Home away from Home

We left the SLC airport about 11:30 am on Monday the 24th of June heading to Korea by way of Portland then Tokyo. We arrived at the Busan airport Tuesday at 8:30 pm.  Physically it felt like 2 million 30 pm. Sitting strapped in place in a small airplane seat for hours on end tends to make time stand still! We were so happy to get off the plane. More than that we were thrilled to be in Korea.




We were greeted warmly by other missionaries, including President and Sister Gilbert. They took us to the mission home (their home) for the first night. A lovely inviting home, an hour of friendly getting to know you conversation, then a warm comfortable bed and we were down and out!

Wednesday morning we went next door to the mission office for an orientation, which included some necessary paperwork. Living in a foreign country creates several hoops to jump through. At noon President Gilbert took us all to an authentic Korean restaurant. I can't remember what it was called, but I do remember it was delicious. Then we hopped in our little Samsung car and followed the Gilberts on the 90 minute drive from Busan to Daegu. Amazing scenery! Green forested mountains, rice fields, rivers... just beautiful. We literally  drove through the mountains in a series of tunnels. It was a peaceful relaxing drive.

Suddenly Daegu popped up on the horizon. Tall buildings and lots of traffic, but a very clean and attractive city. They call it Colorful Daegu- a well chosen theme.  The picture below is our apartment building. I will post inside pictures at a later date. For now, I will just say it is a very nice roomy apartment in a very safe neighborhood. Our perfect home away from home. The Gilberts spent the rest of the day with us. Showing us around and continually welcoming us. You may not have a real appreciation for the sacrifice they made. Mission Presidents and their wives are very very VERY busy people. They shepherd a large group of young missionaries and tend to their training and to their needs. They have almost no time to themselves. The gift of their time is priceless. We already love these generous leaders. We also already love Korea. We are ready to teach, lift , help, encourage and to find the lost sheep. We are ready to be missionaries.