FAMILY!!!
WE GET TO TALK TOMORROW WE GET TO TALK TOMORROW WE GET TO TALK TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't know if y’all realized, but we get to actually hear each other's voices tomorrow!!! EEEP!!! I AM SO EXCITED!! Like, for reals. I don't have to imagine your voices as I read the emails, because I get to hear them tomorrow!! YEAH!! So this past week in Daegu was a busy one, and one full of surprises.
So not to get confused, last week I talked about transfers right? Well that was a special case, emergency transfer, and not the regular, end of the 6 weeks, transfer. THOSE transfer calls came this Thursday!!
Y’all ready??!?! SO After 5 months and 4 transfers in Daegu, experiencing both the winter and the beginning of summer, I finally got a transfer call this past Thursday! Now it looks like I'll be spending the rest of my mission back down in the Busan area at the Beautiful Hae.un.dae!!! (I don't know how you spell it in konglish!) But it is the richest city in Korea, next to Seoul. There are beautiful beaches and right now the work is booming!!
Well, that's not all!! Not only will I be over Haeundae, but I'll also be in charge of the neighboring Gwangan!
That's not the end...I'm opening up both areas to sisters. Yep, I'm the first and only sister there. OHH!!
And then I should probably mention that will be doing all of this with a brand new missionary!!!!!
YEP! WHITEWASH/ OPENING TRAINING!!
I.AM. SO. EXCITED!!!!
Fun thing, as missionaries, in our last district meeting of the transfer we always do transfer predictions on who is going where. Yep, I TOTALLY guessed it! I had been feeling for awhile that I would be headed back down south and I'm really excited that it came true. The 8 elders (2 sets in each area) I get to work with are absolutely amazing! From the Haeundae side of things, I am inheriting 3 investigators and from the Gwangan side of things, I have 2 really good potentials. ((One, thanks to Sister Kersey who met a lady, became really close and they have been in contact with each other for months!! She referred me over and I'm excited to meet her!!)) I also already have a couple of referrals to contact that I received from missionary family members and an English class member from Daegu! She already called her friend and told them I was coming. It's amazing to see how ready Heavenly Father is to have the work go forward there and I'm excited for the challenge!! I prayed really hard to be busy my last 2 transfers and now I have no doubt that I will be. Now i'm just praying to get a companion that will be able to keep up!!
As for my 3rd 'daughter' Sister Choi Hanna, she got her own surprise on Thursday when, after only 6 weeks, she too will be training!!!!! Crazy huh!?! There are so many Sisters coming that Heavenly Father is needing all of us at this time. It'll be fun for her to have the growing experiences of training, and I know that things will go well (at least I am praying that they will =] )
Sunday, of course, was a sad day as I said good bye to the people that I have grown to love. They were all so sweet and kind to me. I'll forever remember the missionary hearts of the people of Sangin ward. They loved missionary work, and though it was hard to do sometimes, they truly found joy in sharing the things that they loved.
In my goodbye testimony, I shared 2 Nephi 5:27, and told them that because of their desire to do work and to love those around them even more, I could tell that they were truly living after the manner of happiness. True happiness comes when we are in the service of others and in the service of our God.
Sunday afternoon I was blessed to have a wonderful conversation with one of our potential investigators. Currently she is looking for a religion. Not just a religion, she is looking for God. With all of her heart she wants to find what is true. She admitted that while on her search, she is wanting to learn as much as possible from a variety of denominations so when she goes to Heavenly Father in prayer to know what is right, she will have, what she feels, is needed to understand what truly is true and what is not.
As we were talking the tears could not be held back as she confessed that she felt like the one lost sheep that no one was willing to come after. She wanted to find truth and God, and she was willing to go out searching for it. But, any such endeavor can seem daunting. As she wept, I wept with her. In that moment I felt and saw a piece of what Joseph Smith must have felt as he searched for the same thing. I cried to know the peace and truth and comfort that she was seeking was right in front of her, yet she could not yet recognize. As we began to offer the comfort that we had, the comfort that she needed, she stopped us there, and the things she told us next were very significant.
With trust and hope in her eyes she explained that she wanted to save the "Mormon" church for last. She wanted to go to these different churches and hear what they had to say, but she wanted to save the "Mormon" church for last "so the truth won't be mixed in and confused with the other things I may hear." In her own words she testified what I believe her heart already knows. She knows where the truth is and I know that when she goes to Heavenly Father in prayer, her heart will testify to her mind what she already knows to be true. It was a tender lesson, and I am grateful that it was my last lesson given in the Daegu area. As if it was a final gift, before the lesson closed, Heavenly Father allowed me to see something in my minds eye. I say this precious Daughter of God standing in white in the Temple. She had a smile on her face and I knew in that moment that when she was ready she would accept this gospel with all of her heart.
Oh, I wish I could use words to tell you all how much I love this gospel! I love everything about it!! I love the joy it brings and the little confirmations of God's love. I love you all dearly and I am excited to talk to y’all tomorrow!!! I'm excited for this chance to go to Haeundae and Gwangan. It a blessing and a responsibility to go there, but I'm ready to put my faith to the test and try the Lord... and then we'll wait and see the miracles that are in store!
Love y’all! Mean it!!!
Darling Family!
Hello all!! Sorry for the confusion yesterday! Yesterday was the annual Cherry Blossom Festival, and like last year, the entire mission got permission to go and see the BEAUTIFUL flowers! It reminded me of fairs in the South with all the food stands, fair food, and pigs roasting over the fire. The weather was perfect and it was fun to meet up with the other missionaries. It was a bit surreal thinking that I was there last year as a new missionary. I have a feeling I'll be having LOTS of those thoughts these next couple of months. It was fun, though, to have MY new companion with me and show her around!!
So that brings me to the fun news!! MY NEW COMPANION!! I knew that I would be training again, and I had the feeling that I would once again be training a Korean sister. Especially seeing as, out of the 7 new sisters that came, there was one New Zealander, one American, and 5 Koreans! Training Day was fun!! The beginning of all the fun was lunch with Sister Kersey, Sister Cutler, and Sister Kent! We were all in the MTC together, and now were all training at the same time (Sister Baker is training too! But she is in the middle of training, so she couldn't come to lunch with us)! To celebrate our official one year mark together, we all got to eat out together. What a fun time it was to laugh and giggle, speak in Korean and share all of our fun stories! I love those Sisters with all of my heart!
After a Day of Proselyting and eating out together, we all gathered together again on Thursday with the 20 trainers and 20 new missionaries and awaited President Gilbert announcing who was with whom. Of course I was at the VERY END! Me and Sister McKay, we are both training in the 4 man house together, were the last to be called and President had the new missionaries close their eyes, we stood behind our new companion as President directed, and then he had them turn around. hehe It was a fun, squealing hug!
My adorable new companion is 최한나 Choi (pronounced chweh) Hanna! She is 25 Korean, 24 American age. She is from Seoul, and she studied at BYU for a couple of years so her English is fantastic. When she smiles, her eyes go the perfect crescent moons, and she is really good friends with MY trainer Sister Lee! I love her already! Yes, it once again is an adjustment being back with a Korean, but it's nice to switch in between Korean and English and not have to worry about any misunderstandings. Our conversations are actually pretty entertaining since we both just switch in between both languages without really thinking.
Actually, I have to admit that I felt that she was going to be my companion long before I met her last Thursday. Here in Korea, when we get the Liahona, it has an insert about what is going on in the church in Korea, and it announces and has pictures for all the missionaries who are going to serve missions. When I saw the insert, I was drawn to her smiling picture and I prayed that my companion would be the one with the beautiful, shining smile. I know that God answers prayers, even the silent ones of our hearts.
This past week in my personal study has been really neat. I tried to focus a lot on the Savior and His Atonement, Death and Resurrection. It was wonderful to have studied His life before, and save Friday, Saturday and Sunday for those days of Sacrifice and Miracles. Church on Sunday was a little disappointing since the talks weren't really focused on "Easter". However, the Sacrament, that special time as we remember the Savior's body, blood, love and promises, was tender. How grateful I am for those little moments. In the Liahona, under the talk "He is Risen", it says that the Sacrament is our personal interview time with the Savior. I am excited to continue to make the effort to really have the Savior at the focus of my study and thoughts. It's a goal that I made to strengthen my testimony and relationship of the Savior and all that He has done for me and mankind.
Also during study time and talks with fellow missionaries, I realized again the importance of questions. Questions help us learn, they allow us to stretch our knowledge, dive deeper into the scriptures and really allow for the Spirit to teach us. But this past week I realized, with the help of Sister Gilbert, that one thing that is just as important as asking the questions is be willing to search for, find, and accept the answers. When we ask for a question, we have to want to find the answer. If we just ask the questions and not allow our heart to be open to be taught, then we will find ourselves confused and doubting. While we ask questions and journey to find answers, we also need to make sure that we do not forget. Don't forget everything that you have been given, all the other answers and blessings you have received, and we cannot forget to be grateful! If we ask questions with the faith to find, remembering to be grateful for what we do have, then our questions will be a great source of learning. Asking questions is part of the Savior's way of teaching. Trust in the Savior and learn from Him.
I love missionary work!! I love being here and seeing all these new missionaries come to the field. As we welcomed in this new group, the Spirit testified to me, with great power, that Heavenly Father could not wait any longer for these young men and women to come to the Vineyard as we labor with the Lord. Truly Jacob 5 is being fulfilled.
Love y’all! Hope everyone has a good week!!
Love ya, mean it!
Dearest, Darling Family,
HELLO!! How are all y’all doing? First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!!! 축하합니다!! Sounds like y'all had a fun weekend! Daddy, that movie theatre sounded amazing! Can I go there too!?! Haha
Last week was a wonderful closing to my privilege of training the dear Sister Sarah Meliana Eliza Rose Taylor! We had a wonderful 10 weeks with each other and there was lots of tears as the end of training came up. I wish we had had more time together, but now she gets to learn from someone new!!
Ok, y'all ready for this!?! Transfer Calls were on Thursday and......I WILL BE STAYING IN SANGIN!.... and....I WILL BE TRAINING AGAIN!! Yep, round 3 here we come! I wasn't surprised about the training part; I was more surprised about the staying in Sangin part. With the large influx in missionaries, there is only ONE companionship of sisters that is not either IN training or will be training!! This transfer, 7 sisters are coming and next transfer 10 sisters will be coming. That means that by the end of 2 transfers, pretty much every sister in the mission will be training. So fun right?!! I am so excited with how many missionaries are coming in and I am so excited that I get to be a small part of it all.
Today was lots of fun. The training and transferring missionaries all gathered to the Boo and we had the opportunity to hear from President and Sister Gilbert about where the Lord wanted us to go this next transfer. They have us reading 2 articles from the Liahona {Ensign}. One is in preparation for this coming week of Easter. It is titled: "He is Risen" by President Eyring. I am excited to see what I will be able to learn as I remember the Savior and as I strive to do His work the way He would do it.
The other talk is "Mission and Ministry of Jesus Christ". That one we are studying, especially the scriptures, in preparation for Zone Conference. It would be fun to have y’all study them as well, so I can get your thoughts on the matter!! {Follow the links of the Articles to read along with her this week!}
Especially when I am able to gather together with other missionaries, I am grateful that I am serving in the Korea Busan Mission. The work is hastening and I know that the Lord is looking out for all of the missionaries in this Mission and the World. I heard a rumor that the Church is projecting nearly 100,000 missionaries in the world by this next year I think! Can you imagine!?! Heavenly Father loves His children SO much and He is ready for them all the hear His gospel! President Gilbert commented that it is the fulfillment of Jacob 5. Amazing.
I have to say thanks to my dear family! Thanks to Mom and Dad for their examples, and for teaching me to, not only obey the commandments and standards, but to obey them with love and exactness!! I am so grateful for the love of doing what is right that you instilled in me. Thank you for the love y'all have for each other. That, too, is one of my greatest examples. Thanks dear sisters for all that you do! Thank you for your love and service and always thinking of others. A special shout out to Gwendel, thanks for keeping up my blog. Two of the Sisters that just came in last transfer said they were looking up things about the mission when they got their call and they found my blog and were able to follow along with all the posts!! Small world, huh?! Not gonna lie, I was a little embarrassed, haha! But if someone out there reading these posts gets to feel a portion of the love that I have for this people and this work, then I don't mind who stumbles upon the blog! Matt and Kaylani, I love y'all dearly!! Thanks for working hard in school and at jobs, and especially at church. I know that y'all have a huge impact on those around you. Let your light shine for everyone to see! You have lives to bless.
Thanks to everyone for all the love and support! For all the kindness and the hard work. I am grateful to know y'all and to have you in my hearts as I serve the people of Korea! In the Trainers Meeting, they always ask what some of the things are that we learned from our Trainers... but I think that my list of those things can include the things that I learned from y'all as well. Without your love, patience, encouragement, courage, faithfulness and testimonies I would not have had the strength to serve, nor the heart to train.
I love each of you!
I hope and pray that this week each of us remember our Savior and really prepare ourselves for this Sunday, as we once again partake of the sacrament in remembrance of not only His death, but also His life, and the Life and the Light that He gives to all of us.
Love y'all, mean it!!
Oh, and as for the subject line, this week on Wednesday I will have been in my beloved Korea for one year. Oh how quickly time goes by! It's fun to think that I am training, in a sense, ME one year ago!!
Family!! HI!!!
Can you believe it!?!?! Not only has Feb. gone by ridiculously fast, but another transfer has gone by as well!! Seriously, time needs to slow down.
As I was talking with my MTC group, we all realized that we only have 4 transfers left, and this next transfer is only going to be 4 weeks! (We have to match up with the MTC or something). ((Daddy, transfer days are the 29th, and then I will leave for Seoul on the morning of the 30th, go to the temple, play a day up there and their our flights are on the morning of the 31st.. which means I'll be in America on the 31st. Sorry for the confusion)) It makes me sad that I only have 4 weeks left with Sister Taylor, but by the looks of this past week, we are going to be busy!!
We have had SO many miracles this past week! This whole transfer we haven't had hardly any opportunities to teach. The investigators we had from past transfers all dropped us and so we were left to try our faith with proselyting and referrals from others. Heavenly Father loves His missionaries, but He also loves those who He has prepared! He loves everyone, and He will give people the chance to hear the gospel in the most unexpected of ways.
We were blessed with SIX! 6! new investigators this week!! All were amazing, but I only have time to tell y’all about one right now. His name is Bak Shin. He is about 70 years old, and he studied at Duke University in Philosophy. One day on the subway he came up to my companion and asked her about the book she was holding. "What is the Book of Mormon?" "How are the Mormon's different?" "Are they Christians?" My fabulous companion was a superstar are she began to testify of who we were. The ride was short, but we left him with a pamphlet and he left us with his number, saying that he would like to meet again.
Fast forward a week. We meet up with him with one of our members who is about to leave on her mission. We had sincerely planned for this lesson, knowing that with his mind and knowledge, we could do nothing but bring the spirit into the lesson and let a member of the Godhead take our message to his heart. It's always hard trying to describe later how a lesson went, but here are some of the highlights that I liked and remembered.
We first began by asking him about his background and belief in God. On the train he said that he was atheist, but we wanted to see if there was a time in his life that he ever believed or thought about God. He explained to us that in middle and high school he was a part of one of the first Christian schools in Korea. There, he was 'instructed' in religion, but he never seemed to be able to find the answer to his questions. When we asked what his questions were, he said that he had always wondered why man was here, where did we come from, what was our purpose and where would we go. The way he explained it was that he could never find his answers within the church that he was going to, so he turned to other sources, which I believe led to his study in philosophy. Here the Spirit prompted us to ask if, while studied in that field, he had found his answers. He did not reply.
As the lesson continued we were able to testify to him that we had the answers that he was looking for. We could teach him, and he could find out from himself. We made it clear that we didn't want to prove us right, and prove him wrong, but we wanted to help him find the answers he had always searched for. We knew that our message was right, but we also knew that if he did not put forth his own effort, he would not know the truth of what we were saying. Being a Professor of Learning, he readily agreed to put in his own effort. We were able to teach him about Prophets, after he made the comment that he hated when he saw “professed christians” going to church, and then going back to live their lives however they wanted the rest of the week. We taught him that through a prophet, we not only know of Christ's gospel, but we also know how to live it, and we know that there are people in the world that live their beliefs every day.
We talked with him about Joseph Smith seeing God the Father and Jesus Christ, receiving the call to be a prophet and restoring Christ's church upon the earth. His favorite part of the lesson is when we said that there was evidence of what we were saying, and that evidence he could read and study for himself. That is the Book of Mormon. If the Book of Mormon is truly the word of God, then Joseph Smith was His prophet of the Restoration. He kept on saying how much he liked that there was a book, something he could read and study for himself.
As we were finishing up the lesson he confessed that he made it a point not to visit with or meet with people of other religions. But, apparently he saw us a couple of times on the train and he felt that he needed to talk with us. At the end of the meeting, he said that he wanted to continue to meet and learn more about the Book of Mormon. My companion finished the lesson with a powerful testimony that she knew the Book of Mormon contained the answers to all of the questions he has ever asked, the questions he has had gone unanswered in a lifetime. The Spirit in that lesson was so strong and so tender. It may have taken a lifetime, but I know that Bak Shin is about to find the answers to all of his questions.
How grateful I am for this Gospel and the fact that I get to teach it and share it with people! I got to read the Book of Mormon with a man, and he said "Joseph Smith is a prophet, huh?" I got to testify to 2 girls that they were Daughters of God, divine princesses with the potential to become queens. I got to teach a mom and her sister about the beauty and importance of family. This week was WONDERFUL!! I LOVE MISSIONARY WORK!!
A fun thing this week too, my first trainee, is going to be training this next transfer!! That makes me a "grandma" in the mission field. President told me today that in 2 transfers every sister in the mission will be training!!! (That's how many new people we are getting!) So you never know, I could train 2 more times! Oh and I found out my trainer is dating the AP of my first transfer and I think they are going to get married (in Canada) which makes me SO HAPPY!!
Oh and crazy thought, within 2 transfers, my sisters group will be the oldest in the mission!! ahhh!!
Well I love y’all! thanks for all the lovin and prayers!
I love missionary work!!
kiss love hugs!
FAMILY!!
Hi! How's is going? Good, me too!
So the last time I wrote I talked about how I would be having the AMAZING privilege of training again, and in the mean time (while waiting for the new missionaries to arrive) I would get to go play down in my old area, ShinJeong!
So the story begins there!!
To my great delight I got to go down to ShinJeong with Sister Cutler, who is one of the girls I came with to Korea. This is both our second time training, and I think for the most part we were just excited to spend a couple days together. OH and was it fun or WHAT!?!
Our first night in my beloved Ulsan, we had a dinner appointment with the Priedman Family! Sister Priedman knew that I was coming, but none of the other girls did. So we head on up, ring the doorbell, the youngest, Emma, answers and at first she just says hello, and then she was like "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?!" haha she was so excited to see me and then I spent the next couple of minutes passing hugs around.
The next couple days that followed were full of hard work and lots of growing!! From my Kiran experience, and a couple other events, I realized that YES! I can speak the language! And NOW, more then ever, was the time for me to use what I have been blessed with, to Open. My. Mouth. Wide and talk with the people around me.
I learned a lot from Sister Cutler in those couple of days. She is absolutely fearless, and with the two of us together, we were absolutely unstoppable!!!
The original plan was to spend Tuesday in Ulsan, and then go back to the Boo on Wednesday to meet the new missionaries and get things started... Well, the poor new missionaries decided to have one of their own adventures!! They arrived at the Airport Monday morning ready to go! They are dropped off, the bus leaves and then they go to check in... Only to discover that their plane had been canceled because of a snow storm in Japan! So they returned back to the MTC (which would just be awful!! haha) and left the next day!! Well, they finally left SLC and landed safely in Japan. Upon arrival in Japan, things were a MESS!! Planes where coming and going but they were all mixed up...So again, these poor missionaries missed their flight and got to spend the night in JAPAN! FINALLY on Thursday afternoon they arrive in Busan!
When Sister Cutler and I heard this, we were a little sad but at the same time, not really, because that meant that we got to spend a couple more days together! We shared the good, bad and ugly about training the first time and what we wanted to do differently the next time. We set goals, and made plans. It really was a good week of building each other up. I think her and I had to have set some sort of record or something!! We served together for 2 and 1/2 days and in that time span we taught 5 lessons and received 10 contacts from proselyting!!!!!! It was AWESOME!!
With those few days behind us, and more pumped then ever to do missionary work and to spread the Gospel, we met the new missionaries. Like the other times of training, we went to a big subway station, proselyted, and then had dinner. During that time, me and Sister Cutler switched between the American (Sister Taylor) and the Korean (Sister Pak). I have to admit that we both knew from the beginning who we felt we were going to be with. Sister Cutler hit it right off with Sister Taylor and I with Sister Pak. It was so easy to work with Sister Pak. We just flowed and fed off of each other. We chatted like old friends and it was the best. It was strange being with Sister Taylor because I have never been with an American before, and when I was ready to just talk a mile a minute, she was left behind trying to catch up. It was good though, to slow down at times, and give her the confidence she needed to have her say what she remembered from the MTC. That night, when Sister Cutler and I went back to sleep over at the Gumjeong house, we both just KNEW who we were going to be with!! It seemed so perfect, and things fit together soooo well!!
Then the DAY came. We head to the Boo to have breakfast with the missionaries and wait anxiously for President to announce who we were going to be paired with. (Which we already knew right!?!) The time comes for the announcements. We do something fun where Sister Cutler and I stand behind the trainees and when they open their eyes and turn around they see who they will be with! lol So we go and I stand behind Sister Pak and Sister Cutler behind Sister Taylor. And then we look at President.... And he shakes his head no... And motions for us to SWITCH!!!! Sister Cutler and I just look at each other with HUGE eyes!... WE SOOO DID NOT EXPECT THAT!!!!!
So, from that moment on, I became companions with Sister Sarah Meleana Eliza Rose Taylor from Provo, UT. ((Her family owns the arabian horse ranch in Payson and the "Taylor Maid" costume and beauty shop in Provo on Center St!!)) She is gorgeous and funny and sweet and FEARLESS!!! This was NOT what I was expecting to happen, but as every day goes by I know that Heavenly Father really does know what is best and He knew that we needed to learn from each other these next 10 weeks.
That's another thing!! Because the MTC is changing things, and we have to have a 4 week transfer. I only get 10 weeks with her! =[ But we will just have to make the most out of it!!
I can already see the miracles happening in this area. Things seem to be waking up again! We are getting visits with members, we are finding new places and new people. We are both loving the work, and I love being able to help Sister Taylor grow in her confidence. This is going to be SO MUCH FUN!! I know that Gwen said that she hoped that I would get the Korean Sister to keep my streak and to keep up with the language, but I have to push myself TONS now because I don't have a Korean to figure all of it out for me! haha And I do get to help her learn lots and it’s fun to be able to share the things that I have learned from my other companions. Though it is still strange speaking a lot of English again. ^__^
There are TONS of fun stories to share from this week, like going to go knock doors, and asking for directions, and getting a total of 18 contacts last week!! But the time is short right now. So we'll have to save some for later!
Know that I love y’all and I am SOOO grateful for all the love and extra prayers. They are needed and greatly appreciated. Pray for us this week!! We are BUSY and our schedule is so full of appointments; so pray for us not to kill over by the end of the week...and if we do die, know that we died in the happiest and greatest Christian cause of the WORLD: bringing other's closer to Christ!!
Love you!! Mean it!! Miss you!!
FAMILY!!!
Hi! How is everyone doing?? From the emails it sounds like everyone is doing great, which makes me happy.
So...are y’all ready to hear about Transfers!?! So like normal, the calls came to us on Thursday night. During that week leading up to the calls, I really didn't have any particularly strong feelings of what was going to happen. I had some thoughts, but no strong impressions. Thursday night came and I found that I was nervous! Like really nervous!! I had butterflies like crazy, though I really couldn't figure out why. A little after 9pm my companion got a call from the AP's that told her she was going to be transferring...but they didn't say anything about me... When her phone call ended, the butterflies did NOT go away. I just kept thinking "there is going to be another phone call... there is going to be another phone call". At 9:26pm the phone rang again, and my companion handed it over to me. As soon as she answered, I knew who it was and the butterflies and nerves completely disappeared. The first thing I said was "I was wondering when you were going to call!" And then President replied with "I tried 4 times!!" haha
President Gilbert then goes on to tell me that, once again, I will have the opportunity of TRAINING a new missionary!!!!!! There are 2 sisters coming in! One is American (Sister Sarah Taylor) and the other is Korean (sister 박세영 bak seh yeong). The Korean Sister is also really good at English because she studied in Hawaii. Anyhow! Me and Sister Cutler from my MTC group will be training for our second time. I don't know until this Thursday who my new companion will be, but I have to admit that I am really really really excited to be training again!!
When the call came from President, I instantly felt peace, and joy, and excitement. I know that this is what I need to do right now and I'm excited for the blessings and miracles and opportunities it will bring.
I've been thinking a lot about what kind of companionship I want to create with this new missionary. More then ever, we need missionaries who are obedient, loving and grateful. Busan has a temple on the horizon and we are working hard towards it. I want a companion who will love; Love me, love the members, and love the work. For that to happen I know that I need to first love the Savior, and love her. Though I kinda feel like I'm whitewashing and training at the same time, I'm excited for the Light and the Spirit my new companion will bring to our area. What a blessing she will be, whoever she is, to the Sangin Ward.
I think what I'm FIRST most excited for in this week is spending time with Sister Cutler. She is currently serving in Shin Jeong, so I get to go back and visit everyone for the next couple of days!!!!!! I'm SO SO SO excited!!!!! hehe And since both of us have trained before, we are already talking a lot about how to do better and what to change etc. It'll be a good week of learning. I am so grateful every day to be apart of the Korea Busan Mission Family. Truly, this is the greatest mission in the world ^__^
I love you all and thank you so much for all your love, support and prayers. Say a little prayer for the new missionaries coming in. Bless them to come in with fire and to help us move this mission forward to the level Heavenly Father needs it to be at. I'm excited! This is an exciting time here in Busan!! More and more missionaries are coming in!! I actually hope that I will have the chance to continue to train these last 5 transfers of my mission. If I can't forever serve here, then I want to make sure the next 'generation' of missionaries takes care of my dear Busan.
Cool thing I learned/ realized this week...I was looking through my old MTC notebook and I found a quote from one of the elders in my classroom. He said "If we are not living to be loving, then what is the point?" Studying the Savior's attributes and life this past transfer I was able to see even more clearly that the Savior and the Godhead, are all personages of Love. So, "if we are not living to be CHRISTLIKE, then what is the point?"
**I think that this is something that I want to focus on this next transfer with my new companion. Truly, if we love the Savior, then we will love others. And if we are living to be loving then we are fulfilling our divine potential.
I LOVE MISSIONARY WORK!!!!!
and I love y’all!!
Darlingest Family,
Hello!!! How is everyone doing?? Thanks for y’alls letters this week! Seems like things are going great for everyone. Crazy to think that we have just ushered in a new year!! 2013!! As Korean tradition goes, everyone goes up a year in age at the New Year...so between my American age of just turning 22, my Korean age of 23 last year, and now my new age of 24 this year, I'm feeling like time is going really really really fast. But it'll be fun to say that in my life I was 23 and 24 TWICE! Lol
Some other moments that hit me a little hard and made me realize how fast time was going by was the fact that this past Friday was my ONE YEAR mark as being a Set-Apart missionary and this Friday, the 11th, will be my ONE YEAR mark as a missionary with a name tag. I can't really comprehend it and I don't really like it, but I had some really neat moments this past week that have given me a new perspective.
For the past transfer I have been trying to meet an investigator that was taught by my companion and her pervious companion. Her name is Kiran. She in from Nepal and is here with her husband and family while her husband goes to school. Because of the holidays and her preparing to return to Nepal, we have been unable to meet. Christmas day I was able to send her some Season’s Greetings with a message telling her that we loved her and that we were praying for her and her family. She replied with “thanks” and told us that she knew that only God could send the missionaries. It was a sweet message. But as things would turn out that ended up being our last communication with Kiran.
On New Year’s Day, we sent her another salutation and said we could meet during the week if that would work better. Not a minute later, a reply came back saying the number had been disconnected and was no longer in use. My companion and I kinda freaked out and we cleared our schedule for the next day so we could head out to her house. We got there and there was no reply...we couldn't call her...There was no sign that anyone lived there anymore...All we can assume is that her plans to return to Nepal in February were moved up.
I have never met Kiran, but I loved her from the beginning. Just hearing about her from my companion and how the other teaching lessons had gone, I was SO excited to meet her and teach her myself. My companion recalls the first time that she met Kiran and in stumbled English, apologized for not being able to communicate very well. Kiran's reply was quick and full of love. She told her it would be ok because they would be able to communicate heart to heart. As we left Kiran's house my heart just sunk. With every car that passed, every person that walked by, my heart would call out, "Are you Kiran?... Are you Kiran?.. Are you the one I get to teach about God's love and your divine potential? Are you Kiran?" The hour bus ride home, I thought about that question a lot... "Are you Kiran?" Specifically the answer is "No", but generally the answer is "Yes". Everyone here in Korea, everyone in the world, is “Kiran”. They are a beloved Child of God who is in need of the message I bear. The same excitement I had to share this message with someone I had never met is the same excitement I can have with everyone on the street, everyone I pass by. When I ask the question in my heart, "are you Kiran?," the answer can always be a resounding “Yes”. I will forever be grateful for Kiran and the lesson I learned from her. I know that as she returns to Nepal, and she continues to search for Heavenly Father, He will find her. Kiran helped me begin this near year with a new perspective.
The next learning moment came on Friday as we did a 10 min member lesson. Sister Bek is the mother of 5, with the 6th of the way. Her husband is not a member. The stories of her strength of character and spirit and example could go on and on and on... but today I learned a particular lesson from her.
My companion and I have been talking about how we want to go back to the beginning of our missions! Back when there was more time, back when we had the drive and desperate prayers of a new missionary. I was thinking about that a lot, and during the lesson Sister Bek said something interesting. She said that many times in our lives we wish to go back, or to redo something, or to start again; but those thoughts tell Father in Heaven that we are not trusting in His plan and who He is creating us to be. In this life we will go through ups and downs, we will have great times and hard times, and time that we will need to change through the Atonement of Christ. But if we always bring ourselves back to the straight and narrow pathway, then those moments of trial will ALWAYS be for our benefit and good. They will be moments that Heavenly Father included in our personal Plan of Salvation because they are the moments of refinement that help us become who we are. So my thoughts have changed. I don't want to become a new missionary, I want to be THIS missionary who has chosen today to go down the path that Heavenly Father has created for me. I have chosen to be the missionary that trusts in the Lord, trusts in the Spirit, and trusts in what God is creating her to become. I chose to follow Him and I choose to go forward, not backwards.
I'm grateful for the timing of the new year and the opportunity we have to evaluate and make ourselves accountable, both personally and to the Lord. There are going to be a lot of endings and beginnings for me this year of 2013, but I'm excited for each of them.
Thank you, to everyone, for all your prayers and support, love and kindness. I need your strength and I feel in every week. I love missionary work!!! I love it. I love it. I love it SO MUUUCHHH!!! Hehe
OH!! Funny moment this week!! I was at a member's house for dinner and we were looking through old pictures when all of a sudden the face of Josh Brereton was there on the page!...but wait! That can't be Josh! haha It was Brother (Elder) Brereton! Back when missionaries had "mission moms" that cooked and cleaned for them, this Sister was Brother Brereton's mission mom!! So fun!! I took pictures of the pictures, so I'll send those home as soon as I can. It was a fun little experience lol The sister is 소경자 (So Gyeong Ja).
AND this past week was like Christmas Part 2!! I got packages from the Girls, and the Martineau’s and Carlson’s! Thank you notes are coming, but snail mail is slow. I just wanted to tell y’all thanks!! Really, the packages were wonderful!!!! =] And Mom and Dad, I got the Christmas letter from y’all...not a fan of my pictures lol! But I LOVE the black and white ones of y’all at Tyler and Brooklyn's wedding! Oh my goodness! I have the cutest parents in the world!! Hehe
LOVE YALL!!
Talk to you next week! The email we be later...it's a transfer day. Calls come this week!!
OH fun fact, by May we will have 110 missionaries here!! In 3 transfers there are 10 new sisters coming!!! AHH!!! That means pretty much EVERYONE here will be training at the same time! so fun!!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU ALL!! Thanks y’all soo much for all the birthday wishes! It was fun to see all the messages from family and friends! Thank you!! It's strange to think that this will be my first birthday without any family members. But it's all good because I’m serving with a very BIG family!! They just happen to be Asian. =] No really, thanks y’all. I miss each of you and love you even more!
Family! Hi! So Daegu...
Oh my heavens!! It is sooo stinkin cold here it's not even funny!!! Yesterday the blistering high was a balmy 32 degrees, but don't worry the weather cooled off to a nice 18 degrees that night -___- yeah...But, where the cold makes things not so fun, the area COMPLETELY makes up for it!
Family, I AM SO HAPPY!! All the time!! I love this area, I love the members, I LOVE my companion, I love my house, I love my district, I love my zone, I love the other two sisters that are with us...I JUST LOVE IT ALL!! hehe Seriously! SO happy!!
Right now is really fun. I am at Elder and Sister Helms house! They are the missionary couple working with the military branch. They are from South Carolina and they bring the South to Korea. I get to talk southern with them, lol! It's great. They have a "Transfer Breakfast" tradition. The first Monday after transfers they have everyone over to their house for breakfast. Today we had biscuits and gravy with sausage!! I was in HEAVEN! I made sure and brought all the fantastic crafts Mom and Dad sent me and we were able to do them together with the zone. They were adorable and everyone loved the crafts. The Helms also have us all coming over for Christmas Day and we will just have a fun day of games and snacking and goodness.
Speaking of CHRISTMAS!! I'm glad that y’all got one of my boxes! That one y’all can open up when everyone gets together. It would be fun to use it a couple of times before Christmas so you can tell me what you think. Y’all decide how you want to do it. There is another one coming, with more individual presents; so pray hard that it comes when y’all are all together.
So this week I got the packages from Mom and Dad!! Thanks!! Question: the "wait for it..." package... are the things wrapped inside so I can open the box or do I need to wait? And mom: you said that some were for my birthday right? Just curious...
Gwendel, THANK YOU! For the music and memory cards and candy! We have been listening to the music as much as possible! lol Gwen, you're such a goob! My personal favorites as I have listen to the music have been Barry Manilow (made me think of Mom!) The Jets {Gwen has no idea what she is talking about here, LOL!}, Hansen and of course Aretha Franklin hahahah
Oh! Also! Remember me talking about Bomi? She will be in America on the 15th and she wants to meet y’all!! Her English is good, but make sure you talk simply and a little slow! haha But really she wants to meet my family! I believe she found the girls on Facebook, so you can communicate with her through that =]
And now for the BEST part about Christmas!! PHONE CALLS!! SO daddy, you were right! We will be calling y’all on Christmas Day for us, Eve for y’all. So, President and Sister Gilbert were worried about the fees and such for missionaries, and so they gave us permission to have YOU call US on our cell phones. I don't know if you want to do that or just have me call the Conference call phone because either way that doesn't cost me money (which is the point)
This week has been fun! Sangin is a VERY BUSY area!! We are constantly going from one place to another with meetings and lessons! It is crazy and absolutely amazing! I love it. It has been fun to begin meeting all the members. It's a bit strange to not know anyone... but I'm slowly learning all the names. The ward LOVES missionaries and they are always willing to help us. Our ward mission leader is amazing. He used to be the Stake President and he is so organized and on the ball. At our Missionary Council Meeting he was there as well as the ward missionaries. When we talked about the people we were meeting, they were actually interested and gave help when we needed!! They he gave us a list the ward wanted to focus on and told us all about them. It was amazing!! I have NEVER been in a meeting like that before.
Sunday was a fun day, but my favorite part was when the Youth Curriculum was introduced. I am so excited for this new program!!! As I was watching the videos I realized that not only will the teaching and learning be done as the Savior did, but it's just as us missionaries are striving to do things. It was a tender moment. The Lord is preparing His people even more to take this everlasting gospel to the WORLD!! I am so grateful to be apart of this glorious work.
Thank you for all the love and support. For the birthday wishes! I'll talk to y’all in 15 days!! EEKK!!!!
love ya - mean it!
Kiss Love Hugs!
Darling Family!!
Hello!!! How is everyone this week!?! From the letters sounds like all y’all are doing great which makes me happy!! Oh how I miss and love each of you!
Well, y’all got the news a little early from Sister Kim!! I GOT TRANSFERRED!!!!! I had the feeling the call was coming. Actually I got the feeling of where I was going and who I was going to be with a couple of weeks ago. It was fun to see that I was right!! So...I have been transferred to 대구 상인 Daegu, Sangin Ward!! Daegu is known as the hottest place in the summers and the coldest place in the winters in Korea. So mom and dad, an extra big thanks in advance for buying me a wonderful coat and set of boots!! They will be put to good use!!
As for my new companion, I am really really excited to serve with her!! She is absolutely adorable and has the heart of an angel! Her name is 윤진아 Sister Yoon Jin Ah!! Yep!! I have the privilege of serving with another Korean!!!! Some extra fun news is that in Daegu I will be in the 4 sister house!!! So there is Me and my companion, another Korean 추윤아 (nickname is Sister Charity) and Sister Chase!!! I AM SO EXCITED!! This transfer is going to be so much fun. I have already heard such wonderful things about the ward I will be serving in. The members are involved and they love missionary work. There are some programs already in the making for Christmas, so I'm excited to see the miracles that come from those.
I have to say that is was really strange to leave Shin Jeong; my home for the past 6 months of my mission!! It was hard saying goodbye to the members that I have served for so long and with all my heart. I loved them all dearly. It was definitely a teary goodbye. I think the hardest goodbye was Sister Kim!! I love her so very much, like my own sister! She was my friend, and mentor these past couple months. I knew her in my first area as well, so it will be strange serving without her being close by! Before Missionaries leave for home they get to visit past areas their last two p-days. Shin Jeong has definitely made that list!
My companion and trainee Sister Yoon had a really hard time this past week. First, it was just the knowledge that transfers were coming up, and then it was the fact that the call officially came. Last, was the days leading up to transfer days as I packed my bags, said goodbyes and prepared to leave. We had some long hours and night of tears. I remember what it was like leaving my trainer and my heart went out to her. Her new companion is from my group of missionaries, Sister Cutler, and I know that they will learn a lot from each other. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to see Sister Yoon grow and that I was able to be an instrument in the Lord's hands in helping her learn and most importantly love. She gave me the a very sweet present as we departed. She has graduated college and her trade is making jewelry. She works with precious medals and makes her own stones with silver casted flowers. She brought some of her pieces that she has made to the mission and presented me with a BEAUTIFUL ring!! I'll send a picture later. She also had me choose another stone that she made and will be making me a necklace when she returns home that she'll send later. Her heart is so large and so sensitive, and most of her life she has spent building up her defenses; but it was my honor to see those walls begin to come down. As they did so, her heart was able to touch other peoples. I hope and pray that she will continue to do so.
Some fun news from Shin Jeong! Sweet Grandma Kim, our convert, finished the Book of Mormon this past week and she is excited to begin the Doctrine and Covenants!! She always said that she didn't understand much, but she also felt so happy when she was reading. It was amazing how quickly she read and how day after day you could see the light of her faith and testimony grow!
This past Saturday at the Youth english and PMG class, we began a project that the mission has wanted to implement. It's called the “Letter Project” and when the missionaries go visit with the members we bring with us the name of a LA or a member who is having a hard time and we all sit down and write a letter to them. Then the missionaries go and deliver the letters. This past Saturday with the youth, we all knelt down together and prayed to know who, amongst the youth, were in need of a special letter. From the names we chose we all wrote letters sharing our testimony, or favorite scriptures, and most importantly our love. It was neat to see all the youth thinking of those they hadn't seen in a while and having their hearts reach out in hopes that those people would come back to church again.
Transfer meeting today was such a BLAST!! I seriously LOVE getting together with the missionaries!! It was neat; I heard the testimonies of the Elder's going home. These missionaries are the ones that have really become my dear friends and I'm sad to see them go. It was wonderful as they shared their experiences and the things that really stood out to them. After the testimonies, Sister Gilbert said something that I really liked! She said: "The greatest testimony you'll ever leave is the testimony of how you lived your mission." How grateful I am to be living my mission and living my testimony everyday and I'm excited to now share the love that I have with the people of Daegu!!
Thanks for you love!! I sent off the final Christmas package today!! ONLY MOM can look at it and wrap all the presents =]
I miss you all and I love you!! So far I haven't gotten any of the packages, but I’m assuming that they are coming soon! Love you! mean it!
Kiss Love Hugs!!
FAMILY!! Hello!!
How are all y’all doing this fabulous day!?! It was a fun week here in Ulsan Korea.
We had a training meeting in Busan and it was, of course, a blast to get together with all the missionaries. My poor companion is having a hard time thinking that she is in her last week as a Trainee. I remember my last week with Sister 이예정 and how scared and nervous I was to leave her and have to go somewhere else with someone new. Sister Yoon has forbidden me to make any reference of transfer calls on Thursday, haha!
It's been amazing to see her change and grow over the last 12 weeks. They definitely aren't lying when they say that training is the hardest part of missionary work!! But President Gilbert's advice that he told me 12 weeks ago is very true; "Without hard things, we can't progress", and I have felt that I've progressed a TON these past weeks. It's been hard, but I'll always be grateful for the refining moments I had with Sister 윤은지.
Transfer calls will be interesting this Thursday. Currently I am the missionary who has been in our zone the longest, but because my companion is a new missionary, there is a possibility that she will be leaving. So I might be here for another transfer, or I might go, or we will both go! haha Really we have NO idea! I'll let y’all know next week though. Mom, you said that I should get an English companion but that might be weird! haha I've only been with Koreans my whole mission; I'm not quite sure how to work with or live with another American!! ^__^
After the training meeting, the next fun thing was THANKSGIVING DINNER!!!!!! It. Was. So. Delicious! The Priedman family from our branch invited all of us over, and then they had an American family from the neighboring branch, {the Wood Family (they have 2 little girls who are adorable)} and then our friend Valeria joined the group. There was homemade stuffing and mashed potatoes with gravy, homemade rolls (they were good, but I really missed Grammy's rolls), there was cranberry jello, fruit salad, and CHICKEN haha They couldn't find a Turkey. Apparently Costco got about 200 Turkeys, and needless to say, those went fast. For dessert there was apple, chocolate and pumpkin pies. The pumpkin was so good!! Sister Priedman made everything from scratch, including the filling! So good! ((on the subject of pumpkin, I should tell y’all of the amazing change that has taken place with my tastebuds. I now, actually, GREATLY enjoy pumpkin, squash and the real shocker... Sweet Potatoes! (the yellow ones)... well, at least the Korean version of these things lol)
Overall it was just a nice relaxing night full of family time. I have to admit that it did make me miss y’all and our Thanksgiving traditions. I missed helping mom cook, and the chips and dip while we watched football. I missed the movie break, and of course, the week of leftovers and cold turkey sandwiches. But it was fun and I'm grateful I could still have a Thanksgiving.
In y’alls emails you talked about Black Friday and all the crazy shoppers. There is nothing like that here!! And the stores actually waited till after Thanksgiving before they started putting up decorations! haha Weird huh!?!
Ok, so I've been talking about food... so I'll just continue (I promise I'm not hungry right now lol) Since I've been in Korea I have had a wide variety of meats! haha Well, since last night, we can officially add EEL to the list!! And actually...it was really good!! It was fun to watch the member prepare it as she cut it up and cleaned it out. Then she began frying it up and she coated it in this AMAZING sauce!! She mixed the spicy red pepper paste with a sweet grape juice sauce thing (Sorry, it was all in Korean. I don't know what it is exactly) and a couple other spices. It was spicy and sweet and super good! We ate it with rice in lettuce leaves. We also had 3 different kinds of Kimchi (all at different ages). The "best" kimchi was the 3 year old kimchi that we ate with some kind of pork (again...Korean name, not sure what it is exactly in English). The meat and kimchi are cooked together and then you wrap the kimchi around the pork.. sooo goood!!! The member told us it was a "kimchi party" lol
On the subject of fresher food... Koreans are really really good about eating fruits and vegetables in their season. Really, if it's not in season, you either can't find it or it costs a TON of money. But because they do this soo well, you end up eating the same fruits for m.o.n.t.h.s!! Here in Korea was the first time I've ever had Persimmons and I have to say that I'm ready for them to be out of season!! There are 2 kinds.. the hard ones and the soft ones.. and the soft ones just freak me out! lol
The work this week was...well...it was kind of tough. Every appointment that me made, including the back up ones, all got canceled. But it's ok; this next week will be good.
Kinda sad, one of the Elders in our branch had to go home for a couple of weeks because of medical reasons. Because of this, my companion and I are now on our own in Shin Jeong. This also means that we get to teach all their recent converts, which was fun.
On the same day as our convert JuHee, two brothers SehMeen and SehJeen were baptized. This week we taught SehJeen and it went really well. But my favorite lesson was on Sunday and we reviewed with both the brothers about the Priesthood. Then, they were about the be ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood. After church I went up to the older brother and asked him how it went. He replied with 성스럽다 which means like holy, sacred, solemn. It was a neat moment.
Sunday, the Elders also had one of their investigators get baptized!!! Actually, when I was with Sister Yeon, we were the first ones to begin to teach him and then the Elders came, so we handed them over. His name is 김경수 (Gyong Su) and he is TOTALLY the "cool kid" personality and all. So teaching him was always a bit hard, haha! To see the changes that he has made and to see his heart softening has been really special. Then on Sunday, to see him shed some tears (while trying to hide it to keep up the "cool guy" persona) was awesome. I know that his heart will continue to soften and he will be able to bless and lead so many people to this Gospel. When I look at him I can always picture him at the MTC.
For Gyong Su's baptism I made him a scripture case for his Book of Mormon. On it, I put pictures of Captain Moroni, the 2000 warriors and another picture of the warriors right after battle as they are helping those who are wounded. On the top of the case I put the scripture Alma 53:20-21. Thinking of President Eyring’s talk from Priesthood Session, I was able to pray about Gyong Su and really think about who he could become.
Well the work here is moving forward. I LOVE being able to serve in this mission. I know that Heavenly Father is really aware of the people of Busan Korea, especially as we keep our sights and our hearts on a Temple.
I love you all!! Thank you for everything!! I'm excited to share a bit of Christmas with y’all through packages, and I'm even more excited to talk to you within a month!!!!!!
Oh, and a follow-up from last weeks letter, when I talked about my gratitude from being a Wells-Longshore, I turned to Helamen 5:6 and thought that scripture applied really well.
You are in my prayers! Love y’all!
kiss love hugs
