Faith, Trust, and a Little Bit of Pixie Dust

10/21-27

Monday was not a normal PDAY, we had a special conference just for sisters! It was a lot of fun thanks to all the preparation by Sister Morrise. The theme was, "You just need faith, trust, and a little bit of pixie dust" a quote from Peter Pan when he is teaching the kids how to fly. It was adorable, because her and President Morrise acted that whole scene out. They are so cute!! To introduce the theme we heard from President first, then Sister Morrise. All in all they concluded that we need to have 'pixie dust' too; which in Sister Morrise's words is, "a little bit of fun!" I admit is is really cheesy, but it was a great training. Next was lunch, a get to know each other game, mini cooking class (to make homemade Bisquick!!), and then the moment everyone was waiting for... exercise training!

Hi, I'm Sister Sloan. I love CrossFit. And I'm a Mormon. If you haven't guessed, yours truly was the one asked to conduct this part of sister's conference. I had a handout prepared (even translated thanks to my awesome companion) and a fun surprise. First I explained some basic CrossFit workout formulas such as 21-15-9, TABATA, and AMRAPs.

21-15-9 = 21 reps of exercise one, 21 reps of a exercise two, etc, 15 reps of exercise one, 15 reps of exercise two, etc, 9 reps of exercise one, 9 reps of exercise two, etc.
TABATA = For twenty seconds do as many reps of the assigned exercise as you can - then rest 10 seconds. Repeat this seven more times for a total of 8 intervals, 4 minutes total exercise.
The score is the least number of reps for any of the eight intervals.
AMRAP = Do as many reps as possible.

Next I gave some diet tips. Last was the best part- exercise demonstration! I asked for all of my past and present companions to come up to the front to help me. I immediately heard groans from them and smirks from everyone else haha- exactly what I wanted. They each took turns showing different movements but as they did it I had them hold uncomfortable positions like an air squat or plank so I could take my time in explaining proper form. Let me say that again, I took my time haha. It was hilarious, because they wanted to be good sports, but their faces showed how they really felt- let's just say sweat was starting to form haha. It was pretty great. Overall, it was a lot of fun and I ended by encouraging all of the sisters to set goals and to go forth and bring CrossFit to South Korea. ^^

When the conference ended, Sister Han and I didn't feel like lingering so we left and were back in 신풍 (Suwon) by 6. We quickly ate dinner and went straight to a members house were we joined them for FHE. We prepared a scripture search game using only the topical guide- in order to teach the family how useful it is. It went really well. Like every Korean mother, she was a great host and brought out a table full of fruit and fish pancakes (fish cooked with egg on the outside- pretty delicious). After eating, it was time to call it a night. Overall it was a fun day.

Tuesday was the beginning of a slow week. In the morning, we spent our time cleaning our apartment since we didn't have a chance to do so yesterday. Also, we were informed that the senior couple was making their rounds to check the cleanliness of all the Suwon missionaries apartments today. It felt like a deep cleaning day again since I had to tackle the task of scrubbing the floor of the enclosed balcony. It was disgusting, but I am happy to report that it is restored back to its original white-tile shade. Not even five minutes after we finished cleaning, the phone rang. It was the zone leaders asking us to come downstairs and guide them to our apartment. They were apparently with the senior couple and we had to hurry. Sister Han and I ran to change into missionary clothes and tried desperately to get rid of the smell of bleach in the air. We looked ridiculous, but it was really funny. We hurried to grab all the trash bags to chuck them into the dumpster on our way out of our apartment complex. I kid you not, the SECOND we finished, guess who turned the corner to greet us. It was impeccable timing. Sister Han and I were very proud haha. We passed the inspection with flying colors... #winners! Here is a direct quote, "This is the cleanest apartment we've ever seen! Great work girls!" The zone leaders rolled their eyes, probably because they were jealous. We saw them off soon after.

Previously we had planned to watch the Relief Society general broadcast with an investigator next, but she punked us. It felt like a movie night as we gathered a bunch of snacks and blankets to watch both the Korean and English version of the broadcast on our 3 by 5 inch DVD player haha. It was an AWESOME broadcast!! I'm glad our bishop finally gave us the DVDs, I learned so much!! After, it was time for dinner. Our meals are getting less and less gourmet as the weeks to by. Everything is running out so all we eat is rice and kim (dried seaweed- super delicious!). I don't mind but Sister Han is always embarrassed about the lack of side dishes that she is used to. Oh well, when we were full it was time to visit some less actives. After three hours we only were able to greet one- sad end to the day.

Wednesday was district meeting. Today a member from the 신갈 ward attended (did I ever mention that our district now includes two wards? 신갈 and 신풍?). Anyway, he is preparing for a mission to Australia in February. It was a decent training but I don't have anything profound to report. After, it was time for less active visits until dinner. We greeted two people, but the best part was that we were able to have conversations with 26 people! Today I was feeling especially confident in my Korean so I was talking to everyone; one man sat next to me on the bus and I asked him where he was going- he said the dentist and then went on and on about how scared he was. It was really funny not only because of all of his fear but also because I think he thought I was understanding everything he was saying... haha I'm just glad he wasn't asking questions so I just kept nodding my head. All in all, I'm pretty satisfied with my language ability this far- it's not great but it gets me by.

The evening ended with English class. Today Sister Han and I had 10 students! We had more students than all three other classes combined! We had to separate the class into students based in their understanding. Sister Han took the kids who barely knew the alphabet and I took the kids who understood, but needed practice speaking. After working on some understanding games and pronunciation, my students were getting bored. I stood up and asked who knew head, shoulders, knees, and toes. A few students groaned and a few excitedly rose their hands. I took them into the hallway, taught them, quizzed them, and then raced them. It was fun. A few mothers sit in on the class (#pressure!) and today they seemed really entertained by what I was teaching- it was a good feeling when they both complimented me as they were leaving. It was a great class.

Thursday was a boring day. First, Sister Han and I had to run errands like getting Sister Han a flu shot and helping the elders set up the haunted house for the party on Saturday. We spent five hours....
-____- and it still wasn't close to being done! It was fun helping and brainstorming ideas but it just was taking too long to come together. Today all of our appointments cancelled so we ended up just visiting more less-actives. Again, we were only able to greet two so it didn't feel like a very productive day.

Friday was weekly planning, less-active visits (three today!), and helping with the haunted house. I spent most of my time getting other rooms set up as everyone else slaved away in the basement. It was productive, just monotonous.

Saturday was good and disappointing at the same time. In the morning we went to visit 박순애S, whom we visit every Saturday. She recently had introduced us to her grandson, 홍성봉B and he was interested in starting the 30/30 program. He scheduled to come for an appointment on Saturdays when we met his grandmother- today was his first appointment but he punked us! Instead we shared the monthly newsletter with her while her daughter was busy tidying up the apartment. A few times I saw that she would stand at the kitchen sink with the water running, but had her hands propped up on the counter, she was listening to what Sister Han was reading. The same thing happened when we shared the spiritual message before we left. This time she came closer and was pretending to text as Sister Han shared a special experience about priesthood blessings. The grandmother didn't care at all but the daughter butted in with a few questions. This daughter is the mother of 홍성봉B and is a less-active herself, she is a neat lady and hopefully we will have a chance to teach her someday. After we left, it was more preparation for the party.

By the time 6PM rolled around, the party was supposed to have started. Us missionaries did our best to be ready and have everything set up because the members that had promised to help, still hadn't shown up. It was annoying but it was just a Halloween party so nothing to get upset over. This party was supposed to be an opportunity for our ward members to bring friends and introduce them to the church and eventually us, the missionaries. That didn't happen. We even had investigators show up but we didn't have time to greet them or introduce them to members because we were so busy keeping everything going and alive. By 8:27PM everyone was packing up to go home. It was a sad scene because the party wasn't over until 8:30PM. The mingling was already over and the lights were all turned on to indicate it was time to clean. I am really disappointed that so many members dropped the ball on literally everything that they promised to help with or do. The only member that did his part, was 박삼곤B who was paid to make and serve food. Lame!! At least us missionaries had fun setting up and cleaning up. That's probably the only good thing that came out of this whole ordeal.

Sunday was good. First we met with our investigator, 심성경S. It's been a couple weeks since we have been able to meet so it was fun to see her again. The lesson went really well, we taught her the whole third lesson about the 5 steps of Jesus Christ's gospel. She understood well and even had questions! Before we left, I invited her to church, because I was speaking today. She said she would come!

When we arrived at church Sister Han and I went straight up to Bishops office to attend ward council (which he had been invited to the night before). As soon as we opened the door, our bishop waved his hand indicated that we had been uninvited. That didn't feel good. I think he was disappointed with the party so he was punishing us- it's not the first time. Anyway, we then waited for our mother and son investigators but they didn't show. We were later informed that the mothers, mother passed away so they were taking care of family business. Next was church. I was asked to sit on the stand and speak second- scary!

I had practiced my talk over and over just before church began so I could recite most of it without using my notes. When it was my turn to speak, I started with two questions: 여러분에게 성신이있습니까? 어떻게성신을보입니까? Because I had just taught a lesson about the spirit I got the words spirit (성신) and faith (신앙) confused.... I asked the whole congregation if they had the spirit and how they exercised this spirit- instead of faith. I realized I made this mistake as soon as I looked into the audience to give them a moment to think. Instead of seeing people in a stupor of thought, I saw confusion and my companions face looked panicked. She mouthed me my mistake and I buried my face in my hands. I laughed as I corrected my mixup and then my confidence was shot. Everyone else laughed too, but to avoid any other stupid mistakes, I used my notes for the rest of my talk. I was bummed but I'll do better next time.

The investigator that promised to come did but arrived late and felt awkward walking in, so she left. I was also bummed about that but we'll just stop by to see her during the week. Maybe I can redeem myself in reciting it again ha. Anyway the rest of the day was standard. We had dinner as a ward and socialized with the members. And to end the evening, Sister Han and I stayed out in the cold to reach our goal of 140 conversations with people on the street. It wasn't easy but I kept thinking about my warm sweatshirt and sweatpants that I had waiting at home. When we finally reached our goal is was just before 9PM. I boiled some water for hot chocolate and changed my clothes to prepare for our nightly planning. I have a feeling it is going to be a long winter...

Looking back, this week was slow. We only taught 4 lessons, 3 of which were on the street. Now that the Halloween party is officially over and we don't to have to worry about it, maybe things will start picking back up again. Today is now Monday- but it's not PDAY. President Morrise decided that our PDAY will change once a transfer when we have our zone temple day (Thursday). Today we'll do some less-active visits and hopefully attend a ward members FHE with an investigator- I'll let you know next week! I love you all and miss you. I hope everyone has a great week!! ^^ 사랑합니다!

슬론 자매
Sister Sloan

Sister Han reading the Ward News letter

Harry Potter and Top Gun