So exciting news... I am currently emailing from the WORLD'S LARGEST DEPARTMENT STORE!!!! Centum City!! Yeah it's awesome. It is organized by levels, like women’s on one, sports and casual attire on another, etc., etc... And it is PERFECT looking. For instance, on the men's floor every thing is organized in rainbow order with everything perfectly spaced hanging up and on and on. Gwen you would be in heaven! No need for OCD moments here, they have it all taken care of haha!
Name the store and they have it here! I've already drooled over Tiffany & Co. as well as about died at the price of Prada and Louis Votaon (?? I have NO idea how to spell that... I just thought of the luggage named Louis from Leap Year lol {it’s spelled Vuitton}) Anyhow, P-day is tons of fun so far, I'll make sure and take as many pictures as I can.
So this week of course, was another great week. After emailing y’all last week my district went out for lunch. We went to a Meat Buffet! It was actually really delicious. It's actually what it sounds like, a buffet of meat. But all the meat is uncooked. You choose what meat you want, and then take it back to your table that has a grill in the center. You cook the meat and then enjoy. From time to time they come around and change the grill grate so you don't mix flavors too much. I don't think I've ever eaten sooo much meat in my life, but all of it was delicious. (Mom and Dad, its the same idea as when we went to the Korean Restaurant with the Hatfield’s). After that we topped everything off with some Baskin Robins... yummm! It’s funny to see the English names in Korean, especially when you are trying to read the flavor names and you realize that it's just an English word. Reminds me a lot of playing Mad Gab.
P-day was actually cut short because our investigator 김수진 (Kim Soo Cheen) called us and said she had some free time, so she wanted to meet! What missionary can turn that down!?! We met her and we taught her the first part of the Plan of Salvation, that we are literally children of God. He is the Father of our Spirits and He sent us to earth to gain experience and one day become like Him. I always love using what I call the "princess" analogy. God is our Creator, He is our Heavenly Father and He is the King. If He is the King, and we are His children, then we are all Princes and Princesses. Now, like any Prince or Princess, we have the potential of one day becoming a King or Queen. The King, Heavenly Father, wants us to inherit all that He has (Romans 8:16-17), but we must learn and grow and gain the experience that is needed to one day, worthily, inherit or receive the blessings from the Father.
She loves our lessons, and I love teaching her. To see her faith and
testimony grow is such a neat experience and I am privileged to be apart
of it. (More on her in a bit...) Tuesday was our ONE-MONTH training
meeting!! (Dad, this was a kind of "right of passage"... though I like your
ideas better!) It was so crazy to go and see everyone again! It seems like
it had been soo long! I think my favorite moment was the reunion between
Sis Kersey and I! (She was one of my MTC companions) It was nothing
but giggles and squeals and talking about a mile a minute! Haha It was
fun to swap stories and see the impact we are making in our areas. I love
it. The meeting part went really well, but I just like talking with everyone!
Haha It really is neat to see how much each of us has grown in just a
month.
District Meeting day was SUPER fun! Elder Carpenter had a birthday this past week, so we threw him a surprise party. My companion and I bought a cake and made a banner, there was brownies, rice crispies and kim pop. I think the funniest things was eating the cake with chopsticks... it just doesn't seem natural haha. I seriously adore my district. We all really support each other in the work and it always just so much fun to get together.
Out of everything that has happened this week, my favorite day was Friday! So Friday, we were doing our weekly planning when we got a phone call from E. Innis, the DL. He called and told us that President and Sister SHIN from the MTC where here!!!!!! Pres. Shin in the President and Founder of Global Innovations Technology Consulting (I think that's what it's called...) Anyhow, he was in Korea from some seminars and while he and his wife where in the area they wanted to meet with some missionaries and go to an appointment with them. Technically my companion and I had NO promises (as was the case from the entire zone... yeah, not so good). But we always like a challenge, so we began to call around. One member that we had planned to meet invited us out for dinner, but she didn't feel comfortable meeting with Pres. and Sis. Shin. The, on a whim we called 김수진. She wasn't supposed to even be in town, but I felt like we needed to call and ask her. To our great surprise, not only was she still in town but she had time to meet with us!!! YEAH!! So we all got together and headed over to the Mission Home to have our lesson with both Pres. and Sister Shin and Gilbert.
It was such a wonderful experience. We didn't actually get to our lesson, but the Shin's (both returned missionaries) were just so excited to meet her and be able to share their testimonies. It was wonderful to have them help us. I love including members in our lessons, because it's one thing to hear about the truthfulness of this message from set apart missionaries, but when an individual can hear the same conviction we have of this gospel from someone else, there is always a special spirit and they can begin to realize that they too can have that knowledge and that testimony. (I hope that made sense).
District Meeting day was SUPER fun! Elder Carpenter had a birthday this past week, so we threw him a surprise party. My companion and I bought a cake and made a banner, there was brownies, rice crispies and kim pop. I think the funniest things was eating the cake with chopsticks... it just doesn't seem natural haha. I seriously adore my district. We all really support each other in the work and it always just so much fun to get together.
Out of everything that has happened this week, my favorite day was Friday! So Friday, we were doing our weekly planning when we got a phone call from E. Innis, the DL. He called and told us that President and Sister SHIN from the MTC where here!!!!!! Pres. Shin in the President and Founder of Global Innovations Technology Consulting (I think that's what it's called...) Anyhow, he was in Korea from some seminars and while he and his wife where in the area they wanted to meet with some missionaries and go to an appointment with them. Technically my companion and I had NO promises (as was the case from the entire zone... yeah, not so good). But we always like a challenge, so we began to call around. One member that we had planned to meet invited us out for dinner, but she didn't feel comfortable meeting with Pres. and Sis. Shin. The, on a whim we called 김수진. She wasn't supposed to even be in town, but I felt like we needed to call and ask her. To our great surprise, not only was she still in town but she had time to meet with us!!! YEAH!! So we all got together and headed over to the Mission Home to have our lesson with both Pres. and Sister Shin and Gilbert.
It was such a wonderful experience. We didn't actually get to our lesson, but the Shin's (both returned missionaries) were just so excited to meet her and be able to share their testimonies. It was wonderful to have them help us. I love including members in our lessons, because it's one thing to hear about the truthfulness of this message from set apart missionaries, but when an individual can hear the same conviction we have of this gospel from someone else, there is always a special spirit and they can begin to realize that they too can have that knowledge and that testimony. (I hope that made sense).
After talking, the Gilbert's prepared dinner! Haha This was my first night
(and probably not my last) to have 2 dinners!! Oh man! Was I
uncomfortable by the time I got home haha! It was a special night though,
and to close it up Sister Gilbert said that because we all ate together and
had root beer floats, then we were automatically family, and they like to
end every day with family prayer. =] It was nice to be able to all kneel
down together and end the day perfectly with family prayer. I love how
involved and supportive my Mission President and his wife are in this
work. It's amazing.
As always my personal study time in the morning was amazing, but the Spirit really taught me something cool this week. So, as a mission wide assignment from the President, I have been studying Alma 1-37. (Aww they are amazing chapters!!) But this past week I was studying Alma 29 when a really neat analogy came to my mind. In Alma 29, Alma is thinking about his mission and teaching people and he begins to wish that he were someone greater! He wishes he were an angel! Because if he were an angel he thinks he could declare the word of God better then he has been. "I wish I were an angel...go forth and speak with the trump of God". But then he realizes something in verse 6, he recognizes his foolish thinking, That though being an angel would be something wonderful, he has been given a specific call in this life that only he can accomplish, and because of that he recognizes that he needs to be grateful. Then in verse 9, he exclaims his joy that he can be an instrument in the hand of God.
I love the references to an instrument here, and because I love music so much I instantly thought of a violin and a cello. Sometimes in our minds we see the life of another person and we wish, like Alma wished, that we could be more like them. "Why can't I speak Korean like her?" "Why can't I be a missionary like her?" Those questions come to each of us in every situation. Like a cello thinking, "why can't I be a violin?" "Why can't I make the sweet music that it makes?" What they cello is not recognizing is that within itself is endless potential to make amazing music. Just because the cello doesn't sound exactly like the violin, doesn't mean it doesn't have its own part to play, it's own harmony to contribute to the grand orchestra of life. This is how we can be instruments, we need to recognize that each of
As always my personal study time in the morning was amazing, but the Spirit really taught me something cool this week. So, as a mission wide assignment from the President, I have been studying Alma 1-37. (Aww they are amazing chapters!!) But this past week I was studying Alma 29 when a really neat analogy came to my mind. In Alma 29, Alma is thinking about his mission and teaching people and he begins to wish that he were someone greater! He wishes he were an angel! Because if he were an angel he thinks he could declare the word of God better then he has been. "I wish I were an angel...go forth and speak with the trump of God". But then he realizes something in verse 6, he recognizes his foolish thinking, That though being an angel would be something wonderful, he has been given a specific call in this life that only he can accomplish, and because of that he recognizes that he needs to be grateful. Then in verse 9, he exclaims his joy that he can be an instrument in the hand of God.
I love the references to an instrument here, and because I love music so much I instantly thought of a violin and a cello. Sometimes in our minds we see the life of another person and we wish, like Alma wished, that we could be more like them. "Why can't I speak Korean like her?" "Why can't I be a missionary like her?" Those questions come to each of us in every situation. Like a cello thinking, "why can't I be a violin?" "Why can't I make the sweet music that it makes?" What they cello is not recognizing is that within itself is endless potential to make amazing music. Just because the cello doesn't sound exactly like the violin, doesn't mean it doesn't have its own part to play, it's own harmony to contribute to the grand orchestra of life. This is how we can be instruments, we need to recognize that each of
us is unique and special and each of us has a special part to play, but next
we need to put ourselves in the hands of the Master. We will forever have
infinite potential if we just sit there, but our potential will never be achieved
if we don't allow ourselves to be played by the Master. Only then can we
share the music and the message that is inside us that can help someone
else.
I love this work, and I love that I can be a cello here in Korean! I am still getting tuned and refined by the Master, but I feel privileged to be an instrument in His hands.
I love you all!! Thank you for the love and support!! 사랑합니다!!
웰스롱쇼어 자매선교사
(I love you!! Sister Wells-Longshore)
I love this work, and I love that I can be a cello here in Korean! I am still getting tuned and refined by the Master, but I feel privileged to be an instrument in His hands.
I love you all!! Thank you for the love and support!! 사랑합니다!!
웰스롱쇼어 자매선교사
(I love you!! Sister Wells-Longshore)
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