Can I get a New Companion for Christmas?

12/23-29
Monday wasn't PDAY seeing as this week is CHRISTMAS!!! Even though PDAY was moved to Wednesday, today was still a great day. We were able to meet a referral from 정인자S (Sister Jeong). Sister Jeong is a member who is pretty old and so sweet. Even from her almost completely bedridden-state she is an amazing missionary! She invited us to her home today and introduced us to her housekeeper, whom she has been preparing to hear our message. The woman, 영태정S (Sister Young) prepared a small snack for us and then sat to hear a brief introduction about our church. We introduced the Book of Mormon, gave her a copy, and set a return appointment. It was awesome! Immediately after we went home to complete our weekly planning that we never got around to last week... Whoops...

Dinner was spent at 이상훈B (Hoon's) house with all of the missionaries and some single adults from the ward. It was delicious food and Hoon shared some memorabilia from his mission days with us. It is interesting how much has changed! When it was time to leave I received a text... It was from a sweet less-active member whom we have been working closely with, 서은효S (aka Summer). She asked if we could come over. Lately she has been struggling with her job as an English teacher for fifth graders. Her workplace seems to be treating her unfairly, because she is the only non-foreigner that works there, it's really sad. Knowing this, I considered the time and decided it would be wiser to see what was wrong instead of being home on time tonight. It was a good call.

An hour and many tears later, Sister Tovar and I were able to share a spirit-filled message about prayer. It was so amazing how powerfully we both spoke! Summer was appreciative and asked if we could listen to a hymn with her before we left. We listened to 'Come, Come Ye Saints' together. The last line still lingers in my mind, "All is well, All is well." I felt prompted to promise Summer that if she prayed, all would be well. She prayer for us before we left and then we were off. We ran as fast as we could to grab a taxi. The ride home was so stressful! The mission rule is as follows: if you arrive home after 10:30PM you first have the privilege to call our mission president but then you also have to give the area seventy, President Ringwood a call... Understand my stress? We made it home RIGHT in time and I was able to have a fun chat with President Morrise. As soon as he answered, I explained the reason for my call (having just arrived home) and President Morrise said, "Oh well you're right on time Sister Sloan" with a chuckle that followed. I love that man! He agreed that I made a good decision and commended Sister Tovar and I for our hard work and dedication. Despite the adrenaline rush from running and stressing out, all was well :) ...see what I did there? ;)

Tuesday was the Seoul South Mission Christmas Conference. It was a good day. It began with a little bit of a letdown when I checked the Suwon mail room. I received one letter for Christmas. It was a good letter but the package from my family had still not arrived, I was bummed. I then went immediately to practice with the choir for our two musical numbers. We sang 'What Child Is This' and 'Carol of the Bells.' So fun! I discovered that I am a soprano... I literally can only follow the melody when I listen to music haha. Anyway our practice and performance was great. The training was all about being messengers for joy, to bring tidings of great joy to be exact. When the meeting ended I was called on to give the closing pray and blessing on the food. I did my best and apparently I did well. EVERYONE ooo'ed after, okay maybe that was dramatic. What I meant to saw was that a few Koreans ooo'ed and ahh'ed after I said "Amen" because they were pretty impressed with my pronunciation- booyah!

Lunch was good- American style turkey and instant mashed potatoes haha. Maybe gross sounding but it was a nice change from the usual rice, seaweed, and kimchee. After lunch we split off to have more training. Our zone was first sent to receive training from a man named 한인상B. This man is like a celebrity here, or at least in Mormon culture haha. He was the first native Korean to serve a mission in South Korea in 1964. He also was the first local Korean to serve as a mission president. He just so happened to be president of the Busan mission when President Morrise was a young missionary like us. Cool huh? This man is HIL-ARIOUS! His whole training was about being ourselves and how to magnify our special callings as full-time missionaries. I took some great notes.

After that training we moved to a different room where President Morrise had us play a get-to-know-you game since we had received so maybe new missionaries. I mostly socialized for a good 30 minutes until we were all asked to sit down. That is when President Morrise asked each Korean (there aren't many) to come up and share their favorite idioms and have all the foreigners guess the meanings ha. It was a fun game.

When that ended we all gathered back together to watch a long slideshow of pictures of each missionary's family. It was so fun to watch, but it was really long. It was sorted in alphabetical order so I knew when my family picture would coming. When it finally did I felt like I was the only one in the room for a moment. I zoned in, sat up straight, and smiled big as tears rolled down my cheeks. My family is so beautiful. I miss them so much. It's weird to think that it is Christmas time and I am so far from home... I don't like it but I know they are happy and well which makes it a little easier.

After the slideshow we watched 'Mr. Krueger's Christmas.' It was a cute 30 minute movie that gave me time to cry in darkness so no one could see. When it ended, I finally got a hold of myself and signaled to the district that it was time to go. We were all leaving early to make it to a dinner appointment with Bishop 임부택B. I was initially under the impression that it was with his family since it was Christmas eve but I was wrong. Instead he reserved a room for the missionaries, the ward missionary leader, and himself to have dinner at a pretty nice Chinese restaurant. It was a nice.

Wednesday, MERRY CHRISTMAS!! This morning I woke up to a cute little Christmas tree set up in our kitchen. We went about our normal study schedule but in companionship study I decided to carry out my family tradition of reading Luke 2 and watching Joy to the World before opening presents. I didn't have much to open but as my companion opened her packages and letter, I read my letter from Daniel and a few books that Diana sent me. They were both so sweet. After that we hurried to Hoon's house so Sister Tovar could Skype her family. When we arrived the elders were there as well as 정태호B (Brother Jeong). Hoon made us all kimchee soup and we listened to the Christmas devotional by the first presidency. It was a lot of fun. After Sister Tovar skyped, Elder Giles took his turn. He is so adorable. He began to cry as he said goodbye. He is such a sincere kid, I really like him. While he skyped, we counted down the minutes for us to head to the 곡반정 building for a zone activity.

When we finally arrived I mostly played ping pong. These Koreans are so good! I am trying to learn how to smash and how to put spin on the ball... I sound like a nerd but ping pong is so fun! Once most of the zone arrived we started watching the 'RM.' We ideally wanted to watch 'The Best Two Years' but no one had it. Our zone leader Elder Pope rationalized that it was okay to watch because it would make us aware of why we don't want to go home early haha. So true! It was a lot of fun.

As soon as it ended the missionaries from our ward grabbed a few taxis and head to a members house for Christmas dinner. There was so much food! And so many people! It was fun. Elders Robinson and 정영헌E invited an investigator but they told their taxi the wrong address so they ended up somewhere north haha, bless their hearts. Elder Breckwoldt and I took it upon ourselves to keep him company. It was a lot of fun. Everyday I impress myself with how much Korean I can speak and understand. When dinner finished a few of the kids were forced to play songs on the piano and were pretty impressive! Next the missionaries we asked to sing... They wanted us to sing Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer, in Korean! It was hilarious having all but one missionary huddle around the woman playing the piano to read the Korean characters haha. It was embarrassing. Next they asked us to sing 'What Child is This' in English. It is written as a two-part song and we somehow made it sound like a four part song with tone-deaf Sister Tovar and Elder Giles. My face was bright red the whole time. It was awful!!! Ugh after that there was no encore (duh) so we began to pack up to go home. Members drove all of the missionaries home. It was so kind! What a great Christmas.

Thursday was Christmas Day in America so that is the day I chose to Skype home. Once again, after studies we left to Hoon's house. This time he wasn't home so it was just me and Sister Tovar. It was so fun to see my family!! They all look so great but different too, I couldn't put my finger on it. President Morrise only allowed us 45 minutes to call home so as I anticipated, I felt like the call was too short. I was grateful regardless.

We went straight home to finish studies and to make my mothers famous banana bread for our English class party tonight. It took forever with our mini oven but when we finished we went straight on to talk to some people before the day was over. We ended up running a few errands on our way and decided to eat dinner out. Next was English class. Since it was the day after Christmas, we had a belated Christmas party. First we ate snacks then played a few games. It was fun. I mostly tried to keep the kids under control by destroying them at ping pong ^^ so fun! When it was time to wrap up I shared a few scriptures that I read in personal study about feeling God's love through prayer. Sister Tovar bore her testimony and closed our thought. I thought it went well. We cleaned up then went home.

Friday was weekly planning. It was weird doing it again so soon but it is a necessary part of missionary life- planning, always planning. It was fine until companionship inventory. With every other companion, that part of weekly planning is a pleasant part but with Sister Tovar it is always contentious. I really need to master patience but it's driving me insane how awful she thinks everything is. One day we'll learn to understand each other... One day.

When we finished we were off to find less-active members. It wasn't very productive in that aspect but in talking with people on the street, it was awesome! One address for example didn't specify which apartment the member lived in. There were only 8 doors in the building so we began to knock every door. Our attempt failed but a kind man tried to help us. At his door we were able to teach a brief lesson, it was great! Tonight was extremely bitter cold and we were failing at reading the map we had. We finally decided to find a nearby cafe to drink hot chocolate, thaw, and have a warm place to read the map ha. Not much else happened after that but it was a semi-fun night.

Saturday was a miracle day. Last minute I was able to set an appointment with our investigator 신숙희S (Sister Shin). Sister Tovar and I prepared an awesome lesson but when we arrived we discovered she hadn't completed her last reading assignment and questions that we prepared for her to answer. When this happened we are always instructed to read with our investigators to help them understand the importance of the passage we invited them to read. After the English portion that is exactly what we did. I took control of the lesson by asking her to discuss her opinions to the question that we had prepared last week. She was understanding so well! It was amazing! When it came time to leave I re committed her to finish reading and answering the questions she promised. The spirit was so strong in that lesson. I am so grateful for the amazing power that the spirit brings to lessons even if my companion and I struggle to be unified. The spirit brought us together and helped us to teach and testify with such power. I love the spirit! Thanks to that spirit that we had with us, on our way home Sister Tovar and I were able to talk to so many people! I think by the end of the day we had received three phone numbers of people who were interested in meeting with us in the future. Along with that, I think combined we taught three street lessons! Such a great morning.

After the lesson we ran a few errands before we went home for lunch. Originally we had planned to eat out for lunch due to time but Sister Tovar was desperate for a nap so instead we went home. As she slept, I prepared things for the day and then woke her up when it was time to get going. Our next appointment was with a less-active member named 김자영 (Sister Kim). She is single, a full time nurse, and maybe in her 30's. She is so sweet to us. Today we had an appointment set to begin a puzzle together. It was 1000 pieces so we didn't finish but we got a majority if it done. It was a lot of fun. Sister Tovar felt awkward not talking so she babbled to herself as Sister Kim and I concentrated on the puzzle haha. It was a good time. Soon our time was up before we had another appointment. She sent us on our way with treats and a warm hug. I think she was grateful to have company for a change. Hopefully we can help her finish that puzzle next week.

When we arrived at the church for our Mission Coordinating Meeting our stake was having a party! Apparently it was dinner, a magic show, and a dance. It looked like a lot of fun. Our Ward Mission Leader showed up with big macs for all of us- booyah! Korean style McDonald's is a little strange but it was good anyway. We discussed the ward mission goal for the upcoming year and the progress of the people we are currently working with. I love that 이재현B (Brother Lee) actually listens and cares about what is happening with our missionary work. He makes us all want to work harder. It was a great meeting. Soon it was time to head home, so we walked home with the Elders. On our way back guess what we found? A perfectly good bookshelf! We have needed one to keep our records better organized and boom! blessing! Sister Tovar and I picked it up while the elders made fun of us. I don't care what they say, it was like new and now we have an awesome bookshelf in our apartment!

Sunday was another very productive day. In the morning we studied and then went to church. At church one of the two less-active members that promised to come, came! I was sad the other didn't show but I am grateful for 최연숙S (Sister Choi) who did come and stay for the whole three hour block. After church was our normal dinner together as a ward. It was yummy as always and after we cleaned up, it was time for Korean class. Today all the greenies attended and I stayed outside the door with Elder Breckwoldt to do pass-off (a program set my the mission to evaluate your language and teaching ability). First I was quizzed on vocabulary for the Plan of Salvation lesson. When I began I all of a sudden had an audience of missionaries and members listening. Talk about pressure haha. I passed the vocabulary and the scripture verses- yahoo! On Wednesday I will attempt to pass off the whole lesson.

When I finished, so did Korean class. We locked up the building and head out to talk to people. Sister Tovar and I made a goal to talk to 100 people this week. Maybe that seems small but we have also made a goal to improve the quality and naturalness (is that a word) of our conversations. Tonight we reached our goal and we able to teach two full street lessons! I am convinced that Koreans speak complicated Korean Monday-Friday and then give me a break Saturday and Sunday. Today was awesome! I understood so well and had pretty great conversations. I would have never guessed that I could learn this language but FINALLY I am learning!

It felt great talking to so many people this week and feeling like I earned my PDAY tomorrow. I finally feel like I am a productive missionary. The next thing I need to really to focus on is improving my companionship relationship... Pray for me!

This week was full of ups and downs. I am learning so much from my personal and companionship study everyday. Maybe Sister Tovar and I aren't a perfect match but we are seeing a lot of miracles together. Missionary work is so fun!! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and will enjoy the New Years festivities :) those two holidays are not very celebrated here in Korea, so sad. Instead they really celebrate their Thanksgiving in September and the Chinese New Year (which is the end of January this year). We will see what the missionaries and ward will do for the arrival of 2014! I love you all!!
Have a great week!!
슬론 자매
Sister Sloan

Christmas Concert

12/16-22
Monday I woke up sick... I had a slight fever and I think my whole skull was full to the brim with mucus. Cute huh? Sorry for the visual, but I felt awful. Sister Tovar and I went about our daily routine for PDAY. Study, email, meet up with fellow missionaries. This week people wanted to walk the Suwon wall in the snow... I have been in this zone my whole mission so far and everyone looks to me as a symbol of this place. As such, they asked me to guide them despite being sick. I have now walked this wall in blazing hot summer, beautiful autumn, and now freezing cold winter. I was less than pleased when things didn't workout like they were supposed to but oh well- such is life. We all ate dinner together then went our separate ways. Sister Tovar and I went grocery shopping and such before and after YSA FHE. It was a fun activity where we played scum again. When we got home I went straight to sleep and took a million pills to fight my fast developing cold.

Tuesday I woke up in worse condition. I got up to shower and then immediately went back to bed. Sister Tovar was kind enough to study in the kitchen so I could sleep in peace. It felt awesome but even after an extra two hours I still didn't feel great. I didn't have a choice but to get ready because we were invited to a members house for lunch. When we arrived it was more than just a lunch, it was a relief society activity haha. Talk about a surprise. It was a lot of fun! These members are so loving and giving. We ate a delicious meal, shared a spiritual thought and were off. It was good.

Sister Tovar had planned a few less-active members to visit (my new assignment to her because maybe I'm sick of figuring out these maps haha) but she refused to let me stay outside any longer. We went home and I slept until dinner. I felt like the laziest missionary, but I suppose I have to take care of my health before it gets worse. We ate then met a less-active member at the church. We are starting these 20 minute lessons to members to: 1. Practice Korean, 2. Practice teaching, and 3. Receive member help to beginning to build relationships of trust with the ward. Today was one of those days with 사은효 자매님 (Sister Soh). Immediately after was English class. 9 kids showed up today! I asked Sister Tovar to take charge so I didn't breath on the students. She did well. I love these kids so much, I had to stop myself a few times from interrupting her because I wanted to teach them so bad haha. I'm selfish... Bless my heart.

Wednesday I felt a little better. At district meeting I tried to convince Elder Breckwoldt that my temperature was 39 degrees Celsius. He was freaking out because in his eyes that means I'm about dead haha. I am sick but not THAT sick. The training was great. We learned all about being humble and being unified as a companionship. Question: Have you ever read a horoscope and been freaked out how accurate it is? Well... Turn to Preach My Gospel page 121 where it it defines pride at the top of the page... and that's what happened to me.

"The opposite of humility is pride, which is condemned in the scriptures. To be prideful means to put greater trust in oneself than in God or in His servants. It also means to put the things of the world above the things of God. Prideful people take honor to themselves rather than giving God the glory. Pride is competitive; those who are prideful seek to have more and presume they are better than other people. Pride usually results in feelings of anger and hatred, and it is a great stumbling block."

Why am I so prideful?!! Dang it!! So much work to do.

A Papa Sloan interpretation since I'm posting this to her blog.  AnneMarie is competitive.  It's part of her nature, but she isn't as "prideful" as outlined in the quote above.  She doesn't hate.  She doesn't love herself more than God.  That's not in her nature.  She loves God and puts her trust in him, but works hard herself.  I love this girl.  She's wonderful and learning to be more humble each day.  We all are actually.  I'm grateful for that.  I can see her growth with each weekly letter.  It's wonderful.  She's wonderful.

After training we planned for the Christmas Concert the ward was putting on. It took FOREVER! After we practiced a couple musical numbers for the Mission Christmas Conference on Christmas Eve it was time for dinner. We ate together and then Sister Tovar and I ran some errands for the ward activity and tried to talk to people on the street. It wasn't successful, but we did get a lot done.

Thursday was strange. I was feeling a lot better- thank goodness! However a couple days ago Sister Tovar and I began talking to a woman on the street. She told us about an exhibition her church was having and asked if we could come. Today was the day we planned on. She invited a car full of friends to go with us, it was entertaining. They attend a church called 'God's Church' or as I know them better 하나님의 교회. I have heard a lot of really strange things about them so just as I invite others to learn more about our church from a creditable source, Sister Tovar and I got more than we bargained for ha.

First they took us to their church, we didn't go inside but instead to a visitors center next door. There we were taken on a tour of the exhibition all about mothers. This church believes in a heavenly mother and every single wall was covered with very sweet stories and pictures of how people feel their mothers love. It was really well done! The last wall had three bible stories about mothers: 1. King Solomon- a judge between two harlots to determine who is the mother of a child (Old Testament, 1 Kings chapter 3), 2. Eve [and Adam] being the mother of all living, and 3. Sarah [and Abraham] being a mother of nations (Old Testament, Genesis 17:15-16).

After that we were taken to a 'fellowship' room where we were free to ask questions and what not. I really liked their concept of feeling our Heavenly Mother's love the way that we feel our earthly mothers love but that concept was very abstract after I learned and had a larger understanding of their beliefs. After much education Sister Tovar had to step out to use the restroom. When she did I took advantage of asking the woman teaching us when she was baptized and how she gained her testimony of this church. She told me she learned when people came door to door and that same day she was baptized in her home. I thought it was strange but I have learned to appreciate individuals that are part of a religion and are dedicated to bettering themselves and others. My next question was her favorite thing about this church. The awkward silence and her confused face was interrupted when Sister Tovar returned from the bathroom. The question was left unanswered. I won't bore you with the detail they can easily be found on the internet but I will end by saying that I am grateful for the spirit. As a member and missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have learned the importance of the Holy Ghost that testifies of truth. I don't mean to be rude or disrespectful, but their interpretation of the Bible made me a little sick to my stomach. Our purpose wasn't to bible-bash but to just learn. When we were done learning, we left. The same woman that brought us, also took us home. They are very kind women. I am grateful to have met them.

We barely had 30 minutes to eat dinner. We arrived to English class right on time. It was a lot of fun. Only a couple students showed up but it was still good. We played games and laughed a lot. Normally we get the most votes to play hangman, but lately it's been annoying to play because the girls take it seriously and the boys guess letters like X and Z to make us lose. However today I was in a weird mood and I teamed up with the one boy that showed up. His first guess was the letter A that he mumbled in boredom. But when it came my turn I yelled out "W!" His face lit up so fast it was adorable. We made them loose 3 times in a row before class was over hehe. Sister Tovar wasn't pleased with the lack of companionship unity but I had a lot of fun haha.

Friday was busy! Today we were supposed to have our weekly planning but that didn't happen... Instead we spent the morning trying to contact referrals that we received from a member and also tried to visit some less-active members. A million bus rides later and knocking several doors, no success. Soon it was time for us to head to a dinner appointment. We arrived right on time- rare I know. But this time the member wasn't there. Her youngest daughter came home from school and let us in. Her mother arrived home with her oldest daughter maybe 30 minutes later. We shared our spiritual thought and then went out to eat since the mom had no time to prepare. It was delicious and she made me eat so much! We were right on schedule until she insisted that she bring us back to her house for dessert. We built some major 증! She even prepared a Christmas cake for us. Here in Korea Christmas isn't a big holiday but her and her family have lived in America so she at least understand that it's a bigger celebration there. Even though it was just cake, fruit, and homemade tea- I was very appreciative of the effort that she put forth to help us celebrate the upcoming holiday. When we left the evening was over. We took a long way home in order to talk to more people on our way but still we went straight home.

Saturday was just as busy. Still no weekly planning, whoops! After morning studies we met our Ward Mission Coordinating Leader for lunch near the church. He brought his cute 4 year old daughter, English name Claire. She is shy but so cute! We ate at a hidden restaurant and we all had the same spicy, noodle soup- so delicious! I think it was the smallest room in the whole place but anyway, we were among good company so it was fun. When we finished we head to the church to help set up for the Christmas Concert that night. There was a lot today! It was nice to see so many members involved this time around. I wonder why they didn't come together for the last holiday party.. Oh well it was good to see so many people involved. I did my part. I played some serious ping-pong with the ping-pong master of the ward. He is so freaking good! He taught me how to smash and how to put spin on the balls. I am TOO excited to practice later!! When he got tired I challenged a few other people but they got bored before I did and kept handing off the paddle ha. I got the hint and stepped aside to make several phone calls reminding less-active members, investigators, and English class students to the party. It all came together at the end and 7 of my English students came and stayed! I was running around asking everyone I could to greet them and help them find a good seat for the concert portion. The members are so great! Amidst me running around another member turned the tables on me as he introduced me to his non-member friend and daughter that he and his family invited. I sat and spoke with them as much as I could until the concert began. It began with Santa (Elder Jenson and Elder Giles) handing gifts out to the children. All of my students received a gift and they were so surprised and excited. I love them! The songs and skits were very fun and entertaining. The non-member mother was enjoying everything but her daughter was less than impressed. I tried to liven her spirits but I failed. She at least laughed at my retard Korean ha. When it ended it was 9PM! Woah! I received the phone numbers of the non-members and literally ran to catch a bus home. Late again... Dang it! Haha oh well, it was for a good reason.

Sunday was a typical Sunday. It started off pretty calm and then picked up from there. Last week a less-active member came to church, almost by force from a friend in another stake. The friend made sure to introduce 김자영 (Sister Kim) to all of the 'right' people haha- that's a good friend. That friend made me promise to bring her to church today so that's what I tried to do. I texted her in the morning, called, and even showed up at her house. I banged on the door telling her to wake up and that it was time for church- nothing. I was sad :( I left a note on her door and she ended up texting us and inviting us for dinner to apologize for sleeping through it all. More on that in a second.

Church was great. Instead of the normal talks, we were treated to a wonderful musical program by the ward choir. Not only were the songs beautiful but 이자영 (Sister Lee) played an AMAZING piece on the violin, she is SO talented! In the middle of the choirs performance guess who showed up?! 최연숙 (Sister Choi), the author whose book concert we attended a few weeks back! She has been less-active for a few months because of work but today she finally was able to get a day off! I was so happy to see her! As soon as I saw her I cleared the pew next to me for her to sit, she is so great. The other meetings went well too. After, we had our weekly meal as a ward. This week there wasn't enough food prepared, bummer! Just before Sister Tovar and I left, 안기훈 (Brother Ahn) informed all of the missionaries about his new calling- our Korean teacher! Bishop has been really trying to help the greenies and this is one way he thought of. We stepped into a classroom for about 40 minutes to have a quick overview of how he will teach us. It was a pretty easy material which was a confidence boost for me. All the greenies were taking notes like crazy but not this girl! In fact I was Brother Ahn's go-to person to do sample dialogues to apply the vocabulary and grammar forms. 아싸! (Pronounced: Ahh sahh! It means awesome! Haha)

We left in a hurry to make it to Sister Kim's house. When we arrived we saw that she had prepared a meal for us! So kind! Also it was lucky that Sister Tovar and I were still hungry haha. We ate a bunch and had a great conversation with Sister Kim. All day I had been stressing about what to talk about since she doesn't know any English... Just before we walked in I told Sister Tovar to talk as much as possible ONLY in Korean. 스트레스! (Pronounced: suh-tuh-rah-suh haha, Stress!) it ended up being awesome. We shared a spiritual message about the Book of Mormon and made an appointment to solve a puzzle together on Christmas- so fun!

I hope everyone is having so much fun preparing for Christmas! I am so excited to have a party with the mission for Christmas Eve! Amidst all the presents and contagious holiday spirit, don't forget to remember the true meaning of this holiday. Our Savior's birth was a miracle and it was just the beginning of a perfect life that He lived for us. I love my Savior so much! His gospel and example has saved and changed my life. I love you all!! Have a fantastic week :)

슬론 자매
Sister Sloan

Yesterday it snowed all day.  Today the sun is out and doing everyone a big favor. 

Christmas Concert!  Zoom in to the middle girl in the front. She is one of the girls in my English class that came with her family.  Too Cute!!!

Learning to be Slow

12/9-15
Monday was boring. It was supposed to be a normal proselyting day since we will attend the temple on Thursday, but the pace was so slow that it might as well have been PDAY. In the morning, I convinced Sister Tovar to let me run outside. She followed, but literally drug her feet the whole way out. The second I stepped out into the nice, crisp, winter air I was happy to finally be able to run! Several times since training Sister Tovar, I have recognized that her motivation and drive is not quite where mine is. Don't get me wrong, she is a good missionary, but she is just taking some time to adjust to missionary life. For example, when I schedule our days, literally every minute is planned. Unfortunately, that plan never turns out because the pace of her walk, the pace of her voice, ect is not quite as fast as I would prefer. Like I learned today while we were running, if I go at my pace without any thought of her, she will be so far behind that I have to backtrack in order to find her or sometimes even run down a few extra streets, because she didn't know which direction I ran. That isn't productive. That isn't a companionship. So maybe missionary work won't rapidly pick up in the next couple of months but maybe with this opportunity to relearn patience, I will increase the quality of our time together.

Tuesday was a bummer-day. There is a program called '12 week training' for all greenie missionaries to complete. It is a structured training program to improve several aspects of finding, teaching, and baptizing. Today was a follow up training meeting with President Morrise and the assistance. I learned a lot! President Morrise made reference to a talk by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf called 'Pride and the Priesthood.' The following  is an excerpt that President relayed to us:

I once owned a pen that I loved to use during my career as an airline captain. By simply turning the shaft, I could choose one of four colors. The pen did not complain when I wanted to use red ink instead of blue. It did not say to me, “I would rather not write after 10:00 p.m., in heavy fog, or at high altitudes.” The pen did not say, “Use me only for important documents, not for the daily mundane tasks.” With greatest reliability it performed every task I needed, no matter how important or insignificant. It was always ready to serve.

In a similar way we are tools in the hands of God. When our heart is in the right place, we do not complain that our assigned task is unworthy of our abilities. We gladly serve wherever we are asked. When we do this, the Lord can use us in ways beyond our understanding to accomplish His work.

President over and over said, "Be The Pen!" with so much excitement haha. Then he went on to say, "Be the pen that works in The Lord's hands that will write a story with us, which we cannot hope to write- our way." President Morrise is so awesome. Him and his wife are so cute and they did a great job training us!

When everything ended we were given some time to socialize, it was fun to see friends and fellow trainers. Sister Tovar too was happy to see her friends from the MTC. The only downside was that they all got to talking about their trainers and all they've done. That is when she soon "discovered" that I was not quite as cool as the others. -___- Just before we left she began to cry as she talked with her friends. She asked if she could speak with President Morrise before we left... It took her about 30 minutes and that set us up to be late for English class. I was antsy to leave but she was upset so like I learned yesterday, my pace didn't stand a chance. Instead, we took our time as she said goodbye to her friends and had to follow me down to the subway. Duh something was wrong but it wasn't until bedtime that she wanted to talk about it.

English class was a fail because I had no help from my companion and the kids were full of energy. It was embarrassing so I was happy to go straight home after. As I got ready for bed, things were quiet and awkward. I went about my routine and as soon as I finished my nightly prayer, I laid down on my back and that's when I noticed Sister Tovar staring at me with her arms crossed in front of her. It startled me and I said, "What?" Haha maybe that is rude but seriously it was creepy. She said, "We need to chat!" Yikes! I asked what was up and she proceed to tell me all about how I don't support or help her. She told me that she spoke to President Morrise and he recommended she talk to me about it- duh! At the time she was being really dramatic and not remembering most of what I've done for her, it was really frustrating. Kids! Eventually I told her I would compliment more and correct less (with reference to the language aspect). I know our relationship isn't the easiest thing but I felt like I was as least treating her well by helping! I guess not :/ maybe I'll do better tomorrow.

Wednesday was normal. We had district meeting that was pretty good. It was all about goal setting in order to be a messenger of joy. Elder Breckwoldt turned the time over to Elder Jenson who trained on goal setting or as he said "Catching our Vision." He is literally a quote machine, remembering all of these short motivational quotes from his years of playing sports- it was awesome. After the meeting we all stayed to plan a skit the missionaries were asked to perform at the upcoming Christmas party. We decided on a skit that illustrates all the crazies we meet on the street everyday. It should be pretty funny. The rest of the day is a blur of walking through the cold trying to find people to talk to.

Thursday was temple day!! We woke up early and arrived at the temple just before 8:30AM. There was a fresh layer of snow outside and the temple was as beautiful as ever. Our district was the first to arrive so we had to wait a little while for everyone else to came. Before the session we had a brief testimony meeting like we always do. But this time all of the missionaries going home were asked to give their last words of advice to us. It is so sad that so many friends are going home!! But the advice was great and the spirit was strong. It set everyone up for a great temple experience.

When it was time to leave, most everyone got on the subway and met up at Taco Bell. I knew that would be the plan so I happily chose to fast hehe. PDAY time was short but when we got home I had about an hour to write letters and eat dinner. Then it was time for English class. It had been pretty snowy all day so only two students showed up. We practiced free talking. It was like pulling teeth with these students but it was thankfully over quickly. Our spiritual message went well too. It was all about our experience at the temple earlier that day. The walk home after was really hard... The wind really cuts to the bone. Only a couple more months of this...

Friday was uneventful. In order to separate our morning studies from 8-11AM and our weekly planning session from 1-3PM, we decided to go out for lunch and to a cafe for Sister Tovar to complete a new missionary survey online. It was cold so I wasn't too sad that we were required to stay in most of the day. Once we planned for everything, we went out to find less-active members. We walked FOREVER and had little success. We talked to some awesome people but the addresses we checked, they all had moved. The cold wind, black-iced sidewalks, and fresh snow falling was hard to bear but somehow we survived until it was time to go home.

Saturday was a good day. In the morning I texted a few investigators that have been pretty busy lately. I regret it now but at the time I only half-heartedly asked if we could meet today. To my surprise one said yes!! I quickly found a member and tried to prepare a lesson with Sister Tovar. We made a whole lesson plan but it didn't feel right. It was a good lesson but for 신숙희 (Sister Shin) it didn't flow well. Eventually I stood up, flipped my desk chair around and said, "Welp, I guess it's time to pray." We knelt and prayed. After we said amen I sat back down and wrote three ideas on my already cluttered piece of paper. We broke for lunch and when we came back to it, everything fell into place really well as we discussed our thoughts! It turns out my three random thoughts were actually inspired! When it came time for the lesson, we met a member, 이자영 (Sister Lee) in front of her house and walked together to the investigators house. The lesson went really well! It was so unbelievably easy with a fluent Korean speaker there to answer Sister Shin's questions ha. Even though I do feel a lot better about my Korean ability, I wasn't understanding well enough to answer the way that Sister Lee was able to. By the end, Sister Shin was excited about the commitment we gave her to read and she also asked if our church was having a Christmas party! Yay! I was so happy to hear that because maybe that meant that I didn't scare her off last time when I invited her to the YSA Thanksgiving party haha. It was great and I am very happy with mine, Sister Tovar, and Sister Lee's lesson.

Just before we left, we knelt for a prayer. Sister Shin's 6 year old daughter had been well behaved until we all closed our eyes. She took that as her cue to begin poking my forehead as hard as she could... over and OVER. Like always I ignored her but DANG, it really hurt. When the prayer ended I poked hers too which was a mistake because when I stood up she took that as I wanted to play. She then wrapped herself around my legs and wouldn't let me walk ha. I took full advantage and poked her forehead until her mother demanded she get off me. Everyone was laughing and I got a little revenge haha. It was fun.

On our way to the bus stop Sister Lee bought us some hot chocolate- so sweet! As we walked and talked, we saw our bus approaching... Sister Lee pushed us into the street and said, "Hurry up, run!" haha. With the snow sticking and little effort being put forth to clear the ice and snow, we both looked very ridiculous running and sliding all over the road and sidewalks. This winter will be interesting. Once on the bus our next appointment texted us to cancel. :/ It was a total bummer!! Instead, our backup plan was to meet the district to go caroling. It wasn't our best idea because 70% of the district is tone-deaf, it is freezing, and the spot we decided on happened to attract drunk-crazies. For example a crazy lady came up and put her finger in my face and in Korean said, "You are the prettiest foreigner I have ever seen!" Haha all of the elders were on standby because they didn't know what this lady would do. I just smiled and said no, you're too kind. She then proceeded to hug me and not let go... It was awkward. Anyway, there are a few stories to tell but they are all pretty similar to that one. It was a fun and interesting night.

Also, it was transfer calls tonight, Sister Tovar and I are staying in 신풍! I have a feeling this is my last transfer here though... It's funny because I have only served in Suwon stake, I cannot imagine leaving. I hope I don't have to. Maybe I will transfer somewhere in the zone again ha.

Sunday was an awesome day! This is normally the busiest day for missionaries and today was no exception. We had several less-active members attend sacrament meeting! We tried desperately to find fellowshippers and friends for them to feel welcome and to encourage them to stay. Along with that I gave Sister Tovar some assignments to ask members when we could visit them. It was cute she tried so hard but each time the member would grab her arm, drag her to me, and ask me to translate haha. They are so fun.

The meetings that followed were really good. I am surprised how much I understand nowadays. Don't get me wrong I am no where near where I should be but I was proud of myself today. It's a huge blessing from Heavenly Father for helping me learn this language!! After church we had an appointment with Summer again. We just chatted and shared a spiritual message. It was a great visit. The rest of our night was spent on the streets looking for addresses again. I was extra cold and the part of town we were in was making Sister Tovar jumpy. On top of that, I began feeling super sick... Again :/ my nose, throat, and head are acting up again- not cool. We called it a night and arrive home just as the clock turned 9PM. It was awesome timing... Lately Sister Tovar and I stayed so busy that we are almost never get home exactly on time. I feel bad but tonight was good! I went straight to sleep, I was so exhausted!!

Now today is Monday, I am sick but happy that it is PDAY. Today most of the zone will walk the Suwon wall together. It should be fun. I hope there isn't black ice so we can actually walk most of it. We will see. I cannot believe it is almost Christmas time! I hope you are all having fun preparing for the holidays. The only thing that keeps reminding me is the snow and the dinky Christmas tree that we have in our apartment haha. I hope you all have a great week!! Love you!

사랑합니다!
슬론 자매
Sister Sloan

P-day Mix Up

12/2-8
Monday was a crazy day! In the morning all the missionaries in Suwon were under the impression that today was not PDAY. We were scheduled to attend the temple on Thursday thus making today a normal missionary day. After Sister Tovar and I finished all of our studies (including the extras which we don't complete on PDAY) and ate lunch, we received a phone call. The elders had just arrived at the email place and were informed that due to a misunderstanding, today was actually PDAY.... I took it upon myself to clarify this information with the assistants to President Morrise. When they confirmed the misunderstanding, they were less than apologetic. Don't get me wrong, I love doing missionary work, but today we had a number of appointments that were hard to set up in the first place- so the last thing I wanted to do was reschedule! My annoyed voice and concerns were heard and permission was granted to "do what I needed to do" in order to attend the appointments and take care of all the errands that a typical PDAY required.

Sister Tovar and I first ran some necessary errands around 팔달문 (similar to a daily flee market) and then dropped things off at the post office and home. Soon it was time to greet a less-active member for an appointment. Her English name is Summer and she has been helping Sister Tovar with her Korean with practice-teaching opportunities. As they met I was in the kitchen making us some food to eat. I'm a professional at making rice nowadays! ...of course the rice cooker does the magic but still it was delicious and I was proud. We considered that dinner so we ate, socialized, and waited for other YSA to show up for an early FHE. When Summer left, guess who showed up?! Out of nowhere a former investigator, Estee walked through the church doors! I greeted her with a huge hug and a million questions of where she had disappeared to (her phone was turned off and every time I visited her house she was never home). It was so good to see her!!

When FHE began, I shared a spiritual thought then we spent an hour playing "scum" together. It was a fun night. By the time it ended, the night was essentially over and we had no time to email. We were both bummed and bribed the YSA to look up our email account on their phones so we could at least she who emailed us. That was a stupid decision because it was too much of a teaser! When they left, the missionaries all lingered and I asked Estee a huge favor... The bishopric asked all the missionaries to sing a musical number next Sunday. No one was excited so I had to take charge in order to maybe save us from embarrassment. I asked Estee to choose a Christmas song and to play for us next Sunday. She is amazing at piano and was excited to help! Talk about the perfect situation to get a potential investigator to church ;) We practiced over and over. It is amazing to me how tone deaf all these missionaries are... I'll be the first to say that I'm not that special when it comes to singing but it was a little bit of a confidence boost when I heard the comparison with everyone else haha. Is that mean? :P Anyway, the rest of the night we sang then walked home together with the Elders. It was a strange day but it turned out well.

Tuesday was another interesting day. After studies we had a chance to email home. It took forever having to reply to everyone and then explain why we were emailing a day late haha. I really didn't think people would notice because of the time differences, but I felt loved knowing so many people were concerned.

When that ended we spent some time talking with people on the street then met Summer at the church again. Instead of her helping us today, she asked for our help. She teaches English to 5th graders and had a final exam for them. She thought it would be good to have foreigners read the test to them- so that's exactly what Sister Tovar and  I did. It was funny because we kept timing things wrong and speaking too quickly. Maybe an hour later, it was done! I made rice dinner again for us to all share. After eating it was time for English class.

Today I had a decent amount of students and we mostly went over the book we had been reading from. It was super repetitive with pronunciation practice but all in all it went well. After class was over, then the fun happened. I played a few games of ping pong with my students, they are really terrible but so am I ha. When I sat out to give someone else a turn to play, the next thing I knew that crazy woman that attends class grabbed my arm and pulled me out into the hallway. The first person in reach was Elder 정영헌- so I'm sorry white handbook but I grabbed his arm and we were pulled like a chain into the hallway. I really don't know what is wrong with the lady but I do know that she ALWAYS asks me questions like, "Are we in South Korea?" and things of that sort. Something is off and when she grabbed my arm I was a tad scared for my life because she didn't look happy. When she saw that I dragged Elder Jeong along, she told him to go away. He whispered that he would be right around the corner listening. He was a less than sneaky because he kept peeking his head around the corner haha. When the whole ordeal ended, she shoved a poem in my hands and told me to take it home. It was really, really strange but made for an eventful night.

Wednesday was a zone training meeting. I ordered 21 pizza everyone to eat for lunch, it was delicious. The training was awesome. It was all about teaching from the Book of Mormon and spreading this message of joy. It was Elder Keetch's last training and is going home in a couple weeks... Wah :( When it ended, my companion and I spent a good few hours on the street talking with people. It is amazing to me how much I am understanding especially when my poor companion starts teaching false doctrine on accident haha. It's fun teaching her.

By 6PM we met Elder Gamble and Jeong at the church. A less-active member, 최연숙 (Sister Choi) is an author and was having a book concert with a few other authors to introduce their books of poetry. It felt like a poetry jam but Korean style. While the authors took turns reading their favorite poems there was a small group of people playing tradition Korean instruments and music in the background. It was pretty cool. When the reading was over and the book signing began, everyone was so envious that Sister Choi had foreigner friends that came to listen. Haha we took a few pictures then left.

We had to hurry to make it for a late dinner appointment with a member, 이자영 (Sister Lee). She works full-time as an accountant and her husband is finishing his undergraduate degree is something science related. He wasn't home yet but she was so happy when we arrived. She had a bad day at work, filled with people that were angry with her, so we tried to turn her night around by making breakfast for dinner. I made pancakes, Sister Tovar made eggs, and Sister Lee cut up fruit, made a salad, and set the table. It was a delicious meal! We had a great time hearing all about her family, how she joined the church, how she met her husband, and on and on. Before we knew it is was 9:15PM... Whoops! We helped clear the plates, shared a spiritual message, and literally ran home. Awesome day!

Thursday was a normal day. We tried to visit some less-active members but mostly failed. The only success that came out of the day was talking to a man on the street as I was asking people for directions. I had a decent conversation with him in Korean. All of a sudden he asked me if I could teach him English. I introduced some options and he then began speaking awesome English that he had thought up himself! I was very impressed. In English he told me that he wanted to start going to church. I replied and extended an invitation to ours. He pointed at my name tag and asked, "Should I go to this church?" Without hesitation I said, "Yes. It's the best I know!" He smiled and said okay. He took my number down and promised to call later. He was a really genuine person, I think he'll call.

Next, we met Summer at the church again for Sister Tovar's lesson practice and dinner. I cooked while they practiced. Guess what I made? Rice! Haha I never thought I could love rice this much haha. Anyway, while we set up our meal, another YSA, 정태호 (Brother Jeong) showed us early for English class. Both he and 이상훈 (Brother Lee) grabbed some 김밥 from a nearby restaurant and decided to join our dinner with Summer. It was a lot of fun!! They ate most of our kimchee and kim... Not cool. When class started it was lame. Because of the pollution coming over from China, everyone was too scared to leave their houses. I only had two students coming. It was fun regardless. When class ended, the mother of my students thanked me over and over for all my help and handed me a huge bag of different kinds of bread- so generous! I felt loved.

Friday morning was a lot of fun. Today is December 6th. Exactly nine months ago on March 6th was the day that I entered the MTC and began my full-time missionary service. Today marks HALFWAY!!! Happy Hump day to me!! In light of the event, Sister Tovar wanted to treat me to lunch- so sweet. He grabbed some Japanese-styled food at the local subway station and if was delicious. It took a while to get home but I was beyond happy with the progress I have made in the passed nine months. When we finally arrived home we did our weekly planning, I made a bunch of phone calls, IN KOREAN and while I did so, I received a call. It was the man from yesterday!! He wanted to be taught and introduced to boy missionaries. That night we had a meal appointment with Elders Gamble and Jeong with a member. I invited him to join and he accepted! These elders will be lucky to teach him, he is retired and is so eager to learn about our church.

We met at the church, introduced the 이영혁 (Brother Lee) to the Elders, and traveled together. The meal and members were fantastic! The spiritual message just to happened to be the first lesson, about the restoration. Sneaky Elders haha. It was really awesome. Especially when the elders were scrambling to find a scripture in their Korean Bible, I asked which one they needed- 야고보서 일장:오절 (James 1:5). I asked if I could just recite it and I did. I was so cool. The spirit was definitely present. The Elders challenged everyone to read and pray about the introduction of the Book of Mormon- everyone accepted. Traveling home was great. Brother Lee had so many questions and he just so happened to be surrounded by missionaries ready to share. It was great!!

Saturday was a fun morning. We had planned to meet up with the relief society for a luncheon. The bishop apparently reserved and paid for us to eat at a pretty fancy Chinese restaurant. It was really delicious and it was a lot of fun getting to know some more of the women in the ward. Everyone sitting around me and Sister Tovar kept having me translate a bunch of advice to my companion. They were teaching her etiquette, culture, and bunch of other stuff. It was really funny. Eventually Sister Tovar was sick of it so she decided to just walk around and take pictures of the activity. Everyone was yelling at her to stop- you know how much women like pictures haha. Anyway, she didn't understand and it just became really funny to everyone. I love these women. When we left it was a pretty uneventful day.

Sunday was great! We arrived to the church early to greet Estee and the Elders to practice for our special musical number. The practice was embarrassing but Estee was pretty excited to be involved. Once church began, we preformed and it wasn't half bad. The first verse was done by Elders Breckwoldt and Giles in German, the second verse in English with everyone, and last in Korean with everyone again. Most of the congregation looked confused and chuckled when the German started... We should have sang louder but I'm glad it's over. After our normal meetings we had dinner as a ward. It was kimchee soup- so delicious! It was also funny because most of the Koreans were dying because of the spice... maybe I had a mild batch but I just thought it was yummy hehe.

Soon after church ended and everything was cleaned up, Sister Tovar and I left to meet an appointment. It was the nephew of the grandmother that yelled at me (Brother Hong) and his friend (Brother Min). I was excited to have finally found a time to meet!! When we meet I was expected to go to Brother Hongs house but they changed their mind and wanted to sit at a cafe. Maybe it looked like a double date since we are mostly the same again, so I requested a seat not by a window haha. I got straight to business introducing our purpose as service missionaries. They are both fluent at English and are interested in our 30/30 program. As I explained my style of teaching, I proceeded to set goals with both of them to best figure out how I could help. When I talked about the gospel portion, Brother Hong said, "Yeah I think I might want to be baptized in a month, is that okay?" I looked at him and said.... uhh, "Yeah that would be alright..." PSYCH! I was more than excited and said, "OF COURSE, How does January 5th sound? It was a miracle!! The appointment ran long but it was worth it! We arranged to meet at the church next Saturday and I reiterated our rule about needed a woman present haha. It was a fantastic evening.

This week was great and I was finally able to feel better about the work the Sister Tovar and I are doing! I am realizing that I need to slow the pace a little to let Sister Tovar catch up and adjust... I feel bad that I have been pushing her so hard but I know that we are now finding the perfect pace for us to work efficently. This week is just as busy as the others and our PDAY is on Thursday this week because we are going to the TEMPLE! BOOYAH! So grateful for the the chance to go. I hope everyone had a great week and stays warm! The weather is really starting to feel like winter.. yay... and stuff.. :P

LOVE YOU ALL!! 사랑해요!!
Sister Sloan

Very very cold!!!!  Wah

Sister Kim at the Relief Society Luncheon

Poor Sister Kim Chun...she broke both her big toes.  haha

Elder Anderson

First Temple Day with Sister Tovar!

Failing 9 times out of 10

11/25-12/1
Monday was the worst PDAY. It was Sister Tovar's first and we had to receive her foreigner card. Despite our efforts to arrive to the office early, the wait was insane. FOUR HOURS LATER of just sitting, her number was finally called. I was less than happy and my impatience showed when the lady helping us was sidetracked by flirting with ever coworker nearby. The whole process was annoying, but necessary. Eventually we were able to leave and head home. When we did, it just so happened to be pouring rain and the winds were crazily blowing in every direction. Our umbrellas didn't stand a chance and I was quite the ray of sunshine to be around ha. When we finally reached our house we got a call from the district- they were at the church playing games and guilt tripped us into coming. We only stayed for about an hour until PDAY was almost over and we had to email.

When we arrived at the normal PC room were we email, I was still not the happiest camper because I had been cold all day long and annoyed but several little things. After I logged onto my email I literally began to cry as I saw a long list of unread emails from my whole family, fellow missionaries, and several friends. All day I was struggling to find things to be happy about but in that moment I was overwhelmed with feeling loved from so many people that I miss. The rest of the day was a blur of no success. By the end of the day and after daily planning, I received a call from one of the zone leaders, Elder Keetch. He was asking for updates on a couple people we were teaching. In response, I was pretty ashamed to report the lack of progress every person was making. He picked up on the discouragement in my voice and let me express all of frustration. When I finished talking he stopped and said, "You're doing all you can Sister Sloan, you're doing well." Maybe that's a generic response that anyone would have said to me but the sincerity in Elder Keetch's voice made the difference. I was once again grateful for gentle reminder that I was doing just fine.

Tuesday was zone conference. From 10AM-4PM the whole zone was gathered for training by President Morrise, Sister Morrise, the zone leaders, and assistants. The theme was having a 'Full Purpose of Heart' as we serve and go about doing good. I love it. President gave us five steps in order to work in this capacity:

1. Change willingly,
2. Prepare spiritually,
3. Act in faith,
4. Expect blessings, and
5. Be tenacious like Teancum.

As always it was very entertaining and uplifting. I love being a missionary!!

When it came to an end. We helped clean up and were off, back to 신풍. Unfortunately traffic was awful!! It took over an hour when it normally takes about 30ish minutes. We made it back just in time for English class. Since this week is Thanksgiving, we aren't having class Thursday so it was game day. I was starving and my brain wasn't working so we ended up making tongue twisters to help them with their pronunciation. It was fun. At the end, Sister Tovar and I shared the spiritual message. It was short but fun as well. I love that I am able to speak more of what I would normally say! By 9:40PM we were finally home, finished with daily planning, and eating dinner. Gotta love rice, kimchee, and seaweed!

Wednesday was stressful. Can I just say that the typical life of a missionary is making a plan, praying for it, and trying so hard to execute it but failing 9 times out of 10... Today was like that. Sister Tovar and I were waiting at our bus stop patiently to head to an appointment. As we waiting our bus barreled by without even taking notice of me frantically trying to wave it down. -____- That bus doesn't come often so I had no choice but to flag a taxi down. I gave the address and maybe 20 minutes later we "arrived" in the wrong place. -___- Bless his heart for having NO idea were to go. He got out of the car, asked a few people, got back in and took us the correct place. Thankfully we weren't late but we got soaking wet because on the short walk from the taxi to our investigators apartment, the snow really picked up. Once inside, Soo greeted us and made me trade my wet socks for a pair of her sons, exgirlfriend's ha. Along with that she gave me house slippers and a huge cup of hot chocolate- she is so good to us. We ate lunch and taught her a lesson. It was a fantastic meeting.

When we left a few more things fell through and we head home to have our water filter fixed. Want to hear something funny? When Sister Yoon and I moved into our first house our water filter was installed fairly quickly and when it was, I drank that water like crazy. When the time came to change the filter, guess what? There were no filter inside to clean the water...So for the first four months in Korea I had been drinking unfiltered water. Nothing negative ever happened so when the filters in our current house were taking forever to install, I didn't care ha. 안재석S was the one who came to fix all the problems and he did it so quickly! It was awesome except for the fact that that meant Sister Tovar and I were back outside in the cold talking to people on the street that much faster ha. As we walked we had some success but maybe the best part was that I was able to pick up some warm boots and a hat to stay warm. The winter is fast approaching!

Thursday, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! Our morning was normal, we got lost as we searched for less-active members houses. Even though that was a fail, by 2PM we arrived right on time to meet the elders and take the train to 평택. That is the most southern area of the Seoul South mission and also where an American base (Camp Humphrey) is located. The members on and off base so graciously hosted all of the missionaries in the 수원 (Suwon) zone. When we arrived at our assigned home, it was like I was back in an American home! There were rows and rows of American styled food, kids running around- screaming a language I could understand, and three families welcoming us with open arms. Brother and Sister Jenson (3 kids), Branch President and Sister Larson (3 kids), and Brother and Sister Fiscus hosted 8 missionaries! They are so generous!

After a huge meal, we shared a spiritual message and were dropped off at the local train station. There we had to wait for Sister Bassett and Goines to finish their Thanksgiving dinner because we were going on a split. As we waited, it began to snow. It was just a light snow which really set the mood for it to feel a lot like Christmas time. When the sisters arrived, I waved goodbye to Tovar as I left with Sister Goines. The night was essentially over so we walked home hoping to talk to a few people on our way. It was cold so we were only able to find a couple women. All in all, it was a great day! I am even more grateful that I will have the opportunity to be home with my family for next years holiday.

Friday was a lot of fun! Sister Goines and I get along really well so it made it easy to go throughout our day. First was studies, second was lunch with the 평택 elders (in honor of me coming to the "celestial kingdom" for the day ha), third was a less-active member visit, and last was having conversations with people on the street. Studies were productive, lunch was delicious, the less-active was hilarious, and the conversations were solid! We even received a number from someone that was interested in coming to church! Soon we found ourselves on a subway to 수원역 (Suwon Station) to unsplit. It seemed like the shortest split but I think it's because Sister Goines and I had too much fun together. After the unsplit was dinner and weekly planning. It was a good day.

Saturday was great but also full for unexpected changes and tweaks to our original plan. At 12PM there was a baptismal service for two little kids being held. It started a little late but it was good. Maybe the downside was the temperature of the water in the baptismal font... The little girl was dunked under the water but her foot came up so they had to do it again. She literally began to cry, she didn't want to go back under because it was so cold. Poor kids but the rest of the service was wonderful. Lunch was served after so we quickly ate and left.

We barely made it in time to make our appointment with Summer (서은효) who is a less-active member of our ward. She was baptized back in 1999 but went less-active after receiving an emotional wound from one of her seminary students. Today we spent time just talking and listening. She has many concerns and we were able to simply share our testimonies which really touched her heart. Before we left I asked if we could leave her home with a prayer but instead she asked for a blessing. I smiled and called the elders. They took FOREVER to arrive but they gave her a beautiful blessing. She was so grateful. I hope that same spirit that she felt will resonate with her to help her desires grow in wanting to come back to church.

When we left it was already time to meet an appointment for dinner. It was with the elders again with the same old man, 홍 현재님 (Brother Hong). He is as crazy as ever but a lesson was finally taught after we ate. It was strange once again because he would either compliment my "beauty" over and over or would go off quoting scriptures which he had memorized haha. It was very entertaining. When we left, time was short but Sister Tovar and I had to visit our investigator, Soo, before she left to New Zealand for a couple months. When we arrived we gave her the kimchee container she lent to us and a homemade Book of Mormon case we spent hours making. We told her that we thought she might want to take a good book with her for her vacation. She was very grateful and her husband was jealous haha. Even though we were full and had no time, Soo and her husband made sure to feed us plenty of KFC that they had left over from their dinner ha. It was tough to down everything but we wanted to show our gratitude. Over and over we tried to leave but they insisted that we wait for their son to make an appearance. He was busy with his video game (he is 25...) but I was praying that he would come out quickly so we could make it home on time. EVENTUALLY by 9PM he came out angry because he was loosing and annoyed by his parents request. Our small talk was worthless but I gave Soo a huge huge before we left. It was sad but I was also eager to get home before I had to call our mission president in case we arrived too late... Luckily we made it just before 10PM. It was a late night.

Sunday was a good day. Our morning appointment cancelled so we had extra study time before church. When we arrived at church it was fun to greet everyone. Normally people run in and ignore us because it is so cold and they just want to get inside but today the sun made a rare appearance so people took their time and even shook our hands. It was nice. It was fast and testimony meeting and of course it was great.

When church ended we had a correlation meeting then head straight to bishops house for a meal appointment. As we waited at the bus stop, guess who showed up? Bishop! I was secretly grateful because I wasn't exactly sure how to arrive at his home ha. Sister Tovar spoke to him while I had some conversations with people on the street and then on the bus. We were about an hour early for the appointment but we walked with him until I had an idea of where his house was. I told him that we would arrive at 7PM but in the meantime, we had work to do. He smiled and said goodbye. I'm glad we stayed out because we had some awesome conversations!! Sometime when we talk to people it is hard to bring up the church in a natural way but being with another foreigner people ALWAYS ask why we are here! Too easy!

When we finally arrived, food was DELICIOUS and it was literally the most fun I have ever had at a meal appointment with all the missionaries. Bishop has been a little apprehensive about talking with or working with us but after tonight we built some serious jung (like a relationship of trust)!! We laughed a lot and bishop was eager to teach and perfect our Korean. He even made the greenies role play different conversations. It was a hilarious night. Because so much good was coming from this appointment Elder Breckwoldt and I both hushed the greenies when they pointed out what time it was. Once we left, the bus took forever to arrive but it was so fun. When we arrived home it was about 10PM and our meal appointment was about 2 hours all together- due to a few new rules, I was obligated to call President Morrise. Normally I would be ashamed to report our tardiness and long meal but today I was so happy to report all of the positive things that happened. President Morrise was also pleased and thanked me for our hard work. It was a great ending to a not so productive week.

Have a great week! Sorry this is so late- You'll hear all about why next week. LOVE YOU ALL!!

Sister Sloan

Training Sister Tovar & Being Yelled at by an 80 Year Old Women :-(

11/18-24
Monday was a fun PDAY. While the soccer game was in full swing, guess what happened..... It starts snowing!!! Most people told me that it wouldn't start snowing until January! Noooo! Most people were jumping with excitement but I was a little less than pleased haha. The snow didn't last long or stick to the ground but it definitely made our walk to dinner a tad colder. Our district plus some stray companionships crammed into a restaurant called Pizza School and enjoyed some warm pizza. When we finished eating we needed to head to the church for YSA FHE. I made a game to help kids learn the commandments... I was out of ideas for the YSA so we played this game haha. We made it interesting though with a penalty for the loser... They had to buy hot chocolate for everyone. Elder Jung lost and he was so bitter that it would cost him a little over $20 so I took pity on him and paid for myself and Sister Hammerl haha. It was a fun night, although it felts the opposite of productive.

Tuesday was my last full day serving with Sister Hammerl. It was pretty standard with less-active visits and having conversations with people on the streets. Standard except an experience we had as Sister Hammerl and I were waiting at our bus stop. There was a group of old men who were on their way to lunch. Of course we said hello and they freaked out about how well we spoke Korean.. all we said was hello haha. Anyway, they were pelting my companion with questions while I was trying to find which bus to take. I felt bad leaving her to fend for herself but she did really well and enjoyed the conversation haha. After they left, a crazy man, who I think was drunk, came over and asked us where we were from. He seemed to be in a hurry and kept walking while he spoke to us. It was strange to begin with but then he stopped in his tracks and asked why we weren't walking with him. He said hurry up and pointed to a yogurt stand as if he wanted us to go with him. I was only about 10 meters away, so we looked at each other and began walking ha. He kept asking the same question that I literally could not understand so I just kept agreeing with him until we gave up and bought us yogurts. Once we received the yogurts, he told us to go back to the bus stop and have a nice day- so we did haha. Strange but funny.

Soon it was time for English class! I love my class so much, the kids are adorable and brilliant. I'm sure I say that a lot but it's true every time. Today we reviewed the story that we read about the Three Billy Goats and then played games. It was a small crowd today but still it was great. On the way home someone had just taken out their trash and they threw away a perfectly good table. There were several people around so I had too much shame to pick it up but Sister Hammerl said that we couldn't leave that blessing behind haha. We picked it up and carried it home- score!

Wednesday was district meeting. Previously, Sister Hammerl had wanted to make me Phad Thai but we never found the time so literally her last opportunity was lunch before the meeting. She kindly, or should I say naïvely volunteered to make and serve lunch to everyone. Bless her heart for having good intentions, but it took her forever and everyone was getting restless for food. When everything was finished and served, it wasn't even close to being enough but everyone had to keep their complaints to themselves because my companion was so proud of herself- she is so cute.

The meeting was okay. I have to admit that I was a little antsy, because right after the meeting I was scheduled to meet my new trainee!! I was excited but also dreading having to lug the biggest suitcases I have ever carried almost two hours away by subway- not fun. It was hard but when we arrived I met my new companion, Sister Tovar right away. She seemed less than pleased with me as I walked in and greeted most of the missionaries in maybe a loud and sarcastic way... Her half-hearted hug said it all haha. Soon we grabbed her things and were on our way home. It was fun feeling like I finally knew something about what I was doing. Lately I have been having trouble recognizing how far I have come since arriving but just guiding Sister Tovar home and answering all of her question made me realize I know a lot more than I thought. It was a fun night introducing her to the area and letting her get settled.

A little bio on my greenie- she is from Nevada but is currently living in Utah. Her parents are from Mexico, she is 5-foot nothing, 23, Utah State graduate in psychology, and more talkative than anyone else I have ever met. She also is not afraid or embarrassed to do anything... So far we get along but I also foresee pros and cons to our vastly different personalities. 재미겠다! It will be fun!

Thursday was my greenies first day and we wasted no time getting straight to work. When the alarm went off in the morning my poor training struggled to get out of bed and ready for our morning CrossFit routine. I'm determined to help her become spiritually strong as well as physically... hehe. Our morning studies and training went well. It was weird having to explain every aspect of missionary work/ missionary life because I realized how much advising I went through and how much my greenie will have to embrace. When it was time to hit the streets, we set out to visit some less actives and a former investigator. No luck, but we were able to start talking to people. Sister Tovar we has no fear talking to people. I mean I'm proud of her but it's also stressful because I have to keep track of her and try to translate her broken Korean into proper Korean for the person she is talking to. I have a lot of teaching to do in the next few months...

Luckily time came for English class and I was so excited to greet my students. Sister Tovar and I prepared some comprehension activities to help liven up the class. Originally we had been expecting out normal 5-7 student range BUT instead 15 showed up!! What the?! It was awesome!! There were three new mothers who were referred by our current students and they brought their kids. It was a little difficult getting all of the new students up to speed on the book, but by the end they were all involved and having fun. Seriously my greenie was spoiled for this being her first class, I hope next week doesn't disappoint!

Friday was a really hard day. When we left the house we were still waiting for our appointment to confirm that we were meeting at his grandmothers house for a lesson. I figured that it would all workout if 홍성봉B didn't show up because instead we could just leave his grandmother, 박순애S with a spiritual thought. When we showed up the grandmother was pretty frustrated about us coming and her nephew not being there. She went straight to her phone to call and ask where he was. When she got off she tried to reiterate what she just learned but I wasn't understanding. I quickly called him and found out that he didn't want to come today. We rescheduled and hung up. I told the grandmother and she was annoyed. She went on to ask some questions but I wasn't able to understand her. She then became furious and started yelling at me. I have never seen or so much anger in my life. Even though this woman is old and can't move very fast, I was literally scared that she was going to hit me. Ironically I wasn't able to understand her calm questions but as soon as she began yelling, I started to understand. She said the following, "Why can't you speak Korean yet?! How are you supposed to teach my nephew if you can't say anything?! How are you supposed to teach anyone?! Why are you here?! I forbid you from ever coming into my house ever again!!" Things like that. As she continued to yell, her eyes began to water and spit began to spew from her mouth as her yelling increased in volume and intensity. I stood and told her I was sorry and that we had to leave. She yelled at me until the door closed behind us. I was close to crying the whole way home. I really thought I was improving and I really have come to love that grandmother but now I am too embarrassed to ever show my face there.. Not that she would let me in again. As we rode the bus home, I had a feeling to get off the bus and try visiting a former investigator. When we got off, Sister Tovar didn't follow me but instead insisted that I walk into a nearby bakery. She sweetly asked me to grab a treat because she knew it had been a hard day (mind you it was only 11AM...) so far. No success came from our visit so we began walking home for lunch.

On the walk to our house, we were maybe two blocks away when we saw a group of people starring at us. Of course that is super common with a Mexican and American foreigner walking around together. We both bowed and said hello as we were walking past but as we did they stopped us and began asking a bunch of questions. They were super impressed with our Korean so they asked us to join a little marketing meeting that was taking place just inside from where they were standing. I said no thank but then I found myself being pushed and dragged into the marketing scam haha. It was really strange because they had me and my companion sit front row and as we did a bunch of people started taking pictures of us. I didn't know what to do so I reflected back on something that President Morrise encourages us to do, which was to help as many people as we could walk away from an exchange with us with positive thoughts and feelings. I figured walking out of the meeting would be rude so I thought we would wait it out. It only took about 20 minutes and then a fairly big lunch was served. It was delicious and I was even given an opportunity to talk about out church to over 14 people. Still I was slow in speaking but they understood. It was a huge confidence boost after having been torn apart by an 80+ year old woman.

When we finally arrived home we made time to do our weekly planning. When we finished, we ate dinner then hit the streets for the night. Nothing noteworthy happened except for receiving a huge hug from a random drunk lady on the street. Maybe it was an awkward hug but after it happened I was pretty grateful for that tender mercy from Heavenly Father. It may sound like a stretch but today was rough. I was really wanting to throw in the towel so I could go home and be comforted by people who actually love and care for me. My companion was too new to feel comfortable hugging me and I wasn't about to ask for a hug from anyone. Instead, Heavenly Father sends me this crazy drunk lady who hugged me as tight as she could and told me I was the best haha. It really was an awesome end to a crappy day.

Saturday was an annoying day. Have you ever had to read, understand, and speak Korean? If your answer is no, then my follow up question is if you had to would you been successful? ME NEITHER! Today I learned the word for misunderstanding because I had to apologize at least... 5,000 times for messing things up. I swear we haven't has a formal appointment in forever because I have become really good at misunderstanding and having to cancel and/or reschedule appointments. I'll spare you the details of what was supposed to happen and just say what actually took place. Our investigator, 신숙희S and her six year-old daughter showed up to the YSA American thanksgiving party that I understood was a ward party. Eventually relief society began showing up to greet her but for the first hour it was pretty awkward with all the singles.

Next, an appointment fell through. Sister Tovar and I went home to make up some of the study time we missed in the morning. When we were about done, Elder Gamble and Jung called. They invited us to a dinner appointment with a member from Elder Gamble's greenie area. We didn't have plans so we accepted. This man traveled over an hour by subway to arrive and see Elder Gamble! To make the visit more convenient, we had dinner together at Suwon Station. Brother Hoon is very old, funny, and a little crazy. His wife divorced him years ago and at dinner he began complaining that he just wanted to go to a singing room (karaoke is pretty popular here) with a pretty girl. That is when he would look at me and wink... I know this man doesn't have bad intentions but it was weird ha. What made it weirder was when he was going on and on about my "pretty hair" and would tuck some of my hair behind my ears. The elders about passed out because they didn't know what to do haha. As soon as Brother Hoon realized that probably wants the best thing to do to a sister missionary, he shrunk in his chair and said as if talking to the ground, "I'm just an old Asian man who is lonely." No one knew what to say until he looked back up and started laughing hysterically and said, "Got cha!" It was a strange dinner but definitely entertaining with Brother Hoon as well as Sister Tovar trying to get the handle on chopsticks and spicy food ha. All in all it was an interesting day.

Sunday came and it was raining like crazy!! First was an appointment with Bible... 심성경S (Sister Shim). She had read what she promised so the appointment consisted of small talk and reading the Book of Mormon. It was boring and took forever as we all took turns reading a verse. She quickly realized that her reading assignments would be much easier in the future if she just read quickly on her own instead of waiting for us ha. When we left we went home for a quick lunch before church began. Church was awesome! After the sacrament was passed I was surprised to see all of the primary walk up to the stage, it was a primary program! Since the primary is a little small, each child would read a part then have a solo. Maybe it was painful for these kids to sing by themselves but it was uhh-dorable! Some songs were sung all together and those were the most beautiful. These kids are so precious. I really love them.

When sacrament was over, Sister Tovar and I attended Sunday school for a little until it was time to set up the cultural hall for dinner together. We worked with a member to set up the chairs, tables and all the food. It was a decent meal. After we helped clean and had our missionary coordinating meeting. Our new ward missions leader, 이재현B (Brother Lee) is AWESOME!!! He cares so much about us and our investigators! This is going to be a good couple of transfers. When it ended, we walked with the elders home and Me and my companion went home to hand out a little gift we had baked for our neighbors. It was perfect, because the rain was coming down harder than ever and we still wanted to reach our goal of talking to some more people. Only a few of our neighbors came to the door to greet us and the other yelled through the door that they were busy ha. Hopefully they enjoy their bag of treats as well as the message card that I attached- it had Mark 12:30-31 on one side and on the other is said, "...so, we love you! If you need anything we are in APT 303! Love, the Sister missionaries!" I thought it was funny- hopefully they will too ha.

As the rain continued, we had about 20 minutes left of the day. I thought I could get a few more conversations over the phone but after five minutes of calling everyone I could think of, no one was picking up. I shrugged and told Sister Tovar that we needed to finish our week strong- so we needed to hit the streets hard for the last 15 minutes of the day. She whinnied and said no one was outside, as if that wasn't common knowledge considering the rain. She eventually agreed when I told her that we are blessed when we sacrifice. We were only able to talk to about three people, but it was worth it!! I felt good about working hard until the end which will hopefully be a trend with Sister Tovar throughout her training.

Today is Monday and it is still rainy. We have left the house early in order to receive Sister Tovar's foreigner card. I am hoping to have a relaxing PDAY inside and maybe enjoy a nap... Exciting life of a missionary ha. I hope all is well back home. I love you all!! Have a great week!
슬론자매