FSY in Korea

The boys are in Korea this week.  We almost didn't think it was going to happen.  To begin with, we were leaning towards not getting Isaac and Eli the covid booster but Korea was requiring everyone to have that third shot before coming into the country.  We rushed to get a booster scheduled, but not before we all got Covid (except for Will, who already had his booster but didn't get covid like the rest of us).  Next, we found out that they had the wrong passports and had to get an emergency rush on new passports for them.  We'd never been to the American Embassy so that was a new experience.  The passports came in a few weeks.  Then, Eli injured his knee.  The doctor did not want us to send Eli to Korea.  We had to get an MRI for him but the results would not come in until after Eli was supposed to go.  He spent two weeks icing his knee and not doing much more than sitting at the table or laying on the couch.  I told him to go into his room and pray and then sit quietly for five minutes and see if he got any impression about what he should do.  When he came back out he said that he felt like he should go.  I rented crutches from the doctor and Mike gave him a blessing that he wouldn't do anything dumb and that his knee wouldn't get more damaged.  We have since gotten the MRI results, which show significant damage to his meniscus.  I hope he is doing okay.  He doesn't have a phone so we are getting updates from Will or Isaac, who are in rooms near him.  I hope he's doing okay.  The final hiccup on our attempts to get the kids to Korea was when we drove back to Tokyo after dropping off Steve and Carol at their apartment.  About 30 mins away from home the van kept trying to overheat.  We got home okay but when we opened the hood we noticed coolant splattered all over everything.  It was 3 PM on a Saturday afternoon.  I tried reaching out to people in the ward who might have a recommendation for a car repair shop but got no answers quickly.  A google search wasn't very helpful either, only listing one place that was "on call".  We decided to try and get the van back to Yokosuka where the Navy base is located.  Their repair shop was not open but they had a drop box where you could drop your keys/vehicle off and they would work on the vehicle as soon as they opened up.  We also discovered that there was one vehicle, a van, available as a rental.  Mike had committed to driving our boys and one other boy and two girls from the ward to the airport early Monday morning.  The timing was pretty bad but we decided it was an "ox in the mire" situation and at 6 AM on Sunday morning Mike woke up, filled the van with coolant, and drove to Yokosuka hoping the van didn't overheat, to drop off the van and pick up a rental.  He was back home in time for church and we were able to get all the kids to the airport and then headed off to our our vacation, a few hours North of Tokyo.  The van has a cracked radiator and we hope it will be fixed by the time we have to go return the rental/pick up kids from the airport.  

Anyway.

All of that to say that the kids made it to Korea. 

We hope that they are having good experiences, being good examples, looking out for each other, and deepening their testimonies.  I guess I never said why they are in Korea.  They are there for FSY--For the Strength of Youth, formally known as EFY.  I never went growing up and neither did Mike so this is a first for our family.  Mike's brother Andrew is stationed in Korea and this is a joint FSY for English speaking youth in Japan and Korea, which means that the boys get to attend with Nick and Noah, their cousins.  They are actually also rooming with them as well.  I think that's so cool that they get to go to Korea and attend FSY with their cousins.  

Besides Eli and worrying about him and his comfort this week, my final worry is that one of them won't make it home.  Will, having not had covid yet, and being around a large group of people, could get covid.  I hope none of them get stuck with a positive PCR test and get stuck in Korea.  The current plan is that if someone gets it, and adult stays behind with them but the kid has to quarantine alone in a hotel with cold bento boxes for meals.  Andy is there so hopefully if one of our kids gets stuck, the government will allow him to take them to his house.  I have no control over any of that so I'm just going to not worry until I have to.

These photos have nothing to do with Korea.  Steve and Carol were with us for a week while doing shifts as temple guides at the temple.  One day after their shift we hopped on a bus and went to show them the famous Shibuya Scramble, the busiest intersection in Tokyo.  We walked around for a bit, found Don Quiote, a vending machine selling bugs (?), and got a quick snack at Wendy's as well as tried some fried cheese balls.