Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery

We had a great time with the senior couples who were able to come.

This week we had the opportunity to go visit the foreign missionary cemetery.  It is by the river in the middle of Seoul.  One of the young men in our branch did an Eagle Scout project here a while back but we were unable to go that day.  So, the Nielsons arranged a group tour for the senior couples.  It was my first outing other than church and the office and it entailed more walking than I'm used to these days.  But it was a great opportunity to visit with the other missionaries and to honor the early missionaries to Korea.

The first Christians came to Korea (or Joseon as it was called then) in the late 1800s.  H G Underwood came to Korea in 1885 at the age of 26.  He translated the Bible into Korean.  Others came to work with orphans and establish schools and hospitals.  They willingly exposed themselves to the difficulties of living in difficult circumstances in a foreign land.

The sign inside the museum says "For God so Loved Korea"

This is a depiction of one of the headstones.

The weather turned a bit nasty, but it was still a beautiful atmosphere overlooking the Han River.  There is also an area with children's graves.

"If I had a thousand lives to give, Korea should have them all"

"Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord"

"I would rather be buried in Korea than in Westminster Abbey"

The love and dedication of these pioneers is amazing!

Some of the headstones have signs of damage that occurred during the wars.

There is only one Japanese person buried here, Soda Gaichi.  He became a Christian after having been helped by Lee Sangjae of the Korean YMCA.  He then dedicated his life to helping Korean orphans.

These flags represent the nationalities of persons buried here.  USA, Sweden, Japan, Australia, Korea, Canada, South Africa and England.  Several religions are represented including Episcopal, Presbyterian, Methodist, Salvation Army, YMCA.  We felt such gratitude for the work and sacrifices of these brave, dear souls who came before us.

Afterwards, our friends went out to eat at a place called "Pork University."  We passed on that one and headed home.  Or, we dropped out of the university.

The Nielsons serve as temple missionaries here and they tell us that many members are doing work for their Korean ancestors dating back to before the time of Christ.(!)  They have kept records and respect for their families through these many years.

Making it Work!

Last week, we figured out a way to get to church.  There is an elevator that goes most of the way down to the subway.  The last leg is a little tricky though because well,

You have to ride the flying carpet the last flight.  It was slow though, so we missed the train and had to wait for the next one!  Someone was kind enough to give us a ride home though.

I had a follow up appointment at the doctor this week.  They took new x-rays and he said I can walk on my heel because the bone is healing!  I am happy to be able to get around a bit easier.  We still use the wheelchair to get out to the street though because that's a little farther than I want to hobble.  And a lot faster.

The other day we were waiting for a taxi to get us up to the office.  After we flagged one down, I was trying to get out of the wheelchair and into the car when out of nowhere, two young ladies ran in front of me and got in.  An older man saw this happen and he went and knocked on the window and scolded them until they got out and said "sorry."  There was another car right behind us for them.

We were going to the office Friday morning and went to our usual spot to get a taxi, but there were police buses all over the place.  We had to go a ways to find an open spot to flag down a car.  Lots of them were already busy though.  We could tell that something was going on.  Then we learned that there was going to be an announcement at 11:am about the president of Korea.  The police were preparing in case of protests.

It turned out that the announcement was that the court decided to impeach the president.  There were no protests, but a lot of people were in the area.  We decided to go home just in case there was a protest brewing.

There were no taxis or buses running, so President and Sister Sonksen drove us as far as they could.  The roads were blocked off near the Blue House (like our White House.)

This view is looking back up the hill after we got through the barricades.  Thank goodness we had the wheelchair this time!

Since there was no traffic, we went right down the middle of the road.  It is much smoother than the sidewalks!  And we hit all the green lights!

There was a big rally as usual on Saturday night.  Maybe this will put an end to all that?  We'll see.

The Goodmans picked us up for church today, but were unable to bring us home, so we did the subway coming back.  We passed the scene of the accident.

Really?  That's all it took to take me down?

Anyway, I'm thankful to be healing and doing better!

Elder Holland Conference, Foot Problems

We spotted this sign outside a church the other day.  I guess they liked the idea!

It's all good!

We see this little woman almost every day.  She is peeling ginseng and selling vegetables.

President Sonksen took us over to the chapel where Elder Holland will be speaking.  We were making plans to handle the crowd of the two Seoul missions as smoothly as possible.

That evening we went to dinner to celebrate Sister Sonksen's birthday.  We went to an Italian restaurant in our neighborhood.  It was nice that we could walk there.  Afterwards, we treated ourselves to ice cream.  It was a lot of fun!

On the way home from church Sunday, I had a little accident.  My foot went into a crack in the sidewalk and I lost my balance.  Of course, there was no ice to worry about anymore, but it got me anyway.

That night we watched the devotional from Tokyo.  Elder Holland visited there before coming to Korea.  We were so happy to see one of our former missionaries giving the opening prayer!

There was a set of crutches at the office.  Several missionaries have had foot issues lately.  (We just had to send an elder home on Monday with a torn ligament.)  So I was able to make it out to the street.  The Cannons came by and took us to the hospital.  It turns out that I have a broken bone in my foot and I am supposed to stay off it for 12 weeks.  Hmmm.  It is very difficult to get around here on one foot!  There's stairs everywhere!  You can find some escalators and elevators, but it's a challenge.  Luckily, I can do some work from home.

It is the fifth metatarsal on my right foot, even though it looks like it's my left foot.

My companions were very kind and patient with me.

But I did make it to the mission conference.  We were able to get a wheelchair and Alan pushed me to the street and the President drove up and I crawled into the van.

Our missionaries rehearsing for the musical number

Both of the mission presidents gave some guidance to the missionaries before the conference started.

Elder and Sister Holland shook everyone's hand before the meeting started.
They had been in Guam the day before they came to Korea and visited with a family that had just lost a young child to a terrible accident.



 Elder Holland taught about Nicodemus coming to visit with Christ and he didn't understand about being "born again."  Then in the next chapter, Christ is with the woman at the well.  They are two extremes in society, a leader of the church and a woman of ill repute.  So his question to the missionaries was "What does this tell you?"  The Gospel is for Everyone!  We need to teach them at their level of understanding.

Another message he taught is that we do not have to worry too much about political and other turmoils in the world.  As long as we're trying to do our best and staying strong in the faith, it will all work out for our best good.  "Because He Lives"

It was a great blessing to have them visit Korea and our missionaries.  It's something they'll remember for a long time.  It was fun to see the difference between two apostles.  Our Elder Kim said that Elder Bednar is like a laser guided missile and Elder Holland is like a cannon!

Zone Training, Contemporary History Museum

This week was President Sonksen's birthday.  The Cannons invited us to go to dinner on the army base.  The Nielsons came as well.  Sadly, Sister Sonksen did not have her ID card with her, so we'll have to try another time.  The rest of us enjoyed some time together though.

We are looking at a map of various attractions around Seoul.  We have to plan another outing.

Tuesday was MLC, so the Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders were in the office for training.  The next day was Zone Training.  We went out to Wondang and went to the Seoul North zone training.

These young missionaries did a great job with the training.

Afterwards, the sisters asked if I could stay for a lesson.  They're teaching some young girls and needed an adult member to be with them.

Then we went to the sister's apartment in Geumchon because they needed a few repairs done.

We will probably have to go back though, now that we know what is needed.

There's a great walking mall heading back to the depot.

Since we were in the area, we decided to stop at Costco on our way home.

Guess what day it was?  The second Wednesday.  What's up with that??  You have to read the fine print!  So on Friday afternoon we tried again with better results.

Costco is even marked on the subway exit.

This is the price we pay to get to Costco.  Something like 200 steps, then around the corner and across the street!  At least the gravity is helping us when we come down. (I am not complaining, just sayin')

This is the Costco food court worker whose main job is to keep the onion dispenser filled!  It keeps her busy!  That is a lot of onions!  I saw her give a big scoop to a man who was holding out his plate for it.

Alan broke a filling and got to go to the dentist this week too.  But no puppet shows!  But next time he'll get a crown.

When we were out on Saturday, we were just in time for the changing of the guard.

It was cold and windy, but at least we had sunshine.

This is the countdown for the winter olympics next year.  Our release date is one week ahead of the date, so it's good for us too.  The American flag was flying too.  There was a banner here the other day to welcome General Mattis who visited Korea recently.

The police buses were all around City Hall.  Getting ready for the Saturday protests.

Lots of food vendors getting set up too.

Then we went to the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History.  It mostly deals with post WWII then through the Korean War and how the country was able to go from war and poverty to much success.  With political upheavals and other problems through the years.

This is an old Japanese mail box left from pre-liberation days.  They were actually made in Korea and they painted over the Japanese symbol for mail.

This is a depiction of the division at the 38th parallel at the end of WWII.  Just five years later, North Korea invaded the South.

This is a model of a US ship The Meredith that was able to bring 14,000 people evacuating from North Korea.  It's interesting to learn how America affected Korean history.

These taxis were built using leftover jeep parts from the Korean War.  The body is made of oil drums that have been hammered out.  From 1955.

This three-wheeled Kia truck is from 1969.

Samsung VCR

The first Korean vehicle export.  Hyundai Pony 1982

They've come a long way from exporting silk and toys to electronics and automobiles.

There's a nice view of the palace from here.  The mission office is behind the palace.  Our apartment building is just beyond the view at the left.

We had our branch conference today so we had visitors from our district presidency.  We were reminded and encouraged to strengthen our own testimonies and to reach out to others.