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!