Merry Christmas, Everyone!
Our medical leave of absence (MLA) tour has been an adventure already--3 times through the ticketing counter line in Seoul, 2 attempts through customs, a missing passport, and the flourishing of a cold on the drive to the airport. We paid exactly 400% more than usual for rice and seaweed in the airport, and were entertained by the menu. Most of the food items for sale had traditional names like Kimbap, Seaweed Soup, and Om Rice, but then we found Broth to Chase a Hangover. That was new.
We knew it was going to be a tough flight as soon as we lifted off from Kansai airport in Osaka-- our movie screen was blipping a horizontal line of static, but we could see other screens with full-color animation. Unfortunately, they were able to fix the projector, so were subjected to an ICBM (Inter-continental Bad Movie) not once, but twice. That's right, they showed Hillary Duff in The Perfect Man twice. TWICE!!!!!
And if there's one thing worse than bad American food at 30,000 feet, it's bad Japanese food at 30,000 feet. We are living proof that surviving on cashews for a day will not kill you... but it will make your bowels a little off.
But we're here now! We started laughing when we crawled into our old bed again. We couldn't get over hold soft it was. It felt SO good.
We had a nice reunion with the crew at church, and we were surpised to see Jackie and Todd. Very nice. It's great to be with family, and the family's food, again.
This morning we had a fine breakfast (blackberries, pineapple, spelt/oat/pecan pancakes, flavored applesauces, and scrambled eggs with soymilk), and then opened presents. Among other stuffs, I received these fine books:
1. Let My People Go Surfing. Yvon Chouinard's adventures and Patagonia's search for sustainable production. Here's a paragraph describing his time in Korea...
"A few weeks later I was called up for the draft. I tried to fail the physical by drinking a big bottle of soy sauce in order to raise my blood pressure, but I got so sick I couldn't keep it down.... After basic training, I hastily married a local Burbank girl before being shipped off to Korea, where I caused nothing but trouble by "forgetting" to salute officers, looking slovenly, going on hunger strikes, and generally acting unbalanced but always backing off just shy of risking court-martial. The army finally sent me of to work with some civilians where all I had to do was turn their generator on and off every day. I had plenty of free time, so I would sneak off with several young Korean climbers to put up first ascents all over the smooth granite domes and pinnacles north of Seoul. Miraculously, I was honorably discharged in 1964." (p. 20-21)
2. Faith Works (Jim Wallis). How Faith-based Organizations Are Changing Lives, Neighborhoods and America
3. Following the Equator (Mark Twain). A Journey Around the World
4. Blessed are the Peacemakers (S. Jonathan Bass). Martin Luther King Jr., Eight White Religious Leaders, and the "Letter from Birmingham Jail"
5. Seven Summits (Bass, Wells, Ridgeway). Their challenge--to scale the highest peaks on seven continents
6. The Servant (Hunter). A simple story about the true essence of leadership
7. Wild at Heart (John Eldredge). Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul
8. It's about People (Jim Hohnberger). How to treat others, especially those we disagree with, the way Jesus treats us.
"...there's more to being a follower of Christ than pointing out error and being right. It's about people!" (from the back cover)
I was asked to give a 3rd sermon in February after we return to Korea. I'm thinking about using this book and some other stories as the foundation for the talk.
9. Uncle John's GIANT 10th Anniversary Bathroom Reader. More absorbing material!
2006 looks to be a fine year with all of this stellar reading material. Look for more MLA posts as Charissa and I search for friends, family and health on this continental excursion. Coming soon to a town near you.
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