Gifts and Givers

Coming into the end of last week, I had 1 tbsp of Komodo Dragon whole beans remaining. I had planned it that way, knowing that friends were coming into town and, if all worked out, that they would be bringing me a fresh supply. I was so blessed and so thankful on Sunday to receive this from our visiting friends:



But, as much as I love coffee and was absolutely thrilled to receive this supply of beans which will probably last me for 3 months or so... I think I was even more thankful just to see some of our good friends again. Even if they hadn't brought coffee, I would have been excited and ecstatic to see them. Thankful for gifts. Even more thankful for the givers.

30

7:27AM
Having your birthday on Valentine's Day is convenient, way better than being born anywhere near Christmas (sorry, Eugene). Essentially, my wife gives me a free pass on Valentine's Day. And I'm not a huge birthday celebrating kind of guy, so I give my wife a free pass on planning big birthday things.

So today, the celebration consists of an ideal Saturday... spending it at Starbucks with friends, and playing volleyball. I'll be updating this blog through the day with pictures of visitors, and maybe even pictures from volleyball. Alright... it's 7:30AM, and it's time to get going to SBUX 1.

8:05AM
The day begins with the Jackpot Receipt. Awesome.


First guests... Carol, and Mike!


Then... Luke and Rita!


8:45AM

Then more good friends! Wes... and then Bea... (and Mike for another guest appearance!)


9:15AM

More friends... Ben!


And James!


10:40AM

More friends... BVL!


Marcus and Yuko!


12:00PM

More friends... Brenda, Nataly, Joyce, and Carol (returning for more)


The Chew's!


Jeff and Nancy!


12:30PM

The Tien's!


Iwan and Lena, from volleyball!


Chris and Rebecca!


2:00PM

The Gow's (sans Irene)!


Well... it's 2:22, and I'm shutting down for the morning and early afternoon shift. It's off to volleyball. I'm so grateful for the many friends we've been blessed with... coming to visit, sending me texts and skype messages. It has been such an encouraging day so far!

3:15PM

The day continues with another Saturday favorite. Volleyball with good friends. I love it.

Us with Huang-Chun...


And with Iwan...


7:15PM

Then, after a quick dinner at Chick Fil-A... it was on to the SBUX PM location. Here's B and Huang-Chun...


And then me with my favorite guest for today...


7:50PM

And then... birthday wishes via Skype, from J & J (and M and E/T) in SoCal...


8:30PM

Brenda (her second round today, hanging out with us through the evening)
... and then two young friends we went to college with, who stopped by on their way to go clubbing... Steve and Allie!


9:54PM

Kenny calls in from Louisiana to with me a Happy Birthday, and he buys me a Peppermint Hot Chocolate. (Thanks, man, for knowing what I like, and for considering that I need to sleep tonight).

10:15PM

A Skype call with Angela...


10:30PM

And then a whole large group of people came in... Kenny, Catherine, James (for his 2nd round), Karen, Clarissa, Nataly (for her 2nd round), and Carol (for her 3rd round)!



10:45PM

Maisie (and her friend, Laura - not pictured)!


11:30PM

Then Starbucks... kicked us out. Closing time. You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here.

But, we went home. What a great day. A fun, low-key way to spend some time with friends through the day. It was almost like we had open house today, and people could come and go as they pleased throughout the whole day.

I feel blessed to be 30. I feel blessed to have the community and support and encouragement that we have out here, and all over the country (and even other parts of the world too).

Next year may look pretty different. I'm pretty sure there won't be a SBUX birthday available next year. But at least I should be on Skype. :)

Thanks, all, for making this a wonderful day. And thanks, of course, to the one who gave up her Valentine's Day so that I could have a different kind of Birthday. I don't get a free pass after all. We will celebrate Valentine's Day... just not until next week sometime.

Women's Small Group

Every week (that I am in town), I go to a women's small group. We usually meet at a cafe in Korea town, but since we are on a break in between our studies, I invited the girls over for dinner. It sounds like the stand out was the chilled corn soup. For fans of Top Chef, this was made by Jamie and I found her recipe on Bravo TV's website.

And here's a picture of some of the girls from the group. (BLB, NT, andCW are also in the group).
They are a fun group and I look forward to learning with them.