Great week of interviews and the Temple

We got to spend time with about 70% of the mission this week between interviews and the temple.  We'll get all the rest and spend time at the temple with some we interviewed last week.  The only down side this week was that Terri was sick the day we were scheduled to go to the temple.

I had to get one picture with her that day as well.  She and Minnie curled up on the couch for the day.

It wasn't the same at the temple without her, but I did have to get a pose with the sisters in the trees as Sister Turner would desire... 

 I don't know if we got everyone, but we tried.  Some were in a hurry to get on with their Preparation Day and didn't want to hang around, but we tried.

So you can see the real them, we even took a brief video recording for your viewing pleasure.  It appears it would be better to slow down a little bit when filming ;)

We have one elder from the Philippines who didn't have a winter coat, but an elder who went home left one here and it fits him nearly perfectly. He can wear his suit coat under it.  He is so happy!

We had a fun visit with a sister who returned home last transfer, but came back to visit us at the temple because she misses us (at least that's our story!).

We get so many interesting emails from the missionaries explaining their experiences.  We thought this one would capture the width and breadth of some of their experiences:

"I am in a really good mood this morning! This week was really fun in all sorts of ways. We were able to meet with our investigators and have some really solid discussions about the Book of Mormon, the Church, and all sorts of cool stuff that we do as missionaries. We've had a lot of weird moments happen though. From a woman offering us peanuts, to getting pulled into a pub with a bunch of drunk hikers, to mango smoothies with a man who has seen missionaries for years but never really wanted to talk to any of them, we've certainly run the gambit of things getting offered to us."

We are continuing to do interviews in the apartments.  You'd be proud.  There are a few that need a little more time and sweat, but overall, we've been pleased.  The pictures we get with them are loads of fun!

 Would your sons be brave enough to have sunflowers on their apartment walls?

 Pikachu didn't show up well on the window, just his eerie presence.

 Nope, none of us can really play, they're just in the house. Fan dance anyone?

 Sometimes they just get excited and we have to temper it...

 This is an amazing house with a Korean, a Filipino, a Chinese Hawaiian, and a Hawaiian Hawaiian.

 They really are all kids!

 What's a president to do?

 

 Sometimes they use special tools to hold up the art work, in this case magnetic darts...

 Some miss their cats and so they make up for it...

They bring in some of the most unique things off the street.  It's hard to see, but this is a grill from a Hyundai sedan.  we are thinking Christmas ornaments.....

We took the time to visit with two of the senior couples this week as well.  Dinner is always a nice way to visit with them.  We have one more couple for next week.  The first couple just arrived two months ago, we're excited for them.  It has been wonderful to get to know them.  The missionaries love when they come to their apartments.  This sister makes the most amazing Korean foods.  They are amazing missionaries. 

 This wonderful couple arrived just before us and their 18 months is about up.  We will be sad to lose them on Thanksgiving Day.

 The Church has announced increased efforts to use social media to make information available to the public.  It's a great tool for helping those seeking for the truth, but "know not where to find it."
We have conducted three training sessions.  This is an attentive group we were able to attend with.

We love the old architecture of the cities.  As mentioned in an early post, we visited the walled city of Hwaseong in Suwon.  Recently, driving through again we had a better angle on this old city wall. It was mostly destroyed by time and the Japanese occupation, but has been redone nicely.

Finally, to make you all proud, we have an unpaid promotional spot for the favorite food of the mission.  Some even came up with a dance to go with the song you hear on the phone when calling to order.

Next week's blog will have more interview pictures and temple pictures.  The weather is turning a bit colder, probably similar to what you're seeing.  The winter coats, gloves, scarves, boots, etc. are all coming out.  It is a beautiful time of the year.  We hope to capture a few pictures of the changing leaves. 

We want to share a personal treat for our family.  Our eldest granddaughter Lillian was baptized a week ago.  All her dad's siblings were able to travel to Indiana from Utah and Idaho for the special occasion.  A couple of the spouses could not come because of the tiny children not wanting to make the nearly 50 hours of driving for a two day affair.  However, they truly had a great few days together without us.  We participated through technology in the middle of our night.  What a treat for us!

 The proud mom and dad on her special day.

 Pacer game with the Utah cousins.  Thank you Goodwill for the extra jerseys...

 The weather was perfect for time on the playground for the kids.  How we wish we could be with them.

Please know of our great love for what we're doing, especially wearing the name tag as representatives of the Savior and brothers and sisters to these wonderful missionaries. Until next time...

 

Home Interviews

This next week will be one crazy week.  We thought we'd get a jump on the blog this week.

We had our mission leaders all together to help us plan for the upcoming month.  We spent time helping them learn some of the finer points of leadership as well.  They are an incredible group.

 Terri with her attentive sisters.  It's fun to watch them interact.

 They are a bright group with lots of energy.

We then began visiting various homes to conduct interviews and evaluate the homes in which they live.  Sorry the pictures aren't perfectly focused.  The old man's hands aren't as steady as they once were...

We hope you enjoy the various special props from each house.   A throne,

 Some of the homes had special chairs,

 Special treats

 Mosquito netting

 An elders' house with pink flowered wall paper!

 Quite the couch!

 Wall decorations

 An area map

 A birthday party plan

 Another large area map

 An A/C unit as big as a man with an apartment too small,

 Old paintings,

 Special stuffed friends and hats.

This next week will have even more houses and special personalities.  Stay tuned!

While out and about, we found a few more interesting things... This is for a 'Whale Night".

 One of the houses we visited didn't have much parking for the residence so they built a tall parking building.  Sister Turner hurried and took a pictures before the fellow in charge of parking kicked us out as the machinery worked to get our vehicle down.  It was a pretty neat thing.  There are a number of these in Korea because land is such a premium in Seoul.

That's all for this week.  Not real exciting, but we hope you get a picture of your missionary and loved one.  Thank you for sharing these special young people with us.  We are the ones who are blessed by their presence and their many talents and gifts!

That six week cycle can be so painful!

Once again we're going through the transfer cycle.  Many tears shed over departing friends.  We truly consider them our children.  We're okay with sharing them with the parents that sent them here...
With 14 leaving, it was a great meal followed by the final testimony meeting.  There is so much energy in this group.

 As much as they've matured during their venture here, they are still fun-loving young adults!

 This elder back to Utah,

 this elder off to California after 10 days or so here with his family,

this elder back to Utah

 This sister returns to southern part of Korea,

 as with this good sister back to her Korea home town.

 This sister served four transfers right here in our area and returns to her home in Korea.

 This elder returns to northern Utah,

 This good elder returns to Florida and to help with some hurricane relief...

 This good elder returns to central Utah,

 This elder returns to Tennessee.

 This elder served ten months or so in the office, first as supply manager then as an assistant.  He returns to central Utah.

 This sister spends about two weeks in Korea with her family before returning to Oregon.

 This sweet sister returns to England,

 and this sister returns to the Philippines. 

How much we'll miss them all. What an international group we have shared our experience with.  There were so many tears shed those last 24 hours, we almost needed an ark!

We welcomed an amazing group of ten elders and four sisters.  Amazing stat for all of you, of the eight elders who came from the US, all eight are Eagle Scouts in the Boy Scouts of America!  There are amazing facts about each one of these young people.  They represent the cream of the crop for this age group!   They came into the airport ready to work. (this is also one of the tallest groups of elders we've received!)

This elder is from northern Utah

 This elder is from central Utah

 This sister is Korean, but her family emigrated to California many years ago.

 This sister is from Northern Nebraska

 This sister is from north central Utah

 This sister is from Korea, but her family emigrated to Hawaii

This elder is from far northern Utah

 This elder is from Washington and is a cousin to a missionary in our mission from the Philippines.

 This elder is from central Utah

 These next two elders are both from the same town in the south east corner of Korea.  They know each other and are excited to serve near each other.

 This elder is from Arizona

 This elder is from South Carolina

 This elder is from central Utah

Here's the picture with the missionaries and their trainers.  As we meet with them and get to know them we continue to be amazed at the selflessness, the humility and great desires to serve others.  There are so many thing said about this generation, but these young people are amazing, intelligent, talented young adults.

Of course, we had a few unusual pictures to go with it all, but not many.
Occasionally, the missionaries complain about foot discomfort since they walked 5-10 miles each day.  Sister Turner tests a few things to see where the pain is.  This poor elder has some plantar fasciitis which Sister Turner has had. She shows them how to massage it.  As you can see by the look on his face, our Assistant is not impressed with the massage!  He now knows what personal things he must do to improve his situation without having Sister Turner's torture skills.:)

Here we found a cute little vehicle to transport friends and family! I'd be afraid to hit a bump and go over backwards.  The biggest person ought to be in the front, not the back...

This week we were a little delayed due to technical issues.  But, it appears they are worked out.  We begin interviews again this week.  We'll be doing them in the homes of the missionaries. You'll get a sense of their housing situation.  Some are too small and we've added missionaries. We'll be moving to new apartments.  We'll get a sense for the cleanliness and care as well.  Look forward to seeing your missionary in their natural environment.  We love you all!