Interviews complete, preparing for transfers

I know many of you look each weekend for our next post.  Even the weekends can be very crazy for us and we got behind on updating the blog.  Thank you for your patience.

Interviews were very different this time.  Sister Turner had mazes created for each zone and trained them on companionship unity.  If you get a chance, ask your missionary about "Hug Time" and "Questions." President Turner had the pleasure of visiting with them one on one.  They like Sister Turner's cookies and attention!  They had loads of fun as you can tell from these pictures!

 She even had them shooting baskets blindfolded in buildings where there was a basketball hoop. 

Of course you have to have the pictures of those who can actually ride brooms...

Afterwards we had each companionship with props have their picture with us.  You can tell who the boring one is in each group...

 If you missed the shoes in the picture above, here's a close up.  With all the rain, she's quite happy with these!  She really complimented her mother on these shoes.

We had a few late, one missionary had to hurry to an appointment before we got his or another missionary's picture.  They are here too without Sister Turner and I.

 Great wallpaper!  Visiting a church member for dinner when I asked them to provide a picture.

Each missionary who has a birthday gets a call from us.  Here's note sent from one of our missionaries after his birthday (the English is not perfect since it's not his first language):

On Wednesday, since it's my birthday we do something especial, we went on a top of the Yongin building tower and we did our District meeting at the top of the tower, it was a very nice view! and before we start our district meeting they asked me if I can go to the bathroom so that they can set up the "Birthday party thing haha! so they sing a happy birthday and set up some designs and they gave me presents! :D I love our district! they're the best! :D In the evening we eat together in a fancy restaurant called Olive restaurant it was a good dinner! at night we ordered "Nae Nae Chicken" And President Turner and sister Turner called me that night and they sang happy birthday to me in Korean" after they sing I just kinda laugh and sister Turner asked me "why does every one always laugh every time we sing happy birthday? I replied: "I don't know.. it's just one of the cutest thing in the world" and Pres replied "Yup! that's what we are aiming for!" haha! it was a fun birthday! :D

 There are some who believe missionaries aren't willing to clean or help others.  We have evidence to the contrary.

 Sometimes they do it in style, but they do help when they see a need or when asked.

 Friday we had a special approval to conduct a mission-wide exercise.  Many parents probably already received emails from their sons or daughters about the event.  Given the neighbor to our north, we want to make sure our emergency action plan is well communicated and there's an opportunity to discuss how to behave in case of an emergency.  There are various levels of preparedness depending on the emergency.  We talked about each one.  Just having all our missionaries in the same building at one time was like Thanksgiving and Christmas together.  We had loads of fun with them.  Each has a 72-hour emergency kit which they were required to bring to the special meeting.  They were inspected by their leaders.  We anticipate some additional training needed in various zone or district meetings.  They were great.  Here are a few pictures from the day.

 Sister Turner training more on companion unity and serving happily together.

 President Turner talking about emergency actions

 Missionaries gather in the office to get mail and raid Sister Black's cookie tin.

 Amazingly, Sister Turner asked the missionaries at the end of the meeting if they knew the words to "Jesus, Redeemer of my Soul".  There was no music and no lyrics for them to read, but as you can see above, there were several dozen who knew it.  Elder Kim played from memory and it was amazing.  You'll see a post for this number on our Facebook page: KSSM Pres Turner

Of course, we had to get a mission picture.  It was really hard to get all 118 of us together for the camera.  We hope you can find your loved one here.

We never truly know how the missionaries feel about Sister Turner and I.  Every once in a while we get a little note that reminds us we are having some impact: "

I was reading Helaman's epistle to Moroni this week about the stripling warriors and I couldn't help but be overwhelmed at the love that Helaman had for those young boys. He cared about them spiritually and physically and loved them as his own children. Reading it I thought it was a lot like our mission. We are the sons of Ammon (young people who have never "fought" before and have no clue what we're doing but we have faith and are obedient) and you are Helaman. You have a lot better idea what's going on, you're are leader, we trust you, and although you do care about the results of the war you also care about us as people. I've felt your love a lot recently and am super grateful to you and Sister Turner."  Some of you may not understand everything in this note, ask a Mormon friend.  They can clarify.

We love it when our missionaries come back to visit after completing their work.  We could swear this elder grew two more inches after his mission!

 We got to visit with this young man before he entered the Air Force for his mandatory two year period of service in the South Korea military.  He served with us as one of our Assistants. We hope we can see him before we leave, depending on whether he can get time off.

As president of the mission I have great need for good men to support the presidency.  We had a nice little dinner with President Ryu and President Park and their families here at the mission home.  It was nice to dress down for a few minutes, grill some chicken for fajita salads, and have a fun evening with them.  We enjoy getting to know them.  President Park's daughter served her mission in Boise, Idaho and served in our daughter's ward and area. Instant kinship there as you might guess!

A new building was dedicated over the weekend.  The Church purchased a standing building and renovated it for church services.  The local wards had a cultural celebration evening we were invited to attend and to participate in the ribbon cutting ceremony. It was a fun weekend.

 These young kids danced and sang for us.  We really had fun with them.

 In this stake there is amazing orchestral talent.  We were able to add a sister to the violin section and several missionaries to the choir.  It was amazing.  I hope to post more of these on Facebook as well as time permits.  The elder below did some beatboxing for an African number performed by about 30 young adults.  We saw a whole new side to this elder!

 Of course, I had the fun of helping cut the ribbon.

There were five baptisms over the weekend in different locations.  We were able to attend only one given our schedule and the area we would have had to cover.  What an amazing experience.

We said goodbye to a sister headed home to Texas a week early so she could start school at BYU on time.  The sweet young lady was probably my first interview of the rotation after we arrived.  We are sorry to lose her, but happy for her future which is as bright as her smile.  As missionaries leave, they leave a few thoughts about their experiences.  A sister leaving next week shared this: "

These past few weeks, I was thinking about the mission that quickly passed by and sometimes, because I look too much on the visible outcomes such as baptisms, I felt I have not done enough. I was reading through PMG and was again reminded that success is measured primarily on the commitment to teach, find and baptize. I found comfort on those words and I felt the Spirit confirmation the Heavenly Father appreciates all our efforts."

Finally, a few things seen these past few weeks.  I doubt many folks, certainly those living in the US, have ever seen a shipment of green onions packed in the back of a truck like this!  It would be a sweet smelling scene if there were an accident...

Finally, off the beaten path, Terri wasn't with me when I ventured on to these special moments.  I found a life-size replica of myself...

Then, while out jogging, found one of Terri's favorite late summer pleasures.  There was a long line of them, but I'm only so good with selfies....

Well, as it says many times in the Book of Mormon, "this record can only contain a hundredth of all the things that have occurred" recently.  We are truly blessed.  We're excited about this new week ahead.  We will hate saying good bye to three missionaries, but will love welcoming eleven.  That's a story for another week!  We hope you find some enjoyment in this.  We're having fun making memories!