Meeting the President and Sister Morrise

Our Stewardship Suwon City

Monday ended up being a pretty fun day. Only about a quarter of the zone showed up to walk the 수원 (Suwon) wall for PDAY. It's an awesome historical sight! The wall wraps all the way around the city of Suwon! It was built and used to protect the city when a king 정조 was running the game here. I didn't really learn too much more about the wall because the missionaries we were with, were the opposite of in shape; we didn't get too far before the heat, humidity, and the amount of stairs got to them. We made it about a mile in until they wanted to turn back. Before we did, we stopped to take pictures on a cool looking tower and we asked a kind looking gentleman to do the job.

Ringing the Bell represents your pride and loyalty.  I rang the bell three times.  One for the Lord, one for my family and one for my new Korean family!

Turns out his name is Jay Pine or Pines from Chicago. His accent was thick and boy did he have a lot to say! It's always fun running into Americans because it is a rarity here, so us Americans seized the opportunity. Him and his wife have been here in Korea on vacation for the past two weeks. Before we moved from our poses, he yelled down to his wife, "Hey babe! Take a picture of me with the Latter-Day Saints!" (his accent changing our name to the later-day saint haha). We all laughed and smiled for the extra picture. As we climbed down he went on to tell us that he had seen Latter-Day Saints before and even talked with the missionaries. He knew a lot about our church and basic beliefs. Him and his family are Jewish and very strong in their faith. He asked us a few questions and then gave us an opportunity to ask him some questions about his religion. He had some interesting stories to tell. Soon it became obvious that we were getting restless standing in the hot sun so his wife finally told her husband to shut up and to let us enjoy our day. They were very nice. I have a lot of respect for people who are actively involved in their faith and respect other beliefs as well. It's not too often we come across people like that.

Budda

Anyway, as we turned back we made sure to walk past the huge Buddha that stood on top of a Buddhist temple on the top of the mountain (it's more of a mini mountain or a large hill). On our way to the bus stop we passed a Baskin Robins and naturally found our way inside. We all split a huge bowl of six different scoops of ice cream to cool off from the ridiculous heat outside. I love ice cream! Soon it was time to head home and get back to missionary work.

윤 자매님 and I had our only appointment cancel due to an emergency that the mother of the family had to tend to. We were bummed but decided to visit a member that had helped us with a few investigator meetings instead. She is a single adult and leaving for BYU Provo for another semester. We brought her the last of the banana bread we had made and a note to thank her. When we arrived the mother quickly ushered us into the kitchen and made sit down to eat some rice and eggs. Even the two younger brothers hurried to cut up and set out fruit for us to enjoy. It was a lot of fun! The whole family is basically fluent in English so I was finally able to talk freely and joke around. Time got away from us and we left at 9:30 (that is the latest missionaries are suppose to be home...whoops)! On our way home we quickly bought some Korean goodies to welcome to new mission president and his wife that we were meeting tomorrow!

Tuesday was unfortunately an early morning to head to the new Seoul South Mission home (located on the third floor of the local chapel). We had to transfer 3 or 4 times, each on a new train to arrive! It took almost 2 hours, bleh! There were no seats available on any of the trains so it was a major bummer for my back to have to stand for so long. When we de-boarded the last train, 윤 자매님 was so giddy and excited to be back in Seoul (where she attended the catholic university for nursing before her mission). When we walked up the stairs out of the train station to the street, we saw that it was pouring! Hello monsoon season! I was the opposite of prepared with a maxi skirt, my smallest pair of flats, and a weak umbrella. Needless to say I was soaked after the five minute walk to the chapel. As soon as we arrived we were greeted my President Morrise. He is such a happy man! I am so excited to get to know him and serve with him and his wife. Since it was a leadership training, I went on splits with the other junior companions. We were asked to complete all of our studies in a separate room until lunch. After socializing and becoming aquatinted with the sisters in the new mission, we had personal study. When we finished we went to meet the group for lunch.

Buddist Temple

On our way to lunch (just up stairs) we ran into Sister Morrise. I asked if she needed help preparing anything, and she did. She quickly lead us to the mission home. It is so nice!! The church did a fantastic job remodeling it for the Morrise's, it is seriously like an American house in the middle of Seoul. It has 5 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms- pretty awesome set up. I am also jealous of the AP's that have a similar apartment right next door. After a brief tour, I helped set out food and fill water cups for everyone. For lunch we had Hawaiian haystacks-delicious. Soon after eating I helped clean all the dishes since our 전도 plans were cancelled due to the crazy rain outside. The junior companions cleaned as the senior companions left to resume their meeting. The kitchen was clean in no time thanks to everyone helping so Sister Morrise invited us into the living room to eat some fresh chocolate cookies and milk on the brand new couches. Let me repeat, couches!! Most houses/apartments here have couches but they are never used. My back was finally able to relax (I'm bummed we cannot get massages while on a mission because all of this walking is taking a toll on me). Anyway, we were able to laugh a lot and get to know our new mission mom- I love her!!

When the time came to leave, the rain finally let up to a gentle sprinkle. But guess what?! All the huge puddles from earlier were gone!! The humidity here is INSANE! The train ride home was just as brutal as before. No seats meant more back pain- bleh! When we finally got home we ate dinner and tried to end the evening 전도ing. Few people were outside, so instead we browsed the street markets to buy food for the house. My favorite market is run but this funny and overly enthusiastic man- he is always so excited to see us everyday and gives me free plums all the time. I asked to buy a basket of tomatoes (I think there were 6-8). Instead, for the same price he gave me 30!! I thought some might be old but NOPE! He gave me 30 awesome tomatoes!! How nice is that?! It made my night.

Wednesday was another combined district meeting. 윤 자매님 was in charge of training since she was the only one from our zone in attendance to the MLC meeting yesterday (our zone leader Elder Sohn had to report for military duty for a couple days in order to "show his loyalty to his country." It's a bummer but he will be back soon). The meeting started with news about the changes being made now that we are part of the new mission. Here is what we know:

• Our mission is on a different transfer schedule now, meaning we get transfer calls this week... Saturday to be exact!! (Our transfer day will be Thursday)
• In this mission there will be 2 zone leaders in each zone (as opposed to having a ZL and an assistant ZL)
• We are now required to have all of our studies everyday (including an hour of language study for all missionaries regardless if we are greenies or not) SO AWESOME!
• Since half of Seoul is in this mission now, we are asked to attend the Seoul temple each transfer!!

There are so many decisions to be made so we are attending a "Meet the President" meeting on Friday where more questions will be answered.

President and Sister Morrise (pronounced More-ees)

After the news, we moved into the training. President Morrise wants us to focus on 'finding and retaining.' Here there are so many less active members so now it is up to us to not just focus on teaching people that have never heard our message, but to also help reactive those who are already members of our church. For example there is a branch in the Suwon area that has enough members to be a stake but instead they are only seen as a branch due to the few active members that attend on a regular basis. Isn't that crazy?! Along with reactivation we were reminded not to be afraid to talk to people on the street. Do you want to hear a cool story? Well here it is, my companion 윤 자매님 has a father (duh) that was and is still living in the Busan Mission area. President Morrise was a missionary in Busan once upon a time. Just as a street contact from a 전도, he was the first person to introduce Brother Yoon to this church. And now, 30-40 years later, President Morrise is able to serve as the mission president for that mans daughter, 윤현미 (Yoon Hyon Me). What a small world, this church is true!

When training concluded we put away all of the tables and chairs. As we did, I made it a point to talk to the new AP's that attended our meeting. I asked them why sisters cannot be AP's, guess what?! They can! Apparently in the Salt Lake Temple Square mission sisters are zone leaders and AP's. With that information I told them to put in a good word for me with President Morrise. Serving as an AP or as an office missionary, I feel like I could do really good job since they mostly organize and run the mission home. It would be nice to be good at something for a change since the language is a constant struggle...

Once everything was cleaned up, 윤 자매님 and I left for an appointment. Remember the lady that I taught when I took the lead in teaching on a split? I didn't scare her away and she is progressing really well! Today we taught her the whole second lesson, plan of salvation. She liked it and said that she had always been so curious about her purpose, where she came from, and where she is going. Well, we had an answer and to her, it made perfect sense. It was an awesome lesson. 

English class was the last thing on the schedule for the day. Since we are reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory per the request of a mother in the ward, I read and prepared an activity. Instead when we arrived at the church for class, that same mother insisted that I read in English while 윤 자매님 translates. Her and her kids were the only people to show up so we adjusted class per her request (again). I was annoyed because it was not an English class. No one was listening to me because they would wait for the Korean translation. This is supposed to be one lesson every week that I do on my own- for the most part it goes really well but today I thought it was awful. The only part that went as planned was when the kids had to find the 'two golden tickets' that we hid. We were reading the chapter, 'The First Two Finders' so before class, 윤 자매님 and I bought chocopies (a popular Korean snack that is a chocolate and marshmallow sandwich thing) and secretly hid the 'tickets' inside. They had fun with that. The hour went fast and we wrapped up class to head home for planning and to finally sleep, I was exhausted.

Thursday was a good day. Today was our weekly planning day; although normally on Fridays, we made the change to accommodate a meeting we have at the mission office tomorrow. We started the morning studying until it was interrupted with a call from the member that always come to English class with her kids. She wanted to take us out for lunch and also wanted to introduce one of her friends to us. We went to a little restaurant where we ate mini octopus! It tasted fine, the texture is just really chewy... The member and her friend were impressed by my chopstick and eating ability. I always tell people that it makes up for my speaking ability. They always laugh, so I played the same card I always do haha. It was a good meal and I even had fun. There was a huge language barrier but it was pretty funny to try and communicate. By the time we finished eating, we needed to leave for an appointment with our atheist friend. They gave us a ride and even lent us their umbrellas because it was raining- so nice!

The appointment was so great! I have really come to love this investigator. We started the appointment with 30 minutes of free talking in English. Just before we met she had watch a YouTube video that she wanted to tell us about. She said it had Korean subtitles but she ignore them and wrote down what she understood in English, so I could look it over to see if it makes sense. She is fluent, so naturally it was fun to read. The video was about a father giving a toast at his daughters wedding. He tells a sweet story to the groom which illustrates how much time and effort he has put into raising his daughter. I seriously wanted to cry because it was so cute! But it ended on a funny note when the father tells the groom not to screw it all up haha. (I need to find this video so that I can watch it in the future!) We got to talking all about weddings and the difference between ceremonies her and in America.

Soon we transitioned into our lesson. Today we taught lesson 3 about Jesus Christ's gospel. Last time we invited her to read Alma 31 in perpetration and to also pray. Guess what?! She is progressing!!! This is the first time she has progressed!! I taught about the important of baptism and the Holy Ghost. Together we read Alma 36:18-21; where it talks about Alma feeling so much sorrow for the sins and burdens he carries but then is over come with amazing joy when he sincerely pleads with God to lift the pains and burdens he feels. It is a powerful passage. She said that she loved the end of 19 which reads, "I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more."
I explained the two parts of baptism and how, if done properly, it can bring her that same happiness and joy. I promised her that if she prayed, as Alma did- with sincerity, her prayers will be answered. She was very responsive and admitted she had been lacking sincerity. She even asked, "So, if I am baptized, I could be clean and happy?" I very plainly said, "yes." But to back up for a second... IF! She used the word if! Which implies that she is thinking about the idea of being baptized! When I first met this woman she was very clear that she was only English interest and did not believe that there is a God. NOW! She is praying and reading the scriptures. This is the reason I came on a mission. I have built a very strong testimony about the truthfulness of this church. Now as a missionary, I am inviting others to find out for themselves and experience that same peace and joy that I feel on a daily basis. Man, it was an awesome lesson. The spirit was there and it was awesome!

When our appointment ended we got a call from the Elders. In celebration of today (July 4th) we decided to meet up and eat hamburgers. It was rainy and the burgers were just okay but it was fun being able to talk and listen to the American music being played in the restaurant we were in haha. I was really missing the normal BBQ, burgers, watermelon, country music, and being among family and friends.. but I am in Korea so it was as close as I was going to get haha.

On the way home 윤 자매님 suggested getting ice cream. Of course I didn't resist. Even though it was a rainy day, the humidity was still in full swing. We stopped at a Baskin Robins by out house, which happens to be right next door to my favorite market. I purchased as extra bowl of ice cream to give to my friend that was working. I didn't say a word when I handed it to him (because I don't know Korean...) and he was so surprised. I smiled and started waking away after he grabbed it from my hands. He kept saying, "어떻게, 어떻게?" (Ohdohkay- How, how?) haha. He said thank you as he handed me a couple plums. It was funny. The walk home from there is about 5 minutes or less. As I walked my ice cream come began to melt all over my hand and down my arm... -___- this humidity WILL kill me.

Friday we had a "Meet the President" meeting at the 부 (boo- what we call the mission home). It was a pretty short meeting but it was hilarious. President and Sister Morrise are the perfect couple and are seriously the cutest. When Sister Morrise was introducing her husband, he stood next to her and kept grabbing the microphone after ever comment to give his two sense. After about the third time, Sister Morrise yanked the microphone back, cutting her husband off and said, "No more, I'm talking." Haha it was so funny. I love them. After the introductions they both spoke, then we broke off for lunch. My companion and I sat down by the AP's, I'll let you figure out why haha. The missionaries in this district are hilarious! It was a very entertaining lunch. Oh also, as usual the Koreans were amazed with my chopstick skills. One of the AP's was literally staring at my plate as I pulled apart a Chinese dumping with my chopsticks in one hand haha. He tried and failed so he was impressed. I only felt a little lot cool haha. When we finished eating, we were nicely invited to get hurry up and get back to our areas.

The whole Suwon 20 (our area is Suwon and we are the 20 missionaries that were moved from the Daejeon mission to Seoul South- AKA we gave ourselves a fitting name) hopped on the subway together. Most everyone found someone to talking to. I found myself an older man and his grandson. Their English was amazing so it made talking really easy. The grandson was getting ready to report for his two years of military duty and the grandfather is a retired chemistry professor from the University of North Seoul (which is equivalent to top schools like Harvard in the US). They were both so kind and happy to talk to me. Our conversation was it short because we arrived at their stop but before they left he gave me his business card and told me to call him if I had any questions. I told him I would and bowed as they walked away. I love meeting people like that. It is so rare to fine genuine people nowadays. It was refreshing to know they still exist.

Saturday was a busy day, with three appointments. First was with the son and mother we have taught in the past. It has been about two weeks since we have met with them because of a huge test the son had to prepare for. He is a sophomore in high school and for finals there is a pretty intense test that covers 11 subjects! It takes four days, 3hours spent each day... BRUTAL! But it was finally over and I was so happy to finally see them again! The mother had prepared some kimchee and kimbop (Korean version of sushi). We ate first then moved onto English. This kid is so smart! Every little correction I made about his pronunciation, he corrects and never makes the same mistake twice. The gospel lesson went well too. They continue to progress by reading and praying. Hopefully we will be able to set a baptismal date soon.

Our next visit was a bust. We were just stopping by but it turns out the address was written incorrectly and the ladies cell phone number was changed. She will be next to impossible to track down now- major bummer.

The third appointment was a little weird. Instead of free talking for the 30 minutes of English, this lady had a PowerPoint (in English) about the basic beliefs of the bible that she wanted me to look over. I am not sure what church she attends because she has a very wide variety of beliefs, even some contradicting thoughts and ideas. Anyway, I got the impression that she put the slide show together to try and teach me and 윤 자매님. Her husband was home (our first time meeting him) and he told us that he had spent the day cleaning the house just for our appointment. When the slide show was over, she asked to end with a prayer (maybe thinking that that slide show was sufficient for the gospel message haha). We said, yes we will pray at the end... AFTER we share our gospel message haha. She is hard to teach. I'm not sure what her needs are anymore because her beliefs and points of view change so frequently. Hopefully as we take it to The Lord, we'll receive some guidance of how/what to teach her.

The day ended with a cancelled dinner appointment. We stopped by the house to eat dinner with the intent of going back out but that never happened. While 윤 자매님 was preparing some food to eat, she looked over at me studying at my desk and said, "Sister, you seem so sad today." I hadn't realized it until she said something, but she was right. After the appointment with the son and mother (김동은B 최윤정S), my mood went from happy to majorly sad. I was really overwhelmed about the language and pretty frustrated because I feel like I am not able to be an effective missionary. I have made a lot of adjustments in order to be more obedient but for some reason I still didn't feel happy. Looking back when my companion and I do daily planning, I am happy with what I have accomplished but while I am "enduring" the hard moments, I really hate how I cannot teach the people we come in contact with. Anyway, I vented to my companion and even held back some pretty heavy tears. She was lost for words but that was fine because I just needed time to be alone. We studied together and brainstormed different language study plans. My companion is so patient and loving. I think if I were her dealing with me, I would be annoyed and tell her to just toughen up haha. I'm very grateful that I'm with someone that is constantly encouraging me even if I have a bad attitude and complain about things that are out of her control (like the Korean language for instance). She is a huge blessing. Also transfer calls came in, WE ARE BOTH STAYING! Our ZL (Elder Sohn) and DL (Elder Erekson) are transfer up north. :( It is a bummer but I was so happy to know ill spend another transfer in the best ward and with the best companion.

Sunday was a great day. Because it was fast Sunday, we met at the chapel early again for a special missionary coordinating meeting. This time the whole bishopric came. We read a talk from the Liahona (the only church issued magazine in Korea) and discussed the talked entitled, "A God of Miracles: The Slovak Saints in Sheffield." It was an awesome story. After reading, we had discussion about the missionary work in our ward and what we could do to improve and move forward. This ward is amazing! An areas success of growing and spreading the gospel is totally contingent on the efforts of the members. I am leading so much from the leaders and members of this ward. 윤 자매님 and I had to leave before the meeting concluded because we had to pick up an investigator for church (when I say pick up, I mean show the way to the chapel). Her name is Margaret and she is from Cameroon, Africa. She is here in Korea studying at a university in Seoul. Her brother, who is a recent convert but moved back to Africa because of visa problems, was baptized in this ward (곡반정). She was a referral from a member (the former boss of her brother). We met her at a large bus station and showed her the way to the chapel. When we arrived, they had just begun singing the opening hymn. On the way there I explained to her (in English because she knows less Korean than me haha) the order of each meeting and what she can expect. I know that I feel at ease when I know what is going to happen, but I hope I didn't overload her with information. She did feel comfortable though so I think I did alright. During the meeting 윤 자매님 translated and I answered all of her questions. It was a great meeting.

For the second hour, we asked a single adult member (도영지S) to join us for a short meeting with Margaret. Like last Sunday, with Alex and his family, we gave her a summery of our beliefs first. Next we taught her the whole first lesson which included watching 'The Restoration' DVD. The spirit was definitely there! We asked her what she thought about the movie and what we had taught her thus far. She thought it was all very interesting. She told us that she looks forward to learning more as she continues to meet with us. Awesome answer haha! We read the introduction of the Book of Mormon together to end. I testified of the promise that Moroni makes; 윤 자매님 did the same. We also invited the member to also testify and explain how religion has played a role in her life. It was a simple yet powerful testimony. As we concluded we asked her to offer the prayer. Margaret has a baptist background and a think French accent. It was the most adorable pray I have ever heard- she is so sincere and so respectful when she is speaking to her Heavenly Father. I love her. 

We ended in time for Relief Society. Since Margaret had traveled over an hour to come to church, I felt bad asking her to stay. I invited her anyway but also gave her an opportunity to leave since she had a long way to travel back home. Instead of leaving, she said she that she wanted to stay!! The lesson shared in the third hour was great. It was about enduring well. The lady that taught is very musically talented- as such she is the ward choir director. She always tells he choir that if you start well and end strong, those listening will remember the performance being perfect. She applied that to enduring. We are expected to always try our best but if we end everyday or every task with our best, God and all others watching will remember the good we have done. Maybe I butchered that concept as I typed it in English, but it was beautifully said in Korean haha. The same member that joined our lesson was able to translated for her. It was so perfect and Margaret felt right at home, which I am very grateful for. This ward is seriously AMAZING! So many members came up to greet our investigator even though most of their English abilities are less than awesome. They are so thoughtful and welcoming!!

When church ended we walked Margaret to the bus stop. It was raining and we only had one umbrella, so I took one for the team and walked in the rain. It wasn't too bad but it definitely didn't take long for me to feel disgusting from the acid rain- bleh! Anyway after we gathered our things from the church and saw all of the members off, we stopped by a members home with Elder Sohn and Chow. She wanted to send us home with a bunch of side dishes as well as full bellies. We broke our fasts a little early but it was worth it! She is amazing and her cooking is delicious. The rest of the day was spending studying. It was a great Sunday and I am very grateful to be in this area and part of this ward. It's a good feeling knowing that I will be here for another 6 weeks! ^^ There is a lot of work to be done and I'm excited to work hard!

Thank you for all of your love and support. I miss you all!!

사랑해요!