isn't that the truth?
for more fun garfield comics, minus the garfield (thanks for the link lily!) check this site:
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Monday, March 3, 2008
free chatting
hey!
just a quick reminder... if anyone has a microphone or a camera on their computer, we can talk over the internet for free...
www.skype.com
our username is grantandkristin :-) just add us to your contacts if you add skype!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
45,000 HKD
45,000 HKD was the goal for the 30 hour famine. not entirely an arbitrary number. It takes very near to 3,000 HKD to feed a child for a year through World Vision. My goal was to have 15 kids from our youth group participate in the 30HF this year. 15x3,000= 45,000.
The deal was that if they raised that money, I would dye my hair the color of their choice. We're well over that amount, and they haven't all turned in their money.
So I went to the hair salon today to uphold my end of the deal....
Sunday, February 24, 2008
a very long 30 hours
This past Friday-Saturday, we joined 20+ kids from church in doing a 30 hour fast to raise money for World Vision. Most of them didn't think they could do it, and I think they were surprised that they could. They ate breakfast before school, and then came to church in the evening to spend the night til lunch on Saturday. We started off with some board games, and then went into opening worship, welcome, and a short quiet time.
**twister is a popular game**
**doing a devotional**
There's a lady at our church, Debbie, who works for a Christian charity called Crossroads International. Crossroads collects unwanted goods from Hong Kong and ships them around the world - furniture, clothes, toys, you name it. They also run simulations to teach about world poverty, so she did that for us at the church. This simulation was based on a true story of a family in India who makes a living making paper bags. The family groups had to make enough paper bags to pay for food and rent each week, while facing medical problems, etc.
**a family group making paper bags out of newspaper, and glue (flour and water)**
**Grant was Mr. Deepahdebt - the loan shark who lived under the bridge**
The rest of the night we wrote letters to students in the Philippines whose education is sponsored by our church, played "Romans and Christians," did a short quiet time, and then a midnight candlelight worship service (don't look at the carpet in the sanctuary anymore...)
In the morning, we had a prolonged quiet time, and then some time for just hanging out - scrabble, chess, jenga, and slacklining...
**Olin (a high school student) owns a slackline - something similar to a tightrope, so he taught and spotted a bunch of the kids**
We then broke into groups for a photo scavenger hunt around various sites in Hong Kong.
**one group at the "cataract"**
**The Peak Tram in the background**
**another "waterfall" photo
When we returned, we had enough time to clean up, do some reflection, and prepare for lunch. Before lunch, a pastor from another church came to lead the kids in some worship time, as well as communion as a way to break the fast. It was both meaningful and difficult - meaningful because he really had them thinking about sacrifice, the blessings of food, and Christ's love; difficult because they sat around the lunch table (with food on it) while he talked to them!
**chowing down on pasta, rice, fruit, veggies, chicken, and dessert!**
**some of the kids who "survived"**
Overall, my prayer for the weekend had been for kids to really meet God during the fasting - after all, that's the true reason why we fast. As I was looking through some of their reflections, it seemed like some of them were starting to really get to know God - a very cool thing. One outward sign that I noticed was their willingness to step outside of their comfort zone and actually sing during worship :-) We don't do worship (musical) that often during our youth group times (mostly because i don't play an instrument or lead worship), so it's something very uncomfortable for many of them. It was really neat to see them go from not singing AT ALL on Friday evening, to being willing to sing (almost loudly) on Saturday afternoon. I know that's just an outside sign, but at least it's comfort with worshipping together. Another cool thing - I have a student who is very puzzling to me. Some times he's a real punk, and sometimes he's really a cool kid. He's loud, so he's either misbehaving or contributing really well. This morning at church, we arrived in between the 2 services, and he was leaving from the 1st service (traditional worship), and told us he'd already gone to church. I assumed that a) his parents were there for something else, or b) he had been told he had to go to church if he wanted to go out with friends. Interestingly, his family wasn't at church at either service so it seems like that was his own choice!
Another cool thing is that the kids really outdid themselves fundraising, and the church really showed its willingness to give to the youth for something like this. We (I) had set our fundraising goal at HK 45,000 - enough to feed 15 kids for a year (approx.). At the moment, I haven't counted it all, and the kids haven't turned in all their money, but we're looking at near HK 50-60,000 that will be donated to World Vision.
Actually, the real reason the kids were so gung-ho about raising money (except for maybe 2 of them), was because I gave them outside incentive... If they raised HKD 45,000, I told them I would dye my hair whatever color they wanted....
the next post will be photos of my hot pink hair.
I'm super thankful to God for the whole weekend -
-all the adults who brought food, led worship, stayed the night, came for bits and pieces
-kids bringing friends who were (whether they wanted to or not) introduced to a side of God that loves and cares for everyone in the world
-the whole weekend went rather smoothly, and it was my first "big" event that I'd ever had to do on my own
-the Holy Spirit's strong presence at the midnight worship and the Communion break-fast
Praise God :-D
Monday, February 11, 2008
a February vacation
a great thing about working in Hong Kong is public holidays. there are a lot of them. Christmas, New Year's, Easter, plus a bunch of religious festivals, and then, the best yet, Chinese New Year - 3 days off for everyone. (and more if you're a teacher). in December, we found out that 3 of the teachers grant works with and a teacher from another school were going to Boracay in the Philippines for the holidays, so we decided to go with them. Boracay has an amazing reputation for white sand beaches, so we thought that sounded pretty perfect in February. And how it was...
the good things:
*great food and eating on the beach
*playing Scrabble and reading on the beach
*playing beach ultimate with the Boracay team
*sunny weather
*snorkeling and lots of fish!
*jonah's fruitshakes
*hanging out at the other girls' hotel
*very minimal sunburns for both of us!
the bad things:
*our hotel room. i suppose we only paid $30 a night, but still... a sink would have been nice, as well as a seat on the toilet bowl! at least things seemed clean, if not comfortable.
*both of us catching colds - how does that work?! luckily we're both nearly over them.
I think the good outweighs the bad... here are the photos:
This is the boat that took us from the island where the airport was to Boracay
we booked a boat to go snorkeling, but they stopped off at a little island first, where we had to pay (of course) to see some caves. there were also some random statues of bulls. I don't know why, but the natural thing to do is ride the bull, right?
this was the stairwell in and out of the caves
grant and the weird statue man
inside one of the caves
an accurate representation of how we spent our time (that's a great book, by the way)
the water is the same color as a pool would be!
I thought this picture looked like one of the backgrounds they would give you as a default on your computer
the 5 girls on the trip - 4 teachers and me!
sunset!
at night, local families would make intricate sand castles and creations. taking a picture basically meant giving a donation.
the good things:
*great food and eating on the beach
*playing Scrabble and reading on the beach
*playing beach ultimate with the Boracay team
*sunny weather
*snorkeling and lots of fish!
*jonah's fruitshakes
*hanging out at the other girls' hotel
*very minimal sunburns for both of us!
the bad things:
*our hotel room. i suppose we only paid $30 a night, but still... a sink would have been nice, as well as a seat on the toilet bowl! at least things seemed clean, if not comfortable.
*both of us catching colds - how does that work?! luckily we're both nearly over them.
I think the good outweighs the bad... here are the photos:
This is the boat that took us from the island where the airport was to Boracay
we booked a boat to go snorkeling, but they stopped off at a little island first, where we had to pay (of course) to see some caves. there were also some random statues of bulls. I don't know why, but the natural thing to do is ride the bull, right?
this was the stairwell in and out of the caves
grant and the weird statue man
inside one of the caves
an accurate representation of how we spent our time (that's a great book, by the way)
the water is the same color as a pool would be!
I thought this picture looked like one of the backgrounds they would give you as a default on your computer
the 5 girls on the trip - 4 teachers and me!
sunset!
at night, local families would make intricate sand castles and creations. taking a picture basically meant giving a donation.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
whoops...
sorry it's been awhile! grant started a post after vietnam, but blogger wasn't working too well, so it never got posted (perhaps it will come another day). until then, here's a photoblog of our trip to Vietnam and the tournament, some January fun, and Steven's visit and our daytrip to Macau :-)
grant and the fruit shakes - he averaged 2-3 a day... not a huge expense at $.60 each!
a plane from the vietnam war
on the boat tour with our cool hats :-)
the tiny cu chi tunnels. the village of cu chi was near saigon, and the communist army built these tunnels to hide and fight the south. very interesting!
our royal blue team at the hat tournament... too bad we lost a lot!
however, grant scored the most points of anyone in the tournament!
teena lee, the sister of an ICS teacher, came to visit!!
a cathedral and art museum in macau
Jesus was put in a box!!
grant, me and steven in front of the st. paul's ruins. once a nice church and school, there was a fire, leaving only the stone facade.
in macau, i guess they think you can make your pets use one toilet only.
a close up of the sign
look! we're in venice! Or, a few thousand miles away...the venetian casino in macau is THE place to go right now, so we did too!
massage chairs at the ferry terminal! that's what i like to see...
at a pub in HK, watching the AFC playoff games... think he can fit it in his mouth? yes he can!
It's been freezing in Hong Kong - and you might laugh, but it's true. the temps have barely gone over 50 in the past two weeks, and it's been drizzly and misty and gray. oh, and there's not great heat in any building, so space heaters are our best friends. however, i love walking through hong kong park, because they've planted loads of flowers!! beautiful warmth in the middle of the dreariness. I also get a kick out of laughing at all the people getting their wedding portraits done - a pitying, "boy i'm glad i'm not you" kind of laugh...
so, this week, it's chinese new year - the biggest holiday here. someone said, "it's like thanksgiving and christmas rolled into one." we decided to head somewhere warm with some of the other teachers... boracay, here we come! (white beaches, snorkeling... i'm excited)
grant and the fruit shakes - he averaged 2-3 a day... not a huge expense at $.60 each!
a plane from the vietnam war
on the boat tour with our cool hats :-)
the tiny cu chi tunnels. the village of cu chi was near saigon, and the communist army built these tunnels to hide and fight the south. very interesting!
our royal blue team at the hat tournament... too bad we lost a lot!
however, grant scored the most points of anyone in the tournament!
teena lee, the sister of an ICS teacher, came to visit!!
a cathedral and art museum in macau
Jesus was put in a box!!
grant, me and steven in front of the st. paul's ruins. once a nice church and school, there was a fire, leaving only the stone facade.
in macau, i guess they think you can make your pets use one toilet only.
a close up of the sign
look! we're in venice! Or, a few thousand miles away...the venetian casino in macau is THE place to go right now, so we did too!
massage chairs at the ferry terminal! that's what i like to see...
at a pub in HK, watching the AFC playoff games... think he can fit it in his mouth? yes he can!
It's been freezing in Hong Kong - and you might laugh, but it's true. the temps have barely gone over 50 in the past two weeks, and it's been drizzly and misty and gray. oh, and there's not great heat in any building, so space heaters are our best friends. however, i love walking through hong kong park, because they've planted loads of flowers!! beautiful warmth in the middle of the dreariness. I also get a kick out of laughing at all the people getting their wedding portraits done - a pitying, "boy i'm glad i'm not you" kind of laugh...
so, this week, it's chinese new year - the biggest holiday here. someone said, "it's like thanksgiving and christmas rolled into one." we decided to head somewhere warm with some of the other teachers... boracay, here we come! (white beaches, snorkeling... i'm excited)
Friday, December 21, 2007
Merry Christmas!
We've had a few friends send us e-Christmas cards, so this one is for all our family and friends! :-)
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1636791566
watch the nice dance steps we learned!!
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1636791566
watch the nice dance steps we learned!!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
snowballs grow into avalanches
our white team started as the underdogs - all new to HK ultimate leagues, not knowing each other, and looking pretty weak...especially with a name like "snowball." (i still think of white furry kittens).
after our first game 12 weeks ago, we looked like we would fit that name.
then we became snowmen (we got to graduate) when we beat red soundly...
but when a snowball gets going, it quickly turns into an avalanche :-)
and we avalanched our way into the finals last night, playing against the only team that's beat us! (3 times out of 4...) sadly for them, we weren't a snowball or snowpeople. 15-4 baby!!
grant and i loved our white team - what a great introduction to HK ultimate with awesome people. we didn't yell at each other, our captain was encouraging (in his own cynical way), and we made some great friends. alas, the beauty that is avalanche will never be again!
*soon to come, a team photo from the finals...
after our first game 12 weeks ago, we looked like we would fit that name.
then we became snowmen (we got to graduate) when we beat red soundly...
but when a snowball gets going, it quickly turns into an avalanche :-)
and we avalanched our way into the finals last night, playing against the only team that's beat us! (3 times out of 4...) sadly for them, we weren't a snowball or snowpeople. 15-4 baby!!
grant and i loved our white team - what a great introduction to HK ultimate with awesome people. we didn't yell at each other, our captain was encouraging (in his own cynical way), and we made some great friends. alas, the beauty that is avalanche will never be again!
*soon to come, a team photo from the finals...
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
an expensive mistake...
grant left for indonesia monday morning!! pray for him - he's in a remote island with 17 middle schoolers: 14 boys, and 3 girls... yikes. they get back friday night at 10:45.
i went with grant to the airport on monday morning, since i didn't have to work. we got up, rushed out the door to the bus, stopped at the ATM for money - for his trip and my shopping date with katie (a youth intern at another church). we were the second to last of the group to arrive at the airport (the 3rd teacher was the last). i hung out at the airport for about an hour, then hopped on the hourlong busride home (with some burger king)... called steven wilco and talked for awhile... then called john unrath on the last leg of the trip. i got back to my flat and sat outside to finish my conversation with john. then, i needed to be leaving to go see katie, but i wanted to drop some stuff off and desperately needed the restroom (diet coke on a busride does that to you).
take the lift up to our flat... dig through my bag. twice. no keys. ahhhh!!!! grant locked the door, and i pushed the elevator button when we left.
so i had to communicate this error to the security guard who spoke very little english, and i eventually got pointed to the locksmith near our building. they sent someone with me up to my flat - and it was supposed to be $150. sure, fine, whatever -the only set of keys available are in indonesia! then he sees the grate on the front of our door and says, nope 200 for that lock. ok, sure, no big deal.
he picks, fiddles, etc with the lock, and finally gets the grate open. the lock we use on our front door is the deadbolt. he looks at the deadbolt and tells me that it's a computerized key, and i'll have to get a new lock. ok, sure, i really need to get in, whatever works!!! he proceeds to get a screwdriver, hammer, and wrench out of his bag and completely demolish the lock and pull it off the door. i was so glad to see my keys on the kitchen table (i was semi-afraid i'd dropped them somewhere). then i find out it's $800 for the whole situation! $400 to open the door, and $400 for the new lock... well, i had to say yes. luckily, i had $770 in my wallet (remember the atm trip?). he didn't take credit card, but he said that 770 was fine.
what a great beginning to a day...
at least i got to go shopping!! katie and i went to the markets in mong kok and stanley - i finally got new jeans: 15USD for a pair of American Eagle jeans, and 9 USD for an Abercrombie sweater. oh, and some xmas presents. plus some fun hangout time with katie (a new friend:D)
i went with grant to the airport on monday morning, since i didn't have to work. we got up, rushed out the door to the bus, stopped at the ATM for money - for his trip and my shopping date with katie (a youth intern at another church). we were the second to last of the group to arrive at the airport (the 3rd teacher was the last). i hung out at the airport for about an hour, then hopped on the hourlong busride home (with some burger king)... called steven wilco and talked for awhile... then called john unrath on the last leg of the trip. i got back to my flat and sat outside to finish my conversation with john. then, i needed to be leaving to go see katie, but i wanted to drop some stuff off and desperately needed the restroom (diet coke on a busride does that to you).
take the lift up to our flat... dig through my bag. twice. no keys. ahhhh!!!! grant locked the door, and i pushed the elevator button when we left.
so i had to communicate this error to the security guard who spoke very little english, and i eventually got pointed to the locksmith near our building. they sent someone with me up to my flat - and it was supposed to be $150. sure, fine, whatever -the only set of keys available are in indonesia! then he sees the grate on the front of our door and says, nope 200 for that lock. ok, sure, no big deal.
he picks, fiddles, etc with the lock, and finally gets the grate open. the lock we use on our front door is the deadbolt. he looks at the deadbolt and tells me that it's a computerized key, and i'll have to get a new lock. ok, sure, i really need to get in, whatever works!!! he proceeds to get a screwdriver, hammer, and wrench out of his bag and completely demolish the lock and pull it off the door. i was so glad to see my keys on the kitchen table (i was semi-afraid i'd dropped them somewhere). then i find out it's $800 for the whole situation! $400 to open the door, and $400 for the new lock... well, i had to say yes. luckily, i had $770 in my wallet (remember the atm trip?). he didn't take credit card, but he said that 770 was fine.
what a great beginning to a day...
at least i got to go shopping!! katie and i went to the markets in mong kok and stanley - i finally got new jeans: 15USD for a pair of American Eagle jeans, and 9 USD for an Abercrombie sweater. oh, and some xmas presents. plus some fun hangout time with katie (a new friend:D)
Saturday, November 24, 2007
a couple additions
yay grant made a post!
a couple things in recent times -
we spent last weekend in manila at another frisbee tournament. it's fantastic to find relatively cheap flights to places that are really warm and sunny (ie sunburns!!). our hong kong team only took 8 people (which is pretty brutal), but we picked up 5 when we got there, and we had a great time. Overall, we got 9th... but we won 5 out of 6 games :-) it was just a blast to hang out with frisbee kids, play some good muddy ultimate, and get some sun. (grant fell asleep at saturday dinner).
contrary to popular belief, we actually do a lot of things other than frisbee :-)
we're involved in a small group on tuesday nights with (mostly) other ICS teachers - and that's been fantastic. we've been working through 1 John this year using a study guide, rotating who leads the discussion. it's just nice to get togehter with other people our age, in similar positions of life, and talk about spirituality and faith. good stuff.
youth stuff has been alright - trying to spend time wth kids outside of church (sometimes easy, sometimes not). painting was (mostly) successful last night, so my office/youth room is now orange (with one white wall with handprints). it livens it up a bit.
and it's the weekend! so we're off for groceries....
a couple things in recent times -
we spent last weekend in manila at another frisbee tournament. it's fantastic to find relatively cheap flights to places that are really warm and sunny (ie sunburns!!). our hong kong team only took 8 people (which is pretty brutal), but we picked up 5 when we got there, and we had a great time. Overall, we got 9th... but we won 5 out of 6 games :-) it was just a blast to hang out with frisbee kids, play some good muddy ultimate, and get some sun. (grant fell asleep at saturday dinner).
contrary to popular belief, we actually do a lot of things other than frisbee :-)
we're involved in a small group on tuesday nights with (mostly) other ICS teachers - and that's been fantastic. we've been working through 1 John this year using a study guide, rotating who leads the discussion. it's just nice to get togehter with other people our age, in similar positions of life, and talk about spirituality and faith. good stuff.
youth stuff has been alright - trying to spend time wth kids outside of church (sometimes easy, sometimes not). painting was (mostly) successful last night, so my office/youth room is now orange (with one white wall with handprints). it livens it up a bit.
and it's the weekend! so we're off for groceries....
Friday, November 23, 2007
painting turkeys
hey family and friends!
it's about time that i post to this site again. it's only been a couple of months or so. :)
updates...
krisitn and i have now been in hong kong for about 4 months.
marriage is great! - full of fun, things to learn, a few down times here and there, lots of conversation, and much teamwork.
school is also well. in case you forgot, i'm teaching 8th grade algebra and bible. the kids are mostly hard-working, and we've been able to have some fun in class. i coached the U14 soccer team, and when it was done, i moved right into the U14 basketball season. unfortunately, the soccer team was much more successful than the basketball team thus far.
coming up in just a couple days, i'm leaving the country. i'm taking a group of 17 kids to indonesia for a week to do service projects and missionary work! there are two other teachers coming along, and we're pretty pumped. if you take a moment, i'd much appreciate some prayers for our safety, growth, and group cohesion.
before i leave for indonesia, kristin and i have been busy preparing for youth group tonight (friday, 24 nov). the kids are coming to the church to paint the youth room and bring some life to its walls! we moved furniture, cleaned, and whitewashed one of the walls where the kids are going to do handprints.
finally, kristin and i decided to celebrate a little thanksgiving in hong kong. fortunately, i received the day off and the rest of hong kong did not. it made for a great day trip to an island called cheung chau. we took an hour-long ferry and occupied our time playing cribbage. thankfully, we weren't hassled for "gambling." once we docked, we hiked around, explored a "cave," checked out some temples, and had some delightful seafood on the harbor-side. i'll post a few pictures.
well, i did it.
i made a post.
hope you're happy.
now go play outside.
love you,
grant
ps, kristin and i are now addicted to boggle, another wonderful word game. rest assured though - we still find much joy in scrabble. :)
it's about time that i post to this site again. it's only been a couple of months or so. :)
updates...
krisitn and i have now been in hong kong for about 4 months.
marriage is great! - full of fun, things to learn, a few down times here and there, lots of conversation, and much teamwork.
school is also well. in case you forgot, i'm teaching 8th grade algebra and bible. the kids are mostly hard-working, and we've been able to have some fun in class. i coached the U14 soccer team, and when it was done, i moved right into the U14 basketball season. unfortunately, the soccer team was much more successful than the basketball team thus far.
coming up in just a couple days, i'm leaving the country. i'm taking a group of 17 kids to indonesia for a week to do service projects and missionary work! there are two other teachers coming along, and we're pretty pumped. if you take a moment, i'd much appreciate some prayers for our safety, growth, and group cohesion.
before i leave for indonesia, kristin and i have been busy preparing for youth group tonight (friday, 24 nov). the kids are coming to the church to paint the youth room and bring some life to its walls! we moved furniture, cleaned, and whitewashed one of the walls where the kids are going to do handprints.
finally, kristin and i decided to celebrate a little thanksgiving in hong kong. fortunately, i received the day off and the rest of hong kong did not. it made for a great day trip to an island called cheung chau. we took an hour-long ferry and occupied our time playing cribbage. thankfully, we weren't hassled for "gambling." once we docked, we hiked around, explored a "cave," checked out some temples, and had some delightful seafood on the harbor-side. i'll post a few pictures.
well, i did it.
i made a post.
hope you're happy.
now go play outside.
love you,
grant
ps, kristin and i are now addicted to boggle, another wonderful word game. rest assured though - we still find much joy in scrabble. :)
Saturday, November 10, 2007
frisbee tournament pictures from janice
as i promised, a few pictures from the tournament. these are from janice's camera - i took a few, and she took the rest. not as many action shots, but they're hard to catch
aww.... it's a frisbee couple!
grant, paulie, toby, and guy. paulie and guy were fantastic captains for the star fairies, and guy does a great job with white team during the league!
the star fairies!
Junk huddle
Kenny and Grant have secret handshakes
kristin on defense
our junk captain calling a play against singapore
this is when paulie (the star fairies captain) and tim (the junk captain) got in a fight about rules and started yelling at each other in the middle of the HK showdown between our two teams.... it was awkward....
aww.... it's a frisbee couple!
grant, paulie, toby, and guy. paulie and guy were fantastic captains for the star fairies, and guy does a great job with white team during the league!
the star fairies!
Junk huddle
Kenny and Grant have secret handshakes
kristin on defense
our junk captain calling a play against singapore
this is when paulie (the star fairies captain) and tim (the junk captain) got in a fight about rules and started yelling at each other in the middle of the HK showdown between our two teams.... it was awkward....
Friday, November 2, 2007
i've become a warm blooded creature...
fall is upon us, even here in hong kong.
last week, the highs were about 28-29C (do your math folks - multiply by 5/9, then add 32. it will be good for your brain!) so it was quite warm, but about average, and at least it wasn't going into the 32-33 range!
all of a sudden this week it took a 10 degree plunge, and the high for the past two days has been 19C. The low last night was even 14!
now, if you're following along with me and doing your math, you'll realize that this is quite moderate - by no means cold.
people in hong kong have broken out their thick jackets, warm scarves, and sweaters (or jumpers, if you're British). and me? i've got long sleeves and a denim jacket today. what am i going to do when winter hits? ;-)
love you all!
last week, the highs were about 28-29C (do your math folks - multiply by 5/9, then add 32. it will be good for your brain!) so it was quite warm, but about average, and at least it wasn't going into the 32-33 range!
all of a sudden this week it took a 10 degree plunge, and the high for the past two days has been 19C. The low last night was even 14!
now, if you're following along with me and doing your math, you'll realize that this is quite moderate - by no means cold.
people in hong kong have broken out their thick jackets, warm scarves, and sweaters (or jumpers, if you're British). and me? i've got long sleeves and a denim jacket today. what am i going to do when winter hits? ;-)
love you all!
Monday, October 29, 2007
i wish i'd taken pictures....
but since i didn't, we're going to stick with words. however, i'm hoping for some photos from one of the other girls, at which point they'll end up on here.
this weekend, grant and i spent all day saturday and sunday out playing ultimate at the HK pan-asian tournament. 12 teams from shanghai, beijing, singapore, bangkok, manila, korea, and other asian places all converged upon the tiny SAR of hong kong for some awesome tourney fun.
highlights:
*grant's team (star fairies) went 4-1 for the weekend, not including one other loss when they combined with the 3rd HK team for a fun game at the end of the day.
*an awesome star fairies game that was 8-8 at the cap, ending with a win by star fairies!
*grant was mentioned by many of his teammates as an unofficial mvp for his team (heck yeah, that's MY husband!! bet you wish you were that lucky...;-))
*an unfortunate 0-3 start by kristin's team (junk), but a second day that was 2-1 (the only loss coming to the eventual runner-ups in the tournament).
*a demolishing win against singapore (13-5) in the consolation round for 5th place. highlight of that game - one of our teammates making a defensive interception off their first pass for a point! (aka, a callahan). frickin awesome.
*the commentary on the final game: ringers of fire v. shanghai...especially, "let's hope [anonymous ringers player] has better luck with the disc than he did with either of the kristins"...did he really say that out loud?? yes, yes he did..
*grant's principal coming out to watch our games! how cool is that...
*free beer at the end of each day
*free food and drinks at parties friday and saturday nights
*free crocs and new discs
*good weather!
bet you wish you played ultimate :-D
this weekend, grant and i spent all day saturday and sunday out playing ultimate at the HK pan-asian tournament. 12 teams from shanghai, beijing, singapore, bangkok, manila, korea, and other asian places all converged upon the tiny SAR of hong kong for some awesome tourney fun.
highlights:
*grant's team (star fairies) went 4-1 for the weekend, not including one other loss when they combined with the 3rd HK team for a fun game at the end of the day.
*an awesome star fairies game that was 8-8 at the cap, ending with a win by star fairies!
*grant was mentioned by many of his teammates as an unofficial mvp for his team (heck yeah, that's MY husband!! bet you wish you were that lucky...;-))
*an unfortunate 0-3 start by kristin's team (junk), but a second day that was 2-1 (the only loss coming to the eventual runner-ups in the tournament).
*a demolishing win against singapore (13-5) in the consolation round for 5th place. highlight of that game - one of our teammates making a defensive interception off their first pass for a point! (aka, a callahan). frickin awesome.
*the commentary on the final game: ringers of fire v. shanghai...especially, "let's hope [anonymous ringers player] has better luck with the disc than he did with either of the kristins"...did he really say that out loud?? yes, yes he did..
*grant's principal coming out to watch our games! how cool is that...
*free beer at the end of each day
*free food and drinks at parties friday and saturday nights
*free crocs and new discs
*good weather!
bet you wish you played ultimate :-D
Monday, October 15, 2007
church and frisbee.... that's kristin's life
it was a good times at youth group this past week. 8 senior high students - 2 of whom were first timers to the high school group (not first timers to the church though). it ended with olin and jannes toilet papering my fan, which shot the tp all over the office. nicely done guys.
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then friday night, we had about 15 junior high kids come to watch the lion, the witch and the wardrobe, including a few new friends who were brought. also, good times.
saturday, we had 8 kids join us to go out to play frisbee on the beach. you would think more would come, but hey, we'll start with that!! we also invited a few people from our frisbee team to come, and that was great to have them along as well (thanks uli and alicia!)
yup that's my husband
some good defense :-D
youth event = junk food
after the beach time, grant and i went out with uli and alicia twice - once for dinner, and then way later (after a nap) for a 3AM rugby viewing - world cup semifinals england v. france.
we also found out that we did make teams for the tournament at the end of the month... little less than 2 weeks! sadly, we're not on the same team, but it'll be tons of fun anyways :-D
.jpg)
then friday night, we had about 15 junior high kids come to watch the lion, the witch and the wardrobe, including a few new friends who were brought. also, good times.
saturday, we had 8 kids join us to go out to play frisbee on the beach. you would think more would come, but hey, we'll start with that!! we also invited a few people from our frisbee team to come, and that was great to have them along as well (thanks uli and alicia!)
yup that's my husband
some good defense :-D
youth event = junk food
after the beach time, grant and i went out with uli and alicia twice - once for dinner, and then way later (after a nap) for a 3AM rugby viewing - world cup semifinals england v. france.
we also found out that we did make teams for the tournament at the end of the month... little less than 2 weeks! sadly, we're not on the same team, but it'll be tons of fun anyways :-D
Thursday, October 11, 2007
the crisp fall air....
well, not quite, but it's definitely cooler this week than it's been yet, and it feels great! (by cooler, i mean 23-28 degrees Celsius, so still around 80.)
it's hard to believe that we're in October, and nearly half way through!
grant and i are still beating up our bodies in training for the HK tournament at the end of the month - 3 hour sunday practices, 1-2 hour conditioning on Tuesdays, and league games on wednesdays. it's flippin sweet. but, unfortunately, sleep is being cut out of our schedules quickly!
hanging out with kids is still a blast. a lot of my time is spent at the church, but also doing some stuff at ics with meeting kids for lunch once in awhile and helping with swim team. (hopefully more often at some point).
i'm off to the philippines again next month, this time with a group of about 10 people, including 4 youth. prayers for their eyes to be open, their hearts to be soft would be stellar.
and prayers for my heart to be soft and my mind to stand firm would also be most appreciated. i've had a rough few weeks for no reason other than my mind and my heart fighting a lot.
until next time,
bye-bye!*
*standard closing to any conversation in hk
it's hard to believe that we're in October, and nearly half way through!
grant and i are still beating up our bodies in training for the HK tournament at the end of the month - 3 hour sunday practices, 1-2 hour conditioning on Tuesdays, and league games on wednesdays. it's flippin sweet. but, unfortunately, sleep is being cut out of our schedules quickly!
hanging out with kids is still a blast. a lot of my time is spent at the church, but also doing some stuff at ics with meeting kids for lunch once in awhile and helping with swim team. (hopefully more often at some point).
i'm off to the philippines again next month, this time with a group of about 10 people, including 4 youth. prayers for their eyes to be open, their hearts to be soft would be stellar.
and prayers for my heart to be soft and my mind to stand firm would also be most appreciated. i've had a rough few weeks for no reason other than my mind and my heart fighting a lot.
until next time,
bye-bye!*
*standard closing to any conversation in hk
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