Letter 12/15/2014

I played the piano for primary yesterday and it was super fun! I also helped the teacher teach a lesson that we had to throw together at the last minute because their teacher was sick. Sister Hoffman wasn't there because she attended the other ward. (Natasha and her companion are covering both wards)

We started doing FHE (Family Home Evening) at church on Mondays. We hope it will do well.

 

We were on the bus the other day and a woman standing next to Sister Hoffman suddenly started asking her questions regarding the name of our church, where we live, where we're going, where we're from, and other probing questions. It was so weird because some of those are questions that we sometimes ask poeple on the street. She told us that she had seen elders before but they're intimidating so she was excited to see us. We met with her two days later. She said she wanted to come to church but she didn't because her child was sick. She wants to come next week!

 

With combining areas we're busier than I imagined but it feels good to be so busy!

 

We taught a lesson to a member this week and as we were preparing we felt like we should ask her to repent. It was so scary to think about. But as we were talking to her it just naturally came up and she told us first that she wanted to repent! As we were leaving, she told me that she was really glad we met and it was exactly what she needed!

 

We were riding the bus home one day this week and something felt a little off. I didn't know what it was but I felt like I wasn't doing something right. I didn't know what it was so we kept riding the bus and got off to walk home. As we were walking a big crosswalk near the church came to mind twice so I decided that we needed to go there. We booked it over there but once we were there I didn't know what to do. So we just walked over to poeple waiting to cross the road and I talked to the closest woman next to me. The conversation went smoothly and I talked to about the Book of Mormon and she accepted a book!

 

In English class we teach the children and the elders teach the adults. Shortly after finishing, an elder came over to us and excitedly said, "The girl. She's downstairs. She wants to know!" We had no idea who he was talking about but "she wants to know!" had us running downstairs. We saw a girl in her twenties down there who wanted to meet with us. We met her yesterday and taught her the whole first lesson. We figured out that she was a former investigator who wasn't ready before! I think she's ready now~ !

Letter 12/8/2014

Last week we planned to teach an investigator the first lesson and we wanted it to be the best first lesson we had taught so we role played together, we studied, we practiced teaching it to two members, and we even taught it to a seven-year-old boy who is taking the lessons before getting baptized (his family are members). But then the investigator wasn't able to make it. We were so bummed. But then a member referred someone to us and we went to go visit her. We just showed up at her apartment because we only had her address and not her phone number. She let us in and WE TAUGHT HER THE FIRST LESSON! It was so cool!

And we taught a Japanese woman this week! She wants to learn English and she was referred to us because I speak Japanese. Her Korean is good so we mostly spoke in Korean so that Sister Hoffman could know what was being said. It was so much fun. She doesn't actually have gospel interest but we loved teaching her and her family.

 

At zone training we gave a training on the sacrament. I loved studying about the sacrament and being able to train on it because I want to improve my time in sacrament meeting. our purpose was to show the importance of it, how it can help us, how we can get more out of it although it's all in Korean, and how to turn those to help our investigators. We were hoping that by focusing on the importance of it and helping the missionaries feel more personal about it, it would give us all a little more 'umph' of helping our investigators come to sacrament meeting. What do you like to do doing sacrament meeting to get more out of it? I like to take a problem or question and seek an answer. I keep my planner open to write down Korean words that I don't know and I can also write down ideas that come to my mind. And I like to imagine Jesus and His attributes becoming a greater part of me as I partake of the bread and water.

 

I went to 안산 (Ansan - her first area) on an exchange this week! I called up some former investigators that haven't met with the missionaries for almost a year and we were able to meet them! The elders in 안산 (Ansan) had found a dog collar on the ground with a phone number on it so we called the number and met up with the lady to give it back to her. She told us that she was interested in learning English so we introduced the English program and she said she wanted to meet again!

 

We went to a member's house yesterday because he hosted the ward as a bonding-activity. We were very glad we went because a cute member went with her husband who is not a member and we were able to sit with them while we ate and it was time well spent! We were so happy!

 

Acts 8:28, 31

Letter 11/24/2014

We finally got our heater fixed!!!! Now our toes are warm. Our ward members all reached out to help us so much. One member ordered a plastic door to cover our front door to keep out the cold wind. One member brought electric mats to heat our floor. One member gave us various teas to keep us warm and heal our colds. And members would call us to make sure we were all right. Were it not against the rules for members to enter our homes, I think our house would have been flooded with members to come in and try to fix our heater for us. So cute.

We had so many teaching opportunities this week, especially to our ward members! We were able to visit with so many of them! Guess what? The stake president lived in Japan (about 20 years ago) and I found out this week that he lived in Senzokuike (where our family lived for 4.5 of the years we spent in Tokyo)!!!! The little boy in our ward that we've been teaching the lessons to was baptized by his dad on Wednesday! His baptism was very cute and a lot of ward members came to support!

We got to go to the temple on Thursday! We went straight down to Suwon, meeting a member on the way, to go visit the Hwaseong fortress in Sinpoong. It was so much fun. That's when all of the pictures are from. Our cute member who went with us is the best! She lets us teach practice lessons to her very often and she helps us with so many things! She's really the best! We walked around the castle there. We weren't able to see all of it because there was a drama being filmed.

We were calling former investigators a couple of weeks ago and a former member's mother answered the phone. She said she wanted her younger daughter to start studying (English) with us so we were able to meet this mother and daughter this week! They're from China but living in Korea, which is pretty common.

While we were doing our weekly planning we got a call from President Morrise (the mission president) telling us that our area will be combining with the sisters who cover the 금천 (Keumcheon) 2nd ward. (Natasha is serving in the Keumcheon 1st Ward) We got our transfer calls on Sunday morning telling us that Sister Driscoll will be leaving, sister Hammel will be leaving (she's going home!!), and Sister Hoffman and I will be combining the areas. I'm a bit nervous but I know that it's right so it feels good and I can feel calm.

We had dinner with a family who has a daughter who served with Emi (Natasha's best friend and roommate at BYU who recently finished her mission in Laie Hawaii)!
 
I have been interested in prayer lately because I believe that through prayer we can know God's will and better be able to accomplish His will but I'm not always sure how to have such wonderful prayers. These are some things that I enjoyed while studying True to The Faith:
If you have a difficult task before you, Heavenly Father is pleased when you get on your knees and ask for help and then get on your feet and go to work. We will help you in all your righteous pursuits, but He seldom will do something for you that you can do for yourself."

And in the Bible Dictionary we can read that sometimes we cannot secure blessings for ourselves and others that God is waiting to give to us until we ask. And sometimes our "no" answer is because the time isn't right and sometimes it's because our minds aren't the minds of Christ. When we pray in His name, we need to think as He thinks and ask for the things that He wants us to ask for. He knows what we need and what we should ask for. We can also know what to say as we follow the Spirit in our prayers. 

Letter 11/17/2014

I'm sure you have been wondering to yourself over the past weeks what the best thing is about serving in Korea during November. No worries. I will end your wonderings. The answer is 김장 (kim-jang - the kimchi making season). That sums up our week.

 

We had a cute FHE with an elderly couple in our ward last week.

 

On Tuesday we helped with 김장 (kim-jang - kimchi making). We squatted for two hours and scrubbed daikons (giant asian radishes - she actually used the Japanese name for them here). We were able to talk with the other women helping and we tried to make friends with them.

 

Our ward members are really great. They really are. We are able to have a lot of practice lessons with them. We still have our dance practices. We talked this week about how the gospel blesses our families. I think the majority of the blessings I have received have been through my family.

 

We did more Kim-Jang on Wednesday. This day we harvested the heads of cabbage. We thought our backs were  going to break. Kim-Jang is hard work. I didn't realize. The Kimchi we made was for an orphanage so we made it in large quantities.

 

We had lunch with Sister Park's (the cute sister missionary who was recently serving in our ward here in Daejeon) mom and two aunts on Thursday. We also met a girl who the sisters met a while ago but we hadn't been able to meet for the last month. !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Thursday was 수능 (Suneung ~ the huge college entrance exam - kind of like the ACT or SAT test, but MUCH more intense and gruelling, and you can only take it once a year. If you don't do well enough to get into college, you study for it for another year after you graduate for high school and take it again, and sometimes the next year, and the next....) day, the day that takes over the lives of all Korean students and determines their future.

 

On Friday we gathered at 7am to mix the gochugaru mixture (red pepper paste used in making kimchi) in with the cabbage. It was fun! Because it is a big production with a lot of volunteers and news coverage we were able to talk to a lot of people, introduce the church, and even be interviewed on TV.

 

The Gospel is so amazing. And it's true. It's the best thing ever. It gives us happiness, heals us, comforts us, pushes us, supports us, guides us, helps us give to others, strengthens us, fills us, cleanses us, makes us happy, gives us hope and somethings to look forward to, and a direction. What more could we need?

Letter 11/10/2014

We made cookies for last week's dance practice, hoping to bring joy to the sisters' stomachs while giving joy to their spirits. I shared Isaiah 41:10. An interesting translation difference is that instead of "dismayed" the verse reads "startled." We liked it because we don't need to be lonely and dismayed or scared about anything because He's with us and can take care of anything. We just need to use our faith to unlock God's power that can help us. God doesn't do anything for Himself but everything he does is for us. So why would He abandon us? Even trials are for our benefit. There is never any need for fear in God's plan of salvation. It just doesn't fit it. Fear only comes from the opposer of God's plan.

We went crazy with brownies this week. We took brownies to almost every household in our ward this week. It was fun. We felt like little messengers of joy, which we are called to be as missionaries. This was just a more physical delivery that we made. Everything about the gospel is joy. And brownies are joy. So we decided to share both. Isn't the Gospel great?

We had a really good practice lesson with a member this week. She pretended to be a person who knew nothing about God as we taught her the first lesson. And as we tried to talk about God being our loving Father she told us that she was an orphan. So we had to switch our focus in the lesson and the focus we turned to was happiness. Even those who don't know Him can still feel and see the happiness that He gives to us in our lives.

Yesterday was my one-year in country mark! Yay!

Letter 11/3/2014

Sister Park's mom (the missionary in our ward) is so cute and funny. Her Relief Society lesson and comments in Sunday School class kept making me laugh. We were going to have lunch with her this Thursday but we have a zone meeting and we have to put it off. I think I remember which one Sister Park is based off of her mom's face (we don't have a picture of her in our member records binder). 

Last P-day we went to 영등포 (Yeongdeungpo) because Sister Driscoll wanted to go sweater shopping.

We made a sticker-board and after p-day we went around with it (it was small and I just carried it in my hands) to ask people to answer the questions. We want to make cool board with the questions of the soul (why does God let bad things happen? Where will I go after I die? How can I strengthen my family? Does God exist?) for people to see what our religion can teach them and how it can help them.

At our service project Sister Driscoll and I danced our "Dancing Queen" dance for the grannies to help make them happy. One granny cried because it made her so happy.

In Korea before primary-aged children are baptized they are taught the lessons by the missionaries. So we are now teaching a little boy in our ward who will be baptized in a couple of weeks.

We had a 식사 (shiksa - a meal) with a super fun couple in our ward. We had fun talking about the fun similarities between Japanese and Korean.

The youth helped us decorate the church the night before the ward Halloween party. Each companionship took care of a different room. We were in charge of the face-painting/photobooth. We also had a feel-box room, a fishing for prizes room, a pin-the-face-on-pumpkin room, a and a mummy-wrapping race room. And then we all ate snacks together. A potential investigator came!

We went with our bishop's wife to help judge an English-speaking contest for elementary-aged children. And then all of the children came to the Halloween party afterwards. It was so cute to listen to them speak English.

We had a 식사 (meal) last night with a super cool family in our ward that has 5 children. FIVE!! (That is a huge family for Korea - it is super expensive to educate and provide all the opportunities that good parents are expected to provide, so most families feel they cannot afford to have more than 2 or 3) I bonded with one of the girls over Sylvanian Family dolls (Natasha played with those in Japan, and we still have our treasured set). It was wonderful.

Letter 10/27/2014

Yes, I found Sister Park's mom! (Sister Park is a darling missionary who is serving in our ward here in Daejeon - now Natasha is serving in her family's ward - so fun!) I talked to her about it yesterday! I told her that you like her and she said to tell you thank you. So thank you. I was in the MTC with her! Looking at her mom's face I think I can remember which one she was! Her district was my favorite! They were all so fun and cute!

We are choreographing a dance for the RS to perform at the ward Christmas party. It's to "Dancing Queen." When we have our dance practices I share a spiritual message. Last week I shared Mosiah 24. I liked the wording in the chapter heading (their burdens SEEMED light); "가볍게 여겨지도록 하심." God didn't make their burdens disappear but He made them SEEM light. God can't take our burdens because they're given to us for a reason and are critical for our progression, but He can help us to get through our struggles and help us to learn what we need to so that we can learn more through these experiences. I don't have my English Book of Mormon so I can't quote it verbatim but the people were patient and happy. They pleaded for help and kept working. Then they found that their burdens felt lighter and they were happier. God wants us to pray for help and then go to work. He can't do for us what we can do for ourselves but He can enhance our capabilities and our outcomes.

 

Does anyone have scriptures that helped them in any way?

 

We had zone conference this week. We're making a lot of changes to the mission and it's exciting!!!!

 

One set of elders had a baptism this week. The man is in a wheelchair and he has a lot of health problems. He smoked to release stress and he always woke up with a headache that he would cure with his cigarette. However, when the elder taught his about the Word of Wisdom he quit that day, not smoking once after that. And when he woke up the next morning, he didn't have a headache. Miracle!!!! Our boiler was broken so the water was cold. The cold water caused too much pain and the baptism was postponed until next week when the boiler will be fixed.