more Korea, Yeah!

Fighters in the Sky!!! The background of the vast sky implies Dan and Ed's stellar fighting skills.

Yeah, so I went to Osan awhile ago and got an amazing mink blanket, I actually look forward to getting in bed at night, even though Tory isn't there (ever). This place below is the best Brazilian Steakhouse ever!! EVER!!!

Sweet Bar at Osan, it was fun. That's Josh and Clark.

Joe, Ed, Chance (with new suits) me and Nick (the guy who moves during night shots). This was taken at Santa Rosa, it's alright.

Fighters in the Sky!!! yes, I've been fighting lately, it's been 6 days since my last fight and I still hurt, yeah I think I might take another week off! This is Ed and I, he won, but the point was to stand up, take the beating and learn something (that's right, learning and fighting at the same time!!)

Sunset from day 62, or was it 64, ah who cares.

Korea September 2009

See all the pics on my facebook account! I couldn't upload them here for some reason.

CLIMBING:

There's a wall at the gym and I climb it, and it's beautiful, I love it, newest favoritist hobby. Chance, Ed and Clark and I are always going there, it's awesome they have auto belle-ers and you can top rope too, so that's cool because I have skills.

OOMPA PARK:

Okay, this is oompa park, with the love bridge. Those are for you baby, I hope you like them. Off of Ooompa park there's a huge church, pictured here at day and night. And an amazing coffee house called Santa Rosa that is absolutely amazing, as you can see from the spread. We're always going there. That night I also took the pics of the apartments. I am in awe of how many apartment building they will group together here. Just to think of all those people, families and stories make me stop and wonder. There is also on outdoor gym there. It's really funny watching the korean people "workout" but you gotta give it to them, I never see fat koreans (almost never).

HIKING:

I went on a hiking trip and learned some things about Korea. 1-The mountains are treasured and seen a source of the spiritual/mystical. Lotsa buddhist temples reside on mountains. 2-People love them and everyone hikes, the trails were filled with people young and old. They were outfitted in top of the line gear or street clothes, they don't care. 3-All mountains in Korea are ridiculously steep and rocky, although at the worst points they just put in stairs. 4-I really like the funny designs on their huts. 5-A backwards swastika is a buddhist/korean symbol for peace. 6-I am a little out of shape, but still maintain an unrealistically high confidence.

WORK:

I am working swing shift, so I get experience all the amazingness as we fix all the broke jets from the previous day. Don't be deceived, I was that close to the afterburner. Working on the F-15 that closely is one of the funnest parts of my job. Working with the people is the most satisfying.

Osan Trip

On Friday I went to Osan AB, with it's huge market of knockoffs right outside the gate, all day! We were there like 14 hours, defintely only needed about 6, but that's okay. I got all the gifts I wanted to for family, so look out, and send me your orders.

That's us eating dinner in a place where you get to sit on couches and eat, definitely going there again.

Us playing darts

Clark and me @ lunch.

Ed and Chance @ lunch!

Some decorated overpass, all of Korea looks like this, trashy!

I'll have to finish this post later, I can't upload images!

Orphanage Visit

I finally made it to the orphanage with the Chapel. They go every Wednesday night. I was fun, lots of crazy little kids starved for attention and candy.

I got to read with this little girl, she was pretty good at english actually, I don't know why I look so weird in that picture, probably shouldn't have posted it.

So I had this kid on my shoulders and I hear this faint drone, and the kid starts flipping out, obviously wants down. He was more excited than when Isaiah hear's a Choo-Choo Train. It was the bug spray mobile, spraying insecticide out the back. The kids chase it down the street, literally in a cloud of insecticide, it's disgusting.

Good times, though, I miss my kids.

Me and Danny are BFFs on Facebook now!

What's going on at Kunsan

I got to do two things that were new experiences for me last week.

I visited A-Town (America Town), now known as the International Cultural Village. It's got about 20 bars filled with imagrant workers that we affectionately call Juicies. I got to sit down with one with a few friends, Chance somehow found out that she was a Christian and I wanted to ask her some questions. Here's how our conversation in broken English went.

Q:Where are you from?

A:The Phillipines

Q:What did you think you would do here when you got here?

A:Be a singer, that's what I did in the Philippines, I sang at weddings and played the guitar.

Q:Did you know you would be doing this? (hanging out in a bar everyday, if guys buy her drinks she gets $$, they definitely like to get close too)

A:No, I hate it, it's terrible.

Q:Why don't you leave?

A: I can't I have a legal contract for one year.

Q:When did you accept Christ as your Savior?

A:A few months before I came here.

Q:How can I pray for you?

A:Pray for endurance, that the next eight months would go by quickly.

Her name is Michelle, pray for her. A few of the guys are pretty excited there's a "new batch" of juicies coming from the Philippines on Friday, some of the guys are pretty excited. I might go down there just to see the look the young women's eyes as they realize what the next year of lives is going to be like. That should leave a pretty deep mark.

Well I've been having a good time in Korea so far. I've been staying busy on the weekends with Chance and a few other guys. Here's what I've been up to...

Okay, (from the front) this is Clark, Ed, Chance and me, this picture is kind of a corny, just roll with it. We went from base to Gunsan Fish Market, it was dirty and smelled bad, Korea is a very dirty place. I didn't take many pictures of people because you're supposed to ask first and I already felt like an Asian Tourist in New York.

This boat is just sitting out in the bay, I don't think it's operational.
This is a gate to someone's house, there are little jewels in this dirty little town.

This is a spider living outside my shack, it's feet are bigger than a half dollar.
We got on this ferry for about 1.5 hours to this island, we passed this huge crane you can actually see from the base, it's well over 10 stories high and can hold 1650 tons, as you can see labelled. The island we pretty trashed, there was a huge burn pit right behind the best beach there! Clark and ran out onto the rocks and took that picture. We rented bikes, my petal fell off after the first 1/4 mile. They were only $3 though.

There I am all alone without Tory and my little men.

Daniel and Marcus "Chance" Stephens.

shuge!

I'm on a boat!

So many people, mainly laborers, figure out how to put all sorts of stuff onto push carts or bikes, it's interesting.

Isaiah and Noah

Don't they look similar! The one of Noah is recent, so 12 months, and the one of Isaiah is when he was 14 months. They've got that same look of determination.

Random happenings

Here are some random things that I've been up to whilst not working. Below is the sunset over the bay outside of the awesome Wolfpack Park. Which we've dubbed "District 10"

Here is the lamp-post from "The Lion, the Witch, and the wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis. Down the street from "District 10"

Here's who I am hanging out with tonight at Sonlight Inn (Chapel Annex). That's MSgt Burt Schmidt, SSgt Josh Grier and SrA Will Alvarez. And me.

Barney the Spider on the Field Exhange trailer at District 10. It's huge, don't be mistaken, it's butt is about the size of a dime.

I finally met up with Chance, in the middle, Burt took us to the Haven for dinner (pastor is guy on right), Ed is next to me. The chili was alright and it was real good getting off base, and not going to A-Town.

Wolf Pack Park

This is right outside me door. No one uses the portapotties, because gigantic spiders live there (with butts as big as pingpong balls). One of the perimeter fences is right outside my hut. Kinda freaky at first, but no big deal.

RoK

I just got to the Republic of Korea. Here's my room, it's a shack with no walls on the inside. We put dividers up on the inside and we actually have mattresses and air conditioners, so when you get down to it, there's nothing to complain about. I'll post more pics later, I can't do it all at once.

It's like a science project "how many small people can we fit in a small amount of space?"

I kinda wish we stopped in Alaska.

That's the curvature of the earth in the background.

And that is my awesome, awesome bed complete with USAF issued wool blanket.

I found a table somewhere, how awesome is that! See the absence of a wall in the background.

My hallway with door!

My Blog

All we have here is our Words and our Deeds, and how they affect others, and how others words and deeds affect me.

Jesus said we will give an account of every careless word we have ever uttered. Matthew recorded Christ's words in his book 12: 36-37. Jesus even said we will be condemned or acquitted one day based on our words, make no mistake, we will be on trial.

My favorite passage for works/actions/deeds is Ephesians 2:8-10. Many people cite it to strengthen arguments that all you need is faith to be saved, but that's not what Paul says here. He says it is only by faith we are saved, and goes to say that we are saved in order to perform works that God himself has set up for us to do. So it follows that if you don't do what God wants that's probably evidence you aren't following God (aren't saved).

In summary, watch your words, it's a good barometer for what's going on inside. If your speech displays anything but compassion towards others, something's wrong, and you better do something about. If you believe something DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, DON'T JUST TALK ABOUT IT!

My Beautiful Family I miss so much.

I love my Noah, I wish he were here now, we would have a party

Isaiah always has an agenda that is completely his own, he knows what he wants and how to get it.

He's not confused he's just that intense.

The Noah bear crawl!

My beautiful wife with her new plugs!

I will miss Noah learn to walk, but even though I am away for so long,

I am his father and he knows I love him.

I don't know why I was given my little boys, but I was. I don't know where they will go or what will happen to them, but I'll always be there, even if I'm not standing next to them.