Looking for the Son

                Our biggest adventure this week was finding the Driver’s License Office to see if we could obtain a Korean driver’s license. Between navigating the Korean roads and dodging the other cars, Wayne concluded that anyone who drove safely to the office should be instantly granted a license. We did our best to locate the office on a map, but left the car to search on foot when that didn’t work. We found the office because a kind Korean woman walked us through back allies and up a steep hill about half mile away. The Cliff Notes of the story is that we did not have the paperwork needed and we abandoned Plan A and sent my sister the paperwork to secure international driver’s licenses from AAA.

                Our most frequent activity this week was teaching and tutoring soldiers individually, sometimes tag teaming with two soldiers at a time. These soldiers are very focused and dedicated and appreciative of our time with them. Sister Anderson had the opportunity to teach Korean with the elders to a soldier who already speaks six other languages including Japanese. She also was able to share the message of the restoration of the gospel with a soldier who is searching to learn more about God and religion. Wayne had a soldier tell him, “You are an answer to my prayer.” We met two soldiers who have recently arrived in Korea and were looking to find where they could attend church meetings.

                We lost the gardens that were a patchwork quilt in the vacant lot between our apartment buildings. We have watched many Koreans work countless hours preparing the ground and planting seedlings only to have a bulldozer arrive on Monday and clear everything from plants to trellises to fences. Several of the Koreans tried to dig up some of the plants and take away their fencing ahead of the destruction. We mourned with them that they had not been given notice ahead of their labors.

  

              We spent more time with our sister missionaries and elders as they found ways we could support their work. Our sisters now have two investigators to teach plus a new member to support and they are jointly trying to begin teaching English to Koreans at our chapel as a service and finding tool.

                We seem to be a fixture at the USO as we serve there each week. It is about a twenty minute walk and we stop by the wetland at the stream on our way home. They finished what we thought would be a dam but it is lower than the water line now that it is finished and the water flows over it. Our best guess is that it is there to stabilize the stream above the trestle for the train. There seems to be an increase in the number of herons and egrets fishing there so it has enhanced the habitat.

                We didn’t take pictures of our new soldiers so I’m using pictures of the spring flowers this week. I love wildflowers so spring has been my favorite season in Korea. The weather has been dry and most of the week the air was very dirty. The Koreans say that yellow dust blows over from Mongolia at this time of year. On Saturday as we were finishing our shift at the USO the sky turned very black, thunder clapped and the wind picked up. We hurried to make our front door just as the rain began. It was a heavy, steady rain for several hours and then the clouds parted and we saw blue sky for the first time in more than a week. It was a bit of a metaphor of life and the cleansing power of the atonement of Jesus Christ to wash away the yellow dust and bring us hope. What a blessing it is to share this beautiful message with those who are looking for the Son.