Let me tell you all about my first full week in the field...
Monday is my P-day. Due to the 16 hour time difference, this is the day I was able to Skype home to my family to wish my beautiful mother a Happy Mother's Day. That was so much fun telling them all about Korea... Or at least everything I've learned and experienced thus far. After my hour mark was up, my companion 욘 자매님 and I had an appointment. It was a referral from the Elder's in our ward. The lady is a teacher at 경희대학교 university, teaching Korean. Because she is a professor and doesn't have too much free time to meet, we met up with the Elder Cho and Sorensen at the university. We found her and talked as we walked around campus. While walking we passed a bunch of booths. One offered a free churro if you beat this guy in a ping pong match. haha. The lady encouraged me to play- naturally I did. Of course I didn't win, because the guy I had to play was awesome and the paddles here are very different than the ones at home. Both Elders played as well, all loosing. Our potential investigator was impressed that she bought us all churros anyway. She is so nice! Next, we made our way over to a cafe were she insisted that she buy us all smoothies and brownies. Again, so sweet! We ate and talked and just got to know her and her interests. Most of this conversation was in Korean so I just drank my smoothie and tried to look engaged. Before we knew it, it was time for her to head to class. She quickly shook our hands and ran off. Us missionaries stayed for a minute to finish our food and the Koreans explained to the two Americans (Elder Sorensen and I) what just happened haha.
Once we finished our smoothies and such, Elder Cho decided he wanted real food for lunch. His definition of real food? McDonalds... Bless his heart haha. In the spirit of P-day us Sisters tagged along. It was a long walk, but it was nice just being able to walk slowly and talk to the other missionaries. Not too long after 욘 자매님 and I had to start making our way to a dinner appointment. Our area is pretty big so our bus rides last a long while. Soon we had arrived at 김명흰B and 김원경S home (B meaning Brother/S meaning Sister). Korean mothers always prepare so much food. It is so generous of them, but I don't want to get fat haha! It might be inevitable because it is polite to finish your while bowl of rice and soup they give you. Anyway, it was a nice dinner. The husband even left work early to come and eat with us and his family. That's says a lot about him because normally the husbands make work their priority. As we ate we asked his conversion story. He explained a lot of things. One thing that he mentioned which I thought was awesome, he said as he grew up and established a family of his own, he realized how much happier he was when we puts his family first. He is a stud. It's very apparent that that priority for him has set an awesome example for his son and daughter. It was a great dinner appointment. We shared a message about families and introduced them to the referral program we are trying to implement and use with all of the members. They committed to helping us! On our way out, they sent us home with 30 eggs, meat, kimchee, and fruit! So generous!! It was such a blessing because even though today was P-day we hadn't had time to go grocery shopping at all because all of our appointments were so far from home. The church it true and The Lord knows your needs!!
Tuesday was another busy day. First thing after getting ready 욘 자매님 and I hopped on a bus to our chapel for my first district meeting. As a tradition, they always eat lunch together near the church before the meeting. So we did haha. We ate pretty fast then walked back to the chapel for the meeting. We covered goals, stats, discussed concerns, and asked advice about potential and progressing investigators. After that we heard from Elder Cho, the district leader. He shared a message about loving our neighbors. We did role play with our companions then met back together to discuss. Overall, I got pretty excited about talking to everyone. Even though I'm not able to speak or understand much, I am
Able to start the conversation and bear testimony of the specific message I decide to share- then 욘 자매님 fills in the rest. She is awesome.
On our way to visit some members, we got lost. It's not surprising because they don't have street names here, just intersection names. Anyway, I've definitely gained a testimony of The Lord putting us missionaries in the right place at the right time, even if we have no idea where we are. As 욘 자매님 was in the phone with an operator (similar to 411 in the States) I saw a man that looked just as lost as us. He was American wearing a t-shirt with the word TEXAS boldly printed on the front. As Sister missionaries we are not supposed to approach men, but for some reason the spirit was telling me otherwise. I just took a few steps towards him and asked, "Are you lost?" As he looked up he looked relieved to see an English speaking American. Of course he was and he explained to 욘 자매님 where he needed to go. She again got on the phone to figure out where to go. As she was busy, I started talking to this man. His name is Mark, from Texas, working for Samsung, and moving him and his family out here to Korea soon. He was here on business but today was the day he took to explore and get a feel of the foreign city he was bringing his family to. He asked why I was here; I explained my role as a missionary and briefly why I decided to come. Some follow up questions brought me to explaining prophets and their role in deciding where missionaries are needed and sent. I asked his religious background. He used to attend, but he doesn't anymore because the ideals and beliefs were harsh and unforgiving. I replied with talking about the atonement and my strong testimony of how we can become clean and forgiven. He thought it was a nice though he wasn't interested in maybe meeting with the missionaries until a later date. Finally 욘 자매님 was off the phone and she discovered that we would be heading the same direction as him. She asked permission if it was be okay if we walked/rode the bus together. We talked a little more about his family and filling 욘 자매님 on where he was from and such. Just under an hour later we got off the bus at his destination where we needed to make a bus transfer. As we parted, I brought up that he said his wife is concerned about coming to a new place where she knows no one. I told him that I moved several times growing up and it was always nice to have a ward/congregation of nice, happy people no matter where you went. I told him that there is a stake (I used different words so he would understand) of all foreigners. I said I didn't know the details but if he would be interested I could grab his number and call him about it later that evening. He politely asked for our number instead. As we said goodbye he smiled and put our card in his wallet. When we were out of hearing range 욘 자매님 was so excited that I bore so much testimony and told him so much. She believes that we got lost for that reason, to meet and talk to Mark. Even if nothing comes of it, I was finally able to carry on a conversation and share a few messages with someone I didn't know! It was awesome!!
Wednesday was a good day. As it started with personal study, companionship study, and language study my mind was ready to explode with an overload of new information. We had a lunch appointment next so all of the info was able to simmer and give my brain a break. On our way, guess what... We got lost. Whose shocked? Not it!! But just like last time it was awesome. We got off the bus thinking it was the right stop, ERR we were wrong. Then it just so happened that the next buses wouldn't be coming for a long while. So instead, we grabbed a taxi. For the 15 minute drive to our destination the driver had all kinds if questions. 욘 자매님 did a great job answering them, getting to know him, and sharing a message with him. His situation is as follows:
His mother loved and believed in going to church. When she died her last request was for him to find a church and go. He has been looking for truth ever since. Can you say golden? He has desire, interest, and a need. We got his contact information by the time he pulled up to our lunch appointment. Best 전도 ever!
When we finally arrived the women had invited the bishops wife as well as another lady and her 1.5 year old son from the ward. Again, so much food was prepared! Especially with three moms in the kitchen... I ate slower than normal (new strategy I'm trying). I ate as many vegetables as I could from the center of the table as I chipped away at my bowl of rice. Of course because I am new to Korea, they all pushed dishes closer to me and told me to try them. I for one am grateful that I don't understand much Korean yet because they are always explaining what everything is... Counting my blessings because I don't want to know what I'm eating yet haha. It all tastes fine but some textures and the look of some things make me, what's the word, nauseous! I'm grateful for their generosity though. I know that are serving their favorite dishes so I eat everything with a smile. After we ate and had fruit (which is their form of dessert here- thank goodness!) 욘 자매님 and I shared a quick message and introduced the referral program. Again, we got a positive response. On our way out, the other two ladies were leaving as well. They offered to drive us home and we accepted, because it has been getting pretty hot these days.
Not long after we were home we had to head back out to our chapel for English class. On our way we were 전도ing and guess what?! We got two numbers! 욘 자매님 and I were so excited! We celebrated with ice cream on our walk from the bus stop to the chapel. So far it was a good day and I was excited to see what English class was all about.
Here in Korea, English classes are an awesome way for us missionaries to invite people on the street to our chapel once a week. There we teach English for an hour then share a spiritual thought. It's a large source of finding new investigators to teach. Anyway, this week 6 people came and we talked about idioms and vocabulary in a couple of songs. It's so cute how easily Koreans are amazed. They ooo and ahh at everything, I love it. At the end 욘 자매님 and I shared simple testimonies. Since it was English class, I did it in English and my she translated. It was fun. Most people stayed to socialize and a lady asked me to show her the English alphabet in cursive. It's nice being able to teach in my native language. It's so much easier to get my point across, because if they don't understand the first time, I know so many more ways to explain in English! Hopefully I'll be decent at it in Korean... Only time will tell.
Thursday we didn't have anything scheduled except a dinner appointment at 6PM. In companionship planning the night before we planned to visit a few less active members and just 전도 all day. We tried to visit a few people but failed because they were not home. 전도 wasn't going well either. People were not out on the streets and if they were, they wouldn't listen. It was sad. Finally, we knocked on the door of a less active couple from the ward. She was home! She was in the beginning stages of making Kimchee. 
As service missionaries, we asked if we could help. The sister was so happy to receive the offer. First we helped wash and cut leaves. It was a special root (that is very expensive and takes year to grow) that she makes kimchee out of so it took forever. Next, we washed the cut roots in salt water to kill any bacteria. Last we mixed the root with the spicy sauce and put them in containers. Sounds fast huh? Errr, try again! We were there for 3 hours. We typically don't stay places more than an hour or two so this visit was out of the ordinary. It was productive though because we were able to serve and teach this sister as well as her husband (an inactive member) who came home an hour before we left. To thank us they wanted us to stay for dinner. Since we had an appointment she wanted us to stay to at least have some kimchee. However all Koreans are very giving and generous.. Turns out she set a table for a full meal and her husband went through their storage to bring out their nice table. So nice! We ate as fast as we could then head out. They were so sweet. I think we are going back for a proper dinner on Monday.
We quickly ran to the next dinner and got there just in time! It was tough eating two big meals but we were trying to be polite. After dinner and our message the mother gave us a ride home since it was 9PM. The whole drive home she told us about her experiences of being a missionary when she was our age. It's pretty cool because she was a missionary called to this Daejeon mission! I understood very little but after 욘 자매님 filled me in, I realized how different this country used to be. It's amazing how far this country has come. Did you know that the mission home has been here for 30 years and these last 30 years Korea has totally turned around to being a thriving country? It's unreal.
Friday was Buddah's birthday. It is a national holiday here so school was out and most people didn't have to go to work. From 9AM to 4PM there was a scheduled 'Stake Physical Day.' Sounds odd but it was a blast! The whole stake gathered at a middle school in the area to play games and sports all day. All missionaries (18 of us) were asked to arrive early to help welcome and direct people. Once the majority of people arrived we started with a prayer and traditional Korean stretching. Please search it on YouTube or something- all of the American missionaries were cracking up. It was so ineffective haha. Soon they got to the stretches that the brother directing couldn't do, so he asked Sister Hendricks (one of the sisters we are temporarily living with until the new area has our apartment ready) and I to come up. I honestly had no idea what was going on... because everyone was speaking Korean haha. Once we got to the stage the brother asked us in a broken English accent, "Do you have flexible body?" I laughed and nodded yes. He smiled and yelled, "Awesome!" in Korean. We proceeded to touch our toes and so other ineffective stretches. Again, everyone was so easliy amazed and ooo'ed and ahh'ed when I would demonstrate the stretch haha. It was really funny. I'm sure you can imagine I was giggling the whole time out of embarrassment haha.
When that finally ended, all of the girls and women were scheduled to play dodgeball. They play it a little different than in the states but it was fun. It was hilarious because some of the relief society sisters got really into it. One of them chucked a ball at my head haha. They were cracking me up. After dodgeball the missionaries desided to play this games called 1 step, 2 step, 3 step. It's just an elementary school game but 욘 자매님 somehow sprained her ankle. Throughout the rest of the activity her ankle progressively got worse and worse. I started giving her piggy back rides up and down the stairs as we had to keep rotating with our ward to the various activities. All of the members from our ward were calling me a hero haha. 욘 자매님 kept saying that her pride was hurting more than her ankle haha. I felt bad but she is always serving me. It was nice to have the tables turned so I could help her.
By the end we had talked to a lot of the friends that the members invited. And guess what?! We have our first investigator!! She is in middle school, friends with the bishops daughter, and had a lot of questions about the gospel (in Korean for Sister Yoon) and about English (in broken Korean for me). There is this 30/30 lesson here where we teach one on one, English for 30 minutes and a gospel lesson for 30 minutes. So that will be our first lesson with her on Thursday next week!!
By the time that was arranged, most of our ward had stuck around to play a game of soccer. It had just ended and now they were getting ready to have a Korean-style picnic (Every time Koreans are teaching me something new they always refer to it as "Korean Style" haha). We set up mats on a sidewalk and ordered from chicken and noodles. The a couple members paid for everyone! So generous! Also it's pretty awesome because the delivery men are always on these funny scooters with huge yellow baskets. They not only deliver the food but they also come back when you're done to clean up and pick up the trash. It's pretty great. A nice member offered us a ride home because if 욘 자매님's ankle. Once home we just did language study so she could rest it. Overall, it was a great way to spend a Friday.
Saturday was a laid back day. In the morning a member took us to the oriental doctor so 욘 자매님 could have her ankle looked at. They did acupuncture and gave her weird root drinks to have her drink with every meal. After we visited a sister from the ward for lunch. She too is a return missionary from Korea. After we 전도ed on the buses and street. Nothing too much to report. By the end of the day it was weird to be home making dinner for ourselves. We are so blessed to always be fed. Tonight both Sister Hendricks and Simonsson were home too. We made some yummy food and went easy on the rice for once. After we decided To go to Baskin Robins since if was the last night we are probably going to all be home together before 욘 자매님 and I move. After yummy ice cream cones we headed back home to grab our things to 전 더 for the rest of the evening. 욘 자매님 is pretty hilarious. Everywhere we walk, she has a limp, because if her hurt ankle. I accidentally stumbled on a curb that I anticipated being bigger. She turns to me and says, "Do you envy me?" Haha! We laughed the rest of the way home because she just kept going on and on. Anyway, it was a good day.
Sunday was church. Since last week was Stake Conference, I was off the hook for speaking for another week. Bishop asked me to introduce myself and talk about how I prepared for a mission. I wrote one page of English sentences then translated it. Typically that would take like 3-5 minutes to deliver right? Well... turns out when I practiced to took 10! I thought it would be okay but when 욘 자매님 and I arrived at church there were not 3 speakers, but 5! Everyone was asked to speak about 5ish minutes, leaving some room for everyone just in case. I improvised and took out a few lines and I delivered my talk in 7 minutes. I tried to look up from my notes as much as possible. I feel like I did a good job. However, ever time I looked up I had so many pity smiles from people in the congergation. I can only imagine them thinking, "Awe, it's so cute that she is trying so hard." -___- haha oh well I am trying and they do appreciate that. After the fact a lot of members complimented me by saying my Korean was improving and that I did a good job. That was nice of them to say but then the truth came. A lady told me that my pronounciation was really good but she couldn't understand anything that I was saying. Another person told me, "Nice try" haha, I think that was my favorite. I love how blunt Koreans are haha! Oh well, I'm not discouraged. I know that I have a long way to go but for now I am just learning.
The bishops son brought his girlfriend to church, so after sacrament meeting Sister Yoon, Elder Cho, and I met them in a room to talk and get to know her. I understood nothing, but it felt like a good meeting. Aparently they set up a time to get to know her more this coming Saturday. She had a lot of questions and really likes the idea and concept of our church, so maybe we will have an opportunity to teach her a few lessons!
By the time church was over, a members son was getting baptized. It was a sweet service. The poor boy was so shy and cute. It was short and sweet then the sisters in the ward had prepared lunch for everyone. I ate and played with the little kids. That are so freaking cute and talented and smart! This is a cute little girl that is 7. She has been playing the piano for less than a year and is amazing. I walked in on her in the primary room just going at it on the piano. I sat next to her and told her to play another one. Soon Elder Sorensen heard so he came and they were taking turns playing songs to see who knew more. She kept laughing at him telling him he knew all of the easy songs haha. I was impressed with both of them. But it was so adorable watching her play and have her cute little legs just swinging because they were too short to touch the ground. The kids here kill me. I love them so much.
Soon it was time to go. 욘 자매님 and I left to 가가호호 (gahgah hoho- to knock door to door). It wasn't that successful so we instead decided to just procelyte (전도) on the streets and in the buses on the way to our dinner appointment. That was very successful. I think we talked to over 50 people in an hour and got 2 numbers! By the time we got to the dinner appointment it was just after 6PM. We ate awesome food and my companion got carried away in Korean conversation with the parents. I tried to pay attention but then their kids were trying to play with me so I joined the kids. Eventually the father got me involved and asked for my testimony. I testified of my love for this gospel. I testified of my testimony of the atonement. They thanked me and asked if my parents where strong members of the church. I replied and said yes as I showed them a family picture. They both smiled at me and the father said, "I can tell you were raised right." I smiled and agreed. He then looked at the picture again and said, "Your parents look very peaceful." Again, I smiled and agreed and told them that I was very grateful for the loving and strong examples that I have in my life. The father and mother thanked me. They are awesome parents too. All of their kids are amazing (their third being the little girl that was playing the piano). They are so loving to each other and I know it is because of the example they have to follow. It was a great dinner appointment. They drove us home after. Such an awesome family!
All is well. I love Korea. I love the members. I am learning so much. Thank you for all of the support and love. I feel so blessed everyday.
사랑해요!
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