Porter Jenkins advice comes in handy "It's whatever man"

Monday was an awesome PDAY! We had a zone activity in 평택. Most people bought cheap water guns and other brought water balloon. We ate pizza, played soccer, and had a massive water fight! It was a blast being able to douse all the missionaries! The gun I brought was only a few dollars but it was so powerful! It had such an awesome range! Anyway, it was so much fun. We were able to meet all the greenies that arrived last Wednesday and meet the missionaries that were transferred into 수원 area. I cannot believe that we will all be the new Seoul South missionaries! They are all fantastic missionaries.

When it was time to leave, most people had dried off thanks to the ridiculous humidity. I wore my 할머니 pants which are the best fabric for this weather! So my pants were dry but not much else. The subway ride home wasn't too bad but what did stink was that it took longer than expected. By the time we got home 윤 자매님 and I literally had 10 minutes to change and leave for an appointment. I tired my best to look presentable- doubt it was close but it was a whole lot better than what I started with.

This appointment was with a new family that was 소개ed by the mom and her two sons we are teaching. Side note, as a non-member that mom had 소개ed (referred/introduced) FIVE families! That is insane and so awesome! I worry that that mom and all the referrals are going to be primarily English interest BUT I am happy to report this family we met Monday night was golden. We taught a mother and her two daughters (6th and 4th grade). She had a young son running around too- he was so cute. The English lesson went really well. I mostly tried to gage their levels of understand and duh they are brilliant. To end we played the ABC game where you go in a circle and say a word that
starts with the letters of the alphabet, taking turns (the first person starts with A, next B, and so on). While playing I was writing down simple sentences and words for the little boy to copy. The kids
here are so smart!! When the 30 minutes of English was up we moved on our gospel message. This family has Christian background so they understood God, Jesus, prayer, ect. By the end I invited them to get baptized; three excited yes's quickly followed the question!! Wow! Miracles! It was a fantastic end to a great day.


Tuesday was a little weird. Typically we have district meeting but because we have a mission tour tomorrow, it was cancelled. Instead our day was dedicated to our 'Special English Class' that the ward helps the missionaries put on every month. Naturally the elders put me and 윤 자매님 in charge of baking banana bread and cookies. It was a fun day spent with my companion but besides bonding and baking... not much else happened. In order to bake we had to goto another sister apartment to borrow their oven (our oven is a combo with the microwave... lets just say I don't trust it yet). 윤 자매님 and I had some quality time to talk about everything. I really love her. She is an awesome missionary and an amazing person. I feel very blessed to have her has my trainer.

After baking for... you might need to sit down for this... 6 hours!! it was time to head home. On our way we thought we might attempt to at least visit a less active but we only have 10 minutes to spare. Instead we stopped to buy flowers to give to President and Sister Furniss tomorrow. The arrangements here are so over the top so we decided on the least ridiculous bouquet. But! after we paid we sprayed water on the too and sprinkled... scratch that... Dumped glitter on the too. I laughed and said thank you haha. Hijole!

When we got home we planned for the next day and stayed up a little late making bookmarks for a few people. Koreans are so crafty here! They are all about cutesy things and I maybe, kinda, sorta am getting into it. My companion is very proud that she is brainwashing- I mean teaching me how to be Korean. ^^


Wednesday was mission tour! You'll all be shocked to hear that we didn't have to rush to the bus or train station! The morning went smoothly and because we had extra time we were proactive and able to buy our returning tickets because we anticipated it being crazy getting back because we he had our special English class later that we could not be late for.

It was fun getting together with half of the mission before the split. I wasn't able to see all of my 단기 but I was able to see Elder Lee and Wager. They are hilarious! Also, the younger 단기 came! Again, it was just a few but I was able to see Elder Allen. He is my favorite from the younger group, too bad we'll be in different missions soon... wah.

Anyway the training was good. It started with all the new health advisers; first up, mental health. His and his wife talked all about positive thinking and not allowing yourself to think that things aren't fair and stuff. It was boring but I guess some missionaries really need their help. Next up, physical health! The mission doctor talked about how to prevent illness and what to do if you do get sick. To keep everyone awake they started having us stand one by one to read a slide from their PowerPoint, out loud. When it got to me guess what the slide was titled? "Diarrhea." My first though was accidentally verbalized as I said, "uhhkay" in my best Andrea Marks voice. People laughed. After reading I sat down and complained to 윤 자매님 (Sister Yoon- my companion) asking why I had to read the most disgusting slide. She looked at me and said, "Because life isn't fair Sister!" in her most excited voice. Haha she makes me laugh. If all else fails on my mission, I have officially taught sarcasm to a Korean. ^^ It's a bigger accomplishment that those in the states could ever understand.

Training continued until lunch. It was yummy food and I was able to talk with a bunch of people that I would later have to say goodbye to. It was fun. Next was a group picture- quite the ordeal every time!
After 20 minutes of getting situated, we took one picture... hijole! More training followed by President and Sister Furniss. They are awesome people! I'm glad I was able to meet them and serve with them even though it was only for a short time. Strong testimonies were born by the missionaries leaving (including President and his wife). I can't imagine what it will feel like when it's my turn to do that… 9 more transfers (not including the one I'm in) and I'll know!

The meeting ran late and my zone had to start making our way to the train station pretty quickly. Before I knew it I was running with 윤 자매님 out if the chapel and down the street to find a taxi. As we ran I was holding both 72 hour kit backpacks (we were asked to take back to our apartment) on my back, my purse strapped across my chest, and a few Book of Mormons in my hands... Sound fun? Haha WELL a miracle happened! It all became as light as a feather... -___- psych! But seriously a lady pulled over to ask if he wanted a ride (probably because we looked so pathetic). At first we just asked her to point us
in the direction to find a taxi. She did but also insisted she give us a ride to the train station. We didn't have time to waste so we hopped in. From the looks of the beads hanging from her rear view mirror, she was Buddhist. She mentioned that her son had been taught by the missionaries before (if I heard correctly) and he really got along well with them. As we talked, she was taking short cuts in tiny allies risking the well being of her fancy car for us!! She was so nice!! It was a miracle because we wouldn't have made it to the train station on time without her.

I was tired so, I decided to sleep most of the train ride home. Once we arrived at our destination we ran home for a quick dinner. Immediately after dinner was our special English Class! I was excited for all the games we prepared but unfortunately it didn't go as planned. Remember how I don't know all that much Korean? Cool, so with that in mind I was in charge of the kids class. 13 showed up with their parents. The moment the kids and adults separated (the adults had a different class downstairs), they went crazy! If 윤 자매님 couldn't get them to behave. I started to be flustered until some wise advise from Porter Jenkins popped into my brain, "It's whatever man." It's true! Who care that these silly games weren't being played very well? Not it! I decided to just enjoy myself, and I did. Afterwards there was food. Everyone loved the banana bread I had made (thanks for the recipe mom). I tried to socialize but there were only so many people that could understand my Korean... and those people also speak English haha. Anyway, I ended up cleaning up because talking to the adults was frustrating. It was a late night but well worth it because the members had brought friends! It was an awesome opportunity to get to know them and maybe be able to teach a few of them in the future.


Thursday was busy. We had scheduled 3 appointments throughout the day. The first being with the catholic lady. A member from the ward came and we were able to talk about the second half of the plan of salvation. There isn't too much to report but it was a good meeting. Next, the atheist. We always meet her at a cafe where she buys us smoothies- so nice of her! But because today was hot and humid she wanted to buy us 팥빙수! It's a special dessert here that is typically shaved ice, milk, red beans (which are sweet), and various topping such as rice cake. It isn't as gross as it sounds. The first time I
had it... it was awful! But this time I was able to try a few different kinds. This investigator bought an original (as I described above), a pistachio-whipped cream (still including the other ingredients), and a "five flavor berry" (I have to figure out the name of this berry because it is delicious and it really does have five flavors- it looks like a blueberry but taste sweet, sour, and bitter all at the same time- can anyone help me out?). They were all delicious. We got caries away in conversation for over an hour! She was so excited to tell us all about the new movies she had seen haha. We eventually got to the lesson. Again, it was the same old teaching style so there isn't much to say other than it went well. Last, was with the lady we contacted during street boarding. If all of the appointments that I have ever been in, this one took the cake for being the weirdest. For the 30 minutes of English she wanted me to help her understand a sermon she found online. It was titled, "Fix your contradictions so your soul can be raptured, it's the last chance!" Do you have a confused look on your face? I sure did. I explained what the words contradiction and rapture meant. She was excited to here what it was about. I felt weird translating a different religions sermon but I soon came to find out, she knew exactly what is was teaching. That sneaky mom was trying to teach us instead of the other way around. As we transitioned into the gospel message she said that she felt so sad that we so sincerely believed our message. She told us that she wishes we could recognize truth. In conclusion, she tried explaining this "new" religion she discover. It sounds like Scientology mixed with other bizarre ideas... Mostly I was speechless. This lady is very interested in religion and had read and learned so much (she is almost done with the Book of Mormon- ps I saw her copy and it is all marked up!). We left her with the challenge to read and pray with a sincere desire and real intent to know if what we are teaching is true. Besides that, we can't help her progress or do much else if she doesn't come to know on her own.


Friday was my first senior day... I decided I want to be an eternal junior companion! It was fun but also stressful at times. Like I have mentioned before, 윤 자매님 is the Sister Coordinating Leader which means she has to go on splits with every sister in each transfer. Today was the first split of the transfer. I stayed in my area of 곡반정 while she want to 신갈 with the senior companion there, Sister Hunt. The greeny 강세희 자매님 came with me for the day. I was in charge of planning, confirming, and taking the lead in all the lessons and visits. Stress! We split at 12PM just after weekly planning, so I had time to prepare. Sister Kang is from Busan, Korea and is a brand new missionary. It kind of made me feel old even though I am only 6 weeks ahead of her. I first showed her around the house and let her get settled before I told her the plan for the day.

First I decided to visit a less active member. 윤 자매님 and I visited her last week but she didn't come to church like she said she would. Also, she prefers English to Korean so I knew I could share a thought without any problem. ^^ When we arrived, her new born baby was sleeping in her arms. I felt bad so told her we would be brief. I brought banana bread as a gift and explained how it reminds me of my favorite story in The Bible. It is about the prophet Elijah and a widow found in 1 Kings 17.

Elijah was in the wilderness having food (*bread*) and water brought to him by a raven. He was later commanded to goto a city where a widow had been prepared to take care of him. This widow was poor and had only one son. When the prophet arrived he asked her to make him food (*bread*). Although it was the last of her food, she was so trusting in The Lord that everything would work out and be okay. And guess what? It was. She was blessed for her trusting in her Heavenly Father and her willingness to serve a prophet of The Lord.

That thought lead me to my favorite talk from this last General Conference, "For Peace at Home" by Richard G. Scott in the most recent (April 2013 General Conference). He said, "Strive to live worthily and place your trust in the Lord." I made a cute magnate with this quote for her refrigerator. She was appreciative but also had her hands full as her baby started to wake up. Both 강 자매님 and I bore a quick testimony and left. It was a good visit!

Next we head to an appointment an investigator. She is the lady that set a baptismal date just after this transfer ends. Since I was senior, I took the lead. Let me repeat, I TOOK THE LEAD! It was scary but it went really well. We taught the first lesson and I focused on talking about Joseph Smith. I recited his account of 'the first vision' and invited her to read from and pray about the Book of Mormon- she accepted!! Ahh it was so awesome!

For the last part of the day we ate dinner, 전도Ed, and bought some delicious ice cream to end our split on a good note. 강 자매님 is hilarious and we had a lot of fun together. Dispute the annoying phone that I never want to touch again (because I cannot speak to anyone who calls), it was a great day!


Saturday started less than eventful. The only lesson (that I was going to take the lead on) cancelled. I was bummed and relieved at the same time, but mostly sad. Instead 강 자매님 and I spent the morning studying and doing pass off (we are given booklets and expected to memorize lessons and vocabulary before we become eligible to be senior companion and train new missionaries). It was very productive. When 윤 and Hunt 자매님 arrived to unsplit, it was lunch time. So naturally we all worked together to make a delicious lunch. I had bought some pork the night before so we cooked that and ate rice, kimchee, and 멸치 (it's whitebait that basically looks like fried  anchovies, just smaller). It was nummy!

윤 자매님 and I sat down and revised our game plan for the day after the 신갈 자매님들 (Singal Sisters) left. We went to visit my favorite member, 이정숙 자매님 to return some tupperware we had. Of course she made us sit down and eat with her. It was a famous red bean soup. It was okay. After we ate we shared a message about The Family: A Proclamation to the World. We bore testimony of it and gave her a copy. Consequently she had been trying to get a hold of one! The Lord works in mysterious ways and inspired 윤 자매님 to revolve our message around the importance of it. The church is true and I have the best companion! After our message 이 자매님 had to run an errand and figured we didn't have plans so she asked us to keep her company. We did. I love her. Today was complaining about the white hair she is getting. I told her that instead of being our mother, she can be our sister. She thought it was the cutest thing and kept saying how happy she was haha. ^^ Believe it or not I'm starting to develop a personality in Korean! It's exciting to be able to make people laugh again... but with me not at me hehe. Anyway, on our way back she insisted on getting ice cream because it was so hot. I definitely wasn't hungry but... it's ice cream! Of course I found room. ^^ She is an awesome lady and I love her so much! I cannot wait until I can just talk with her and tell her how much she means to me. For now, I will just tell her how delicious her food is and how much I love her.

To end the day 윤 자매님 and I tried to visit other less active or part member families. No one was home- bummer! Instead we 전도ed and head home. It was a good day.


Sunday! Is always the busiest day of the week! All of our investigators punked us for church today but it worked out because it was ward conference. The relief society works super hard to prepare A LOT of food for the ward and the stake leaders that came. 윤 자매님 and I volunteered to help them prepare and set out all of the food. It took us the whole second and third hour of church! I cannot even begin to
describe how much food there was but I will try... 10+ different kinds of kimchee (with two serving plates set out of eat, 8-10 meat dishes (with two platters of each), 6+ platters of fruit and salad,
and 6 HUGE rice cookers full of rice. I know I am missing stuff but that is sufficient. It is was insane. I was starving and when the time came for us to pray in eat, normally I would try and be at the front of the line but because I knew how much food there was, I took a seat and was one of the last haha. It was a lot of work and a lot of fun. The whole time we prepared and cleaned up I was in charge of dishes. It was hilarious to hear all of the mothers try and decided on how to serve everything. Besides the bickering they kept yelling, "GOOD WORK SISTERS" in Korean. It was so much fun.

By about 3:30PM we were done cleaning up and the missionaries had to head to the stake center where the broadcast from the First Presidency was being played. I was so happy to find out that the foreigners could watch it in English! (We had to wait a week to watch it because they were waiting on the Korean translation) It had exciting news and it was awesome to hear the voices of our Prophet, Thomas S, Monson and his apostles.

On the way home I 전도ed for the first time by myself on the bus. It was just as scary as I thought it would be but I got my point across… I think. It was good practice with the phrases I have been trying to remember. Who knew speaking and using these phrases helps you remember and recognize mistakes? (Answer: everyone, and that is what people have been telling me all along but now I finally had to courage to try ^^) Once we got home we finished our studies that we weren't able to have this morning. As part of the Seoul South mission, our new mission president requires us to have all of our studies everyday (as opposed to W,TH,F,SAT in the Daejeon mission). It was nice to relax and just study. I focused mostly on pass off and I finished 3 whole lessons this week! I felt very accomplished.

Today is Monday. We are planning to meet up with some of the zone to do another "hike." It is near our stake center where a buddist temple sits on the top of that mountain/hill. It is said to be beautiful so
we are going to check it out.

I am have a great time here in 곡반정 and I love my companion, 윤현미 자매님. I am learning so much and feel so blessed to be in Korea on The Lords errand. I hope all is well with everyone back home.

사랑해요!

슬론 자매

Water ballon/gun fight today for PDAY!

I got revenge on the new punk Elders for my district!  Elder Chow and Erekson.

First baptism

Most of the kids from the ward

Elder Lee.  My alien buddy goes home at the end of the transfer :( I am going to miss my favorite AP.

Switchy switchy (my necklace for his glasses).

Sister Harim Choi. Isn't she adorable?!

Kimchee tuna, eggs and rice for breakfast.

Splits with Sister Kang.

Baskin Robbins with ______!  She is not happy about her hair turning white…so instead of my Korean mother, this is my Korean sister 

It;s like a little piece of home every time I see this label.

Ward conference lunch…SO MUCH FOOD!

Sweet notes from _____ and _____ that just got baptized last week.  They thanked me for teaching them.

It's official!

First baptism

Most of the kids from the ward.

Rut Days

Monday was a fun day. After emailing home, we met up with most of the zone to go bowling. I've never been good at bowling so I suggested playing a game (skittles bowling) but most people were lame and wanted to play for real. I played the game by myself until a few others joined when they saw how fun it was (and figured out they sucked anyway) Haha I mostly looked like an idiot but I didn't care. Also! next door to the bowling ally was a CrossFit gym! More than once I suggested to go play over there instead. No one was interested- wah. Anyway, we bowled two games then decided to leave. I had a good time. We went to the chapel to play ping pong and darts- not a favorite  choice but always the backup plan with this group of missionaries. I enjoyed just socializing with the zone. Since we received transfer calls this morning, we had to say goodbye to the some of the missionaries. It was sad because it isn't just a transfer… the mission is splitting which means I'll probably never see these people
again.

Bowling with the Zone.

Sister Chey

Elder Sohn, Zone Leader saying, "Keep the rules!"

Elder Arnett

Elder Cho (my missionary 'dad') playing a farewell song.  he is being transferred down south after being in the ward for eight months.  He is like an icon of the ward.  Sad to see him leave :(

When the time came, 윤 자매님 and I went home to quickly to change for an appointment. It was with a woman who is on the border of being less active. Her husband is a non-member and they have an 18 month old son. He is THE CUTEST baby! He is always happy and laugh so loud. During the whole appointment, he was climbing all over me and 윤 자매님. While we ate, the husband had all kinds of questions about the Book of Mormon. I didn't understand much but I was confused as to why he had so many questions. His wife is a return missionary and she comes to church most Sundays. Anyway, 윤 자매님 answered his questions which led really well into our message about clinging to the iron rode. I testified that the iron rod is God's word and counsel (the Book of Mormon). I could tell he and his wife felt kind of awkward when 윤 자매님 asked the wife how the Book of Mormon has played a role in her life. She said she hasn't been reading but she knows that in the past she has found a lot of answers and felt direction from reading. I think the husband felt pressure from us as we testified about the importance of reading and following but that didn't take away from the spirit. When we ended they offered to drive us home- so generous! Once in the car, I sat in the back with the mom and the baby. The little boy kept reaching his arm out to hold my hand. I almost died, it was so cute!!

Tuesday was a rushed morning. It looked like a rainy day so I changed my outfit last minute in order to wear boots and save my feet from all the puddles. When I finally looked in the mirror, I hated what I saw but there was no time to change because we had to get to our district meeting. Before every meeting we eat lunch together. This lunch was especially fun because the elders (acting their age) made a ridiculous concoction of Korean hot sauces and different spicy kimchee side dishes. It looked disgusting and they decided to 가위, 바위, 보 (rock, paper, scissors) for who had to try it. Incase I never told you- that is a serious game here! If you don't play- you automatically lose. Also, it is taken so seriously that the decision is final. There is no best out of three or double or nothing. It is hilarious to watch. The elders were sweating when it was time to choice rock, paper, or scissors. Elder Cho lost haha. He was a good sport but also retarded for actually eating it. I think he drank all the water in the restaurant as well as ate everyone's leftover rice to try and counteract the sauce and spices.

Eventually the meeting started. Our district leader, Elder Cho, is being transferred down south after being here in 곡반정 for 8 months! He is an icon for this ward so it will be hard for him to leave. His last training was powerful. He even cried when we bore testimony of this work and what we are doing. I am really going to miss him. We took "family pictures" after. Remember how I hated my outfit? FAIL! I tried to hide it in the pictures but I'm not sure how that went over.

The time came to say goodbye and my companion and I head an appointment. This was with a 소개 (referral) from a member that comes to our English class every week. She brags about being taught by foreigners and this friend wanted to meet with us. She is in her thirties, married, and had a young son. Her dream is to be an English teacher for elementary students here in Korea. When we walked in to meet her, she was so excited haha. Most people tell me I'm pretty (I know it's just because I'm not what they usually see- also she must not have seen my outfit...) but she went on and on. It was funny. The
English and gospel lesson went really well. We invited her to be baptized and she set a date! (8/11/13). Hopefully she'll progress quickly because the next transfer happens on August 1st. Regardless, I'm happy for her and I'm so excited to teach her. At first I was worried that she would only be English interest but at the end of our message, 윤 자매님 and I bore testimony and when we finished she said, "that was my favorite part." It was adorable and it made me smile. The church is true!

Our last appointment with the catholic lady (that blocked my baptismal invitation) was rescheduled. I hate to admit it but I was relieved. I hated my outfit so much I didn't want anyone else to see it. Plus it was raining and we were soaked. We headed home for language study and dinner. I immediately changed into my 할머니 pants and a dry shirt. My studies were really effective today (I give full credit to the comfort of my 할머니 pants). It was nice to be able to stay in from the torrential downpour outside.

I want to die!  It's 85 degrees with 50%
humidity and 100% discomfort. My
companion keeps asking me what I;m
going to do in August when it's worse
-______-

Wednesday was so freaking hot I thought I was going to melt! I was grateful that we had a lot scheduled to allow us to stay out of the heat! Our first appointment (rescheduled from yesterday) went well. We had a good discussion about the plan of salvation. Not too much to report but the investigator continues to progress. She decided to start reading a chapter everyday from the Book of Mormon. She had a lot of questions about Nephi and Laban from the first few chapters but overall she's enjoying what she is reading. I love her.

Next appointment was with that mom we met in the park while street boarding. She has a baptismal date which is very exciting. We taught her the first half of the plan of salvation. She enjoyed it but I don't think she was paying too much attention. I'm not quite sure why but today she was acting really weird. Before we arrived she told us that she had an appointment with her friends to goto the local bath
house, so maybe she was just anxious to shower? Not sure. All in all it went alright. Also, she informed us that she has already read half of the Book of Mormon! Wow!

On our way home we decided to visit a less active member. This member just had a baby boy in May! He is so cute. Her and her husband (non-member) moved to Korea last July for their wedding and stayed for his job at Samsung (I swear everyone works there). They are both Korean but the wife had been living in Canada for over ten years prior. When we knocked on the door we were greeted by her mother and little sister that were visiting from Canada. The sister was about 15 and spoke amazing English! I was so relieved to hear everyone speaking English- I could finally communicate and create small talk with someone! The less active member actually said that she prefers English to Korean so booyah!! We'll be visiting a lot in the future. ^^ Anyway, 윤 자매님 spent her time talking to the mother and the daughter while they were cleaning the kitchen. meanwhile I kept the younger
sister company and talked to her in the other room. I really enjoyed\ myself. The little girl and I were talking about all the things
Koreans do to torture themselves haha. Here is what we came up with:
1. Live in Korea during the summer heat
2. Eat crazy hot food (from spices as well as the ridiculous temperatures)
3. Sleep on a yo (basically the ground)
4. Work until they die (the grandma and grandpas here spend their days picking up trash for money since no where will hire them.. it is crazy!)
... and so on. It was a hilarious conversation. Before we left we shared a quick message and testimony with everyone. It was a fun visit!

English class was last on the list for the day. I read the third chapter of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We acted it out as a class and it was awesome! The kids and parents are good sports even though it is hard for them to totally understand. I do my best to help but I mostly just want it to be fun because I know how frustrating it is to try to understand and learn a hard language.

Thursday was another busy day. It is crazy for me to look back at my planner from the first week I was in the field here in Korea. It was empty. We scheduled all of our time visiting members to ask for 소개's and 전도. But now! All of our time is filled with lessons and reaching people that we have found! It is a miracle and I feel so blessed to have this opportunity to teach so many different people.

After our studies, 운 자매님 and I left our apartment to meet a member from the ward. This member works at a Japanese restaurant and she wanted go buy us a nice lunch. It was delicious! The people her are so generous with anything and everything they have. The restaurant got pretty busy so we weren't able to spend too much time talking with the member but we were able to share a short message with her before we left.

Next was an appointment with our Atheist investigator. We brought a member from the ward with us to help teach the second half of the plan of salvation. Since it is a 30/30 lesson, we spend the first 30 minutes free talking in English. It was a hilarious conversation! We always meet in a cafe called, Coffee House which can get pretty noisy- sometimes its's annoying because the people there are pretty noisy… but his time is was all our fault for filling the cafe with laughter and loud talking. I really enjoyed myself. The investigator was telling us the future dating advice she always give the Elders. She tells them that (Korean) girls hate hearing about three things:
3. Soccer
2. Military service (every male has to serve 2 years in the Korean military)
1. Soccer in the military
Her explanations were so funny and I was almost crying because I was laughing so hard. It was awesome. Time got away from us but we did get to our gospel message eventually. The mood shift when I introduced the three kingdoms in heaven. We briefly described all of them and then asked her what kingdom she wanted to be part of. She said, "The middle one because then I can die without believing in God." How sad is that?? I cannot understand why someone wouldn't want to be the best version of themselves. This investigator essentially said that she doesn't want to progress of get better but, instead stand still and settle. UGH! I was so sad. The member bore strong testimony to explain
the amazing blessings we can receive if we strive to progress and be better. We are literally children of God! We were designed and made to do amazing things! I wish I could help everyone see their divine role and potential. It was hard to leave this lesson without making any progress but, we meet every week, next time!

Our final appointment for the day was with the less-active family with two kids that have baptismal dates! We taught the last lesson about the commandments. We played a fun board game that 윤 자매님 made. The kids are always so much fun and also so smart! They are soaking up everything we teach them. The game tested their knowledge of what they remembered from all if the lessons and they did awesome! They are 8 and 11 and already far smarter than me. We ate dinner together and ate a delicious chocolate cake that 윤 자매님 and I picked up (the sons birthday was Wednesday and it was also to celebrate our last lesson before they get baptized on Sunday). After the mother gave us a ride home. It was a funny ride because she asked that when the Elders come to her house Saturday to have a baptismal interview with the 11 year old daughter, that we come too because her kids are more comfortable with us Sisters. We were sad to inform her about the new rule we have about missionaries being advised not to gather together for meal appointments. We wanted to come because we love her kids and family so much but we knew we shouldn't. The mom insisted and said it would only be a snack not dinner. It seemed okay so we excepted but as soon as we did, she said, "Perfect! Come hungry at 6:30PM!" Haha we knew she wasn't just giving us a snack- sneaky mom.

Friday was very relaxing. After our exercise and showers we had our three hour block of weekly planning. It was nice to stay inside all morning and just plan for the week. I'm all about organization so it made me happy to update all of the records we keep and also write down lesson plans for the upcoming week. It was very productive but also was awesome because it felt like such a lazy morning while we lounged in our 할머니 pants. After planning we ate lunch then head out the door to 전도 until our only appointment for the day. It was at 6:40PM with a mom, her two sons, and a friend of theirs. This mom loves how I teach English and she has been 소개ing (referring) all of her friends and neighbors. I hope these people that she introduces us to will not only listen to the English lesson but also the gospel lesson that we always share... I'm a little worries. Anyway, they appointment went well. The mom invited a neighbor and her two sons to come sit-in and watch. It was a weird dynamic but we taught the lessons and they went well. We followed up on prayer and they had! This time we gave the boys a Book of Mormon and asked them to read the story of Ammon in the book of Alma- I'm sure they will enjoy it haha. After finishing teaching the how to begin teaching' from PMG we invited those still sitting and listening (just the two sons and friend) to be baptized. I don't think they totally understand everything that we taught she they just starred with confused looks. 윤 자매님 saved me as she took a few steps back and set another appointment to come and teach. Overall it went okay. I was bummed with both moms stood up and went into the kitchen after the English lesson. They were going to prepare for for us to snack on but we wanted them to listen to the whole lesson. Maybe next time!

Saturday felt unproductive for the most part. Our appointment for the morning cancelled so we spend our morning studying and planning. As a back up plan we decided to visit some less-active members. Guess how many were home? Zero. It was hot and I wanted to die because every bus we got on didn't have their AC on. Why? I have no idea, everyone was sweating and complaining. Some bus drivers have a little issue with power trips... Bless their hearts, I will pray for them. We eventually endured to end of the day until it was time to meet up with the Elders. By bus it takes so long to goto the less-active members house with the two kids that are getting baptized on Sunday. When we finally
arrived, 윤 자매님 and I taught about prophets and especially focused on Thomas S. Monson (this was the only topic in the board game that the kids struggled with). We thought it would be go to reteach about this before the kids have their baptismal interviews. It was short and to the point. While the Elders (Erekson and Sorensen) took the little girl into the other room for her interview, the door bell rang. Guess what? The mom had ordered a bunch of chicken for dinner haha. She is so funny. We ate but soon had to leave to make it back home on time. On the ride back I mostly talked to Elder Erekson (our new district leader). He's a funny guy. Pointless fact but now you know haha.

Sunday was crazy! It started once we got to the church at 9AM. Our meeting with the ward mission leader went longer than expected but it was good. All companionships had investigators coming to church so we had to hurry to the chapel to greet them. Luckily ours got lost and had to call for directions. The investigator coming is Alex. He came to church two weeks ago. He is the one that approached me at the park asking for our church address. Earlier in the week I called him and asked if there was a time we could come by to visit his family (he had a wfie and 3 year old daughter). Unfortunately our schedules didn't work out so Alex suggested bringing his family to church! Naturally I was excited. So today they came. They are such a cute family! Alex is from Russia, his wife Rachel form Ukraine, and their daughter, Natalie is 3 and can speak Russian, English, and Korean... don't worry that didn't discourage me at all -____- Kind of just kidding. But seriously it was so great meeting them. We had coordinated with a member and an Elder to translate for them (they both teach English here so Korean is difficult for them to understand). It was a good meeting. The wife had to step out with the daughter because she was getting antsy. Every Sunday I bring a couple coloring books so I followed them out with a princess coloring book and crayons. It kept her entertained through sacrament and through our meeting that followed.

When sacrament ended, we introdced the family to members of the ward and socialized a maybe ten minutes before stepping into another room for a meeting. We invited the members that translated for them, to join us. We taught 'how to begin teaching' from PMG briefly then moved onto the first lesson. They are both very educated in religion so we didn't need to go into much detail about who God was and such. Instead we focused mainly on prophets and Joseph Smith. We watched 'The Restoration' video and testified after. Alex is very long-winded and had a lot of thought. The spirit wasn't really there because he kept changing the subject to bizarre topics. The member and I tried hard to reign it in but before we new is an hour and a half had passed. Finally when I was able to get a word in, I said we were out of time, testified, and invited him to say the closing prayer. His prayer was just as long as his other comments but that's okay. 윤 자매님 and I quickly learned that we need a new teaching style for him and his family. BUT! The good news is they are excited to come next week. They said that they are determined to be on time. Since we had a baptism after church, I invited them to stay but the daughter didn't look like she was going to last. Instead I found them an English Book of Mormon per their request and saw them out to their car. The wife gave me a big huge and thanked me for my time and for helping entertain her daughter. I was touched by her sincerity. I love her!

Finally it was time to prepare for the two little kids baptism!! The parents worked hard with the bishop to become reactivated in the church and the dad was able to baptize his children. It was a sweet service that the whole ward attended. This ward is unbelievable! They sincerely care about each other and do anything they can to make things special. This is a very very special ward. I hope I never leave. Before the actual baptizm, the missionaries performed a song- 윤 자매님 played the flute as the rest of us sang the primary song, "Love is Spoken Here." Ehhh it was less than amazing but the kids enjoyed it. Overall, everything went perfectly. The relief society had prepared lunch and fruit for everyone that came. There was another birthday cake to celebrate the boys birthday. It was cute seeing both of them be so excited. I feel so blessed to have been part of this decision in their lives. Not only are there two kids baptized and member of this church, but their family is re-activated and actively involved with the whole ward. I took a few minutes to step back and watch this family be so accepted and loved by this amazing ward. It put a huge smile on my face.

Once the ward cleared out, it was time for dishes. Guess who volunteered? The full-time service missionaries! yayy... and stuff! There were over 100 bowls to clean as well as double the about of chopsticks and serving dishes. It took all 6 missionaries 2 hours to finish the job! While washing the bishop hung out in the kitchen with us so we could socialize. I can't say much to him but he still talks
to me (actually mostly at me) so we can still spend time and talk to each other. Despite my minimal understanding, I feel like we have a special bond. I really love my bishop!

On our way out, a few of the missionaries were praising my companion about all the work she has done. I jokingly chimmed in saying, "Hey, I helped too!" But they responded, "Well... you're the greeny though she does all the real work." Cool! These new missionaries that had just been transferred in, don't think that I do any work. My awesome day was ending on more of a downer note. Immediately after that comment, a couple comments followed that essentially said that my Korean wasn't getting any better. I was sad. On our walk home 윤 자매님 was going on and on about something but I wasn't really listening. She noticed and asked me what I was thinking about. I told her that we need to figure out a better way to have language study because my Korean isn't getting any better. Once I made that comment she knew something triggered me to say that. As she pried, I told her what people had just told me. She was annoyed and reassured me that everyone we have found has been for me. That didn't help. She went on to say that until you are companions with a missionary, you have no idea how much work they do and effort they put forth. That helped a little because I knew that was true. When we got home I went straight into the bathroom, closed the toilet seat to have a place to sit, and as I sat down, I started to cry.

As I did, I remembered something that my favorite MTC teacher, Brother Tanner, told me. He would always say, "Make a rut hour, a rut minute." So through my tears I looked at my watch. I cried for exactly one minute then stood up to clean myself up to go 전도 for the rest of the evening. My companion gave me a big hug when I came out and said, "자매님, when you are sad, I am sad." I smiled and informed her that I'm not sad anymore and that is was time to leave. She laughed at me and gathered her things. No success came from proselyting but we had a lot of fun as we walked a bunch of new streets near our apartment. My Sunday ended on a good note after all. I love my companion. She is a huge blessing and comfort to me! 윤현미 자매님 is the best!

Today is Monday. There is another zone activity scheduled. We are planning to buy cheap water guns and shoot each other this afternoon haha. I sense some revenge on those dumb elders that need to keep their thoughts to themselves... ^^ I'll let you know how it goes haha.

I love you all. I have missed home a lot this week but I know I am where I am supposed to be. I am happy regardless of some "rut minutes." I am working hard to be a useful tool in The Lords hands. Keep reading your scriptures and praying. The Lord is always waiting with open arms to help and lift us when we are down.

Have a great week!
사랑해요!

PS. I don't have much information about the new Seoul South mission
but here is what I know:
It is the 2nd smallest (1st being temple square) mission in the world. While it is one of the smallest, it also has the most people. (About 15 million people per zone... yeah you read that right, PER ZONE!)
This mission will also have the most missionaries because of the amount of people. It opens on July 2nd so for now you can still send things to the Daejeon mission home. I will give you the new address when they give it to us.

Infamous "kimchee" squat while airing for a bus.

Pound it!

My favorite little girl.

Elder Lim

Greeny Miracles and Officially part of the Korea Seoul South Mission now!

P-day (Monday) was finally a success! All of the sister missionaries from the 수원 zone met together to visit the traditional Korean Folk Village in our area. It was all very interesting. I wish they had a guided tour available because I had so many questions! Instead, we enjoyed ourselves as we took our time exploring. The two Korean sisters tried to explain the culture and the different parts and meanings of the village, but weren't able to go into too much detail. I think they were bored but we stayed as long as we could per my request. While there, we were able to watch an equestrian show (not sure how authentic that is haha) as well as a tradition wedding. I really enjoyed myself. On our way home we ran into our homeless looking friend at the same bus terminal/train station. He talked our ears off as usual but we decided to talk to him because he had punked us on an appointment so we wanted to follow up and set another time to meet. I like him. After about 40 minutes of (him) talking we told him we had to go. By that time it was already after 7 PM and we should have already eaten dinner and changed into our missionary clothes (as opposed to our P-day jeans and T-shirts) by then. It was worth the delay but by the time we got home we only had time to finish our studies and weekly planning.

Tuesday we had a combined district meeting. All 20 missionaries in the 수원 zone gathered for training. It was okay. The best part was when Elder Lee and Sohn came into the room with a delicious cake to celebrate Elder Sorensen's birthday on Thursday and Sister Hunt's that was on Saturday. Best way to celebrate? CAKE! (duh) I happened to be sitting between both of them so I recommended the cake be put in front of me... To be fair of course ;) I'm a genius, I know.

When combined training ended, we broke off into districts to talk about our weekly goals and stats. At the end of every district meeting the district leader opens the floor for questions. Elder Schofield asked when it was appropriate to bear testimony when 전도ing. As I've already shared, proselyting here can be tough because people are typically really rude when they aren't interested. Testimonies are powerful and special but this elder talked about it being exhausting (spiritually) to testify all day long- especially when people don't listen or appreciate it. Before I knew it, my hand was in the air to answer his question. Do you remember a few days ago when my companion and I were teaching that atheist woman? I shared that experience of her seeming disinterested? In that lesson she asked me again why I was here on a mission. Because of my poor prospective I didn't want to share anything meaningful so instead, I was brief. After the appointment I regretted it. I went on to tell my district that we are set apart  as missionaries. We should be spiritually exhausted on a daily basis because our calling is to teach and to testify of what we know. This gospel has changed our lives. We love our Savior and Heavenly Father so much that we are sacrificing everything to be here and to proclaim His word. It is not up to us who we choose to testify to. We want everyone to know and be given the opportunity to choose to know this gospel for themselves. Elder Schofield thanked me and the meeting ended. As I said those words of advice out loud, I realized that I needed to adjust my attitude about testifying just like Elder Schofield. Soon it was time to get back to work. Today I went on splits again. This time I was scheduled to serve with 최 자매님 (Sister Chey) in 신갈 (Singal) while my companion took Sister Hunt to our area of 곡반정 (Gokbanjang).

The only appointment scheduled, of helping a recent convert garden, fell through because of the rain. Rainy days aren't ideal for 전도 either but we didn't have too many options. Personally I thought maybe we would talk to 10 people before it was time to go home. Instead we talked to 32 people! Greeny miracle! Oh, I think I failed to mention that this is 최 자매님's second transfer and it is my first… therefore we are both greenies/newbies. Anyway, that evening I spent most of my time reading the Book of Mormon. I finished the book of Mosiah and started reading Alma! I was excited to have already gotten so far. Just when we were about to call it a day and go to bed, we got a call from our district leader Elder Cho. He was doing his nightly calls to all of the missionaries to make sure everyone was home and safe. 최 자매님 is hilarious and somehow convinced him to sing us a song. It was so humiliating for him but it made my night! I was laughing so hard. Bless his heart haha.

Wednesday, I woke up to the rain pounding on the window. It was almost time to get up to exercise so I started getting out of bed. As I did, 최 자매님 sat up, looked out the window, and laid back down and said, "there is too much rain, it (referring to exercise) is impossible." Haha I was still tired so I followed her lead and laid back down. We only stayed in bed for an extra 20 minutes before we finally got up to get ready for the day. We had our normal study time but it was a lot more fun than usual! She is so funny! We shared stories and laughed all morning. Even though she is Korean and there is still a language barrier, our humor is the same. I love her. I hope I get to serve with her in the future. After our study time, we went to a lunch appointment.

The appointment was with a lady that has been less active for over 15 years. She divorced the father of her two sons and remarried a Buddhist man (It is Korean culture to follow the husbands religion) so she hasn't been to church since. Her two sons are both older; one being a senior in high school and the other is serving as a missionary in Seoul. She takes good care of the missionaries here in hopes that others will do the same for her son in Seoul. That is about all I understood as we got to know her during lunch. After we ate we shared a message about the atonement with her. For the first half of the message I spoke in English and 최 자매님 translated. I shared the concept of Kintsugi which is a Japanese method of mending broken or cracked pottery.  The pottery is often mended using gold or other precious materials. This woman had studied pottery so I thought she might appreciate the analogy. I explained that we resemble a piece if beautiful pottery. If the pottery cracks or breaks, that represents our sins and mistakes. The process of Kintsugi (keyword being: process) represents the atonement. Once this process in implemented and applied, the pottery/we become more beautiful and valuable through our knowledge and experiences. She began to tear up as I testified (in Korean) about the truthfulness of the atonement and the wholeness we can feel when we use it properly. I reminded her of her beauty and worth. I ended by telling her that her Father in Heaven loves her. She was tearing up. She thanked us and told us that she had forgotten what the spirit felt like. She couldn't deny the feeling that was so strong and apparent to everyone in the room. Another greeny miracle! I feel so blessed to have been part of that experience with this member.

We had to leave soon after in order to meet up with our companions to unsplit. We ended with a prayer even though I didn't want to leave haha. Once on the bus, 최 자매님 and I got caught up in talking and
laughing. After a good laugh I started looking around and noticed the bus was nearly empty. As I continued to look around, guess what I spotted? 50,000 ₩ (which is equivalent to $50)!! I poked 최 자매님 and signaled her to look in the same direction. Her eyes lit up like it was Christmas as she eagerly whispered, "Get it!" We were sly about switched seats. No one was around and we didn't know what to do. Then 최 자매님 said, "Isn't it obvious that this is a direct blessing from God?!" I laughed as she reminded me of the infamous 'greeny power' while we proceeded to split the unclaimed cash. Greeny miracle! Before you judge us, what would you have done? The only other person on the bus was the driver.. Be honest. Haha it was hilarious when we finally met up with our companions and asked them if they had experienced any miracles. It was obviously a loaded question and they knew it. We went on to tell them all about the miracles we had experienced and naturally they were happy for us… And when I say that, I mean to say that they were very jealous. ^^

As we unsplit at the train station 윤 자매님 and I had to quickly run home to drop my things off before our next appointment. This appointment was with a woman I approached a couple weeks ago while we were street boarding (proselyting with a poster/board, on a street- the name may have been self-explanatory but I wasn't sure haha). As I taught her English, I used that time to get to know her so we could get a better idea of what to teach her for the second part of the lesson. Apparently she had met with missionaries when she was in college! She was familiar with our beliefs since she attended a few activity and services. We moved on and taught the How to Begin Teaching section from Preach My Gospel. At the end we extended an invitation for her to be baptized. She told us that if she finds that it is true she will. We set a date (7/28/13)!!! It was awesome. Her two daughters were running around the whole time- maybe in the future appointments we will be able to teach her whole family. In the meantime we are focusing on finding a ward member to fellowship her and be present for future lessons together. So exciting!

English class was next. My class was a decent size this week. I read the second chapter of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.' As I did 윤 자매님 and I acted it out with puppets to help everyone understand. I also defined words on the chalkboard to help explain what everything meant- it's hilarious what some kids think words mean. Anyway, it was a short chapter so after I read we went around the room and everyone took turns repeating sentences after me. I think it really helps… If not, they at least enjoy it and have a good laugh at their pronunciation.

Thursday was a weird morning. At 8 AM we had just started our personal study time when our cell phone rang. It was a member very eagerly inviting us over to her house. She invited a friend of hers over to make some kind of fruit drink (from scratch) and she wanted to introduce her to the sister missionaries. Since this member lived pretty far away we finished putting ourselves together and went
straight over. It took an hour and a half to arrive! Once there, we were quickly put to work and introduced to this friend. She was fascinated with everything about me haha. It was awkward at first when she almost poked my eyes out as she tried to touch my eyelashes. Then she would just stare and compliment me on every feature of my face. She sounds like a weirdo... She wasn't, she was actually pretty awesome but one thing I've learned is that Koreans say exactly what they think. So even if she was in the middle of a story, she would stop to comment on my hair for example haha. Anyway, as we worked away on this mystery fruit drink, lunch was prepared and we were able to eat together. As soon as we finished eating 윤 자매님 and I had to leave in order to meet Sister Hunt and Sister Chey (최 자매님) to go on another split.

When we finally met up with them we decided to heart attack the elders door since it was Elder Sorensen's birthday. As we arrived, guess who we ran into? Elders Cho and Sorensen.... FAIL! We pretended to be visiting a member but they knew we were lying. We left a lame note on the door and decided to get pizza for lunch instead. After we ate I went on splits with Sister Hunt. She is from Colorado and a world class equestrian. She has been here over a year! I cannot imagine being that far into my mission... Considering I just started it feels like I'll be here forever. Anyway, we took the subway straight to her apartment and had language study. It was actually effective! She gave me a lot of helpful advice that helped her when she was starting off. I'm excited to tell my companion so she can help me practice using Sister Hunt's suggestions. The rest of the day we tried to be productive but every member visit was a bust. Looking back we basically just 전도ed a little and ate a lot. I cannot complain haha.

Friday morning Sister Hunt and I went on a run. She is a little out of shape since every companion she has had doesn't like to exercise so she hasn't for a while- which is a huge bummer. (Warning to all my future companions, exercising in the morning is not an option- it will always happen!) As we ran I tried to maintain a slow jog to stay close to the pace she was running but I still managed to stay half a block
or more ahead of her. I felt bad but as I ran I passed an old man speed walking. I saw his eyes shift back and forth from me to Sister Hunt a few times. He gave me a double thumbs up with a huge smile- it was adorable!!

Once we prepared for the day and finished our study time, we had to unsplit early in order for the normal companionships to have our weekly planning time. 윤 자매님 and I went straight home to plan. After we had an appointment. It was with a referral that we received from a member of our ward earlier that day. We went over to this persons house with little to no information, only knowing that they were
interested in our 30/30 program. It turned out to be a mother and her two sons (about 10 and 8 years old if I had to guess). I evaluated their English level and gave them workbooks that I would teach them from in our future meetings. Next we shared a gospel message and mostly introduced the idea of God and Jesus Christ to them. They were very open and interested. We weren't able to teach too much since they were a lively bunch with all kinds of questions. The mother had prepared a small snack for us and gave us ice cream as we were walking out the door. It was awesome. Overall I feel like it was a good appointment even though it didn't feel like too much was accomplished. When we reached our bus stop to go to our apartment, it was time to go straight home to prepare for the next day (which happened to be packed).

Saturday was SO busy! We had four consecutive appointments scheduled. Like last week, they were all across town. All of the lessons are 30/30 so I actually feel useful because I teach half the lesson ^^ it may not be in Korean but that's not the point haha. The first lesson was okay. We finished talking about the restoration and Joseph Smith with her. The investigator was taking all kinds of notes and I was feeling the spirit especially when both 윤 자매님 and I testified at the end. After our testimonies she said, "I just have one question." Expecting something gospel related, we leaned in. "Do both of you wear makeup?" she asked. Haha I was pretty confused, as you can imagine. We laughed, answered her silly question, and closed with a prayer. I was bummed because she had seemed so interested.

The next appointment went a lot better! It was the son and mother again. They continue to progress and their questions amazing me. Today we taught about the plan of salvation. Before we began the son wanted to share with us what he enjoyed from the last reading we invited them to read in preparation for this appointment (2 Nephi chapter 2). He really enjoyed verse 30 that says, "I have spoken these few words unto you all, my sons, in the last days of my probation; and I have chosen the good part, according to the words of the prophet. And I have none other object save it be the everlasting welfare of your souls. Amen." He told us that the last half really touched him. This boy is 15 years old and I swear he is an angel. I see him being baptized soon, as well as his mother and maybe his father too. Anyway, as we taught, the mother was fascinated with the plan of salvation. Over and over she kept saying, "this makes so much sense!" We know!! Haha it was awesome. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to teach them. I have really grown to love them.

Our next appointment was with the atheist woman. I adjusted my attitude and guess what? It was the best lesson I ever taught!! It was a 30/30 appointment but instead it lasted 2 hours! She started talking
about her cute little family and asking about mine. I showed her a picture and when she saw my parents she was amazed at how young they are. I told her how strong they both are. She agreed and told me about the strength of her own mother. 윤 자매님 was inspired to ask her to elaborate about her mother. As she went on, she shared some personal struggles she is facing. In short, she feels a huge burden placed on her shoulders to have to support both her parents and parents-in-law. She started to become emotional. We learned that she has never shared this struggle with anyone because she thinks that it is her burden and not anyone else's. She wants to be the one to fix it but doesn't know how. Almost instantly I felt promoted to share a story with her. It goes as follows: After high school I was struggling to correct a lot of mistakes I had made. I was in a low place and felt really alone in the process of trying to change. I had the same thought, 'this was my problem and I needed to fix it on my own.' I was embarrassed to talk to people about it so I struggled silently. One day, I attended an institute class (religion class) I was enrolled in near Moorpark College. For some reason I was the only one to show up- even though it was a full class! My teacher, Brother Mannwaring, asked me if there was a specific topic I was curious about since I was the only one he had to teach that day. I started to cry. I was so sad and didn't know where to turn for help. I spared him the details but expressed my concern and feelings of loneliness. He reminded me of the relationship I can have with my Savior, Jesus Christ. He directed me to a few verses in the scriptures to validate his point. That lesson changed my whole perspective. I was never alone, I was just unaware of where to go for help. After I shared this with her, she began to cry. This was a very personal experience for me to share so naturally I was a little teary eyed as well. She thanked me with a quiet voice that was soon followed by her saying, "but I  just don't like admitting that I am weak..." As her voice trailed off, I smiled and flipped to the scripture Ether 12:27 which reads: "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." I told her that I know it's hard to admit our weaknesses. For me, that experience was hard but I now know that my Father in Heaven was just trying to get my attention so that he could help. After all, He wants to help us. I looked her in the eyes and said, "He loves and cares about you." I testified about prayer and that she can find comfort, answers, and direction like I was able to find. As I said this, her eyes were glued to the scripture we had just read. She was slowly nodding her head up and down and once I concluded, she looked me in the eye and very sincerely said thank you. She was feeling the spirit. As was I and 윤 자매님 too. It was an awesome moment. I feel like I was able to plant a seed in her to help her recognize the Lords hand in her life. It was an awesome lesson. We left and head home for dinner.

Our last appointment fell through so instead we met up with the elders in our ward to practice the song we were asked to sing in church on Sunday. We practiced so many times! Haha It was tough because I feel like I'm such a bad singer. Not only that but it just so happened we were asked to sing the EFY medley. I love that song but I had to learn the Korean version. Oh! And did I mention that the first half is just the girls singing? And when I say girls I mean just 윤 자매님 and I. We are the only sisters so we were responsible for singing over half the song on our own... ugh so embarrassing. It was nice having Elder Arnett around though. He is so musically talented. I asked him to stand next to me when we sing in front of the congregation so he could hum the tune for me to make sure that I stay on beat when I have to sing alone. Anyway I had a lot of fun practicing despite the fact that I was dreading the performance... When it was time to leave we didn't have to rush home so 윤 자매님 and I decided to walk. It only takes about 25 minutes so as we walked on the empty sidewalk and practiced singing
some more. We really enjoyed ourselves, especially laughing at ourselves! ^^

Sunday was so great! We arrived at the chapel early to practice the song some more. Once church began I was so nervous! All I could think about was the very likely possibility of me messing up. But I am happy to report, we crushed it! *please go back and read that in the Fat Amy voice from Pitch Perfect* haha. Elder Arnett only hummed the first note to signal me when to start and after that I did everything else all on my own! ^^ Also, guess what? I belted it out and rocked it. I'm still not confident in my singing abilities but the whole ward was very impressed and I was proud. That song really invited the spirit and I was definitely feeling it. It was so cool.

Once church ended we had an appointment with the young brother and sister that are getting baptized next week. (6/23/13 to be exact!) We taught them the third lesson as well as half of the fourth. I love teaching kids!! I made mazes for them to solve to find all the 5 steps of Jesus Christ's Gospel. They raced and had a lot of fun. Next we played a memory game for the 10 commandments. Again, we had so much fun! The mom sat in and was laughing and enjoying watching her kids get excited about learning the gospel. It was a good feeling.

After church we went home to finish the study time we missed out on in the morning. By 7 PM we headed out the door to finished the day with 전도. We quickly learned that our plan to 전도 last, was a stupid. The streets were almost empty and the people were angry. Typically families are out and about and so happy and pleasant to talk to... It was a bummer to end the day with so many rude people but despite the difficulty, we still stayed out on the streets until 9 PM.

Today is Monday again but not your average Monday. This morning we had transfer calls come in from President Furniss! Guess what?! I'M STAYING!!!! If it weren't obnoxious to change the font, size, color, as well as underline, bold, and italics that last sentenece, I WOULD HAVE! (papa did it for you my dear) I am so happy! I am officially in the Seoul South Mission! This week we will have a mission tour for training and to say goodbye to the Daejeon missionaries. It is sad but I am also so excited!!!

I love you all. I am so happy to be here. I cannot wait to meet my new mission president so soon!!

사랑해요!

Totem Poles that are said to protect ancient Korean villages.

Process of grinding rice.

Equestrian show

Cracking whips to knock flowers out of someones mouth…yikes.

Gangnam Style on horseback.  haha

On your wedding day the groom is carried in the seat to the left and the bride in the box to the right.

I'm Korean.

Form of punishment…my trainer hates me.  haha

Temple

Beautiful paintings on the inside of most buildings

Giant statues protecting the temples.  Look Mooshu from Mulan!

I never would have thought I wouldn't be able to fit in a doorway.  haha

Traditional iron…modern day head beater.  haha

Traditional wedding ceremony

After the ceremony the groom rides horseback as the bride is carried in that box looking thing.  They parade through the village for all to see.

Bottom right.  No kissing!  haha

Rich and poor traditional villages

Ancient painting

Just something to in.  No big deal.

Pano of the river.

Tower of Hope.  You write your dreams on a piece of paper and tie it on the tower so it will come true.

Rainy Day

Unsplit. I was with 최혀정 자매님 on the far righ

This is a public stall in Korea.  One question, where is the toilet paper? 

There it is!!  You have to grab a wad before you enter the stall and hope you have enough.  Why?  No idea.  I continue to learn this the hard way...

Oh! Hi squatters!  I head to learn the 'kimchee squat' real quick. -____-

BRTing with the non-member making some kind of drink.  Not sure, but I was told to smash these fruits.  haha

Everything is backwards here in Korea.  Look at the number on the top of the building; this is what you call in case of emergency.  haha

Our Korean plan of salvation diagram

English posters that Elder Sohn made…weirded out how mine looks like me.  haha