FIVE DAYS IN KOREA

First Five Days in Korea

We were met at the airport in Busan by a wonderful group: President and Sister Barrow, Elder and Sister Bowcutt, and the four missionaries that work in the office. These eight people would become our best friends. We were taken to our new abode:

Our new home, 10th floor! All high rise apartments have security guards and a lock with a number code to enter, so no worries about theft or security, and no worries about losing keys.

Dining and Living Room

This room is rather spacious for a Korean apartment, and we were able to have lots of dinners and parties here. As with all missionary apartments, the furniture was eclectic - a collection from various other missionary apartments over the years. 

The wallpaper was also eclectic - different paper in each room, and some rooms had several different wallpapers. We were lucky enough to have a "Western bed" (rather than a rolled up pad that goes on the floor), and we had electricity and water!

My bed had two notes from Hayden, which I kept there for two years! Looking at them made me happy. 

The Mission Home

Just one half mile away from our apartment was our "home away from home", where we would spend more time than at our apartment. We loved everything about it - mostly the people: President and Sister Barrow, and of course the missionaries!

Elder Smith, Elder Park, Ben Barrow, Elder Dobbins, Elder Gim

Money

The currency in South Korea is the won. 1,000 won equals approximately $1.00 U.S., so it's quite easy to figure if something costs 75,000 won, it's about $75.00. Consequently, you need many won to buy anything! There is no denomination worth only 1 won. The smallest coin is worth 10 won. With that in mind, we found ourselves at Costco!

These steaks are about $72.00.

EXERCISE

 Saturday was a beautiful day, so we went for a walk along this greenbelt that is near our apartment and goes on for miles. There are tons of people walking, cycling, running; there is a little river in the middle with herons, egrets, and cranes. Every 100 yards or so there is a different kind of exercise equipment, and lots of people (mostly older, but younger than we are!) using the equipment to do all kinds of exercises.

These hula hoops are heavy, and it takes a lot of work to keep them going! The smaller ones have little bumps on the inside of the hoop, so it beats you up as you hula!

Bryan gives it a good try, but he's not accustomed to hula hooping around for very long!

                                            

This green exercise "machine" makes it possible for you to hang upside down... for as long as you want (see below).

He didn't think it was really too fun.

 You can see other places for sit ups, weight lifting, and stretching. You can also "rent" bikes for free - just borrow them and bring them back!
Exercise is a favorite pastime for Koreans, and the government pays for thousands of these exercise parks everywhere.

BUSAN MUSEUM OF MARINE NATURAL HISTORY

The next activity was The Busan Museum of Marine Natural History.

You can't tell that it's freezing outside! 

Dried Sting Ray

Little did we know that soon we would be offered all these things to eat.

          Bryan thought the hammerhead shark was real for a few seconds!!

So that was a fun P-Day, but usually:

What do we do all day?
Hmmm...we:

• Bryan:
• does all the financial business of the mission.
• gives each missionary (144 in our mission right now) a debit card each month for food, travel, etc. 
• gives people reimbursements for expenditures
• pays all the bills, sends financial reports to Seoul
• gets lots of phone calls like, "My iron broke, may I buy a new one?"
• Brenda:
• does all the correspondence for the Mission President
• corresponds with parents, Bishops, and Stake Presidents
• handles travel for missionaries, passports, foreigner cards
• orients new missionaries (every 6 weeks)
• prepares "departure" packets for departing missionaries
• TOGETHER, we:
• go to the bank on Mondays. 
• go shopping for office supplies (occasionally)
• teach three English classes per week - two are held at the church and one at a local Community Center. Some people attend more than one.
• Attend Zone Conferences, Transfer Meetings, Staff Meetings, Halloween Parties, lots of dinners and lunches .
• Meet with missionaries to help teach people. Two Elders can't teach a single woman, so another woman needs to be there. Sometimes the Elders want us to come because they're teaching someone "older" - they want someone the older person can relate to.
• We try to help as much as we can on Sundays at the ward. For example, last Sunday, we walked in and they asked us to speak in Sacrament meeting. I got up after the Sacrament to give a short spontaneous message, however someone had brought a little baby bird to church, and at that moment the bird hopped out of the person's hand and began to fly around in the small chapel. The bird would fly up by the stand, then back down in the congregation, then fly all around the room. Needless to say, the kids loved it, and no one was paying attention, so I cut my remarks very short. The bird then hid in the curtains during Bryan's talk, so it wasn't so distracting. Eventually someone caught the bird and took it outside.
• I have said the prayer once, and I volunteered to lead the music in Relief Society. I find out what hymns are planned for the following week, and practice during the week saying the words, using the hymn book that Tag gave to me.
• We have meetings Sunday nights at 8:00 pm

• Our latest duty is Apartment Inspections! Tuesday we drove for over an hour to Dogye, an area where we have two apartments full of missionaries. Without any warning, we showed up in the morning with our inspection list. We go through everything, asking them questions, and making sure they have smoke alarms, etc. If they pass, they get a candy bar - wahoo! Then I come back and write up a report and make sure they all have what they need. Here in Korea, the "beds" are kind of like foam cushions, covered, on the floor. They put a blanket over themselves. The "dining room" table is about 8 inches off the ground and for meals, everyone sits on the floor. It's lucky they don't need beds and chairs, because there's no room for them!
• Last Saturday night was "Movie Night" at the church. They were showing "Meet the Mormons" with Korean subtitles. Ward members were supposed to bring friends, and we invited some of the people who are being taught by the missionaries. Bryan was asked to give a little introductory speech. They showed the movie, but before refreshments, I was also asked to speak. It reminded me of a time when my family was in England. I was about 16 at the time. We found the location of the church meeting, which was in the top of a little store. There were about five people there. When we entered (parents and four kids), we were asked to give the talks, pray, lead the music, and teach the classes. I remember thinking it was so funny, but now I realize when the ward is so small, they get tired of hearing from the same people over and over again.

So that's what we do...more to follow next week.

Here I am eating dinner with "Vicky", a woman who is being taught by the Elders and comes to two English classes a week. She didn't want to be in the picture.

Here we are after Thanksgiving dinner with the Assistants to the President and the Office Assistants, who are basically our best friends, since we are together all day, and sometimes nights and weekends. We love them.

Left to Right: Elder George, Elder Park Kang San, Elder Kale Smith, Elder Dobbins, Elder Gim Hyeonmo