Can I Buy You a Drink?

3/17-23
Monday was a pretty bittersweet PDAY. Today was Elder Woo's last PDAY as a missionary. We ended up at a meat buffet for lunch as a district. Together we are quite the sarcastic bunch! It was a blast. The district then traveled to the 만수 (MahnSu) church to play games but Sister Bagley and I had to go grocery shopping. We were quick and found ourselves on our beds in no time. I got a good few letters written as well as a solid 40ish minute nap before our PDAY time was over.

Immediately after waking up and getting ready (again) we rushed to a member house for a practice lesson. 김미란S (Sister Kim) is so awesome. Sister Bagley and I didn't teach very much tonight but Sister Kim complimented us like crazy on our Korean haha. She's cute. Once we left her house we hopped in her to car to travel to FHE together. There was a traffic jam right in front of the grocery store where she wanted to make a quick pitstop. Instead of waiting maybe two or three minutes she instead decided, with no warning mind you, that it would be a good idea to jerk the wheel, get us up on the sidewalk, and then parking herself right in front of the store entrance. She quickly ran out and left me and Sister Bagley in the car questioning what had just happened haha. Once the shock wore off, we had a good laugh before the member returned with a bag full of fruit.

Once at the church we quickly realized that the members were throwing Elder Woo a goodbye party. There was a bunch of food being prepared and a number of kids running around. The missionaries entertained the kids until it was time to eat. I'm grateful that Sister Bagley and I didn't eat dinner prior- the 고기 (meat) buffet kept us full for a good few hours. FHE ended and we were shooed off by the members in order to arrive home on time. Our ward is The Best.

Tuesday was pretty monotonous until about 6PM. We spent our time trying to visit former investigators, but most of them have moved and changed there numbers (Koreans move and change their cell phone numbers SO often... it's annoying and it makes missionary work way harder ha). After our day felt less-productive than most, we made a plan to meet up with Elder Berry and Higham to contact a referral. Per our bishop's request, he wanted us (the sister missionaries) to teach this referral, but we asked Elder Berry to help us in setting the appointment, because he is so good at Korean. Just before the time came to visit- the phone rang. The Elders had already made the visit, made return appointment, and stole our potential investigator! Rude. We decided to greet her anyway... She was so kind and seemed to really like us. I hope the elders come to their senses and choose to refer her back to us. Oh well, we are all on the same team of bring Seoul, I mean, souls to Christ, right? ^^

To end our night we visited our ward mission leader's house. 오관철B (Brother Oh) and his wife 이은성S (Sister Lee) are spectacular human beings! They gather their family for multiple missionary practice lessons each week! This was one of them. When Sister Bagley and I arrived their family- parents and six out of eight kids- were gather in the living room sitting on the floor waiting for us. What a site it was seeing so many eager faces ready to be taught. We taught the first lesson about the restoration. After I recited Joseph Smith's first vision they all ooo'ed and ahh'ed. Haha they are so cute. The oldest son is preparing for his mission in about a year and he said he wants to memorize the first vision in English- we told him we would quiz him on Sunday hehe. Once the appointment ended we head home. Man I love that family! All ten of them!

Oh! And on the way home we ran into an old old grandma. She more or less demanded me to marry a Korean man after my missionary service haha. The conversations I find myself in are hilarious nowadays.

Wednesday was so great!! 정혜연S (Sister Jeong) is our favorite less-active to visit and today she asked for our help. The 'AnyTime' convenient store that she works at was pretty busy. There are a few schools near by and all the kids come to the fences and yell, "언니! 언니, 음식주세요!" Literally it means 'older sister, give us food.' Haha she needed someone to stay in the shop while she ran back and forth with the orders. We used it as an extra hour of language study as I tried to translate my mother's delicious banana bread recipe for Sister Jeong. When she was finally about to sit down with us we shared a small message then just got to talking. She asked why we were members and why we came on missions. It was a good spiritual discussion, but some how my retarded-self got us talking about other things that were far less important. We were all cracking up so it wasn't all bad. Soon we said goodbye and head to another appointment.

김윤주S (Sister Kim) invited us over to practice teaching as well as eat dinner. It was way helpful as well as delicious. When we left we decided to stop by another less-active members house but she wasn't home. With the extra time, Sister Bagley and I decided to walk home... It's only a 30 minute ride by bus so we thought it would be a good idea to walk home. We need a better feel for the area anyway, so we agreed that it would be beneficial. Instead of navigating busy roads, we found ourselves on dirt roads. I promise that it looked like we had just walked into a horror film. We made it safely across a mountain home  but as I reflect on all we saw (drunk men, stray animals, and flickering street lamps amongst the darkness) maybe it was the dumbest decision we could have ever made. But on the bright side we got home safely and found a short cut that we'll probably never take ever again haha.

Thursday turned out to be another monotonous morning, but an eventful evening! I'll begin by talking about our investigator appointment with 정현지S (HyonChi- our 14 year old miracle that just showed up to church last Sunday). As we began teaching, we found out that her father, a non member, had met with some elders maybe 10 years ago. Apparently they made a lasting impression and he ordered his daughter to begin coming to church, so now she does. Maybe 15 minutes into the lesson her mother and little sister showed up and sat in. 이은성S (Sister Lee- from the ward) came with us and helped us in introducing the gospel. It went really well and we might even be able to teach and potentially baptize a whole family soon! It was unbelievable!! Once we left, we quickly evaluated with Sister Lee before apologizing and having to literally run to the next appointment at the church. All the running ended up being for nothing, because the potential investigator left and decided she wanted to meet with a Korean haha. Oh well! Our member, 백하영S (HahYoung- 20 Korean age meaning she was born in 1995 and in her last year of high school) still showed up. So while we were all at the church, we decided to do a practice lesson instead. HaYoung is HIL-ARIOUS! It was tough trying to answer all of her 'why' responses to everything we said, but it was good practice in the end. During the lesson her father called and told her to go bring us over for dinner ASAP. I forgot to mention that Sister Bagley and I were trying to fast today, but this last invitation would be the third meal fed to us even after explaining our fast.. Members and investigators don't care, they just want to take care of us haha. So off we went for a delicious dinner. Time was short, but it was so much fun. 백용실B (Brother Beak) and his family is literally our favorite. For some reason he has nicknames me 'Smart Sloan' and brags about me and Sister Bagley as if we are his pride and joy. He is so proud of all the work we are doing. Over and over he told us that the members had high expectations for the sisters and they we are exceeding them- booyah! This ward really is on fire with missionary work!

Friday... How do I even begin. I think it's first necessary to say that almost every event written in my planner has been whited out, written on, and whited out again. Nothing went as planned. We had three potential investigator appointments that all fell apart or that we ended up referring to other sister missionaries in the zone. It was a strange day. We instead had our weekly planning session and completed some assignments given to us by the bishop and other leaders in the ward. It felt productive but I didn't feel much like a missionary today. To end the evening we made plans to take our favorite less-active member to dinner. 정혜연S (HyayeYohn) is so cute!! We waited for her parents to come down to the shop before we left. We ate noodles and laughed the whole time. In the middle we received an anonymous phone call from Elder Woo- I guess Brother Woo now... wow that's strange. He was bored and anxiously awaiting his girlfriends arrival in Busan. I miss him. Anyway, HyayeYohn dubbed me the nickname 'Sneaky Sloan' after I paid for our dinner before she had the chance. It is Korean culture that your elders can tell you to do anything but the flip side is that they have to pay for every meal you eat together. Instead I went American style and was sly about the whole thing. ^^ She was grateful and bought us chocolate milk back at the convenient store. We stayed to talk with her parents. They had all kinds of questions about missionary work and our church- maybe a couple more potential investigators? It was a great night. We said our goodbyes and ran home.

Saturday was a blast! 8AM-12PM we farmed. Did I forget to mention that we are immigration workers? Last week we cleaned up, filled the ground, and made rows. This week we added fertilizer and planted like ten-ish rows of potatoes. It was hard work- actually it was easy- it was just time consuming. We then went to lunch together before showering and heading to English class. Class was fun- three students showed us. After the spiritual thought we had an appointment with our other investigator, 김하나S (HanAh). First we studied English, she is so smart! It makes our jobs a lot easier. When we transitioned to our gospel message 박화성S (Sister Park) joined us. She is a rockstar member! A quick summery: she served as a cadet in the Air Force for 4 years then stayed for six more as a high up officer or commander. Her service ended maybe a month ago and now she works for a pharmaceutical company. Also she gorgeous and funny. How is she not married?? Anyway, she was exactly what we needed in the lesson today. Her explanations were perfect and she really invited the spirit so strongly. It was a great lesson.

Once HanAh left, ward members were waiting for us to play soccer. We changed and got right to it. It was way productive! President Christiansen from the Seoul mission nixed sport proselyting, because elders would go play basketball or soccer for 6 hours as a way to try and find people to teach. I never thought it would be effective until today. This ward activity was put together last minute, but still it worked out for the best. A few kids walking by ended up joining and we talked to maybe 15 people over the course of about an hour and a half of playing. It was so much fun! I even made a goal... But also made us miss a lot too haha. We all went to dinner together- 자짱면! So yummy! Sister Bagley and I sat at a table with Brother Beak and Sister Park. They are The Best! The last hour of the day was spent talking to people on the street. It was a great day!

Sunday was probably the most eventful day of the whole week! I loved it!! First, church. As we waiting outside to greet people, our investigator (정현지S) just strolled past us like she knew what she was doing haha. I just smiled and followed behind her. We walked to the first class a few minutes early. The members were all so great at welcoming her again and just making her feel needed. It was great. Church flew by! When it came time for sacrament the pace slowed down when the stake speaker had to fill 25 minutes worth of time. Everyone was falling asleep. Once it ended, the ward members cleaned up the chapel as usual and we saw our investigator off. She is so cute and really such a miracle.

We ate lunch with some ward members then made a pit stop at home to drop off the food we had just received. The phone rang with a request to come over to 백용실B (Brother Beak)'s house. We came and ate cake together with him, his wife (유경숙S), his daughter (백하영S), and family friend (박화성S). Maybe 30 minutes later we were out the door. Brother Beak was on his way to a stake meeting in Seoul and the rest of us went to a park to proselyte together. We split up- Sister Bagley with the young woman and me with the two adults. It was a blast!! Our goal was to talk to 31 people and we ended up with 62! Talk about a miracle. It was a gorgeous park with a bunch of people. Seriously I love the members so much. They love us and missionary work- such amazing people. To end our time together we ate dinner then were dropped off at the church for our ward missionary coordinating meeting. We discussed our experience with the member split and 오광절B (Brother Oh- our mission leader) was so impressed and excited to try it out as a ward activity. Winners!

On the way home we added 6 more people to our proselyting number, but the last man... It's a long story, ready? So he is maybe in his 50's taking his dog for a walk. We are maybe 30 feet from our apartment building when he stops in place and asks if he can buy us something to drink. I realize that sounds bad in English, but in Korea people ask to buy us things all the time because we take time to have a conversation with them. Okay anyway, I am cautious and asked if it was an alcoholic drink. This man was taken back, almost looking offended at the question and replied, "아니!" meaning "No!" We began to follow him towards a convenient store that apparently had a secret room in the back... we found ourselves dodging under a plastic tarp thing as I turned to Sister Bagley and said, "Is this a bar?" Before we concluded that yes, it was in fact a bar, we were sat down at a table in the corner. This man said something to the waitress- I said, "Not alcohol right?" and he said, "Yeah, of course not." But low and behold there were three beers sitting on our table in now time. The strange thing is that as Sister Bagley and I assessed the situation we say people that were either drunk or passed out drunk but still we didn't have a bad feeling that we maybe should have. Anyway, I explained that we were missionaries and instead we were forced to drink two bottles of coke and a bunch of chicken before we were permitted to leave. Also, no one in the whole bar spoke a lick of English so the entire time Sister Bagley and I are narrating the situation with the most sarcastic statements that we could muster haha. It was funny. Also, when the man decided to take a bathroom break we wasted no time in ripping open my bag and shoving as much chicken as we could inside. Nobody saw us... except this one drunk man across the way. But let's be real, he wouldn't remember, right? To top off this strange set of circumstances, we received a call from District Leader Elder Berry. He was calling to receive our weekly stats. When I explained where we were, he ignored us and asked me to just tell him the stats over the phone. To that I replied, "Hold on, Sister Bagley has to pray for our chicken." To which he replied, "Wait, what? You are seriously in a bar eating chicken? I want chicken!" I am happy to report that our district leader could care less about our current situation. But don't worry we were out of there in no time and able to send our stats in before curfew and conclude our Sabbath day with yet another successfully awkward missionary experience. Our lives...

Have a good week!!
I love you all!! 사랑해요! 보고싶어요! I miss you!
사랑하는,
슬론 자매
Sister Sloan

My poor backpack..I'm trying to make it last another 6 months.  My last sewing job held for a month. How long do you think this will last?

This is what happens when ward members try to text us in English.  haha. She meant to say, "Maybe Elder Woo had your glasses in his pocket" so cute!

What if I jumped?

Bus ride home with Elder Knapp.

Got myself a face mask.

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

Original pictures from the baptism a week or so ago.

Original pictures from the baptism a week or so ago.

Elder Griffin.

Baby on board...Where?

Elder Woo acting retarded as are trying to farm.

Got myself a face mask.

My poor backpack...I'm trying to make it last another 6 months-my last sewing job held for a month, how long do you think this will last? Hehe

Satan can't bind my tongue!

3/3-9
Monday was a fun PDAY! Sister Bagley and I discovered an underground shopping center in 부평 (BuPyung). Everything was so cheap! I found a few good shirts for summer- all less than $5, 2 pairs of Oxford shoes- $5 each, a vest, and a bunch of adoringly cute earrings for just a dollar each! Shopping is so much fun- especially in Korea where everything is either super out there, extremely cute, or just straight up unique. Asians have fashion figured out! Before heading home we grabbed some delicious 떡볶이 (rice cakes and ramen swimming in spicy Korean sauce). Once home, PDAY time was about over. We got ourselves ready to meet 이미영S (Sister Lee) and her daughter 최재인S (Jane). Today we taught the rest of the commandments and played the commandments board game I made. We had a blast!! Awesome day.

Tuesday was quite the day. Today, the monthly Missionary Leadership Council (MLC) meeting was held in 송파 (Songpa) and as a sister training leader, I am expected to attend. In our effort to be on time, Sister Bagley and I woke up at 5:30AM. We got ready quickly and were on our way. As we boarded our first subway, I realized that maybe we didn't have to be traveling quite so early since the meeting started at 10AM... My bad! That's my lesson-learned not to let me do math right before I go to sleep haha. With the extra hour we had, Sister Bagley and I decided to make a pitstop in 영등포 (YungDungPo) where Costco was. We were in and out in no time, but regardless of the little time spend inside, it didn't change the amount of stuff that we dubbed worthy to buy. ㅋㅋ We left with a good-sized box and half-heartedly regretting our purchases as we carried it to the subway station, on the subway, and to the mission home...

The meeting today was 6 hours long! President Morrise trained us on making study plans and the importance of SYL (speaking your language [as much as possible]). As a result all 6 hours of the training was in Korean! That was hard, to say the least. Between not understanding very well and being bored with hearing the same lectures, I kept having a reoccurring thought... I know training is for our benefit but sometimes I feel like we are trained so much merely to fulfill the requirement of 'X' amount of meetings per month or transfer. Today the training wasn't too enlightening. We were reviewing the same basic stuff that we all know- I would have preferred to be out doing missionary work as opposed to sitting in a room talking about missionary work. Maybe I need to readjust my attitude, but today I was ready to work with barely any time to actually do it.

By 4PM the meeting ended, Sister Bagley and I reunited and we were off. The large Costco box somehow got heavier, but it was mostly funny seeing everyone's reactions. Amongst the fun, I put us on a train going in the right direction, or so I thought. There are things called speed trains and also a variety of trains/subways that are the same color, but have different routes. I have been okay about figuring out the difference but today the smile on my face turned into tears rolling down my cheeks in frustration. I don't cry often but for some reason today this was more than I could handle. Starting with that 6 hour-Korean only-humbling meeting, to the inability to get us going on the correct train, I felt totally helpless. I knew exactly what needed to change, but with no control or knowledge as to how. Sister Bagley was very sweet and tolerant of me and my meltdown. I am grateful for her.

While trying to figure the trains out, I called Elder Berry for a favor. I was frustrated and my Korean wasn't up to par to make a phone call to our fast approaching appointment with a member. I asked him to call to either inform her that we would be late or that we needed to reschedule. He sensed my frustration and probably heard the apparent quiver on my lip, so he made the call. Maybe 2 minutes later he was calling back to tell us that the member didn't care when we arrived, she was more concerned that maybe we were hungry haha. That was exactly the reaction I needed from her.  What a sweet lady!! I stepped aside to offer a prayer of thanks to God for softening this members heart instead of her being frustrated. And after that blessing, they just started flowing. The next train approaching was a speed train going directly to the stop we needed. Then as we waited for a bus, so many generous people let Sister Bagley and I board before them even though we had that retarded box, and as I sat on the bus I was able to have a fantastic conversation with a woman who was consequently going to the same apartment complex as us. My mind was put at ease, I knew Heavenly Father was aware of my stress and He was really helping me and Sister Bagley out.

The member appointment was way fun and the food was awesome. Since we arrived late there wasn't much time for a lesson. Instead the husband and wife showed us to their car to give us a ride home- another blessing!

Wednesday was a more productive day. Our district met up for an activity to pick up trash. Elder Griffin, our DL, is obsessed with picking up garbage. I do think it can be a good thing but not today when he chose the cleanest park in our zone, a time of day when people were either at school or work, and in a location where zero people were roaming. So when I said it was a productive day, I was not referring to this. It was fun but we left to meet a less-active member, 정혜연S (Sister Jeong). She was so lovely as always. We started with small talk, but then it naturally evolved to talking about prayer. Her baptismal service took place only a few months ago but somehow she lost interest or motivation to keep coming out to church. Today her concern was why she felt God's love before her baptism but not now. We explain a few things, shared some experiences, and left her a prayer. It was such a good visit! She even texted us after with a picture of where she hung the message card that we gave her. She is so cute.

On our way home we came across some paintings on a random stairway. They were so cute! Asians are professional at making everything so adorable- graffiti included. Once home, we had dinner. Our next lesson cancelled so we stayed in to do callbacks (calling records of former investigators). We called a woman with the English name of Sunny (김문선S). She was the sweetest! We set a time to meet tomorrow and hung up. Maybe 10 minutes later she called back and broke down on the phone. She first explained the events of her hard day and then went on to express her confusion about her unfaithful husband. It was heartbreaking to hear. She is putting a divorce on hold to see if anything changes in him, for the sake of their 11 year old daughter. Sunny wants to know if there is a God and how to learn to forgive. It was an unbelievably awesome lesson through the phone. We were so grateful that everything fell into place so that Sister Bagley and I could be in the right place at the right time. I think we maybe called 40 people and of those we found one woman who was really hurting. "...and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy" (Doctrine and Covenants 18:15), our joy was overflowing.

Thursday... Today is my year mark on my mission... Which means I've been in Korea for 10 months... WHAT THE?! ㅋㅋ Mission life and time goes by SO FAST!

Anyway, today was zone training. The zone leaders (Schofield and Thompson) focused on creating lesson plans and language study plans. It was a decent training. When it ended it was time for another exchange. After speaking with Sunny last night we discovered that she didn't live in our area but in the neighboring city of 연수 (YunSu). It was happenstance that I had scheduled an exchange with those sister- it's funny how The Lord works. I left with Sister Hammerl (my former ten-day companion) while Sister Bagley and 황예림S (Sister Hwang) left to meet Sunny. I heard the lesson was awesome- I envy them. Sister Hammerl and I stayed in YunSu and visited less-active members with no success. The rest of the evening we spent doing 가가호호 (tracting door to door). It was actually semi-successful. To celebrate my year mark, Sister Hammerl and I ate 팥빙수 (PotBingSu) for dessert before calling it a day. Yum!!

Friday, I had an awesome personal study!! I think I love going on exchanges where I am junior companion, because I'm not primarily responsible for the companionship phone. Which means my studies have zero interruption. It has been a while since I've had this kind of study. I was reading through a talk called "We Are All Enlisted" by Jeffery R. Holland from 2011 October Conference. It is fantastic! Here he is recounting Joseph Smith's experience with Satan before Joseph experiences 'the first vision' where he saw God, The Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ. Elder Holland said the following,

"Here... in the Sacred Grove... Joseph recorded that in an effort to oppose all that lay ahead, Lucifer exerted “such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak.”

"As President Boyd K. Packer taught this morning, Satan cannot directly take a life. That is one of many things he cannot do. But apparently his effort to stop the work will be reasonably well served if he can just bind the tongue of the faithful." 

What a statement!! After reading this I recalled what Elder Griffin had said in our most recent District Meeting when we were talking about having conversations with people on the street. We have a standard set to speak with as many people as possible- all those we come in contact with. Elder Griffin reminded us of that and said, "but sometimes we walk on the streets thinking, I'll talk to everyone... except those of the opposite sex, who don't look happy, who don't look busy, who have headphones in, and so on." Elder Holland encourages everyone to "sign on and speak up!" I'm here, I've signed up, now it is my time to speak! It was so motivating. Satan can't bind my tongue! ㅋㅋ

After we unsplit, that is when the fun began! Sister Bagley and I had 4 appointments in a row! It was crazy and fun, I'll spare the boring details and get straight to the good stuff. First, we met 김보희S (Sister Kim). When our lesson ended and we were packing up to leave, she was hardly paying attention to her squirming baby she was holding so consequently her baby did a series of flips in the air before he mother caught her upside down against her thigh. We all gasped and were happy the baby was just startled, it could have been bad! But just imagine a baby flying like that through the air... It's hard not to laugh, looking back.

Next 최재인S (Jane). Today was our last appointment before her baptismal service tomorrow! We encouraged her to bear her testimony, but she was way scared. She practiced maybe 15 times before she agreed. She is so cute!! We ate a delicious 비빔밥 (spicy rice and vegetable dish- a favorite of mine) made by her mother, 이미영S (Sister Lee). It was beyond entertaining watching Jane and her younger brother (최준혁B) fight/ love on each other. They are the perfect Asian family.

Next, we arrived at 이두례S (Sister Lee's) house for what we thought to just be a lesson. We gave a warm welcome to dinner number two. It was pizza! Nom~ As always it was a blast at her house. She is one sarcastic Korean, which is rare so it's part of why we love her. Also I think that maybe the most embarrassing slash most hilarious part was when the food was gone, I leaded back in my chair, grabbed my gut, and said "와~ 음식 애기!" Which directly translates to, "Woah~ food baby!" Resulting in a huge burst of laughter from my companion and a look of confusion her Sister Lee and her 26 year old that joined us. Sister Lee just said "어떻게?" Meaning, 'Sister Sloan, what is wrong with you?' It was hilarious. Once the initial awkward laughter from my retard statement subsided, it took a turn for the worse resulting in mine and Sister Bagley's uncontrollably laughter... At what you might ask? Absolutely nothing. But also each other haha. It was a blast.

Our last appointment of the day was fun. The other eight-year-old girl preparing for her baptism tomorrow, 김윤빈S (YoonBein), wanted us to come over. We played the commandment game and ate fruit with her family. They are quite the hyper bunch- love them. On our way home I had a cool experience talking to a student I sat next to on the bus. Remember what I learned in personal study? Well this girl looked mad AND had headphones in. Didn't phase me... I opened my mouth to talk to her. She was lovely and I know it was blessing. We were late getting home but we were whipped so no time was wasted getting to bed. One of the best Friday nights I've had on my mission. I love Sister Bagley!

Saturday was great! It started with an appointment with a potential investigator, 김하나S (Chloe) who is our newer investigator. She is extremely interested in English so I was very clear that that wasn't our purpose of coming to Korea. After the fact was established, I was worried that maybe I was being too bold but in the moment it seemed to be fitting so I'll take that. The lesson went well too. She has been turned off to the idea of religion from past experiences so maybe we'll be starting from zero, but I'm up for it. I really like her.

Next was English class which only a few people showed for. Before the baptism we talked to people on the street and grabbed some hot chocolate at Dunkin Doughnuts.

The baptismal service was so fantastic!! I love Janey and YoonBein so much. They are growing up so fast. ㅋㅋ That moment when I am sad that they aren't my children haha. Just before Janey bore her testimony she ran over to me in a panic, she forgot her scriptures. I quickly handed her mine and squeezed her hand, I love her!

On our way home, we planned to spend the remainder of our day on the streets talking with people. As we walked 이두례S (Sister Lee) pulled up in her car, honked, and motioned for us to get in. She drove us home and before we knew it Sister Bagley and I were comfortably sitting at our desks with the phone and list of former investigators to call, in hand. Earlier in the day when we decided against doing callbacks but after a series of events, that is exactly where we found ourselves. We went with it and guess what?! We went two for two with two successful phone calls! It was a miracle how willing the two women, that we called, were to listen and agree for us to either refer them of make an appointment with them. I love how The Lord works! Missionary Work is the best!

Sunday was another great day. Nothing too eventful took place but Sister Bagley and I sure had a lot of fun at church and during our weekly planning session... Yep that's about it haha. It was extremely productive, but monotonous. We had a fantastic week!

I love you all!! 사랑해요! 보고싶어요! I miss you!

사랑하는,
슬론 자매
Sister Sloan

The Lord's Timing

2/24-3/2
Monday wasn't PDAY, but it ended up feeling a lot like one. In the morning, we spent an hour or so cleaning and bleaching our house. It was much needed!! It was a good feeling when everything was clean. We quickly showered and got to our studies. After lunch, we headed to the church for a lesson with our investigator, 긴현아S (Sister Kim). She totally forgot, so instead Sister Bagley and I did some weekly planning since we never got to it last week ha. Next we emailed home and had a quick dinner, before teaching a couple member's children who are preparing to be baptized. The lesson went well. After we finished, one of the girls moms (이미영S) pulled me aside and said, "Jane (최재인S, her daughter) doesn't listening to me when I tell her to read the scriptures, but she takes your commitments very seriously." It was like a proud mother moment for me.

For FHE this week we played "Do you love your neighbor" but in Korean, obviously. It was way fun!! There was this one little girl who was almost glued to my hip. She is 4, I think, and totally adorable. It made my night that she was so interested in everything I was doing. I also think she told me I was pretty 100 times. Korean 반말 (low form- as I the opposite of respectful language) is so cute coming from little kids. It was a good day.

Tuesday was the 12 week follow-up training for Sister Bagley. I feel bad, because maybe we don't take time to do all of our studies everyday, because we are so busy... Oh well, at least she is learning from real practice lessons as opposed to fake practice at home. The training was pretty awesome. President and Sister Morrise are way funny. Just before the meeting ended, Sister Morrise asked all of the greenies to stand and share something that they have learned since arriving in Korea. It turned into a mini testimony meeting and I am way impressed with these kids. Maybe this isn't the most prepared bunch, but dang they are learning so much, so fast!

The meeting went long which made us late for our appointment with 김현아S (Sister Kim- our investigator). Good thing the elders were there with their investigator to keep her company with a game or two of ping pong. Once we began the lesson, we watched the Restoration video. It was so great!! Normally, when I watch this video with investigators I am focusing on how strange it might be for them to grasp. I don't think it's strange, I actually believe it whole-heartedly, but I'm trying to see it in their eyes. This time around I had a different experience and it was beyond amazing! I came to the realization that's the same spirit that tells me it's true now, would tell no matter my situation heaven forbid it was different. It was a good feeling to finally be comfortable sharing this unbelievable event in history. When the video ended we talked about what it was and then Sister Bagley extended a baptismal commitment. SHE SAID YES! I wasted no time setting a date with her- hello April 6th, here we come! She was a little confused, because she is moving to Daejeon next week, but I told her about other sister missionaries that would be there to teach her and help her reach her goal. It was a fantastic lesson.

Wednesday we had quite an interesting district meeting. We eventually learned something, but before that happened we were all having a pretty good time making fun of Elder Griffin. There are long standing jokes about him not being able to spell... ANYTHING and also jokes about him going bald. Before we began, Elder Knapp was asked to pick a song, he laughed as he said "Hymn 30, do you know how to spell that?" Elder Griffin rolled his eyes and turned to write the number with three half circles instead of two. Everyone laughed so hard! And then not long after Elder Griffin was trying to teach us an acronym- HTBT. When we got to 'B' 우동리E (Elder Woo) said, "It's bald isn't it!" Again, everyone laughed. Maybe this seems mean but Elder Griffin is a good sport. Also his girlfriend wrote him a series of letters for him to open at different times. One the envelope says, "Open this when your home sick" another says, "Open this on your birthday". For some reason today everyone was on board with trying to help him open the letter labeled, "Open this when you have a bad day." It was so hilarious!!

After district meeting Sister Bagley and I set out to visit some less-active members. The first one we went to, we decided to say a little prayer, before walked up to the door. When we finished and walked in, the member was seeing one of her friends off so the door was already open. Her friend commented on how pretty we were and was shocked to see Sister missionaries as opposed to elders. We quickly learned that we couldn't come in because the member was sick but we were able to introduce ourselves as well as put a smile on her face. I honestly believe we would not have been given the same opportunity if it were not for the prayer we offered and the timing that followed. It was pretty cool. After walking around some more we made our way home for dinner. Conveniently, the Office Elders showed up to drop off a desk for me to use- finally! We brought the boxes inside the. Walked the elders to a nearby restaurant that we thought they would enjoy. To end the evening we talked to a number of people and made a curriculum for English class. Oh! Also, as we were talking to people we ran into a women passing out flyers. She does it all day and had a variety of flyers to pass out- she is so diligent. I decided to talk to her and she was so appreciative. I think I might have been one of few people, if not the only one that took the time to talk to her about her flyers. She was grateful and in turn bought Sister Bagley and I some food from a street vendor. I tried to resist ,but she was super persistent. She was so kind and a great way to end our day!

Thursday was temple day!! We traveled with the elders and were able to find a bus that we could take all the way to the temple. That means that we were able to sit the whole way (about an hour ride) and sleep. We had to get up pretty early so it felt so amazing to sleep! When we finally arrived, it was beautiful. The session was awesome and after, guess who showed up to the temple grounds? Our investigator with her brother and his friend (he brother and friend are the elder's investigators). It was quite a surprise but so cool to be able to see how amazed they were with the temple grounds as well as the temple itself. The friend even commented, "You all seems much happier." Elder Higham took that opportunity to say, "Of course, we are at the temple, the temple is a happy place!" The elder then left to take them all to lunch as Sister Bagley and I went with a few other missionaries to play soccer.

When we arrived at the field, the 부평 (BooPung) ward's young men were waiting to join a game with us. Sister Bagley and the elders had a blast playing, but I decided to sit out with Elder Gibbons. He is a new missionary and not able to do sports or workout due to a prior injury three years before. He is such a solid guy, older than your average elder (24), but he prepared nonetheless to serve The Lord. We talked all about his injury and current diet- he educated me a lot on what's healthy and what isn't. I'll sum it up and say- NOTHING IS HEALTHY ANYMORE! Haha nothing makes sense, but anyway it was a fun conversation. After soccer we grabbed a late lunch then Sister Bagley and I went home. We didn't have much time to spare so we just went home for Sister Bagley to rinse off before our only appointment for the evening with 이두례S (Sister Lee).

Our visit was so much fun!! She had just gotten home from work so we ordered some food and we practiced teaching and review the baptismal interview questions with her. Since she is a member she found it so amusing to play a hard investigator haha. It was fun and she was so patient with us. I learned a lot and really felt the spirit. After the practice lesson, we ate. It was delicious but she fed us so much! As we were preparing to leave she asked us, "Do you miss your mothers?" We of course said we did, she then smiled and said, "I'll be your Korean mother okay?" So adorable!! We agreed and hugged her as we left. I love her so much!

Friday was a bummer. After studies, we left to meet our only investigator at the chapel. I texted her earlier to confirm the appointment but just as it was supposed to start, she replied by saying, "You didn't get my text?" Apparently she decided to move to Daejeon a week early! She needed time to pack today in order to take off tomorrow. Dang it! I guess we'll just call to refer her to different sister missionaries. Since we were already at the church, we stayed and did maybe 30 minutes of weekly planning. We then went to meet up with the 계산 (GaySan) sister missionaries for an exchange. They were late which caused us to cancel a practice lesson with a member- annoying.

I left to be in Sister Watkins' area while Sister Wing went with Sister Bagley to teach both eight-year-olds in the ward preparing for baptism next week. While traveling back to 계산 the only appointment Sister Watkins had scheduled, cancelled. Instead we grabbed dinner and prepped for English class. I taught the kids class with Elder Hafen. We just played games and had a blast! Also after class ended, a few people were confused as to why I was there. I was impressed by Sister Watkins saying, "She is my leader, she is here to train me and help me become a better missionary." She is older than me (literally and also mission age) and used to be STL. I think it takes a humble person to say what she did, out loud even though she is bitter that I am STL. I complimented her on it but she brushed it off. I hope she heard me though, I really appreciated it.

Saturday didn't go exactly as planned, but it was a good day. The appointments that Sister Watkins had scheduled, all cancelled. Instead we did less-active member visits. Some weren't home, others came to the door but told us "Maybe later" but others, by a miracle, where home! One lady in particular wasn't home at first but while we were writing a note to leave, guess who shows up? The less-active woman and her daughter (김정희S) who just so happened to be in the last ward I served! We were welcomed in, ate food together, and where able to share a short message. It was great!

When we left, the exchange was coming to in end. Due to tradition, we stopped for dessert! This time it was chocolate ping su ice cream. I have promised myself that I will make ping su a thing in America when I get back. It is literally genius and delicious! When we unsplit I saw the relief in Sister Bagley's eyes. That poor girl got a little taste of what it's like to be in charge and senior companion. She was whipped! I'm so proud of her but I was happy to ease her stress again ha. To end the evening we bought some groceries and finished weekly planning. All in all it was a good day and I learned a lot from the time I had with Sister Watkins!

Sunday was a great day. Church was good, fast Sunday. In sacrament I took the opportunity to bear a small testimony. Too bad I got way nervous and blanked big time. Oh well, afterwards people complimented me and said they appreciated it, I hope that's true. When church ended, Sister Bagley and I set out to do some less-active member visits. First was 박소정S (Sister Park). She was baptized a while ago but then asked for her name to be taken off the records of the church. Today she welcomed us in and was very kind even though she said she hates prayer, church, and spiritual messages. Everyone has there own pace so for now, our goal is to become her friend. So far so good! When we left, we began walking to another house. People on the street gave us had directions but eventually I found an old grandma to walk and talk with. She got us going in the right direction and we were able to have a nice conversation. Upon finding the correct apartment complex, it was awesome timing!! I have really come to appreciate The Lord's timing this week, because as soon as we walked in the elevator I was scrabbling to find my planner with the address. But guess who was in the elevator and got off on the same floor as us? One of the less-active sisters! We had a short conversation about her day, but when we were walking towards the same door I was like, "Oh, wait a minute! Are you 정은영S?" Nailed it. She is 17 and felt way awkward, but I just tried to kill her with kindness. I received her number, because her mom was yelling from the inside saying we couldn't come in haha. Good enough for me. We delivered some letters and were off.

The sun was beginning to set and we were exhausted from walking, what we calculate to be about 10 miles. I will take my sports watch one of these days and actually track it, because maybe our calculates are dramatic. Anyway, we found a little park and broke our fast with some Korean styled twinkie things. Maybe it wasn't worth it, but our stomach were passed the point of eating themselves. It was a fun few minutes, but then we got cold so had to continue. We walked another 1,000 miles until we arrived at a members home for a dinner appointment. Even though we were a little early, we were welcomed in. This being our third visit to the house, the three kids finally warmed up to us! Maybe it was our strategy of bringing coloring books and stickers, but regardless we are all friends now. The poor baby boy was covered with stickers because his sisters and father thought it would be funny to do so. It was a blast. Dinner was yummy and our practice lesson went well too. By the time we left we it was 8:20PM... Whoops, our missionary coordinating meeting started at 8PM. When we arrived, they had just ended. I reported our stats and Sister Bagley and I walked home. Today she and I did pretty awesome about only speaking Korean outside of our apartment. By about 6PM though we had exhausted all of what we capability of talking about... I guess we'll start all over tomorrow :) It was a good end to the week.

Did anything fun happen this week? I love you all!! 사랑해요! 보고싶어요! I miss you!

사랑하는,
슬론 자매
Sister Sloan

Our house.

From left to right: Our foldable beds, drying rack for clothes, and study desks. Our house is old and tiny.  Haha life of a missionary-LOVE IT!

This is a fish-shaped waffle with pot (red bean).  I love red bean.

I finally received a desk! But... check out my greenies desk compared to mine... I'm so giving ^^

Exchanges with Sister Watkins

Chocolate Ping Su.  So delicious.

View from our balcony.

Good morning Incheon!

New glasses only cost 40 bonez!  What do you think?