Quiet week of planning

Terri and I have new opportunities to be with the missionaries every transfers and so we hold one week each transfer (a transfer cycle is six weeks in length) for planning.  We have the opportunity to interview every one of our 113 missionaries each transfer cycle and to have zone conferences with them.  Those two events take four to five weeks depending on whether we do each of the six zones in separate conferences or combine a few zones to decrease the number of conferences.  This week was a planning week and we were glad for that. 
We attended a wedding reception on a Saturday that was pretty interesting.  There were so many people we couldn't get into the ring ceremony and the celebration.  They have a huge buffet at the wedding hall where you eat and then the bride/groom and parents come through and greet.  It's kind of a reverse wedding line.                  
These flower arrangements are given at weddings, funerals, business openings, etc.  They are pretty amazing.  There were a dozen of these around the entrance.

Last Sunday we attended a baptismal service.  The first was a roughly 80 year old woman whose daughter had been baptized some years before.  She shared with her mother her love and joy in her new faith.  The mother wanted to know more.  Her husband had passed away a few years earlier and was lonely.  Her daughter introduced her to a number of old ladies in the local ward and they instantly became friends.  We spent some time with the mother, her daughter, and her son (the tallest one in the background, and really felt a tremendous amount of love.

 This father had not been very active for a number of years, but the missionaries and the local members reached out to them and they excitedly came to church.  His ten year old son had not been baptized so this same day the father baptized the son.  It was a fun afternoon.

As part of the baptismal ceremony a small 'symphony' of ladies from age ten to 70 or so played a hymn on their violins.  It was pretty amazing with only a few moments of practice.

Each week I get emails from every one of our missionaries. They are wonderful messages sharing their deep feelings.  Occasionally, they share a fun story.  Some are less reverent, but they definitely cover the full variety of experiences they have had!  Here are a few:

One funny thing that did happen was we were so worried about filling up the font with cold water that we just turned on the hot water the whole time and thought that by the time of the baptism it would have cooled down. To put it concisely, we thought wrong. The water was boiling hot. We could not even step in it without our feet boiling to death. So for the first 10 minutes of the baptism, we were dumping cold water and snow from outside into the font haha. It actually was really funny and while in the moment I was mortified, I can look back and laugh at it now.

 

This week wasn't the best for missionary work but I'll share a funny story that we had this week. It was actually while we were on our way to the hospital while riding a subway. There were actually a lot of people on this train because it was about 9 or so in the morning so still rush hour amounts of people. I was reviewing some of my Korean words that I was working on memorizing for the day and my companion offered to quiz me on them and so of course I accepted the help. We start going through these words and I am saying the English word as he is giving me the Korean word. Then we get to one of the words on the card and I couldn't quite hear him say the word. Then he said the word louder and then said the word again. By the time I realized what he had said I was dying laughing. My companion asked me what in the world was happening and then I asked him if he had been looking at the English definitions as we were going through and he answered no. I told him to look and then he started laughing as well. Turns out the word was constipation. So here we are, two white guys on this train, saying really loudly constipation over and over again as we are surrounded by all these people. Talk about a missionary moment to remember.

  

This one by a young sister is very funny!

I just want to tell you about Friday. We met with this girl who talked to the Elders because she loves foreigners. After we met, [my Korean companion] gave her a handshake. So I went in for a handshake too, but she hugged me. Really hard and said I love you. So that. But it gets better, that night we went sticker boarding. And this other girl sees us and just starts screaming. She comes up to me and I don't understand her but her arms are opened up. So ooh, she wants to hug. She hugged me three times, patted my cheeks and then tried to kiss/smell me. She doesn't want to learn English, she just loves foreigners. Sometimes it's a good thing being a foreigner.

This week we met with our leadership council to plan for the upcoming month and conferences.  They are pretty amazing.

Each week we try to go out and work and study with our missionaries.  Again, this week we had a great time.  We have to capture a picture from the evening. Almost always there is food involved...

 We attended a conference this weekend in one of our three stakes in the mission.  As we were preparing to start, a choir of youth ages 14-18 were warming up.  They sang two amazing numbers during the conference.  Terri and I are constantly amazed by the musical talent of the youth here!

Sunday was a wonderful conference where about 50 of our missionaries were in attendance.  We took some pictures with them randomly before the meeting started and then a big one after.  We can't get enough of them. A few elders and sisters came late or left early and we couldn't get them all in.  Someone else took a better picture with the group, but it won't be available before publishing...

Finally, while traveling we saw the statue of one of the great Korean scientists of the past.  We didn't stop to catch his name.  The statue was outside the Korean institute of science and technology.

We've had another amazing week in the Land of the Morning Calm.  This next week will be busy with zone conferences. There should be lots of pictures of the missionaries.  We hope you get to see one you recognize. They are always happy and a true joy to be around.  Until next week!