June 8th.

Today we hooked up with a heritage tour from Oklahoma. We had the chance to come with them on the trip, but preferred to go it by ourselves. Yea, we would make more mistakes -- like ordering a whole raw flounder -- but we wouldn't be confined on a bus and saddled with set schedule of gift shops and McDonald's.

But today was special, because we traveled south to Pyongtaek, a smaller town where the Eastern Social Welfare Society had it's kids home for older kids who were not adopted, a school for special needs kids, a vocational school to teach older special needs kids a trade (baking and electronics), and a home for unwed mothers determined to try to keep their babies in the face of social stigma here in Korea.

Kristy had a ball. this was right up her ally, and she interacted with the special needs kids like she was a worker here. Her special ed. background put her at ease. For Klay and Max, it was an eye-opener. There were about 100 children between the ages of 3 and 10 here, who have not been adopted. Mostly, they are here because they are abandoned, but their birth parents have refused to allow adoption. There is no legal recourse to terminate parental rights, so these beautiful children are stuck here in a kind of limbo.

Both Klay and Max get it...they are already planning some fundraisers, so watch out. the kids sleep in modest and neat quarters, but as expected, live with one-half a closet for their entire earthly possessions. They clutch their individual boxes of crayons like their world depended on being able to draw a picture at a moment's notice.

We got to do the best thing we will do on this trip. Behind the orphanage is a pear tree orchard. This area of Korea is known for that fruit, and they make a lot of $$ off that orchard. Fruit is a delicacy here, and a good pear can sell for $5 or more in the store. A single piece of fruit is boxed up like gold here.

They needed hlep this time of the year in the orchard. So we all went in and did a couple hours work. Pictures to follow....we took little wax paper bags and twisty-ties and gently covered each pear fruit -- unripened and about 1 inch in diameter -- with a bag and a twisty tie. This keeps the fruit safe from bugs and pesticides. The trees are very well maintained to keep the branches low to the ground, so everyone, even Max, could reach a share of the little tiny pears and gently cover them with a little paper bag. The whole group loved doing it, because it made us all feel that we were doing something, anything, to help out. Didn't make us feel so useless, fat and.... American, I guess.

When we get home, we are planting a pear tree. Now if we can only find those little paper bags....