Cherry Blossoms and the Changing of Missionaries

You'll have to forgive us, there are lots of pictures of Cherry Blossoms at the end of this posting!  It is a wonderful season of the year to be outside.  The weather has been very nice with the expected Spring rains.  It is great to be outside more without coats on.  Suit jackets have been sufficient. 

This is a season of many fruits of our labors as well.  The missionaries have met so many wonderful people.  It's been fun for us to be with them when we can.

This man came to the church building to strengthen his knowledge of English since his family is living in the US and his children attend school there.  He developed a bond with the missionaries and the members of the local ward and came to realize what a blessing the gospel would be in his life.

 This young man met the missionaries on the street. He met with them and then stopped because he was too busy with school. Then he reached out to them again and has found great friends in the ward he has been attending.

 The missionaries love to sing to the new members as they make their baptismal covenants.

 The local ward then likes to feed them and socialize.  It's always fun!

 We don't know a lot about this young man, but he has many friends in the young singles group and has found joy in the message.

We had some wonderful sisters finish their service this month.  We will miss them greatly.  Each has served as a trainer and a sister training leader.  As always, we truly love them and hate it when they return home.

 Being the only man in the house that evening was a fun experience for President Turner.  It's like being surrounded by energetic, loving daughters.

 Returning home to Iowa,

 returning home to Utah,

 and, returning home to California.

 This young lady's parents are both born and raised in Korea and served missions in Korea.  However, they have immigrated to the US and now teach Korean.  She is going to spend a few extra weeks in Korea to meet family and see parts of Korea not enjoyed during her mission.

 Awaiting the reflective bus ride that allows the missionaries to prepare for that long air flight home and see parts of Korea not seen because they see so much in the underground subways.

 This young lady is preparing for her first date after her mission...

 President and sister missionary with common bond: focus on Choosing the Right.

The same day we said goodbye, we also welcomed new missionaries.  What a wonderful addition they will make to our team. The three elders on the viewer's right and the sister next to Sister Turner are fresh off the plane from the MTC.  They were tired, but ready to take on anything we gave them.

 Now with their trainers they are ready to go to work.

 This sister is from a unit in the south where the only other Korean sister currently serving in our mission is from.  They know each other well and were excited to see each other a few days later.

 This young man is from California.

 This young man is from Arizona,

 And this young man is from southern South Korea.  He has a great story about how he came to be a member of the Church and the support not from his family but from a loving school teacher.

 We had some sad news as this young man had to leave us for some medical care.  He is working hard to return in six to eight weeks.  We'd like to have him back with us before we depart.  We will miss him.  His attitude and jokes have been the talk of the mission.

As always during this busy week, we spend time training our leaders.  Because of some things we were focusing on, we invited to our Mission Leadership Council the District Leaders to join the Zone and Sister Training Leaders.  What a powerful group.  The mission future is bright!
This is the entire group.

 The powerful sisters in the mission,

 The zone leaders and Assistants to the President;

 The District Leaders;

 and finally, the two that are learning the most from these experiences...

Each month we rotate between the three stakes to have a "True to the Faith" fireside where missionaries share musical talents and testimonies.  Recent converts to the Church share their experiences and love of the gospel.  It is always an amazing night.  This evening was one of the most spiritual of the many we've done.  The members of the local unit came out to participate and contribute as well.  We had a limited amount of refreshments based on the number we expected. It was a wonderful "Fishes and Loaves" miracle as there was plenty for everyone.

 It's always most powerful when all the missionaries sing together.  Even those with less confidence in their talents can contribute.

 Someone created a life-size cut out of our Korean sister as part of an advertisement for an event the local ward was having.  We had to have a picture of her and her cut out.  She's a special young lady!

 It's hard to have such an event without getting a group picture.  They were great about cleaning up and putting everything away.  We were blessed to be with them and feel their energy and love.

In the midst of all this the cherry blossoms have exploded around our area.  Everywhere we went there were great displays.  It is so sad that such beauty is only on display for about 10 days.  Last year the rain ruined the experience.  It threatened this year, but it was a light rain and we were able to enjoy the experience for some time.

Near where we live is the Lotte World Tower. One of the tallest buildings on the planet.  Part of the complex included two large lakes that are surrounded by a walking/jogging path lined with cherry trees.  This time of year, the paths are packed with those enjoying the Spring spectacle.  Members of the local ward invited us to join them on the walk.

This is an aerial view of the site some 30-40 years ago.

 Here's a view of the tower and the area in the fall.  Imagine the lake surrounded with lovely cherry blossoms...

 The happy couple enjoying the experience.

 Sister Turner amongst the crowds.

Here's a video clip of part of the trek:

The ward members, missionaries, and us enjoying the day.  Between us and the tower is the Lotte World indoor/outdoor amusement park.

 More of the same, in the light sprinkle.

In my morning runs, I pass through several areas of amazing cherry blossoms.  We're sorry the pictures don't do the experience justice.

Along with these experiences, we always enjoy some other unique pictures.
This is a picture of Budaejjigae on our kitchen table.  We normally go to a restaurant to have it, but we found a local wholesale store like Costco with everything pre-prepared and packaged so that you can cook it on top of your table-top barbecue unit.  We were very happy to find this.  We added the cheese separately.  There was too much for us and the missionaries next door willingly finished it off.

 During a morning run, this communal garden area was being prepared for the spring planting and harvest.  In a few weeks, more pictures will follow that will include the change.

As a car lover, whenever such a vehicle is spotted, the camera has to be out!  This is a fairly common site in certain areas of Seoul.  This one was at the airport.  Can't imagine it holding much luggage!

This last picture represents our missionaries doing their work. They were chatting happily with a group of young people walking to an event.

We're having fun still though the days pass more quickly all the time.  Happy reading until next time!

Son's Family visit

We couldn't be happier that our son, Jacob, his wife, Nia and their four children: Vili, Tai, Mana, and Talia could share a week with us.  They have so wanted to be with us. It almost didn't happen, but thanks to a true miracle, they were able to travel on the planned flight.

Here's a sense for the first meal (the kids were so tired, they were already in bed).

We took nearly 600 pictures just on our phone.  They probably have nearly that many as well. We will not be sharing them all, but we will share enough to give a sense for the trip.

Saturday - Golum's Cave

Meet Mana - 4

 Tai 8

 Vili 10

 The little one in pink is Talia - 1

 You can see here why it's called Golum's care including Smog the dragon from the Hobbit.

 This karaoke performer invited Mana to come up.  He wasn't too interested.

One of the things grandma was most interested in was these fun hats for the kids.  The animal paws have a plastic bubble in them and when squeezed, the air moves up to the ears and they stand up.  This was loads of fun for grandma and the grand kids.

Sunday - Church and Olympic Park.

 Here you get to meet Talia.  She was pretty shy for most of the trip.

 The boys were so excited to eat real Korean Ramen for Sunday lunch.  It's been a tradition in our family for nearly 25 years.

 After church, the ward had a nice meal.  Vili was most excited for the kimchi.  Jake was just into anything Korean.  They ate well!

After church we took a trip around Olympic Park.  The main goal is keeping the kids awake so they can be accustomed to the new time zone. Only the one year old was allowed a nap!  The cherry blossoms have started to bloom.  There is beauty everywhere!

 Lovely couple!

 The three hams are more like their dad and uncles than they know...

 This little girl loves her daddy, especially when he had food!

 Mana found a great place to relax overlooking the street.  He watched the kids go to school in the morning

 We had a nice dinner that evening with the mission presidency and their spouses.  Lots of Korean food.  Nia and Jake said this trip was all about the food.  Wow did they get lots of it...

  We are so grateful for these two couples who are such a help in this mission.  We look forward to having them visit us in our home in the US one day.

  This sweet daughter of the first counselor brought special gifts to all the kids.  They slept with them every night this week.

Jacob started off every morning with a favorite Ramen.  It is the original from 1963.  He even took a bunch back home with him.  The US purchased things just don't taste the same!

 Though he turned eight-years old in March, Tai waited to be baptized in Korea with Grandma and Grandpa and their missionaries.  What an awesome day it was!

 We invited our children, the missionaries.  Most were able to come.  The boys will never be the same. They had so many wonderful examples for them!

We were so happy to have this lovely sister with us.  She finished in December and is preparing to go off to BYU in April and we won't get to see her again until July.

The missionaries did some amazing, very spiritually moving performances for us.  The spiritual were too big to capture here, but the fun ones were okay.  Nia even got to participate in this one.

Tai was really excited to have the two Assistants rap and beat box:

Finally, Mana got to do the Haka with some of his new friends:

After the event, we took the family to the Seoul Grand Park Zoo.  A dozen or so missionaries  also followed along. What a great day to visit the zoo!

 Grandma, Grandpa and the boys!

 Alligator wrestlers

 They found their roots.

 A little zoo yoga with Sister Turner and some of the daughters...

  Our true 'Pride'

 Nala and Simba found their way together.

 Mana found a special friend.

The next day was Vili's 10th birthday.  The family made the commitment that if they finished the Book of Mormon as a family by his birthday, they could go to Lotte World Amusement Park.  That morning, we sat as a family and read Moroni 10 and celebrated.

What little girl doesn't like the Merry-go-round?

 Feeling so cool to be with Grandman

 Just cool

 Grandpa and Mana in the bumper cars

 Mana after devouring some cotton-candy.  This were a few minutes in the bathroom...

 A quiet evening at the end of the day.  Showered, clean, and excited for the next adventure.

The new day brought us to the Children's museum of Seoul.  This was a hands on bonanza for the grandchildren.

Talia was excited to be "Under the sea"  She made a great Dori.

 We had lots of astronauts today!

We found a picture of Times Square in New York City in a 360 view.  See if you can identify the Christmas advertisement from the Church!  Most people wouldn't think much of it, but the Light The World Campaign was a huge initiative to bring others closer to Christ.

 We took a journey to Namtaemun and Dongtaemun.
 We had the privilege of enjoy Bingsu together.  Amazing treat. You can learn more here: Bingsu

 Also each had to have a taste of Hoddeok, the pancake filled with either brown sugar and chopped nuts or chapjae.  Again, another treat they enjoyed.

Thursday was an entirely new adventure.  It was by far the most busy and fulfilling.  We ventured to Hwaseong Fortress, Namhansanseon and Emart Trader. Too many pictures, but we will share the flavor for the day.
The boys thought they were so good with bikes.  They never saw one this size...

 Plenty of art to play around and participate in.

 First adventure in a Buddhist Temple.  The kids learned about respecting beliefs and sacred places of others.  Good experience.

 You are never too young to learn the art of making a heart!

 They got a front row seat of the martial arts show at the front of the palace.

 Then they made friends with the guards, including a few female soldiers.

 Even Talia was intrigued...

 The master took a quick liking to the family.

 The real fun came when they got to dress in period clothing.  Lots of staring after the changes.

 

 Pretty as the cherry blossoms.

 One of the few times Talia actually let grandma hold her on her lap. 

What a great picture of a tired boy!

Little sister trying to cheer brother up.

 They couldn't get enough of the food!

 Learning about "keystones"

 So much of Seoul in the background including the tallest building, Lotte Tower.

 Another larger Buddhist temple in the mountains.

Noses with Grandman 

 Snuggling with Grandpa

 A huge cheese pizza for dinner for the boys from Emart Traders, a store like Costco.

Loaded up to pack luggage with Korean treats for the trip home.

We had thought they left on Saturday, but they had to depart on Friday.  We had another venture to a part of Olympic Park not seen earlier in the week. 

Finally, we had to say goodbye.  It was amazing that we could get all eight of us in seatbelts and luggage for six in one van.  Miracles happen.

We got a week's worth into the blog.  Thank you for your patience.  More coming later this week.
Thank you for your love and support.