Infiltrating the front lines

               

               We started the week in the wee hours of the morning at the ROD Range where the military practice firing their weapons. Wayne watched as they started charcoal in four large cookers where they cooked 1200 hamburgers and 1200 hot dogs. The military gave the men the day off to watch the Super Bowl that started at 0830. Wayne and I went with the USO to provide a party for the soldiers and marines who were at the gunnery range.

                It was cold but we had to serve the food outside because the marines and soldiers have separate eating facilities and the facility of the opposite branch is off limits to the other. The only neutral ground was outside with a cold breeze blowing. Keeping the meat hot after it was cooked was a trick. First, we stuffed the meat inside the bun and put them both back into the plastic bag and closed it. Then we put the waiting burgers and hot dogs on a tray that went underneath the hot cookers.

              

               Wayne separated almost all 1200 frozen burgers with a spatula. At least it was an inside job. I thought my fingers and toes might freeze right off they were so cold.

             

             The best part of the trip was seeing the smiles of the men and women as they came through the line for their food. They were very appreciative of a change in menu with familiar tastes and smells to remind them of home.

We had a pretty quick turn around after returning to Dongducheon before our escort came to drive us to  Camp Boniface which is the Joint Services Area (JSA) maintained by the United Nations. We settled into our barracks with the NCO’s.  We were given a choice of Wi-Fi passwords to find a signal we could use to be able to connect with our computer in Utah where all our files are stored. Our quarters are pretty basic with two single beds, one set of sheets, and two blankets. I was thankful I brought my pillow and a set of towels. It was clean, warm, hot shower, and an inside toilet.

On our path between our quarters and the Sanctuary where the food was served was a 1-hole golf course with this sign. There were actually a couple of places where you could tee off from the ledge above the hole. You can see the green behind me. There were plenty of balls and even clubs available if you wanted to give it a try. The commanders said when a wild pig stumbles on a mine they experience a rain of shredded pork.

Most of our week was spent in this classroom with about 15 soldiers. Their Sergeant Major personally took roll every morning and sent someone to find a missing student. He told them to pay attention and do their homework. Even the soldiers who had just come off 24-hours of duty stayed awake. On Thursday the four-hours of class were delayed until afternoon to accommodate security for a visiting dignitary. But, we were there living on the post and able to have the flexibility the Sergeant Major needed to both fulfill his mission and provide an opportunity for his soldiers to  improve their promotion opportunities.

These soldiers had the same wide span of skills as those on Camp Casey, but they came to class knowing one another and eager to sharing ideas and provide assistance to one another.

We loved our time with the soldiers both in the classroom and at meals. We were there for the Hanta Virus briefing so now we know that the only military deaths due to Hanta Virus worldwide occurred at Camp Boniface. We’ll be friendlier to the wild cats the soldiers feed. We ate dinner with Lt. Col. Farmer, the Camp Commander, two evenings. Most mornings we ate breakfast with Sgt. Maj. Joyce. In between, we ate with our soldiers. There are only 70 U.S. soldiers on the post serving with the Koreans and other nationalities from the United Nations forces.

In the afternoons we did lecture prep and took a walk around the post. It took three loops to register our 10,000 steps. We saw a few cranes in the rice fields, two types of magpie, geese, chickadee, ladder-back woodpecker, ravens, but no deer yet. The post is laced with trenches, pill boxes and command bunkers. We found a bunker dug inside a hill that looked pretty safe from fire if we need to take cover.

This was my favorite bunker under this beautiful tree, great camouflage.

             

              We did find this one restaurant open from 5-5:30 pm Mon. – Thurs.

We brought our Korean neighbor to church this morning. She has been taking English lessons at our home from the Elders. She had a great time with the Korean members. The Elders had another African investigator attend with them in the morning and a new soldier appeared at the chapel on post. I love the spirit in our meetings here. We share a testimony of Jesus Christ that binds us together.