In front of the base chapel
Wow!! Being a missionary is a BIG adventure. I gave the first discussion to my seatmate on the flight to Detroit. His interest in religion was only intellectual, but he had some interesting misconceptions about our religion and was eager to hear answers. When we landed in high turbulence, the airplane tipped from one set of wheels to the other causing a little fear that a wing would drag. When it didn’t, I told my seatmate he had the angels who were under those wings to thank for our safe landing. Then I reminded him that Mormon’s believe in angels; he smiled. There were 25 missionaries departing on that flight and we felt protected.
After meeting Pres. Sonkson and his wife and having a light dinner and a sleep we were given the tour of Seoul and how to negotiate the public transportation. There was a bit of walking, lots of sights to see, and plenty of helpful Koreans ready to make sure we found the right train. We will need to return to Seoul soon to get our foreigner’s card and we will take pictures. We didn’t know we were going on a tour so we didn’t have our camera. After a Korean lunch, complete with kimchi. It all tasted good going down, but our insides weren’t so happy later.
We took a lovely ride through the Korean countryside about an hour north of Seoul to our apartment here in Dungducheon. We have a lovely view of about an acre of garden that looks like a patchwork quilt the locals tend every day. It seems to be a community plot. Out our other windows is a view of the city and the wooded hills beyond. We seem to be in a narrow valley.
Our first missionary encounter here was with a soldier named Andrew Egger. He followed us from the post office to a canteen where we had gone for a late lunch. He recognized our badges and stayed to visit while we ate. He told us about the branch and the activities as we got to know a little about him. Later that evening at a fellow-shipping activity we met the missionaries and told them that Andrew promised to be there. The elders told us then that Andrew was investigating the church and progressing towards baptism. It wasn’t a coincidence that Andrew was our first contact with the church here in Dungducheon.
Everyday is an adventure as we try to learn new things about our surroundings and our assignment. There seems to be enough things on the wish list of the leaders to keep three couples busy so we’ll do our best to choose wisely how we use our energy and time. At least we feel very needed and will be kept very busy.
It’s impossible to explain how kind everyone has been to us. We look forward to the opportunity to give back in some small way. The week was filled with tender mercies; it is easy to see the hand of the Lord in his work and his love for the people here in the “Northern Branch” of South Korea. We have been daily thankful to have felt his guidance in our choice of tasks to tackle and the people placed in our path.
The interior of our apartment.
A description of the apartment from Wayne: We have successfully moved into our apartment today. Our apartment has two large bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, and two baths. We are on the 14th floor of a large building so we have great views of the surrounding hills. We made our first visit to Camp Casey to purchase a few things at the commissary. Everyone has been super nice and told us how much we are needed here.
The picture out our north window has the green to the right of the tall building and the other is looking south. The near buildings are reflections of what our own building looks like from the outside.
PS. The sewer smell is GONE! One of the members came over and wrote down the label for every button in the house and cured the smell.We are very happy campers tonight.
