Hello from South Korea!

We arrived on time and are really grateful to report that we had uneventful flights from Philly to Toronto and from Toronto to Seoul. The 17 hour flight from Toronto to Seoul was long, but smooth. Some of us got a little rest while others didn't sleep at all.

Once we landed in Seoul we met three other teams attending the Global Youth Forum from the east coast of the U.S. . One team is from RLCA in Bear, DE and the other two are from  schools near Hagerstown, MD. They are a fun bunch and we look forward to building friendships with them!

It is about 10 p.m. local time and we are traveling from the airport to Mungyeong now. We hope to arrive at our guest houses & dorms by 11 p.m. We are really tired after a long, long day+ of travel.

Tomorrow is our day to rest and try to adjust to the thirteen hour time difference before the Youth Forum begins on Wednesday. Thank you for your prayers for us!!

Janet <><

We are leaving tomorrow!

We are leaving for South Korea in less than 24 hours! I am so excited as the trip is becoming more and more "real!" We have all been practicing and memorizing our presentation all week and are just about packed. I am so thankful for the time I have been able to spend with my family and close friends this week, and I am looking forward to my last American meal tonight that my mom is preparing.
My teammates have all been so gracious in thanking our well deserving parents and friends for their support and encouragement to Audra, Hannah, Valerie, Josh, and me. We would not be at this point without them, but I would like to especially give glory to God for orchestrating this whole trip!! He has been so good to us, and we can go forth with such blessing, promise, and confidence with the Spirit of God by our side and prayers of God's people. I am so thankful that God will be just as near to us in South Korea as He is at home!
Psalm 31:3- "For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name's sake you lead me and guide me."
With love and thankfulness,
Jaime

Only Two Days Left!!!!!

Hello everyone!
  It seems that I am the last to introduce myself! My name is Hannah Crismon and I am the fifth member of Team Korea 2013. My friends and I will be leaving for South Korea in only 2 days! Throughout the past several months, we have been preparing a presentation about the effects of social media on the family and community. Everyone will be meeting at my home tomorrow morning to put the finishing touches on our presentation. It is all coming together!
 The frantic packing has begun. My room looks like a bomb hit it as there are clothes strewn about everywhere. As a team, we are all very anxious with excitement! When I first heard about this opportunity, it felt like a distant, abstract idea. I was so concerned with our trip to Mexico and junior theses and finals and my trip out west that Korea seemed like a long time away. It is strange to think that in two short days, my friends and I will be on the other side of the globe! We are so blessed to have been given this amazing opportunity and can't wait to see what awaits us in Korea! To everyone at home, thank you so much for your prayers and support. Really. It means the world to know that our loved ones are keeping us in their thoughts and prayers. Well, that's all for now! God bless and take care!
~Hannah Crismon

Pre-Korea Post!

Hello, Everyone!

      I'm currently sitting with my favorite group of Korea-bound Tall Oaks Seniors! I'm not sure if I'm more excited about my senior year, or Korea, but for now I will stick to Korea related info. For those of you who may not know me, my name is Joshua Franck. I've been fortunate enough to attend Tall Oaks since kindergarten, and am thankful for this opportunity to serve.

      As for pre-Korea blogs, this will probably be my only one. Being a guy, I doubt my blogs will be quite as heartfelt as the other four's, but that is certainly not because of a lack of effort! I will try my best to keep everyone up-to-date. All in all, I anticipate this to be a pretty awesome trip. I am ridiculously excited, and at the same time a little worried. Some of us are worried about food, others about travel, but as for me, I am most worried about finding the right words to say. The Youth Forum is one thing being scripted, but the English Missions Camp is different. So if there was any one thing I could ask for, it would be prayer for guidance in the thoughts, words, and deeds of the whole team.

      This is all I have to say for the time being, but come back for more! 

-Joshua Franck

     

      

And the count down begins (:

Hi everyone!

          For those of you who don't know me, my name is Valerie Ziegler. I guess you could say that this post is my feeble attempt at procrastination. I have yet to do my laundry, pack, finish memorizing my speeches, or get my phone switched over to an international plan. . .but I'll get around to it (: I still have five more days to be lazy and consume all the greasy American food I can possibly get my hands on before I leave for South Korea! I think I’m more nervous about the food over there than I am about getting up in front of a huge crowd and giving a speech, but that comes with the territory of being an extremely picky eater.

          Anyway, I just wanted to say that the prayers and support we have received from our friends and families have been greatly appreciated and much needed. Prepping for this trip has taken a lot of work, but I think everything has finally fallen into place, and Lord willing, we’ll arrive safe and sound in South Korea, willing and ready to serve. Please continue to keep us in your prayers, and we’ll try our best to keep everyone back at home posted!

God Bless,

Valerie

T-6 days... Is this really happening?

Hello friends!!

           My Name is Audra Baumann. I will be writing on this blog as a senior at Tall Oaks Classical School and as a member of the first ever TOCS team to go to South Korea.

           Tonight, my teammates and I and all of our family members gathered together for our last formal family meeting before our departure. Our team is incredibly blessed to have such loyal, generous, and encouraging parents as ours are. Each parent has played such a unique role: from hosting meetings, to supporting us as we invested in long presentation work days, to collecting encouragement cards and more, our parents have pushed us to become better and better everyday.

            Each day as my regular customers at Starbucks ask me about the trip, the more real, (and exciting) this trip becomes!! I am blessed to be going on this trip with a group of family, and friends who have become like family.

            As I close my first post on this blog, I want to say a loud and sincere thank you to all of our prayer supporters. Our team has definitely needed, and felt the prayers both for our preparation before the trip, and our time in country. We are rooted in prayer, and strengthened by the Spirit.

           I'm excited to say that the next time you'll  hear from me, Lord willing, I'll be in South Korea!!!

Please comment! I can't wait to hear questions and feedback!!!

Thank you and God bless you all!

Audra Baumann

 

One week until our departure!

This post is brought to you by Jaime (: Hopefully all of us will be able to write this week and take turns posting throughout our trip.
What I am most looking forward to: living in a different culture, meeting new people, and experiencing God and his work in a new place
What I am least looking forward too: I'm nervous about the food!

We are leaving for South Korea next Sunday...time is flying by so quickly! We are all very excited for our adventure and will be busy this week packing, practicing our presentation, and spending time with our families before we leave.

Here's a quick summary of our trip for those of you who may not know what we'll be doing in South Korea...

We will be in central South Korea for four weeks, living at the Global Vision Christian School. The team from Tall Oaks will be one of many arriving from Christian schools around America and Asia. We are currently preparing a presentation for a four day “Global Youth Forum” on Social Media and its impact on the family and community. The purpose of the forum is to bring together Christian high school students for seminars and workshops to promote global awareness, cross-cultural understanding, and social responsibility under the lordship of the gospel. After the youth forum, we will go on a three day tour of South Korea. Then, we will begin the most important part of our trip. We will be helping to teach in a two-week English Missions Camp for students of all ages from the community.

 

We covet the prayers of our families and friends as we embark on this trip that the Lord has called us to. This week, please pray for us as we practice our presentation for the youth forum, pack, and have the difficult task of saying goodbye to our loved ones. Please also pray for God to prepare our hearts and the hearts of those we will be interacting with for his work!

 

Here's a fun picture of the team from our Junior Trip to Mexico back in March (:

from left to right-Audra, Valerie, Josh, Jaime, Hannah