last monday, i went to the house with ryan, ashlie, and my brother.
the kids finally had homework to do, so we wanted to get that done first.

i worked with kimberly, michelle's second daughter. kimberly's real quiet. not like shy quiet, but she just doesn't say much. she likes eating. but she's a good girl. she listens.
she got through her three pages of spelling and reading pretty quick. we read magic treehouse together.
then we had homemade tostadas for dinner (so good.. have you ever thought about frying thick tortilla in a puddle of oil?! i haven't.. it's freaking delicious..)

when i finished my tostada and she finished her five, it was time for math.
kimberly's a fourth grader, so she's beginning to learn division.
we sat down, and i told her to do her math. she stared at the page.
"how do we start this?", i asked. she just continued to stare. she had no idea..
"mm.. okay, how many times does 3 go into 4?"
"3?"
"mm.... no.."
so i used my fingers and had her make groups, and she discovered that there is 1 group of 3 in 4.
she didn't know what to do with that "1". how was i going to get her understand that the "1" goes on top of the line, right above the "4".. how was she going to understand that now we had to multiply 3 by 1 and subtract that from the 4..
"now, what's 3 times 1?"
"uhm.. 4?"
"no.."
kimberly doesn't know division. she doesn't know multiplication. she doesn't know math.

i understood why she insisted on doing math last.
while i was trying to help kimberly, crystal's (crystal is in the same class as kimberly, but she goes to the after school program and her mom is much stricter about her doing her schoolwork) mom noticed that she was struggling. we got through about 3 problems in 15 minutes and then kimberly went to use the restroom. all the other kids had finished their work and they were playing outside with the boys. she didn't come back.. after 5 minutes, i went out to get her. i wasn't going to let her go to school without her homework done. which probably happens every other day.
crystal's mom talked to michelle.
michelle responded by yelling across the house,"kimberly!!!! tell your teacher you should get tested for Rsomethingsomething!!" (some learning disability)
she was quiet.. everyone was.
my mother would never do that. she'd hide it from me if she could. not that that's good parenting either. but it saves me the humiliation.

what i'm trying to say is i'm beginning to see the fighting.. the need.. every week, a little more. this is the way it goes. and we must stay unchanging. let our light expose every darkness. i'm not afraid! i'm not discouraged. i'm not worried. i carry the very fragrance of my father.

"But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved, and among hose who are perishing..." 

2 Corinthians 2:14 

first day

marion, cathy, and i visited the home together on monday. 

we met three out of seven kids (the other four were at their grandmother's for thanksgiving). 

serenity is 13; she's the oldest. she lives with her mom who's going to school right now for business i think. liz gave her her first pair of heels recently and she was walking around the house in them all day. heh. she's gonna be a pediatrician. 

crystal is 8. she lives with her mom who is working at grocery store right now. she was taken from her mom because her mom had committed a felony. rainbow house got her back. crystal likes dancing and she recently made student council as the class photographer. 

anthony is 4. he came into the home with his grandmother who works for the city of norwalk. his mom had some problems so she isn't around. he likes to say "awkward!!". he shared his spongebob gogurt with us. 

we had dinner together and spent some time playing with anthony. 

playing with anthony

i need to do something about these photos.. so bad.. 

i feel it all

my time in korea was... so good. i still think about it everyday.
but when i got back to fullerton, it was weird. just being home and having nothing to do. so much space, so much time, no haeun mihae uijin jiyoon jiyuhn heejin nayoung sunghyun... and i was always thinking about going back. as if going back would fix everything.
but i'm twenty years old. and i make $8.50 an hour watching professor's kids at the campus preschool.. and i work six hours a week.. i don't even want to do the math. point is, i'm poor. i still depend on my parents for pretty much everything. which means i can't make my choices all by myself. which means i can't go back whenever i want to. sooo i have to deal with it.
it's been almost three months since i've been back. and i think i've been lazy. i haven't been doing everything i learned. i haven't been productive. i haven't been sharing. and i'm always feeling it.
but today, i got up early. i met with pastor liz lee. she runs two homes. one is in vegas, where she lived for twenty years. she rescues and houses human trafficking victims- prostitutes- leads them to Christ and takes them through a rehabilitation process. the other home is in buena park, close to home. she houses ex-felons and battered women and their children. amazing amazing woman. amazing amazing work. (you can read more about it here.) AND she's a radical follower of Jesus (her own words!!). She was ordained under Pastor Dave Gibbons of Newsong, who very recently gave a seminar at New Philly... and it's all connecting again... i'm going to start doing an after school program for the kids at Rainbow House... and they will be my close-to-home fatherless. i know it's not going to be easy. it never is. but being there today made my heart beat fast, made me hold back tears. because i know he's opened this door with his own hand, and he's pulling me through it. he knows who. and what. and when. and where. and how. i feel like i'm starting to have a lot to write about again. well, i should always be writing.. so this is hannah in america! and we're going to have adventures here, too.

back-seat dreams

i woke up excited.

Soccer Camp.. More Photos

praying before lunch 

건우 eating rice crispy snack treasure.. 

handsome 도균


찬아 being shy 

찬아!

민혁 and 도균

지성 carrying around the trash :') 

용석 and 현석 

용성 and 윤구

so jealous... of james...

Argentina team won the penalty kick contest! 

MVP winners 

용성 got Most Enthusiastic Player 

Most Enthusiastic Players

two of our oryu boys (the two on the right) got the Sportsmanship award :')) 

순재 loves 찬솔's bag. 

he is the feisty one i was talking about.. but look at his backpack.. 

hankang

cathy <3

he missed a button 

ice cream with our boys (minus the three plus cathy who went to eat gogi cause their team won...) 

so happy.. 

these are photos that Jerusalem Ministry paid people to take.. see more on their Facebook! they captured such beautiful moments.. and like our page!! 

these are only a few that i love of our oryu boys.. 

my love.. jumping so high.. 

it was hot as hell though.. 

용석, superstar silly twin 

윤구.. cutie.. but i always have to be grabbing his hand.. 

성현, i like touching his hair.. and netherlands' ace

현석, heading master... he's also amazing at yo-yo... and he looks like dooly

동희.. biggest sixth grader in korea.. and so so helpful.. 

경수.. hard on the outside.. so soft on the inside.. one of cathy's favorites! 

건우.. i want to bite his head off.. he always lets me hug him.. such a bright boy 

용성... soccer superstar silly twin number two... i'm going to take him home with me. 

that's all. 

please pray for them! by name! that God will really preserve their innocence and warmth.. that they would continue opening their hearts and that they would meet God soon! 

hannah