Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Week of LOVE!


Hi family!! How is everyone doing???
I hope y’all had a fantastic Valentine's Day!! Because the dear Sister Taylor and I sure did!

We had decided last week that we were going to have a companionship date night (more like date dinner, we don't have THAT much time as missionaries!)  But Sister Taylor called dibs on being the 'man' and I was the 'girl' in the "relationship". When dinner time came around, I was banished to the other room so Sister Taylor could make our dinner. For her, I was able to take some time and write her a "love letter" and then I had the other sister's in the house buy me a box of chocolates that I could surprise her with!! (in Korea, Valentine's Day is a bit different. It's a day when the girls give to the boys, not the other way.. and typically the girls give chocolates. ((so because I was the girl in the 'relationship', I had to follow tradition!!)) ) Time came for dinner and I walk out to the BEST Valentine's Day date that I have EVER been on!! haha Sister Taylor had gotten two red roses that were sitting on the table. The table had been decorated with hearts earlier in the day. There was Josh Groban playing the the background and we have a little chandelier in the kitchen that was turned on for some good mood lighting haha.  Sister Taylor had made CREPES! They were so stinking delicious! Crepes, flowers, chocolates, Groban, love letters...yep, it was a wonderful Valentine's Day!!

My favorite part about the week was that my darling companion wrote me a small note every day with a little quote and a piece of gratitude. Needless to say, we both felt perfectly spoiled this week. Not only from the love that was within our companionship but also the outpouring of love that we felt from our Father in Heaven this week!

This past week was a little hard when it came to appointments. A couple times this past week we had made an appointment to meet up with people that we has met while proselyting. We made the appointment, confirmed the day of... and then we were waiting... and waiting.. They wouldn't answer their phones and they never showed up. ㅠㅠ (Korean crying faces..) That was hard, and then on top of that, my companion is having a hard time with homesickness as well.  It just seemed like that our hard work and such just was not going how it was supposed to.

On Wednesday, things began to change. With permission we were able to get Priesthood Blessings from our district leader, Elder Hahn from New Zealand. The Spirit of love and comfort and peace abounded. Heavenly Father was near, and He knew us.  He has heard our prayers, and He promised that we were doing what we were supposed to be doing and the direction we were to take was going to be evident soon.

From that day on, Sister Taylor and I really evaluated how we had been talking to people on the subway and on the street. We were doing a good job opening our mouths, talking to people, introducing who were were and then exchanging numbers, but nothing had been happening from those. After lots of prayer and another special fast we realized it was time to be more bold, but also more trusting. We were going to give ourselves over to the Lord and our purpose completely. We wanted to share our testimonies and really truly invite people to hear our message and the happiness we have to share.

Since that choice and the actions that followed, there has been that thing...That something that was missing before.. and that has made all the difference.  We are talking with people and we are sharing our testimonies! It's such a neat experience, and so far, most of the people we have been talking with have asked for OUR number first.  ^_^ And then this week we have 3 appointments set up with people who have GREAT potential!!

Oh there are so many stories I want to share!!!!

Ok, real quick, I'll share 2!

First, Sister Taylor met a girl named Chanda in the MTC what is preparing to go to Hong Kong on her mission. Chanda was an English teacher here in Korea for awhile and was able to build relationships and share a little bit about the church. We got a letter from Chanda the other day and in it was her phone number list of the teachers she taught with and she asked us to call them and give them a chance to hear the message that she so desperately wished to share with them. She highlighted one name in particular and said that if not anyone else, she hoped that we could meet this one. Doing all 29 phone calls was a blast!! I certainly had to use my fast speaking Korean to explain who we were before they could hang up... but I didn't really have to do that. As soon as I said Chanda's name, EVERY PERSON was SOOO excited that I knew Chanda and because of this kind foreigner that was soo nice to them, they were all very willing to hear us out, and we were even able to set up times to call again and/or meet later. 

One lady said that she was going to a different church, but because of Chanda she knew that our church was so good and she knew that Mormon's were wonderful people and she would always remember that. So many other said the same thing. Though they weren't interested in the moment, they were so grateful for the kindness and love of Chanda. The best moment is when we called Chanda's special friend. She was soo excited to be able to talk to us. Chanda, from just being a friend who was kind and sharing the Light of Christ she had within her, has touched so many people and they will forever remember her! It was an honor to talk to these people and be able to associate myself with someone who had obviously been such a good example of her Savior and for her testimony.

Second, in the process of making these phone calls, my companion and I had to find some quieter places to go. First was a post office. Here we met a man. He is in his 50's, he was an English Literature teacher and spoke pretty great English. We talked and when he found out that we were missionaries he started talking about how he was studying the bible in English and such... the conversation continued and one thing led to another and we set up a time to meet the next week at the same post office, and we are going to begin reading and studying the Book of Mormon together in English!!! We gave him a Korean copy so he could read in advance and be able to understand a little better, but this Thursday we will begin!

It's amazing to see the blessings that come from putting your trust in the Lord.  When you think you are doing good, you can always be better when you take no other thought then wanting to answer the Master's call of "Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men". (Thanks daddy!)

I love missionary work!  It's not easy and it has some disappointments, but this chance is so wonderful and joyous and makes you have a smile on your face every hour of every day!

I love y’all! thanks for all the love and support!
kiss love hugs!

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