I wrote a little about the school in Kyabazaala Village in this post back from August. Pastor Kintu started a school there for the children in the village. They were having to walk too far to get to school and unfortunately, there is a stronghold of witchcraft in this area and the children were being abducted by the witches and used for sacrifices. Since the school has started, the child abduction rate has gone down.
The school is really struggling to survive though. There aren't really any supporters/donors for the school. Often the teachers go without pay for months. Pastor Kintu gave us a bag of stuff handmade in Africa to bring back to sell. All of the proceeds will go directly to the school. Here is a link to the album on facebook.
Some of these could make good Christmas gifts. If you're in Kansas City, Tulsa, or Houston we can hand-deliver the items. Otherwise they can be shipped to you. Please consider supporting this good cause!
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Exciting News
We have some exciting news- we are planning to come home during Christmas-time!
I (Ashley) have been asked to be a bridesmaid in one of my good friend's wedding on December 16. So I will be coming home earlier and Taylor will follow about a week later, on the 23rd or 24th. We don't have tickets yet.
Speaking of tickets...some of you have already asked us about Christmas. Well...we don't want any gifts! We want to see YOU! So if you were planning on giving us something for Christmas, would you instead consider contributing to our "Send Us Home" fund? Tickets are really expensive, and we want to get home to see our families and friends. We can't see everyone of course. Sorry.
And if you weren't planning on giving us anything, that's okay too. But if you feel so obliged.... feel free. :)
You can either mail a check to Taylor's parents house and they'll deposit it into our account. Or we can give you our account info. and you can do a direct transfer.
Sorry for the shameless Christmas fund request. Totally not an obligation- even for family. But just in case you felt so inclined to help us get home, we just wanted to give you the info! We're hoping to see as many people as we can in the short time we're home- mostly family, but we love our friends too. It will be sooooo nice to see the people we haven't seen for a year and half.
I (Ashley) have been asked to be a bridesmaid in one of my good friend's wedding on December 16. So I will be coming home earlier and Taylor will follow about a week later, on the 23rd or 24th. We don't have tickets yet.
Speaking of tickets...some of you have already asked us about Christmas. Well...we don't want any gifts! We want to see YOU! So if you were planning on giving us something for Christmas, would you instead consider contributing to our "Send Us Home" fund? Tickets are really expensive, and we want to get home to see our families and friends. We can't see everyone of course. Sorry.
And if you weren't planning on giving us anything, that's okay too. But if you feel so obliged.... feel free. :)
You can either mail a check to Taylor's parents house and they'll deposit it into our account. Or we can give you our account info. and you can do a direct transfer.
Sorry for the shameless Christmas fund request. Totally not an obligation- even for family. But just in case you felt so inclined to help us get home, we just wanted to give you the info! We're hoping to see as many people as we can in the short time we're home- mostly family, but we love our friends too. It will be sooooo nice to see the people we haven't seen for a year and half.
I want it that way
Taylor and the other kindergarten teacher at our school, Pam, taught the kindergarteners the song "I want it That Way" by the Backstreet Boys. The kids are pretty hilarious.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Korea Foundation Day
Last Monday (October 3rd) was a holiday for us here. National Foundation Day doesn't really mean anything to us except a day off work. And we made good use of our 4-day weekend.
On Saturday, after a nice morning of sleeping in we took the dog and headed for the mountain.
We stopped in Gangnam (where Dr. Fish is) for breakfast at Butterfinger Pancakes- delish! There was a 45 minute wait, so we go the dog out of the bag to walk her around but it was kind of chilly and she started shivering. Good thing we brought her blanket.
Previous to this day, I (Ashley) had been on a detox/cleanse. No wheat, no gluten, no dairy. Pretty much just fruits, vegetables, rice, olive oil, vinegar, and chicken or fish. I really could live by that lifestyle- except for my love/addiction of sweets. I had already been doing my cleanse for almost 2 weeks and decided to reintroduce some things. So we ordered the chocolate chocolate chip pancake with cookies and cream and vanilla ice cream and fudge on top. Wow. Bad idea right before you go on a hike and right after your body has been cleansed of all that filth. I quickly began to regret that decision.
We made it to the mountain and began our hike. Mount Umyeonsan is a nice retreat from the business of Seoul. It's nestled right in the heart of the city, but there are plenty of trees and greenery to block the sight/noise of all the busyness.
We stopped halfway up- Taylor to play on the exercise equipment, me to lay down because I was starting to feel sick.
The whole reason I started this detox is because I've been having problems with my health since last Spring. I began doing research into gluten intolerance and thought that might be what I was suffering from. It was worth a try. So I went off everything gluten for awhile. I should not so quickly have reintroduced it into my life. Maybe it was the gluten in the pancakes; maybe it was a sugar overload- I'm not sure, but I do know the pain was intense!
We finally made it to the top and got a nice view of the city. Check out the intense excercisers in the video above. This is not unusual to find in Korea!
On Monday, the actual holiday, we went to the Han River Park, which is about a 5-10 minute walk from our apartment. We love being so close to the river. We had a picnic and read our books by the water. People were flying kites, we had our books, lattes from Starbucks, all was well. 'Twas a beautiful day!
On Saturday, after a nice morning of sleeping in we took the dog and headed for the mountain.
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| She fit nicely in Taylor's backpack. |
We stopped in Gangnam (where Dr. Fish is) for breakfast at Butterfinger Pancakes- delish! There was a 45 minute wait, so we go the dog out of the bag to walk her around but it was kind of chilly and she started shivering. Good thing we brought her blanket.
Previous to this day, I (Ashley) had been on a detox/cleanse. No wheat, no gluten, no dairy. Pretty much just fruits, vegetables, rice, olive oil, vinegar, and chicken or fish. I really could live by that lifestyle- except for my love/addiction of sweets. I had already been doing my cleanse for almost 2 weeks and decided to reintroduce some things. So we ordered the chocolate chocolate chip pancake with cookies and cream and vanilla ice cream and fudge on top. Wow. Bad idea right before you go on a hike and right after your body has been cleansed of all that filth. I quickly began to regret that decision.
We made it to the mountain and began our hike. Mount Umyeonsan is a nice retreat from the business of Seoul. It's nestled right in the heart of the city, but there are plenty of trees and greenery to block the sight/noise of all the busyness.
 |
| As always, the stairs for hiking. |
The whole reason I started this detox is because I've been having problems with my health since last Spring. I began doing research into gluten intolerance and thought that might be what I was suffering from. It was worth a try. So I went off everything gluten for awhile. I should not so quickly have reintroduced it into my life. Maybe it was the gluten in the pancakes; maybe it was a sugar overload- I'm not sure, but I do know the pain was intense!
 |
| no more gluten for me :( |
We finally made it to the top and got a nice view of the city. Check out the intense excercisers in the video above. This is not unusual to find in Korea!
I felt sick the whole way down and pretty much the rest of the night. Note to all: when going off a fast/detox/cleanse, do it slowly. Don't quickly reintroduce all the bad stuff. In fact, continue to avoid if possible. Otherwise, your body will hate you and strongly react.
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| feeling sick |
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| Moral of the day: treat your body right so it will be nice to you. |
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| Banpo Bridge at sunset. |
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| dirty puppy got a bath |
Friday, October 7, 2011
This dog's got talent!
We're having some fun with this dog. But, we are happy that she is leaving on Monday and she is not a permanent addition to the Hankins family.
