2017 in Review and 2018 in Preview...

We have jump-started the year 2018 because we received the vist of my mother and my sister early in January. It is always good to recollect what transpired in the previous year and to preview that is lying ahead in the new year.

2017 was a busy year for traveling.

Together with Kristin, we visited Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to get the visa to Thailand. It was a short stint to put our footsteps into the country. We also spent a couple of weeks in Kigali, Rwanda in conjunction with SfK MBA Kigali we held for the Kigali Diocese of Rwanda Anglican Church. Also, we made two in-depth tours to Italy: i.e. Southern Italy and Sicily, and Taste of Tuscany. Both of them were Expat tours. Together, we visited several cities (Los Angeles, Denver, New York) in the U.S. twice. Also, while we were traveling to the U.S. we made an exploratory trip to Ajijic, Mexico, the Lake Chapala area.

On top of these trips, I made short trips, all related to to SfK Ministries. They include a short trip to Udon Thani, Thailand, to Vientiane, Laos, to Seoul, Korea four times, a day trip to Lancaster and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, an overnight trip to Memphis, Tennessee, a 3-day trip to Atlanta, Georgia, a 4-day trip to Jakarta, Indonesia to attend TBN Asia Conference, an exploratory trip to Phnom Penh, Cambodia and a few trips to Bangkok, Thailand.

Also, we received several visitors in Chiang Mai during our first year of living here. We received friends of Kristin (Geum Sook and Hong Im's couple), Peter Lee and Danny Kim and Amanda, who stayed at our house. Moreover, I received the visits of several other people outside our house, including Sunghoon Koh of GNI, Woo Won Chang of Shanghai, Bong Rae Lee, Joon Hong Um, Jiwoon Bang of Hesed Cambodia.

Along with their visits, we explored several places in and around Chiang Mai, including the Hmong Church in the hill with Gary Moon couple and Ben couple (Christmas 2016), Doi Suthep and other places with Gesaryn's friends, night bazaar, Roong Aroon Hot Springs, Bosan Village etc.

Furthermore, I attended several conferences held in Chiang Mai, including Lausanne Consultation on Wealth Creation for Holistic Transformation, WEC's BAM Conference, Freedom Business Forum, SfK MBA Chiang Mai.

2018 is going to be quite busy also.

In January, we received the visit of my mother and my sister already. And I will travel to Manila and Baguio, Philippines to speak at K-BAM Philippines.

In February, on the way back from Manila, I will stop over in Bangkok to meet with Peter Lee on closing Sky Bay Thailand accounting books and some banking transactions.

In March, we are scheduled to make an escorted tour to Vietnam with Gate I, visiting Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An, Da Nang, Hue, Hanoi, Halong Bay. And, we will make a short trip to Dalat. Also, in Ho Chi Minh City, I will meet with CBMC people and speak at Ho Chi Minh BAM group meeting. After our trip to Vietnam, Kristin will return to Chiang Mai and I will travel to Seoul Korea primarily to attend SfK Korea board meeting.

Later in March, Kristin and I will fly to Auckland, New Zealand from Chiang Mai and Seoul, respectively, and travel together to Christchurch, New Zealand. Then we will begin our 14-day escorted trip to visit several cities in New Zealand, called the Last Paradise on Earth.

After the New Zealand tour, we will make a short trip to Nadi, Fiji in April before we fly out to Sydney, Australia. From there, we will begin an independent tour visiting the iconic places of Australia: Sydney, Cairns where we will experience the Great Barrier Reef, Darwin, Ayers Rock (better known as Ululu) and Melbourne. We will celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary in Melbourne and fly back to Chiang Mai.

In May, I will travel to Los Angeles, California to attend SfK Life board meeting. Right after that, I will travel to Toronto, Canada to attend IBEX General Assembly and its Advanced Training.

In June, I will lead the SfK MBA Irvine at Bethel Korea Church for two weeks starting from May 29, along with other fellow lecturers. In June, I will travel to Korea to celebrate my mom's 88th birthday and to attend the launch of SfK BAM Fund.

In July, I will travel to Rwanda to lead SfK MBA Kigali.

In August, I do not have a schedule at this moment.

In September, I will travel to Korea to attend K-BAM Sorak.

In October, we will join Expat Explorer to travel to Greece. SfK will host its second SfK MBA Chiang Mai.

In November, we will travel to the U.S. and further to Cancun, Mexico to hold our family gathering over Thanksgiving and also to take care of our Thai visa and international driver's license. I will end up traveling to several cities to raise funding for SfK Life Corporation into December.

In summary, for the year 2017, the highlights were Chiang Mai to settle down, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Ajijic, Mexico to have a look, and Italy to have in-depth experiences. For me, the number of countries I have visited totaled 75.

For the year 2018, we will visit several countries for the first time: Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Greece. Without counting any other new country I will get to visit unexpectedly, the number of countries I have visited will total 80. That is, Lord willing. So, Lord, I pray for Your travel mercy on me in 2018 as in 2017. Amen! - Jeffrey