Missionary Moment - Welcome to Korea

Our missionary son has been in Seoul, South Korea

for a few weeks now and he has already been 

introduced to a canned delicacy there

Silkworm Pupas.

You can see that they are being taken from the 

pop-top can and being scooped out with

the traditional Korean spoon.  

He said they chased them down with

a cola drink.

I think a friend just wanted to see if he would

eat this because they really do have wonderful food 

in Korea and Elder Chase says that the Koreans

pride themselves on their food.

Here he is (the missionary on the left with the glasses)  

enjoying a huge feast in someone's home.

It is customary for missionaries to eat whatever

unique and unusual foods are given to them

to honor their hosts.

Chase had the chance to travel on business

with his father to China and there he

ate duck tongue, dog, donkey and snake.

His Chinese host was so pleased that he didn't

turn his nose up at any of their traditional

meats and we felt it helped prepare Chase

for a mission to Korea.

                                여수그리스도 후기성도교회

(I am not sure what this means, but it was his subject heading on 

his email that included the picture of the feast and he started

his email with Welcome from Korea, so maybe that is what it means.)

We are so thrilled to have a son out serving our Savior
Jesus Christ, bringing the Good News to the world.
This is our third son to serve a two year mission
for the 
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Our oldest served in Argentina, our middle son served
in Seattle, Washington and now this one is in Seoul, Korea.

(It's a long ways from home!)

I will be posting with
Spiritual Sundays

Say Hello To Seoul - Our Missionary Son

My youngest son received his mission call to

Seoul, South Korea.  Young men in the LDS

church go on a two year mission when they

reach the age of 18-19.  They save to help

pay the expenses for their missions starting 

when they are just little boys.

They apply to go on a mission and when they

receive their mission call it can be anywhere in

the world.

All of their family and friends gather when

they receive their mission call in the mail.

Chase's best friend was called to Vancouver

speaking Korean so when Chase opened his

call, they were both nearly in tears that they

would have the Korean language in common.

Imagine our surprise when he read the date

he was to enter the Missionary Training Center

and it was the same day as our daughter's wedding!

Panic set in but she eventually agreed to change

her wedding one day forward.

You can imagine how crazy busy we are

now trying to get a wedding planned and

executed and a missionary off 

(not to mention that one week later we are

in charge of a youth Pioneer Trek for

over 200 people!!)

Missionaries purchase and pack

everything they will need for two years - two

suits, four pairs of slacks, 12 white shirts, 6-8

ties, three pairs of heavy duty dress shoes (as

they will be walking most of that two years), etc.

so we are running around like crazy trying to

get that done along with his Visa, immunizations,

pictures, and..........

(Kim Chee Stew)

It is great fun trying to guess where the boys will be

called so we offered a prize - everyone was to guess

a state and a country and whoever was the

closest would go out to dinner with Chase and

us to a place that represented that country.

His best friend who speaks Korean guessed not only

the country but the exact mission so we went out

for Korean food.

(Japchae)

Korean food often has a soy and brown sugar base

so everything was delicious.  I loved this clear

noodle dish the best.  It was really tasty with 

the hint of brown sugar.

(Pork Bulgogi)

This Pork Bulgogi had a bit of fire to it which I

really loved.

(Beef Bulgogi)

The Beef Bulgogi is one of their most popular dishes

and is served with lettuce leaves, almost like 

lettuce wraps.  Chase's friend chose all of 

the dishes and each of them were delightful.

It was my first time eating at a Korean

restaurant.  They eat with stainless steel chopsticks

and a long handled soup spoon for the 

stews and soups.  The sticky rice

had little seeds or beans in it.  It was a fun and

delightful dining experience.

I definitely want to give some of these

recipes a try.

My Korean friend Abby asked if Chase was OK

with strong smells.  I said he had gone to China

with his father on a business trip and loved

it.  She said he would do fine then.  He certainly

loves Oriental food.

We are so proud of him and haven't even worried

with all of the trouble in North Korea.  We know

he will be in the Lord's hands as he spreads

the Gospel of Jesus Christ.