Happy New Year!

2006년 새해 복 많이 받으세요!

Happy New Year, everyone!

We are already several hours into 2006, and we can assure our friends and family reading this just after midnight in North America that 2006 is shaping up to be a good year.

This year has been a challenging one for our whole family. We started the year happily with a visit from my Uncle Steve, and his friend Randy, all the way from Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. They were en route to Mongolia to work on some mission planes there. We really enjoyed their short visit with us, and it made the world feel just a bit smaller to have them here with us.

We were also excited to have a trip of our own to Canada in February, the first time back to Canada since we were married in 2002. That trip set up another one in the summer, this time bringing five of our students along to study English for the summer in Manitoba. It was very good to have a more extended visit with family and friends. We ended the trip with a short tour of Vancouver, the first time I (Norlan) had been there.

This year I took on a new job, teaching Grade 6 English in the mornings at Sokcho Elementary School. It has meant for very busy days, but I have enjoyed the energy and enthusiasm of the students, and the friendships with my coworkers. The Korean school year runs from March to December with a 1-month summer break and two months in the winter.

The past two months have been fairly difficult ones for us. Our carefully crafted, efficient (and busy) schedule fell to pieces at the beginning of November, when we simultaneously confirmed Eunnie’s pregnancy and a serious case of appendicitis. The doctors we saw in town didn’t offer much hope for our baby, and even recommended an abortion along with the appendectomy. We finally found a helpful surgeon at the fourth hospital we tried, and Eunnie had her appendix removed in Gangneung, about an hour and a half south of Sokcho. Recovery from the surgery, combined with severe morning sickness, made for a miserable two months for Eunnie. Thankfully, our baby is doing fine now, and Eunnie regained her appetite last week, so we celebrated by going out for some of the foods she has missed in the past two months. Saylen and I have been sick with colds and flus nearly constantly for the past two months, however, and the latest bout has proven hard for either of us to shake off.

Next year promises to be another full year for us. We have nearly twice the number of students we had last year in our home school, and I will find out soon whether I will continue teaching at Sokcho Elementary School when the new term begins in March, teaching grade 5 as well as grade 6. A new baby is on the way in June, so we may be considering an expansion of our living arrangements to accommodate our expanding family.

I have been slowly learning how to do more things with the computer, and have started a small blog, not so much about us but about our town, food, and such things. I may start a second blog with more personal postings. For now, though, those of you who are interested can read me at Skindleshanks Café. If any of you have websites or blogs, please let me know—they are a great way for us to keep up with each other’s life, and help us to know how we can keep you in our prayers.

As always we appreciate your prayers for us. Life is not always straightforward and simple, and we often struggle to know where God is leading us. Please pray that God would give us confidence and peace as we work and live here.

We love you all very much and look forward to when we can see you again—hopefully soon!

Lots of love,

Norlan, Eunnie, and Saylen

P.S. Below are some pictures of our family over the past year. Enjoy!