January 2016 Part 1

It has been a while since I last wrote. Christmas was wonderful, and very
busy with most of our family here, along with transfers.

We visited this estuary with the George’s, which was close to home.
 It was fun to be out in nature, walking along the trails/pathways.

We remembered hunting days, Rick Bolen’s musical way of calling the ducks,  and even remembered when Dad would take Kenzie and Steven and me to the  National Geographic headquarters, in Maryland. We laid down on our backs  snuggled up to this huge mound/hill that sat next to some open water that  the Canadian geese would swoop down onto in the late Fall/Winter cold  fronts.

It was humbling to be a part of Dad setting apart this missionary, the  night before he was to fly to Provo to enter the MTC.  They live on Jeju Island so we had to fly over there, lining up our travel  to coincide with quarterly interviews with our missionaries serving there.  The missionary was especially quiet (I don’t think I’ve ever heard a peep  from him as I have observed him numerous times while we have visited their  branch-his father always does the talking and the son stays in the  background). He was so nervous he was sweating. The suit he wore had a  pair of pants of one fabric with a suit of another fabric, that barely  buttoned one front button. I’m not sure how his shirt fit if he could  even do up the top button. But he has the sweetest spirit about him so  willing to go serve and to give his all to the Lord.  His mother was not there for the setting apart as they have younger  children at home to take care of on a school night. That made me  sad/amazed to think about. I was there to see her son get set apart, but  not her. I hope the dad and son shared with her their feelings of what  transpired.  It will be something to see how this mission helps this young man to grow,  mature, change it will be wonderful.

I am amazed at how much time and effort Sister Lee puts into preparing  food for the missionaries. She worked on this huge batch of red paste for  a few days. First she started with boiling barley to get a broth (which  she had me come smell and taste because at some point it turns slightly  sweet). In a separate bowl she combined different powders which she  purchased at one of the many markets around Busan the trick is to know  which market sells which exact ingredient she needs for which dish she  plans on preparing next. One of those powders was a red pepper powder,  another was millet (so she said)??? I just know she boiled up something  in a huge pot, and then boiled up something else in another huge pot, and  put those in the laundry room to cool (unheated room as it is an exit/out  the back door), with the huge bowl of mixed powders sitting on top of the  dryer. The next day she came to combine all three huge containers into  one huge bowl that thickened as she continued to stir.    

 You can see her weighing on the scale next to the clay pot she is filling  up with the red paste, which she stores outside on the back porch where  the sliding door is off the dining room/behind the curtains. There are  about 6-8 pots of varying sizes (I cannot remember exactly). Sister Lee  said the last batch of red patch she made lasted for two years think about  that through all kinds of weather really, I don’t want to think about it.  She said she had kind of a fish soup in one of those pots outside. I  don’t doubt it. I don’y know how long it has been out there.    But I do know that Sister Lee is a fabulous cook who is very organized to  be able to cook for large numbers of people, many course/dishes/ some  times day after day (depending on the meeting schedule one  conferences, mission tours, training meeting, etc.). Other missions do not  have a Sister Lee so they cater meals or the mission president’s wife  cooks I know, I’m spoiled. There’s some give and take but I’ll take what  I can get!    Sister Lee doesn’t just cook well. She also sews when needed. For  instance she has made at least 50 yeos/coverings (three panel mattresses  that are stuff with foam padding) for our missionaries to replace the old  ones that have been used/worn down to super thin pads. She made pillows  and pillow cases for the general authority bedroom.