Monday was a great morning. In place of mine and Sister Bagley's personal and companionship study we decided to head to the church to watch the Sunday morning General Conference session. Because we still weren't caught up on watching all of conference in English, we dubbed today and tomorrow worthy to do such. It was so awesome!! It got off to a fantastic start with Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk about being grateful in any circumstance.
"[With] the eyes of faith we look beyond our present-day challenges. This is not a gratitude of the lips but of the soul. It is a gratitude that heals the heart and expands the mind."How do you show your gratitude to God? Mind blowing. The concluding talk by Thomas S. Monson, 'Love- the Essence of the Gospel' was also phenomenal.
"Blame keeps wounds open. Only forgiveness heals."I learned a lot from each speaker in this session.
After our minds were blown over and over, it was time for lunch! On our way to a members house for lunch we met the elders at the post office to mail Sister Bagley, Elder Knapp, and Elder Higham's suitcases to their new houses.
There is something here called 택배 (teakbay) which delivers packages within 24 hours and is so cheap. It is too bad America doesn't have something like this but I guess South Korea is a little smaller than America... After we finished we walked to our lunch appointment with 한금아S (Sister Han). She is pretty intimidating woman. She stands about 5 feet tall or less but still manages to keep me walking on egg shells around her. She is a rare Korean that speaks with sarcasm, but I'll be honest in saying I think she just always seems mad ha. During lunch once I got used to it, we had a super entertaining meal together. She somehow got to talking about learning other Asian languages and was making fun of how they all sound haha. It was great. When it came time for our spiritual message we shared the talk 'Love- the Essence of the Gospel' by Thomas S. Monson. After I pulled the talk out of my bag and read the title in Korean, Sister Han asked what '정수' meant in English, I said 'essence.' Her smile of approval was followed by her saying, "I already knew that, but I was just checking to make sure you are still studying Korean." RUDE! She definitely scared me and I will probably never forget that word because of it ha.
After lunch, our PDAY began! We emailed and then hung out at home. Sister Bagley had to finish getting things together so while she did that, I wrote letters and relaxed. It was nice. By 6PM we found ourselves on a bus traveling to a members house for dinner and a practice 'PMG' lesson. 유경숙S (Sister You) taught us how to make a few side dishes before we ate, she is so talented! Koreans are so resourceful! We made a rice cake pancake thing made of rice and a plant called mugwort. Sounds nasty huh? It doesn't have much of a taste so it was fine but anyway I'm pretty sure it's a weed... Lately Sister Bagley and I have been asking ourselves, 'How in the world do people come up with this kind of stuff?'
Tuesday was mine and Sister Bagley's last full day together. How sad is that! Again, this morning we watched conference, but this time with was the General Priesthood Session. Another fantastic session! Our minds were once again blown. I love the leaders of This Church! It is unreal how solid and brilliant all of these men and women are. I really look up to their amount of faith and trust that they all have in our God and Savior. It is interesting, because as a missionary I have had times where I am caught in a stupor of thought which results in me seriously questioning my faith. Seems backwards right? I have been certified and deemed one worthy to testify and bring souls unto Christ but I too am learning how to follow and apply same teachings that I study and teach everyday. However, it isn't backward at all. When my faith takes a step back to question, I always find an answer that causes my faith shoot forward ten steps. This is especially true when it comes to listening to our amazing prophet Thomas S. Monson, the apostles, and any leader of the church. Their testimonies and conviction keep me grounded and reminds me what the power and influence of the spirit is as well as what it feels like. So if you ever know anyone whose faith is dwindling, you can count on the prophet.
We traveled home, ate lunch, and left again for an appointment. 정혜연S (Sister Jeong), our less-active member, was so sad to hear that Sister Bagley would be leaving so we set a time to come by for one last visit together. It was a good time as always, but also super sad when it came time to say goodbye. I feel very grateful to be staying, but it is a strange thought to imagine Mansu without Sister Bagley.. As a companionship we really made a name for ourselves here but now my other half is leaving! I am excited to train but anyway it is still a sad thought. After our visit with Sister Jeong we made our way to 김보희S (Sister Kim)'s house for a practice lesson. Another sad goodbye. To end the night we visited our Korean Momma, 이두례S (Sister Lee). All day Sister Bagley and I had been practicing the nursery rhymes that Sister Lee had taught us weeks earlier so tonight before we ate, we preformed:
나리 나리, 개나리. 입에 따다 물고요. 병아리떼 종종종. 봄나들이갑니다. (Song about a flower)
곰세마리가, 한 집에 있어. 아빠곰, 엄마곰, 애기곰. 아빠곰은 뚱뚱해 엄마곰은 날씬해, 애기곰은 너무 귀여워. 으쓱, 으쓱 잘 한다. (Song about three bears)
She was so proud of us when we finished haha, it was adorable. Afterwards we ate delicious food together, talked about many things, and ended with a practice lesson. It was a good night. Also I have failed to mention that every member we have visited this week has given us a bunch of food! It hardly makes sense because they give it to us to say 'goodbye' and 'job well done' to Sister Bagley but she leaves in the morning so she won't even be able to enjoy any of it haha!
Wednesday morning we cleaned the house and got Sister Bagley all ready to go. We made our way to the 신도림 (Sindorem) subway station where all missionaries meet to switch companionship. When we arrived there were over 50 missionaries! What a sight that was! I hugged my beloved companion goodbye and then waited around for the other trainers to arrive so we could head to the mission home together.
Trainers meeting was fun as usual. I really love the office couple, Elder and Sister Grosebeck. Their sense of humor is so dry and yet so hilarious. They did a skit about cleaning on PDAY- the same one they always do. The script hasn't varied in the least since the Seoul South mission began, but it still gets me every time haha. Next was a training. President Morrise trained us trainers and the assistants took the trainees in the other room for their training. Before coming back together, President Morrise asked a few of the trainers to share an experience about how our faith has been strengthened recently. I shared the experience Sister Hammerl and I had with applying the scriptures of 1 Nephi 1-3 to an investigators concerns and needs. I felt the spirit so strongly when President Morrise asked us to share as well as while I was speaking. I love being a missionary and I love that I know that I am in a position to be called upon at any moment to testify of the realness and truthfulness of this gospel. It was a great experience.
When training ended we traveled home with the elders from Mansu and Yonsu. The three greenies were in a daze the whole subway/ride home. One funny thing to note: when we got off the charter bus, the driver was hurrying us so I took it upon myself to take all the luggage out from under the bus. No one else was doing it... So I did. Afterwards I heard 박동규E (Elder Park) saying to another elder, "I'm pretty sure she isn't a girl." Haha I just laughed, bless his heart. On our way home we made a pitstop at our member 노경아S (Sister No)'s house to pick up some food she wanted to give to us. It was very kind, but also awful timing ha. When we finally got home we planned for the next day, ate dinner, and went straight to sleep. It was a long day.
Thursday was busy! In the morning. We had a potential investigator appointment. 이은성S (Sister Lee), our go-to member, came with us. It turned out this person had zero gospel interest so we just got to know each other and gave her a pamphlet to read though. Seed planted, check! Next we walked around trying to find a less-active/ recent convert member. We failed and the member never called or texted us back, sad.
By 3PM we found ourselves at the famous 인천대겅원 (Incheon Big Park... literally translated). Here we met a member who wanted to make a short video of us missionaries baring our testimonies. It went well... I am so awkward in front of a camera but oh well, I just bore my testimony and shared my favorite scripture with my awkward half smile frown haha. Hopefully it turned out less retarded than what I remember.
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To end the day we ate dinner, met up with 김소정S (Sister Kim), and head over to 정현지 (HyonChee)'s house for our lesson. It went well. In order to prepare HyonChee for her baptismal date, we taught four commandments of obedience, praying, scripture reading, and keeping the Sabbath day holy. Nothing too special to report, but the whole family enjoyed and agreed with the message. Oh! Also, the parents were helping get involved with planning the logistics of the baptismal service! I really hope it all goes well and it helps that the whole family now sees it as an big event!!
Friday was an early morning because we had to received Sister Mineer's foreigner card. Normally we apply of those cards on PDAY but the next few Mondays are holidays. It was beautiful weather outside so I was grateful to be able to enjoy it as we traveled. We were in and out fairly quickly. I know my way around those offices pretty well nowadays haha. I've been there five times! Crazy. Once we were home we studied. By 4PM we met up with 이은성S (Sister Lee) again for another potential investigator appointment. I felt bad calling her again... I ask so many favors from her but she is always available and willing. I did try other members but I think it was meant to be because the appointment went well and we have a new investigator!!
Her name is Seblewongel Tariku Kassa from Ethiopia (Southern Africa). Her and her husband Abraham are Ethiopian and came here to work. Their situation is unique, because when they came, Seble did not know that she was two months pregnant. She stayed slim all the way up until her 7th month! The baby came as a surprise and they had no money to go back to their country and now that their baby is technically 'Korean' the government is making it so difficult for them to leave again. It is a tragic story but when I heard it, all I could think was that this family is here for a reason. This beautiful family was referred to us from another set of elders closer to Seoul. They moved recently and are now in our area. I feel privileged to have met Seble and their beautiful (almost three month old) baby, Rachsa Abraham Tilahun. They are a humble family. They speak VERY little Korean and their second language is English. We are really going to need the help of the spirit when teaching them but we are excited.
Saturday was farming day! Fun side note, the member who rents this so called 'farm land' (I put that in quotes because the land is the least fertile farm land I've ever seen... trash and rocks EVERYWHERE) had a discussion with the landlord this week. The landlord saw us foreigners farming and mistook us for immigrant workers ha! He threaten to take the land back if he kept us working. In order to save his land, he lied. He said they we were college students doing research... So the landlord gave him more. haha. What a joke! Why not tell him that we are service missionaries?! Haha.
We farmed sweet potatoes then watered the potatoes and green onions that are growing. Pretty fun! After all that hard work we ate lunch together like we always do. It was delicious but it left us with less time to study. It turned out to be okay though because both of our appointments cancelled! Well one rescheduled but anyway all we had for the rest of the day was English class and weekly planning.
Sunday was good. 현지(HyonChee) came to church and Sister Mineer and I split up for Young Women's class and Relief Society. When it was time for sacrament meeting a bunch of members were crowding my companion to say hi. But guess what?! When she tried to show them her name, realized that she didn't have her nametag! I quickly grabbed a member for another member split and we ran home to retrieve it. Since it is Sister Mineer, Elder Godfrey, and Elder Meeks first Sunday in this ward they were going to give an small introduction after the sacrament was passed. There was a risk that we would miss her time to speak so we split up. Unfortunalty me and the member who left, missed sacrament. I was so sad and Sister Mineer felt so bad. Oh well, it wasn't the worst thing that could have happened. After church we waited around for our rescheduled appointment with 김하나S (HahNah). Two YSA members joined us. We had originally invited 오의림S (UhRem) but 백하영S (HaYong) decided she wanted in too. The lesson was okay... We should have prepared better but anyway we taught about eternal life being our ultimate goal. Next time we'll discuss how we can set smaller goals (like coming to church, praying, reading the scriptures) to achieve our big goal.
Directly after the lesson we saw our investigator off and then went home with HaYong. Her parents (백용실B and 유경숙S) invited us over for dinner. It was a Blast!! This family is my FAVORITE family in all of Korea!! The father and I get along well with our sarcastic personalities, me and his wife constantly cook and clean together, and HaYong is just an adorable senior in high school that won't ever stop hugging me or holding my hand. I feel so loved every time I am with them. As we ate we were all entertained by Elder Godfrey. Him and Sister Mineer were in the same MTC district so she warned me a little about him. He is loud and ridiculous. Everyone can't help but smile and laugh every time he opens his mouth. I'll have to take a video or two to remember because words will never described him well. I'll end by saying he is a little behind in his common sense and doesn't pick up on social cues quickly... His ignorance and veil on oblivion is hilarious but also adorable. He will be a great missionary.
This week was fun and Sister Mineer is definitely a huge blessing to both me and Mansu area! We get along and she is ready to work, I love it! I have four more months to set Korea on fire with the gospel and she is ready to move at full speed!! I miss you all, thank you for your love and prayers. I too want to pray for all of you too. If there is anything big or small that I can pray for, please email me! I pray for most of you by name anyway on a daily basis, let me know what I can help with! :)
Love you! Have a great week!
Sister Sloan
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| Corn ice cream |
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| Meet Sister Mineer from Parowan, Utah. She is 5'11" I love her~ |
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| I received the sweetest letter from my trainer, Sister Yoon. Believe it or not, it is all in Korean and i UNDERSTOOD IT! I miss her.. |
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| English Class! Check out our commercial. |
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| Crammed in Sister Park's car after dinner with all the missionaries and some members to end our fast. So fun!! |
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| Sunset in Incheon |
i love her! this is beautiful!!
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