Chuseok

The most important holiday of the year for Koreans is Chuseok. It takes place on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month during a full moon. The day prior and the day after are also celebrated as part of the Chuseok holiday. It might just be me, but that seems a little complicated. I may not be able to use that formula to calculate the date, but  I do know it occurred September 18-20th this  year. It can be compared to the American Thanksgiving. During this holiday, the Korean people visit ancestors graves, eat traditional foods, visit family members, play traditional games, and just celebrate life. Travel becomes very difficult. Public transportation is so crowded that it sometimes takes hours just to find a place in a bus, subway or train. The highways are packed with bumper to bumper slow moving traffic, often doubling the normal travel time. Families gather in their home towns. They honor their ancestors and feast in their homes. This is a wonderful time for the Korean people, but it is difficult for our young missionaries to accomplish much.

With that in mind, we organized an American style Chuseok activity for the thirty seven young missionaries in our zone. We fixed French toast for breakfast. Lots of French toast. Six loaves of bread and four dozen eggs worth of French toast. Then they played games inside and played basketball outside. They have so much fun together. It's heart warming to see how they love and care for one another. They are sometimes homesick, often struggling with a new language (for some it's English for others it's Korean), working hard and expecting little in return and all of this for a cause they believe in. All this for something and someone they love with their whole hearts. All these sacrifices are made to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to their brothers and sisters in Korea. So they become a family. They rely on one another. All zone gatherings are like high energy family reunions. We just love to be part of it.



 

After an action packed couple of hours, we gathered them in the chapel for some spiritual feasting. We spent about forty-five minutes reading scriptures about gratitude and sharing our personal thoughts and feelings on that topic. I was deeply touched by their comments and demonstrated understanding of the blessings gratitude brings. At the end we issued a challenge to them. For the ten weeks between Choseok and Thanksgiving they are to write, express and demonstrate gratitude every day. I believe if they follow through they will be changed at the end of the challenge. I believe they will be humbled as they acknowledge all the blessings they receive. I know their relationship with God will be strengthened. Their confidence in Him will grow and this will increase their own confidence. I hope they will meet the challenge despite their busy schedules.

Next we served them homemade chili. Lots of chili. Two big stock pots filled with chili. They were so appreciative. They continually thanked us for each and every part of this celebration. The day ended and they went their separate ways. I loved seeing how much fun they had, but I was the one who needed to thank them. They made two senior missionaries very happy.


Elder Fairhurst and I had a second celebration. The next day we went to a Korean friend's home to celebrate Chuseok in traditional style. It was an honor, a privilege and quite an adventure. Let me just say: octopus, squid and shark. Got it?