Tuesday

This morning we laid around for a while. We strolled some of the back streets to kill time and get out. At 11:00 we met with Mrs. Kim, Abby's foster mother. She looked just like she did back when we picked up Abby in 2001, only a little older. She was grinning ear to ear and was happy to see JooMee(Abby's Korean name). She said that JooMee looked happy and healthy and that her eyebrows were beautiful. Our social worker explained that the older generations of Koreans put a lot of stock in the way a person's eyebrows were shaped!! She admonished her to study hard and grow into a good adult and to come back to Korea again someday. We learned that her husband died several years ago. We were sad to hear this. When we visited her home and took Abby with us to the airport, he came running up the stairs, huffing and puffing, just to make sure he was there to say goodbye to her. Abby was her 42nd foster baby. She retired from fostering around the number 45!!! Talk about a life well lived!! Thank you Mrs.Kim for your sweet and selfless acts. We can certainly testify to the good job you did for babies.

After that we ate lunch in the guesthouse. We then decided to take the subway to Children's Grand Play Park. It is a huge free park with small zoo, fountains, and supposedly amusement park, which we never saw. The zoo exhibits were run down and fairly sad, but it was a nice change to be around lots of trees and flowers, not crowded and noisy sidewalks. There was even a polar bear in the zoo! Abby played in the shallow fountains and Mike and I were happy to have cold water to stick our feet in and watch the adorable little kids. For my Dillon friends, it is about a 45minute easy subway ride. I recommend coming if you are bringing young children with you.
More travel tips: stoplights and street rules are more a suggestion than law! When the pedestrian light turns green, do NOT step into the street. Wait a few seconds before crossing :)

Tomorrow morning we go to the DMZ tour(we are doing the small, tame one, not the one where we stare into the binoculars of the North Koreans at Pamunjeon). At 4 we have a playtime with Hudson and then off we go to the airport!

In some ways, it seems we've been here forever and yet in some ways, we can't believe it is over! This is my 3rd trip to Korea in 8.5years. I feel pretty much an expert now :) We thank you Dillon International and Eastern Social Welfare Society for being gracious and professional, as always. What a blessing to work with you guys to build our family. The Lord has used you all to bless many many people!