Seoul West Mission Conferences

What a week! We flew to Seoul, Korea for some zone conferences. Here is a view from our hotel . We were on the 15th floor.

A bit misty but you can see the skyscrapers in the distance.

Stairs! When you take the subway, you look for escalators and elevators but if there are none, you climb stairs - I have never climbed so many in my life! And all this is dragging a carry-on suitcase along.

Look at the huge crockery pots that were up on this building. I understand that in days gone by, these were used to make the cabbage dish that Koreans love. It is fermented in these jars and then dished out and combined with hot sauce, garlic, etc. It seems to be served with each meal. I don't know the spelling but is pronounced "kimchee". Elders seem to love it. Too hot for me though.

Bikes everywhere!

Always sweeping in front of the businesses.

Looking at the map - lost again!!! We actually went the wrong way on the subway and got to the zone conference a couple of hours late. Good thing that one of the things there were talking about was "Adjusting Your Plans" because they certainly had to change the order of the program! They laughed and told us that we were a great object lesson!

It was election week and we saw many posters and saw lots of trucks going by with loud speakers trying to tout the assets of the various candidates.

The signs in the subway are fun - this one said "Smile Seoul Smile Korea".

Sleeping on the subway - they all seem to wake up when it was their stop. There is a certain type of music that plays when the subway is about to stop. To me it sounds like the music from "Little Einsteins". In Tokyo, apparently there are different tunes for various stops.

I took the next picture because it is such a rare sight to see the subway this empty!

These carts are a good way to haul things around.

We passed a tank filled with live crabs. Just waiting for someone's dinner!

You see a lot of people who set things out on the sidewalk (or side of the road) to sell.

Couldn't resist taking pictures of these preschoolers. As they passed us, they all called, "Hello, hello!" I just love the children!

And here we are - finally arriving at the church! It is the red brick building.

Lunch! A real Korean feast. The older couple have just arrived and will be serving as reactivating missionaries.

Singing "Happy Birthday" to the elders who had birthdays since the last transfer.

I love looking at the signs. I guess KIA is a Korean brand.

But probably not Papa John's.

We walked past this display of sinks that I thought we so beautiful. We had one like it in the hotel.

Signboards that the missionaries use.

We went to a huge market place and I couldn't help but take this picture. Shoes by thousands! And all of them dressy heels! In Japan and in Korea, women wear very high heels and just run up and down stairs like there is nothing to it. I am very content to be in my flats. I know I would never make it if I were wearing heels. The shoes are all very fashionable and sparkly - even when they are wearing casual clothing.

A poster on the subway wall - love that spelling!

The Browns leave on Monday! What will we do without them?? They have been wonderful to show us around. The Goths are taking their place and will arrive on Tuesday. Then we will be expected to know everything and show them around. But he served a mission in Japan and they have been in the Ukraine for a year as medical advisers so they will do just fine. They transferred them here because of his knowledge of Japanese.

All sorts of seafood at a market - ready to purchase. Didn't seem to be any refrigeration or anything.

And another view from our hotel - we stayed there two nights. In this one you can see the mountains in the distance.

Here are Sister Brown and Sister Burton, the mission mother. What a wonderful, gracious woman! And here husband is a terrific mission president. They will be going home at the end of the month. The Seoul West Mission is being consolidated with the Seoul Mission. One thing the mission president stressed over and over to the missionaries was not to worry about why it is happening or what will happen when they are under another mission president. They just need to go ahead and do the work. Everything will work out. There will be a lot of changes and new and different rules but the missionary work is the same and they are to DO it! I certainly learn a lot from attending the zone conferences. There is a great spirit there.

I couldn't get a very good picture - but this old man had a Sponge Bob bag! It was so funny to me!

People are so helpful! We must look so lost and out of place. Those who speak English try to give us help and directions. We have met some very kind people. We met a stewardess from the USA in the marketplace. She said she was a member of the Church but hadn't been very active lately. She took time to take us to the place we were trying to find.

We met a Canadian fellow who is Korean and teaches English in Seoul. He had his sweet fiance with him. They plan to marry next year and go live in Canada. He has taught her English and she did very well.

Another little Korean woman sat by us on the subway. She wanted to know what our badges meant. We communicated by gestures and nods of the head. When she figured out we were Christian, she took out her rosary and kissed it. She was so sweet!

Another man on the plane spoke some English and told me what we were eating for our meal. He was so nice and wished us a wonderful time in Korea.

We sat by another man who had his fishing equipment with him and was going to the river to fish for eels. He spoke some English and was very nice. He had been a soldier in the Korean War.

What wonderful experience with wonderful people!