Date
August 17, 2018
Area
Daejeon, South Korea
Companion
At The Office...
This is a letter from the office. Of course we had to get here, so I’ll start with the drive over. The Madsen’s and the Hunters are out on the road, so Denice and I have been keeping down the fort. On Wednesday we couldn’t believe how little traffic there was. Halfway through our drive we remembered that it was Korean Independence Day (In the early 1900’s Japan attacked and subjugated the Korean people and relations are still icy). Surprisingly, rarely do we see accidents on the road, but today we saw two. One was from the corp of scooter delivery-men who daily risk life and limb to deliver food to the villages in the sky; eking out a minimal existence. I wish I wouldn’t have seen it.
The first order of affairs is to open Outlook and check my correspondence. What I’m mostly looking for are travel reimbursements from the missionaries. On the first of June we changed from them sending in paper forms and receipts to electronic worksheets and pictures of receipts. It’s been a long and arduous task getting everyone on board and doing it correctly. It probably takes me twice as long as it did before, but that’s okay. President Madsen wants all of our financial records to be digital, but that’s not to be. This week we got a letter from Brother Min in Seoul outlining the policies and procedures for keeping and maintaining records. There will be very little storage in our new office, so we’ll be taking the records over to our apartment.
We had the architect and building supervisor over yesterday to finalize the plans for the new office. It was suppose to be done early summer, but alas has not yet begun. The wheels of progress turn slow here in Korea. But our air conditioning works well here in the office and we’re staying cool during this horrendously hot summer. This is usually the rainy season and we’ve only seen one storm so far. Many of the bushes, lawns and trees are experiencing stress.
I just got a call from Joehyun Lee, my vehicle supervisor. The body shop is bringing back Sister Madsen’s van that President Madsen scraped up by parking too close to a pillar and opening the automatic door. It will cost $220 to fix. In the states it would be well over $2200; ten times as much. The body shop guy lost the key to his car and I had to go out and check to see if it was locked. We’ll see how they deal with these things. Yesterday Brother Lee wanted me to wire the money to the body shop so we could save $20. I told him I would do anything he asked me to (he has been a huge help and support to me), but finally he concluded that he would just pay it. We are frugal brothers. Most of our counterparts in Seoul are BYU educated and speak English well. It is needed for all the foreigners who come here to run the missions.
I wish I could go to a body shop and have all my age spots buffed out. I saw the ones on top of my head for the first time this week. Every morning when I turn on my computer there are pictures of beautiful places from the four corners of the earth. They are nice! On Wednesday, pictures of the statues on Easter Island were there. I had never heard of or seen them before. I was instantly drawn in. I want to go to Easter Island and commune with these statues. It has brought so many thoughts to my mind; like how do people spend their time on planet earth and how do they feel about the results of their labors? I changed my screen saver to a favorite statue that might shed some light on my musings. He’s got age spots all over him and doesn’t seem to mind at all.
Denice is puttering around the office trying to get things cleaned up. I’ve told her not to clean up the missionary’s messes. They very seldom put things away or take responsibility for their messes. Like with little kids, you can’t just tell them to clean up, you have to do it with them. We have six new missionaries coming in on Tuesday and fourteen leaving on Thursday. Denice spends six weeks getting ready for all this and is master of the merry-go-round! She agreed to go to Easter Island with me.
I ordered 20,000,000 ($20,000) won for our bank account yesterday, so the bills can be paid. I have to go to the bank and update the bank book and see if the money was deposited. My favorite part of going to the bank is saying hi to my friend. I call him “my friend at the bank.” Amidst his protests, I took a picture of him the other day. I want to remember him always! He has a look somewhat similar to my Easter Island friend. Connections are converging! if you write or talk long enough, everything will connect together.
We ate our tuna fish sandwiches. It seems that most people at the office go out and get something to eat, but Denice and I bring ours. I usually make it. After lunch Denice went outside and sat on a cement pillar-stump to warm up. I took an old metal coffee table over to the recycler and broke up the wooden top to put in the disposal bag. You have to buy bags for your garbage. They have food recycling bags and just plain garbage bags. Cardboard and plastics are done separately. Mother Earth is pretty good to us; giving us all we need to grow and progress. For the most part the relationship is not reciprocal. Those Easter Island natives had it right. She gives them volcanic rock and they give back beautifully carved statues that stand the test of time. What she really wants is for us to stand the test of time. Mother and children moving forward in the glorious journey of mortality. We need each other and should heed each other.
I had an enjoyable jaunt to the bank. I know there are hot days ahead, but I think we have definitely turned the corner. I’m looking forward to fall. I’m thankful for “the fall” that made mortality possible. There are so many lessons learned and many more yet to grapple with. Nathan called in the midst of bills and we talked. God is my guide, my stay and my hand. Without his enlightening and steadying influence my life would be so much less than it is. He is the source of all the goodness I have experienced. He has led me, guided me and walked beside me. From Father to son we get things done.
There were many things at the office today that I didn’t share. Some would just take to much work to express with very little benefit. Easter Island is the hope of a glorious resurrection; to know that what you do matters and that you make a difference in someone’s life now and also in the world to come. We are eternal beings braving the winds of time.
Time
Round and round the good earth turns,
Measured distances like clockwork;
Creating day and night, months and years.
Time-bound beings, like extra-terrestrial bodies,
Travel through seasons of change and development;
Choosing how their time will be spent.
Nature bows to agency, in hopes of fulfilling purpose;
God’s spirit sons and daughters sent away to school,
Building lives and eternal hopes.
Intersections where souls touch one another.
Taking time to nurture, help and support;
Earth-born time travelers in a son-centered universe.
Light and dark revolve around our daily routines;
And we, in-between, the tug of war of good and evil
Is felt and struggled with from time to time.
Given time, what will you do and become?
Where will you go and what will you share?
Temptation turns time to sin and lost opportunities.
It’s time to rise and shine, to seek the best within;
Each of us of infinite worth and wonderful potential.
Going once, going twice…Having the time of our lives.
May 2011
Love, Elder Porter
P.S. Denice had a wonderful birthday this last Sunday. Her phone was ringing all day with well-wishers. It’s good to know that you are needed and loved!