Opposition in All Things....

The week before transfers is always a full and challenging week.  There are so many positive things that happen and then there comes the adversity and challenges that test the time.  We had a couple of companionships that were struggling.  After prayerful consideration over several days it was very clear the adversary was creating contention and friction that could not be corrected by talking or asking for personal change.  I felt impressed to trade companions within two companionships and suddenly there was so much more light in all four that it was apparent the Lord had put the pieces where they need to go. There is opposition to this work by the adversary.  We bring light, joy, and happiness to people's lives and that makes the adversary work harder in opposition.

Yesterday, we attended the baptism of a sweet young lady.  She was attending a convention in Shanghai when she met a young man from Korea.  His parents are actually serving in our mission as a senior couple companionship.  He saw on her wrist a tattoo in Latin that said something to the effect of "I will do God's will".  He asked her some questions about her experience with religion.  She said she was struggling to find truth in the various religions. She believed in Christ, but couldn't settle.  He shared the story of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and then gave her name to two lovely young missionaries in our mission.  She returned from China and met with the missionaries.  Two weeks later she was baptized and we got to be a part of it. What a joy!

While visiting two of our missionaries Terri had the opportunity to get more pictures with the local flora... We get more pleasure in being with and chatting with these missionaries than you can realize.  They are so strong.  Those who have been out for a long time are a great strength to those just starting.

In another situation, a man in one of the wards here had talked to his sister about the joy he found in the gospel and invited her to visit with the missionaries.  She was resistant for quite a while, but after discussions with some of our sister missionaries she found great peace and happiness and light in their message.  In her prayers she found answers she was seeking.  Here she is with the brother and with many loved ones.

Of course in all our travels we continue to see new and interesting things we love to share.  For our granddaughters, we found a traveling advertisement of one their favorite things:

We found this past Saturday morning an adventuresome physically challenged octogenarian who had places to go and places to see.  You can see him at the stop light, the starting line and then a flash after when the light changed.  Traffic certainly doesn't frighten him!

Occasionally, we see people walking around an area in what look like hospital pajamas and look to see if there is a nearby hospital.  They don't all have the large "H" on them like back home.  On one nice afternoon drive we found someone that decided their hospital room wasn't comfortable and decided a walk in the busy streets was more what she wanted to do.  Nothing slows some people!

During a quiet walk in the local park on Saturday morning, our typical preparation day, we found a large number of local bird houses which we were taking pictures of.  A very kind man asked if we wanted to have our picture, we agreed and stood to take the picture.  Immediately his young son, who we've never met, jumped into the picture.  He'll likely never see the picture since I wasn't quick enough to give the blog link to the father where he could see his son forever enshrined in fame.

In our area we found a street that brought a lift to me.  I am a cowboy at heart having been born in Wyoming.  We had to get this one. Unfortunately, traffic was moving too quickly to get a better angle.

More flora... Terri loves the angel trumpets.  She wants one to go with the Lantana tree on the roof.

Finally, we always have to capture our mission assistants, those missionaries we work the closest with to keep track of everything going on, in compromising situations.  They had found some ingredients and wanted some guidance on making cookies.  Terri needed to provide some loving assistance to make things work out correctly.  They have to dress the part...

Once again, it's been a quick week.  Thank you for your support and love.  Transfers happen this week, we have 18 new missionaries coming in and 12 leaving, we'll be pretty busy and hopefully we'll have lots of photo opportunities.  Stay tuned.........

So Busy, So Happy

Thank you for your patience awaiting our most recent blog submission.  We like to try to update the blog on Sunday evening.  Unfortunately, the last two Sundays have been our busiest days.  We like to call it a day of "rest of the things that have to be done"!  We visit lots of other church buildings, meet with members, attend special firesides, etc.  We get home late on Sunday and we're done.

Monthly we have a great meeting with the 12 Zone Leaders and 12 Sister Training Leaders who basically guide the efforts of the various missionaries in their areas. This is the monthly Missionary Leadership Council or MLC. There are typically about 16-18 missionaries in each of our six zones.  They are bright lights.

As we travel about we see many different areas of the city.  During a recent Yahoo search of the top technologically advanced countries in the world, Korea came out as number three.  I've heard of another study that shows Korea as number two.  Despite all they do here (their internet speed is said to be three times the US), there are occasionally peeks into area less advanced...

These past two weeks have been full of exciting opportunities to lead and be taught.  We had a visit from our Area President, Elder Scott Whiting of the 70 for three days.  He and his wonderful wife, Jeri were in our home for a few nights.  He taught our MLC one day and then spent another day with half the mission and a final day with the other half.  He's a great leader with a tremendous sense of humor, but is a powerful teacher as he uses his humor to make meaningful points.

For all the families, here are the pictures from the two mission tour meetings.  Hopefully, you can find your son or daughter.  We hope you know how much we love them.

These meetings last most of the day so lunch is always provided.  We wish there was room for all the pictures of the wonderful missionaries in action.  Some were especially good at helping clean up in the kitchen.  We tried to help on the serving end as well.  Boy do they like Sister Turner's cooking.

We have one elder that has a creative way of getting into every picture taken at the various meetings.  He is so funny to watch work his way into the pictures.  If you let him have your camera for anything you'll find all kinds of interesting things later.  I got back at him on one of his own pictures...

Once again we had departures.  We had Sister Fuller and Sister Park leave us.  Sister Park was with us for two months while she awaited her visa to serve in the US.  She will be going to the California Los Angeles Mission, but will spend a few weeks at the MTC first.  We will miss these two fine sisters.  They were a delight to us while spending the night before their departure.

Food needs to be a part of every one of our posts.  One of the meals that is a result of the Korean War is called BudaeCheegae.  I don't know the best way to spell it, but it is basically a result of many Korean people being without food at the end of the war.  The US bases (Budae) had lots of leftover food scraps that were thrown out.  This included things like hotdogs, other meats, noodles, etc.  The Koreans then threw it into a pot and cooked it up in a stew (Cheegae).  They added what they could find and made a tasty meal.  Today it is a well-loved meal to missionaries and Korean people.  While living here 20 years ago I came to love it.  It is still an acquired taste for Terri.  I finally found a good restaurant near a place we had a meeting and we settled in.  It can be a little messy so they provide cute little aprons.  It didn't matter, I grabbed a partially full bowl and dumped in on my leg.

This past week was one of the two prominent holidays in Korea.  It is called ChuSeok.  It is basically a thanksgiving holiday that goes over several days.  Unfortunately, because this holiday also fell during the dates of our mission tour meetings with Elder Whiting we didn't get to see as much of the cultural and historical things of the country.  The Korean families travel to the homes of their ancestors and especially their living grandparents or parents.  Most are further south so much of the city is quiet.  Traffic was much nicer for these days.  The Koreans have special clothing call Hanboks that are so colorful.  We caught a young toddler in his traditional Hanbok on Sunday.  He was such a treat.  He was a happy little soul!

Along with four other couple missionaries we attended a special cultural music performance at the National Art Center.  Unfortunately, they didn't let us take pictures so we can't show you the instruments or the dancing or the clothing.  However, outside the hall was a large Korean drum.  This drum was on the back of a carved and painted turtle.  It was the same drum used in the opening ceremonies of the 1988 Olympics held here in Seoul.

To give you an idea what it was like, here's a picture of Terri at the subway station one Friday evening as we headed off to dinner at where else but TGIFridays!

We had one more trip to the temple with a third of our missionaries.  The thing Terri likes to do most is pose the elders and sisters.  Here are a few of her favorites.  The young men are less excited about this, but the young women love it.

Finally, we want to leave you with a special note. Many of you think this place is yet a place you need to die before witnessing.  Truly we expected to see many lines of people awaiting their opportunity.  Alas, we saw few, and maybe its because it's going through the grand opening the lines are still a little short.  We also looked but didn't see Peter...  We don't yet qualify so we didn't try to stop in.  We have many things we want yet to do before visiting this site!

We love you all and want you to know how much we enjoy being here.  The weather has finally cooled and is mainly in the 70s now.  We are awaiting the changing of the leaves.  We will share that as we experience it.  Please know that we love you!

Short Week - they all seem to be short!

The days fly by, the nights seem much shorter than ever.  However, the experiences we have are greater, the food spicier, the feelings for each other deeper.  The weather has tempered a bit so the missionaries are happier and busier.  There are a few more bugs in the air, both flying type (mosquitoes) and the viral type.  We have an increase in sniffles, and coughs, but we think the weather was so extreme, that as they have settled back down, their bodies are reacting.  They are troopers.

The day after the last post we attended the temple with another group of 35 or so.  We can never catch them all at once as they come and go.  However, we do get to interact and take pictures with most of them.  It's fun to watch them all interact for a few minutes before they head off to enjoy their preparation day.  They especially love to visit with Terri.  She has them posing in trees, on rocks, and wherever she can get them together.  They flock to Terri and wander over to me when they've felt the true source of love in our home!

We took our preparation day that day as well.  We had a full weekend planned.  Missionaries normally take their p-day on Monday, but on days like this, they take it on the day of the temple trip, in this case Thursday.  We normally take ours on Saturday so we can be available to them on Monday.  We knew this weekend would be pretty crowded with meetings and other events.  We stopped at the Lotte Mall at the great 123 floor Lotte tower for lunch and some wandering.  We love to people watch.  There are so many interesting little pieces to keep us entertained and to keep our cameras clicking.  We'd have a good time with the grandkids here.

Terri had the opportunity to release her inner angers today as well.  This one is for our two grandsons Vili and Tai!          Hulk Smash has nothing on this grandma!

Of course, I also found a place with my name on it.... It sells all kinds of candies.  We bought a few chocolate covered pretzels and chocolate covered gummi bears.  They have interesting names here for various stores.

We had a quiet date night as well.  Terri found a large field of flowers that are illuminated at night.  We believe they are solar powered.  It was a beautiful evening after a sunny day so the lights were amazing.  It was a fun work of art.

Of course, I finally had reached a level sufficient to acquire my wings.  They were  a little heavy so my legs had a hard time straightening.  I hope I can live up to the expectations now.

Over the weekend we attended several conferences.  Each time there was a meal involved.  While attended one meeting Terri was able to talk the ladies into allowing her to help.  In the Korean culture we are considered guests and typically not allowed to help.  However, she showed them she had a true interest in learning, grabbed a knife and cutting board and said, "Teach me!".  They had a wonderful evening in the kitchen with these new friends making a great meal.  The next day they worked together again for a few minutes.  She is hugged every time she walks into a building now!

We always like to photograph things that are a little unusual from our perspective.  In this case, we found a building with a tremendous number of signs on it.  They don't have large bill boards in most areas, but the buildings certainly are loaded with signs noting what's on that specific floor or at least nearby!  It's certainly colorful.

The biggest discovery that got my attention this week was a flash from home. My favorite vehicle was across the street from a bus stop we were standing at.  I was anxious to cross and ask for a test drive, but decided that is not why I came here.  I know I'll find my ride when I return...

Finally, we said goodbye to another missionary as Elder Schilling returned to the US this weekend.  We will miss him and wish him the very best upon his return.  We've had some experiences leaving fond memories of his time here.  This will likely be the last picture of us in a very small group with the flag.  We feel we lose focus on the individual. If the group is large enough, we will keep the flag, otherwise we will not have it.

We get up in the morning at the start of the week and it seems like we go to bed at the end of the week they are passing so quickly.  In the middle of the 'day' we have experiences with numerous missionaries, local church members, the local community, and the sites and sights of Korea.  For nearly 20 years Terri and I didn't get to sit by each other much in church and many days of the week we didn't see each other much.  Now we sit next to each other literally all day long, whether in the car, at meetings, at trainings, or on the couch.  I'm glad we have this opportunity to catch up!

One amazing things this weekend, the leaders of the church approved for some geographical shifts to the church organization in our mission.  Four stakes were combined into just two stakes.  During conferences held this past Sunday, the Anyang and Seoul South Stakes were combined into the Seoul South Stake and the Young Dong and Suwon Stakes were combined and renamed the Gyongi Stake.  Four wards in Anyang were consolidated to be called the Anyang Ward.  It will have a huge impact on the youth as they have the opportunity to interact with more youth of their own age at church.  We had beautiful choirs and speakers.  We also had Sister Joy Jones, the Primary General President and Carol McConkie, the 1st Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency with us this weekend.  It was a rich weekend.  Since pictures are not typically taken in the chapel, you'll have to wait for the Church News to see pictures.

Until next week, we hope all are happy and well.