Conference Time, Painting, Moves and Waiting

I'm officially in the midst of the busiest stretch of the year work-wise as we gear up for our Annual Conference. This is my 10th conference (and my 3rd as the sole conference manager), and as usual it's down right crazy -- compounded this year by the departure of one of my coworkers (her last day will be the conference). Two more weeks and I will be home free -- the event is October 10th. I can't wait!

On the home front I've been spending much of my spare time painting -- lots and lots of painting. I'm nearly done, just one more session! Then we will be ready to carpet. Pretty soon we will be able to get Oliver's bedroom all set up. Yeah!

While we are still waiting to learn our court date from the Family Court, we are feeling rather grateful right now to have our case completely through the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Just this week our local agency informed us of some changes taking place with the Ministry. Changes that will no doubt cause a pretty big slowdown for families that are waiting to receive their Emigration Permission. 

Here are the details (copied from the Agency's update, word for word):

Korea Ministry of Health and Welfare Move 

It has been confirmed that the Ministry is moving its offices from Seoul to the new city of Sejong about 2 hours outside of Seoul.  The latest report is that this move will take place in the month of November and possibly as early as October.  It is estimated that the move will have a delaying effect on the emigration permission issuance process, but that has not been addressed officially by either the Ministry or the Korean agencies with whom Children's Home works.  We will continue to monitor the situation and inform you accordingly. 

Korea Ministry of Health and Welfare Staffing Rotation 

Although not confirmed by the Ministry directly, it is being reported by  the Korean agencies that there will also be a rotation of staff in the Ministry at the end of this year or the beginning of next year.  Again, the specific timing around this is unknown. We will continue to monitor the situation and inform you accordingly.

Sejong is a planned city established to contain various government agencies. I'm not sure if the agency staff will live there or commute there -- I hear it is a 90 minute train ride. Either way, it's a big change for a large number of individuals and families. 

We are so glad to be through the Ministry, but my heart goes out to the families still waiting. Hopefully we will have good news about our case soon --- stay tuned!

Chuseok

Somehow we are already more than half way through September. It's been a busy few weeks since my last post, both at work (our big annual conference is just over 3 weeks away) and at home (spending lots of time in the lower level cleaning, prepping and painting). We are frantically trying to complete the work on our lower level as we need to install carpeting -- downstairs (new) and upstairs (replace current) before we travel to Korea. We are actually getting close, though it still feels far away!

We have not yet received a court date, though we have been assured that the court has not requested any additional information nor have they expressed any questions or concerns. I think Tony and I are both doing okay with this particular wait and just hope to learn more in the next two or three weeks.

What we do know: no additional court dates will be assigned this week as Korea celebrates Chuseok, meaning all offices are close from September 18-20 (and remember they are 14 hours ahead of us, so it's already the 18th there). 

Chuseok is basically the Korean Harvest Festival, a time to celebrate good harvest, visit ancestral hometowns and share in large feasts and parties. I think it is, in many ways, similar to our Thanksgiving. Lots of food. Lots of family. Often a bit of travel.

This year Chuseok is on September 19, meaning that the holiday begins on the 18th and ends on the 20th. Ancestors are an important part of the Korean culture, so many families travel to pay their respects, visit tombs and even preform ancestral worship rituals. There are also traditional foods and games that apparently play a big role in the celebration, though I don't know if that's just the internet talking or if families really do keep to tradition during this time.

With any luck the courts will be feeling festive and full of family love next week and we'll hear about a court date! Maybe not. We are trying to be patient and know you are too. 

I'll keep you posted!