Almost October

Scrambled Eggs and...er... "pancakes"
Guess who made each entree!

We can't believe it's almost October!

Our days are packed here, and the past month has flown quickly by.

In addition to everyday life (grocery shopping, cleaning, teaching), since our last entry we have...

1. ...started school! Progress reports come out next week, and it's hard to believe we're already halfway through the first quarter. We're both enjoying our classes. Bennett went on the Senior Retreat and enjoyed spending time with his students (as well as winning a game of capture the flag!). Bennett has also been discipling 2 of his students and is enjoying the time he gets to spend with them outside of the classroom. Joy has been working hard to get the ball rolling in her 4th grade class this year. Although it feels like a lot of work (and it is), she is enjoying getting to know her energetic, "adventuristic" students. Some 4th grade favorites include...a Korean show called "Running Man," Sideways Stories from Wayside School, the class llama (lovingly named Parkhurst, Jr.), recess (of course!), Pokemon, and all the Percy Jackson books they can get their hands on. 
2. ...taken a trip to the beach. A few weekends ago, we climbed on a bus and rode to...the beach! It was time for Staff Retreat. We enjoyed playing games, climbing on rocks, eating melon pops, and relaxing with our coworkers. Joy also enjoyed beating Bennett at foosball. ;) 
3. ...started playing frisbee. Here in Seoul, there is a fairly large (mostly) expatriate community of Ultimate Frisbee players. Bennett has been playing with the league for the past 2 years. Now, the Parkhursts are taking on the competition together. Our team has a jaw-dropping 0-4 record so far. 



Poor translations make us laugh.



4th Grade's growing list of "Ways to
say Said" - This is just from ONE DAY!

4. ...celebrated Chuseok. This week, we've been school-free since Wednesday as Korea celebrates Chuseok, which is a Thanksgiving-like holiday. Seoul has been a little quieter than usual. The Parkhurst family is enjoying an extra long weekend off. Yesterday, we got out of the heart of the city to take a hike. We packed a picnic lunch and, after a steep uphill climb, ate PB&J in the protection of a fortress wall. 

You can drink fresh water from the mountain streams here!
Neither of us braved the communal cups though...

In other news...the weather is cooling down. It's still pretty warm day-to-day, but it's starting to feel more and more like fall. The air is getting drier, and the temperature is dropping. We leave the windows open and a few fans on to move the cool Korea air around our apartment. Ah...

Last week, we started working through a Bible Study about life in a pluralistic society which covers Joshua, Judges, and part of Daniel. The focus of the study is idolatry. Yesterday as we were hiking, we came across a Buddhist temple. We were struck by the sadness and emptiness of idolatry in its traditional forms as the golden idols in the temple reminded us of Israel's worship of the golden calf. God continues to teach us how much we need him, and he continues to show us how much we rely on our own strength instead of trusting him fully. 

Koreans go all out.
Almost every hiker on the trail was fully
prepared with backpack, boots, and
walking sticks. 

Please pray for us as we continue to build relationships with our students this year. Pray that God will open their eyes so that they can clearly see his character. Pray that we will be faithful in serving him, filled with love for our students, and increasingly dependent on him for wisdom and strength in every situation. Please pray with us as we pray about how to invest our time this year. We have the opportunity to help lead a GWAM (Guardians with a Message) trip this Spring Break, and we are praying about whether to lead a trip and which trip to lead if we do. A major factor in this decision is Joy's level of busy-ness in the classroom. We want to take advantage of the opportunities God is giving us to serve, but we also want to be balanced and wise in how many extracurriculars we take on. 

No invaders spotted yet...

Thank you for your prayers and for your friendship to us. We miss being with you in person, but we are so glad that we get to share a little bit of our lives with you through this blog. Until next time...

Happy Chuseok!

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. -John 15:5

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. -1 Corinthians 3:6

P.S. Look what made it to Korea!
A little taste of home...