So I never write blogs....

So I (Brian) have gotten a bit of flack recently for not ever writing on our blog. For all those disappointed souls out there I must say that I have been writing. Actually, I have done a great job, blogging every week with highlights, poignant thoughts, and reflections over the past week's experiences in Julie's and my life. However I came to realize I was not posting them on our blog site but rather posting them to the garbage can.... Ok, that's not entirely true.

Usually I don't think that I have much to say. I did take a trip to Korea this summer but that's boring and nobody wants to hear about that. I could tell you about my classes but usually I have to either be reading for them or running off to them and cannot write. I meant to tell you about what life is like living with a pregnant wife, but Julie won't let me. That's private and censored.

So I will leave you with this one nugget to ponder until I actually get around to doing this again. This is a pearl of wisdom, like the beatitudes or parables that can be reflected upon one's whole life:
"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."

Ok, so I didn't make that up either. What? Are you going to sue me?

Dream Vacation Project

One of the new exciting things in my life (Julie) in the Philippines has been the opportunity to become trained as an ESL (English as a second language) instructor and teach some English classes. This is something I NEVER thought I would do, but I have found that I absolutely love it! So, last January, I taught my first class to some students from Korea, and I'm now teaching two classes and tutoring other students, also.
Twice a year students from Korea Nazarene University come to our seminary for a 6-week intensive English study program. We're in the middle of one of the sessions now, and I can't describe how much fun it is to have college students on campus and get to interact with them in the classroom every day. I recently gave them an assignment to do an oral presentation on a 'Dream Vacation.' As usual, they overwhelmed me with their creativity and hard work. I must admit my favorite part was when the group that presented a trip to Kenya had 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' playing during their oral presentation! It was so much fun! Here's a picture of my class and the posters they made for their projects...

Please pray for my students as they enjoy the last few weeks of their cross-cultural experience in the Philippines. Not all the students that come are Christians, so many times, this can be a life-changing experience! Pray also for myself, the other teachers and tutors, and students on campus as we interact with our Korean friends.

16 weeks....

Well, finally we are giving you a much-requested pregnancy update! Sorry our communication has been so pitiful recently. We have come through an absolutely crazy summer only to enter a much crazier school year. :) The school calendar in the Philippines is different from the states, so our semesters run from July-October and November-March. So, we are back in classes, working, and continuing to enjoy the exciting adventures God has for us this year!
Thankfully, morning sickness ended just as school was starting, so that part of the pregnancy is over. So now Julie is just tired and hungry ALL the time. :) And suddenly in the last 2 weeks, everyone has been exclaiming how she is 'starting to show!' so we figured we better start taking pictures and letting the rest of our friends and family see how things are progressing. So, here are a few baby pics from the last 16 weeks...

*6 weeks*

*16 weeks*

*Baby Woolery at 9 weeks*

So, one of our Korean professors told us the other day that it seems disturbing to refer to the baby as 'it' since we don't yet know the gender of the baby. As we were discussing, we decided it's much nicer to use Tagalog (Filipino) language in referring to the baby. In Tagalog, there is no difference between he and she, like we have in English. You use the word 'siya' (pronounced shya) as he or she, and it can mean either one. So, we now refer to the baby as 'siya'. :)