Wednesday 16 July 2014

Twelve Years Later...

Twelve years ago our family hosted a girl from Gunpo South Korea, she was here on a student exchange with a number of other students and stayed with us for 10 days.  Though we were nervous about it because of the language barrier we were very blessed to have her.  We picked her up on a Sunday night at about 11:00 and brought her out to our home...in the dark...in the country.  I can still remember when she got out of our van and looked up into the night sky and saw all those stars...she was amazed.  Something we so took for granted was something she rarely saw in her city with all the lights and the pollution.

Misun was only 13 years old when she came.  Such a brave thing for a young girl to do, coming to a foreign country, speaking and understanding limited English and staying with strangers.  We had a great time with her, by the Tuesday we learned that she was a Christian and she was so thankful that we were too, I saw God's hand in that, making a safe and comfortable place for her.  Christ's love crosses all language barriers.  Over the years we have kept in contact especially now with Facebook and she has always expressed her desire to come back to Canada to visit us.  And now twelve years later it has finally happened.

My husband and I picked her up from the airport yesterday, in waiting for her to arrive we were talking about all that has changed.  William was only 11 and now is 23 and will be married soon.  Jocelyne was 10, now 22 and lives in PEI.  Charissa was 9 and now is 21 with one more year of college.  Matt was the cute little 6 year old that all the Korean girls flocked to because of his blonde hair and blue eyes, he's now 18 and 6' 5''.  We still have our cat Bandit who was only 2 when Misun first came and shortly after she left we got a puppy, Black Jack who is now 12.  Time goes by so quickly and yet it can seem like she was just here yesterday.

It was exciting seeing her at the airport, a big smile on her face.  We both gave her a big hug, so happy to have her with us again.  It was neat to watch her when she saw our kids too, the joy on her face just made me smile.  She'll be staying for just over a month, she has some other trips booked in as well, she'll be heading to Cuba and also a tour of Old Quebec City, Montreal and Ottawa.  She'll also get to go to Will and Amy's wedding!  Oh, and before we went to bed last night I took her outside to look at all those stars again.

One Thousand Gifts...

8. Problem solved for my husband
9. A cooler day - a break in humidity
10. Beautiful morning sunshine


My Dad is a great vegetable gardener.


Amadeous thinks my garden is a drive-through and eats my sunflowers.



My patriotic parents on Canada Day :)

11. Bird songs
12. Jesus calms the storm
13. Sun-showers
14. Church community


15. Beautiful gardens at the church
16. Summer winds
17. Freedom to worship
18. Sunday nap with my husband
19. God's love for me never changes, it's not dependent on me
20. Morning bird songs
21. A clean kitchen floor
22. Sunshine glistening on rain soaked flowers after a downpour





23. Capturing the early morning light as it shines on the flowers






24. The taste and smell of freshly picked strawberries
25. Charissa, Kayla, and Sarah picking strawberries for me and making jam





26. A cool, beautiful morning
27. God's transforming power in the life of  a friend and former employee
28. Coming home from town and seeing Charissa in the distance riding Amadeous down the road
29. Refreshing early morning walk with a friend
30. Quiet dinner out with my husband
31. God's confirmation and timing and how He uses even me in the life of another to share His love
32. Beautiful weather for a wedding
33. Breakfast made by my husband
34. Much needed Sunday afternoon nap
35. Chatting with an elderly couple by the Bay







36. A letter from our sponsor child and her mom - I am humbled by the fact that they pray for our family everyday
37. Got a load of hay put away for the winter
38. All the projects my husband has gotten finished around the house
39. Eyes closed, sunshine warm on my face
40. Seeing Misun after twelve years!
41. Misun's joy in seeing our kids again - all grown up
42. Beautiful, sunny, cool morning





2 comments:

  1. Wonderful images of summer! Sounds like many exciting blessings around your household! Congrats to the bride and groom. Hope to see pics of your family and Misun!

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  2. HI TINA, IVE BEEN TRYING TO CONTACT YOU THROUGH FLIKR...BUT I CANT. HI MY NAME IS KARLA FROM MEXICO CITY. WE WOULD LIKE TO USE ONE OF YOUR PICTURES FOR A CHRISTIAN EVENT HERE IN MEXICO. WE OFF COURSE DONT WANT TO USE IT WITHOUT YOUR AUTHORIZATION. COULD YOU PLEASE EMAIL ME TO KARLA.PARRA.RO@GMAIL.COM. THNK YOU.

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