Interview Week and Fortress Visit

This week we met in formal interviews about half of the missionaries in our mission.  Next week we will get the rest.  What a delight to sit for only about 20 minutes each with 50 outstanding young men and young women of great faith and desire to share the joyful message of the Plan of Salvation and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The stories of miracles and personal blessings have been amazing.  I was able to shed tears with a few.  Meanwhile Terri was providing her home made peanut butter bars and getting to know them more intimately.  They are a joy to be around!

There are no pictures to go with the interviews.   However, our hearts are full of the experiences with this fine young adults and the love they have for  what they do.  It seemed like when we were not in interviews we were in the car! Not a great picture, but every where we go we have to go through tunnels.  It's so much better to go through than move the mountain!

We found a tower somewhat similar to something in a recent trilogy.  It's now called the Lotte Tower and we drive by it almost every day.  The area has been somewhat built up since Frodo was there.  It's pretty awe inspiring.

Each weekend we attempt to attend a baptismal event celebrating with the missionaries the love they share with others accepting the gospel and making sacred covenants.  Here's a young man, aged 27 who recently joined the Church with the young man who taught him, Elder Evans.

In planning for a major zone conference during one of the two biggest holidays in Korea, Chu Seok, or Thanksgiving in September, Terri and I took our two mission assistants, Elder Craven and Elder Kim to Hwa Seong Fortress in Suwon.  It was completed in about 1796.  There is an interesting story surrounding it's history.  Unfortunately, it was almost entirely destroyed in the Korean War.  However, the records for it's construction were found and it was almost completely rebuilt.  Here's a site to learn more about the special historical site: Hawseong Fortress - Suwon

We had the amazing opportunity to see some martial arts demonstrations which I really wanted to link here, but all you get is a picture with us and a few of the warriors.

There is an artist's street which we walked down looking for a quiet lunch.  I was grabbed by a dragon.  By the ball in it's mouth you can see it is good luck and he let me go quickly:

We found the local Buddhist temple and took a few pictures for posterity.  They really keep their sacred places clean and the landscaping well cared for.  It was a hot day, but we were glad to be out.

We decided to take a bike ride, but had difficulty getting on it.  We settled for a Kodak moment.

Terri loves flowers and when she saw this giant hibiscus she was quite taken.  This is one of our church buildings kept up by the members and not professional landscapers.  They had a wonderful flower garden all around the building.

We may amend this posting as we find more pictures that seem to be lost in cyber space.  Until next week....

Anniversary and much more!

This was a great week for Terri and I.  The week has gone so quickly!
At the first of the week I was able to stand in on the ribbon cutting ceremony of the new beautiful church building in Anyang City before the dedication.  What a wonderful moment it was.  I have watched a few, but never participated in such an event.  The white gloves, gold colored scissors, and multiple color ribbons were a fun experience.

Monday, Terri and I celebrated our 432nd anniversary.  Those quick with math would know it was our 36th.  We couldn't be happier spending 24/7/365 together for the next three years.  We're having great discoveries together.  The office staff purchased a cake for us to celebrate.  We were surprised and awed by the wonderful gesture.

On Tuesday we had our first Mission Leadership Council meeting (MLC) where the zone leaders and the sister training leaders came together for training and counsel on how to lead the mission.  The assistants to the president also did some training and role playing to lighten the mood.  The heat and humidity have been high and we tried to address moving forward in adversity by studying together talks by Sister Oscarson, Elder Renlund, and Elder Holland from conference in April.  If you want to check them out you can do so at this link: April 2016 General Conference

Terri spent some time teaching health related skills like drinking lots of water, keeping the shower area clean, etc.  This training will now go through these leaders to their zones and districts.
We are serving with exceptionally smart, spiritual, insightful young men and young women!  We had a great day with them.

We run pretty fast all week, but occasionally, we find a place to walk and relax for a moment.  Gratefully, there is a small park nearby to set for a moment!

During the week we had the opportunity to do some work with eight wonderful elders and sisters.  One of the activities was called 'sticker boarding'. A laminated piece of cardboard with five questions is held and people walking by are asked to put a sticker by the question most meaningful to them. Questions like, "What is the purpose for my life?"; "How does believing in Jesus Christ bless my life?"; "Does God communicate with us today?"; "Who is God?" are on the sticker board.  As they put a sticker on the board we provide a document that provides some information on that subject and an invitation to contact our missionaries if they have more questions.  By far the most common question was "What is the purpose for my life?".

Today, I had the opportunity to attend a wonderful ward in Incheon, a city in which I served in 1978.  There was a small ward with about 100 people in attendance on a good day at that time.  Today there are several wards with hundreds attending.  I had the opportunity to attend with the young Aaronic Priesthood holders and talk to them about the temple and preparing for missionary service.  What an energetic bunch of young men.  I thought for a moment I was back in my ward in Indiana!

We are busy doing the Lord's work.  I believe our lives are being most impacted, but we believe we have touched a few hearts.  We spend many hours in the car given Seoul traffic, but with GPS we can get around just fine.

First full week; New Missionaries; Departing missionaries

This three year experience is meant to be a marathon, carefully paced and properly hydrated.  Wow, this is not a pace I would have guessed!  Despite the pace, the blessings, the joys, the learnings are all incredible.  The young men and young women we work with every day are incredible.  The welcoming of new missionaries is a fun experience.  The farewell to departing missionaries is very painful!  We love them all and even those missionaries we've only known a few days have made a huge impact in our lives!

On Tuesday we met six great missionaries.  Five were fresh from the Missionary Training Center (MTC) and one had returned home for six weeks due to health reasons and was returning to continue his mission.  We pick up the luggage and take it to the mission home while the two mission assistants take them on the subway so they can have their first experience in the wonderful Korean culture and practice their language skills on those around them.  Sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ is a joyful experience, but talking to strangers is one of the most frightening experiences a young missionary can have.  Here's the picture of the fresh, yet tired missionaries at the airport:

On Wednesday the five new missionaries were assigned to their new companions or trainers.  It was a special experience for me to identify the right match and have them meet.
Sister Beyer was assigned to her trainer, Sister An.  When I got them together I would have thought they were relatives, even sisters!

 Sister Kim, a native of Korea was assigned to her trainer, Sister Shumway.  Another perfect match.  Only the Spirit could have made these connections!  We saw them together later in the week and they are very happy working together.

Our last sister is Sister Pak who has been called to serve in the California, Los Angeles Mission, but has to wait a few weeks here while her visa is being processed.  She has not been in the MTC yet, but came to our mission office from the Taejon area to start her mission.  She met her new companion, Sister Brooksby who started learning Korean on her own many years ago.  She has the responsibility of helping Sister Pak begin learning English while learning the missionary life style.  We'll be sad to see Sister Pak leave our mission when her visa is approved.

Elder Kang is a native Korean who speaks excellent English having attended international schools in Malaysia and Korea as well as BYU.  He was put in a companionship with Elder Heaton and Elder Choi. They will be a threesome until the next set of missionaries come to the mission in six weeks.

Elder Landgraf, from Hawaii was assigned to Elder Wilcox.  When I saw these two together I knew I had set up two to be good friends.  We expect all these companions to be together for 12 weeks, the period set to help complete critical training activities.

On Thursday evening we welcomed eighteen missionaries into our home in preparation for their return home at the end of 18 or 24 months.  We had a wonderful dinner, a testimony meeting, and sang the mission song per tradition in the stairwell.  They have left a profound impression on us.  They will now make an impression on their home wards and stakes.

Terri and I have driven several hundred miles already visiting various areas and have found that Korea is also the Land of the Tunnel.  We drove about five miles underground through three tunnels last evening!  With all the tall mountains around us, it is certainly  more efficient than moving the mountains.  The exciting thing was a huge cloud of black smoke we drove through on our way to a meeting in the evening.  A car was completely consumed by fire.  People drove by with hardly a glance.

We go to bed each day truly exhausted and arise each morning not fully rested, but still energized for the experiences we anticipate.  We actually ventured to Costco on our own on our preparation day.  It's amazing how many people with carts you can get in that store! 

We love being here and the time we have together!

The Land of the Morning Calm

After a two hour flight to Seattle, an hour layover, and a 11 1/2 hour flight across the Pacific Ocean, we landed at Incheon Int'l Airport.  We were accompanied by Pres. and Sis. Madsen going to preside over the Taejeon Mission.  What a pleasure to be greeted by Pres. and Sis. Morrise, the current Seoul South Mission President and Elder Han In Song, a former mission president in Pusan, a long-time leader of the Church in Korea and a friend during my mission so many years ago.

Terri and I have had a whirlwind few days with little time to breathe.  Wednesday morning we awoke in our new home with the plan to spend a few hours with the Morrise's before they headed to the airport and back to their home in Provo, Utah.  We had very few productive moments as there were so many things to learn.  By 2 PM, they were gone and Terri and I settled in for the ride.  The week has been a fire hose experience with great joys.

Over three days we met all of our missionaries and shared great experiences.

Talk about bright, happy individuals with a zest for life and love of what they are doing! We have shared laughter, tears, and great learning together already.

We love everything about what we are doing here!  We go to bed exhausted and happy and arise in the morning still tired, but ready for the new experiences!

We had to laugh during one side trip.  During a walk through a park we noticed that the exercise equipment available to the public was a little more elaborate than what we are accustomed. We would need to go into a fitness center for this type of equipment!

What a great place to be!  We know the Lord has sent us here for a reason and we are learning all about it as we go!

The Mission Journey Begins

On June 22, we had our five children, the spouses of the four married kids, and Terri's parents join us at the Church Administration building to be set apart as full-time missionaries and for me to be set apart as President of the Korea Seoul South Mission.

Elder Gary L. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Elder Gerrit Gong of the Presidency of the Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were the ones to set us apart.  What a great moment with a few of our humble leaders, both with great experience throughout Asia as leaders of the Church.

Later in the day, Terri and I entered the MTC in Provo to receive four days of instruction from Church leaders on our roles and responsibilities.  We were joined by 170 other new mission presidents and their wives going to places in nearly every country in the world.  We are a part of the total of 421 missions on this planet.

By Sunday, we had received great instruction and our picture was added to the board of all current mission presidents so that as missionaries enter the training center for their nine weeks of language, culture and religious training, they will see who their mission 'parents' will be.

One of the best times of the conference was to meet briefly with the missionaries currently in the MTC preparing to go to our mission in the next weeks! The energy and excitement of this group was contagious.  I look forward to greeting them at the airport in a few short weeks.

A special experience for me was visiting briefly with my former mission companion from 1978 in Incheon, Korea, Elder Michael T. Ringwood.  He was a great leader then and a greater leader now.

We took a moment get a picture together with mission presidents in our mission previously.

Elder and Sister Ringwood 204-2007and President and Sister Burton 2007-2010.  The mission was closed 2010-2013 and reopened in 2013 with President and Sister Morrise presiding over the mission until we arrived this week.

Bright and early Monday, June 27 we were bussed to the Salt Lake airport for our long journey to Korea. To say the least, this past week has been one of the most amazing weeks in our lives.  To sit at the feet of the Twelve Apostles and be taught.

More Family Time

Before entering the Missionary Training Center (MTC) on June 22 we had a little more time with our kids in Utah.  We will not be all together until at least summer of 2019!

We hiked around Dinosaur Nat'l Monument in the mountains Vernal, Utah.

Jake and Nia's boys had the opportunity to meet Grandpa Great Hurst as he walked the dog.  They threw a rubber chicken in the Provo River and Josephine would jump in the river regardless of the depth.  The kids enjoyed playing with Grandpa Great's dog.  They had a great day at Seven Peaks, the Provo water park with their cousins Allie and Benson, Uncle Nathan and Aunt Kelcie.

Finally, we got all the family together for a reunion near Jackson, Wyoming.  Joshua brought his family from Indiana to unite with his siblings from Idaho and Utah and their families.  All 18 of us were under one roof most of the time.  Mom and Dad got the pleasure of small nearby cabin while the other 16 bunked in a large mountain home.

We loved being outdoors!  We are so glad to be together!  Having all the cousins together playing kickball, water balloons fights, swinging, hiking, was a treat for all of us!

The day before we separated, we all rode a chair lift to the top of the ski mountain with the Grand Teton range at our back had a wonderful family picnic and family picture.  Five of our children, four spouses and seven grandchildren all together.  It doesn't get any better than that.