My Babies

It was the fall of 1991. God was calling me on a journey that would both make my heart burst with pride and break with sadness all at the same time.

He called me into church ministry......music, children and youth.

And in the early 90's, there were very few female youth ministers. We were the minority. While our classmates were getting married and having babies, we were going to concerts, white water rafting, pizza nights, football games, spring recitals, weightlifting meets, and boy scout ceremonies.

Those years are so precious to me. See, I didn't have children at the time....so my youth became my "babies"...my little brothers and sisters.

There are those who grew closer to you than others just because of the bond you had.

There are those who:

- would show up at your house without any notice just to chat.
- called you at the break of dawn to ask you to rush to the ER to because their friend was in critical condition.
- when they went to college, your food budget lowered $100 a month.
- loved to embarrass you in public any chance they could...in a loving way, of course.
- came to you soon after a break up.
- rushed to you when they were worried their parents were splitting up.


There was one youth, in particular, who came from a strong, loving Christian family. Their family was there for me all the time, from helping me move to encouraging me every day.

This kid also had such a bond with me and my husband.

He was the one came to you to let you know they were going to MC, a Baptist College. (of course, I was estatic, since I grew up Baptist!!!) He did mention a big part of the decision was a girl!

And that girl was an angel. And this one youth was one of my heroes. He was faithful to be in church, Bible study, etc. He was an Eagle Scout. His phrases automatically ended with mam' and sir without hesitation. He adored his nieces. He finished law school. He made me proud of his choice in a wife. He kept in touch. He was one of these who would show up at the drop of a hat. He was only a phone call away when you needed.

One of my "babies" became my hero. I can hear him singing  the Veggie Tales Cheeseburger song and Newsboys "Entertaining Angels". I miss him now more than ever.

Many called you "Tony", but you will always be Anthony to us. :) And I miss you terribly. Wishing I could email you to let you know we are heading to the states in less than a month and that you need to see these little blonde hair fireballs of mine. I wish we could visit so you could call my husband "Bud" one more time.

Katy, you are not alone. You have never met us, but you are still special to us. You made on of my "babies" the one of the happiest, giddiest young men ever. You supported him and loved him just like God wants us, the church, to love Him. My prayers are with you....along with my thoughts and tears.

Last Day at Hyundai Foreign School

Tomorrow will be our last day at Hyundai Foreign School. I am sure there will be many tears, hugs, and laughter on my part. I know that we will miss this place so much.

When I first found out we were coming to Korea, I had no idea what life would be like. But there is this place that makes things so much easier. It was my child's school.

There I found friends, encouragement, support, and love.

There we were surrounded with excellent, supportive, loving teachers who challenged our boys to go beyond what they thought they could do.

My younger son is on the autism spectrum. He is high functioning, but he still has meltdowns and frustrations. He has been blessed to have wonderful teachers who cared for him as much as we did. Never did I ever dream that my child would have a teacher who would be drawn to tears when talking about his success and how far he has come.

And his success is because of them. Never did I ever think my child would have these angels called teachers, from places all over the world, who would love him and care for him in such a way that is beyond words. My child has been called precious, handsome, and special. He even has a young Korean man who became his safety net. Even when I could not console him at times, I witnessed my child run to this precious man to feel safe. I don't know if I will able to find teachers like these for my kids ever again.

My oldest child has been challenged and loved all at the same time. Even though he is high spirited and has trouble suppressing his emotions, his teachers all call him "one of a kind".....in a good way. They have sparked his passion in so many things. He has experience an education that very few children have had. He has made friends around the world.

I, too, have been changed by this place. I was blessed to be able to serve the last two years in man classroom settings. I have had more precious hugs, smiles, thank you's, and encouragement from people of all creeds and nationalities. I will never be the same.

Thank you to each and every person affiliated with Hyundai Foreign School. You took a redneck from Mississippi who had never lived more than 90 miles from home, never flown in a plane, and never thought she'd live in a foreign country.....and lifted her up, loved on her, supported her, laughed and cried with her.

I will so miss the greetings from children......."Mrs. Karen! JC's mom! Micah's mom!" I never thought I would love so many children in such a huge way like I love these kids here.


Tomorrow will be one of the hardest days of my life. You all, teachers, parents, children, staff....will forever have an imprint on our hearts.

What a year!

What a year it has been! We have only made it through almost 7 months of this year, but it has been busy. So sorry I didn't post anything! I hope to make up for it the next few months!

See, we are closing up our project with Noble in September. We are still awaiting word on where we are going. The boys' school will end this Friday. After that, we are still going to do some "school" in the mornings and JC and I will be starting a new project. I am going to have him go around with me and interview....showing some of our favorite things about Ulsan. I don't want to forget any detail.

So get ready for a lot of posts (hopefully). Here are a few pics we have taken since the first of the year. Micah has made so many advances and JC has grown so much with another great teacher who happens to have come from New York. :) And she and her husband like the Dallas Cowboys! :)

A look back ..........

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to blog on a regular basis. And, yes, I neglected this poor baby all year.

We have had a great year here in Ulsan, South Korea.

Micah continued to progress in school. He stayed back a year in the 3-4 year old class. It has been so great for him. He is now on track with the kids in his class. I figure he will stay a year behind for now. But, oh, what a change it has been! We do not have trouble traveling as much with him. He is so much more verbal and social. He is interacting more with people. The team at his school is great! They have truly been a Godsend!

JC had a wonderful teacher last year and got another one this year! What makes it special is that she just moved back here from New York and her husband is a Dallas Cowboy fan. We have been blessed the passed two years with three wonderful teachers!

We also prayed about and moved to the worship gathering on the compound. I am now helping with the children's Sunday school there. I also was involved in a ladies' Bible study during the week. I am moving to the night session group because I decided to volunteer another morning at Micah's school.

I also help with a Christian club at JC's school. Those kids are so precious. I love every minute of it!

I am room parent for both the boy's classes and joined the clubhouse committee. They plan events for the compound. It was really helped me branch out and meet more people.

God has blessed us so much here in Ulsan. I am praying God can use us even more in 2014!!

New beginnings, new friends

There are new projects, new people, I new relationships to be made. With the beginning of school, there are many new people to meet. That is expat life. People move, people come.

I remember when I was younger that I thought about becoming a missionary. I thought that would be a great way to serve God. Then, God called me to the classroom.....an Algebra classroom to be exact. He also called me to church ministry. Even though it was fulfilling, there was still a little part of me that was drawn to ministry overseas.

But, God didn't call me to be ordained or train with the Foreign Mission Board. He called me to be Mike's wife. And in that calling came leaving my comfort zone.

He called me to a battle. This battle was to leave the life I always lived in my home state. I was going to a foreign land where I did not know the customs, the language, or the life. I didn't know anything about being an expat wife.

However, God is teaching me every step of the way. I also am learning that God has called me here. I needed help when I got here.......and I know others need that same help now as they come to Ulsan. I am praying God can use me to minister to these who are adjusting to this new life.

And, I am praying I can show these families that we are here for a reason. We are here to support our husbands. We are here to create a safe haven for them to come home to. This may not be what we had planned for, but with the economy, this is the life we have. Families are having to relocate and redesign their lives to make it.

And now I stand to that challenge. I will be an encouraging wife. I will put my husband and children first just after God. And I will help others do the same.

God has a plan here to save families.....one encouraging word at a time. And there are more and more of us here to walk with Him in His plan! :)

The Continued Journey

Things have flown by this summer. Here is what happened.

We went back to the US the first of July. We went to Texas and visited my husband's family, then went to Mississippi to visit my family and for doctor and dental visits. We came back and had a Vacation Bible School here at the compound.

I have been involved in Vacation Bible Schools for over 20 years. This has to be the best yet. We had around 16 kids, and about that many volunteers. Everything went smoothly, and the kids enjoyed the week. I loved the program, the kids and the spiritual growth that happened that week.

We started school this week. It has gone well. My youngest is staying in the first preschool group. He has some delays and is on the autistic spectrum, so he is truly going to benefit from another year to make a stronger foundation of learning for him. He has the same teachers as last year and is loving it! My oldest got a new teacher. (She is new to our school.) So far he loves his class. I am so excited!

I will continue to update our adventures. We have been able to meet so many new people.

We are looking forward to another great year!

His Most Important Decision

My first born made the most important decision of his life. He gave his life to Christ.

I cannot tell you how happy this made me!

We  came back to the states to visit our families. Our church pastor is on vacation now. So we prayed about it, and we decided to ask my distant cousin's husband (both of them are just like my first cousins....we are very close, they live across from my parent's home, and he is my parents' pastor). So, JC was baptized at the same church I grew up in from age 11 and up. This is the church where I felt the call to go into youth and children's ministry. This is where so many prayed for me throughout the years. This is where my daddy was ordained as a deacon. This is where my sister was married. This is where my family was taken care of when my dad had his heart attack and heart surgery. This is the same place we took refuge from Hurricane Katrina.

JC made it through one of the strongest hurricanes here when he was 4 months old. And now he came back to the same place to share his testimony of how he gave his life to God and was baptized.

Thank you, God for his decision. May he forever be changed and used by You!