Interviews and Time with Missionaries

Another crazy-busy week! However, the highlight was being with all the missionaries at once. We had a great visit with the Apostle Elder Gary E. Stevenson and the Area President Elder Yoon Hwan Choi and their wives.  We didn't get pictures with them, but we did with all our missionaries and with the Seoul Mission missionaries.  Wish we could get the pictures bigger.  You can download and enlarge them, I believe.

The rest of the week was all about interviews, proselyting activities, district councils, and just fun with the missionaries.
Here we had a zone preparation day with the Gyeonggi Zone.  Two missionaries were missing, but the rest kept us busy playing soccer volleyball and Korean dodgeball.

We are trying to get a bit closer to the work.  This week we are conducting interviews on the day the district has its council meeting and then doing an activity with them. It worked out really well. Here's the first one for this week with half of the Incheon Zone.

 We survey people on the street about important questions.  The one with the picture of Jesus asks if they know who he is, what he can do for you, how you can get close to him, etc. The other asked the purpose of life.

 This square where we conducted the activity is surrounded by building with a million colors and signs, most of which are for food.

 Here Sister Turner and I found what we were looking for.  It appears to include good food and beverages we don't drink.  We don't know if we're looking in the wrong places!

We had another day with the other half of the Incheon Zone. We forgot to take a picture with the district council meeting or having dinner, but we got the important pictures.  For those wondering about the picture on the board, it represents Ne Ne Chicken, the favorite food of the missionaries.  They happened to order that for our dinner that night.

 Again, we divided into two groups and did more surveying or stickerboarding in another area.  It was a warm, beautiful night with a nice breeze.

We had another special luncheon for those who certified as Preach My Gospel Teachers.  It was good to spend some time with them.  Boy can they eat!

We had a special experience this week as a former missionary came to visit us with her mother.  Her mother was so thankful to her Heavenly Father for the safety of her daughter's missionary service she felt the only way to show that gratitude was to give a gift to the mission parents, Sister Turner and me.  She hand made these beautiful sweaters.  There are no words to express our gratitude and love!

On the casual side this week, there is always a picture or two to share.  Here's an interesting motorbike with two young men riding it.  It seems to have some training wheels!

While running I found some ancient burial tombs that are purported to date back to between 16 BC and 700 AD.  The size of the mount usually represents the persons stature in society.  Right in the middle of the big city (tower in the background) is this nicely preserved 5+ acres of land.

This will be another busy week with district council meetings, interviews, activities and the usual missionary service.  We love what we're doing and appreciate all the support!

Anniversary and much more!

This was a great week for Terri and I.  The week has gone so quickly!
At the first of the week I was able to stand in on the ribbon cutting ceremony of the new beautiful church building in Anyang City before the dedication.  What a wonderful moment it was.  I have watched a few, but never participated in such an event.  The white gloves, gold colored scissors, and multiple color ribbons were a fun experience.

Monday, Terri and I celebrated our 432nd anniversary.  Those quick with math would know it was our 36th.  We couldn't be happier spending 24/7/365 together for the next three years.  We're having great discoveries together.  The office staff purchased a cake for us to celebrate.  We were surprised and awed by the wonderful gesture.

On Tuesday we had our first Mission Leadership Council meeting (MLC) where the zone leaders and the sister training leaders came together for training and counsel on how to lead the mission.  The assistants to the president also did some training and role playing to lighten the mood.  The heat and humidity have been high and we tried to address moving forward in adversity by studying together talks by Sister Oscarson, Elder Renlund, and Elder Holland from conference in April.  If you want to check them out you can do so at this link: April 2016 General Conference

Terri spent some time teaching health related skills like drinking lots of water, keeping the shower area clean, etc.  This training will now go through these leaders to their zones and districts.
We are serving with exceptionally smart, spiritual, insightful young men and young women!  We had a great day with them.

We run pretty fast all week, but occasionally, we find a place to walk and relax for a moment.  Gratefully, there is a small park nearby to set for a moment!

During the week we had the opportunity to do some work with eight wonderful elders and sisters.  One of the activities was called 'sticker boarding'. A laminated piece of cardboard with five questions is held and people walking by are asked to put a sticker by the question most meaningful to them. Questions like, "What is the purpose for my life?"; "How does believing in Jesus Christ bless my life?"; "Does God communicate with us today?"; "Who is God?" are on the sticker board.  As they put a sticker on the board we provide a document that provides some information on that subject and an invitation to contact our missionaries if they have more questions.  By far the most common question was "What is the purpose for my life?".

Today, I had the opportunity to attend a wonderful ward in Incheon, a city in which I served in 1978.  There was a small ward with about 100 people in attendance on a good day at that time.  Today there are several wards with hundreds attending.  I had the opportunity to attend with the young Aaronic Priesthood holders and talk to them about the temple and preparing for missionary service.  What an energetic bunch of young men.  I thought for a moment I was back in my ward in Indiana!

We are busy doing the Lord's work.  I believe our lives are being most impacted, but we believe we have touched a few hearts.  We spend many hours in the car given Seoul traffic, but with GPS we can get around just fine.