ASBC Advisory Board

The American Small Business Coalition has named David as their newest Advisory Board Member.

Here is the link to the Press Release--

Congratulations to David and the ASBC!

Dominican Missionaries become Haitian Support

As many of you may know, Bud and Karen Simon, David's Parents, are missionaries to the Dominican Republic (DR). They are affiliated with Missionary Ventures International (MVI). Not only do they serve as missionaries but they are also MVI's Field Coordinators for the country.

While they are safe and healthy, as you may imagine, with the earthquake in Haiti, they have been very busy in the last week. In many cases, travel thru the Dominican has been the only, best, and/or most reliable way into Haiti.

Some of what they have done this week:

Karen: Manage their DR ministry responsibilities

Blog information for their friends, family, supporters, etc.

MVI Field Coordination: supplies, volunteers, & travel of MVI's Interventions to Island

Assist Haitian Field Director with Coordination (Infrastructure issues leave him often unreachable)

Fielding Phone Calls from volunteers & those wishing to donate/inquire or plan trips

Coordination with other missionaries, churches, and non-profits to prevent duplication of efforts. They have worked with YWAM, Convoy of Hope, Foursquare Church Denomination, World Vision, and many others this week. Tragedy has magnified the opportunities to bring the Body together to be HIS hands and feet.

Financial Support Raising and planning

Pray for Bud and the Haitian Team

Bud: Travel to Haiti, Leading a team of men, supplies, medications, and donations.

Worked 5 days in Haiti doing medical, search & rescue, evacuation of the dead, comfort the wounded/sick, encourage the mourning, and pray with the people.

Bud returned home to the DR early Wed (today) morning. He will do some work on the truck, re-pack and return to Haiti before the week is out.

WHAT can YOU do?

1. GIVE- Bud and Karen are uniquely positioned to be of a direct, immediate (and long-term), personal help, both to the people of Haiti and the teams of volunteers coming to assist them.

Unfortunately, a natural disaster was not in their budget planning for this year.

You may have already given to Haiti relief efforts and the economy may have hit you hard...I understand, but I suspect, you can give (sacrifice) more. Whether it's a latte ($4), a car payment ($400), or lots more ($4,000-40,000), ALL donations are needed and will go directly to the efforts in Haiti. No donation is too big or too small. Please don't hesitate, just give.

You may click on this link: MVI Donations ****Go down to Secure Online Donations, MAKE sure to select the 5th box, "Other" and type "Simon's- DR"

2. Pray- The people of Haiti need your prayers. The volunteers need your prayers. Bud and Karen need your prayers. The governments of Haiti and the Dominican need your prayers. The UN needs your prayers. The State Department, Homeland Security, Embassy staff, and many others need your prayers. The orphans need your prayers.

3. Read- Bud and Karen's Blog.

Thank you!

Collapse

I usually am the guy who is pretty generous in my blog reviews but the only thing distinct about The Collapse of Distinction was that Scott McKain's distinction collapsed. I felt like the points were are relevant and factual but there was no meat.

There was wide spacing and white space everywhere which led me to believe that the text began to be more about page count to make this a hard back seller rather than about quality of data.

His points are important to understand and if you have never taking a marketing class, or you are struggling with breakthrough objectives...then pick this one up and be reminded about the basics of relevancy to your user base.

For me, this book missed the mark. But it did have a GREAT COVER! See...I can find something positive :-)

Fearless

I keep saying that I am going to get back on my blogging kick and give a shout out to the books I have been reading. Unfortunately, I have been doing a lot of writing for work and my writing for pleasure (not that work isn't a pleasure) has diminished to non-existent...

In 2009 I had some great reads that included:

1. Fearless

2. Me, Myself, and Bob

3. Collapse of Distinction

4. Billy

5. The Shack

Some of these have been posted to the blog-O-sphere but I owe a posting to Max Lucado and his release of FEARLESS.

The book had some great thoughts and gave some insight as to what motivates people and what drives people to fear.

The biggest take away for me was how to help people work through their fear and the stories that give you practical examples of real people that needed to work out issues of fear. Whether you live in fear or are surrounded by others with fear, Max presents a book that is easy and fast to read that leaves you with great take aways.

DS

Aquarium and Seoul Tower

On our last couple of days in Korea, we took in the Aquarium at Building 63 (tallest building in Seoul) and took the gondola ride up to Seoul Tower.

The girls enjoyed the "domed fish tank" that they could crawl inside.

The Teddy Bears from the Teddy Bear Museum were also a big hit.

Keller's Gotcha Day

On Friday, Dec 11, 2009 - Joel and Shauna picked up their son, Keller, forever to have him as a member of their family. Their "Gotcha Day" was amazing and here are just a few shots of us celebrating together.

Now, Cooper is not the only "Little Brother" around.

Cooper enjoyed the day, even if he didn't know what was going on...

The kids having a Tickle Fest.

The Oswald Family of Four!!

Sightseeing in Korea

We took the opportunity to see a little of the city and sights while we were in South Korea. Seoul is a fascinating place; there is so much to do and see.

Of course, we will not have enough time to do and see everything that we would like.

To be totally honest, we came prepared for that. We did not want to plan to do too many things and then have the time change, jet lag, and kids' adjustment to create disappointment. It was a good plan because the kids have not adjusted quite the way I expected and so each thing that we have gotten to do or see has been a total blessing (including and most importantly sharing the memories, pictures, and stories of Joel and Shauna's first interactions with their son).

Today we went to the Gyeongbokgung Palace, the Blue House (their White House) & walked through and were overwhelmed by Namdaemun Market----I NEVER thought that shopping would overwhelm me, but you'd have to see this place to understand.

We also had a fabulous authentic Korean lunch at this tiny easily overlooked restaurant. The food was delicious (bulgogi & kimchi) & service was amazing. They found a wonderful man named Chester to translate for us & help us order. The ladies held and loved on baby Cooper while we ate our meal. We all enjoyed the food and the experience.

We still hope to see a few more things before we head home. We hope to do a little shopping tomorrow afternoon and between Saturday & Sunday we plan to go on a DMZ (Demilitarized Zone, between N & S Korea) Tour and go up in Seoul Tower.

DISCLAIMER: I am catching up on blogging, so I am "back-blogging a bit...these are blogs I started a couple of weeks ago and I am just now finishing."

First Day in Korea

After arriving in Korea on Monday night, our first trip out of the hotel on Tuesday was met with a little surprise, SNOW. Not much, just a dusting, but still it invigorated all of us and made it feel like Christmas. The weather was mild and pleasant compared to the forecasts (we overpacked when we brought the long underwear). We had a chance to wander around in the area outside the hotel and the Joel and Shauna also got to meet their son, Keller, for the first time-- Amazing!

**Don't forget, you can click on any picture or mosaic in our blog for a better/larger view.