Memories to last a lifetime

Hot, very hot. And humid - record-breaking humidity.
 
More patbingsoo than we imagined our bellies could handle.

Cheering on our motherland in the London Olympics (which we did very well in, by the way - for the tiny country that we are, we ranked 5th in the total number of medals!).

Waking up in the middle of the night to watch the soccer matches live.

Hiking along the old walls that once protected a smaller, more ancient Seoul.

Meeting his relatives, meeting mine.

Spending quality time with my parents and his dad.

A weekend in the lush, green mountains of Kang-Won Province.

Lots and lots of Korean popsicles.

Even more street shopping.

Some of the best Korean food we've ever had (the best were from the countryside, of course).

Reminiscing about the other summer that we were in Korea together: the one after our freshman year of college, when we were dating-but-not-really-but-really-we-were. 

It all passed by in such a wonderful, memory-filled blur. Thank goodness we took almost 400 photos of the past 2 weeks, so we can pause at each event and remember.

It'll be difficult setting my mind back to school mode again, and so fast: we arrived back in the US today, and I start school tomorrow! (Hm, do I sense a trend going on here? Last year we returned from our honeymoon the day before med school orientation. That means next year...uh oh.)
But I feel recharged from our vacation, and ready to face what this new school year (for both of us!) will bring!

Goodbye, sweet Korea.
Hello, Philadelphia, medical school part 2, and wife-of-a-seminarian part 1!

For Your Viewing Pleasure

I just discovered a stack of CD's in our TV stand with a bunch of old photos from my past. I spent the better part of yesterday poring through the photos, "rediscovering" my memories! Here's a few of my favorites, for your viewing pleasure:

Canada

Newlyweds

We waved Daddy good-bye as he went to work

California

I had to force myself not to post a million photos of my baby sister. 

She was unspeakably adorable! This one I couldn't not share:

Mongolia

Dressed in traditional Mongolian clothes for Tsagaansar (Lunar New Year)

Aaand... that concludes it for childhood photos! I had an extended "awkward teen lankiness" phase, which is why most (all?) of you have never seen my teen pictures from Mongolia and Germany. And probably never will ::evil grin::.

I'll end with this awesome photo: my dad in Senegal, dancin' it up in the center of the circle.

The best part? MBC (Korean TV Channel) happened to record it. :D

Family

Two beautiful women visited us in Philly over the weekend. I hadn't seen my mom in a whole year, and sister since her last visit for New Year's. One flew in from Korea, the other from Michigan. Needless to say, the best of times were had :)

Many of you (sparse) blog readers know that Hubs and I have weekly "family worship" times. We sing a praise, listen to a sermon, share prayer requests, pray. We had our regularly scheduled worship time last weekend too... but with two more family members present, it really felt like what we call it - family worship. I am so humbled and thankful that God poured out His presence among us that night. A wonderful time sharing about the things we experienced and learned during this past year of marriage. Hearing Mom and Dad's testimonies - how they came to Christ, how Jesus healed their marriage and made it burst with so much fruit, how God has been growing them the past 15 years on the mission field.

Our family isn't perfect by any means. My sister and I quarrel, my parents don't always call each other honeydew, Hubs and I are past our "honeymoon" stage. But...

Our family loves God. We live in awe of His tender love for us, none of which we deserve. And because of the healing and forgiveness we've experienced in Christ, we can ask God for the strength to do the same.

Our family is learning to share deeply of this union in Christ, which runs deeper than our ties of blood. Already I see how much Jesus has grown us as a family. And how rich of an addition my husband is to the Pak clan.

Our family sits at the cusp of some big changes and new directions. Please, we covet your prayers - that we would continue to be honest and open with our struggles and praises; and that our times of fellowship and sharing would grow deeper and more frequent, despite the distance. Thank you.