Samleong Elementary School

Our kids at the elementary school

The children wear their coats because it is so cold in the room! The little heater finally warmed the room up a bit.

After our exhausting one a half hours we were tempted....

Every Friday morning we make the 45 minute jaunt to Samleong Elementary School to teach English to those cuties above: Sarah, Beckham, John, Brian, Mint, (yes, that is the name she picked), Erin, Christy, Anny, Mary and Nick. The teacher's assistant picks us up at the subway and we take a taxi to the school. Afterward, we did some major walking and passed by this restaurant. I don't know if they thought putting it in English would attract more foreign customers, but I think not.

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANN!

Ann takes this life seriously. I like that about her because she approaches most things from an eternal standpoint. She has always been that way--seeing the spiritual in the everyday. With this gift she also has the gift of words and the gift of hands. She can easily say what is in her heart and also express it poetically if she chooses. She also can use her hands to make most anything she wants. The above picture is proof! And now she is applying all those gifts to being a wife and mother--the very best place to use the gifts God gives her. I love you, Ann. Have a most delicious day! MOM

A Little Snow in Korea!

It isn't much but will have to do! Yesterday, after church, we came out of the building and it was snowing like I was in Utah!

Thanks, Mother!

SURPRISE!

Elder Jo and Elder Klein couldn't come so Elder Marcus called them because Elder Jo wanted to sing happy birthday to me. Well, he hesitated because he was on the bus but did it anyway!

These are worst pictures of me I have ever seen. Oh well. This is the mask the sisters gave me! Cool!

I am such a good missionary. We get a call about an emergency Zone meeting in the afternoon. OK. Weird, but I am obedient and LOVE our KangSeo Zone so we rush from the temple, a little late for the 2 o'clock meeting. As we come into the church I hear a bunch of commotion. I see Sister Marsden on the stairs and asked why they hadn't started the meeting. "Ah, oh, we wanted to wait for you." Weird. So we went in and have a prayer and a song. Why is Elder Markus trying not to smile while he is leading the song? And why are we only singing the last verse, like they had all ready sang the other verses. Weird. Elder Marcus announces the Hwagok members are in the recreation hall waiting for us to answer some of their questions. REALLY WEIRD. Then I start to wonder. Sister Marsden seems to be trying to stall me. We go into the cultural hall and all the lights are out and sparklers are going and a happy birthday celebration for me. WOW! I love these missionaries!
PS I even brought my scriptures!

Fresh Korean Strawberries

I've never been a strawberry fan because basically those big juicy looking American strawberries are often pretty tasteless. It is January here, freezing cold, and they sell these fresh strawberries everywhere. They are delicious and sweet! Someone told me they grow them in a greenhouse. Who would of guessed in January?

District Meeting

What great leaders we have in our District. We feel so blessed that they include us on all their meetings. But we do provide lunch and really soft couches so it is a good trade off. Here Elder Knudsen is playing a game Elder Wormell invented (Get to The Celestial Kingdom Game or Plan of Salvation Game, we are not sure) with the district and the visiting Zone Leaders.

Bundiggy

Elder Knudsen with canned silkworm larva and fork, ready to dive in!

Elder Cooper and Elder Muntifering inspecting the larva before they eat them

Elder Cooper finally gets up the nerve to put them in his mouth but barely keeps them down!

So Elder K and I loose the Korean game we are playing with Lyla, Anna and Elders Cooper and Muntifering. The reward? Eating silkworm larva! Whoopee! I refuse but Kurt volunteers. After Kurt bravely eats one, the Elders cannot be upstaged, so, they too volunteer. And Lyla laughs at all of us and blissfully goobles them down!

Jumping For Joy

Here I am with Tatyana and Umida

Here they got together to get Elder K in the air.


Please notice how I am in the air! Good job, Elder K.

Saturday our wonderful Uzbekistany's invited us to the Korean Immigration Office gathering of foreigners! Although we couldn't stay very long they were glad to see us and we saw some other missionaries from the Seoul Mission. You jump on the teeter tooter like board and make each other go higher and higher.

King's Feast with Charles

An investigator, Charles, took us to Insadong--a really cool place in Korea that has traditional crafts and galleries and museums. It is in the area where Charles grew up. He is a very kind man. For dinner he took us to a traditional Korean restaurant for the "Kings Feast." And what a feast it was! Dish, after dish, after dish, after dish--raw oyster, three layer fat pork in cabbage leave, bulgolgi, tiny crabs that you suck the guts out, ribs, to kinds of whole fish, kimchee of course, salad with some yummy dressing, deep fried squash and something else deep fried I have no idea what it was, and more things that I really don't know what they were. Thank you Charles for meal fit for a king!

This was my favorite--paper thin slices of daikon radish are used to hold the condiments around the edge of the plate--mushrooms, zucchini, carrots,eggs, radish sprouts and missing are two items they told Charles Americans don't like. So, who knows what they were.

Here is our wonderful, kind Charles

Yes, count them. TWENTY SIX PLATES OF FOOD!

Elder K trying to decide what in the world to eat next.

They bring you this VERY hot stone bowl full of rice. You take the rice out of the stone bowl.

And then you put very hot water in the bowl and after you finish eating, you drink the hot rice water.

It's Jacob's Birthday!

Happy birthday, Jacob! Even when Jacob was very young he had a desire to do what is right. That takes a great deal of humility which is probably the quality I admire most in Jacob. He would always come to us and tells us of his concerns about if he were doing things right. And he is very quick to forgive. I actually told the story of my breaking his lamp from Deseret Industry (obviously one of a kind) and he didn't even hesitant to forgive, not a sigh or a sad face or an oh no. We were talking about forgiveness in our English class. I could tell they were particularly touched by this story. Thank you Jacob for continuing to be a good to example to not only me but to Koreans as well! Have an incredibly happy, fun birthday! I love you so much!

Happy Birthday Jordan!

Well, we are both a little sleepy eyed and wind swept in this photo! Do you remember on your rug I have your hair wind swept? That was for a reason. You face the wind of life head on! I love that about you--no holding back--you dream big and feel big. I know I can always depend on you to listen to me, cry with me, laugh with me, read good books with me and feel with me. I envy your endless energy to entertain the world and change every room in your house. I am in awe of your mothering and wanting to always be better than you were yesterday. I love the guy you picked to marry! I am grateful you believe in God. I think we will be together forever! Have a most joyous day celebrating your birth! I love you, MOM

Lyla's Luscious Dinner

On our way home from the baptism on Sunday, Lyla said she wanted to fix us a Korea dinner. So we parted ways while she went home to fix it and BRING it to us!

Our lovely Lyla!

Kimchee soup. It is so delicious!

This is her mother's homemade kimchee, one cabbage and the other radish kimchee.

She stayed up until three in the morning to make this red bean and sweet potato bear

These are rice cakes with red bean paste inside.
Thank you Lyla!

Combined District Meeting in Hwagok!

And Elder K brought chocolate covered cuties (not me) and chocolate covered strawberries for everyone!

Can You Say: No More Licorice for You?

Yes siree! Say NAE (yes, in Korean) if you like black licorice! With Leonardo next to Elder K and Tom Cruise on the right, I snapped a photo of these lucky Koreans eating licorice FOR THE FIRST TIME! The first piece went all right. But when Elder Knudsen offered them the last two pieces they took them TO BE POLITE. (A terrible waste of black licorice) and could barely get them down. I taught them the word: YUMMY. They didn't know that word, nor did they think the licorice was yummy. Sad.

Korean Grapes