Cold Days and Tea: How to Make Yuja Cha

So days and nights are getting colder and colder here. I put on an extra pair of socks in the morning, bracing for the day in a cold school (makes me thankful for a warm house and I remember all the many people in N. Korea who live every hour without heat). I come home to a nice warm house (and a nice soft blanket), and sometimes a cup of tea is just what sounds delightful.

An English teacher motioned for me to follow her last week and we walked down to her car for her to give me a bag full of Yuja. Some of you are wondering what this "yuja" is? Well it's a citrus fruit found in Korea and I believe Japan. Koreans typically make tea out of this fruit..it's more like a marmelade mixed with water. It really is quite delicious and a nice change-up from typical tea. So after receiving this bag of 10 yuja with a smile, I had to find out what to do with it... and here's what you do.

1. First cut the Yuja in half.



2. Then remove all the seeds (a small dessert fork works great).



3. Cut each half into fourths. Then, thinly slice (peel,fruit, and everything).




4. Layer yuja and sugar in an airtight container with a 1:1 ratio of yuja to sugar. You can also add a little honey in place of some sugar. Yuja should be the bottom layer and sugar should be the top layer.





5. Let the yuja mixture stand without opening for 10 days. The yuja should float to the top.

6. Mix the mixture.

7. Add a tablespoon of the yuja mixture with a cup of hot water and enjoy!

Mine should be ready to drink this weekend! I'll let you know how it is!! :)

Celebration

Well this was our second Thanksgiving away from home and I have to say it was an amazing few days of celebrating! I really feel so overwhelmingly blessed by God. Not only have we experienced His grace in salvation, but he also pours out his grace in so many other ways in our lives. This Thanksgiving we experienced that grace in the form of friends. Friday evening we loaded up the car with green beans, cheesecake, pots, plates, crockpot, everything but the kitchen sink and ventured up to Daegu to spend our thanksgiving weekend with Emily and Chris.I have to say that Saturday sure felt like Thanksgiving! Em and I started off the morning in the kitchen, baking rolls, making the stuffing, and the gravy. The guys picked up the pies and the rotisserie chicken from COSTCO (another thing we are soo thankful for) and more friends arrived. A few hours later we were stuffed..(I literally could not have eaten one more thing). The guys went out to play football (yep, American football) and we ladies cleaned up the kitchen (the guys offered...don't worry) and then hung out and chatted. We played games, watched "Swiss Family Robinson", and had an amazing time together. Scott and I made it home late Saturday night, just in time to get ready for a Sunday of worship and more celebrating God's goodness with our church family in the form of turkey, stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes, and everything you can think of. It sure was a thanksgiving FULL of blessings!!

And the list continues...

#16 a warm hooded sweatshirt (and a closet full of clothes)
#17 clean, running water to brush my teeth
#18 a tube of good-tasting, American toothpaste
#19 a husband that recites scripture with me and encourages me spiritually
#20 a ride to school
#21 students that make me smile and speak English (so i can find out about their lives and share mine)
#22 God's grace when I have little patience
#23 COSTCO and delicious food from home
#24 The chance to get to know a sister in Christ
#25 A husband who communicates and gets on the same page even after miscommunication

thankFULL

Aren't these flowers beautiful? I got them from a new friend, Liz! As thanksgiving is 1 week away, I've been more aware of how MUCH I have to be thankFULL for! This morning I woke up and began to think of the many, many, blessings I have...every good and perfect gift comes from above...so today, i'm stopping to thank the Lord for the many things I have to be thankful for....here goes the beginning of my list
#1 I woke up in a warm bed this morning
#2 My husband was next to me
#3 I have the Word of God in my language...and God speaks truth through it
#4 I had breakfast and my husband made me hot coffee
#5 the sun is shining through my window
#6 I can see the beautiful ocean and magnificent mountains
#7 I have hope and peace about today and the future through my risen Savior
#8 I don't have to wonder where my next meal will come from
#9 I am able to talk with my family on the other side of the world through skype and the internet
#10 hugs
#11 hot showers
#12 a job
#13 hands that work and are able to do crafts and make things
#14 COLORful trees, flowers and eyes to appreciate the beauty we live in...
#15 a sharp mind to memorize His Word and be encouraged by it

the list could go on and on...perhaps i'll pick up tomorrow...what do you have to be thankFULL for today??!

New Colors, New Opportunities, New Commitments

It’s been a while since we’ve written, the air is beginning to get crisp and the colors our now changing.It’s the second fall season we’ve experienced in a land that will now always hold a special place in our hearts. We’ve built relationships, grown through the challenges and are savoring the moments, because we know that soon this little adventure will be over and a new one will begin.

With this change of season, there has also been a change of opportunities. New small groups began. Scott has a group of guys that are meeting at our house Tuesday evenings to study the Word and hopefully sharpen each other and encourage each other in their walk with the Lord. I now have a new study in the book of Ephesians with about 6 other girls…we are digging deep, finding new riches in the Word of God and being nourished. The girls, quite the diverse group, Indonesians, Koreans, Korean-American, and a girl from EAst Timor, encourage me so much as they have such a desire to grow in their faith and live it out. They ask such amazing questions and often offer a fresh, new perspective for me!

Every Thursday, Scott meets with some students on a local University campus. They are going through the gospel of Mark and he always comes home with a new excitement and amazement of the privilege it is to share about the life of Jesus Christ with students who have never heard! He continues to grow in his love for the Lord as he sees the awe of the students.

I’ve had the opportunity to meet with a beautiful young woman who is also here teaching English. When we first began meeting, she was seeking, wondering what Christianity was about, who Jesus really is and what her connection was with this “higher power.” I received a message from her last week sharing with me that she had decided to accept Jesus Christ in her life and become a Christian. Ohh the JOY that fills my heart in knowing that one more will worship alongside me in the Kingdom one day!! The angels also rejoice. I continue to meet with her and share what God has for us as believers!

I’ve recently been challenged to be a woman of the Word–a woman that not only reads the Word, but a woman who memorizes the Word. There has been a major lack of this in my life and I am really excited to make a new committment to comitting scripture to memory. So today, I began..I will spend the next 24 weeks memorizing the book of Ephesians. I’m anxiously awaiting the change that will occur inside me as I dwell on the words of the living God! I pray that as I learn more of his Word by heart, I hear his voice clearer and clearer! As one dear sister put it, “God speaks Words the heart knows by heart. God speaks the language I’ve learned. God speaks..and if I’ve meditated and considered and immersed myself in His vocabulary I’ll hear that voice, His, in the rampart noise of the day.”

until next time, Ashleigh

How to Contact Us

While we are at summer camp the best way to contact us is via mail.

by USPS:

SB2W Que

Scott/Ashleigh Johnson

PO Box 173

Boswell, PA 15531

By FedEx or that other company:

SB2W Que

Scott/Ashleigh Johnson

250 Summer's Best Lane

Hollsopple, PA 15935

We will be able to check email every other weekend, so mail is really the best and most fun thing way to talk with us. 

email is SLJohnson1986@gmail.com

or by phone 330.931.1133

Speedy Delivery

So this is the big week that we say that God is in control. It is nice knowing that He is. I turn in my two weeks notice this Friday. We are still waiting to hear if we will receive the positions that we interviewed for three weeks ago. It has been a long two weeks and we have been praying that God use this time to train us to wait for his will. I have faith that our God has a plan for us and that we have been called to start taking steps to in order to do His will. Handing in my two weeks is one of them. I really do love my job at FedEx. It is hard to leave but boy am I excited for what awaits just around corner. 

This is what I would look like every day if I had my dream job... bicycle messenger guy. haha. We will keep you all posted.