Anyanghasaeyo: July 2010

Monday, July 5, 2010

Last Day/Last Post in Korea

Wow! Saying goodbye and letting go is so hard! We have been so grateful and feel so blessed by the amazing experiences of the past three years. So much love to give and receive, so many miracles to witness, so much beauty in a land full of ancient culture. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to have been called a servant of the Lord, and to be surrounded by young men and women anxiously engaged in the work of bringing souls unto Christ. His church is here on the earth, led by a living prophet. The Book of Mormon was translated by the power of God through the prophet Joseph Smith. This incredible book testifies of Jesus Christ, and through the Spirit of the Holy Ghost everyone with desire can know of its' truth.

We were so surprised and pleased by a great sendoff at the airport by people we love so much! Left to right: Kang Byung Seok, Baek Seung Ik, Ha Young Soo, Sister Koo, Elder Choi, Lee Se Ri, Jung Eun Joo, Oh Min Jung and Choi Sang Mi. They came prepared and sang a beautiful departing hymn to us, "I Know That My Redeemer Lives".

A little bit of fun was enjoyed by the Passing of the Cellphone ceremony, which signifies the passing of the mantle of stewardship from the departing President to the newly arrived President. At the moment the cellphone is in the hands of the new President, it rings. The AP's stage a call to report a big problem of a runaway companion. After a moment of panic, the Elders return to the room as they continue to talk on the phone, and the joke is revealed. Elder Anderson tried to beg forgiveness with the lowest bow possible, but was still threatened by banishment to the nether corners of the mission!

Thank you for preparing and sending your precious sons and daughters to the Best Mission in the World! I've enjoyed sharing with you. This blog will obviously need to change in title and form, but will hopefully continue to report on the lives of the missionaries who served with us from July 2007- July 2010. Sister Furniss plans to create a new blog, and we will create a link for you to be able to visit them both.

Welcome

A short history about us:
President Alan G. Perriton was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. He served a mission in Korea from 1965-68. He and 3 other elders opened the Daejeon area to missionary work in 1967, so this area has a special place in his heart. After his mission he attended BYU where we met and were married in the Salt Lake Temple in 1972. After graduation, he began a 34-year career with General Motors Corp. that kept the family mobile with assignments in New York, Korea, California, Tennessee, Michigan, back to Korea, and Japan before retiring in 2006.

I, Mary Perriton was born and raised in San Diego, California. I completed my college education and graduated from BYU in 2006 after taking a 34-year break to raise a family of five children! Our oldest 3 children are married, the youngest 2 are single and still attending school. We are the proud grandparents of 7!