South Korea Busan Mission

RoseE enters the MTC (that's Missionary Training Center) in Provo, UT on 14 January 2009, barring any unforseen circumstances, to serve an 18-month mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Busan, South Korea.

She has been planning and saving for this event for years.

Traditionally, when one receives one's mission call, one gets all one's family together and opens the call that same day with family. RoseE received her big white envelope in the mail on a Wednesday in early December, but was kind enough to wait . . . all the while dreading that she would be sent to Nebraska or Indianapolis . . . until the following Sunday during the Relief Society meeting (the women's organization of the Church) to open it. She had to hide it from Todd, who might just have opened it in advance and then resealed it, just to know.

Usually only women are in Relief Society, but word had got around. This Sunday the Bishop was there, Teancum was there, all the Young Women (including her two sisters) were there . . .even Connie was there! It was standing room only.

We made her stand up in front of the room. There was a collective holding of breath as she opened the envelope and scanned swiftly down the cover letter.

"It seems I am going to . . . (GASP!) KOREA!"

From the room, there were gasps, cries, laughter and she was instantly surrounded by well-wishers.

Since that day, some two and a half weeks ago, she has been getting shots and visas, photographs and mission-appropriate clothing, and feverishly studying Korean online. She now can recall (most of the time) 92 words in Korean, and write them in the appropriate characters. She is rereading the Book of Mormon, trying to get the whole thing back into her head in one month. This will be her 5th or 6th reading in her life.

Korea.

Who'da thunk it?