I did not like Korean today

Monday 5/20/13

P-day again! We were supposed to move today, but the AP's in the mission office dropped the ball on making all of the arrangements. Ugh! I'm so ready to unpack--even at the MTC I lived out of my suitcases because there wasn't enough closet space. It has been 76 days and still counting... Oh well, instead we had a fun morning with the sisters we live with (Sister Hendricks and Simionson). First we emailed. It was fun emailing home last week. I am trying to add more and more detail. I hope it makes sense and isn't overwhelming. Emailing took a little longer than we had planned, because we had to make city logins with our alien green card things. I don't have mine yet so 윤자매님 (cool that I spelt her name wrong in my last few emails...) hacked her moms profile and gave me the login information haha. My companion is awesome. When our email time was up, we met up with most of the other missionaries from our stake. One of the elders is leaving so we had a goodbye lunch for him. (He is from the Daejeon mission but was called to New Jersey, he has been waiting 3 months for his visa! In the mean time, he started serving here and will leave for the MTC for a couple weeks then finally be off to his assigned mission.) 

Lunch was good. It was an "American" buffet... Everything was pretty Asian in my opinion with noodles and California sushi balls... However they had fried chicken haha is that an American thing? I thought it was an everywhere thing but oh well, it was tasty. I only had a plate and a half of food. All of the elders were encouraging me to get more, saying it was the "missionary" thing to do. I told them that I got what I came for- I was full. Also that is a terrible motto- no wonder missionaries gain weight. I really don't want to... but the 30 minutes of exercise in the morning is not cutting it. Anyway the food and conversation was good. 

Next on our list? Shopping! I'm keeping my eyes peeled for the perfect gems to send back to the states. It was mostly a bust so we all decided to head to the local chapel to play games. I wasn't in the mood to learn a new board game, but I participated because it made everyone else happy. We ran out of time before the game was over... so sad and stuff haha. I think I won though. ^^ It's hard to say, but I'll say it anyway haha. 

Time had totally escaped us and 윤 자매님 and I had to find a bus quick to get to our dinner appointment by 6:30PM. Upon arrival, we knocked and knocked but no one answered. It was weird. We gave the sister a call. Guess what? Turns out we were in the wrong place! Anyone surprised? You shouldn't be because we weren't haha. We finally flagged down a taxi and it turns out we were still 15 minutes away from our destination. We were late but the couple was so gracious. We were quickly welcomed in where we found a set and stocked table. I was hungry, lucky them! (It is polite to eat all of your rice and soup. It is even more polite to ask for extra.) This sister is an amazing cook! I'm not the biggest fan of kimchee but hers is awesome. Also it was the same kimchee that we had helped her make last week. I was honored she brought it out because she told us it's only meant for special guests and special occasions. Koreans are so generous!! Dinner was great and the conversation too. The wife bore her testimony of families and trying to set a good example for her children (both grown). The husband (inactive) also bore a strong testimony about that and knowing God had has a hand in bringing happiness and peace in his life. I am pretty confused as to why he has been inactive for so many years. He knows the truth and his wife is solid- both kids too (both their son and daughter served missions). He said that he is waiting for a large event to take place to motivate him to come back to church. All I could think about was the scripture, "that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise." (Book of Mormon, Alma 37:6). I guess he just doesn't understand the importance of church attendance. Next appointment we'll try to explain it to him and bear testimony as to how it helps us and our families. Anyway dinner was delicious but we stayed too long. We had to run to the bus stop to try to be home on time. We weren't but it was close.

Tuesday was a bummer day. I was definitely feeling homesick and I was letting myself get so overwhelmed and frustrated with the littlest things. I kept stepping back to clear my mind but nothing worked. I even tried smiling a lot when we were proselyting and walking to appointments... I couldn't trick my brain into changing its mood.

First thing in the morning, 윤 자매님 and I had to take a bus over to the new apartments. We weren't moving in but we had to get the keys and open it so they could bring in a refrigerator and desks. It took forever to find and then waiting for the delivery people to install some things took even longer. We were supposed to be at district meeting but when we finally arrived, we were an hour late. I was only half heartily engaged. The district leader (Elder Cho) speaks only in Korean while all of the foreign greenies have a translator (Elder Schofield). I was annoyed I had to be so dependent on someone else to understand the simple lesson being taught. After, Elder Sorensen and I were assigned to teach English class on Wednesday so we coordinated our plan. He wasn't blind to the fact that I was in a bad mood so he tried to help. He said, "Do you need a Brother Tanner pep-talk?" Brother Tanner (MTC teacher) was so awesome at always cheering everyone up at the MTC. It was nice of him to help. It did a little but it had to be up to me to change my mind.

Next, an appointment with our first investigator!! (김 지 헤, 11 years old- American age) I started the discussion by teaching 30 minutes of English (30/30 program). We use a book that was very helpful. Teaching English is tough! I don't want to overwhelm people but I also don't want to treat them like they don't know anything. I'll find a balance as I continue to practice. 김 지 헤 did awesome! She is so smart. After the time was up, 윤 자매님 took over to start the lesson. As it began, the father came into the room and sat in and even participated! I contributed very little but Koreans love when I try to communicate using their language (as least I have that going for me). It ended with a prayer given by 김 지 헤. It was great! Apparently it was her first prayer out loud. Her dad said that he was very proud of her (he is Christian but we don't know many details yet... Hopefully next lesson we'll teach them both again).

Everything else fell through for the rest of the evening. 윤 자매님 ask if I was stressed (because of the way I had been acting all day). I said yes and that I did not like Korean today. She was cute and responded while throwing her hands in the air, "Well good! It's English day!" Haha I love her.

Wednesday was moving day!! I was so happy it was finally here! The apartment was disgusting so we asked 4 elders (Sorensen, Haffin, Arnett, and Sohn) to helps us. We cleaned from 9AM-3PM (with an hour of lunch in the middle). I took on the task of the bathroom... I'll spare you the details and just leave it at yuck! Everyone were so awesome. Everything looks 100 shades lighter. I am very grateful for them. Once it was clean we needed our things! A member volunteered to help us. So nice! We packed her car to the brim, it was funny how much stuff we have- I need it all but it's embarrassing sometimes. The member made a phone call to the Elder Sorensen and Sohn and very demandingly asked them to come help us. She wouldn't let us touch our bags because 'it was the elders job to help up.' I appreciate the thought but I am very self sufficient. Once that ordeal was finally over it was time to shop! Earlier that day the guys that set up our refrigerator, gave us a credit card to buy the rest of the appliances that a missionary apartment needed. We were frugal but still got some awesome things.

Last thing on the schedule? English class... I was the opposite of stoked, because I had just experienced how hard teaching English was yesterday. Elder Sorensen and I were talking about acronyms used in texting and how to make a phone call. You'd be surprised how different they do things here. The phone call beginning with an introduction and ending with bye was so foreign haha. They don't say who it is or say bye (they just hang up and it isn't rude). Anyway, things went okay. I let Elder Sorensen take the lead. He did well but still struggled speaking in small sentences and using easy to understand words. The rest of the missionaries helped us so all was well. We went home... To our home!! I was FINALLY able to unpack and get settled! It felt good to finally feel homeish.

Thursday was a good day. It started and ended in a rush though. We had to get up at 5:40AM to get ready and make it to the train station to go to the mission home in Daejeon. Turns out our new apartment has a problem with its water heater- aka there was no warm water. I kept my shower short but it was painful haha. If I kept the water on my head too long it felt like I was getting a brain freeze! Once dressed we immediately had to run to a bus to catch our train. The train ride was almost 2 hours long. I read my BOM and took a nap. Once we arrived, we met in the chapel for a Sisters Conference. It was basically just training all day. It was awesome! I learned a lot. I also received 3 letters that were waiting at the mission home. All from the Kiuttu family. Shout out to them! It's so fun reading letters; especially when I was on a long train ride back home.

Once our train reached our stop 윤 자매님 and I were walking toward the bus terminal when we saw a familiar face. A couple weeks ago we had been 전도ing in that area and he approached me to tell me how pretty my eyes were. After that he noticed my tag and had all kinds of questions. Mostly he just liked to talk and we didn't have a lot of time. But this time we had all kinds if time to listen so as we walked passed we said hello and he looked happy to see us haha. He almost looks homeless but has all kinds of technology that tells you otherwise. Apparently he went to prison and the cops keep a close eye on him, suing and trying to convict him for everything. (Speaking of, 3 different times when we were talking, men would come up and stand near us to to make sure us sisters weren't being bothered.) I mean it helped me feel safe to know that random people noticed and cared to make sure we were okay but I feel bad for him because he's trying to change his life around and isn't really being given a chance. He ignored all the men walking up and just went on and on as we expected he would. By the end we gave him a Book of Mormon and he graciously accepted. I hope things start looking up for him.

As we got on our bus, the bishop called and asked us to stop by the chapel to pick up a couple boxes of kitchen supplies that the ward so graciously provided for us. They are awesome!! We unwrapped everything when we got home but we are still waiting for the hot water to be turned on so that we can wash everything and put it all away. We went to bed a little late because we were unpacking but Sister Yoon had no problem falling asleep... She snores so loud... Needless to say I had a little bit of trouble. I kept making loud noises to startle her so she would stop snoring for a few minutes to give me a chance to fall asleep. Failed. It was a bummer but I recorded her. I'm thinking about making it the alarm noise haha. IT'S SO LOUD, I know I would wake up.

Friday we accidentally slept in like 20 minutes! The alarm didn't go off. I figured out the issue so it won't happen again but I felt pretty bad. That also meant I slept through my workout time- bleh :( When 윤 자매님 hopped in the shower I did a TABATA of sit ups and a 21-15-9 WOD with push ups and step lunges. I want to do more but there is hardly anytime. I finished just as she walked out of the bathroom. I was hoping that because I was started to sweat it would make the freezing cold water bearable... It did for 5 seconds haha. Oh well, after we got ready we had weekly planning as we waited for the people to come and install the appliances we purchased yesterday (with the mission credit card- don't worry pa haha). They happened to show up later then we wanted because it caused an appointment with the wife of a part member family to fall through. I've been really looking forward to getting to know her (김미미S) but I'll be patient. Anyway, instead we went to 이 정숙S 's house. She insisted that we come over to pick up some kimchee she made for us. There we met her daughter and she fed us again. I love her so much! She takes good care of us. And even though my verbal communication with everyone is at an all time low, I feel like I connect with her so well and we understand each other when we are talking our native languages. It's the coolest thing!

After lunch we went home to drop off all the goodies she gave us. (By the way kimchee is tough for me to eat but hers! I cannot get enough. Probably because its authentic and not factory made. So yummy!) Immediately after we hopped on another bus to meet up with our Elders to head to a dinner appointment. They asked us to come along because the father of the family is not typically home until after 7PM because of work. So in order for the Elders to get in the door they needed us and a priesthood holder from the ward. It was a large group for a mother to feed and entertain but we kept her 3 kids busy and out of her hair for a couple hours. This family is less active and two of their children have turned 8. We taught about baptism through a game and a lesson. One of the two kids was responsive and the other was a spaze. In the middle, the father finally arrived home. Both him and his wife seem pretty solid (both return missionaries) but they live kind of far from the church so I think they are just lazy. All in all it went well and the food was yummy. We got back on the bus and 전도ed all the way home. Not much success ever comes from 전도ing but it's good repetition and practice for me.

Saturday morning we finally had gym time!! 윤 자매님 and I just jogged over to a park by our house. We did laps around it at our different paces. I ran a while, stretched, and ran again- harder this time because I knew our time was short. When we got home I let her get in the shower first. I did a TABATA of reverse crunches and planks while I waited my turn. It felt good to be sweating today. Of course it's getting pretty humid now that its summer so we sweat all the time but this kind of sweat- I've missed it. It helped my shower be a little more enjoyable.

Our only appointment fell through. They call it being "punked" here. So... we were punked. Instead our district met at our chapel to discuss a fireside that we want to put together. After 윤 자매님 and I needed to pick up some more groceries and items for the house. It was a bummer walking home having to carry all of it... It only took 20 minutes. But when I say 20 minutes, I mean it was the worst 20 minutes of my life! It's so humid and we crammed everything we bought in this huge box. I volunteered to carry it. However, you know how when you hold something heavy for a long time you start to loose control of your grip? Yeah... That happened by the time we were 10 blocks away, I was counting. Ugh it was hard. I was in a bad mood after that and went immediately to bed once companionship planning was over.

Sunday! I remember this being the best day of the week in the MTC but here it's stressful. 3 hours of straight Korean and I only understand 1% of it... It's really tough. I was in a downer mood until church ended. That was the time when all of the kids were so excited to play and talk with me. I love them all. I was smiling and laughed. Everyone says its a good thing for parents to see us getting along with their kids. There is something called 정 (phonetically spelt johng but sounds more like jung). It is an unwritten rule that is key! It is something that develops as you become friends and start to build a relationship. You know you have 정 with someone when you think about them when you are apart. It's a thing here so I can't talk to the adults or eat a lot of their food but I can play with the kids! The ward council made lunch and invited the missionaries to join before we left. Of course we accepted the invitation to eat 떡볶이. It's a spicy dish with boiled rice cakes (that look like filled penne noodles, green onion, cabbage, diced garlic, salt, sugar and different kinds of seasoning. It was yummy.

Next, 전도 time!! All the missionaries in my district decided to proselyte together in a popular park not too far from the church. We set up a sign that was promoting our free English class. 윤 자매님 and I talked to over 100 people and got 2 numbers! We also ran into 김 연허 (member) he was at the park with his wife, 긴 미미 (non-member). Our appointments always fall through with her because our schedules don't line up very well. So we were finally about to talk and BRT (build a relationship of trust). It was awesome. Overall it was a good day even though I had a bad attitude in the morning at church. The day ended with all the missionaries eating Raman at the church for dinner. My district is the best.

It's PDAY!! Monday is an awesome day for P-Day because it starts the week off right. I think we are planning to meet up and play games with the other missionaries until 6ish. Then we are planning to visit a few less actives. It should be a good day.

I love you all! This week I'm finally realizing how hard being a missionary really is. There are major highs and lows all day long! People told me that before but now I am starting to understand that more fully. I thank Heavenly Father for all of your love and support daily. It is much needed and appreciated. ❤

사랑해요!

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