but it was one of the best, 'cause it's not about the gifts and how sparkly our decorations are. It was about us being together as a family, being able to celebrate the birth of Jesus as a family, being able to attend Christmas Eve service together, and be able to eat, share, live, smile, and laugh together - as a family.

On the Monday of Christmas week, Ina flew back to Dallas, on Tuesday, Dennis came down from SF to stay with us for a couple of days, on Wednesday (after a rushed family portraitsession), Jonathan flew back to Dallas, and then we attended Christmas Eve Candlelight service together where mum and John performed. On Thursday, Christmas Day, we spent the day chillaxing and then in the afternoon opened up our presents. Then us Ohs went to Peter's parents house to have dinner and open up presents there too. We bought presents for my siblings from Japan and they all seemed to like them so we were very happy. :D On Friday, Jade flew back to Dallas :( and then on Saturday, dad flew back to Korea. :( It was so great to have the whole family around for the holidays and it's going to be a while before we'll all be together again so this Christmas was especially meaningful.

Pictures and video are a great way of remembering the precious moments our minds forget and of sharing these experiences too.

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas filled with lots of love, laughter, and joy too!

About Korean 1st Birthday Parties “Dol” 돐

 
(This is a bit of info I put on the back of the programs I made for the birthday service. Could write a lot more, but here are the basics...)

The first birthday party is an event where blessings are prayed upon the baby. The mortality rate used to be high in South Korea due to poor medical access, four extreme seasons, and many childhood related diseases. The survival rate of children increased sharply after one year of age, so this milestone was a major achievement and a very happy occasion for the family.

The food and items placed on the small round birthday table signify different blessings for the baby. Traditionally, the table used is either round or one with 12 angles and is either red in color or a red tablecloth is put over it if not red. Flowers and rice cakes of Korea’s five basic colors (black – north, red – south, green – east, white – west, brown – middle) adorn the table to bless the baby’s future and to pour in “ki/chi” energy. The foods placed are plain white rice cake, red bean rice cake, rice cake with sesame seeds & honey inside in five different colors, noodles, (uncooked) rice, fruit, Asian parsley, etc in small portions in a small stack (not piled high). We also place items like arrow & bow (for boys only), needles & ruler (for girls only), string, money, calligraphy brush, etc for the baby to choose to “predict” her future. Usually, the baby’s “helped” by the parents who strategically place certain times. :P

Rice – rich and eat well
String, noodles – long life
White rice cake – purity
Money – wealth
Bow & arrow – become brave and strong
Book, pencil, calligraphy brush – scholastic
Ruler, needle, scissors – talented with her hands
5-colored small round rice cake – north, south, east, west, middle, heaven and earth are all in peace with each other during her life
Asian parsley (or other long green vegetable) – lively, many descendants, long life

And as we’re in Silicon Valley… Mouse – IT engineer :D

Juhee's Future

We celebrated Juhee's 1st birthday on Sat, Dec 20th, a couple of days early. We've been so blessed this year with her smiles, her laughter, her exuberance, even her screams and cries! :) We're just so grateful that God's given us such a precious gift.

She received many gifts on her birthday, one of which was a short, sweet, very meaningful sermon from our head pastor, Pastor Peter Chin. The message that he had for her was Hebrews 11:23 "By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict". He spoke about how when his family went on missions to Kenya, their youngest, Sarah, was about 1 and a half years old, the age our Sara Juhee will be when we're hoping to head out to Japan. He said that Juhee was no ordinary child, and that God has a great purpose for her, will keep her, will guide her, and will use her to do great works for His kingdom. It was such an encouraging message and I'm glad we got most of it on tape. Hopefully we'll be able to show it to her someday when she's older.

Well, we don't know what she's going to become when she's older but during the Dol Jae Bi 돌잽이 part of her birthday, she picked up money (symbolizing wealth) and the calligraphy brushes (scholastic / academic). Then with the brushes, she started to "write" on the money! People joked and said that she would become an accountant and then her Uncle Jonathan said that she would become a counterfeiter / money launderer! :D She also grabbed for the coins in the rice later on too.

Well, we don't know if she's going to be wealthy, academic, or what profession she's going to end up in and I don't think we have a particular preference, but one thing we do know for sure is that we want her to be a woman of God. One who has a close relationship with her Savior and a passion to share His grace, love, and mercy with all that she meets.

She loves reading, she loves people, loves socializing, loves laughing and making those around her laugh, she's very determined and when she's really into something (like walking, playing, going out, reading...) she won't eat or sleep! We love the way her eyes disappear and her nose crinkles when she smiles and laughs, the way she throws her head back or hits the floor with her head dropped low when she's doing one of her dramatic cries, the way she puts her head to one side when she's trying to be cute, the way her barrettes always flip over or start to slip down 'cause she doesn't have a whole lot of hair, the way she kicks her legs as you're lifting her up when she's really excited, the way she'll look at you so seriously when she's signing to you, how she loves to eat so many things, her love for animals, and so so many other things! :D

We love very very much the beautiful daughter that God has blessed us with and we thank each and everyone of you for being such a blessing to her and loving her so. We feel your love for her through your smiles, your hugs, your concern, and most of all, your prayers.

For more about her dol: http://peterandjennyoh.blogspot.com/

Week Four + Korea Review

 
(One of the most interesting and THE best Japanese meal we had while we were in Japan. We had a proper Japanese style sushi-boat experience thanks to the Murrays while we were in Hiroshima. I can't explain it all in text, but the next time you see one of us, ask us to explain how it works. It's very clever, very efficient. Veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery Yummy~~~ :D)

It seems like such a long time ago now...

Mon, Nov 17 Cleaned the futons, rest of apartment

Tue, Nov 18 Rested at home

Wed, Nov 19 Originally planned dinner appointment was postponed due to illness so went to Amerika-mura (see older post titled "Amerika-mura" for pic)

Thu, Nov 20 Had dinner at a Korean restaurant owned by Korean friends of sister-in-law and discussed things like what life in Japan is like for Koreans, how Japanese and Korean business styles differ and how that sometimes makes it different for them (for example, Koreans tend to be very straightforward and make quick decisions with action following quickly behind, Japanese tend to take their time and be a bit ambiguous), and about more ideas about the type of businesses that we could open in Japan (like a weekend American home-stay experience in Japan).

Fri, Nov 21 Had lunch with a deacon from the Korean church we attended in Osaka, which the KM side of our church visited during two consecutive summers a few years ago. We found out that she's been teaching at Korean schools in Japan for the past 30 years or so and so our eyes were opened to a whole new aspect of life in Japan for Koreans through her (see older post titled "A (Nearly) Full Picture"). After lunch, we rushed to Shin-Osaka station to catch the shinkansen to Hiroshima. It was packed as it was the beginning of a long weekend in Japan. There were no seats so we were bracing ourselves to stand in the aisle during the nearly 3-hour trip when the family sitting right in front of stood up and asked us to sit in their seats! We were sooooooooooooooo grateful. Praise God!!! :) We arrived in Hiroshima around 5pm and reconnected with the Murrays. But I'll write more about that in a different post!

Sat, Nov 22 We took part in a Thanksgiving event with the Murrays at the new church plant site. After the event, Juhee and I stayed with Susan and the girls at their place, while Scott and Peter went to Koyo chapel for a youth event. We left with the last train going back to Shin-Osaka a bit after 10pm and arrived home sometime after 1am. Long but very fun day! (Again, will write more in separate post.)

Sun, Nov 23 Cleaned, cleaned, cleaned and packed. Met Korean store owner and had a good chat with him.

Mon, Nov 24 Cleaned, left the place cleaner than when we arrived, made it to the airport just in time, arrived safely in Korea, took limousine bus to City Air Terminal, driven to my aunt's apartment where we stayed for the duration we were in Korea.

Tue, Nov 25 Paid respect (did big bow 큰절) to my paternal grandparents and had lunch with them, went to my maternal grandfather's 2nd anniversary memorial service in the evening. We met when my maternal grandfather passed away so it was very meaningful for us to be able to attend his memorial service.

Wed, Nov 26 We found out that I had an infection (mastitis) so I had to go to the hospital to get it checked and receive medication. I was put on a course of antibiotics and given a shot Korean-style (if you don't know what that means, ask me the next time you see me ;D).

Thu, Nov 27 Dad came over for dinner at my aunt's and we had good family time. Juhee loved spending time with her granddad! :) These moments are precious for my dad as he's the only one in our family in Korea and misses spending time with family.

Fri, Nov 28 Through dad's connections, we were able to visit a big Montessori kindergarten (120 5-7 year olds!) and able to receive more valuable information. Divine appointments! :) We then went to my paternal grandfather's 93rd (?) birthday party and had a great time with the relatives on my dad's side.

Sat, Nov 29 Had lunch appointment with a deacon from the church I used to attend as a child in Korea, went to the hospital for a check-up and was given the all-clear but was given another prescription to finish off a week's worth of antibiotics. Found out that you pay more for meds if you pick-up meds on a weekend! Then we had dinner with my dad and paternal grandparents (my dad always buys his parents dinner on Sat nights so we offered to join him so we could spend more time with him and our grandparents).

Sun, Nov 30 Attended the church my dad attends and then went to my maternal grandmother's house to attend family worship and eat dinner together.

Mon, Dec 1 Packed, went to another Montessori kindergarten to discuss the possibility of training with Dr. Jun (she was the first to open up a Montessori in Korea) in preparation for mission next year. We walked back and took a walk around the neighborhood. We had dduk-bok-ki 떡볶기, calamari 오징어 튀김, and bought gifts, and then went to have dinner with my paternal grandparents and uncle.

Tue, Dec 2 Packed, cleaned, checked in & sent off our luggage at City Air Terminal, took limousine bus to Incheon Airport, had lunch at the airport, was fast-tracked through security and immigration, front row seat again in plane (all four flights) - yeah! And 11 hours later... We arrived back in the US!!! :)

Test packet - all done!!! :)

(Sorry, no pic for this one.)

Yeah!!! Hallelujah!!! Phew!

We received a test packet from Pioneers, the missions agency we believe we'll be partnering with when we go to Japan, before we left on our 6-week trip. Our deadline was December 15th to get everything in, but with Juhee being sick for a week after we got back on the 2nd, we knew we wouldn't be able to finish in time so J at Pioneers very kindly let us have a few more days extra. It ended up being even more necessary 'cause Peter went down for a couple of days too and slept like a bear in hibernation for a few days. :D

Our test packet consisted of a 126 question Myers Briggs test, a 185 question test called the 16PF, the MMPI-2 which consists of 567 questions, a test called the MSR-I which is tests a couple's relationship's well-being which also had something like 160 questions, and a Bible test with two parts - part one had one long answer questions and part two had 12 short answer questions. Both parts of the Bible test required scripture to back-up our answers.

At one point, Peter said that the MMPI-2, which is a test to check your psychological well-being, was making him feel psycho 'cause there were so many questions and so many of the questions were the same, just asked in different ways! ;P

I remember the first time I had to take this test, I was pregnant with Juhee and one of the questions on the first page is something like "I often feel nauseous" to which I had to answer "T" (for True) but felt like writing on the side "but not normally". One question that stuck out for me this time around was something like "I feel tired when I wake up" to which I said "T", but again, felt like writing on the side "because my baby wakes me up 4-7 times a night 'cause she's trying to overcome jetlag, needs to be re-sleep-trained, and we're trying to wean her too". What person wouldn't feel tired???

I'm not sure how much of one's situation they take into consideration when marking these things but we'll find out soon when we go for our Candidate's Orientation at the beginning of January in Orlando, Florida.

Knocked Down But Not Out

(Picture taken earlier today in mum's room. Juhee found a pen and an old bill in mum's dressing table and decided to try out dawdling. Last night she tried writing with lipstick! :) After dawdling on the back of the bill, she then started dawdling in one of her baby books and on her face too). The beginning of an era... Watch out walls!!!)

We arrived back last Tuesday, and Juhee started vomiting Thursday around 11:15am. She didn't vomit again till the evening but then after that, everything that went in came back out. She started having diarrhea Friday too - really stinky mucous-y green stuff! ;P

It would've been great if she slept a lot to help her recover, but she wouldn't sleep even though she was tired. Even when she did manage to fall asleep, she would wake up suddenly, start crying, and then vomit or have diarrhea. I figured it out eventually and started taking her to the bathroom.

Don't know how many times we had to do laundry during those first few days... My goodness... We washed our sheets twice, our duvet (comforter), the duvet cover, and Juhee and I went through so many changes of clothing too. The onesie that we'd bought for her Thursday morning has already been washed 4-5 times!

Peter's not been feeling well yesterday and today but is much better now - yeah! Juhee's on the mend too and hasn't vomited since early Sunday morning and her diarrhea's much less frequent too - yeah! :)

Apparently all children have this before the age of 5. Peter and I now know what other parents go through when they tell us about their child(ren) having vomiting and diarrhea. A friend told us about how their baby just went through the same and she said how "it took a lot out of us with her not sleeping". Our sentiments exactly!

We're so tired and we're way behind schedule now with our Pioneers application but we've thankfully been given an extension and we'll complete them as soon as possible. There are other things we were hoping to have done by now like look into a Bible course for me, look into early childhood education / daycare / preschool courses and / or jobs / volunteer opportunities and start applying too. We need to update our blog too! There are still so many things we want to share with you about our time in Japan. Keep on watching this space please!!!

Lots of spiritual battles to fight and we know the evil one will be doing all he can to try and distract us and knock us out but we'll keep on bouncing back up.

Knocked down but definitely not out! :D

A (Nearly-)Full Picture

 
(Picture taken at Korea Town, Osaka, the first week we arrived in Japan.)

Before we left the US, many people warned us about meeting Koreans in Osaka, as there are many from both the North and South. Koreans from the North and their way of life in Japan is actually more well-known that that of those from the South. Through God’s grace we got to know a bit about both first hand during our trip. For example, we were able to learn that there are also South Korean schools in Japan too and about how they are run. We saw businesses operated by Koreans from both sides and saw how, as with the 2nd, 3rd generation Korean-Americans in the US, the later generations found it easier to speak in Japanese than in Korean and perhaps even considered themselves more Japanese than Korean too, regardless of which country's passport they held.

I had felt like we only had half of the picture of Koreans in Japan, but from this trip, I now feel like we have a nearly full, much clearer picture. There are still lots of questions that I would like to ask and find out about as the dynamics between the two groups seems to be a very complex one, but I don’t feel that now is the time to explore this relationship further. However, if Osaka is where God intends for us to go, I’m sure that it will be inevitable that we do establish relationships with Koreans from both sides, as God has called us to love those in Japan, not just the South Koreans, the westerners and Japanese in Japan, but all.

It'll be very challenging and both sides of our families will have plenty to say to us about it, so we'll be needing lots of wisdom, protection, understanding, big hearts and open minds.

The Beater

 

“What’s that?”
“What?! You don’t know what that is???”
“No…”
“It’s a beater. It’s what you use to beat the futons with.”
“Oh~.”

A conversation between Alex, our property manager (www.abhousingosaka.com), and Jenny while he was showing us around the small apartment that we rented for four weeks on the day we arrived in Japan. We used it a few times to freshen up our futons with a bit of a beating and some fresh air out on the balcony. Peter very kindly offered each time. :)