2015 Christmas Newsletter
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Holiday Greetings from Korea to all! December 2015 I’ve been putting off my annual Christmas epistle long enough, because I suffer from a condition known as chronic procrastination. However, it’s encouraging to know that 20% of the population also have this ailment; and you are one of those unfortunate ones who will have to decide whether to delete it/throw it away--or read it, and hope it will put you to sleep if you have insomnia. Eun-Hee and I started our travel early this year with a mission trip the Thailand/ Myanmar border where we helped conduct a music camp for Karan tribe refugees. These people live in an area called “no man’s land” on the Myanmar side, and have been harassed and persecuted by the Burmese military for many years. (There have been no bad incidents in the recent past, but they don’t trust the Gov., so remain cautious about the future.) I taught trumpet, choir, and music theory, and Eun-Hee helped teach the flute. It was remarkable what they were able to learn in less than 2 weeks. (We are going again in January 2016). In late January, Eun-Hee & I joined friends Norbert & Chris Schwer on a trip to New Zealand. What a beautiful country. We rented a car and drove thru much of both islands enjoying fantastic scenery, and breath-taking hikes. Highlights included about everything we saw! The SDA college in Bangladesh asked Eun-Hee to help start a nursing program. She visited the college in late February and came back saying that she couldn’t say “no,” because the need is so great, and we feel that God has called us to help there. Although she has the teaching background the degree (Ph.D.) they were looking for, they would like me to teach accounting, English, and music at the college. We expect to move to Bangladesh in late spring of 2016 as volunteers. In March, Eun-Hee and I joined a Maranatha group building a school in Namibia. One get’s instant gratification in helping to build around 18 buildings in less than 2 weeks with, the “One-Day School” kits Maranatha uses. Eun-Hee helped with cooking and the medical teams while I screwed up trying to use a drill. At the end of the trip, we visited Victoria Falls, where we walked with the lions and cheetahs. Fortunately, they fed them before our walk, so we were able to enjoy the experience without losing any body parts. This experience made Eun-Hee so brave that she flew over Victoria Falls in a microlight plane, and joined me in swimming/wading in Angels Pool about 1 meter from the top of Victoria Falls (see photo). Before returning home we took a 3+week trip through Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa, with a small group staying mostly in tents we put up each night. The biggest highlights of the trip were skydiving over Namibia, enjoying Table Mountain in Cape town, and visiting Cape of Good Hope. It never entered my mind that Eun-Hee would consider skydiving. However, after she decided to try it, I didn’t want to be a wimp, so we went up in the same airplane.
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More info that most of you care to know about the Peek family's adventures during 2015.
Transcript of 2015 Christmas Newsletter
Holiday Greetings from Korea to all! December 2015 I’ve been putting off my annual Christmas epistle long enough, because I suffer from a condition known as chronic procrastination. However, it’s encouraging to know that 20% of the population also have this ailment; and you are one of those unfortunate ones who will have to decide whether to delete it/throw it away--or read it, and hope it will put you to sleep if you have insomnia. Eun-Hee and I started our travel early this year with a mission trip the Thailand/
Myanmar border where we helped conduct a music camp for Karan tribe refugees. These people live in an area called “no man’s land” on the Myanmar side, and have been harassed and persecuted by the Burmese military for many years. (There have been no bad incidents in the recent past, but they don’t trust the Gov., so remain cautious about the future.) I taught trumpet, choir, and music theory, and Eun-Hee helped teach the flute. It was remarkable what they were able to learn in less than 2 weeks. (We are going again in January 2016).
In late January, Eun-Hee & I joined friends Norbert & Chris Schwer on a trip to New Zealand. What a beautiful country. We rented a car and drove thru much of both islands enjoying fantastic scenery, and breath-taking hikes. Highlights included about everything we saw!
The SDA college in Bangladesh asked Eun-Hee to help start a nursing program. She visited the college in late February and came back saying that she couldn’t say “no,” because the need is so great, and we feel that God has called us to help there. Although she has the teaching background the degree (Ph.D.) they were looking for, they would like me to teach accounting, English, and music at the college. We expect to move
to Bangladesh in late spring of 2016 as volunteers.
In March, Eun-Hee and I joined a Maranatha group building a school in Namibia. One get’s instant gratification in helping to build around 18 buildings in less than 2 weeks with, the “One-Day School” kits Maranatha uses. Eun-Hee helped with cooking and the medical teams while I screwed up trying to use a drill. At the end of the trip, we visited Victoria Falls, where we walked with the lions and cheetahs. Fortunately, they fed them before our walk, so we were able to enjoy the experience without losing any body parts. This experience made Eun-Hee so brave that she flew over Victoria Falls in a microlight plane, and joined me in swimming/wading in Angels Pool about 1 meter from the top of Victoria Falls (see photo). Before returning home we took a 3+week trip through Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa, with a small group staying mostly in tents we put up each night. The biggest highlights of the trip were skydiving over Namibia, enjoying Table Mountain in Cape town, and visiting Cape of Good Hope. It never entered my mind that Eun-Hee would consider skydiving. However, after she decided to try it, I didn’t want to be a wimp, so we went up in the same airplane.
Eun-Hee went to Nepal in late May with a small group of medical personnel from Korea to provide some much needed medical assistance to the people of Nepal after the devastating earthquakes in April-May. The villages she visited looked like a war zone she said, and it was especially sad to see school buildings that completely collapsed killing many children. Nepal has a special place in my heart since I have been there hiking and on mission trips numerous times, and really love the gentle and friendly people there.
In June, Eun-Hee and I went hiking in the Mont Blanc region on France, enjoying some of the most beautiful mountain scenery we have ever seen, and we stopped by Ireland on the way back. In July, we attended our church’s quinquennial conference in San Antonio, staying with good friends (DeWayne & Shirley—what are friends if you can’t use them!) Speaking of “using” friends, unfortunately, we only had one couple (Bill & Cathy Ward) visit us this year in Korea. We always welcome and enjoy friends visiting us—Maybe we would have more visits if we were home more often?? I left for Africa at the end of July to spend 10+ weeks on the Africa Mercy ship—a Christian NGO that provides free medical services to the poor. What a rewarding experience.. This was my 2nd time volunteering with this org. This time the ship was based in Madagascar. No, with my medical background they did not let me near the patients. I served as a cashier in the ship shop and barista in Starbucks café, which supported the all-volunteer crew. You can learn about them at: mercyships.org. I encourage anyone interested in helping humanity to volunteer with them. While on Mercy Ship, in my spare time, and after returning to Korea, I have been practicing the piano with limited progress at 2-3 hours a day for the past 5 months, in hope of playing my favorite Chopin for a “parlor” recital. I’m finding that I do not have the musical ability, memory I once had, or finger dexterity to perform my chosen repertoire in public. Anyway, the practice may help delay Alzheimer’s (pronounced “old-timers”) disease. Meanwhile, Eun-Hee has been taking ukulele and ocarina (a musical instrument similar to a recorder) lessons, with much more success. December finds us preparing for my annual Christmas Cantata, (which I enjoy conduct-ing), and hoping to receive Holiday greetings from friends and family. Noel continues working for Southwest Airlines as a flight attendant. The world has had a continuing increase violence, terrorism, and disasters in 2015, which makes us all long for Jesus to come again. We look forward to Jesus’ 2nd coming which will put an end to these increasingly horrific events. Wishing everyone God’s richest blessing in 2016!
Leon & Eun-‐Hee
