Incoming/Outgoing and Everything That Goes With It!

This was a full week with all the transfers, incoming missionaries, outgoing missionaries, and a few other things that went with it.  However, we have to finally show the tree we purchased for Terri. As a girl who loves her flowers, her trees, her grass, etc. living in an apartment with no yard has been challenging for her.  We have two camping chairs, a box for a table, a tree, and a planter of geraniums on the roof top.  It has been so hot she has to go up two or three times a day to keep the tree watered. 

We have learned that the flower of Korea is the Rose of Sharon.  This picture is for our friends Jack and Sherran Schmalfeldt in Plainfield who gave us one several years ago because Jack disliked it so much!  These plants are everywhere here.

Over the weekend we called the majority of the missionaries in the mission to chat about transfers. We had new missionaries coming, missionaries leaving, and moves to cover various vacancies.  Three of the changes were in the office as Elder Kim Geunsu who served so faithfully as an assistant was allowed to return to the field as a district leader.  We also sent Elder Perkes to an area as a district leader and trainer and then Elder Ryu Hogeol to the field to be a senior companion.  We had three new office elders, Elder Kim Injoong to be the new assistant, Elder Hays as the Supplies Manager and Elder Kim Sungsoo as the Mission Recorder, come join us.  We have a staff meeting each Monday and it was a full room this week.  These are all good young men.  We also have Elder and Sister Black from Orem, Utah here with us as the office couple handling all the logistics, finances, paperwork, planning, etc. for us.  We are really blessed!

While traveling around doing exit interviews with our wonderful departing missionaries, Terri is left with lots of time to wander around. She can't go unescorted (she's geographically challenged) so she took a few sisters with her to show her around.  You never know what kind of things she will find in the streets.  Here she is with Sister Sweetnam and Sister Risenmay wandering the streets of Anyang in search of the perfect journal to turn into a memory book.

Each six weeks we get the pleasure of traveling to the airport to welcome a group of new young missionaries from the Missionary Training Center in Provo.  In eight to nine weeks for foreigners learning the language, and three weeks for Korean nationals learning the missionary processes these folks come in ready and willing to really work.  They are happy, energetic and full of love.  It is a true treat for us to give them a hug after a long day on the airplane.  They then are put on the subway for their first experience in the culture.  It's nearly a two hour trip to the mission office, but it gives them the opportunity to have real conversations with the local population and share their message.  Here they are at the subway station at Incheon ready to head into the big city! They are accompanied by two sisters and two elders already serving here.  We can't get them lost.  The other four are driving the luggage back to the mission office.

We also welcomed for the next year a couple to be our military relations missionaries at the military bases at Osan and Camp Humphreys within our mission.  Elder Hawks served in the military in Korea on two different tours over many years.  He and his wife will be a strength to the military members of the church at these two camps playing the role of mom and dad to them.

Another pleasure for me is to look at the twelve incoming missionaries and assign to them a trainer who will help acclimate them to the country, the work, the schedule, the rules, and everything else over the next twelve weeks.  It is a tender mercy to see the hand of the Lord helping make these assignments.  When we announce who they are we are amazed at the likenesses, the character traits, and other similarities between the new companions.  Some actually look like brothers or sisters.  There is nothing but positive comments when the assignments are made!  We had the opportunity for them to have some training with Sister Turner and I for the afternoon including a little lunch.

The downside of every transfer is the departure of other missionaries who have served faithfully for 18-24 months.  We have the pleasure of having them join us for dinner for an evening and breakfast the next morning.  We have about two hours of testimony meetings where each gets to share their experiences over the past months and years and the great love they have for the people they have both served, and served with.  There are many tears shed, both on their part and our part.  They truly feel like our children.  It is amazing how quickly we have grown to love these young people over such a short period of time.  We have only known this group for about seven weeks.  As you can see, they still act like teenagers at times, but that's the fun in it!

We live about two blocks from a bus stop that is pretty direct to the airport.  During the two or so hours they have traveling to the airport they have the opportunity to reflect and journal and to chat about the experiences they have.  This is a good thing as they watch the Korea they love go by.  They have another dozen or more hours on the plane on their travel home, but that is at 30,000 feet and doesn't reflect the views and memories as well as those they see on the road to the airport.
One of the things they have to do is drag their luggage up over the hill to the bus stop.  This time we said, "at least we have one more time to work up a really good sweat in Korea."  The temperature was in the 90's with about 80% humidity so the index was very high.  Again, they showed their determination, unwavering spirit as they drug their two 50 pound bags and carryon's over the hill.

Here's a good close up of your sons and daughters at the bus stop awaiting their ride.  There are so many we split them up in case the bus was too full.  It is truly like sending your own children off to college.  We look forward to seeing them again upon our return.

I had a special treat this week as a friend from the time I served in Korea the first time in 1978-1979 came to visit Korea on business.  This special friend Bill Sherwood and I met here and had some fun experiences before life separated us.  We remained friends over the years.  He hosted the Turner family in his Detroit area residence as we went to attend a bowl game about 18 years ago between BYU and Marshall.  He's been a good friend and sharing a few hours over the weekend was a real treat.  I hope we can meet again soon in the USA.  He played the role of mule as he volunteered to bring a few items from home that were too hard to find.  You know how valuable Jell-O, licorice, powdered sugar and the like are!  Brothers from a different mother!

Finally, this weekend Terri and I had the opportunity to speak at our first stake conference.  I spoke on Saturday evening for 15 minutes in Korean.  I'm sure there were many headaches in the congregation when that meeting ended.  I did it without a translator. I read much, but tried to not read for a good part.  Sunday Terri and I both shared a message through a translator.  Twenty minutes feels like an eternity.  At the conference this stake had plaques of the missionaries serving from their stake.  One was serving in Boise, now the Nampa Mission.  I need my little Rachel to find her and give her a hug from Korea.

We met her parents and their joy in their daughter is pretty high!  Once again, we are truly amazed at the feelings of love and happiness we find here.  So many days start very early and end so late with little down time in between.  However, as we say so often, "it just doesn't get any better than this!