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)