10 months and counting

The Letts have now been in Korea for little over 10 months...leaving us with two more months in our one year contract! Taylor and I have been exploring options and praying for the year to follow, but are fairly certain that Korea is where we will be for at least another year. Our time here has been a roller coaster of emotions. I must admit that for the first six months, I could think of nothing but leaving and heading home after our year contract was fulfilled... but then my heart softened towards Korea and now I am excited about staying. Taylor was fairly constant throughout. Sure, there were times he wanted to stranggle his disrespectful middles schoolers, but all in all, things are looking up. Next year, Lord willing we stay, we will be moved (by Taylor's school) to an anpartment in Masan/Changwon. This is BIG news becuase Changwon is a Large city... not just a town, which quite frankly would be a step up from Yeongsan! I love our apartment though and so with the convenience and community that would come with Changwon living, we will be losing the large floor plan and the opportunity to host large crowds. I will also be losing my little plot of land right outside our apartment... so while I didn't get much out of the little garden patch this year due to late planting, I was kind of bummed knowing I wouldn't be able to go for round two. Luckily, pots are readily available and so I will attempt a little potted garden. Who knows, maybe we will luck out and get a top floor apartment with easy access to the roof! :) So for now, the Letts are waiting upon a contract and upon the Lord to work out all things for His GLORY and our good... Thankful for a God who cares and provides.

In most recent news, we got.... drum roll please.... an OVEN!!!!!!!! Taylor bought me an oven for Christmas! WHAT A GUY! I was totally floored, in complete shock! Here's the play by play:
I had asked Taylor if he could come home on his lunch break on Friday to bring me a few groceries for last minute goodies for our us and our Christmas guests. (I'll go into detail about that later) Like the great guy that he is, he agreed to it.... plus there were leftover tacos in the fridge... I might have used that in the conversation as a lure. ;) Anyways, upon arrival, he hollered from behind the front door to go to the bedroom and close the door. So, I excitedly obeyed! Corin made a comical exit from his room as he started trying to guess what daddy had in his hands... let's just say that our doors and walls are not sound proof. Of course, being a three year old, he was not really sure what it was, so he just proceeded in asking Taylor what he had. Taylor sent him to his room, just in case he realized the contents before I had a chance to see it, and soon he was leading me from our bedroom by the hand as I covered my eyes. We walked into our office as I anticipated the words" You can open your eyes." Honestly, I think I was expecting a Christmas tree... we hadn't yet bought one and or chopped on down, so Iwas thinking maybe he found one on a good deal at the store while getting groceries. So as I opened my eyes, I was started to see no tree. Then my eyes landed on the box. No WAY. It was an oven. Mind you ovens are not the same size in Korea... they are like oversized toaster ovens... but I could not believe there was one sitting in front of me. My mouth hung open and I started to tear up. Yes, I cried. I couldn't get any words out. I was in total shock. Taylor was eager to get my responce and asked if I liked it. I turned to him, eyes still full of tears and just hugged him. Words were not coming. I thought for a moment I had said something out loud but as I hugged Taylor I recognized that lump in my throat. After I let go of Taylor, mostly so he could breathe, I squealed with excitement... There we go... it kicked in! I was so stinking elated!!!! I began the recipe hunt the moment the door closed after Taylor left to go back to work! ;) And so, the story of the new addition to our family.

Now, back to the Christmas guests. Taylor and I decided that we didn't want to drive into Busan for the Church overnight Christmas event, mostly because I like my sleep and because there is just something about opening presents at home on Christmas morning with your own homemade goodies. So... we invited some singles. We thought they might be a little more likely to want company on Christmas. We got two takers. Anthony and Elizabeth joined us for Christmas Eve and then shared Christmas morning with us as well. Liz and I exchanged gifts and Taylor and Anthony exchanged gifts. It was fun having a slightly larger crowd than just the three of us. I was kind of gloomy thinking of Christmas on our own. I think having Anthony and Elizabeth took a bit of the sting out of missing family, hopefully it did the same for them. So for a recap of our Christmas: Eating, talking, movie, eating, sleeping (until 7:30!!! Thanks for that Christmas present Corin!), eating, opening of presents, eating and then relaxation!!!!!! Oh and some Skype calls here and there in the mix! :) For a Christmas away from Friends and family, it wasn't too shabby. Like the good photographer I am, I took absolutely no pictures of our Christmas. Sorry, but I prefer to be there rather than have to look at the pictures to decipher just what happened when I wasn't watching. Call me selfish if you must, but that is how I roll on Birthdays and Christmas.

A Big thanks to Anthony and Elizabeth for being such great guests and for our great gifts!

A HUGE thank you to God, our Father, who sent His Son to come in the humble form of a helpless infant. Thank You Jesus for living a life we can glean from and for Your submission to God's plan. Thank You Lord, for dying for our sins... for raising from the grave to conquer death once and for all... for leaving Your Spirit in Your stead. Thank You for Salvation through merely believing in Your TRUTH. Thank You.
Amen.
LL