FINAL FOUR: Part 3- The Faces I'll Miss

Faces we Love:

This post may be the most difficult of all. It’s about saying goodbye to people I have grown to love. I came to Korea intending not to become attached to the people I met.  I convinced myself I could be kind, friendly and helpful without developing emotional bonds.  I failed miserably and almost immediately. It’s a universal truth that those you serve you grow to love. End of story!

 These pictures are a small sampling of the hundreds of picture we have taken of the beautiful faces of Korea.

 Friends  
                 SOLDIERS
 missionaries

sweet children

 

 CHURCH FAMILY

 

 Korean Neighbors

 

KIND STRANGERS

   

   

 I  wish I could post a picture of each and every person that has left an impression on me during our mission.  I wish I could pack them up and bring them home with me.

That is not possible.

So  I am just grateful for pictures, modern communication and cherished memories.

FINAL FOUR: Part 2- The Places I Will Miss

I wonder which places in Daegu I will miss the most, once we return home. My previous missionary service taught me something about my personality. During our mission in Colorado Springs and after our return to our home in Great Falls I learned that I mostly miss the familiar places we see in our daily routine. Some common sight will pop into my mind as if with a life of its own. It might be the parking lot of  my favorite grocery store, our front porch, the homes of family or even a street I drive down every week. Seldom do I long for the centers of social life or exciting attractions. I miss the places we conduct the business of life. I think it will be the same when we return home this time. I will miss the places that tell the real story of our experience here. So here are a few… just a few… of the places I will miss.

 

For nearly 18 months we lived on the 13th floor of building 108 in Epyunhan Apata. I was surprised how quickly we adapted to apartment living. It was our substitute home and we were very comfortable here. I cooked literally hundreds of meals in our tiny kitchen. We taught lessons, played games, hosted over night guests and holiday celebrations. We also had lots of time that we just conducted routine daily business. Bills to pay, cleaning to do, television shows and phone calls from family- all the things we need to do no matter where we live. This is the entrance to our building. Approaching it meant we had arrived to our temporary home. Our Korean refuge. I won't miss hauling groceries up and garbage down 13 floors. I won't miss waiting for the elevator. Yes, there are a few things I will not miss about apartment living. But I know I will picture this entrance fondly and miss our cute Korean apartment where we made so many memories.

This is the little library where we taught English every Wednesday afternoon the last six months of our mission. We would slide open the front door and be greeted by giggles or hellos in English and Korean. The children inside had finished their day of formal schooling and were about to begin their after school study. This library is part of a government subsidized program to provide a "hagwan" experience for less advantaged children. The focus was reading in English. Fred taught the children ten years of age and older. I had the children from four to nine. Fred played games and taught grammar to the older students, who had a some skills in English. I created lessons using coloring pages, games and primary songs for my students. We fell in love with these little people and their mothers. We will miss this completely Korean experience.

This is the subway entrance to the underground mall in Bangwoldan. We spent a lot of time here shopping or just walking. Riding the subway was one of our choice adventures. You never know what you will find when you drop below the streets. You also never know what you will find when you pop back up at a random stop. This is an experience we will not be able to duplicate at home. Yes, we will miss our subway adventures.

We love to explore Daegu on foot. There is no substitute for walking along the streets and through the alleys. There is no better way to see the people and get a feel for their daily life. In Daegu it pays to look down every alley you pass. You could see be a shopping street, a traditional market or a Buddhist temple.

Here are some of the sights that will always be dear to us. Beomeo junction is one of the busiest intersections in Daegu. The traffic is much like a clumsy poorly orchestrated ballet. It is a fifteen minute walk from our apartment.

Memorial park is across the river from us. It has beautiful trees, a very Korean monument and this fun tunnel. It is also a center of celebration and activities quite often. They set off an amazing display of fireworks from here on New Year's Eve. We had a bird's eye view from our apartment.

One of my favorite routes took us through two small markets and one very large one- Chilseong. It was a long walk, probably at least ninety minutes. Much longer if I stopped to shop along the way, which I usually did. As we walked from one market to another we passed a school. The cement wall surrounding the school was decorated with replicas of children's art. I love seeing these colorful pieces of artwork created by Korean children.

Here is a vendor in a market. Probably Seomun market. But it is symbolic of the common places of Korea I will miss. There are vendors everywhere. In the traditional markets, on streets downtown, set up in apartment complexes, in little alleys- everywhere. They sell produce, clothing, fish, prepared foods, bedding, well just about everything. I think going back to shopping without street markets will be a little boring.

This is the stone path across the Sincheon river. We probably walked hundreds of miles along this river. The view was lovely and was an escape from the closed in feeling of high rise living. The exercise was good but the interaction with the Korean people was a real treat. It will be one of my favorite memories and a place I will forever miss.

Here is the Seusong Stake Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I think of all the places I love, I will miss this the most. From the first day we walked through the doors I felt a sense of belonging and purpose. The members of the Daegu Military Branch quickly became family. We taught, learned, testified, sang, socialized and served many hours in this small Korean church. English and Hangul blended as we rubbed shoulders with the Korean members who shared this building. I will always remember the time spent here with tender feelings.  I will always be grateful.

 

 

FINAL FOUR: Part 1- The Foods I Will Miss.

 

Four weeks from today we will wake up in our home in Montana. That is unbelievable to me. We are in the midst of “last times” and tearful goodbyes. It can be hard, but it is an inevitable part of full time missionary service. I am over whelmed with a sense of gratitude. This mission has been a choice and life changing experience for me. I still have “pinch me moments”. My friend Susan Bryson told me that soon Korea will be a dream I dreamed one night. It is already starting to feel like that. So amazing! I really truly lived in Daegu South Korea. I really truly met wonderful people, saw amazing sights and ate Korean food regularly. On the other hand, my excitement over returning to family, friends, home and country is growing daily. I just cannot express my happiness, my pure joy! Life is so very good. The time has come to complete this blog. I plan to create four final posts.This is the first.

THE FOOD I WILL MISS

Good memories are often tied to special foods. We celebrate with birthday cake, Thanksgiving turkey, Christmas candy, and so many more delicious traditional foods. Certain foods can remind us of cherished loved ones and choice experiences in our lives. Food seems to be an important element of every culture. Here are some of the foods that will forever remind me of South Korea and the experiences we will cherish

 

Here's an interesting but unexpected fact- we have a Costco here in Daegu. Although you will never find it unless you ask how to get to the "Cose tuh coe uh". I have two favorites from our Costco visits. First, the delicious bulgogi wrap. East meets west with delicious marinated beef wrapped in tasty pastry dough. The second favorite isn't anything I would ever eat, but it is a memory that endears the Korean people to me. They make their own side dish from the condiments. A huge plate full of diced onions, ketchup and mustard-stirred and eaten with a fork or chopsticks!

Zone conferences are a big part of mission life. Zone conference food is also a big part of mission life. I don't know what I expected, but I was thrilled when we were served traditional Korean food at our very first zone conference. It didn't occur to me that it is just standard church food here. I have loved being served some of my favorites by sweet Korean sisters. A typical zone conference lunch included bulgogi, rice and kimchi plus a variety of extras..


 Samgyetang -yum. We were only able to enjoy this very special dish one time, after our friend Sup's temple wedding in Seoul. A serving of this traditional summer soup includes a small chicken stuffed with rice, dates and ginseng, sitting in delicious broth. Koreans believe it provides extra nutrition during the summer when people sweat due to the heat and need additional energy. 

Korea has some amazing buffets. This one was at an event center where we attended a first birthday celebration. We also enjoyed Ashley's restaurant on the top floor of the Donga Mart Department store. It claimed to be an American food buffet, but it was nothing like Golden Corral.

My absolute favorite aspect of Korean cuisine is banchan- or side dishes. Most meals are served with several side dishes. They are communal and everyone shares, just grabbing what you want. Directly from the dish to your chop sticks to your mouth! I didn't like that part much at first, but I got used to it. The little dishes are filled with different kimchis, pickled radishes, dried fish, black beans, greens and other things. As you empty the bowls they just bring more. I could make a whole meal of banchan.

I will miss the challenge of eating with chopsticks. There are some foods that just don't seem the same when eaten with a fork. Fortunately I have purchased and shipped home a lifetime supply of chop sticks. So when I get homesick for Korea I will grab a set and eat my macaroni and cheese with my Korean chopsticks.

I will miss the fresh produce we purchased from the street vendors and markets. Here you purchase produce in its season. During the fall you find apples and Asian pears. Daegu is known for its apples- sweet, crisp and so delicious. In the spring you can buy sweet little strawberries. In the summer, I loved to purchase their tiny yellow melons and their uniquely Asian watermelons. Mushrooms and greens seem to be available year round. Garlic is sold in huge quantities all the time. I will not miss garlic!

I have learned to make a couple Korean dishes. It may be a challenge to find the ingredients, but I will try. So come on over for some japchae or kimbap. Share a little taste of Korea with me!

Sharing Our Adventure

We left for this mission from our home in Montana nearly seventeen months ago. At that time we assumed none of our family would be able to visit us. All of our children are in the busiest time of life. With families, jobs, church callings and homes to attend to. Flying to Korea did not seem feasible. That fact made leaving more difficult than when we left for our first mission in Colorado. It also made home sickness an occasional issue during our service here. That all changed when several weeks ago we received the word that two of our girls were coming to share our Korea adventure. That news came at the perfect time. The end of our mission was in view and our thoughts were beginning to turn toward home. From the moment we found out we began planning. We started making a list of places we wanted to take them on the white board in our office. Not a single day passed that one or both of us would not make a comment that began with "When the girls come..." or "The girls would love...". In reality they would have had to stay for a month to do everything we listed on the board. So we packed as much as we could into the eight days they were with us. It was simply wonderful. Sharing something you love with someone you love makes it so much sweeter. They were the perfect guests. Both Kelli and Heidi were enchanted with Korea. They never seemed to tire of learning new things about this beautiful country, the culture or the people. We so loved having them here. Our boys at home had their hands full with four children each and gained a renewed appreciation of the day to day demands on mothers. We are grateful to them for holding down the fort while their wives were gone and also for all they do every day for their families.

When you think about it, sharing something we love is the very reason we are here. All that applies to our girls' visit to Korea applies to missionary work. As we think of those with whom we wish to share the gospel, we often think about how they would love a specific principle of the gospel or what doctrine we will share with them. It really makes our view of our Heavenly Home much clearer. Sharing what blesses our lives with others makes it all the sweeter!

Kelli and Heidi's Korea Adventure

Chilseoung Shi Jang-(traditional market). Home of toy alley, dog alley, and as you can see.... pig alley. This is definitely not Albertson's meat department!



The girls loved the Korean children. We saw these cute girls in their school uniforms when we were shopping in Banwoldang- downtown Daegu. We gave the girls some candy after we took the picture. The little girl holding the sandwich offered it to Fred in return. So sweet! Of course he did not take her lunch!





This picture was taken when we hiked up Apsan. The kids were on a field trip and seemed very happy to take a picture with the "Megooks". South Korea is a very mountainous country and Koreans love to hike. Apsan is at the edge of Daegu. It has beautiful trees, groomed trails, streams, Buddhist temples and a cable car. It's one of our favorite places.

This picture was taken at Jeonju, a historic area about three hours from Daegu. We saw a palace, an ancient village, parades and so much more. The girls were very good sports about trying all kinds of Korean foods. This is a traditional Korean barbecue of Ttoekgolbi. It is a style of preparing  beef which is then barbequed at the table. The meal includes lots of banchan (side dishes) and  cold buckwheat soup. During their stay they also tried kimchi, kimbap, bulgogi, bibimbap and lots of other unique Korean cuisine.

I think we will need to find a Korean restaurant within driving distance when we return!  

 

 This huge gong is part of a memorial to the debt reduction movement. The citizens of Korea did not want their government to be indebted to Japan so they started a grass roots movement to pay it off. They were successful in their effort. It is an inspiring story.  The park is in the center of downtown Daegu. It has a beautiful peaceful walkway canopied by trees.

 This platform is high in Apsan park. It allows a panoramic view of Daegu. Which is a city with approximately three million people and all the high rises it takes to house them!. That is pretty mind boggling for people from Great Falls Montana- population of about 58,000 and an obvious shortage of high rises!

The girls found some treasures at Gwanmun Shi Jang- another traditional market. Even though we picked the one day a month this market closes, we were able to find a few shops open. Heidi and Kelli are modeling their cute Korean style jackets purchased for about 15,000...won that is! (about $15)

One last picture! Our girls.... the international stars! This was one of many random but fun experiences we enjoyed during their visit. Fred was tired of all the shopping- traditional markets or otherwise. So he dropped us off at Seomun Shi Jang with our wallets full of won and subway passes to get home. Shortly after we got to the market a Korean news reporter asked if he could film us while we shopped. He was doing a piece on foreign visitors and the markets. The two man crew followed us for about 45 minutes until we firmly but politely excused ourselves. It was crazy and fun. It aired on KBS channel 1 that Thursday. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, we were in Jeonju and did not see it. It has to be one of the most fun and typically random Korean experiences of their trip.

We will have stories to tell and memories to share forever.