Monday was a fun PDAY! Sister Gapinski and I were finally able to successfully plan and hold a sisters activity. All but one companionship was able to come but it was still a blast; we went to Incheon Grand Park and rented tandem bikes for an hour at a time. We didn't all ride together but came back at the end and took a few pictures. I hope they all had fun. Sister Gapinski and I sure did because our favorite investigator showed up too! 심하정 (Sister Shim) is so cute and so fun. She rode a single bike next to us and got to meet all of the sister missionaries. When we were out of time, everyone went their separate ways. Sister Shim reallllly wanted to eat at a place called Mr. Pizza so we stopped home to change and grab money. It was a delicious meal.
As we left the restaurant we had an appointment with our relief society president for a practice lesson. We casually invited Sister Shim since she had nothing else to do. We proposed that we go to our members house just for an hour or so and then have a movie night at her house. She was a tad hesitant but somehow it all went as planned.
We had a BLAST walking to our members house and the practice lesson was all about the Holy Ghost. Ironically our investigator did the most listening than the members 배애숙S (Sister Bay) and her daughter, 김보희S (Sister Kim) who were supposed to be helping us. It was pretty cool. We wrapped up and then went back to Sister Shim's house. Before the movie she let me try on her traditional Korean dress (한복). I think they are so beautiful.... on Koreans. Foreigners look so out of place when they wear them but it was on my todo list before heading back to America, to get a picture in one. It was so fun!
When the movie time finally came, we all decided on watching the full version of 'Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration.' It was so good! I have never seen that version before and it was perfect. When it ended we all talked about our favorite parts and shared experiences we have had with prayer. It was so spiritual! Before we left Sister Shim was curious and wanted to study a little more about prayer from the Book of Mormon. We gave her an assignment and left. What a day!
Tuesday was a full day... Mostly because eight hours of it was our zone conference.. Last minute President Morrise and the zone leaders decided they wanted me and Sister Gapinski to train. Sheesh! Good thing we were prepared just in case! All in all the conference went well and it was fun too. Just before ending, President Morrise called Sister Bassett, 박동규E (Elder Park), and me up to give our 마치막 말씀, or "last words" to the zone.
...I never thought the day would come that one of the oldest sisters in the entire mission would be me. It was an emotional day just thinking about how, starting now, I will have my last zone conference, last district meeting, last... everything soon. Am I ready? For my "last words" I talked about the ancient prophets and modern-day prophets, such as Joseph Smith, that gave SO much just to bring about the trustfulness and fullness of Jesus Christ's gospel. We are privileged to be declaring the same words that these prophets died protecting. I spoke about the privilege I felt as a full-time, set apart missionary. Then I began to cry as I expressed the sadness I feel about leaving our investigators and members before they have reached the goals they have set... Their journey back to the truth isn't over but my opportunity to participate first hand it coming to an end. I paused and remembered the words of a friend- a few weeks ago on email I was expressing similar feelings to my friend Dakota and she comforted me by saying, "Well Anne Marie, that's why they continue to call and send missionaries- to finish what you started." That statement was nothing less than profound to me. So I wiped my eyes and looked up at everyone to reiterate the experience. When I'm dead and gone (figuratively, of course) it is all up to them. They are here to finish what not just me, but soooo many before them have started. As I ended with my testimony, I felt prompted to advise everyone listening to never deny someone the same opportunity they have been given. I felt the spirit speaking through me. It was a powerful moment.
After I sat down, President Morrise bore his testimony and wrapped up the meeting. Before leaving the stake center I met with Sister Pratt for her to practice teaching me the third lesson for pass-off. I love her. As soon as I finished with her, Sister Gapinski and I began an exchange with 가정 (GahJeong) sisters. I went with Sister Hoffman to her area. The night consisted of proselyting and and their ward correlation meeting.
Wednesday was a full day! Sister Hoffman did a great job setting up appointments to keep us busy, she is a great missionary (she was MTC companions with Sister Bagley)! First was an appointment with their Buddhist investigator. She took us to lunch and then tried to drop us because she has no interest in the gospel. Sister Hoffman handled it so well that the investigator stayed and even received a referral from her of someone that is pretty interested in learning about our church- miracle! Next was a less-active visit/ 20 minute practice lesson. It was okay. Then we proselyted until I was time to unsplit. I was happy to be back home. Our evening was uneventful but like I said, it was good being back in 만수 (Mansu).
Thursday seemed to come so fast! We had an appointment with 김영희S (Sister Kim), our investigator and 정예림S (Sister Jeong), our member. It went well. I think we got to the bottom of Sister Kim's needs. Next time we will be talking about our purpose in life. Yahoo! I love that lesson. After the lesson we exchanged again but this time with the 부평 (BuPyong) sisters. I went with Sister Wright (my granddaughter- in missionary terms) to her area. We had dinner, met a potential investigator, and proselyted. It was a good night.
Friday started with an awesome personal and companionship study! We were ready to tackle the world together haha. Instead we just decided on one family (half is active and the other half is inactive). When we arrived we realized that it was a Korean holiday.. 광복절 or Independence Day from Japan. This meant that the whole family was home plus a bunch of relatives... The son and daughter just came down and sat with us at a gazebo to talk. They opened up and especially 다운S (Dawn) was concerned about not having a lot of faith. She asked a lot about prayer and how to better study the scriptures. Boy were we ready to help! We also got onto the topic of patriarchal blessings. Her older brother just received his and is now preparing to serve a mission in New York. Talk about acting in faith, quickly too! It was a great lesson.
As we walked away I think I counted 20 new mosquito bites... sweet. We made our way back to our companions and it happened to take forever since it was rush hour. Once we made it, Sister Gapinski and I had to quickly stop by our house before meeting at 정현지S (HyonChee)'s house. Tonight her father (정소영B) and mother (이윤자S) invited us to dinner to say goodbye and thank you to me. They are so kind!! I was nervous that they would take us somewhere crazy nice but luckily it was a Shabu Shabu buffet. It was awesome. I love that family. I almost cried when they dropped us off because the parents both got out of the car to thank me for all that I have done for their beautiful daughter. They have seen a change in her and they are grateful for the gospel in her life, and in theirs too. They are the sweetest family.
Saturday was boring. We proselyted, served our members by washing their front doors (a former elder GLUED hearts on doors -___-), had English class, and proselyted some more. That's about it.
Sunday was great. I keep having 'proud mother moments' every time HyonChee participates in church. Today she taught the young woman's lesson about the importance of the law of chastity. That little girl is quite special. I love her. The rest of church was great and members were so concerned for both me and Elder Park since we are leaving next week. Also.... leaving next week. That doesn't feel real. A few people asked me how I felt and honestly I feel the same. I still can't comprehend an end to missionary work so it can't comprehend my job here being complete. Sigh. So many people just smiled and said, "Yeah, it's time for you to get back home and find a new hobby." Haha Koreans are hilarious.
Since the weeks activities didn't permit time for weekly planning, that's what we did today. But 5PM we were back at the church where 이미영S (Sister Lee), 박미영S (Sister Park), and 김정은S (Sister Kim) cooked dinner for all the missionaries. It was like a mini FHE because we played with the kids, ate, and had fun. It was great. To end the night we had a proselyting activity with our ward mission leader and his family. I was paired with his darling wife, 이은성S (Sister Lee). She wanted to knock doors SO bad, so we did. After a bunch of failure she decided to start a new approach but asked for water. So... out of the kindness of these strangers hearts, they gave us water but guess who had to drink all of it? Me! Let's just say I couldn't wait to get back to the church to use the facilities. It was a fun night though. Sister Lee is the cutest and so happy. Once we all met back together we had a correlation meeting. It was a great way to end the week.
I love you all! Have a great week.
Sister Sloan
슬론 자매
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| Exchange with Sister Hoffman |
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| Exchange with Sister Wright |
:)
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