Cherry Blossoms Everywhere!

It was absolutely gorgeous here last week. We went on a cherry blossom hike with hundreds of other people through the hills close to my house looking at all the trees. I imagine it is the same where many of you live right now too. Beautiful beautiful.

The assembly came and went last weekend. Twelve foreign men were baptized, so that was nice to see. Here are a couple numbers for you from the assembly: Apparently there are only about 200 English speaking foreigners in the Truth in Korea. Actually that number seemed a little lower than some of us were thinking it would be. Many teachers and other expats (from North America, the Pacifc Area, Europe, and South East Asia) that I know that live here, live here for many years on end, and apparently there are about 20,000 in the country, so that means Truth-wise there is a lot of room for growth. However, there are three long term foreigners that weren't able to attend the assembly this weekend that I know of, so maybe the number could be a few higher. Also, what I learned from reading the Korean Herald newspaper this morning is that apparently there are TWICE as many Thais living here than English speakers - approximately 45,000. They are pretty much the slaves of the factories. The newspaper was really good at outlining their working conditions. Now that really appears to be where a need is great.

The special talk was yesterday. It was really nice for me because my co-worker Gina came along. After that meeting we had the ministry school. There is a brother that conducts it and his English is REALLY bad. Anyways, before the school commenced I explained to Gina the purpose of it and she listened attentively. However, after it was finished she leaned over and said, "the brother conducting that school needs to join it himself." She wasn't being mean, but she said later that she couldn't help but notice that he kept calling the sisters "him" and "he", and mispronouncing as he was giving counsel on pronunciation. Anyways, I just explained that we actually truly do really wish we had native speaker brothers that could give counsel and conduct the school, as it would be so much more understandable and beneficial for the students but we just have to work with what we have for the moment. However, there is a huge need for native speaker brothers to take the lead in the congregation(s), so anyone that can come this way would be MUCH appreciated...any of you adventurous ones reading this. :-)

Well, I am having my first dinner party on Friday night. This has been something I have missed terribly living in such a small apartment, so now that I have a little room I thought I wouldn't waste any time. Going to make a good ol Canadian meal - spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread. The only spaghetti eaten in Korea has sugar in the sauce and sugar sprinkled on the garlic bread...almost makes my lips curl and my eyes squeeze everytime I eat it...but that is how they think Westerners make it, so this will be a bit of an eye-opener. Anyways, I can hardly wait!..Harvey and Pearl are getting lots of exercise running around the new apartment, and are thoroughly enjoying the extra leg space. Pearl is completely healed up now and is hopping up on the bed. Oh yes, I forgot to mention, I thought since I have a bedroom now it would be nice to sleep on a bed so I ordered one online. So now my place is looking more Western and less Korean. I told my boss that I was ordering furniture for my place and he said to me, "why? do you have a hidden husband?" You see in Korea, a single person lives at home with their parents (kind of a death til we part pact...or marriage). I explained that in the West single people live on their own and are expected to maintain nice homes, with furniture and food in them. Anyways, I have arranged a dinner for the administration also so they can see how a Westerner lives. Okay, must run, class starts soon. Love, d :-) Have a wonderful week!