Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Happy 설날


Happy Korean New Year!! It's now the year of the snake!!

Sorry this is coming to y’all a day late, and I’m afraid time is short, so the email will be the same. Like American big holidays, everything here seems to shut down for a couple of days... Saturday we had a fun meal with some members. Because of the holiday we got to go to it with the Elders and we just sat around sharing funny missionary stories, especially because the family's son just came back from his mission. It was a blast!! We just laughed and laughed. My poor companion had a hard time following along and relating at times, not having had the crazy times yet herself, but she was a good sport.

On Sunday for church we had a total of 24 people (including the 4 missionaries.. this is a ward that usually has about 80)  But Korean holiday tradition is for everyone to go to their hometown and relatives. After church we had the Korean traditional New Year dish!! It's a rice cake soup and it is SO GOOD!! I love it!! So that was a fun highlight.

Like mom said, this week went by really fast with nothing too huge standing out. But the work is going forward and my companion and I are doing great!!!! I love her so so so very much. We have the chance right now to prepare for the Sister's Conference next week down in Busan. We are going to sing the song "See it in Everyone” by Hannah Bradshaw, it's an EFY song ((I discovered in on my wonderful iPod from Gwendel!! thanks!))  It's goes along with what we have been talking about and it's going to be fun!  Sister Taylor has been practicing it on the guitar, Sister Kersey will be on the piano and we are planning on doing it with all the Sisters, so hopefully it turns out great.

Today was a really amazing day!  We were able to go down to the Boo to have a Training meeting with all the new missionaries.  I love being able to get with the other missionaries and feel of their Spirit and see what they are all learning.  The Spirit there is so special as we really learn from one another. One Elder made a comment that I loved!! 

We were talking about the things a companionship needed to be successful: obedience, submissiveness, prayer, a testimony. But Elder Mortenson made a comment saying that you can have all those things and still not be successful if you do not have LOVE in your companionship!  How true is that!?! Goes back to the first great commandments, which all the laws of Heaven hang on: Love the Lord Thy God and then Love your Neighbor.

How grateful I am to have the love in my companionship right now, and how much that is enabling us to recognize and receive the blessings from Heaven.

Sister Taylor also taught be something really sweet today.  We were doing a practice teaching where the new missionaries had to teach the trainers, in Korean.  It was hard.  As we began I could see Sister Taylor forming a question within her mind, one that would take vocab and grammar forms that she wasn't too solid on. She tried once... stopped... tried again... stopped and then sat there quietly. You could see the Spirit working within her and she thought deeper of the things she could say. The question that she then asked was so simple, but it was a question of power. One that went into my heart, and made me think and really feel the spirit. It wasn’t pretty Korean, but it was from the heart and the Spirit, and that's what made it matter. I realized again today that there is power in simplicity.

I love this work and I love learning this Gospel!!! How grateful I am to be here every day! Thanks for the love, the prayers and the support

Hope y’all have a wonderful Valentines Day!!!!!!!

kiss love hugs!!

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