Garden of the Martyrs

Having taken Charlie to mass for the first time this evening, it seems like a proper day for this post. Sheref met and "got" Charlie on Thursday, November 4th. His meeting at Holt was in the afternoon, around 3pm. He met Charlie, his foster mother, and DJ, the social worker, exchanged gifts, chatted with the foster mom, etc. Sheref was planning to take the foster parents and the foster father's brother and his wife out for dinner that evening. DJ, the social worker, was gracious enough to come along to facilitate language interpretation. She is quite an amazing woman, but that is another story.

So Sheref had a few hours to burn between the time he "got" Charlie (I just can't come up with a better word..."got" just sounds wrong) and the time they all met up for dinner. I know my husband, and although he is generally super laid-back, I know he must have been fairly emotional and contemplative at that moment. DJ had recommended he visit the Garden of the Martyrs (I am writing this post from my memory of Sheref relaying this story to me several weeks ago, so the names and facts might not be entirely, uh, accurate, but the gist of it is correct!!), which is within walking distance of Holt. So Sheref set off, Charlie in his carrier (Sheref says that he got a lot of looks, since apparently only women "wear" babies in carriers in Korea...oh well) in search of this destination. The Garden of the Martyrs is a cemetery for the Christian missionaries and martyrs in Korea over the past centuries. Since I wasn't there, I can't tell you much more than that, but I know this must have been one of the most special moments in Seoul for Sheref. He said that he was feeling very contemplative and just a slight bit anxious at having just been handed a new child, who at 10 months of age had never met him before. He said that visiting this cemetery gave him peace, and a sense of calm.

Entry to the cemetery

I love this photograph (below). Beautiful lines, no?

I can't really "narrate" these photos, since I wasn't there, but they are beautiful pictures, and I'll just let them speak for themselves.