In what was likely our final trip outside of Seoul, we traveled to Taebeck which is nestled in a mountain range on Korea's east coast. Our trip's purpose was to visit the tiny Taebeck Branch of the Church. The top picture was taken at the home of the Branch President (He & his wife are on the left). He and his family prepared us a wonderful BBQ pork meal on their patio and we enjoyed the sunshine and clean air that is so abundant in Taebeck. In the third photo we pose for a picture with several members of the Branch on the steps of the chapel following church services. Linda & Sister Min are standing in front of a marker for an underground spring in a park across the street from the chapel in the 4th photo and in the photo above the pool in the park reflects the beauty of its surroundings.

A mountain top outside of Taebeck is host to a windfarm and, amazingly, the mountain's sides serve as the ideal environment for raising the highest quality of cabbages that are used to make KimChi in Korea.
The terrain is so steep, and the soil so rocky, that cows are used to pull the plows for cultivating the soil. The video above shows the process and the sights and sounds give a feel for the cold, windy climate that dominates the mountain top. The winding road leading to the top was a single lane, concrete road with many switchbacks and drop-offs that made us hold our breath and hope that our driver maintained his focus on the road.

The mountain streams in the Taebeck area are very cold crystal clear. Part way through our hike we used a dipper hanging on a cord near the stream to take a long cool drink...wow!!
The top picture and the video show the source of Korea's Han River. It bubbles as a spring out of the side of a mountain near Taebeck. By the time the Han reaches Seoul it is nearly as wide as the Columbia.

Taebeck is a beautiful area and there were lots of wildflowers and interesting insects along the trail. In the photo that shows us standing in front of the large rock the engraving on the rock is announcing that the Han River begins in a grotto at the end of the trail.

More shots of our wonderful trip to Taebeck. The top photos were taken near the tomb of a revered Korean Prince who was poisoned in the 1400s. In the next two shots the APs, elders Folau and Goff, mimic some new friends they met along the trail and Linda and I pose before a rock stating that the Han River originates at the end of the trail. President Cho joked that I looked like "Moses" with my rustic staff in hand! In the picture just above President Cho and Sister Min are pictured on the trail.

On Sunday June 8th Hong Hae Kyung and her 11 year old son Im Yoo Tak were baptized in the Cheongoon Ward in Seoul. We feel blessed beyond measure to have become such good friends with them and to have been allowed to share their journey to faith and baptism. It has been a wonderful experience and we are so happy for them. Elders Jensen and Zabriskie did a wonderful job of teaching them and we contiunue to enjoy dinner & family home evening together each Monday evening.

This is a clearwing bumblebee moth that Linda spotted on our way to the office this past week.
Obviously, it avoids predators by posing as a bee. There are some really cool insects in Korea!