We are active in our religion so we were so happy for find a Branch in Suncheon!
If I feel up to it I might add a glossary at the end of this post.
The people in the Branch are super nice. There are a few English speakers because of missions and a few have lived in English speaking countries.
We have Sister Missionarys and Lucas said we just got Elders in our Branch too!
Pretty cool.
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| At one end of the hallway look at the front door--About 2 classrooms and the bathrooms on the left, a *Branch Presidents office and another 3 classes on the left. Wheeler is heading to the stairs which lead upstairs--I didn't get any pictures of upstairs! Upstairs is more classrooms, a kitchen, and the *culture hall/chapel (totally forgot the word chapel for a minute!!) |
We have eaten with a few members, and they always invite the sisters so they can translate for us.
Another sister, Sister Kim, gives us rides to and from church which is way cool! She even helped us get our cell phones--she really is a wonderful member. She has a son who is about 14 and mentally about Wheelers age--literally watching her son walk around the church was like watching a 5'9" Wheeler.
Sister Kim is a child phsycologist.
There are about 30 active members. Our Branch President is President Choi--he is a very kind man.
We were asked to speak in church about the 4th Sunday we went. I only spoke about 5 minutes and had it translated by one of the Sisters-so I spoke for about 10 minuites. Lucas spoke completely in Korea and did an excellent job. He had some really strong emotions to be speaking Korean infront of a Korean Branch again.
The church members have made this trip a lot easier to handle since my Hogwan hasn't really been helpful at all!! The members have been a great place to ask questions and find out information.
This is upstairs --I believe this is the Youth Sunday School/YW room.
The adult Sunday School meets in the Chapel. Primary meets downstairs.
Relief Soceity meets in the Chapel. Priesthood meets downstairs, then breaks into other rooms.
This is what the classrooms look like. I think this is the room where the Priesthood meet, but it looks almost like the Primary room. I have other pictures of the church, but they aren't downloading! So I might update this post when I take some more!
Ward: The word we use instead of Congregation. Don't know why-we just do. The leader of a Ward is a Bishop, and the leader of many wards (and Bishops) is a Stake President.
Branch: When there aren't enough members to have a Ward (about 75-250 members) they make a smaller congregation called a Branch--again, don't know why, just is. Branches doen't have a Bishop or Stake President, they only have a Branch President.
Branch President: The spiritual leader in the congregation. He has an office in the church. Because we are a non-paid clergy, the Branch President will change every 5-10 years. (same with Bishop and Stake President).
Primary, Young Women, Young Men, Relief Society and Classes:
In our religion we meet for 3 hours.
The first hour we meet all together, we sing, take the sacrement, and listen to talks. This is called Sacrament Meeting.
The second hour we are split into age groups.
All kids 3-11 go to Primary
Youth ages 12-17 go to Youth Sunday School
18 and older go to Adult Sunday School
The third hour we divide for classes according to not only age but also gender.
Primary kids stay together--no splitting.
Young Men 12-17
Young Women 12-17
Relief Soceity (woman) age 18+
Priesthood (includes the Young men) 18+
Priesthood: This word has two meanings BUT mostly I used it to talk collectively about the men in our ward over the age of 12.
