A Look Ahead

Lauren and I have been quite busy. Not so much trying new adventures busy, but more of working and planning for our next step busy. Most of you surely are aware of our next step, but here it is anyway (The long history-laden edition).

I told my high school guidance counselor when I was a junior that attending law school sounded pretty good to me. The adept counselor then stated matter-of-factly that I must be one of those people who loves to read. At the time I did not,  and explained to her that it wasn’t the case. Her expression changed and instilled some fear that this wasn’t the path for me. That idea stayed on the backburner for the next 8 years.

Last summer after our return from vacation in the states, I started to really consider our future and what it was I wanted to do, and what I was supposed to be doing with my life.   I loved and still love teaching. The kids bring me so much joy and I would treasure doing it for the duration of my career. However, I wasn’t sure if it was what the Lord wanted me to be doing. I knew I wanted to be a servant, but didn’t know in what capacity that would be. A couple of things began unfolding encouraging me down a specific path.

My nephew Ethan experienced a very poor educational environment. Few of his needs were being met while those in charge ignored Ethan and their own shortcomings simultaneously. Things changed dramatically with the help of attorney. How one person, with the appropriate knowledge and a heart of servitude, could make such a huge impact on another’s life stirs me in a deep way.

Another continually evolving circumstance was my growing adoration for reading. Lauren has shown me the way to really love reading.  I was a perfectly proficient reader before I met Lauren, but hardly enjoyed delving into a novel recreationally.  Slowly through the years she has encouraged me to read and offered endless recommendations.  In Korea, I’ve probably read 3 times the number of books I had read my entire life before I came here (no bs).   A service oriented spirit, the thoughts of my nephew, joined with all this reading and the thoughts of what the high school guidance counselor had said, had me considering taking the LSAT.

The Craigslist search for LSAT prep books and the subsequent result of “Free unused LSAT books and 12 practice tests” enticed me quite a bit. I picked up the books and began a nightly ritual of studying various strategies and solving endless practice questions.

After much thought, I decided to take the Fall LSAT. The fall date was my preferred time to take the test, but it happened to fall on October 10, a date near and dear to my heart.  My loving and supportive wife encouraged me to take the test that day and that we could celebrate that afternoon and evening.

The test was long, very long. I left the test confident, but a little upset about a slight curveball.

A month later my test scores came in and were better than I had anticipated.  I sent out applications to schools all around the country, not knowing where would accept me.

Lauren and I began to pray hard about where we should be going in our next stage of life. God blessed us so immensely when we came to Korea.  We felt the Lord had called us out here, and we followed.  It wasn’t an easy thing, but when God is your guiding light, it is hard to get lost. He showered us with blessings and reassured us that following his path was the best way to live.

As a few admissions were granted, our direction seemed fuzzy.  We began slowly weighing the pros and cons of schools, eliminating some, then returning back to them the next day.We knew we had to be patient and listen for an answer, so that is what we did.

Late in March we started to really understand what the next step might be.  We began to put the pieces together, they fit perfectly like a puzzle culminating on April(4) 2, another date near and dear to my heart involving making life altering decisions.  Proverbs 4:2 "For I am giving you good guidance.  Don't turn away from my instructions".  Pretty awesome.

We don’t know what he has in mind, or what his plans are for us are but we know if we follow his direction, he will never do us wrong.

Lauren and I are moving to New Orleans, Louisiana in August, and I will be attending Tulane University Law School.

The next 3 years are sure to be an adventure, but hey, what’s new? We welcome in any and all to come and visit us in our new future city near the mouth of the mighty Mississippi.

Drop the Hate

Unfortunately hate exists. Undeniable, it is probably right around the corner from you. Untimely acts will result from its cause. Undermining you is its goal. Under your skin, it will crawl.

Unbridled hate was uncovered late last night while on the underground train. It can be described as uncomfortable, almost unbearable.

We boarded a train headed home from a work meeting at 10:00pm with a few friends, some foreign some not. We sat on the subway chatting about the meeting as we traveled along. We came to a stop when the door opened and a man began to exit. Before leaving, he turned, screamed something at Lauren and I, gathered his phlegm and then performed a very unsightly act. He spit on us. I wish it were untrue.

He then sprinted off the the subway as the everyone on the train sat and stared with open mouths at the unbelievable act.

Fortunately his aim was not great and he missed for the most part.

The rest of the train ride was ridden with unanswered questions riddling us.

I do want to say, I am surprised. Our entire time in Korea we've experienced only unbounded love and acceptance. I was thankful for it before, and even more thankful for it now. This man was not a representation of anybody but himself.

This event wasn't earth shattering or ground shaking and was, in-fact, an extremely mild act if compared to anything similar. I don't want to claim injustice, beg for sympathy, or even say I know what it feels like to feel hated for no reason.

To the man on the subway: I sincerely hope the unrest you feel towards unsuspecting individuals will unravel. While the act can't be undone, it is not unforgivable.

"For if you forgive other their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive other their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

Matthew 6:14-15

Six Months!

It has been six months into our contract and we can hardly believe it. The time has gone incredibly quick and we’ve learned so much already. Korea has brought many experiences and challenges so far – some bad but mostly good. We feel so blessed to have been lead here and have nothing but positive reflections and outlooks for our time in Korea. One year of marriage is also just around the corner and it has been amazing to have spent the majority of it in such a unique setting. With the second half of our contract beginning, we are faced with many options. We have no plans as of yet and are in no rush to make any, although we are continually seeking His guidance. A few paths seem to have been presented and we are praying for clarity. Please remember us in your prayers during this time.

Life Changes

This life change is all about one third grade vocabulary word. Definition: The movement of people or goods.

Transportation for us has changed immensely. We have lived our entire lives to this point completely reliant on personal automobiles. Getting from A to B was no problema.

Step 1: Enter vehicle at point A.
Step 2: Push firmly against the pedal on the right and direct your vehicle towards the landing place (optional: adjust temperature, entertainment, and comfort to satisfy).
Step 3: Find the closest available spot to the intended destination to minimize walking.
Step 4: Exit vehicle and walk to point B.

Simple and effective. It was nearly a never-fail situation. Car broken down? No problem, there are so many options! You could always borrow someone's car. Practically everyone has one, some people even with spares. If that doesn't work out, you could always ask someone for a ride. If you can't secure one of these options, you can always cancel your plans. All else fails, you're not left with much: Public transportation or your own two legs.

Nowadays, walking and public transit are our only options. And you know what? It is pretty awesome.

First of all, using our legs for a longer distance than the 100 ft from door to door we were used to, has been incredibly refreshing.

It may be a little busy and require some dodging at times; actually all the time. This is a regular neighborhood street and we've to date never seen any sort of traffic regulation signs or equipment with the exception of main roads and highways. Even on these main roads a RED light means "stop...if you feel like it and you can't dodge the object in front of you. Once your path is clear (even if by inches) you have permission to go".

No worries about breaking the law either. We've seen 3 patrol cars in the last 6 months...only one with its lights on. We live in this giant city and...literally in the center of this heavily populated metropolis and hear sirens once a month. Even with these potentially dangerous driving practices, using our own two legs for 85% of our transportation needs has been quite nice. Not having to rely on anybody, or any object but your own body gives a much appreciated feeling of independence.

Unfortunately this city is enormous and walking won't take us everywhere we need to go. The Seoul Metro System is pretty incredible for our underground travel...

It may be crowded, but it is always cool and incredibly reliable. Not to mention it goes just about everywhere in Seoul.

If you're curious, we are located near the Seolleung Station (find where the green and yellow lines intersect).

Finally, there is the bus system. The bus system is also extremely efficient and it seems, at times, that more people use it than the subway. We don't take the bus as often as we would like or should. The bus gives a constant tour of Seoul - there is so much to see. We've had a few major fails on the bus but we continue to try it when we have extra time for travel. Some of you may remember this bus incident this story.

We have come to adore the various modes of transportation. I still miss this beauty, which is currently residing at mom and pop Haws's place, and often think of the day when I get to drive it again.


But for the rest of our lives, we hope our dependence on automobiles won't be as heavy.

Life Changes

Our living arrangement has been quite the change for us. For the first five months of our marriage we lived in an adorable apartment in Congress Park – it was a lavish home compared to our standards now. Thanks to our very generous wedding gifts, we practically had every kitchen gadget imaginable. Our meals were cooked using the best non-stick pots and pans available. We enjoyed our food using our beautiful dishes and pristine flatware and no drink touched our lips unless it was poured into the appropriate glass. Once every scrap of food was rinsed away down the handy garbage disposal, the dishes were nicely placed in the brand-new, silent-mode dishwasher. My, how things have changed.



If you read our first post you would know that our "honeymoon suite" was very bare when we first arrived in Seoul. Well, it’s been five months and not much is changed. We still have only the one pan and one knife, which were given to us by Mr. Kim. We’ve upgraded and now have one fork. We eat mostly using chopsticks and spoons (we are high class and have four of each). We have one non-stick pot and one very not non-stick pot. Two glass plates, four plastic plates, four bowls, two mugs, and five 5oz plastic cups sit in our cabinet. The only gadget in this household is our trusty “magic bullet” – it comes in extremely handy. There is no oven, no microwave, and only two gas burners. All, the few that we have, dishes are washed by hand and any and all food scraps are saved and later deposited in the Seoul-mandated food recycle bins. This limits our cooking options but we’ve become experts in using what we do have. It was interesting getting used to not having an oven or a microwave or even a toaster but it is completely and easily doable and we are actually really enjoying it. We eat nearly every meal at home and living without the Western commodities has quickly become second nature.

Although we feel the change mostly in the kitchen, all household areas are different. Our giant (queen sized) bed takes up one quarter of our apartment leaving little to no room for much furniture besides our small two-person table, eternally black, poor quality TV, and a three-drawer dresser/cardboard TV stand. However, we are very pleased with our newly acquired matching nightstands – by nightstands we mean orange cushioned stools abandoned near the dumpster (nothing a little Windex can’t fix, right?).



We’ve mentioned that we have our own washing machine (hooray!). This is extremely important, especially since laundry day is about every other day due to the unbearable humidity causing abundant amounts of sweat shocking our dry-climate-adapted bodies. We do not have a dryer, which isn’t an issue except for those 80% humidity days when it takes 72 hours for anything to dry and the line takes over our already tiny living space.



This semi-minimalist way of life has fortunately suited us well and is teaching us a lot. We’ve really been focusing on escaping the material “necessities” some cultures say we “need”. Don’t get us wrong, we look forward to the day we get to re-open all of our nicely packed wedding gifts that are awaiting our return stateside, but we are embracing this lifestyle and discovering the many values it continually teaches us.

"You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forever more." Psalm 16:11

Life Changes

Chris and I have made quite a few lifestyle changes since moving to Seoul. Some of these changes have been more drastic than others, but all the same, life is extremely different. You could effectively say that we were thrust into an unknown world with a 180-degree difference than that normal for us. We’ve altered practically everything from our diets to our mode of transportation and anything else in between.

The biggest adjustment by far has been not living with Daphne, our nearly three-year-old boxer. From the time she was five weeks old she has lived with either Christopher or myself and we were so blessed to all three live together for the first five months of our marriage. Many of you know that we have a slight obsession with her. It’s been so hard to come home to an empty apartment with no dog slyly slinking off of the couch to greet us. Walks aren’t half as exciting now that we don’t have our lead explorer and third pack member. It’s not the same when we have lazy Saturday mornings without her snuggled in between us. And our morning alarm clock definitely does not encourage us to get up and face the day with wet kisses and a wagging tail. Although it was extremely difficult to leave her, it was our decision to move here and we knew right from the beginning it would be cruel and wrong to try to bring her. Daphne is very happily living with Ma and Pa Gilmore and her bestie, Lily the lab, in fresh air Colorado and we get to Skype and either see her or hear her often.

I hope to write about some of the other life changes we’ve been experiencing and pursuing over the next couple weeks or so….let’s call it a mini-series ☺


The day we got her.


She was so tiny!


She's such a pretty girl.


Sister Dazy, Lily, and Daphne


Ready for snowshoeing!


The morning we left...crying and crying :(