Day in the Life [생활에 있는 일]: Speaking Slowly

3/10-16
Monday was probably the most relaxing PDAY I have ever had. After morning studies, we quickly ran down to the local mart to buy banana bread ingredients. Once home, we whipped up a huge batch of my mother's famous banana bread recipe. As the bread was baking, it didn't take long for our itty bitty apartment to be filled with the delicious aroma of banana bread. It was glorious. Amid the baking process, Sister Bagley and I unfolded our beds, popped in some Doctrine and Covenants DVD's, and spent the day writing letters and enjoying each other's company. It was so nice to just be able to hang out and relax. 6PM came way too quick, but we somehow were able to snap back into missionary mode just in time for our practice member lesson. 배애숙S (Sister Bay) was helpful, but pretty impatient when it came to my speaking speed. In my defence, I speak slowly for two reasons 1. because my brain takes a minute to remember vocab and rearrange the sentence order, and 2. because I feel that the spirit works more powerfully when things don't feel rushed. Anyway, it was good practice regardless of Sister Bay trying to finish my sentences as opposed to just listen ha.

Tuesday I had a fantastic personal study! In preparation for our investigator lesson on Tuesday, Sister Bagley and I made a mind-map lesson plan. As a result, when we arrived at 한정희S (Sister Han)'s house for a practice lesson, it went amazingly well! We focused all about the roles of life and the atonement of Jesus Christ. It was fantastic. When we finished, she insisted on taking us to lunch- we couldn't say no. Sister Bagley and I were putting on our coats when this member began to change in front of us. First, she switched sweatshirts, but then her pants dropped to switch to jeans. It was hilariously awkward... I'm glad she feels comfortable around us, but it was a tad strange haha.

Lunch together was delicious! She bought so much meat and a bunch of side dishes- we were stuffed. Our next appointment wasn't until 5:30PM, so we had about three hours to kill. Our conclusion was to walk to our next appointment- it took us just under 3 hours! I've really done a number on all my shoes since being a missionary... I love walking, but man what I would do for a bike-riding mission. We tried to arrive early, but the member, 이은성S (Sister Lee), wasn't home. Instead we found a park nearby to wait. Out of boredom, Sister Bagley decided she wanted to test out the Korean street exercise equipment. Funny videos followed. Once in the appointment, we taught a good lesson to Sister Lee and to three of her eight kids- they are a blast! We even showed them the retarded videos we had just taken. Their laughter evolved to telling us funny pranks and things their mother (Sister Lee) pulled on her mission. They are such a fun family!

The night ended with two long bus rides to another members house and a bunch of awkward conversations on the street- I think Sister Bagley takes the cake with saying "hi" to a foreigner in the most awkward way possible. Bless her heart, English is hard hehe (하이이~ ㅋㅋ). Once we arrived to 정예림S (Sister Jeong)'s house we did our schpeal and played a few games with her two daughters before heading home. It was a really good day! We talked to all kinds of people and I feel super prepared for the lesson we will teach our investigator on Saturday. Our members are such a huge blessing- always so willing to help us. 만수에 최고에용~

Wednesday we had our last district meeting with Elder Griffin as District Leader. It was an awesome training where we learned a lot and of course, laughed a lot. Elder Griffin is hilarious and a good sport. We all knew he would transfer so Sister Bagley and I decided to sing him the following song lyrics (When I'm Gone sung in Pitch Perfect by Anna Kendrick) with a few words changed, "When [you're] gone, [we're] gonna miss you when [you're] gone, when [you're] gon-ah-ah-ahn... [we're] gonna miss you by your hair..." ㅋㅋ! Get it? Cause he's balding? ^^ It was funny.

After, we rushed to an appointment with our less-active member, 정혜연S (Sister Jeong) who works at AnyTime convenient store. It was semi-awkward, because I was running out of small talk and Sister Bagley had nothing to say haha. Finally, we transitioned to our gospel message slash spiritual thought and it was great. I went blank on what I had prepared but it worked out for the best because I think what we ended up sharing what what she needed. It was neat. We had to be quick in order to meet the 부평 (BuPyong) sister missionaries for our last exchange for the transfer.

I left with Sister DeBuse from Washington State to serve in 부평 area. It was rainy so most of our evening was spent doing 가가호호 (kah kah ho ho) or door to door contacting. It was pretty good, not super effective but anyway. The last thing we had scheduled was a recent convert lesson with 이하나S (Sister Lee Han Aha). She is so cute! We retaught some commandments, it was good.

Thursday I was still in 부평 with Sister DeBuse. In the morning I did my training- she gave me awesome feedback! It was super effective. Before we unsplit we did some less-active member address confirmations, but ended up lost. However! Last week I had good experiences learning about how perfect The Lord's timing is, today was no different. Just as we were about to give up I bowed to a tiny, cute, old grandpa. He came over, grabbed my arm and he asked why on Earth I was in Korea haha. I explained. He was super impressed and insisted that we come over to his house so he could save our phone number in his phone (that he forgot at home). We followed this 98 year old man to his house and greeted his granddaughter when we arrived. They served us some yogurt drinks and we introduced who we were before time ran out. We are beyond grateful and his granddaughter is a new investigator for the 부평 sister missionaries! So good!

When we unsplit Sister Bagley and my plans fell through... Instead, we talked to people on the street and also we went to heart attack (taped a bunch of paper hearts) our 만수 Korean mother's front door. She is leaving on vacation and this week time doesn't allow her to invite us over. We still want her to know how much we love and appreciate her. She texted us later and was so grateful!! It was adorable. We really really 너무! 너무! love her! ^^

Friday was a busy day! Nothing went as planned, but it was awesome! First, was a member practice lesson with 김보희S (Sister Kim). She is always so helpful. After was a last minute practice lesson with 김정은S (Sister Kim.. A different one) and her three adorable children. We mostly wanted to drop by to give her banana bread but we were able to get some good practice in as well. On our way home we decide to just stop by a less-active members house. 금경은S (Sister Kum) is pretty sick with cancer and every time we try to visit she says that she is too weak. When we knocked on her door today we had a huge smiles and a fantastic message ㅋㅋ. She took a deep breathe which was followed by an even bigger sigh and let us in! Haha I mean clearly she didn't seem too keen on us coming in but we have been persistent and we were able to really help her!! She warned us that we should only stay for ten minutes, we'll took that and tried to really get to know her. As we talked she took a while but eventually warmed up to us- even pulled out some fruit to eat together. An hour later we finished our gospel discussion and we said our goodbyes. It was an awesome miracle!

Sister Bagley and I were so excited, we forgot that we hadn't eaten dinner. We just kept at it and delivered some more banana bread to a few more members. On our way, I started a conversation with this girl about my age. Today is a unofficial holiday in Korea- White Day. Here instead of one valentines day, every 14th of each month has a different theme for couples. Today it is tradition for boys to give girls candy. I asked this girl if she had received any candy, she said some and asked the question back. In an attempt to be funny I said, "Maybe as missionaries we don't have any friends, so maybe we didn't receive." Haha funny right? Well she giggled and went digging in her bag for some chocolate to give us- so sweet! We became fast friend and I introduced what we do as missionaries and why I came to Korea. It was cool. She was curious about where our church was so I handed her an English flyer with the address on the back. She kept it and maybe ten minutes after we went our separate ways she called us! She was on her way to greet some friends but arrived early and decided to call us. Guess what? Next week on Tuesday we have an appointment to meet again! Another unexpected miracle!

Saturday was so busy! Both Sister Bagley and I don't understand why we plan our days out because 99% of the time they don't play out how we anticipate ha. Today maybe five minutes before personal study began we received a call from our bishop. He said he would be over in ten minutes to pick us up for a service opportunity. We quickly changed and maybe fifteen minutes later, we found ourselves farming with the elders and a few members from the ward. It wasn't hard work today but the man who owns the farm said that we expects us back every Saturday morning haha.

Once home we had about 30 minutes to clean ourselves up, have a quick companionship study, and ate lunch before we had to be at the church for an appointment with our investigator, 김하나S (Chloe). The appointment actually went really well! Sister Bagley and I were grateful for the week we had to prepare and revise our lesson plans. Chloe even came with questions about the reading assignment that we gave her in the Book of Mormon! We mostly focused on the purpose of this life, God's love, and prayer. Once we finished we saw her off and greeted some of our English class students. Class was fairly standard. Only three of our students showed up today.

After class and before the ward activity we had about an hour to kill. Some English class students and ward members roped us into playing soccer/volleyball... I'm sure it has a name but I don't know it. It was difficult in a skirt, but it was a lot of fun. There is a member in our ward named George. He is Korean but prefers his English name. Anyway, he has some mental disorder and is quite the character. While playing he kept waving me over to talk about how he thinks Sister Bagley is a tomboy haha. Oh George.

The ward activity was all a fundraiser for the relief society. They had A BUNCH of food and an auction. The food was awesome!! Sister Bagley and I couldn't stay long, because we didn't have an investigator present. Before we left, we had a blast playing a few round of duck-duck-goose with the little girls. They love us and we love them! This ward is literally the best ward!! In other areas where I've served, I have favorite members but here- everyone as a whole is mine and Sister Bagley's favorite!! I love ManSu!

We quickly made our way home to have our weekly planning session. It went well, but it mostly stressed me out. This week we started with 2 potential investigators and ended today with 9! Referrals are coming out of the wood work from members, other missionaries, and also from our contacting efforts! We feel so blessed!

Sunday was a great ending to a week packed full of miracles. Before I get to that, I had a strange dream last night about me receiving a new missionary while still training Sister Bagley. Last night, in real life, we received transfer calls- Sister Bagley and I will stay together to finish her training and I am still STL. Back to the dream, I kept thinking about all the changes that are possible (but not likely) in the near future as a missionary. So far I have copied my trainer, Sister Yoon, with training opportunities, opening new area, and extra callings/ responsibilities. Anyway my dream was consistent with the pattern of Sister Yoon's mission- it was so stressful that my teeth started falling out haha. Strange, I know, but anyway I felt like sharing.

Once at church Sister Bagley and I were waiting for Relief Society to start when out of nowhere a group of members ran to grabbed us and said we had a potential investigator that just walked into church! She is 15 and her name is 정현지S (Jeong Hyon Chi). Her father (nonmember) sent her to our church, because he likes it haha. We quickly took her under our wing to keep members off her back haha. Our members are way awesome, but some times it is overbearing. Anyway, she said all three hours and we made an appointment to meet with her on Thursday! We'll see how it goes. Miracle!

Once church ended a few members had us over for lunch- so much fun! 백용실B gave me a nickname the other day, Smart Sloan. I continue to live up to my name- his words, not mine hehe. I think I'll make a nametag as a joke. It was a blast! I love Koreans that understand my humor and sarcasm. It was great.

Next was our last district activity before people leave to transfer to other areas and Elder Woo completes his mission. Speaking of him, he is so trucky! He is hilarious and I love him but he is so ready to go home, it way funny. We were supposed to be taking a family survey but instead Elder Woo was taking a survey about how old people thought our District Leader, Elder Griffin looks haha. He is balding and the average of the results was 32 years old- he is 22! Hahaha SO FUNNY! I promise we act like missionaries most of the time. After the activity we walked away having a bunch of awesome (gospel) conversations as well as a lot of fun. The night ended with a Missionary coordinating meeting. I love having this meeting on Sunday night because it is perfect way to wrap up and review all of the awesome missionary work that was done in our ward for the week. It was a phenomenal week!

I love you all!! 사랑해요! 보고싶어요! I miss you!
사랑하는,
슬론 자매
Sister Sloan