New Year, Greenville, San Francisco (January 2025)

The New Year 2025 has arrived. Time flows continually until the end, but a new year arrives after 365 days. This year has begun and we ate the Ddeokkuk and Japchae to welcome the new year.

Korean American Day - January 13 is a federal holiday in the U.S., commemorating the first arrival of Koreans in a group in Hawaii as plantation workers. This day was initiated under President George W. Bush in 2023 and was approved by the Senate and the House in 2025. So this year marked the 20th anniversary of Korean American Day. The Korean Center of Greenville asked me to talk about the history of Korea and Korean Americans at a retirement home. 

Kristin and I had a fellowship over lunch with Pastor and Mrs. Sung Hun Lee. They shepherd a baptist congregation in Greenville. He happens to know Missionary Kyung Soo Kim whom I met in Rwanda. What a small world!

Haeock and Danny Orr are a couple who attend the same church as us: Morningside Baptist Church. But, they also are good friends of us. Kristin studies the bible together with Haeock, together with a couple of other ladies. They invited us to a delicious lunch. Their friendship and hospitality are precious to us. 

On the way to Korea, Kristin and I made a stopover at SFO and spent a few nights at Joyce's home. The primary purpose was to celebrate Joyce's 37th birthday. Kristin prepared a meal for her family and Kyle baked a birthday cake for Joyce. Myles was an added joy to our visit.

Walking along the shore is an additional bonus to our stay at Joyce's because her house is close to a hiking trail along the shore with a view to San Francisco City. What a marvelous view!

It was a great joy to spend a few days with Joyce and her family in San Francisco. Off to Korea, we went afterwards. - Jeffrey