Glorious

That's a word that comes to mind when I think about today. I'm ridiculously tired and I should be in bed rather than writing this but I wanted to while it was still fresh. So I'll try to be as succint as possible! It started with being woken up by a text from my closest friend here. Though I wasn't ready to be awake it turned out to be a good thing. It gave me time to chat some with my mom, one of my closest friends in Moncton, and my best friends little sister over breakfast before heading out for a quick morning hike - something I haven't been doing often enough. It was the perfect day for it too - bright blue sky, not too hot, not too cold with a cool breeze. After rushing home to shower and change I was off once again. The chuch I attend here goes to an orphanage once a month to play with the children and I was able to go with them. At first it was kind of awkard - not really knowing what I should do (a group from a University was also there and there were about three times as many adults as kids) but after they left and the 'meal' was over we really got to spend some time with the kids. It was wonderful. I'm with kids everyday but I don't really get to play with them. I'm supposed to teach them and provide discipline when necessary. How wonderful to just play! Haha, these kids didn't know any English though and it was hilarious to see (and kind of frustrating because I wanted so badly to understand them) them try to explain things to us. Sometimes they would just give up and walk away - looking at us like we were stupid foreigners who couldn't even speak, and other times they'd give up and just pull on us, physically making us do what they wanted!

The trip was a good one to say the least and I'm not sure who had the most fun - us or the kids. I think the highlights were the water fight that broke out and watching these little Korean boys sing to an audience of ladies. This one little boy was sitting on a stool with a music stand and singing from a Korean hymnal . . . I say singing - aww, it was so cute - he could barely read but he was doing his best - the beauty of a child's faith!! After he finished he wanted us all to pray - he was yelling at the other kids to close their eyes and not let the food touch their mouths before he'd finished. Then he bowed, hands tightly clasped and gave a good long prayer. I don't know a word he said - but I most certainly prayed along with him! Just after this another little boy ran across the room and returned carrying a little broom with a huge grin on his face as he called out 'guitar! guitar!' He stood up beside the hymn 'singing' boy and strummed away. Of course the singer couldn't be left out in this - he ran to get his own guitar and a third boy discovered a wonderful mop/microphone!

To add to the enjoyment of this day I ended up by going to a dinner party at a friend's house. What a night!! There were six of us there - the meal was wonderful and the conversation! I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard - anecdotes and stories abounded - and I imagine we'll all have sore abs tomorrow. (Unfortunately my camera batteries died shortly after being at the orphanage so I have no pictures of this.) I also met another person from my hometown neighbourhood (I don't know that I've mentioned the girl I met at the last dinner party I went to who graduated highschool with my brother Clinton). This guy knows my eldest and youngest brother - he was floored by it. The fact that he was invited to dinner by a guy from Washington he met in South Korea and one of the other guests was a girl whose brother he used to bartend for. Ah . . . I want to go into some of the stories - but I know it would fall flat in comparison to the actions and sound effects that accompanied them! Still would be good stories but . . . I must remember my health. Sleep is important - despite my 'apparent' beliefs to the contrary.

It was definitely a day for being with people, a day that makes me think - yeah, I'll be just fine. I'll make it through alright. I really hope these friendships that are starting grow. Either way - I'm thankful for the many good good experiences I've had since I stepped on that plane and for the ones that are to come. There've been rough times - but I think they're worth the good.