paulmkim's Xanga

my grandpa, last post

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 16:09:23 GMT

My grandfather (Rev. Kim Il-Nam, 85) passed away last year on November 27. My parents and I were lucky enough to be able to travel to his funeral during the protests that had shut down the international airports in Thailand. Both my father and I are first-borns, which is important in the Korean culture. My wife and the kids stayed back because of the expenses, and also because the airports were closed and it would’ve been disastrous to try to get off the ground with kids. I still really wanted to take my whole family, but I was advised that even if I succeeded in doing so my supporters would consider it a waste of “God’s money”.

One mourner described his principles in life and ministry with “truth and sacrifice!” His preferred way to lead was by example. Another one declared, “More than my master, father, next to Jesus!” My grandfather had taken him into his home after he was released from prison. At that time, my grandfather had a wife and five kids, and a two-room house. So his whole family slept in the one bedroom, while this ex-convict took the living room. He is now a retired pastor. His salary in Um-Da Church was an unbelievable 42,000 won ($30) per year, even for rural Korea at that time! He is an example of someone who really relied on God for resources.

He had planted the church in the middle of nowhere, and the rural parishioners eventually moved around the church to found Um-Da village. Most of the families basically ate what they planted; it wasn’t an easy lifestyle, but he left his mark in rural church planting. After 16 years he was moved by his presbytery to a troubled church in the nearby city of Mogpo, which had something like 11 pastors in 12 years. I think he went against a lot of principles I was taught in my seminary in Deerfield, IL.

He retired there after 34 years, pastoring it to be the biggest church in the city—until the full gospel church moved in! He often shared how he experienced God’s amazing grace while ministering in the middle of dirt in Um-Da, with $30/year, before the bigger church in Mogpo offered a sufficient salary for him and his family to live on. The older children received scholarships for secondary and college education, while they were able to pay for the tuition for the younger children; he is survived by six sons and two daughters, nineteen grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, but no dogs. I hope that I will always consider God to be richer than any other institution on earth.

As he retired at the age of sixty-five, he proposed one of his assistant pastors to succeed him, but the board thought he wasn’t ‘good enough’. My dad was committed to Thailand, and so the board called his son-in-law from Germany to pastor the church. The charismatic pastor ended up splitting the church, and my grandfather suffered the problem of succession in ways many pastors emeritus in Korea go through these days. He maintained his joy and heart of thanksgiving despite unpleasant events beyond his control hurt his legacy as a church leader.

He still continued making the most of every opportunity and served until the evening he fell asleep. He founded a nursing home, shared the gospel with friends and strangers, even public figures, including having breakfast with an acquaintance every Sunday morning for over a year until he came to church and began growing in the faith. Two national senators and the mayor of Mogpo were among the public figures that encouraged us with their visits during the funeral week. Another interesting visitor was the daughter of the first Korean dentist! I can’t wait till I retire and do nothing; we’ll see…

He never stopped learning. I remember teaching him how to drive when he was vacationing in Chicago at the age of seventy. I thought he was ready and took him for the driving test at the local DMV; they failed him because he started and stopped too fast—so what’s wrong with that? He later got his license in the more challenging “DMV” in Korea, and drove until this year. His tenacity or perseverance is one of the most amazing traits that people talk often about.

He was known for being stable and providing stability for his church, presbytery and the denomination where he also served as the moderator; he stayed in the same presbytery to which he was born all his life; his pastor had suffered torture for his faith during the Japanese colonization. He was recently honored to lead the procession in the denomination assembly where his denomination was merging with another one that had split during his active ministry days. The recently combined denomination honored him by sponsoring the funeral service, while the presbytery sponsored the burial service; and his older friend who had been in the ‘other’ denomination for decades gave the benediction in the funeral. I don’t like church splits.

He is counted as one of the ten pastors who led the Korean Presbyterian church since before the Korean War. We think about 1800 people from around the country came to show their respect throughout the wake and funeral services. He was buried next to his parents and his first wife in the Um-Da church cemetery on December 1. I want to be cremated and have my wife carry my ashes around in her purse.

I have learned a lot from his example as a pastor. He invested in people, all kinds of people. Twelve pastors came out of a random weekly bible study, where he had taught that producing and discipline one church leader is more strategic than planting and maintaining one church. My father and I first heard this story when one of them, now a retired pastor, shared about his inspiration for ministry in a eulogy during the funeral.

There you have it: a key insight into the dangers of neglecting individual people for sake of institutional growth. Among all the church noise I have to endure as a vocational Christian I try hard to keep this point clear, and resist the temptation to compromise the welfare of an individual for sake of my institutional promotion; choosing to spend an hour discipling one person will not be much for me to report about, but it may be time more worth spent than trying to raise funds for a hundred trafficked orphans with aids, who are also color blind! And homosexual! Not that there’s anything wrong with that…

Wanna read Korean? Check out this article about my grandfather, and the eulogy at the funeral.

[EDIT: i just realized that non-members can't see my facebook note; so, i pasted it above; below is my 'last' xanga post.]

the photo used for my grandfather's funeral; he must've been in his 70's; i think it's fitting to upload this photo for my last xanga post. my parents and i went to korea last november, as soon as we received word about his passing. he was a retired pastor and had 8 children; my father was the first born, and i am the first born, which made our presence important for the korean christian funeral. i really miss him, but know that he's doing fine right now with Jesus. i also know that i'll see him again soon, without any fear of being separated again.

this was the desktop photo in his computer; my father's sister and brother had visited thailand two years ago with a team and we all took a photo at the old airport before they left. not sure what was going to happen to this computer, i deleted all photos and files that were related to me; my grandmother doesn't use computers.

our funeral trip included three days of receiving guests at the funeral house, the funeral service itself at the church, the service at the cemetery, and, finally, the application for the certificate of death at the city of mogpo. i tagged along my father and my aunt till this last step. i want to establish personal relationships with people in his city and keep visiting mogpo with my children. i didn't get to call or visit any of my friends in korea in this trip since we rushed back. this all happened during the protests and airport shut downs in thailand.

i'll write more details on facebook later and put a link here when i do. in the meanwhile you can visit my website or my more issues-centered blog.

near biblical truths

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 03:06:12 GMT

so how good are these near biblical truths?

wanna know what really goes on in OLC? that's the "outreach language center", or my thu bible studies in english for thai professionals. i teach on thursdays, santosh on tuesdays, sarah on thursdays at noon.

the thais are upgrading bbqs to a new green era.

and read about the english teachers in korea.

a while ago, i went to www.howmanyofme.com and was pleasantly surprised to find that there are more daniel kim's, joseph kim's, david kim's, michael kim's, john kim's than my precious 'paul kim's! how many of you are out there?

i play the game of life with my kids from time to time. from the game we learn that money is the only thing that matters in life. kids are a financial burden, education is all about getting a good job, and we need to get all kinds of insurance-- american style!

but i do miss american beef. and southern california tacos. and i still remember the al pastor tacos in that restaurant in oaxaca. and who can forget eating those special tortas with el toro near the prison in tijuana?

i should say something serious about missions. it's been almost 3 years now, and i feel more strongly than ever about how my personal example should be the 89% base for the tip of the iceberg that includes my preaching and activities.

and my question to you: what's the difference between the two categories? (the western culture has been all hung out in systems and categories ever since aristotle; but no, don't let me answer for you.)

casual update

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 02:43:51 GMT

just got this sad news, but i'm inspired by greg mckendry to do the right thing at the right moment.
this is a casual update that i just sent to a few of my supporters who requested more frequent updates:
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Thank you for your prayers and strong interest in our ministries. I'm writing this casual update, between ouf official newsletters, to the 16 of you who expressed more interest in hearing from us. I hope you are doing well, and staying cool in the hot American summer. I'm enjoying the cooler rainy season here, since the Thai summer ended in May.

Right now, I'm in Chonburi Mission Center with a team of 7 college and high school students from my home church, Torrance Good Shepherd Church (TGSC, Rev. Nathan Kim). Pastor Lee J. Yi is leading them. We're having a great time getting to know each other, and they're really blessing our neighborhood by teaching English in the local elementary school; they've also dedicated most of the evenings to playing with the 37 orphans in the center. And, Pastor Lee will bless me by lecturing at the seminary tomorrow morning, so I can take a break and just translate. But, pray for them, since about 4 of them are sick from something they ate at a streetside restaurant last Saturday. My family and I've never been sick from food, and neither has any of the previous 4 teams I hosted. So, I'm humbled a bit, and will take more precautions from now on.

The teams from Redeemer Presbyterian (Rev. James Han) and Harvest Community (Rev. Jae W. Kim) came earlier this month, and we also had a great time. (See photos link 1, link 2.) They were an older group, and encouraged me a lot with their questions and a good listening ear. They focused their ministries in a Karen village and various urban ministries in Bangkok, including the slums and teaching English in the national police headquarters; they also visited The Well (a ministry for ex-prostitutes), Newsong Bangkok church, Tyrannus Publishing ministry (Rev. Joong-Shik Kim), Bangkok Refugee Center, and so on. The TGSC team will leave this Thursday, after vising Rahab's ministries and Night Light (ministries for ex-prostitutes). And, I will host my final team of the summer from New Life Community (Rev. Chris Lee) next week, August 5-14, who will divide their time between Chonburi Center and a Karen village.

So, I'm spending a lot of time with the 4 teams this (American) summer, but at the same time I've tried to maintain my weekly teaching duties. It's been tough, and I got sick early on; so I'll consider making changes for my ministry schedule for next year's summer. Joan (from Redeemer Presb) is staying on for 2.5 months volunteering as a nurse in Bangkok Refugee Center. She's off to a good start; and she's also subbing for me at OLC (outreach language center) while I'm in Chonburi Province, and leading the English Bible studies on Thursday evenings. Sarah is also enjoying her Thursday afternoon teaching sessions. Eli in Chonburi Center is also doing very well, teaching English in two local schools and winning the hearts of all the orphans in the center. OLC had a retreat 2 weekends ago, and our whole family with Joan and Eli, and also Santosh and Christy-- Santosh's fiancee, had a very good time with the mostly non-Christian Thai group.

I also missed my 12th year wedding anniversary yesterday, but will try to remember to buy some flowers when I get back home to Bangkok later this week. My good wife is not angry, just a little depressed that she married a pastor in the middle of summer when the ministry schedule is the most hectic. She did bring the kids for a visit this past weekend, where they got to spend time with the team from Torrance and also play with the orphans. Lydia is growing very fast, and shocking people when I tell them that she's only 10. Timothy is also very social now, and makes a lot of friends everywhere he goes.

Please pray that the visiting teams will have a great learning experience here, and also for my family, that we will stay healthy and keep growing in Christ; pray also for my parents who are now in Chicago for the big mission conference for Korean missionaries; they will also visit my brother and his family in St. Louis. Finally, pray for OLC as we're looking for a place to continue meeting 3 times a week after August.
---
i'll try to post pictures later. maybe on facebook.

Family Update

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 03:40:20 GMT

i just made an update on my 'official' website, and cut and pasted below:

Sarah is learning a lot about herself and issues of culture, as she gets to know the Thai people and society. Please pray for strength and wisdom as she continues homeschooling Lydia, and has added on the responsibility of leading a weekly Bible study.

Lydia is growing very fast, as a preteen. Her attitude is changing and she's trying act like an adult while still being like a little kid. She's also getting to know the Thai culture pretty well as the only foreigner in a traditional Thai dance school. Please pray that we will be gentle and loving parents while she goes through rapid changes.

Timothy just started his third year of Thai kindergarten last month; he really likes school and has a lot of Thai friends. Please pray that he will grow to know Jesus Christ personally.

Paul says, "I am very busy this month (June 2008). This past week: Monday (Thai lesson in the morning and a weekly dinner with Eli), Tuesday (a full day of giving lectures in Chonburi seminary, 2 hours away from Bangkok, then rushed back for a farewell dinner for a missionary family), Wednesday (lunch with another missionary couple we studied Thai with, Newsong staff meeting, Thai Bible study), Thursday (speak at BCIS high school graduation, lead English Bible study, run to the airport to see the missionary family off for home assignment), Friday (lead leadership class discussion group in Chula University, take a long subway ride for lunch with a Thai deportee-- who cancelled after I got there, shopping with Eli for his stay in Chonburi Center, Lakers 1st finals game at Santosh's place-- a rebroadcast for Asia), Sat-Sun (regular church schedule). All this while I had to prepare annual reports and presentations for our agency's annual conference next week; I also had to make final arrangements for the visiting short-term teams. I didn't get to exercise once, or read or rest. And I just remembered that I have a wife and two children, especially while I'm updating this webpage! So, please pray that God will help me not to burn out but to be an effective missionary in this busy month; I barely have time to think. I need to focus and prioritize. I need to watch a movie. But, I'm also a month behind in my update newsletters."

eli is here

Fri, 02 May 2008 06:59:00 GMT

at breakfast this morning with my parents and with GP board member steve cheong (far right). eli will teach english in the local schools and also help with the weekend or evening ministries in chonburi center for about a year. but first he'll learn thai for a month in bangkok. i just picked him up at the airport last night and he delivered what i had requested-- the picture bible (david c. cook), plus other goodies other people requested.

left to right: sadie and dk, poom, annette, anabel, me, abe lim, abe; abe and annette will move back to california today(!), after ministering here for over 2 years; dk and sadie came to take them back. we will miss all of them.

lydia at her ram thai (traditional thai dance) performance last monday. can you find her? she's third on the left line. she'll perform again tonite, when the crown princess will attend; this is the only performance this school puts on each year. as the only non-thai, we feel lydia is learning a lot about the thai society and culture.

sarah and me looking distinguished, but not quite thai, during the concert.

an outside view of the concert, in the traditional thai house where they practice and perform-- that means no air conditioning; timothy was sweating and getting restless so i took him home early.

my parents for their bday dinner (both on april) in baang saen, chonburi province. more photos on my facebook.

anticipation

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 05:05:20 GMT

some recent photos below:

fishing with some of my newsong brothers, tum took some good photos [except this one! i took it with my phone]

abe caught a big one

this fishing lake had a little gazebo thing for us (tum, bun, lon, yo) to sit in.

praying at a newsong staff retreat, peter, kilang, santosh

mehta is about to hold up his son and say, "Simbaaa!"

lydia and i trying to match our facial expressions

lydia and i trying to match our facial expressions, part 2

timothy is into marvel

in his bday party last month; he's older now.

in his bday party last month, part 2

more photos on my facebook.

my old theology professor wrote a book to make the point that business is not good just to make and give money to the church, but it should be a ministry in itself; if he had business experience he would've included more business examples. this is a book we're going thru in our men's group.

a book i read earlier, written by a businessman with lots of godly business examples.

ANTICIPATION [a postmodern classic event with a cause]. here's what my artist friend amie says,

For the first time, Artist Society brings a unique happening of classical music with live painting to Bangkok. At the unusual event of "Anticipation" on May 11, 2008, Thai soprano Sophie Tanapura accompanied by Elvira Galioullina on the piano will inspire Russell Fadavi during his "live" painting on canvas at the Thailand Cultural Centre's small hall. Part of the proceeds will go to Fuen Jai Foundation to help the underprivileged in Klong Toey.
Russell Fadavi never paints without music inspiring him in the process. When he heard a recording of German lieder by Sophie Tanapura, he exclaimed: "That is the kind of music that I would like to listen to while I paint!" That sparked the idea of "Anticipation." As Sophie Tanapura sings her program of German lieder, known for its intricate symbiosis of poetry and music, Russell Fadavi will paint.
Those who attend the event will have the very rare opportunity to witness "art in the making", to be involved in the creative process of both painting and vocal music. The success of the evening – the intensity of symbiotic art -- depends on the meeting of the hearts and minds of all three artists: Sophie Tanapura, Elvira Galioullina and Russell Fadavi.
The May 11 event starts with a reception at 5 p.m. The "Art in Creation" process begins at 6 p.m. and ends at 7:30 p.m. with all guests invited to meet the artists over a complimentary glass of wine. Admission is 1,500 baht per person.
For purchase of tickets, please contact:
www.thaiticketmajor.com Tel: 02-2623456
Ibycus Co.,Ltd. Tel: 02-9329208 Email: ibycusmusic@yahoo.com
Artist Society Tel. 087 717 8479 Email: artistsociety@gmail.com.

so, do we still bury people alive? or is this what atheists call a 'spontaneous remission of symptoms'?

i like astronomy; is this a real death star for earth?http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20080310/sc_space/realdeathstarcouldstrikeearth

Missionary Rambo

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:57:43 GMT

warning for those of you too young to have seen rambo 1-3, this movie has some violence. see my special movie poster here. it's about the conflict in burma (now myanmar, been myanmar for years actually, but 'burma' still sounds better). haven't seen the killings myself, but the different scenes in the movie correspond to real stories i've heard and individuals i've met. missionaries smuggling in medical supplies (won't give out the name of the agency i know), the brutal tactics used to control the karen hilltribes people.
EDIT: check out my pastor friend's more detailed review of john rambo.

the movie was refreshing, even with the stupid missionaries who remind me of the korean medical group that dared to go to the southern part of afghanistan last summer (and now no korean is supposed to be in that country AT ALL-- what a great missionary strategy). seriously, religious people can get some weird ideas into their heads, and even some that visit foreign countries, they just don't get it. they look at us like we're idiots, but the whole country is looking at those stupid foreigners cuz they ARE being idiotic. but i have hope, and just try to see the humor in all this. God is funny.

new movie idea: Rambo vs Aliens vs Predator vs Terminator vs Jet Li

and who'll look after the north korea refugees? here's the recent news.

a friend in california introduced me to a thai guy who got deported; he'd been in usa since the age of 2 but only had a green card. now in his twenties, he's in thailand for the first time since he left. what can he do? what can i do? had lunch with him, and his uncle drove him to meet us, so i invited him too. turns out, his uncle was deported too, 4 months ago, after 40 years in usa! after a while, i realize that i know the man! he's the mechanic that fixed my car in south pasadena! small world. still, what can i do? i say 'no' to the north korean refugees, 'no' to deportees, 'no' to the fleeing burmese hilltribes people, 'no' to the koreans living here, 'no' to my parents, 'no' to my agency supervisor--- is this a better missionary strategy than that of the idiots in rambo? [i know the answer depends on Whom i'm trying to please.]

'i'm afraid, amie, that i'm going to end up believing in your God.' one of my favorite recent quotes shared by my artist friend amie, who tries to reach out to her social networks through her daily life.

i love saying 'no'

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 16:02:03 GMT

ACTUALLY, I WAS BORN TO SAY 'YES' but there are just too many needs calling for help. i find myself saying 'no' most of the time, just so i'll contribute something to the Thai church; otherwise, i'll be running around like a chicken with its head cut off. if i tell you some of the opportunities i turned down, you might get angry. but i have to maintain focus-- i only have one body and 24 hours/day. this is going to be a busy month. even before it started, last week, i led a team to the karen hilltribe village for two days. then drove back 3 hours to bangkok for the nite, before heading out 2 hours the other way to chonburi seminary to lecture all day. two days later, i went to chonburi again for some important visitors. this week, i have a 3-day retreat at chonburi with an association of thai church leaders and GP missionaries. next week, my home church pastor (rev. nathan kim) is coming with 4 people; he'll speak at the 90th good shepherd institute in chonburi center, a conference for church leaders. they'll be here for 5 days. the week after that, we'll go on a very important 3-day trip to hua hin with 2 other thai families-- it'll be a little vacation actually! and the week after that, i'm going to philippines for 5 days to help a fellow GP missionary. so i'll be busier than usual this month. i'll also be missing my son's 6th bday.

PRAY THAT I'LL BE SAYING 'NO' more professionally, and still not forget the story of the good samaritan. but right now i'm in the process of inviting people to help out at chonburi center for a year or so, so i hope they say 'yes'!

i did have a really good visit for my friend Milo, who teaches at ABAC (assumption university) in bangna. some photos.

newsong staff retreat 2 weeks ago. mehta (not pictured) reminded us how we gotta focus. and peter (not pictured) reiterated that as well. photo by kilang (pictured)

bun looks more tough in the above picture, with shades on. he's got a heart for street kids and gangsters walking around bangkok.

Rev. Jaroen of the Karen Hilltribes, writing labels for a skit which say 'Jesus', 'alcohol', and 'sin' in his language (Karen); i forgot which paper means which.

timothy playing with his friend, faa, after school

see more of timothy's recent drawings in my facebook page.

Lydia has an updated webpage here. she's growing so fast, i'm just praying more.
oh, and you also got to take a look at these videos of jon sigworth from wesleyan university (Middletown, CT), my old school, here. he's a quadriplegic rugby player; i saw him and talked to his parents when i visited their christian fellowship group last fall.

gearing up for battle. no, i don't believe in gun control. timothy's asking a lot of practical questions now, like, "how do you [physically] go to heaven?" he asked this at P'Oy's funeral, when we told him that she went to heaven. i just tell him to look up the world wide web.

last month

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 12:18:35 GMT

timothy fighting his alter ego, back in DC with his cousin, isaac, last fall

P'Oy passed away last month, January 14. Khun Aood has some photos in his flickr. pray for P'Ton, widower, and his two sons, as they continue their magnificent life of serving God and His people.

Our good friends Kazu and Ying got married on Januray 25. see my facebook photos here.

timothy was their very enthusiastic ring boy (photo by anette)!

***AWESOME SUMMER MISSIONS OPPORTUNITY***

MAXIMUM 24 HOURS/WEEK, and get compensated with 50,000 Baht ($1,515) PLUS $1,000 for airfare! aside from the money, teaching English is a great way to connect with the young students and make an impact in their lives; plus you'll have plenty of free time for additional ministry opportunities or whatever-- up to you.

WANTED: College graduates for a six-week Book Club program at Elite Bangkok. Contact me or email the business director and my good friend Ja at Siriporn.p@eliteprep.com for more info and a job description.

Elite (http://eliteprep.com/) is a highly reputable academic enrichment program with branches located mostly in California. But they envision a business model of serving people of different cultures, of which the Bangkok branch is the first model. Profits from this boot camp and regular yearly programs are donated to ministries of SDRF.

SDRF (Sustainable Research Development Foundation, Jim Gustafson) is a nonreligious foundation overseeing many ministries throughout Thailand. I've visited several of their ministry centers and was very impressed by the scope and quality of the staff and their ministries.
*i don't work for elite and receive no commission for anything.

mrs susie lee (3rd row, 3rd from left) visited; i missed this dinner; she was here for two years, and led english-bible studies for thai professionals, including kazu and ying. kazu is japanese, but attended and decided to follow Christ a little over a year ago. santosh and i now continue what she pioneered.

steve wang also visited; he used to teach math at ELITE bangkok; photo from his facebook. jiap and alice work at ELITE bangkok. we're at the top of banyaan tree hotel, along with brubaker and others. ELITE is really good.

more facebook photos here, from the past Christmas outreach events in Chonburi Province. it's amazing how the children responded, and many are now coming to the church in Chonburi Center. plus, they started saturday children's ministries outside the center in two neighborhoods; they need a lot more help with outreach, esp with people who can teach english. a youth ministry is also something that's been on our hearts for a long time.

finally, my old cell phone photos that i finally uploaded onto, you guessed it, my facebook. say, why don't you guys join facebook? i'm really enjoying it, and have even begun playing an online game called triumph (war game). i find it therapeutic, but my wife just sighs everytime she sees me playing with tanks and stuff. but i insist that if old korean missionaries can play with soccer balls, then new missionaries can play games online.

my brother

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 01:45:33 GMT

SAW HIS WEDDING DVD FOR THE 1ST TIME, since he gave it to me over ten years ago; i don't feel bad cuz we don't even have our own wedding dvd-- it's a vhs tape and we didn't even bring it from california; i was watching it with my kids, and they could see that i was excited to see myself, even though it was my brother's wedding. then timothy said, "let's watch your wedding dvd, Daddy! i want to see myself...." so i told him, "you weren't there when mommy and i married."

his response, "well, ok then, let's forget it." [like father, like son]
EVERY COUPLE should watch their wedding videos at least once a year, even if they fast forward through the sermon.

PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR DEAR FRIEND P'OY, who's been battling cancer.

dennis took some great photos that i uploaded to facebook here,
and below are some of my own photos from our trip to usa last fall (i may post more later):

the kids with cousin Bethany, from my cousin sam's blog

at john and catherine's wedding, photo by superbub; more photos by superbub here.

with the gibbons family and sadie; dk took this photo.

our kids with sophia, dj and julie are expecting a son any minute now

stopped by to see the famous scrolls while visiting calvary presb church in san diego

tommy and christine at in'n out in mtn view; they met us halfway while my friend charles drove me to meet them

my beautiful and incredibly delicious thanksgiving meal at teresa and ed's (100% homemade)

lydia with her cousin kenny, see http://babyhgh.blogspot.com/, son of sarah's sister jean and jen

w/ fletcher and lina at el tourino's

i'm on top of the world! with paul and hope in princeton, NJ where my friend steve chang is on sabbatical

inspired after watching spiderman 3. timothy is into superheroes now

yj in san jose with her 2nd son

with keith park; my friend andrew took this photo in los angeles

with rana at mc'd's in NJ