Time to revive Blogger

Dear Family,
Having followed the Thomas Blogger, we can see what a great tool it can be for keeping in touch with one another. Email is fine for personal letters to each other but there are so many things each of you send to us, we know all of you would like to know about and the blogger is a good way to do it. From here on out, our "Heart and Seoul" will be on blogger so that it will be available to all of our children and grandchildren who are interested. Instructions for use of blogger will be posted on your email.
"HEART AND SEOUL" April 17-24, 2005
"HEART"

We are constantly impressed with the beautiful buildings and the ongoing improvement to the lives of the South Korean people. They are gradually moving from the slums into lovely new apartment buildings. Parks and recreation areas along the river Han are in abundance and utilized by families.
Speaking of families, it is so heart-warming to see young families with little children playing with their parents just as you would see in America. Our ward meets in the same building as a Korean ward so we rub shoulders with them every Sunday and their children are just as charming and happy as you could find.
It was hard for us to comprehend how such a few short years ago two million of these people were killed in the Korean War. South Korea is the eleventh largest economic nation in the world while North Korea is listed among the poorest of any third world country. North Korea has succeeded in insulating it's people from any knowledge of the prosperity that exists in the other half of Korea. Many have blood relatives who live on the other side of DMZ and absolutely no contact with each other.
We can so easily relate to the South Korean people whose love of family, feelings and emotions are much like our own. The difference that their family on the North Korean side they cannot see, hear from or even know. Even though we are seperated by an ocean plus thousands of miles, we "keep in touch" and that is what gives us the strength of "family love and unity". How blessed we are to live in a country that is free from Communistic rule and free to worship as we desire...most of all that our government is united "For the People".
This past week we have enjoyed our time off of the temple in getting caught up on our letter writing, learning new things on the computer, cleaning our apartment good, washing, ironing, mending, polishing shoes, etc. for our temple clothing, reading, and relaxing with good movies such as "Finding Neverland", Charley, Best Two Years and Five People you Meet in Heaven. Actually, we read the book of that last one before we watched the movie and was amazed how closely the movie followed the book...very good. We are enjoying our time off and are well and happy for the blessing of all of you.






"SEOUL"







We had a most sobering experience yesterday, as we took a tour with about sixty other Americans (mostly from the military) to the well known area known as the 38th PARALLEL, DMZ, or the Demilitarization Zone. This is the border placed via the victors of the Korean War...mainly America and South Korea along with allied nations. It consists of a razor wire fence on the South Korean side and a like one on the North Korean side. These fences seperate a strip of land that is filled with an estimated one million land mines and guard stations every few hundred feet apart. It is an imposing and intimidating site to see soldiers of both countries watching each other constantly. It's interesting to know that Korea is the only country in the world that is divided in such a manner.
Back when your parents were first married had a serious concern that your father would be required to fight in this war, but thanks to the birth of David the war ended before they took fathers into the army. All of this happened fifty-five years ago. As recently as the late seventies, it was discovered by the South Koreans that North Korea was digging a tunnell beneath the above described zone where the North Koreans had planned to send soldiers at the rate of 10,000 per hour into the South Korean territory. Three other tunnells have likewise been discovered so you can see the constant and intimate threat of war the South Koreans still faces and it is the presense of the American Military that keeps a cap on this explosive potential.
We were privileged among the other sites to walk into this tunnell and see how man with pick and shovels were forced to dig into solid rock several hundred feet.