Hyonji not HyonChee.

7/21-27
Monday I scheduled a mini family-like reunion with all of my past companions. We met at 강남역 (Gangnam Station) since that was the most central place for everyone (except us living in Incheon), including my returned trainer 윤현미S (Sister Yoon). Once we all arrived we went to a cute store that produces sticker pictures. You literally pay a few dollars to stand in a photo booth, take a series of pictures, edit them, and print them out in sticker form. They are so small and cute! We chose our favorites and posted them on the backs of our name tags before going out for food. We ate 김밥 and 팥빙수 before everyone had to go their separate ways. Sister Yoon walked me, Sister Mineer, and Sister Gapinski back to our bus stop to see us off. Even though it was short, I was SO happy to see everyone for possibly the last time. I still have a good little while here but the mission won't hold any conference or gatherings until after I leave, so I'm trying to make the best use of my time.. I really miss and love all of my companions- maybe the reasons are vast but the longing and gratitude for our time together remains. Missionary life really brings about the most unique of situations; looking at all of my companions as we were together I recognized how different they all are. Despite our differences, our goal and motivation is the same, how beautiful is His plan and how vast are his hands willing to see it through.

Once home we had a ward FHE (family home evening) to say goodbye to Elder Godfrey, Sister Mineer, and Elder Berry. We ate and solved riddles. I played with the kids. We couldn't stay long because we had an appointment with our cute couple investigators. They mostly wanted to say goodbye to Sister Mineer. We chatted and they walked us home. They really are such awesome people. It was cute because Sister Shim refused to give Sister Mineer a hug or to let her say goodbye. She kept saying, "It's too sad! I hate president.." Ha she is cute. I know my final goodbye to them will be even harder- but I don't want to see the beginning from the end yet... I am happy. It was a good day.

Tuesday was a strange schedule because President Morrise decided to still have district meeting this week. Normally it is on Wednesdays but tomorrow is transfer day so there is no time. To commemorate the monumental last day for our DL, Elder Berry, we ate doughnuts and snacks that we all brought. Just an update on our diet, it's going well. Especially the cheat days, we utilize those to their full capacity hehe. The meeting was as usual but it also was awesome! During the role play portion, we had our cute couple investigators in mind, and we played out how we wanted them to analyze their previous homework assignments in Enos 1, Moroni 10:3-5, and with prayer. It was powerful! We are super ready for the lesson tomorrow.

When the meeting ended and everything was cleaned up, we left to do less-active and potential investigator visits. We surprisingly got into a less-actives house! 박미영S (Sister Park) has only just gone less-active in the last few weeks. We noticed the first week that we didn't come and we've been in contact with her ever since. The reason behind her change in behavior isn't clear but today we shared a message about the power of our spiritual gifts, one of which being our testimonies. It went really well! She definitely felt the spirit because as she cried, she thanked us, and promised to come to church the next coming Sunday. Her sincerity was touching, we love her. After failing at every other visit, it began to rain. It wasn't an ordinary rain, but the beginning of the dreaded monsoon season. We ducked on a bus to kill some time before an appointment.

We ended up being 20 minutes late, because between the heavy rain and the rush hour traffic, the bus was moving at a speed that was more then irritating ha. It all worked out because 이두례S (Momma Lee) was running late too. Once we finally met, she took us out for dinner. We sang a song for our spiritual message and head home. Though we stayed busy, it was definitely a slow day.

Wednesday morning was transfers. 심하정S (Sister Shim) wanted to travel with us, so we met and boarded the train. The ride was short and upon our arrival Sister Shim linked arms with me and whispered, "I'm very scared." She knew she was about to see a sea of missionaries, and the thought of that scared her haha but she took a deep breath and her curiosity overpowered her fear. She is so cute. Once we arrived a few people introduced themselves to her and she waited with me as I tried to find the mail from the office. Sister Mineer found her new companion, we socialized a bit, said goodbyes, and were off. Sister Shim continued to Seoul as we made our way back to Incheon.

It was strange only having to account for one companion as opposed to two... This might be a weird adjustment. Our lunch appointment punked us so we stayed hungry until after our practice lesson with 김보희S (Sister Kim). She is always so helpful and fun. We love her! Next we ate, made a new English flyer, and proselyted until our final appointment for the day. 심하정S (Sister Shim) and 이지웅B (Brother Lee) had a brand new nail polish that they insisted on using on us tonight. Brother Lee worked as a nail professional at some point and I was privileged enough to receive a few manicure while Sister Gapinski received one from Sister Shim haha. They are so fun. Eventually we got to our lesson that we role played a few days before. It went well! It was getting late so Sister Shim kept shushing her husband to be concise with his words ha. They aren't progressing super well with reading but our gospel discussions are ALWAYS fantastic. We need to figure out how to improve both parts..

Thursday, happy Pioneer Day everyone! It was less than eventful for us this year. ^^ after the routine we met 조수인S (Sister Cho), the recent convert that was baptized in France a couple months ago. Today we met for lunch and taught about patriarchal blessings. She already knows that she wants one so we taught a little more and set a goal to received hers before heading back to France to finish her final year at the university there. Sister Cho is 22 and super cute! Her insecurities are many but her pure heart and frank nature are adorable. We love her.

Next, we visited a members house for a practice 20 minute lesson. It was good. We then dedicated three hours to finding former investigator houses. We have several records where the phone numbers were changed and all we are left with is a name and an address. Today, we mostly confirmed that most everyone had moved. No new investigators yet. Tonight we had dinner with Momma Lee once again before teaching our favorite recent convert, HyonChee. Which, by the way, I realized that I have been romanizing her name incorrectly all this time- Hyonji is the proper spelling in English. Anyway, the lesson went well. Her father and little sister joined us. They really are a prepared family but so far Hyonji is the only one that has gotten to the point of wanting to progress and strengthen her relationship with God by making and keeping promises with him. It was a nice ending to the evening.

Friday was 심하정S (Sister Shim)'a birthday! We met for lunch but as we waited for a bus, I made an attempt to strike up conversation with an adorable grandmother. She wasn't at all interested in what I had to say but she did ask where we were going. It turned out we were going to the same place! (신세계 department store) so the lady hobbled off the bus bench and signaled for a taxi to pick her up. She made the three of us get in and we were off. It was hilarious to watch this "all knowing" grandma bark directions to the driver haha. In Korea it is culture to listen to old people... So this taxi driver clearly knew where he was going but humbly submitted to every order this woman gave him. It was funny. When we arrived, she wouldn't let us pay and she shoed  us off haha. We found ourselves in a packed food court for lunch. We ate 복음밥, bubble tea, and doughnuts- all per Sister Shim's request. Looks like we are having another cheat day with our diet. Oh! Which reminds me! This week we went in to check our progress, I lost 1kilo and Sister Gapinski lost 3kilos! 아싸~ anyway, it was a fun time together.

Next we visited 이경호S (Sister Lee) our grandma investigator. Nothing monumental happened, she was just happy to see us again. We then went home for weekly planning before ending the evening with another punked appointment and time of the street talking to people. It was a lame ending to a fun morning.

Saturday went like any other day. Since it has been raining non-stop all week, soccer was cancelled this morning. We studied and set out to find more former investigators until English class. No immediate success yet. Because it was still raining we texted our true and faithful best friends, cute couple. We asked if they wanted to have a movie night haha. They fed us dinner and we brought the movie, 'The Testaments.' They were less than enthused about watching it but once it began, they got into it. Brother Lee was so fascinated with the history and pyramid in it and Sister Shim was recognizing the biblical doctrine included. When it ended we read about The Sermon on the Mount in the Book of Mormon, they loved it. Hopefully now they will see and understand the added knowledge and insight that the Book of Mormon brings as we read it with the Bible! It was great.

Sunday was church. Our ward mission leader cancelled the first two hour classes of church to bring everyone together for a lecture of how to better be 'everyday missionaries.' He had several people explain how to use various social networks and encouraged all of our ward members to opening share the blessing and benefit that our church has brought to their lives. As Sister Gapinski and I looked around, we noticed that the less-active member that promised to come to church, was no where in sight. We grabbed a proselyting Book of Mormon and made a quick visit to her house. She was still in her pajamas, claiming to be sick. We were sad and told her we'll be saving a seat for her for sacrament.

When we returned, they were talking about statistic of baptisms in our stake and ward for the year, the ward was reminded that we had only had one so far this year. I was sitting next to Hyonji and it was cute because she sheepishly asked, "Is he talking about me?" I smiled and nodded as she brought her hands to her cheeks to cover the fact that she was blushing haha. She is so cute!! It was a long but good meeting. Sacrament went well as well but the less-active never showed. When everything was said and done, the ward set up for a meal together. It was delicious but a lot to clean up. I was in the kitchen cleaning with 이미영S (Sister Lee) when another member came in trying to kick us out. I turned to Sister Lee and said, "It's time to switch!" alluding to the fact that she had been cleaning longer than anyone else. She then In English said harshly, with a hint of sarcasm, "No, you switch!" We went back and forth until the other member ripped all the sponges and dishes from my hands haha. They are too funny.

Before and after dinner, we visited more former investigators. All fail. After dinner, a YSA member preparing for her mission, joined us. We visited more people just to be rejected over and over. I wonder how long Sister Gapinski and I will be tested and how much patience He will ask of us before we are able to find prepared investigators. Sigh. The continued diligence amongst constant rejection is hard. I'm grateful to have a companion and tonight an additional ward member, to keep my hopes up with positive thinking. I know He will bless us when we do our part. Like we learn in the scriptures over and over, we just need to follow and blessings will flow when we are doing all we can. I trust The Lord. My hands will be His.

I hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday evening. I miss you all- maybe now more than ever, but can I ask everyone a favor? Stop the countdowns. I am just as excited to see all of you but I need to focus on missionary work. Please pray for me to have added patience in finding new people to teach. Pray that I will be able to feel proud of all the service that I am able to do in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I love you all. I pray for you daily. ^^

Sister Sloan
슬론 자매

Warrior Three

7/14-21
Monday, before we emailed, we got a call from the zone leaders saying that they needed us to meet them. We had Elder Clawson's memory book and 김재겸E (Elder Kim)'s knock-off soccer uniform catalog that apparently they needed, so we meet up. Now that we were 30 minutes from home we just decided to find a PC room in the area to email. It was fun hearing from so many friends and family members today. It is always a little difficult bouncing back to missionary life after email, especially on temple weeks because our PDAY time is saved until Thursday. It sounds stupid but it has always made me sad knowing life and time back home carries on without me. Sigh. But on the flip side, when I logged off my email our life in Incheon, South Korea resumed as well.
                     
We had previously scheduled an exchange with 가정 (KahJeong) sisters, so we made our way to their area where we decided to meet. Once we became aware of our impeccable timing, it was clear that we had some time to kill. It was a unanimous decision to stay on the subway line for a few extra stops and then turn back around on the same line to meet Sisters Blickenstaff and Hoffman at the predetermined time. The line that we were riding was not any ordinary line, it was the airport express line! The last station was the Incheon airport... I know I still have 40-some-odd-days until I'll be there to board an actual plane, but it was weird realizing how busy I need to be in order to leave my mark here with our investigators and ward members.

Once with Sister Blickenstaff we got onto another subway to make it to an appointment. Apparently, a potential investigator appointment went wrong last week and today we were taking our dinner hour to kind of make amends with the now former investigator, Sara Lee. It just wasn't the right time or place for this girl to listen to accept the gospel.  Tonight's dinner was just to leave a better last impression with her. And guess what, it worked! We were laughing the WHOLE time. She ended up opening up a lot and even was asking us gospel questions. We didn't go too deep, but it was super productive! I hope she doesn't fall off the grid, because in the future she would be an awesome young women's leader!

When dinner ended and we said our goodbyes, we head to a members house for FHE. These members are married, one American and the other Korean. I don't know how they met or ever decided to get married because they seem absolutely opposite but anyway, somehow it works. We talked for a while and then had a lesson about the pioneers and their sacrifice. Not only the pioneers that traveled to the Salt Lake City valley, also all of the converts here in Korean and in their own families. I am blessed that my father was a pioneer for his family and someone way far down the line on my mom's side too. My life has truly been blessed for their sacrifice.

Tuesday was a fun morning. I have really come to love Sister Blickenstaff! She is probably a favorite of mine- always working hard and going above and beyond. We stayed busy today with less-active visits and potential investigator appointments. Her name it so long I'll just say Blick, Blick is SO good with people and even though she thinks she is always lacking, I cannot imagine a better sister missionary. It was quite a productive exchange.

When we switch back Sister Gapinski, Sister Mineer, and I had to rush to an investigator appointment. Last night, while I was gone my companions and Sister Hoffman met cute couple #2. Tonight and tomorrow we have appointments too. Last night my companions were really pushing hard for them to come to church. They straight up told them to stop asking. No!!! I was so sad to hear that. Tonight we only met with the wife, but before she arrived, her crazy 전도사 (paid proselyter for another church) saw us waiting and INSISTED that we come in. We were absolutely apprehensive but tried to engage her in small talk while she served us tomatoes and chocolate. It was weird. 심하정S (Sister Shim) arrived and was also lured in by the neighbor. She looked at us with wide eye, a clenched jaw, and a fake smile as she said, "What are you doing?" Haha we laughed and told her to help us finish the food so we could leave. Too bazaar.

Our evening was spent attempting to make scones, going out for dinner together, and buying some groceries since we had finally received money this month. Sister Shim has INSISTED that we do not call her "자매님" (Sister) anymore, she prefers 언니 (meaning older sister- for a girl to call another girl). Maybe it is complicated but since 심하정S has become such a good friend, calling her 언니 has more of a feeling of closeness. I'm not complaining, I love her.

Wednesday began with a better than usual district meeting. Elder Berry prepared a conference talk that helped illustrate the importance of conversion through the Book of Mormon. I learned the importance of personal revelation today. While maybe our meetings aren't jam-packed with spiritual awesomeness, it is my responsibility to do my part; if I do that, revelation for our investigators, ward members, and my own personal life, will come. I got a lot out of district meeting today. It's amazing how your mindset and attitude can change.

We left and traveled straight to 이경호S (Sister Lee)'s house where Bishop (김우식B) and his wife (이현자S) met us for a lesson. The lesson was okay. Bishop just wanted to get down to business which is good but by so doing, and not listening to her needs, she totally shut off and told us she had no more interest in our church. I was disappointed but I can't say I am surprised. I don't know what it is about this woman but I just love her. I know she hasn't progressed in a while but something inside me doesn't want to let her go... I hope Heavenly Father helps us out a little and teaches us what she needs because my time to help her is running out. After the lesson, we dropped by our house before visiting a few members. The first was a less-active woman but she wasn't home. Next was 이미영S (Sister Lee). We LOVE her. Although it was an unplanned visit, she welcomed us in and just sat and talked with us as her two kids ran around like wild animals. They are too funny. We talked about some struggling members and devised a plan to help fellowship them back. It was productive to say the least. I love these ward members!

Before heading to our last investigator appointment to end the day, we had about an hour of proselyting time. It was SUPER hot and humid so we took a rest on a bench at the track behind our house. It proved to be the right decision! We had over 15 people approach us and we even set up an appointment to meet this man and his wife who is expecting their first baby girl next month. It was great. Once 심하정S (Sister Shim) and 이지웅B (Brother Lee) were home, we walked over. Tonight's lesson started out with a word of song. I forget the series of events but Sister Shim grabbed her guitar so that her and her husband could serenade us with a couple of their favorite church hymns. That's one way to invite the spirit! Also, it's another way to make all three of us sister missionaries so excited to be married haha.

As the lesson proceeded we became very aware of their disinterest in coming to church... In the previous lesson since they emphasized the importance of coming to church, they did not want to ask any questions because they knew the answer would be to come to church. We then taught them that, yes, it would be ideal for them to come and learn at church but that we were also willing to answer questions in their home. We had a good discussion but that's all that it was. In response to our answers the husband would say, "But in my church..." This family seemed so prepared, what happened? Oh and one last thing to mention, apparently he is an apostle for his church. We aren't totally clear on what that means but anyway, that is that.

Attention avid blog readers, family, and friends we need your help! If anyone has any ideas of how to properly and simply teach the concept of the priesthood more effectively, we are all ears. Once that concept is understood by this beautiful family, it will be like a domino effect with Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, modern day prophets, ect. It's all hanging on this. Let us know what you think.

Thursday was finally temple day! It was such a good day. Previous to going to the temple our zone was asked to fast for a couple sister missionaries who are extremely sick. I thought we were fasting to keep them here but it turned out that they already had plane tickets so our fast was redirected to a quick recovery. We will miss them dearly and hope to see them back in the field soon! After the temple, most missionaries from 서울남 and 인천 zone head to 영등포 church to play basketball and soccer. I fully anticipated playing but I ended up spending the whole time sitting with my companions, current and passed, just talking and talking. I never realized how much I have grown to love these girls. It's crazy what blood, swear, and tears together can do to strengthen a relationship. It was a good day.

Once the time came to leave, we head back to our area via subway and bus. Our timing was once again perfect (it's a rare thing for us). We walked into our dinner appointment with 이두례S (Momma Lee) right on time. We really love her. We ate as much as we could and then head to our appointment with 정현지S (HyonChee), as usual. Prior to arriving, our companionship rock, paper, scissors who would teach the lesson and then the two losers would proselyte together until the lesson was over. I won! Yahoo! It was a great lesson. We talked all about enduring to the end and how to withstand temptation. It came to me that we would role play certain word of wisdom and law of chastity points. HyonChee is super shy but she ended up doing really well! Momma Lee is so awesome too. She really made the role play realistic and gave great advice. I feel blessed to have such a loving Korean momma. ^^

Friday was a monumental day! Today marks my 500th day as a missionary! What the?! For me, I will serve 541 days as a full-time missionary. It was a significant day for me to reflect on all the good that I feel I have done, as well as looking forward to all that Heavenly Father has in store for these spiritually packed, physically draining 41 days. Watch out Incheon, I'm not gone yet!

Weekly planning went well, as did our time on the street, and our member lesson at the end of the day. 정예림S (Sister Jeong) is our English class coordinator, a mother of two crazy girls (7 and 8 years old), and married to a semi-less-active member. She always looks tired and sad. I think between her rowdy daughters, her stressful job, and constantly having to push her husband to do anything, she has every right to be tired. We tried to teach them the importance of covenants by focusing on baptism and the sacrament with her two daughters but it was all in vain because they would not sit still. It turned out okay but next time we'll need to do better.

Saturday was another soccer filled morning. I was bored the entire time. I haven't been sleeping well so it was hard finding the desire to play my role on defense. Eventually the game ended and we finally were able to go home. We showered, studied, and attended English class. The only noteworthy thing that happened today was our dinner appointment and transfer calls. Dinner was fine but let's get to transfer calls! So it is no surprise that Sister Gapinski and I will stay here in Mansu as STL's but it was sad to hear that our beloved Sister Mineer will be leaving to serve in 이천 (south part of out mission, east of Suwon, also the boonies). She is going to serve with Sister Washburn from my MTC group which means she will be in charge of learning the whole area in 5 weeks before Sister Washburn and our group board a plane back to America. She is more than capable but it's quite the plate full. I know she'll be great!

Oh and I think I forgot to mention that we started doing Yoga-X every night for 30 minutes this week. We are on a diet and determined to be healthy, especially since Sister Gapinski and I will return home soon. Anyway, tonight our yoga was less than productive since everyone was calling to talk about all the changes happening this transfer. It was quite a sight. I think my favorite was when we were in warrior three, struggling to keep our balance, and passing the phone back and forth to text people back or answer calls haha. I'm positive we looked ridiculous.

Sunday was a bitter sweet day. We walked to church with HyonChee and went to our classes but the sad part was when Elder Godfrey, Sister Mineer, and Elder Berry all got up to give their goodbye talks. Elder Godfrey is still a greenie and struggling through the Korean language but his excitement and love for everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is well translated. One of the last things he said was, "저는 miss하다 여러분입니다." Haha I have come to LOVE the noise Koreans make when they are confused, almost in unison the congregations let out, an "aye-ing?" noise which was followed by Elder Godfrey's companion (박동규E) yelling out from the congregations the proper translation of "He will miss all of you." Everyone was laughing so hard!  It was great. Sister Mineer too did a great job. As she cried, she really did a great job in expressing how much she has come to love these people. She is a great missionary, I know she will be missed here but it's apparent that she is needed all over the mission. I love her.

When church ended, we ate and left to visit 이경호S (Sister Lee). We visited her earlier this week and we became aware of her disinterest in all church messages but for some reason we were back. Previously we had planned to just do a door visit but we found ourselves sitting down to a nice early dinner. Korean woman are talented cooks as well as very giving. She kept telling us, "Because you didn't make an appointment, I don't have much for you to eat." But let me tell you, that table was full and we were not hungry haha. We got to talking and we felt prompted to read her previously assigned homework with her. She hadn't done it yet so we read the 10th chapter in 3rd Nephi (we asked her to read a chapter a day starting with chapter 10). She really enjoyed it and began to talk about all of the hard things that have happened to her in her life. It was a super sad story. I feel like this woman never has anyone to talk to so we all just listened. As she began to cry, I grabbed her hands from across the table and just held them as she continued. I love her, I can't explain all that she said or all that I felt but I know that we are meant to keep meeting with her and loving her. I know there won't be immediate changes in her life but she needs a support system and we came to teach her about Jesus Christ and all that He can be for her. It was a cool experience.

When we left we met our district and ward mission leader for a proselyting activity. It ended up being lame because our WML wanted to drive us to a large park in our area but guess what? There were no other sisters so he drove the elders while we had to take yet another bus. Lame. Once we were all there us sisters seperated and talked to a BUNCH of people and had a couple street lessons but the elders on the other hand talked to maybe 5 people... It was a pointless activity. However, I am grateful that our WML was willing to work with us. The evening ended back at the church for our weekly coordination meeting. It was average. And like that, the week was over.

Today is PDAY again and we are emailing early so we can goto Gangnam. I organized a mini "mission family reunion" before Sister Mineer leaves. Since I won't have a chance to see all of my "mission daughters" before I leave, we are meeting up today for lunch and to take sticker pictures. It should be fun. I hope you all are doing well. Also, I wanted to follow up, how was everyones study with Moroni's promise in the Book of Mormon? I didn't hear anything from anyone about it... Does anyone even make it to the end of my letters anymore or are they too long? haha. If you didn't try the promise out this week, do it before next Monday and tell me about it! I love you all!
Sister Sloan

Sister Minner

500th Day in the mission field. 41 days to go.

Mother, daughter and grand daughters

New District

HyonChee's little sister set a baptismal date!

7/7-13
Monday- today's PDAY was fully dedicated to relaxing. After email, a quick hair cut (just a trim), and printing off some pictures we went straight home. Every PDAY I regret not catching up on sleep so today was our attempt. It still didn't happen... It's funny that we are tired when we should be working and wide awake when we have the chance to sleep. Life just isn't fair. When it was time to leave the house, our time was spent traveling to meet the young single adults and our ward bishop for dinner. Bishop wanted to take us all to a meat buffet, he is so kind. It was pretty expensive so we made sure to enjoy every bite! Of course the meat was yummy, but it was the salad bar that I was excited about. Normally the salad bars in Korea are not what I'm used to but this line up of lettuce and toppings had me coming back over and over. The two YSA girls that showed up sat with me and my companions, we had a good time together.

Tuesday was a slow morning. Our attempt to visit a few potential investigators was a fail. People just aren't interested in meeting with us... We stopped in the hospital to say hi to a member, she was barely hit by a car, but she is seriously milking the situation. They moved her to an oriental Chinese medicine wing of the hospital because, in my opinion, there is nothing else they can do to help a healed body ha. The whole building wreaks of incense... It was not a long visit.

Before heading back home we dropped in on our investigator, 이경호S (Sister Lee)'s house. Upon arrival guess who was sitting it her kitchen? Paid proselyters from the Heavenly Mother church. They were EXTREMELY RUDE to everyone, including Sister Lee who had welcomed us both in. Sister Lee is just an old grandma that loves talking to people; as soon as she saw everyone in her house she smiled and said, "look how many friends!" It was cute. We didn't want to stay long so we asked her to grab her Book of Mormon just to give her a homework assignment. The three women from the other church lost it and stormed out. If they had just waited maybe 5 minutes we would have been gone. It was so rude.

We spent some quality time on the street talking to people before it was dinner time. We met at our members house for a quick practice lesson and then we went out for dinner. 이세리S (Sister Lee) and 인큰설B (Brother Lim) are the cutest newlywed couple! It's clear that they don't have money but they still insisted on taking us to a nice place. Those two are so generous. Also maybe I forgot to mention that they gave all the missionary a huge bag of American treats last Sunday. It was so delicious. Tonight was fun. I am so grateful for this ward and all of the kind-hearted members.

Wednesday was district meeting. It was not productive at all. Directly after we went to 김보희S (Sister Kim)'s house for a practice lesson. She is always so kind to us. It was just nice to sit in an air conditioned house. Oh! Maybe I've never mentioned that, she lives with her husband and two daughters in her parents house. It is literally a house, not an apartment. It looks American style from the outside but it is very much Korean on the inside. It is a huge symbol of how loaded her father is. We love going... Except for the 20 minute walk up and down the mountain to get there because no buses have a purpose to go up there.

Next was more traveling. We met the 계산 (GaySahn) sister missionaries for an exchange. We ate a tiny 김밥 (Rice and seaweed roll) place before exchanging. Sister Mineer and I brought 김예영S (Sister Kim) with us to 만수 (Mansu) while Sister Gapinski and Sister Telford went to GaySahn. We immediately went to our ward mission leader's house for we thought was a 20 minute practice lesson. We did eventually get to that but first was dinner. Noooo! It's a good thing that it is summer and we are automatically loosing weight because we sweat from every pore as we walk out in the humid summer heat but these double meals really need to stop haha. It was, of course, delicious and luckily 6 of their 8 children were home to devour most of the food. I love that family!

Thursday was a fun morning with Sister Kim. I forgot what it was like serving with a Korean companion... It has been 7 months, wow! We first went to a member's house for lunch and practice lesson. The member (김정은S) is so giving. Her family is pretty poor but she still went out of her way to order delicious food for us. After eating and our spiritual thought, we left and met up with a recent convert. 조수인S (Sister Cho) studied in France and was baptized there. She is here for the summer to take care of her mother who is battling cancer. Sister Cho is probably the most delicate humans I have ever met; while she is so cute, her insecurities cause her to make almost every moment awkward ha. We walked to the church and taught her about temples. She is looking forward to obtaining her temporary recommend in order to do proxy baptisms for the dead. Whoever taught her in France did an awesome job, I feel like she knows EVERYTHING as well as a lifelong member. It's really cool to see converts that just soak everything up and love it.

By 4PM we unsplit. I was happy to be getting back to our normal companionship. However, as soon as we greeted Sisters Gapinski and Telford, the first thing out of my companion's mouth was a correction and observation that she thought my shirt was too sheer. I was mostly confused because I have been wearing this shirt for over a year now and had never had that thought before but you can say that I was extremely embarrassed to be corrected in front of sisters that I was supposed to be setting an example for. The happiness of being back together, faded a little. The whole subway and bus ride home was mostly quiet. Once off the bus we had a 5ish minute walk home and immediately Sister Gapinski synced pace with me and apologized. I accepted it but also let her know of my added embarrassment of her correction in public, directly in front of other missionaries. She recognized that she was wrong and I really appreciated that. Since the beginning of my mission I have really looked up to missionaries who are teachable and humble. Sister Gapinski is a great example of that too. Once we were home she even grabbed the phone to call the GaySahn sisters to apologize for setting a bad example. That take a lot of courage, I am really blessed to have such a great example as a companion.

Everything was back to normal as we left to eat dinner with Momma Lee. She was running behind schedule so upon arrival we helped cook and clean before dinner was served. It's pretty productive having three missionaries in a companionship with this situations because one of us played with the dog to keep it out of the way, the other was cooking along side our ward member, and the other was cleaning the disses and setting the table. So productive! We ate quickly before going on a member split. Sister Mineer and I left Sister Gapinski with 이두례S (Momma Lee) to teach our recent convert, HyonChee, and her little sister while we went to another appointment. 심하정S and 이지웅B were happy to see us and we taught an awesome lesson! We taught the third lesson, "The Gospel of Jesus Christ", using 3 Nephi 11 and 27. We even got to talking about the law of chastity, prophets, and the priesthood. This family had SO many awesome questions. I wish we could teach them for more than an hour at a time. If only they would come to church. They are the kind of people that would just eat it all up! We continue to invite, hopefully they'll take us up on the promises we are making them.

Since HyonChee and this family's house are in the same complex, we said goodbye and picked up Sister Gapinski so Momma Lee could go back home. It was such a great night! HyonChee's little sister even set a baptismal date! We are pretty excited.

Friday morning and afternoon was weekly planning. Once we left the house we stopped by a former investigators bike shop. We left on bad terms last time, so we wanted to try to alleviate the situation with a nice bag of plums. 조재순S (Sister Cho) was strangely happy to see us. Maybe it was the spirit telling us to visit her today because it is a rare occasion that this woman is happy. It was a blessing. Our last stop was made at the bishop's house. We brought him and his family a bag of tomatoes. They welcomed us in and I asked him a few questions about how we should teach the concept of the priesthood to our very curious investigators. He gave some great advice and after a great conversation over some 호떡 (a delicious treat that I have no idea how to describe) we head back home.

Saturday was another morning of soccer and it was a blast. The sky was covered with a nice thick layer of smog, keeping the sun from blazing however it wasn't able to stop the humidity. No matter your position; defends, forward, goalie, or incompetent bystander you were sweating. I was assigned to defense again, I think I'm getting better at blocking and stealing the ball! ...maybe not but anyway it was fun.

Soon after we were home and showered, a member called us inviting us to her babies first birthday party. In Korean culture the 1st birthday and 70th are huge! For this party, they rented out an expensive restaurant called VIPS and invited a bunch of people. There was an MC and loads of food. Each person was served a steak and given free reign to the buffet. You could say we were in HEAVEN! The steak literally melted in my mouth and the salad bar was more impressive than the meat buffet on Monday. It was unbelievable how delicious everything was. We took a few pictures with the family before leaving for English class. I just have to saw one last time, IT WAS AWESOME!

When we arrived at English class guess who was there? Amanda! A month ago she left on a trip to England now she was back. I was so happy to see her. She even brought me and Sister Mineer a handmade coaster souvenir from her trip. So nice! As English class proceeded we got to hear all about her trip. She showed us pictures and she visited our church there!! I was shocked until I found out she went for English class haha. This woman has been milking the free English system for YEARS! And by that I mean since 2005. She even found a way to milk it in Europe haha. I laughed so hard when we found that out. Man, I love her though.

When class ended we came home because Sister Mineer's back was hurting. She thinks that this morning during soccer she pitched something. I don't doubt that something hurt but it was hard sitting inside for an unknown amount of time waiting for medicine to kick in. Once we left the house there wasn't enough time to do much so we just took a nice long walk on a busy street so we could talk to people.

Sunday was a strange day. To begin, we got on a bus early to drop Sister Gapinski off with a member who was willing to go on an extended member split all they way to Seoul. Sister Gapinski's investigator from the last area where she served was getting baptized today so she attended the service. While they went to a different congregation, Sister Mineer and I made it to our church building just in time for it to start. It was weird getting to church on time, it felt like we were late because normally we spiritually prepare about 30 minutes before. Anyway, the meetings were really awesome! I went to young women's with HyonChee, our recent convert. I actually learned a lot! One of the laurels was asked to teach and I was quite impressed. She taught us about how help from The Lord comes from 1. The atonement of Jesus Christ, 2. The guidance from the Holy Spirit, and 3. The helping hands of others. It was awesome.

Sacrament meeting was the best. Elder Godfrey was asked to speak and be did surprisingly well! His Korean is still developing slowly but his testimony was sincere. For the meat of the talk he brought up his native Korean companion to translate. Maybe that sounds like cheating but I am glad he did it; his conversion story would have totally gotten lost in translation. Elder Godfrey is a spaz but I have come to really appreciate him. He is a missionary for all the right reasons and maintains a positive attitude better than any other missionary I've met. One thing he taught was the obvious simplicity that the gospel brings to the word. He taught us that God gave us His words through the Bible and Book of Mormon, asks us to experiment by reading and praying about them, and then after our question of faith, an undeniable answer will follow. Elder Godfrey said, "He made a promised to answer, He kept it, and the obvious fact stands- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true." There's not much else to it. It's true.

After church a member boiled A BUNCH of potatoes for everyone to eat as they left church. She also made sandwiches for the missionaries and some primary kids. Sister Mineer and I went home for personal study before leaving again to pick Sister Gapinski up. Normally Sundays are the busiest missionary day but today was a little strange, like I said. We just talked to people and ended the day with our coordinating meeting. I miss the days where we taught from morning to night... We really need new investigators.

Hope y'all are having a good week!
Love you!!

Check the Asian Shirt!  Wha cha think?

My first stake in 16 months.

Real Intent

6/30-7/6
Monday was just another 그냥 PDAY. We stayed home, wrote letters, and then head to our investigator's house to make banana bread. 심하정S (Sister Shim) is the cutest newlywed house wife. She wants to learn how to cook and bake so today we came over with our convention oven and make delicious bread together. I never thought I would be able to become such good friends with an investigator. We really do love her and I think that because of the genuine love and concern we have for her, she has become more open and perceptive to the gospel message. It's cool to see. When the bread was about done she realized that her husband would arrive home from work soon... She panicked and scrambled to make 오므라이스 (spicy rice covered with a seafood omelet egg). We had no choice, but to stay. So we ate together and taught a lesson before heading out the door. It was a PDAY well spent.

We met up with the 부평 (BuPyong) sister missionaries to drop Sister Mineer off with them. Tomorrow is MLC and since we are the only STL companionship with a non-STL sister, Sister Mineer would have no choice but to attend our six-hour meeting. I figured that sounded like the opposite of fun so I set up a day for her to spend with her good friend and MTC companion, Sister Holmes. After dropping her off, Sister Gapinski and I traveled another 2.5 hours to the mission home by train and subway. We were both exhausted but happy to be greeted by two wonderfully comfortable beds. Let me say that again, we slept in BEDS with multiple PILLOWS! It was phenomenal.

Tuesday was MLC. It also happened to be the one year anniversary of the Korea Seoul South Mission! There was a chocopie cake to commemorate this monumental event ha. The meeting was good but long as always. I think the highlight was the time we spent on a mission motto. Incheon zone was dead set on YOSO (you only serve once). While that sounds childish we somehow twisted it to become a synonym for consecration haha. By the end we were out voted by "We are the message."

After the meeting we picked up our mail and made the long trip home. On the way we had the 부평 (BuPyong) sister meet us again but this time I left for BuPyong with Sister DeBuse while Sister Gapinski, Sister Mineer, and Sister Holmes went to our area for another appointment with 심하정S (Sister Shim) and 이지웅B (Brother Lee). From what I heard, it was awesome! They now have a goal date to be baptized! The evening in BuPyong was mostly frustrating. We taught a new investigator (김혜진S) but because this area has been hurting for investigators, Sister DeBuse was too apprehensive to say anything that might scare her away. This investigator didn't even know that we read from the Book of Mormon! I jumped in and talked about that, prophets, and baptism. Surprisingly enough this investigator was very interested and had so many awesome questions. I tried to make it a teaching moment not just for this investigator but also for Sister DeBuse... Tomorrow we have another investigator appointment scheduled so we'll see how much sunk in.

Wednesday morning we waited and waited for an investigator but they never showed. Instead we spent most of our day looking for less-active members. It wasn't successful but we were able to get a lot of contacts. Just before unsplitting we met with as very active family- the wife and sister-in-law are Filipino and the husband is Korea. They were SO kind. They all were baptized a few years back but they talk as if they have been lifelong members. It was actually really cool for me to see that recent converts can become just as dedicated and devoted to living the principles they have been taught as those who grew up never knowing anything different. It gives me hope for all of those I have helped bring into the covenant of baptism. We taught a short lesson and left. Once we unsplit our evening was spent contacting. I am happy to be back in 만수 (Mansu).

Thursday we had zone training. Elders Clawson and 김재겸E (Kim), our zone leaders, asked Sister Gapinski and I to train on real intent. The whole training covered the importance of the Book of Mormon in conversion. The lead in to our portion was, "If the Book of Mormon is true, why doesn't everyone believe it after they've read it?" Answer: they need real intent while they read. When I stood up I started by saying, "And stupid question number two, what is real intent?" We had an awesome discussion and heard a lot of cool stories. By the end Sister Gapinski talked about Moroni's promise found in Moroni 10:4-5 in the Book of Mormon. Since you cannot convert someone further than your own conversion, we committed everyone to read and test this promise. I feel like we did a good job. Zone leaders too- they were super inspiring!

Incheon Zone

Our stewardship

When the training ended we took a few pictures and I did "Teacher Improvement" AKA "Pass Off" with Sister Nebeker. She is so awesome. I admire new missionaries that have the courage to speak Korean because I sure didn't! When I was a young missionary I was too scared of sounding like an idiot that I just looked like an idiot because I chose not to speak... Nowadays I speak and while it is enough to fulfill my purpose, it's still frustrating because I can see and feel how much more I could do, save I grasped more of the language.

Once we were back in our area we went to a relief society dinner before traveling to our recent convert's house with 이두례S (Momma Lee). The lesson was going well until I became very aware of my earlier mistake of eating 돈까스 (fried pork cutlet) for lunch... I was about to be sick. I excused myself and Sister Mineer as we made a run for it toward our house. It was probably one of the most embarrassing things I've had to do but it proved itself to be inspired. As Sister Mineer and I ran back to 정현지S (HyonChee)'s house we saw a woman who was clearly having a hard time. She was sitting in a gazebo with a number of empty alcohol bottles laying next to her. It was clear that she was upset so I knelt down next to her, placing my hand on her knee and asked how we could help her. She looked at me and buried her face in her hands as she continued to sob. Sister Mineer and I sat on either side of her as we just held her. She feels alone. Her parents both died a long while ago and she had been living by herself with no one to talk to. Sister Mineer bore a simple but strong testimony that God loves her, that He is aware of her, and He wants to help her. She cried and cried. From behind her tears she thanked us for stopping to sit with her, for listening, and for comforting her. She told us that a number of people walked by without the slightest acknowledgment of her existence. We had to join back with Sister Gapinski and our member before their lesson ended so we gave her one last hug, learned her name (명희S), address, and phone number, and continued our run back to HyonChee's house. Despite my embarrassment of now being gone for about 30 minutes, I was grateful for the opportunity that Sister Mineer and I had to have hopefully helped MyongHee in that dark moment of feeling alone. We wrapped up the lesson and called it a night. What a day!

Red, white and blue fee dazee

Friday, HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! To commemorate this beloved holiday Sister Gapinski, Sister Mineer, and I proudly wore the colors of the great American flag. We met up with our investigator, 심하정S (Sister Shim) to eat a true American-style lunch. We first stopped at McDonald's then Krispy Kreme. Fat Americans for the win! We had a good time and were able to answer more Sister Shim's gospel related questions before she head to her mothers house for the weekend. It was an awesome lesson!

When she left, we held our weekly planning meeting in the lounge of Krispy Kreme. It was awesome. Our next appointment was with our member, 이은성S (Sister Lee) who we asked to meet us to drop by one of our investigator's houses. It turned out to be a fail because the bus stop where we decided to meet, is one of 4 with the same name that are not exactly close to each other. I don't think I will even come to understand Korean addresses or public transportation. We both did a lot of back and forth but all the time we had was eaten up so we finally just rescheduled and boarded a bus to meet our last appointment for the day, 정예림S (Sister Jeong, our English class coordinator). She fed us dinner, we played a game with her daughter, and ended with a practice lesson. By the end we committed her oldest daughter, 김윤빈S (YoonBein) to bear her testimony during testimony meeting in Sunday. She practiced a few times, prayed, and we left. It was a lot of fun.

Krispy Kreme~

Saturday morning we met the ward to play soccer again. It was a blast! The member we visited last night, Sister Jeong, her husband came this morning to play. He was by far the best player on the other team so I took it upon myself to block everything he did. Once again, I will be the first to admire my inability to play soccer but on the other hand, for some reason, I find pleasure in running full speed at whoever had the ball to body slam them or steal the ball. More often than not I fail but like I said, it's fun. When we finally went home we showered, studied, and then head back out to make it to English class. It was boring. The rest of our day was spent visiting potential investigators and talking to people on the street. No immediate success yet. Oh! But Sister Mineer did end the evening with a bang... or should I say a thud. ㅋㅋ After a superb street lesson Sister Mineer decided she wanted to know what it would be like to fly on the ground. Actually she just tripped but based on the bump on her head and the cuts on her knees, hands, and arms we have come to the conclusion that dirt is in fact the most uncomfortable element to land on and needless to say, flying on it is also a counterproductive activity. She is fine now but anyway is was funny slash sad.

김도훈B came to church!

Sunday was great. It was fast Sunday and it was super hot! We really felt like Satan was teasing us all day... For example almost every elevator we waited for, when it arrived a pizza or chicken delivery man would walk out as we got it. The mouthwatering aroma was just cruel. Church was great though. A family friend, The Arnold's, have been hosting a foreign exchange student (김도훈B) from Korea and he is here on summer vacation to visit his family. Guess where his family lives? In Mansu ward boundaries! Small world. We greeted him as well as a recent convert (조수인S) who is also Korean but has been studying in France, she was baptized there and will be here in Mansu area until September taking care of her mother. There were a number of new faces and the ward was super excited. Oh! Also, I found a more modest dress for HyonChee and she wore it to church!! Members were in awe, she looked so pretty. In sacrament meeting, Sister Mineer bore her testimony and took 김윤빈S (YoonBein) with her. They both did so well! Overall it was a great day at church.

When we left church we went to 인천대공원 (Incheon Great/ Big Park) to find people to talk to. It was super successful! On our way home we visited a less-active young woman. We were greeted by her active parents and we said we just wanted to drop a note off for their daughter. She was MAD! I hope we didn't do more damage but it was super sad. Her poor parents are heartbroken over how much their daughter has come to hate the church. The daughter did ask us how we came to believe the Book of Mormon. Sister Gapinski did a good job answering but this young woman was rolling her eyes the whole time. I've come into contact with my share of hard hearted people but this girl was beyond feeling...at least for now. We promised her that when she does need help, God will always be listening. We prayed and left. It was sad knowing that we probably left their house with more contention than when we arrived. We felt terrible.

Once we got home for dinner we all hit our knees to break our fast before devouring every edible thing in sight haha. It was a delicious and in less than 20 minutes we had inhaled our meal and were off to the church to end our day with our missionary coordinating meeting. It was a great meeting.

This week was busy but still no huge success in finding the new investigators we need. We are getting close though! Thank you for all of your prayers!!

Before I go I want to redirect you back to the sixth paragraph and the 116th word that begins the sentence of our commitment that Sister Gapinski and I gave to our zone at our zone training. Well, I'll say the commitment again and challenge you too, to read and try the promise for yourself. It is found in The Book of Mormon introduction as well as Moroni 10:4-5...

"We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith (*with real intent) will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost."

I continue to study this promise and have found great power in it as I continually pray about it to receive a newfound testimony of the truthfulness of the inspired book, the Book of Mormon. Will you all do that this week and next week in your emails to me will you let me know how it goes? Also if you so desire to further your study, I would like to recommend the fifth chapter of the missionary guide, Preach My Gospel. It is my FAVORITE chapter. You can learn SO much about the purpose and importance of then Book of Mormon. Have fun!

Have a great week and I love you all.
Sister Sloan

The party continues