The Lord is always watching.

With the holiday behind us we did our best to find other ways to serve. Expanding our service requires permission from the education office on the post so we tried several times to contact its director. He finally called us to let us know that things were moving more slowly than he had hoped so it would probably be January before we began teaching soldiers through his office. In the meantime, we have been writing lesson plans trying to anticipate how they will flow with the soldiers.

The weather has been crisp but sunny so we’ve ventured across the river to explore the mountains beyond. This week I was brave enough to make the river crossing on the stones all by myself and I did it three times the same day. We made a U-turn at the first bridge to the south to explore a bicycle path on the other side of the river. We wondered where it ended and found it ends where we began. Now we have another path. In walking on the other side of the river we were able to see a Buddhist shrine immediately across the river so we decided to explore it.

While the shrine itself would look like something I’ve already posted, when we ventured to the top of the mountain/hill we discovered this war memorial. It was as large as a Utah cemetery with multiple mounds, statues and markers. Just over the crest we found these cool rocks. We thought this one looked like an elephant on its stomach, leg behind and trunk to the side. It’s like looking at clouds.

Our most unusual outing this week was the USO volunteer appreciation dinner. We were surprised to be treated to an evening at the most expensive restaurant in Dongducheon. The main course was steak and more than we could eat…more than I should have eaten. It tasted so delicious along with the salad. We still tasted the kimchi and other Korean dishes. We had the opportunity to get a little better acquainted with one of the new volunteers from the new rotation battalion. He is a good man who chooses to volunteer rather than get in trouble. I wanted to share a gospel message with him, but he didn’t ask any leading questions. We are not to proselyte on the post so I had to respect his choice. The gospel is so delicious to me that I just want to share it with everyone.

Suk gave us all fleece jackets with the USO insignia and Camp Casey. They are toasty warm and will be super fun to wear. This is a selfie with one of our favorite Korean volunteers. She helps me with my Korean and I help her with her English. She has adopted us as extra grandparents.

We took advantage of the opportunity to attend the temple with our district and enjoyed the wonderful blessing of worshiping in the Lord’s Holy House. Wayne met a gentleman who has been his brother’s neighbor for thirty years. The gentleman is teaching through the Kennedy Center at a university on the eastern edge of China so he had taken an hour flight into Seoul to attend the temple. It really is a small world. We came home before the protests began although the number of people on the train reflected a gathering soon to happen.

The most excitement of the week came today at our meeting at the Camp Casey Chapel. The gentleman Wayne and I met as we came out of the chapel at Camp Red Cloud in October brought his family to church. It was fast and testimony meeting so he took the opportunity to bear his testimony to his wife, small daughter, and teenage step-daughter. We were all so excited we could bust! One of our young families was at that meeting because the soldier, husband had pulled a night shift and awakened late today. It was good to have another family there. The woman is already friends with the branch president’s wife and the husband has worked with the branch president. They live in the same apartment complex. The teenager agreed to be a pen pal with Ashlyn who is the same age. Miracles really do happen. None of us are lost to the Lord. When he was ready to return, the Lord flung open the doors for him.