Radio guests

We were given the opportunity to advertise our tutoring classes to the Area I soldiers on their radio station. Our host was very professional and kind. Over an hour’s block he explored four questions giving us 2-4 minutes to respond each time. He played music and did news and weather between segments to keep the soldiers listening.

We were able to explain that we were here as missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints offering service to the military personnel in this Area. We talked about the classes and did our best to make them sound like something the soldiers would want to attend. The DJ said we could have the 9 am Friday slot every week if we wanted it. We’ll see if we think it makes a difference and we can think of new or interesting things to share.

The only new news is the crutches in the back. The arthritis in my right leg flared so that I am not able to put weight on my leg without extreme pain. I was able to see a doctor at Camp Casey and she thinks it will settle down again if I give it a bit of a rest. In the meantime, the ladies who bag groceries at the commissary were concerned that Wayne was doing our shopping alone Friday evening. How they even knew I was on crutches is a mystery, but they were kind to inquire.

The arthritis in my leg was just “pesky” when we came and I was able to run regularly with no problems. Why I went lame this week I can’t explain, but I will trust that there is a reason that we can work through. The Lord said, “…all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.” (D&C 122:7) We will trust that the Lord knows what we need to do the work he has sent us here to do.

The Lord keeps his promises

                

Sundays are a busy day for missionaries. Our little twig has multiple callings that are not filled including music callings and youth leaders. That leaves opportunities for members to step up and fill in where needed. I taught a youth Sunday School class to one youth. We worked on learning how to do indexing to give him a way to work on family history. The goal was for him to go home and teach his parents, the smiling couple surrounding the food, and older brother. Wayne did a financial audit and learned more things about how the branch operates and compensates with minimal clerk staffing. Our Branch President, in the picture, really carries the branch on his shoulders. He will only be here another year.

The sister missionaries wanted to have a barbecue at the home of the branch president Sunday so he drove a van load of members to his house, 30 minutes from the base, and then drove them back again afterwards. His wife and mother-in-law prepared a lovely spread of food and those who came had a very relaxing time visiting together. The sister missionaries added a spiritual thought about following the prophets. Their apartment is about three times the size of our apartment and we thought we had a large one. The missionaries love all the space that doesn’t exist in other Korean dwellings.

                We put in lots of hours at the USO this week. They needed us two mornings at the front desk to keep the doors open and then we were there three evenings to teach. We love the teaching and keep getting queries about when and where we meet. Our numbers are still very small now and that works for me. My student, Bo, has been a wonderful Korean language coach this week. She has me studying hard. Wayne carried on a conversation in Korean with his friend in the park this week so he is doing well, too.

                We had good attendance at our FHE and fellowshipping night. The new elder in our branch is named Elder Anderson and his roots are from Bear River City so Wayne will see if they are relatives. This transfer they gave us back our elders full-time which should make them more effective.

           

     I learned this week that the Lord keeps his promise to “…bear you up.” (D&C 84:88) He really is a God of miracles and concerned about every detail in our lives. What a wonderful blessing to know that God is real; He lives; He loves us; He blesses us with the challenges and support we need to grow and return to Him. I’m also very thankful for the atonement of Jesus Christ and the hope of forgiveness. I wish I could say that I don’t need it every week. Wow! And then He has given us the sacrament to renew our covenants each week and walk away clean as we go with humble hearts. God is really amazing! King Benjamin reminded us that there is no way we can ever return enough thanks for all his blessings. (Mosiah 2:20-24) Service to others is a good way to start so Wayne and I do our best to serve every day in our remote corner of His vineyard. What a blessing to be His servants.

Students and Teachers

The biggest change this week was for us to begin tutoring soldiers at the USO. We had our first class on Tuesday with one female soldier, Korean by birth, who wanted to improve her English and a male soldier who wants both the math and reading comprehension so Wayne taught math to Reggie and I taught English to Bo and on Wednesday I taught reading comprehension to both of them. Wayne had a new student on Wednesday, Michelle, a female soldier who wants to learn math but may also want the reading comprehension as well. She has a much busier work schedule and may not be able to come every time we meet. Wayne and I are both having a great time. The students were very eager to learn and very positive about the help they received from us.

The week was full of missionary work, too. I took the Family History pamphlets with me to the branch and sat with different members explaining how to fill them out and encouraging them to also think of stories they could record to save. One African who just arrived this week seemed very excited that I would type his stories for him to preserve his history. Andrew began his new member lessons at our home this week and worked more on his family history. We attended zone conference again. These are two of the five zone leaders who do such a beautiful job of training us. The Korean sister teaches in Korean, but she is also in our district and very eager to help me with my Korean in those smaller meetings.  I’m very pleased with our Family Home Evenings. They finally have a pattern of coming together, prayer, spiritual message, fun games, and refreshments. There is a great spirit there even though there are only a few soldiers who join us.

 Wayne had a breakthrough in the park this week. The old people who come to clean the park were there and doing their best to pick up the debris. Two old women, bent and hobbling had filled a large garbage bag and were trying to move it from one end of the park to the other so it could be picked up. It was heavy, about 50 lbs., so all they could do was pull it along. He stopped and picked it up and did his best to communicate he was willing to carry it where they were going. They tried to tell him they were fine, but he insisted and they led the way. He followed and put the bag where it needed to be. They were so thankful they couldn’t tell him enough times. All the other old people in the park saw what he did and as he passed them they told him thank you, too. His phrase this morning for his friend was, “You are my friend.” His friend bowed and repeated the word, friend, in English so he seemed to understand.

I have made flash cards with the Korean words and phrases and we take them with us to pass the time on the long train rides. Today I had harvested some words from a book that I hoped to use, but I was pretty unsure exactly how they were said in Korean. So, I asked the Korean lady sitting next to us. She was kind and read several words to me and was patient while I tried to mimic her sounds. Later, while we waited in a very hot train station another Korean man was kind enough to help me with a phrase I hoped to say and then we talked about his brother who lives in California now. He showed me pictures on his phone and I showed him pictures of Southern Utah on my phone. It seems to make the Koreans happy to see us trying to learn their language.

I decided to check out the local beauty shop to see if I could get a haircut. The lady spoke some English so I decided to give her a try. She wanted to leave it longer so I didn’t look like a man, but she kept cutting. We tried to communicate with her limited English and my limited Korean. She figured out I am a Mormon and she said she was a Christian. I couldn’t remember any of the vocabulary I studied yesterday and the phrases I tried to say she didn’t seem to understand. Bo helps me with my Korean for a few minutes after each class. I’ll keep trying. Elder Holland said the Lord will bless us even if we are trying to do what’s right. I’m thankful the Lord is so merciful because most days trying is the very best I can do. (8/12/2016)

Little Things

                We are no longer the new kids on the block here in the Northern Branch or Area 1. There is a bit of a routine to our days and weeks. We recognize by sight and know something about our soldiers and now they are beginning to return to their families in the U.S. The first one leaves this week. New soldiers will be sent as replacements. I helped our Relief Society president organize visiting teaching for the twelve sisters in our branch. Almost all of them need to be visited at the church building because of distance and work schedules. There is a 2.5 hour distance between two of our sisters.

I spent a chunk of time constructing this family for our new member so he will have family names to take to the temple and know his roots in the gospel. One generation back and he ties into a tree in Family Search with cousins who are members. All he knew about this grandmother was her married name, a nickname, her death date, and where she lived and died. Family Search is amazing with ten sources to document and cross reference these relationships. I love working with the dead because they always help me and never cancel an appointment.

Wayne is amazing in his interactions with the old men who exercise early in the park. He practices his Korean and they practice their English. Each day they have more questions. Every week there are more men (couples) who see him as someone to smile, greet, and talk with. He is already trying to explain his role as a missionary. He is on the District Council; their meetings are held online using Skype and work well. He helps the soldiers with their copy, printing and fax needs at the USO and does everything from blessing the sacrament to saying prayers to fill in at meetings. He is our permanent high council speaker because we are so far away.

These are sesame leaves that I plucked from the stems with a Korean grandmother. She was working at the task and accepted my offer to help. She seemed pretty friendly and tried to talk with my limited Korean. Some of the words I thought I knew she couldn’t understand, but I think we communicated that we are both old; I don’t think either of us understood just how old the other is. We tried to share numbers in our family but she didn’t understand my pronunciation of grandchildren. I think we established that both of us live in these apartment buildings. She seems to have visited Los Angeles. There were lots of dead spaces in the conversation. I kept at the job even though it was hot and the rock I was sitting upon was not very comfy. As we finished she thanked me and insisted on giving me a whole bunch of the leaves. I tried to convince her to give me less, but decided that it probably would be rude if I did not take any. I was told that Koreans like to put these leaves inside their lettuce wraps so Wayne and I tried them on our sandwich and they have quite a delightful taste of mint.

We caught a ride to the Seoul Temple with our Branch President this morning and enjoyed a wonderful morning doing ordinance work there. We decided to take the train home and took this picture in one of the train stations. I have made flash cards with the Korean words and phrases and we take them with us to pass the time on the long ride. Today I had harvested some words that I hoped to use from a book, but I was pretty unsure exactly how they were said in Korean. So, I asked the Korean lady sitting next to us. She was kind and read several words to me and was patient while I tried to mimic her sounds. Later, while we waited in a very hot train station another Korean man was kind enough to help me with a phrase I hoped to say and then we talked about his brother who lives in California now. He showed me pictures on his phone and I showed him pictures of Southern Utah on my phone. It seems to make the Koreans happy to see us trying to learn their language.

We met more of the senior missionaries who are serving here in Korea and they were eager to share the things they do to support the soldiers. It reminded me of Pres. Uckdorf’s counsel to “Lift where you stand.” Each of us in a unique position to support others and each is equally important. Jesus Christ is our example and our eternal destination. He seeks to draw all men to him. We each do our little part to help those in our path. He lives. He loves us. He wants us to return.