Summer Plans

Hello friends and family. Here are the dates that Noelle and I will be in the states this summer. If you would like to get together, please e-mail us and let us know.

Sam and Noelle
June 16-17 Vancouver, Washington
June 18-22 Mount Vernon, Ohio and Peoria, Illinois
June 23-30 Vancouver, WA., Salem, Or., Lebanon, Or
July 1-9 Anchorage and Nikiski, AK

Noelle
July 9-18 Anchorage and Nikiski, AK.
July 19 Vancouver, WA. en-route to Singapore

Sam
July 9-12 Vancouver, WA. and Salem, Or.
July 13-24 Boston, MA., and NYC, NY.
July 25-26 Vancouver, WA. en-route to Singapore.

I will hit 8 and potentially 9 states this summer in a 39 day period.
Noelle will hit 6 in a 32 day period

Please pray for us.

Fun English

I am typing this verbatim from a box I found here in Singapore (an English speaking country).

Product Charcteristics:

1. This product is a new science and technology Product and made with high and new science and technology. It can illuminate only placing it in Rhythm.

2. No need any power no environmental pollution. Low noise and health. Comparing with common torch, it can be several times on lift.

3. Con stantly using this health torch, it can benefit to your pal, arm and shoulder stretching adn blood circulation, so as to let your hands relax and brain clever, hand and brain coor dinate and promote your brain memory and health composition.

Can you guess what is in the box?

Craziness that is our lives

So, Noelle and I were discussing on the drive home tonight just how crazy the day was today March 5th. So here goes a rough hourly breakdown for the both of us.

Noelle

- 5:30 wake up
- 6:30 leave for school
- 7:30 finish setting up for Spelling Bee (great work Nicole and gang)
- 8:30 Spelling Bee for Middle School
-9:30 Spelling B coming to a close (great job Jeffrey and David)
- 10:30 Watching Akeelah and the Bee
- 11:30 Watching Akeelah and the Bee
-12:30 Finish lunch and head to class
- 1:30 continue grading papers
-2:30 keep grading papers
-3:30 meetings with students
-4:30 more meetings
-5:30 practice swing dancing
-6:30 paperwork again
-7:30 at Princess and Protector event (Father Daughter evening celebration)
8:3o Still at Princess and Protector (tell a story about her father)
-9:30 teach fathers and daughters how to swing dance
-10:30 clean up event
11:30pm grade one last research paper

Sam
- 5:30 wake up
- 6:30 leave for school
- 7:30 finish setting up for College Visit (thanks a ton teachers and Mae, Penny and Kay)
- 8:30 5 colleges visit campus
-9:30 College tour for Freshman through Juniors
- 10:30 said goodbye to college reps and started in on e-mail
- 11:30 helped some student council students
-12:30 Discussed GPA's with freshman and talked about their standardized testing results
- 1:30 scarfed down Chicken Rice and did more paperwork
-2:30 Met with University of Wollongong
-3:30 Met with a student and phone interviewed her father
-4:30 continued planning spring break trip to Los Angeles
-5:30 practice swing dancing
-6:30 more paperwork and planning
-7:30 at Princess and Protector event (Father Daughter evening celebration)
8:3o Still at Princess and Protector (involved in a skit where I forgot some lines)
-9:30 Helped Noelle teach fathers and daughters how to swing dance
-10:30 clean up event
11:30pmWrite first blog in 6 months

Thanks for all you do. We love you all

Past Week and Coming Week

Noelle and I have had a pretty busy first month of school.

Last week was an exceptional time for the school. We invited two staff members from our sister school in Seoul to come and speak at our Middle/High School Spiritual Emphasis Week. they did an excellent job in helping our students remember that life is not about us, but rather is about God's Story. They also brought 5 students with them. This was a real treat as these 5 students led us in music and worship.

This current week has been busy, but it was only 3 days of work. Monday was Hari Raya (celebration of the end of Ramadan) and Friday the 25th Noelle and I lead 13 students and a guest speaker to Indonesia on a Leadership Retreat. Of the 13 students 6 are seniors and 10 are males. This brings to mind the fact that more than 2/3 of the high school students praying this morning for See You At the Pole were male. I am praying that the young men at our school continue to stand up and be spiritual leaders among their peers.

This next week is going to be pretty exciting too. Wednesday the 30th will be the ICS soccer team's 2 league game. We tied today 3-3. Thursday will be the High School's first Week Without Walls meeting. I am leading a team to the Philippines in April, Noelle will probably not be able to attend due to Middle School Principal Responsibilities. Friday will be the High School's first annual ICS Career Day. 8 Professionals will come and share about real life work experiences and our students will have a chance to ask all sorts of important questions.

Saturday I will lead the new staff at ICS in a group discussion to discuss some of the transition issues affecting them through their move to Singapore.

Busyness seems to be commonplace these days for Noelle and I. Please pray for us and our school.

Noelle Bhangra

The moment you all have been waiting for..... dandadandaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..... Noelle has been dancing Bhangra for 3 years now. She has danced for the S.R. Nathan, the President of Singapore at The Istana on Orchard Road. She has danced at weddings, schools and at community events.

October is Racial Harmony Month in Singapore. Two weeks ago she danced 20 minutes after Mentor Minister Lee Kuan Yew spoke about Singapore as a nation.

Yesterday she danced at Graffiti Expression, a Singapore sponsored event to increase racial harmony through friendship and art.

If you would like to see her teams website click here Singapore Bhangra

Here are some pictures from yesterdays performance. The old man is known as Funny Singapore Man on Youtube. He spoke with me for about 10 minutes before the performance began. If you would like to see a video of him you can check him out at youtube.

Fun game in Singapore

We have been blessed with the opportunity to own a car in Singapore. Although it is very expensive it is definitely a blessing. This is one of the fun game's my buddy Greg and I play together.



NO CAR!!

NOELLE and MY CAR (little cute blue fuel efficient beast)

WELL, LOOK AT THAT. I AM A CAR!!

WELL, LOOK AT THAT. GREG IS A Car!!

Wish we were better at this

Noelle and I apologize for not being better at this blog thing.

So, here is the just of what has been going on in the past three months.

-Spring Break in the Philippines with my sister and mother. We helped with an orphanage in Mindanao.
- Cultural service trip to Indonesia with 5 students. We lived with a village of Muslims and learned about their culture through eating their food and living how they lived.
- I led a father son retreat to Indonesia...No we don't have kids, but it was a great time to help men and their sons grow in appreciation for manhood and biblical character development.
- Noelle and her Bhangra team had an awesome opportunity to go to the President of Singapore's house and dance for him, his family and his friends.


Now we are planning our summer break. Noelle will spend three weeks in Indonesia working on her acquisition of the Indonesian language.

While she is in Indoneisa I will go to Vancouver and spend some time with family and friends. I fly in on June 18th and fly out on June 29th.

Please pray for the school and enrollment.