Letter 11/18/2013

We had dinner at the mission leader's house last night. It was the first meal away from home where kimchi wasn't provided. The gave us each a scoop of vanilla ice cream and offered us DoTerra oils to drop on top so that we could make the flavor that we want. Such a good idea! 

We spend most of our time looking for people. We talk to people on the public transportation but we mostly just walk around and talk to people. We talk to people stopped at crosswalks and bus stops, or people who look distressed. We helped some old ladies who had been waiting for a half an hour for an elevator to work again. They were scared to cross the main road so they usually took the elevator down to the station, walked underground, and then took the elevator back up. But the elevator was broken and they couldn't take their stuff down the stairs. So we called a maintenance man for them and helped them carry their stuff down into the train station. One lady gave us each a piece of gum in return. It was pretty cute.

On Thursday we went to our usual service project at an old-folks home. We helped them with their art projects and talked to them. They're adorable. We had an extra service project on Friday to help some people (I have no idea who they were) make kimchi (it's called kimjang). It was so fun. We were up on the roof of an apartment building. They had the hot seasonings (I don't know what they're called - the gochugaru stuff) (hot pepper paste) and the salted cabbage prepared. They dumped the gochugaru onto big tables covered in plastic and we rubbed it into the cabbage. We rubbed each leaf, front and back and stuffed a little extra in between the leaves. Then we wrapped the heads up into their own leaves and stacked them in tubs.

 And we got to eat some!! And they gave us a head to take home! One of the beauties of kimchi is that if I eat something that has a less than desirable taste or texture I can stuff kimchi into my mouth and the kimchi will overpower everything else. It's wonderful. 

We had a joint mission conference on Saturday with the Seoul Mission. Elder David F. Evans (who we know from Japan) spoke to us. It was very good. He told us some exciting things about missionary work, some of which we're not supposed to share.  There are now over 83,000 missionaries. 

We had stake conference this weekend. I tried really hard to understand but it's mentally exhausting. When we met with our mission leader last night I could understand about 80% of what he was saying if I focused really hard but then I was focusing so much on each word that I wasn't getting the whole picture.

My companion tells me that sometimes she forgets I'm American, let alone a greenie because I act so Asian. She says, "are you American? Are you Japanese? I don't know." I don't know either. But now that I'm back in Asia, I don't know if I can ever leave. She tells me that my pronunciation is good and I have a more extensive vocabulary than the average greenie, both due to Japan. I'm teaching her Japanese (she already knows a little bit) and English in return for her teaching my Korean. I use Japanese to help my study Korean. I have pieces of paper stuck up on the wall in front of my desk with important vocab terms and I have the translations in Japanese to help me remember better, retain Japanese, and teach my comp Japanese. Japanese has helped a lot. If something confuses me I learn what it is in Japanese and then it makes sense. And I also learn more about Japanese. I had no idea what I was saying. (in Japanese) I just knew when it was appropriate to say it. I can't believe I was so ignorant. (she learned Japanese as a small child, the way a first language is learned, and is having many revelations about the language now) I use Japanese everyday. A lot of Koreans know Japanese and there's a man in my ward who can only speak Japanese. I must hurry and learn Korean so that I can translate for him. My life makes so much more sense now. (now that she understands more about Japanese from learning Korean) I love languages.

More people asked me if I'm Russian. Why?

There are a lot of mountainns in my area. Most of the cities and towns have 'san' in them (Ansan, Sanbon). (San is the a word for mountain that both Japan and Korea took from the Chinese in Japanese, Mt Fuji is Fuji-San) They're pretty mountains like the Virginian mountains.

One of the elders looks like Noah and reminds me of him. He's a sweetie too.

Natasha's first email from Korea! 11/11/2013

(Tashi the mission home with President and Sister Morrise, and her new native Korean companion!)

We flew into Incheon at 7:30 PM, met our mission president, put our luggage into cars, grabbed a Book of Mormon, and got on the subway to go to the mission home. It was hard to talk to people because there were 40 missionaries on one subway. I talked to a couple that only spoke Japanese. We got to the mission home at 11:30.

In the morning we studied, had interviews with President Morrise, attended some orientations and ate lunch. President Morrise said he thought my Korean was good enough to put me with a native companion. I don't know what he was thinking. My companion does speak English. She studies English during my language study time. I'm glad to be put with a native companion. I hope I can learn Korean faster. And she won't teach me incorrect things. My companion is Jeong He-Ri. We are in the Ahnsang ward. We have four elders with us, One of them came in from the MTC with me.

Hauling my luggage across Seoul (2 hours with multiple transfers) wasn't the funnest thing I've ever done. My shoulders are covered in nasty broken blood vessels. We went straight to the church because there was a YSA activity. I wasn't sure what was going on, but we were practicing Christmas songs for a performance or something. I'm pretty sure my face looked like death.

It was really hard to say goodbye to everyone at the MTC. The tears were flowing after our evening class. We had to say good bye to three of our teachers plus all of the missionaries. Sisters Jeong and Kil both thanked me for teaching the gospel to their people and it made me cry so hard. My face was so red and blotchy it wasn't even funny.

We met with the ward mission leader before church. There are only nine men in our ward. All of the missionaries met with the branch presidency and they called my companion and I to be the 1st and 2nd counselors in Young Women's.

While I was in the MTC I could understand better than I could speak (I think that's normal - guessing is easier than using your brain) but that is no longer the case. I have absolutely no idea what anyone is saying. It's pretty bad. I felt like I was in a daze all day. I would just look at the speakers and teachers, feeling like I should know what they were saying but not being able to. I trusted my companion to tell me if I needed to know anything important. I would have moments where I would think, "Oh! They're talking about repentance.... but I don't know any other word." or "Ooh. They used the 'must-form' but I don't know what we need to do." I'm pretty sure people could have paid money to watch my face. It didn't help that I was exhausted. The night before we left, I only slept for about 4 hours and I only slept for a couple of hours on the plane. Then I only slept for a few hours the night we flew in. I fell asleep during journal last night and my companion woke me up at 10:30. I had been looking forward to catching up on sleep on that plane ride for two months. I did help Sister Rose give out a Book of Mormon on the plane and we got his number.

After church we went to the Sanbon ward building  for a Young Women's activity. We went straight form there to an inactive member's house. She and her husband both used to be active but they stopped attending church because of work and now they're admittedly lazy. She fed us rice, kimchi, kimchi soup, beans, mandarin oranges, persimmons, sweet potatoes, and blanched greens. It was delicious. Oh my heaven the food is so good. Where has it been all of my life? For lunch today we went to a restaurant called kimbap nara (kimbap land) (kimbap is like sushi). A couple of different people thought I looked Russian. One guy said he thought I was Russian because I was too pretty to be an American. What do I say to that. I think I hear the word 'pretty' more often than any other word. It's the ultimate compliment. A lot of girls have self-esteem issues. Plastic surgery is unbelievably common.

We went to workout in a little exercise park this morning. They have these little machines that are incredibly useless. I can't even explain them. They don't do anything. I gave up and jogged.

I've seen lots of men taking pictures of me. Some try to hide it and some have no shame.

My area is kind of rural. It's like Chiba or Saitama.  (areas in Japan)I feel like I've been on a long trip and I've just come home. Everything is just perfect. I'm reliving all of the sounds, smells, tastes, feelings, and all of the senses from my childhood. It makes me so happy. I'm surrounded in it. Every minute I see something that makes me happy. I'm so happy. It's just perfect.

Seventh MTC Letter 11/1/2013

(Missionaries only get 1 hour a week to read and reply to email, so she may not be able to give a long reply through email, but she would be happy to hear from you)

This is her last week at the MTC, she leaves for Seoul at 3:30 am (!!!) on Thursday the 7th of November

Her new address will be:

Song Pa Ku O-Gum Dong 24-1

Seoul, Seoul 138-855

South Korea

*****************************************
One of the counselors in my branch presidency told me that he really likes the mission president in Daejeon.

I was thinking recently about 1 Nephi 3:7 and I was looking at everything the Lord has done to make it possible for me to serve a mission. And even now, after I've already left, I can see that the Lord won't give me a commandment without helping me to accomplish it.

I've changed a lot. People tell me what they think of me or what they think I'm like and I think "What? That's nothing like me. Do they not know me at all? How would they get that view of me?" and I realized that that is how I am now. It isn't how I used to be. I expect people to see me as the sweet, quiet one but that's not me anymore. I let my emotions show, I talk more, I voice my opinion, I let people know if they're being annoying, I'm happier, and I'm just not little Tashi anymore. There's no way I could have been the missionary that I needed to be while staying my old self. And so the Lord has changed me to be who I need ot be. Because I was obedient, despite my fear, the Lord prepared a way for me to accomplish his call. 

Sixth MTC Letter 10/18/2013

The MTC creates the perfect balance to make me feel wonderful and happy while also pushing me out of my comfort zone and making me aware of what I need to change so that I can become better. 

It's pretty crazy to think that the hastening of the work compares to the first vision. But I guess there's no point in having the first vision if no one knows about it. 

I've never been so tired but I've never been so motivated to keep working. 

Elder Oaks spoke at our Tuesday devotional. It was broadcasted to all of the other MTCs. His wife spoke too. It was really good. He challenged us to change, achieve, and become. He said this is the only true and living church because it has the fullness of the gospel, the power of the priesthood (including ordinances and the Holy Ghost), and a unique testimony of Jesus Christ (His role in the atonement and Plan of Salvation).

I can't believe that I ever thought a mission wasn't for me. It is exactly what I need. And it's a privilege to serve a mission. I get to understand Christ's role by doing things for others that they can't do for themselves. I get to testify of Christ in a world that desperately needs to know Him. I'm helping god fulfill His work and His glory. (I may even be helping intelligences by helping their future parents receive exaltation). I get to carry God's love and happy news. I get to make people happy. I can sacrifice a little bit so that I can bring happiness to others. I get to spend my time proclaiming the good news that I know is true. By small and simple means are great things brought to pass, and I am small and simple. But If I do all that my simple self can do, I will become my best. My offering will be enough. I am no better than any of God's other children - in fact I am lower because I have His fullness. They who don't have it are truly great. I can't imagine pushing forward with out the Light. And so I must serve them and work for them. By my hands can God work a marvelous work among the children of men that they may come unto the kingdom of our Father. I get to do that. God can work through my hands. What a privilege. I didn't know the reason as to why God chose me and called me to a mission but I'm glad He did and I'm glad He was patient with me. I hope that I can make someone's life a little better. Even if it is only my life, I can then use my gift of a better self to better serve Him and His children. As Christ came into the world to do God's will, what other purpose do I have in this world? And what greater privilege could I have than to do God's will? I get to be like Jesus by preaching His word. God always provides means for us to accomplish what He commands us to do. And God provides for me to accomplish what He asked of me.  As I look back and I can see all of the things He did to put put me in the position I needed to be to prepare for a mission. All of the reasons why I didn't want to serve a mission were pushed aside and God took care of them for me. 

We have 110 Korean-speakers in the MTC right now, including natives!

Fifth MTC Letter 10/11/2013

(I've added clarifications in italics ~ Julie)

This week wasn't very eventful. It was just a regular week. 

We got a new shipment of Korean-speaking missionaries last Wednesday. I think there are 22~24 of them. I helped to host that day. I hosted a sister going to Georgia, a sister going to Manchester English speaking, and a sister going to Manchester Mandarin speaking. I see the Mandarin speaking sister a lot because her classroom is on the same floor as mine. My building has Korean, Mandarin, and Japanese. We got 590 new missionaries on the day. I finally found Brian Stout (a friend and distant relative from our English speaking ward in Tokyo). He's on the West campus so I can only see him when he comes to main campus for Conference and devotionals. We normally get shipments of Korean-speakers every three weeks but we're getting a new batch this week - a week early! So we'll have more districts than normal. We'll have 110 missionaries in our zone/branch. I figured out why I had to wait so long (she waited 5 month and 1 day from her call to enter the MTC). The last batch of missionaries going to Seoul South left a couple of weeks after I got here, meaning they entered the MTC on July 24thor something - before my availability date. The districts above us and below us our going to Deajeon. Some missionaries below us are going to Busan, California, and New Jersey. New missionaries two batches before us went to Canada and Australia along with Seoul and Seoul South. We're going to get our batch of native Koreans in three weeks and then we'll fly out with them after two weeks!

Sister Perrington told me that she talked to Dad. Brother Perrington mostly said that they're(Koreans compared to Japanese) more aggressive. They're not as reserved. And this I have observed with the natives that have come in. They're very loud. The sisters sleep next door to me and they keep us up all night with their giggles and chatter. But we forgive them because they're so cute. (The Perringtons were in our English Stake in Tokyo, and also lived in Korea. They are now in Natasha's District Presidency in the MTC

We watched (General) conference in the gym. My district was asked to usher for all four sessions, plus for the Vocal Point devotional on Sunday night. I liked ushering. It was nice to do something for someone other than myself. And it was fun to people watch. 

Life is so simple. It's interesting to see how simple my life can be and I can still be content.

I used to wake up at 6:25 (we need to be out of bed at 6:30). But I started waking up at 5:50(some other girls in my district wake up early too so I'm not breaking any rules) to get some more study time. It's made a HUGE difference. I was concerned about the lack of sleep because I was exhausted as it is but I think I've been less tired. It's very interesting. And I've been improving in the language. But there still aren't enough hours in the day to everything that I need to do. With my half-way mark drawing near, I made some goals of where I want to be in the language when I leave the MTC. But every hour is scheduled out and there really isn't that much time for personal study unless I want to take more time away from sleeping or exercising or something. 

Do you have questions about Korean? One of the teachers who teaches another district came in to help us last week. She's a linguistics major and so she could tell us about the mouth-movements and why things are the way they are. It was the best day of my life. And I can ask hanguk-saram-dul questions about Korea. 

This email isn't very spiritual but it was kind of a blah week. 

Love you!!

Photos

 Natasha & her companion, Sister Carter

 Natasha with Sister Wright & Sister Goines

 Studying and writing letters at the MTC

Fourth MTC Letter 10/4/2013

If you would like, you can email Natasha at:

natasha.stout@myldsmail.net

(Missionaries only get 1 hour a week to read and reply to email, so she may not be able to give a long reply through email, but she would be happy to hear from you)

You can also send a letter to her at the MTC:

Sister Natasha Lydia Stout
NOV08 KOR-SEOS
2005 N 900 E Unit 193
Provo UT 84602

Singing at the Relief Society broadcast was such a good experience. At first I wanted to go just so that I could get off of campus and be on TV and stuff but it was more spiritually strengthening than I could have expected. The whole day was just perfect. All of the songs were perfect. I'm grateful that I was able to start off my mission by singing praises to God, telling Him that I'll go where He wants me to go, be who He wants me to be, asking for more holiness, gratitude, purity, faith, tears for His sorrows, pain at His grief, and asking to be more used. I love the song that Sally DeFord wrote for us. "As Sisters we'll tell the world the gospel is restored." We'll tell the world the joy of families. There were just so many parts of the song that touched me. I ended up having to whisper a lot because my voice kept cracking from the tears. I really want to be more used. And throughout the day I became less concerned with why I wanted to go and more with what my purpose was there. I was there to preach His gospel and spread the spirit of missionary work. It's not about me. It's not about who I am and what I have to bring to the table. It's about who God wants me to be. What more could I want? What could be better? Could I be anything better than exactly who God needs me to be? I'll be a better servant if I do what God wants me to do. I don't know what's best.

It's interesting to see how the things that I learned this summer have prepared me for my mission and prepared me for things that I needed to learn here. For example, one of my learning themes this summer was trusting in God. I need to forget what I want and what I think I need because I don't actually know. But God know exactly what I need. So I can trust that He'll guide me, help me, and give me the trials that I need for the refinement that I need so that I can be my best self. I think I know what's best for me but I really don't. So I need to trust in God that whatever He gives me is what I need (no matter how bad it may seem) so that I can become the best person that I can become. Does this make sense? So pretty much: we shouldn't complain about our trials because they're what we need. They're really gifts to us. Who are we to think that we know better than God? So just trust and give thanks.

And my goal for my mission is to be what is needed. I need to trust in God that He'll give me what I need so that I can be what is needed for Him. So I'm really not giving Him anything. Rather, He's giving me what I need to give to Him.