Thanksgiving

   

       

               This has been a week of feasting! We started on Sunday at the home of Pres. and Sister Rix because she wanted to fix a Thanksgiving dinner for the elders. She is Korean so the food was Korean. I learned last week that Koreans LOVE to feed people and for them to enjoy the food so that’s what I did. I told our hostess that the food was beyond super delicious and she said that she would keep me. Her Korean food really is delicious so I can still hold a temple recommend.

                Monday we had a military escort to the Joint Military Base on the DMZ so we could serve a turkey dinner to the American soldiers serving there. They were very appreciative and gracious in their thanks. As we sat and ate the commanders sat with us and visited. The First Sergeant expressed a desire for us to teach his soldiers the ASVAB review course to help them become promotable. He offered to send a driver for us every day or find us housing there for the two weeks. Anything we asked for, he was willing to provide. We told him that we would be happy to teach his soldiers if he can arrange it. We’ll see if that happens. The Lt. Col. gave us our first military Commander’s Coin. 

                On Wednesday we helped serve a Thanksgiving meal to the soldiers at the Camp Casey USO. This was a much larger group and more commanders and personnel from the area USO office. We were given our second Commander’s Coin from the Regional Director of the USO.  Ms. Harper saved the turkey carcasses for me so I made a big pot of turkey soup. The elders came over to help us eat it since I didn’t have family to share it with.

                Thursday was the Thanksgiving celebration at the military base so we ate with the soldiers at the dining hall. We had the full spread and more. It is the tradition for the officers to serve the Thanksgiving meal so one of our elders was in awe to have been served by a general. It was a general who took this picture of me with one of the decorations in the hall. After the meal we met at the chapel annex with a few of our members and ate a full variety of pie and played games.

                Sunday was the Thanksgiving meal with the branch after our regular meetings. Koreans like to eat together after church. The soldiers and Africans are happy to join in the feasting. A district council member visiting from Seoul said he had to leave his car at work last night because the streets were packed with protestors. He couldn’t even walk through the crowd so he had to take a taxi around the perimeter. The Koreans are determined Park step down as president.

                Elder Anderson and I have been very thankful for many opportunities to serve the people here in Korea. We are thankful for our families and friends who seem so very far away. We are thankful for the Plan of Happiness that includes being sealed to our families forever.