The Coming Week

Greetings,

I'm pretty excited about next week: my parents are going to be here. Last time they came it was really rushed and crazy because Eugene and I were about to get married. This time we can relax and enjoy the summer for a week together.

The house is still a bit of a disaster area, but the cupboard looks great.

So, this week had 3 main new beginnings:
I went with ummanim to Busa farm and got 3 varieties of bell pepper plants. I read that it's possible to grow bell peppers in containers-- don't know if that's true but I'm going to try.

I began a new part time job today. One day a week I'm coordinating a medical residency program and trying to design a good curriculum. I think it's hard to know what it will be like, but I want to learn and apply myself to what has to be done. I realised one major challenge is to stay out of the politics of an office without being self-righteous or high and mighty.

I began a new blog: The Concrete Gardener (concretegardener.blogspot.com). I'm trying to learn about urban gardening and urban living-- really thinking about what health means, particularly as a Christian. I would like for it to become a resource, and so have a wider audience and maybe one day make money for Eug and I. A way to learn, reflect, and put something out. For now, I'm just trying to dedicate time to write one post a week.

Thanks for reading and keeping me updated on your lives.

On NY, Plants, Graduation and Spring Cleaning in Summer (Not in order of importance)

Last Thursday we had a short visit to NY to see Sam. He treated us to Mamma Mia- my first musical in NY! It was good seeing Sam, and seeing the ship. I think meeting Sam in NY is always a time when I am amazed how quickly and dramatically our lives can change (the externals, at least). NY always makes me think about how lucky I am because it's very obviously a world center, in a more obnoxious way than London or Cape Town or Milan. Eug and I also saw my cousin, which was lovely.

This past Friday was graduation at Wellesley. Madeleine Albright gave the speech and Gladys graduated. This the last year where I really have people I know and love graduating-- next year will be a bit strange I think.

We've begun Spring cleaning, finally. It's like we're moving in again-- and we've only lived in our place 6 months (less than).

In other news... our plants are doing well. There have been a few deaths but nothing major, considering the conditions. It's a pretty good challenge to learn to be healthy and well-balanced in Boston. In Durban it was relatively easy so I took a lot for granted-- even the basil grew faster than you can imagine! But here it's not quite as quick. I'm going to try and visit the farm where we got a share to begin our vegetable eating summer. It's going to be great.

Ok, I have a few more pictures but I'll stop here. We're so excited about Durban and Cape Town in less than a month! Yeah!

Giselle

Ee Cheng treated me to my first Ballet. It was kindof cool.

I don't think I would have known what was going on if not for having read beforehand about the plot (peasant girl falls in love with peasant man, peasant man turns out to be engaged prince, peasant girl goes mad and dies of sorrow, joining a host of bitter ghosts who never married, these ghosts kill men by making them dance all night, engaged prince gets stuck dancing all night but ghost peasant girl helps him so he doesn't die.)

Ee Cheng's favourite part was when these large elegant dogs came on stage. My favourite part was when the ballerina men pulled out swords but they didn't seem to be very passionate about using them.

On Thursday Eug and I are heading to NY to see my brother, Sam and his girlfriend, Julia. It'll be a really short trip (less than a day) but I'm excited. I'll keep you updated.

Violins, Summer, and New Beginnings

Summer has officially begun for us here in Boston, even though it's pouring with rain and really cold today. I've started work at Refugee and Immigrant Assistance Center, and I'm having one last interview for another job in a couple of hours. It's been a tough semester with a lot of adjustments, but I feel like I've been learning things at a really high rate.

The last few weeks have been quite busy/intense. Two Sundays ago, we went to Esther's recital (I will check if she minds if I post a photo) where she played Poeme and Bach's Chaconne. Hearing Bach's Chaconne live was one of those really amazing experiences. I felt like I was in another world. Ho Re Halmoni, the mother of our pastor, who has been ill for a long time, passed away 10 minutes before the concert began. She was over 90. In the week that followed, many many people were flying from Korea and Japan for the funeral on Wednesday and Thursday. I saw from her life how much prayer matters and how prayers really are answered by God. She remembered and prayed for so many people over the years. She virtually began a whole new lifetime at age 65. Eug lived upstairs from her after college, and he said she always called him American boy even though she spoke to him in Korean.

In the midst of this, exams and mothers day. The day before mother's day we helped my mother in law with her garden, and on Sunday we had her over for dinner (we ordered from Cheesecake Factory-- all the restaurants would have been too packed). I wished we could have been with my mom as well.

This Sunday is BU graduation, so it's still going to be busy a little while longer. Ee Cheng and I are going to a ballet called Giselle, performed by the Boston Ballet. I've never been to a ballet before so it's quite a momentous event. I'll let you know...

We've signed up for a share in a farm called Busa Farm, which is near our house. It means we get credit at their farm stall. I'm very excited because it will force us to buy fresh produce (which is quite hard to get in Boston because most food has been transported very far) and learn to cook a lot of new dishes. Hopefully we can start to have friends over more.

I have a green bike! I don't HAVE it have it, but it's mine, I'm just waiting for the current owner to graduate and sell it to me. Eug is also looking for a bike.

I still need to take pictures of the plants. THey're starting to grow, though I think if they were in Durban I would already have a jungle and not be quite as excited about my basils second set of adult leaves...

Recommended reading: The Emotionally Healthy Church; Prayer (by Philip Yancey). I expected the Emotionally Healthy Church to be about church, but actually it was quite personl. I learned a lot because it focused on having clear boundaries and knowing your personal limits and strengths, and asking God to work through those. I was encouraged because it's not a cop-out, like suddenly you're given license to just sit at home, but it helped me to articulate the idea that we must be clear on why we do each thing we do for God. Prayer is a great book (I haven't quite finished it because I read it at the book shop hehe) because it says, yes we are broken and a lot of time we don't know how to communicate with God, and we don't feel lightening bolts, but still we pray and ask how God works and where He is in a situation. THe two books have many similarities because they say ultimately: We are broken and we do not have the answers to all of life's questions, but we know someone who does, and who has loved us and already made us whole in Him.

Love, Jo

Tomatoes

Hi,

Summer is on it's way here in Boston. I am busy with exams/papers and presentations until about 2 weeks time, and so not too many interesting things are happening. I would like to take pictures for you though, as the Cherry blossoms are out on the Charles and so it's a really nice drive home every day. Eugene and I live about 30 minutes drive from school. We're pretty excited to be visiting South Africa in less than 2 months.

I am starting to work in just a couple of weeks, and I have a second interview in the hope two part time jobs will make a full time position! I will be working part time in a Jamaica Plain, which is near to downtown but not near to our home. I'm excited because it means I can be a part time student next semester, which financially and just personally is good. In Refugee and Immigrant Assistance in Jamaica Plain, I will be doing quite a lot of writing, I think, and also learning more about refugee case work.

I really like Philip Yancey. His book on prayer is teaching me a lot. Seeing myself with respect to God makes me a bit less resless and a bit more quiet.

Oh, I almost forgot-- we got two tomato plants. I still need to put them in a bigger container and then I will keep them on the fire escape so that they get light. I'll give you an update photo as soon as I can.

Christine's God-children

I am not sure where they will turn up, but the spindly looking baby trees are yours to name, Christine. Thank you. I am grateful that you take this responsibility seriously.

The other pictures are my poor underperforming Basils. They are almost a month old and haven't got any leaves-- still their baby leaves... I don't know what to do with them except wait for the sun.

Sorry for absence

Things have been busy recently-- I'm sure for you as well. This is just a catchup, you know I'm alive and well sort of thing.

I read a really awesome book by Philip Yancey, Rumors. It's essentially about how we long for another world, and how what we see in the world today are shadows of what God has for us.

For me it's a reminder that we don't have to be sure about what we see, we don't have to have perfect eyesight or perfect vision in this life, nor do we have to believe we do. We can look forward to a time when we will see more clearly.

Also, at church Sunday morning I heard some thing very powerful. The fear of God is to be concerned about what God has to say about each situation in your life. God wants to be involved in the tough stuff. These were the notes I had in answer to "How to Experience a Great Life in the Midst of Troubles"
Go straight to God and ask God for help
Do everything you can to bring peace to people around you
Embrace hope and shun despair
Invite others to celebrate God's goodness with you.

This message was from Psalm 34 (Mrs Schoor's favourite Psalm) so I was really touched because I remembered (though only second hand) how she lived this out in a simple way-- so I know from her testimony that we can do this.