4.15.2012

Easter


Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in spring-time. ~ Martin Luther 


I find that holidays are often the loneliest days. You remember all the little traditions your family has, or the specific dishes your mom always makes, and then you can even imagine being there--the laughter, the jokes, the smells, and that indescribable feeling called FAMILY. With Easter approaching, I was already feeling the pangs of loneliness, and didn't want to go through it alone. We decided that since we couldn't be with our family, we would have the next best thing... we would spend it with our "Korean family" in Seoul! 

"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. 
Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one." 
~ Jane Howard (no relation) 

We were thrilled when we found out some friends were driving up to Seoul on Friday night, so we hitched a ride with them and had a lovely time chatting and laughing on the little road trip from Gimcheon to Seoul. 

We arrived at our friends', Jordan and Bethany's house pretty late and had a great start of the holiday weekend. Unfortunately things took a bad turn when Bethany came down with a stomach bug and was sick for the rest of the weekend! :( We felt so bad for her because she felt so miserable, but Jordan was an excellent nurse. We just wished for her sake, that she felt better because we missed getting to be with them. She did get the energy up to meet us for the movie on Saturday night and was feeling a bit better on Sunday for church and the Easter dinner. Despite all the sickness that happened, they were still excellent hosts and we enjoyed our time with them immensely! 

On Saturday, Robert and I met up with Hannah for some lunch and shopping in Myeongdong. Now, as you may recall, this is one of my favorite places in Seoul, but being from the country now, I felt it was far too busy and overcrowded! :) Shows how different one's perspective can be after just a few months! 



We had lunch at our favorite Arabic restaurant... Saffron 
(look familiar? that's because you may have seen it last year on Easter too). 


So glad I got to spend part of the weekend with one of my favorite people in the world... Hannah Nee

After our late lunch we headed back to the Lotte Cinema where we met up with Inseok, Jordan, and Bethany to watch the much anticipated Hunger Games. Having read all three books, I was so excited for this movie, and I must say... I was not disappointed. After the movie, Jordan and Bethany headed home and the rest of us went to "Twosome Place" for an affogato (ice cream with espresso poured over it= pure goodness). Hannah stayed over with us at the Bolte's so we had a lovely Sunday morning together with a delicious french toast brunch that our hostess prepared for us :) 

We attended our old church, which is always a lot of fun, and then afterwards there was an Easter dinner prepared. Though it wasn't my mother's cooking or on my parent's waterfront patio, it was a pretty awesome meal shared with amazing people. I definitely wasn't feeling lonely in the midst of this celebration! 







A lovely man from our church had taken us to dinner before we left Seoul and took our picture. When we saw him again on this trip, he presented us with these beautiful paintings he had done for us! He is such a sweet man and a very talented artist as well! :) 


Though the weekend didn't go exactly as planned (aka sickness in the camp..), it was still a delightful time spent with great friends! Thanks Jordan and Bethany, for opening your home to us and for making our Easter weekend feel a little more like home. 


"Having a place to go- is a home. Having someone to love- is a family. Having both- is a blessing."
~Donna Hedges


1 comment:

~ Martha said...

Loved your post and pics!