Friday, March 25, 2011

Pres. Kim with Mary
she made the cloth wall hangings behind up that seperate
the great room from the kitchenSister Training
I love when the sisters come in to the home.
Sister Jo (dark coat) came into be Sister Lee's
companion last transfer. Sister Lee cut her hair
to the bob as well, and like many of our sisters,
they find they tend to dress alike.
They look like twins now. rainy days are just fun
Elder McAuthur's parents came to pick him up. It was fun to meet them Grandma was delightful. She went skydiving for her 80th birthday present

Dinner with the Kim's

Pres. Kim is the first counselor in the mission presidency.
He is incredible....and his wife is delightful
We were invited to have dinner at their home last week.
We have not been in many homes, but this was my favorite.
They are building a small single unit home in the "countryside"
Single unit homes are not common here any more, but
many people would like to have one. It does require that
you move out of the city center however.
Sister Kim (Mary) used this space for her office, and after
closing her business, they changed it into their home.
It is wonderful.
After the hallway entrance, you are in a great room. These
wonderful chairs that she found brought from a business
that was closing. They are all hand carved as well as the
tables. Behind the chairs are glass patio doors that lead to
their enclosed porch. Almost all apartmemts have this feature.
The porch is a wall of glass on both sides, and is often used
for racks to dry your clothes,
(no one has a dryer in Korea)
Mary uses this space to store her food as well, but it is
all stored and arranged like a display that you would see at
a store or museum Kimchee pots holding her foods
were arranged along with fun
garden decor, even some sand and dirt to
give the feeling of an ourdoor garden.
I really would like my very own throne at home. Another fun use of her kimchee pots inside the great room Below is the entrance to the "office" turned home. One side is chests, the other side is garden items that hold her onions, bananas, apples and garden hats Pres. Kim and Mary lived in the US for several years
while he obtained his education. They returned to
Korea where is teaches at the university and she ran
a 'hogwon". Hogwons are private schools that teach classes
on any subject, but 90% are English hogwons. Her school was and included 30 teachers. One down side was that classes started at 6: a.m.
and different classes would be taught until 10:00 p.m.
Hogwons usually have classes for all levels and all ages. She next moved into this space where
she recuirted English teachers for these private schools.
When she decided to retire, the space became their temporary home. I hope to be able to spend more time with Mary.
It is a pity they do not live closer.
She loves gardening, I would like to just tag along with her and work in the garden as she taught me more about Korea. Delightful friends.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

BIRTHDAY BASKET
At Zone conference we wish a happy birthday to those who are
celebrating birthdays. The basket contains mostly food items that I get from the
American base. Who would have thought a box of oatmeal would be a
prized item. A&W root beer is also a favorite.
We laughed that this picture may of shown just how each of us was feeling
as I turned the reins over to Sister Brunson Our wonderful Elder Kim
Pictures following our lunch with the
Cooks and Choi's
at the mission home

A day with Sister Cook

This was the sweet refreshment table they had prepared at the
church whenwe returned from sight seeing. So thougthful. At the Korean folk village we learned that these were kept outside the door of the house to scare off goblins. They were to place something under the metal screen covering and the goblin would spend all night trying to pick its way into the bottom. The sun would come up and the goblin would have to leave thus protecting the children This is a picture of FIRE DOG He spit out fire in the morning (sun is up) and swallow fire at night (sun is down) The village had huts and houses made with these type of roofs.
On the left...A sister from Seoul who traveled with the Cooks to translate
Sister Jung...a sweet lady in the stake who translates for me and invited us to
spend CHristmas Eve with their ward. She is beautiful.
Sister Koo...Elder Chois wife who has been so sweet and thoughtful to us
Sister Cook...what a fun visit I had with her
Oh, the tall one on the end .... me

Fun Picture

Autograph from Captain Moroni
At Zone conference Moroni came and was interviewed about
how he was able to help his people prepare for battle by
putting on the whole armor of God
Our wonderful new mission couple, the Brunsons
Dad and I LOVE this place. The main course is there in the center of the table
Starting with a leaf of lettuce, add rice, some meat, alittle hot sauce and
stuff it in before it all falls out
all for only $4.00 each