Week 10: On the way to the Temple!

In the bustle of doing missionary work and such, two major events happened this week.

The first major event was that on Thursday we got to go to the Temple! woot woot! Last time we went to the Temple I talked about how it was interesting to try to find it in the middle of the city. Well, this time, I have pictures to explain our Temple adventures.

Got out of the Subway. Hey! We're in the Seoul Mission! (Shout out to all my friends in this mission!) 

Still don't see a Temple:

We turn a corner. Wow, look at all these stores and the food looks so good! But I can't eat any of it because it's not in my mission. My mission is across the river.  

[Editor's Note: Sister Holdaway doesn't know this, but this location is famous in Holdaway missionary lore . . . Elder Holdaway, Elder Mecham, Elder Bates (and his companion I can't remember), Sister Tong, and Sister Mackie were attacked by two ne'er-do-wells from the Great and Spacious Building and were saved by two angels who were disguised as Korean bodybuilders.]

Still don't see a Temple. 

[Editor's Note: I know right where this is -- I spent a lot of time walking these streets as a missionary in the 1988-89 time frame and when teaching English in 1993.]

Wow look, we're hiking up this big hill! (I had to run up the hill to take this picture. It was worth it.) Say hi fellow missionaries! Still no Temple. 

[Editor's Note: Great and Spacious Building to your right! My 21st birthday gift was down around the corner until it was paved over.]

What? look at that! Do you see that poking through the houses? I think it's the top of a Temple! 

We made it to the Temple! 

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(Sorry the pictures are so dark, it was pretty overcast that morning) 

The Temple was such a wonderful experience. I'm seriously so grateful to be able to go frequently because I know not every mission has this opportunity.

The OTHER crazy thing that happened this week was actually the same day. So, Thursday night, after the Temple, Sister Berry and I had an appointment with our investigator. We were running a little bit late and the bus ride took longer than we thought so when we got there we bustled to this lady's house. All of a sudden, as we're crossing the road, a little dog runs up to us, sniffs us and then decides we're not what he's looking for so he keeps going. This dog was ragged and dirty and Sister Berry said "that dog looks really lost." 

We looked around for his owners but couldn't find anybody anywhere. We had to do something. So I chased the dog down and started petting it while Sister Berry looked at the tags. Luckily there was a number on it but because neither of us are fluent Koreans it was hard to get our point across to the lady who answered.

We realized this wasn't working so I picked up the dog, paying no attention to how dirty he was, and we tried to find someone who spoke English to translate for us. Miraculously, the first person we saw - a young man in a suit with a briefcase - spoke English pretty much fluently! He was so nice and was more than willing to help us.

Eventually we found out that the dog's owner had just gotten into a huge accident and she was bed ridden so she couldn't come pick the dog up herself. However, she just so happened to have a close friend who was nearby shopping. We were able to drop the dog off with her and she thanked us profuesely.

Imagine the poor owner who knew her dog was missing but couldn't even look for him herself. I'm so glad that everyone was put there for a reason: we were running late, the man who spoke English just happened to be there, her friend was shopping, and even the dog who came up to us.

I know that things happen for a reason and that God knew who important this dog was to somebody enough to send people to help. There are opportunities to serve all around us if we just look for them. These opportunites help us bless other people's lives and in doing that our lives are blessed too. Being without a phone has really helped me be more observant and look for those ways I can serve.

I love being a missionary! Thanks for all of your support! Have a wonderful week :)

- Sister Holdaway