National Parks

Ami's brother has taken us to a number of national parks. In the top picture, we're at Beersheba, where Abraham dug a well. There there is an altar with horns similar to the one described in Old Testament.

The second is a local temple in the town of Arad that was a model of Solomon's temple in Jerusalem, complete with a Holy of Holies. Such temples were condemned in the Old Testament because sacrifices were only able to be offered in Jerusalem. In these local temples there were often used to sarifice to more than one God, hedging their bets. It was destroyed in King Josiah's time and reconstructed later. Regardless, it reveals the structure of Solomon's temple so it was extremely interesting.

The last is a cave where thousands of holes carved into the sides. Each of these holes served as a "cage" for a pidgeon. They used them for food and sacrfices. These things are huge, almost as big and with a similar structure to a modern chicken barn.

Joseph and the Cuzzes

I realise we've recently veered off the main purpose of this blog, that of showing off pictures of Joseph. The problem is, Joseph can rarely come with us on our excursions as the pavement stones are a little rough on the stroller. To placate those who are going through Joseph withdrawl we present these pictures of him playing with his cousins. He is really enjoying being with his cousins whenever we go on our little trips, but without fail has a little fit when we return as punishment for leaving him! (By the way, the watermelon Joseph is eating is truly amazing. We eat it at least twice a day and it's better than any drink.)

Touching First Century Rocks

I know it looks like my time here consists of touching slabs of rock, but these are very, very special slabs. The second one is reputedly the area that Jesus sweated drops of blood on and the third is supposed to be where they wrapped his body for burial. Who knows, could be true! If it is, it is truly amazing.

The top picture is in a building over the site where Jesus was thought to have taught the Lord's Prayer. Inside there are hundreds of translations of the prayer into all sorts of languages in which it has been prayed including languages like Breton, Cree and Haida. Seeing all those languages and realising how far the body of Christ has spread was one of my favourite experiences so far. Ami and I are standing in front of the Korean one. I never could find the English!

Made it to Jerusalem!

Ami describes these pictures as "too typical," but they serve the purpose. We're in Jerusalem! In their lavish generosity Ami's brother and sister, who live in Jerusalem, are putting us up and her brother and brother-in-law are using their wealth of experience to give us some guided tours. We are blessed beyond imagining! We got a full guided tour of Jerusalem in one day. It was a truly exhausting. (I know, your sympathy is overwhelming you at this point). We quick marched through virtually all of Old Jerusalem and saw more historical and biblical sites than we have or will ever see again. For a history guy and a guy who loves Jesus there can be nothing better. Thanks for all who prayed us through to get us here safely!

One Last "In Canada" shot

Joseph showing off his farmer/homey look
Next pictures will be from Israel!

Mommy's Boy

Okay mommy, now I'll show you how it's really done!

Getting the Winning Advantage

Joseph was helping a lady playing rummy cube at the Menno Home, but the little cheater kept stealing extra tiles!

The End of a Loooooooong Road

Well Ami and Joseph obviously made it back to Canada safe and sound. Just in time to enjoy the final culmination of seven years of work for me (4 on classes 3 on the thesis. I know, that's a ridiculously long time!) and four years for Ami. It is so good to have this behind us. We're looking forward to the next chapter of our lives and in the meantime are enjoying our study-less life!

Fun with Hal-ah-beo-ji

Joseph is enjoying his time with Korean grandparents. Even though the bike was too big for Joseph my dad tried for ride. One Sunday evening we went to fishing. Joseph was busy throwing little stones to the water and now busy eating food and my dad was busy throwing the fishing pole. Nothing was caught though~!

Family Worship Time

My family here are trying to have a family service everyday. One day all the families in Korea gathered together and had a service. But! They couldn't continue reading the Bible verses because they were laughing so hard because of Joonyoung (3 yrs) and Nael (2.5yrs). We read one verse in turns and when it was the little kids' turn, they just told their stories (not many people understand though!) or murmuring whatever they wanted. Sometimes, it's very short but other times they did't stop telling, so we just have to say "Amen" to stop them. In the second picture Joonyoung just told his story and it made my mom fall down laughing! :) Yesterday I found Nael and Joseph playing "family service". They brought the hymn books and sang "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" themselves! Nael can sing all three verses by memory and Joseph is only clapping! It was very cute! (Somehow the picture looks weird)

Families in Korea

Okay, I have to explain about each picture.
No. 1 and 2: Joseph's cousin, Nael, and my mom are trying to do "victory V". Joseph followed them for the first time. It seems quite successful!
No. 3: He's doing "Where did it go?!" after throwing the orange (he played with it like a ball) in my grandmother's house (My grandmother's is doing great! She's now 96!).
No. 4: With my aunt in my grandmother's house. They're playing with wind and a dog!
No. 5: My brother came to my parent's house from Israel on Fool's Day to shock everybody! It was a very successful "surprise." His wife who was already in Korea almost had a heart attack! The little baby is their second one, Joel!

Watching Soccer (video)

Joseph was always overwhelmed while watching soccer or baseball on TV. I'm glad to catch this one! He's also pretty good at throwing the ball, too. My family here are all surprised at that. We cannot deny he is his grandpa's grandson! :)

Joseph's Heaven

We went to a kid's playroom in a mall. You know how much Joseph loves balls! He LOVED playing a lot of balls at the same time. Yes, he is in his heaven :) The wood slide was fun, too (Actually I enjoyed very much!)

Joseph and Fishes (video)

We went to an open market in Busan and Joseph was excited to watch real fishes and chickens! He's now explaining about the different fishes...I think! :)

Joseph in Korea!

Joseph and I (Ami) are visiting Korea for four weeks. He had a good time at a hotel room in Japan (First picture). He even reigned an adult seat beside me and VERY enjoyed his TV while other people were all sleeping! He's getting along very well with his Korean grandparents, too.

Great time with Daddy!

Before heading to Korea, Joseph had a great time with daddy at Mill lake park and the airport! :)

Joseph's "Front Yard"

We just moved to a new house on Bevan Ave and it's basically across the street from Mill Lake Park! He's going to have a lot of fun there!

Joseph Descends Mount Everest!

All by himself, Joseph discovered a new skill. He's very proud of himself!

Hopeless Romantic

Like his daddy, Joseph has found himself an older woman. His friend Boemee

is almost three!
These pictures were taken at Korean New Year. It's Korean custom for children do a traditional bow to their elders to receive cash on that day. Our little money maker netted 31 bucks!

Joseph's Secret Weapon

This kid has longest tongue of a child that I have ever seen. It's also his weapon

for sneak attack. If we aren't on our guard he'll come at us and try to lick our face just to get a reaction!