Christmas Concert

12/16-22
Monday I woke up sick... I had a slight fever and I think my whole skull was full to the brim with mucus. Cute huh? Sorry for the visual, but I felt awful. Sister Tovar and I went about our daily routine for PDAY. Study, email, meet up with fellow missionaries. This week people wanted to walk the Suwon wall in the snow... I have been in this zone my whole mission so far and everyone looks to me as a symbol of this place. As such, they asked me to guide them despite being sick. I have now walked this wall in blazing hot summer, beautiful autumn, and now freezing cold winter. I was less than pleased when things didn't workout like they were supposed to but oh well- such is life. We all ate dinner together then went our separate ways. Sister Tovar and I went grocery shopping and such before and after YSA FHE. It was a fun activity where we played scum again. When we got home I went straight to sleep and took a million pills to fight my fast developing cold.

Tuesday I woke up in worse condition. I got up to shower and then immediately went back to bed. Sister Tovar was kind enough to study in the kitchen so I could sleep in peace. It felt awesome but even after an extra two hours I still didn't feel great. I didn't have a choice but to get ready because we were invited to a members house for lunch. When we arrived it was more than just a lunch, it was a relief society activity haha. Talk about a surprise. It was a lot of fun! These members are so loving and giving. We ate a delicious meal, shared a spiritual thought and were off. It was good.

Sister Tovar had planned a few less-active members to visit (my new assignment to her because maybe I'm sick of figuring out these maps haha) but she refused to let me stay outside any longer. We went home and I slept until dinner. I felt like the laziest missionary, but I suppose I have to take care of my health before it gets worse. We ate then met a less-active member at the church. We are starting these 20 minute lessons to members to: 1. Practice Korean, 2. Practice teaching, and 3. Receive member help to beginning to build relationships of trust with the ward. Today was one of those days with 사은효 자매님 (Sister Soh). Immediately after was English class. 9 kids showed up today! I asked Sister Tovar to take charge so I didn't breath on the students. She did well. I love these kids so much, I had to stop myself a few times from interrupting her because I wanted to teach them so bad haha. I'm selfish... Bless my heart.

Wednesday I felt a little better. At district meeting I tried to convince Elder Breckwoldt that my temperature was 39 degrees Celsius. He was freaking out because in his eyes that means I'm about dead haha. I am sick but not THAT sick. The training was great. We learned all about being humble and being unified as a companionship. Question: Have you ever read a horoscope and been freaked out how accurate it is? Well... Turn to Preach My Gospel page 121 where it it defines pride at the top of the page... and that's what happened to me.

"The opposite of humility is pride, which is condemned in the scriptures. To be prideful means to put greater trust in oneself than in God or in His servants. It also means to put the things of the world above the things of God. Prideful people take honor to themselves rather than giving God the glory. Pride is competitive; those who are prideful seek to have more and presume they are better than other people. Pride usually results in feelings of anger and hatred, and it is a great stumbling block."

Why am I so prideful?!! Dang it!! So much work to do.

A Papa Sloan interpretation since I'm posting this to her blog.  AnneMarie is competitive.  It's part of her nature, but she isn't as "prideful" as outlined in the quote above.  She doesn't hate.  She doesn't love herself more than God.  That's not in her nature.  She loves God and puts her trust in him, but works hard herself.  I love this girl.  She's wonderful and learning to be more humble each day.  We all are actually.  I'm grateful for that.  I can see her growth with each weekly letter.  It's wonderful.  She's wonderful.

After training we planned for the Christmas Concert the ward was putting on. It took FOREVER! After we practiced a couple musical numbers for the Mission Christmas Conference on Christmas Eve it was time for dinner. We ate together and then Sister Tovar and I ran some errands for the ward activity and tried to talk to people on the street. It wasn't successful, but we did get a lot done.

Thursday was strange. I was feeling a lot better- thank goodness! However a couple days ago Sister Tovar and I began talking to a woman on the street. She told us about an exhibition her church was having and asked if we could come. Today was the day we planned on. She invited a car full of friends to go with us, it was entertaining. They attend a church called 'God's Church' or as I know them better 하나님의 교회. I have heard a lot of really strange things about them so just as I invite others to learn more about our church from a creditable source, Sister Tovar and I got more than we bargained for ha.

First they took us to their church, we didn't go inside but instead to a visitors center next door. There we were taken on a tour of the exhibition all about mothers. This church believes in a heavenly mother and every single wall was covered with very sweet stories and pictures of how people feel their mothers love. It was really well done! The last wall had three bible stories about mothers: 1. King Solomon- a judge between two harlots to determine who is the mother of a child (Old Testament, 1 Kings chapter 3), 2. Eve [and Adam] being the mother of all living, and 3. Sarah [and Abraham] being a mother of nations (Old Testament, Genesis 17:15-16).

After that we were taken to a 'fellowship' room where we were free to ask questions and what not. I really liked their concept of feeling our Heavenly Mother's love the way that we feel our earthly mothers love but that concept was very abstract after I learned and had a larger understanding of their beliefs. After much education Sister Tovar had to step out to use the restroom. When she did I took advantage of asking the woman teaching us when she was baptized and how she gained her testimony of this church. She told me she learned when people came door to door and that same day she was baptized in her home. I thought it was strange but I have learned to appreciate individuals that are part of a religion and are dedicated to bettering themselves and others. My next question was her favorite thing about this church. The awkward silence and her confused face was interrupted when Sister Tovar returned from the bathroom. The question was left unanswered. I won't bore you with the detail they can easily be found on the internet but I will end by saying that I am grateful for the spirit. As a member and missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have learned the importance of the Holy Ghost that testifies of truth. I don't mean to be rude or disrespectful, but their interpretation of the Bible made me a little sick to my stomach. Our purpose wasn't to bible-bash but to just learn. When we were done learning, we left. The same woman that brought us, also took us home. They are very kind women. I am grateful to have met them.

We barely had 30 minutes to eat dinner. We arrived to English class right on time. It was a lot of fun. Only a couple students showed up but it was still good. We played games and laughed a lot. Normally we get the most votes to play hangman, but lately it's been annoying to play because the girls take it seriously and the boys guess letters like X and Z to make us lose. However today I was in a weird mood and I teamed up with the one boy that showed up. His first guess was the letter A that he mumbled in boredom. But when it came my turn I yelled out "W!" His face lit up so fast it was adorable. We made them loose 3 times in a row before class was over hehe. Sister Tovar wasn't pleased with the lack of companionship unity but I had a lot of fun haha.

Friday was busy! Today we were supposed to have our weekly planning but that didn't happen... Instead we spent the morning trying to contact referrals that we received from a member and also tried to visit some less-active members. A million bus rides later and knocking several doors, no success. Soon it was time for us to head to a dinner appointment. We arrived right on time- rare I know. But this time the member wasn't there. Her youngest daughter came home from school and let us in. Her mother arrived home with her oldest daughter maybe 30 minutes later. We shared our spiritual thought and then went out to eat since the mom had no time to prepare. It was delicious and she made me eat so much! We were right on schedule until she insisted that she bring us back to her house for dessert. We built some major 증! She even prepared a Christmas cake for us. Here in Korea Christmas isn't a big holiday but her and her family have lived in America so she at least understand that it's a bigger celebration there. Even though it was just cake, fruit, and homemade tea- I was very appreciative of the effort that she put forth to help us celebrate the upcoming holiday. When we left the evening was over. We took a long way home in order to talk to more people on our way but still we went straight home.

Saturday was just as busy. Still no weekly planning, whoops! After morning studies we met our Ward Mission Coordinating Leader for lunch near the church. He brought his cute 4 year old daughter, English name Claire. She is shy but so cute! We ate at a hidden restaurant and we all had the same spicy, noodle soup- so delicious! I think it was the smallest room in the whole place but anyway, we were among good company so it was fun. When we finished we head to the church to help set up for the Christmas Concert that night. There was a lot today! It was nice to see so many members involved this time around. I wonder why they didn't come together for the last holiday party.. Oh well it was good to see so many people involved. I did my part. I played some serious ping-pong with the ping-pong master of the ward. He is so freaking good! He taught me how to smash and how to put spin on the balls. I am TOO excited to practice later!! When he got tired I challenged a few other people but they got bored before I did and kept handing off the paddle ha. I got the hint and stepped aside to make several phone calls reminding less-active members, investigators, and English class students to the party. It all came together at the end and 7 of my English students came and stayed! I was running around asking everyone I could to greet them and help them find a good seat for the concert portion. The members are so great! Amidst me running around another member turned the tables on me as he introduced me to his non-member friend and daughter that he and his family invited. I sat and spoke with them as much as I could until the concert began. It began with Santa (Elder Jenson and Elder Giles) handing gifts out to the children. All of my students received a gift and they were so surprised and excited. I love them! The songs and skits were very fun and entertaining. The non-member mother was enjoying everything but her daughter was less than impressed. I tried to liven her spirits but I failed. She at least laughed at my retard Korean ha. When it ended it was 9PM! Woah! I received the phone numbers of the non-members and literally ran to catch a bus home. Late again... Dang it! Haha oh well, it was for a good reason.

Sunday was a typical Sunday. It started off pretty calm and then picked up from there. Last week a less-active member came to church, almost by force from a friend in another stake. The friend made sure to introduce 김자영 (Sister Kim) to all of the 'right' people haha- that's a good friend. That friend made me promise to bring her to church today so that's what I tried to do. I texted her in the morning, called, and even showed up at her house. I banged on the door telling her to wake up and that it was time for church- nothing. I was sad :( I left a note on her door and she ended up texting us and inviting us for dinner to apologize for sleeping through it all. More on that in a second.

Church was great. Instead of the normal talks, we were treated to a wonderful musical program by the ward choir. Not only were the songs beautiful but 이자영 (Sister Lee) played an AMAZING piece on the violin, she is SO talented! In the middle of the choirs performance guess who showed up?! 최연숙 (Sister Choi), the author whose book concert we attended a few weeks back! She has been less-active for a few months because of work but today she finally was able to get a day off! I was so happy to see her! As soon as I saw her I cleared the pew next to me for her to sit, she is so great. The other meetings went well too. After, we had our weekly meal as a ward. This week there wasn't enough food prepared, bummer! Just before Sister Tovar and I left, 안기훈 (Brother Ahn) informed all of the missionaries about his new calling- our Korean teacher! Bishop has been really trying to help the greenies and this is one way he thought of. We stepped into a classroom for about 40 minutes to have a quick overview of how he will teach us. It was a pretty easy material which was a confidence boost for me. All the greenies were taking notes like crazy but not this girl! In fact I was Brother Ahn's go-to person to do sample dialogues to apply the vocabulary and grammar forms. 아싸! (Pronounced: Ahh sahh! It means awesome! Haha)

We left in a hurry to make it to Sister Kim's house. When we arrived we saw that she had prepared a meal for us! So kind! Also it was lucky that Sister Tovar and I were still hungry haha. We ate a bunch and had a great conversation with Sister Kim. All day I had been stressing about what to talk about since she doesn't know any English... Just before we walked in I told Sister Tovar to talk as much as possible ONLY in Korean. 스트레스! (Pronounced: suh-tuh-rah-suh haha, Stress!) it ended up being awesome. We shared a spiritual message about the Book of Mormon and made an appointment to solve a puzzle together on Christmas- so fun!

I hope everyone is having so much fun preparing for Christmas! I am so excited to have a party with the mission for Christmas Eve! Amidst all the presents and contagious holiday spirit, don't forget to remember the true meaning of this holiday. Our Savior's birth was a miracle and it was just the beginning of a perfect life that He lived for us. I love my Savior so much! His gospel and example has saved and changed my life. I love you all!! Have a fantastic week :)

슬론 자매
Sister Sloan

Yesterday it snowed all day.  Today the sun is out and doing everyone a big favor. 

Christmas Concert!  Zoom in to the middle girl in the front. She is one of the girls in my English class that came with her family.  Too Cute!!!