Last Full Week

8/18-24
Monday was a strange day. Our PDAY time will be saved until Thursday (our temple day) so today was the beginning of my last full week as a missionary. Try wrapping your brain around THAT idea! Time will forever be an incomprehensible concept. As 박동규E (Elder Park)'s and my time in Mansu ward winds down, it is almost an unwritten standard that we will be fed just about every meal until we leave. Today it began with a late lunch with 심하정S (Sister Shim) and 이지웅B (Brother Lee). We first taught Sister Shim how to make German pancakes and then we made some spicy chicken concoction for a late lunch and early dinner. I love hanging out with them. Time ran out for a full lesson, but we were able to talk all about families and their importance.

Our night ended at a restaurant with a less-active member and her daughter. Both mine and Elder Park's various companionships have worked with her since we arrived here in Mansu ward. She is grateful for the time we have spend with her so we had a dinner together. We ate 감자탕 (potato stew). I'll be honest in saying, I'm not totally sure why it is called "potato stew" because there are maybe three slices of a potato amongst a large amount of pork and bones. It is also spicy in a way that causes most people to have a stomach ache after eating it... We ate well, but it wasn't all that pleasant. But like our member, we were grateful.

Tuesday was a slow day. We attempted to find several former investigators but with little success. Koreans move and change their phone number so often! By 3PM we met with 조수인S (Sister Cho), a recent convert. She is Korean but studies in France (that is were she was baptized). We met to answer more of her questions about patriarchal blessings and family temple work. It was a great lesson. She is excited to visit the Seoul temple before heading back to France next week!

Once our lesson ended she walked with us for a while and helped us find for we investigator homes. As we walked, we ran into a ward member of the 연수 (YunSu) ward. He served his mission a few years back in Australia so his English is in fact a thick Auzzie accent. It cracks me up every time- always saying "cricky" or "dodgey" haha, it's too funny. We talked with him for a while and continued our searches.

By 7PM we made our way to (이두례S) Momma Lee's house for dinner. Sister Gapinski and I prepared an awesome lesson using PMG (page 168), the Bible (Luke 22:32), the Book or Mormon (Alma 6:6), and the hymnal (#138 in Korean, 'Because I Have Been Given Much'). We applauded her good example and encouraged her to fast and pray for a missionary opportunity with a close friend or family member. She promised with a smile. It was a spiritual lesson. It was a fantastic way to wrap up our evening.

Wednesday we had district meeting. It was 박동규E (Elder Park)'s and my last district meeting.. I still can't wrap my brain around that but anyway we discussed ways in which we can improve our visits and interaction with members. We had an awesome role play and then closed with a song and prayer. Elder Park did a great job. As soon as we ended, our English Class Coordinator (정예림S) came to discuss how we would go about setting up our English Speech Contest this Saturday. After the meeting, Sister Gapinski and I sat down with her for a practice lesson. We tried to apply what we had just learned in District Meeting and it went so well! Sister Jeong is already one of our best members in regards to member-missionary work, but we made goals on how we can help her further. It was so good!!

We had to stop home to drop off all of our books and on our way we passed a gazebo full of grandmas just hanging out. We bowed and said hi with a smile as we passed them. They all immediately either laughed or were in awe of our 인사... (I don't know how say that in English, maybe our 'greeting' to them?) Anyway, they told us to come back and enjoy a snack with them, so we did! We popped off our shoes and joined them in this traditional gazebo with a Korean rice snack and yogurt drink in hand haha. Most of the grandmas live in the same apartment building as us, so we see and say hi often. A few were new faces and didn't hesitate to hammer us with questions. We were able to answer them at first but then our good friends whom we have a talked to quite a few times would finish my sentences and elaborate on what we do as missionaries. It was the cutest. We are grateful for their kindness and adorable grandma-ness.^^

Thursday was temple day! I can't tell you how fast days are flying by! Today as we travelled to the temple it was an adventure in and of itself. Since this transfer is a weird transfer, we will not be meeting at the normal subway station- which means that all of the returning missionaries won't have the opportunity to hand off our luggage to the office elders before having free rein on the mission for a day. Which meant today was my chance to hand off some luggage to President and Sister Morrise. The forecast called for light rain, but instead it was a downpour of craziness! We caught a bus all the way to the temple, but on the 5ish minute walk into the temple, we (my suitcases included) got soaked. Hard life. Once in the temple though, everything was perfect! It was a phenomenal session and I learned a lot that I never recognized before! It was great.

Once we were out of the temple, missionaries stuck around for pictures and socializing. I was happy to see all of the sisters from the zone, because I had previously written them all notes so I was able to distribute them there. Next stop was Costco for lunch before heading to the 영등포 church building. I was fasting so I was bored until we went to the church building where everyone was playing basketball. It was fun just seeing all of my friends. Also as I type this I am curious as to how I have become so close to these people... We only see each other maybe once a month, and that's IF you are in the same zone. If you aren't in the same zone, it is more like every 6 months haha. Everything about missionary life is strange.

Anyway, the evening ended with a lesson with 정현지 (HyonChee) and her family. It went really well and her father is getting more and more interested. I hope they all get baptized soon. If they do, I'm coming back for their family sealing! That would be the coolest!!

Friday was busy! We ran a bunch of errands to prepare for our English contest tomorrow as we proselyted. At 2PM we had an investigator appointment with 김영희S (Sister Kim) and our awesome member, 정예림S (Sister Jeong). We talked all about our purpose in life. The spirit was so strong. She is the kind of investigator that will take a long time to digest all of the information we are teaching her but she definitely has amazing potential to be a great member of our church. We said our goodbyes and got back to talking to people on the street.

By 7PM we were with our member, 유경숙S (Sister You) for dinner. She brought pizza school and chicken haha. It was the opposite of a traditional Korean meal but it was definitely the epitome of a Korean meal nowadays haha. We had cold noodles, pickled kimchee, and radish kimchee as side dishes. So good!! After, we shared a spiritual thought and left. We love her.

Saturday morning, in attempt to get 정현지S (HyonChee) involved in the young woman activities, we went to their activity. HyonChee was too sick to come, but we stayed and made scripture cases with the youth. It was fun! Our time was cut short because our favorite cute couple wanted to take us to lunch. 심하정S (Sister Shim) and 이지웅B (Brother Lee) picked us up at the church and we went to a fusion restaurant for lunch and then a shaved ice place for dessert. We have too much fun with them. Before going our separate ways for the rest of the day, we stopped in at a sticker-picture place. Normal middle school kids and couples go to get these kinds of pictures, but we thought it would be fun. And it was!! Haha we taught them valuable words like immature, sugar momma, and sugar daddy. I swear we talked about missionary stuff too. ^^

They dropped us back at the church where we met the elders and our English class coordinator to set up. We set up, ate kimbab, had English class, and then the contest. We had a decent turn out. It was SO hard to keep from laughing at all of the Koreans doing English tongue twisters and singing pop songs. It is TOO funny. I took a few videos haha. We ate more treats to end and then cleaned up. It was a successful contest.

Sunday was a good day. It started off well with church. Since it was my last Sunday as a missionary in Korea, our bishop asked me to speak. I shared a story from the General Conference talk, "The Witness" by Boyd K. Parker. I have been studying his talk and felt impressed to share his experience of how he received his testimony. But not just how he gained it, also how he has been able to retain it. It is a theme probably throughout the world but particularly in South Korea, Incheon Stake our church retention rate is in need of much improvement. So I wanted to do what I could to help them remember how they learned the truth and by what means they can retain it. I shared the scripture from Alma 5:45-46 where Alma explains by what means he was able to obtain his testimony. He was taught by the spirit, as was I. I closed with my witness. I felt the spirit. It was a great way to say my goodbyes to this ward that I have come to love so much.

When church ended, EVERYONE came up to me. They all assured me of the good work I have done here and how much they appreciated my testimony. I couldn't help but cry. I will miss them all so much. It was funny because ALL the women were yelling at me, "Don't cry! Really? Why are you cry?" as they wiped my tears haha. I love them!!!!

After, we ate. Then had weekly planning, that we were never able to get to on Friday or Saturday. To end the night we ate dinner with 노경아S (Sister No), her daughter 원민지S (Sister Wohn), elders Park and Stowe, and Brother Kim. It was a blast and it was DELICIOUS! Our Sunday again ended at our ward missionary coordinating meeting. I will miss 오광철B (Brother Oh). He is intense but that is exactly what this ward needs to keep the fire burning to keep missionary work moving forward.

I love Mansu Ward.
I love you all.
Thank you for all the prayers and support as I have served The Lord here in South Korea. A part of my heart will always be help by The Koreans. As I approach my last week, it is packed and I am excited. I will board a plane this Friday in Incheon and land in Salt Lake City on Friday as well. See you all so soon!!

Yours truly,
Sister Sloan
슬론자매, also known as 선우나리자매  

Our investigator is sleeping.  hehe

Stole his glasses while we chat with his wife

Herro~

How Asian is this scene?

Minus the white girls in the middle of it...

Temple day.

Blurry picture, but this is one of our investigators...maybe she is a little on the crazy side  haha 

My last Sunday.  This little girl always runs up to me, hugs my legs, and runs away.  I'll miss her.

Dinner with 노경아S, 원민지S, and 김종현B.

Eldest Sister in the Mission

8/11-17
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  

Exchange with Sister Hoffman

Exchange with Sister Wright

If you stay you can have a laptop

8/4-10
Monday ended up being another PDAY spend at home haha. Sister Gapinski slept most of the day and I wrote letters. By the end of the day we exchanged with the 답동 (DapDong) sisters and I brought Sister Pratt back to 만수 (Mansu) with me. She is seriously the cutest! We spent our evening with 심하정S (Sister Shim) and her husband 이지웅B (Brother Lee). The lesson didn't really go as planned... We took too long just chatting and introducing Sister Pratt instead of just jumping in to what we had prepared. But I take full responsibility for that, because I didn't do my part to invite the spirit. I am disappointed in myself. I need to set a better example for the sisters, especially on exchange. Sigh. Anyway, one funny thing that we talked about was my release date. As Sister Shim was adding it to her calendar, Brother Lee said, "No! Show her the laptop!" Haha because a while back they told me if I stayed, I could have it. I love them.

Tuesday was bizz-ee! We prepared and studies for the day and then were off. Before our appointment at 2PM we visited a few former investigators nearby. They all have moved and the people living there don't care about our message either-bummer. Our first appointment went well! Our member, 정예림S (Sister Jeong) came and our investigator, 김영희S (Sister Kim) loved her. Sister Pratt and I introduced our purpose, the Family English Program (30 minutes gospel, 30 minutes gospel), and answered all of her questions. It was great! Sister Kim was sad to hear that Sister Pratt maybe won't have another opportunity to meet her again; it was definitely a blessing that Sister Pratt was there but I hope she will love Sister Gapinski as much as she loves Sister Pratt.

Next on our schedule was to meet up with a couple of Elders. Elder Brissette and Elder Newton shorted their release just by a few weeks for school enrollment purposes, so they have to go home this week but pretty much have free range over the mission. They both served here in 만수 Mansu and were back for the day to refer some people to us. Only one lady showed up, she was quite an old grandma and as we got to talking I recognized that Sister Gapinski and I had contacted her just a few days before. She politely told us that she wasn't interested in learning about our gospel, only learning English. I tried telling these elders but they still thought there was hope haha. The kind old woman fed us dinner at a pricey Italian restaurant. We were all grateful for her generosity but I don't think we'll have a chance to meet her again in the future.

Lastly, Sister Pratt and I said our goodbyes and ended our exchange at our beloved 이경호S (Sister Lee)'s house. She is the grandma investigator that LOVES to talk and I LOVE to listen. Maybe Sister Pratt didn't understand very well but hey, let's be honest, me either haha. We read in 3 Nephi together and gave her hugs as we left. Maybe I have mentioned before but in our last appointment with Sister Lee I had an impression that I needed to remember her face. I needed to remember her face so that I could find her in the millennium to continue teaching her then. Maybe that is a strange thought but I studied her face and she rambled today. I'm not going to loose her.

The day was essentially over as we unsplit. Sister Gapinski and I basically came straight home because there wasn't time for much else.

Wednesday was another busy day. During our companionship study, the phone rang. A man that I had met on the street the day before was calling! That never happens! He was curious if we could do the Family English Program with him and of course we said we could. But because he was a man, I asked a few extra questions to help us decide which elders to refer him to.. As I did, guess what?! He shyly asked, "Can my wife join us too?" Another family!!! Sister Gapinski and I just looked at each other with wide eyes of excitement. Our prayers were being answered and new investigators were coming out of the wood works!! We made an appointment for later today and were off to district meeting.

If our happiness wasn't enough, the meeting today ended up being super great too! It nice being in a district that cares and where all of its members want to coordinate our efforts to be as effective as possible. I almost fell out of my chair a few times because of all the ideas that were coming out of the elder's mouths. FINALLY! Haha it was great and 박동규E (Elder Park) is a fantastic district leader.

We left and meet our new investigators, 박형기B (Brother Park). His wife was being a bit shy so we needed to mostly introduce the program and our purpose to them. It turns out that he met with the missionaries like ten years ago but only after maybe 2-3 meetings he moved and lost contact. Now we are back and we are going to baptize his whole family! Or at least we'll invite them haha. The lesson was great and he seems to be pretty interested!

Next up was another exchange. We met up with 계산 sister missionaries and I brought Sister Telford to 만수 (Mansu) with me. We tried to visit a few former investigators with no luck before our member appointment at 7PM. We arrived and they asked us to share the spiritual message first and then they would take us out for dinner. I was a little disappointed because I like to talk a little first and they shared a message that is more geared towards their needs but we shared one anyway. The dad was rushing us because he was starving haha. Sigh, at least dinner was delicious.

Thursday we continued to stay busy. We taught 김영희S (Sister Kim) again. Unfortunately she missed Sister Pratt and wasn't a huge fan of Sister Telford. Oh well, our member, 김미란S (Sister Kim) came and we taught anyway. We taught her all about the restoration but she wasn't all that accepting of it. Something was a little off today and I still don't know what that was... However, I do know that we all did our part in inviting the spirit, shared scriptures, and personal experiences. Maybe next week will go better.

When the appointment ended we went to 신세계, a big shopping center, where we were supposed to be having a district activity. Of course the elders were late which left us waiting with huge posters for maybe 30 minutes. Thankfully people stopped to talk to us but still it wasn't all that productive. Once the activity began, everyone was given a sign and we began to promote that we were having an English contest. We had tongue twisters and the lyrics for the 'Frozen' movie for people to sing. It was funny. I was in charge of passing out flyers and bringing people over to participate. It was fun. By 6PM we wrapped up and Sister Gapinski showed up with 김예영S (Sister Kim- Sister Telford's companion) for us to swap back.

By 7PM Sister Gapinski and I were with 이두례S (Momma Lee) eating dinner. Just as we began to eat, her nonmember husband came home! I have only met him a couple of times but he joined us for dinner and we were able to have a nice conversation. He was sad to hear about me leaving soon so we arranged for us to have another dinner appointment on my birthday with whatever food I wanted haha. He is too kind. Sister Gapinski and I tried to make him laugh and his wall fell pretty quickly. We know that Momma Lee struggles with the fact that she comes to church alone and her husband is never around so we tried to keep his attention so maybe he would stay with her when we left. It failed but anyway we had fun. Since he left to play golf, she still came with us to teach our recent convert, 정현지S (HyonChee).

Once we arrived, HyonChee's little sister and father wanted to join us! Score! We scheduled to talk about the steps of Jesus Christ's gospel but we were a little sidetrack as we followed up about following the word of wisdom. HyonChee's face flushed as she fought back to what she drank just before we came over, iced tea. Let's be honest, it's not the end of the world if you drink it but we have been taught not to do so. She has faith that God gave that commandment in wisdom but sometimes she forgets when her mom serves her meals. Poor girl felt so bad and her dad scolded her. We taught about faith, repentance, and the covenants at baptisms and the renewal as we partake of the sacrament. It was a perfect lesson. When it came time for the closing prayer, we asked HyonChee to choose who should say it. She of course picked on her little sister but her little sister was not enthused by the idea. Instead of acknowledging that her sister was taking to her she was playing dead on the floor... She is 12. Anyway, after some back and forth with her father, Momma Lee said, "Whoever prayers receives blessings!" HyonChee immediately folded her arms and started praying haha. It was UH- dorable. She even repented for drinking iced tea right then and there. She is probably the best human I have ever met. I love her.

Friday was HOT!! The sun was blazing the humidity didn't do us any favors. We started our day with 김보희S (Sister Kim). She is probably one of our favorite ward members and today we went over for a practice lesson. Lately we have been focusing on answering questions of the soul with the Book of Mormon so we asked her to think of one and we would try to answer it. She has been watching the news lately and is pretty distraught about the war in Israel. She knows that God has a plan for his children but it sad to see and hear about innocent men, woman, and children dying. We did our best and it was a super spiritual lesson! She was grateful and so were we.

Next, we made our way to a park were we planned to have a sisters zone activity next week. It is a park called 소래습지생태공원 and it is a wetland-fish town place. It's pretty cool! The government rents free bikes too but when we checked, but apparently they are close on Mondays. LAME! We walked about the park and talked to people as we tried to find other solutions for the sisters activity that we had already scheduled haha. Before we left the area we visited a few former investigators with no success yet. It was a little ways from our house so by the time we got home, the rest of the day was spent doing weekly planning. It was a super productive meeting! I made a goal to leave this area with 10 investigators before I left and we are well on our way!! :)

Saturday for lunch we had an appointment with a less-active member, 박미영S (Sister Park). We were just expecting to meet her at her house but when we arrived she quickly shooed us into her car. She took us to a SUPER expensive restaurant! Sister Gapinski and I felt bad pretty much the whole time but we showed her our gratitude. We could definitely tell that she was not at a happy point in her life. Her little six year old daughter is off the wall crazy and Sister Park just has to chase her around to keep her in line. We weren't of much help but we tried to share a spiritual thought to help her. From her initial reaction, we don't know how much good we did... Before dropping us at home she made is stop by Baskin Robins for dessert. Again, we were grateful but we would have preferred to help her feel the spirit- in both restaurants that was next to impossible with all of the chaos going on. The rest of he day was finding former investigators and English was somewhere in there too. Nothing too noteworthy happened.

Sunday was an interesting day. Church was good! I was actually pretty proud of myself because I understood the whole lesson taught in relief society. Maybe it's lame that I am far from fluent in Korean but at least I can say that I'm getting there. Plus gospel vocabulary is where I've set my priorities, so church is my gauge of how far I've come. Oh! Also during sacrament meeting I sat next to HyonChee and as the sacrament was being passed she leaned over and whispered, "Sloan, I repented everyday about drinking iced tea and I'm about to repent again." *as she pointed to the sacrament. It was probably the cutest things she could have ever done. I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to teach her. She is my favorite!

After church we had our normal meal- YUM! A member made spaghetti but can I just tell you what makes spaghetti UH-MAZING? 고추장 sauce. I'm sorry mom, I know you have a great spaghetti sauce but get ready for a little competition hehe.

Once we were happily full and the church was clean, Sister Gapinski and I set out to proselyte at 인천대공원 (Incheon Big Park). It was Sunny when we left but not long after we arrived it began to sprinkle. The sprinkle quickly turned into full on rain so we ducked under a gazebo to wait out the rain. It proved to be productive because we weren't the only fools without umbrellas. We had a couple of great conversations and the decided to tough out the rain when it turned back into a misty sprinkle. Maybe 20 minutes later it felt like a hurricane was coming through. We began to run as we desperately looked for shelter. We joined a swarm of grandmas in another gazebo where they welcomed us with towels to dry off. We were so grateful for them. Again, we decided to wait it out but time was not in side... Our options were running out so this time we decided to take a run for the bus stop. In short, we were SOAKED! By the time we got home we had time to rinse off all the mud, change, and head to the church for our missionary coordination meeting.

Upon our arrival, we looked pathetic to say the least. Our hair was soaked and our bodies shivering. Our ward mission leader brought his wife today and she was SO concerned for us haha. She demanded us to go home, take medicine, and sleep for the rest of the night. We smiled and says we would do what we could. The meeting was productive and the rest of the evening was too. We ate dinner and did call backs until bed. The weather is bazaar nowadays but hey, I'm grateful for the opportunity to wear a sweatshirt tonight. Oh how I've missed the comfort of a soft sweatshirt.

I love you all! Have a great week!
Sister Sloan
슬론 자매

Exchange with Sister Telford - this is at our English contest district meeting.  Isn't YoonGyong cute?

Nom~

I've never classified my hair as 'curly' before...but Korea has changed things.

We are bored as...

Thanks Darrin~

Just putting my laundry away.  Have I ever told you how much we miss dryers that make our laundry fluffy?  Well, my towel is stiff and is still holding the shape of the rack it dried on.

This is a cicada...they come every summer and are solo loud!

Pouring rain!!! Bad day not to bring an umbrella...

Adventures with "Jorge"

7/28-8/3
Monday was the kind of PDAY I have come to appreciate. To start, Sister Gapinski and I were able to spend our day at home doing the full P90xYogaX DVD. It was awesome! With any extra time, we spend it sleeping or writing letters. Perfect PDAY. When 6PM finally rolled around, we found ourselves at the church with 정예림S (Sister Jeong), our English class coordinator, waiting for the elders. We were supposed to have a meeting to consolidate plans for a speech contest we are holding this month and then head to a members house for a practice lesson.... but the elders were pretty late. The meeting went long and we ended up having to cancel with our ward member. It was a bummer. Instead, we boarded a bus to take us to the mission home for tonight. Tomorrow is my last MLC. I have been pretty melancholy today just thinking about all of "my last" things that are coming up. Sister Gapinski was a big help, I'm grateful for her.

Tuesday morning was like a dream come true! We slept in beds with air conditioning on all night and it felt like Heaven. When we finally woke up we were both convinced that that was our best nights sleep on our whole mission. I love that President and Sister Morrise are so willing to let us stay in their home the night before meetings.

MLC was fine. Honestly, I was a little disappointed. Our previous AP, Elder Schofield was the man! He completed his mission so President Morrise had no other choice but to bring in a new assistant but instead of their training being spiritual uplifting and motivational, it was presented in a very factual and matter-a-fact way. We literally read from PMG together and were given a commitment. Amid my disappointment, our cute office couple, the Grosebecks, came up to me to have me fill out some retuning missionary paperwork. 😭 Nooo!! I was pretty sad for the rest of the day. We traveled home just to have both of our appointments cancel. We spent the night proselyting. It was a letdown of a day, however I did receive some personal revelation about how I need to better take care of the sister missionaries here in 인천 (Incheon), so it wasn't all bad.

Wednesday morning was quite the adventure. Earlier 박동규E (Elder Park) and Elder Stowe had referred us an awesome family to teach, and today was our first appointment. We invited a ward member, 김미란S (Sister Kim) to teach with us. She was great and super helpful. As the lesson began we started with introductions just to interrupted by our good friend George (김명하B). He is a member of our ward who prefers to go by George or Jorge, as we like to spell it haha. This man was in a serious car accident which caused major brain problems. While he is still able to function, the wires in his brain aren't all in place- translation, he's a little crazy. Anyway long story short he disrupted our lesson by passing out milk, showing us weird pictures on his phone, and falling asleep in our lesson all before the elders came to save us by pulling him out... It was interesting to say the least.

When the lesson was finally able to progress, the mother was fascinated with Sister Kim's conversion story from the Presbyterian church. She currently is an active member in that church so she had several questions. While this new investigator, 이은실S (Sister Lee) isn't all that interested in studying about our church (mostly English interest for her children) she expressed that she had a dream the previous night that taught her that she needs to be open minded as she meets with us. If that wasn't an answer to our prayers, I don't know what is. It was pretty cool hearing her tell us this. Heavenly Father really does prepare His children to learn about His restored gospel. It was a phenomenal lesson.

As we wrapped up and saw our member and investigators off, the elders finished their lesson with George as well. George was persistent about wanting to make a plan to eat 팥빙수 (Ice Flakes) together. He has been pushing for this since I arrived over 6.5 months ago. I sighed and looked at Sister Gapinski suggesting that we just get it over with. She agreed but pulled the elders in too so we wouldn't be left alone with this crazy man haha. Maybe Elder Park was less than enthused but he came anyway. We walked his scooter all the way down the hill from the church to a Paris Baguette cafe. We ate, he talked about a bunch of nonsense, and we left. I hope that is the end of his persistence.

Next we went back to the church for another investigator appointment but she punked us again, that makes three or four weeks in a row! Today we'll take the hint. :/ Our member still showed up so we made posters for the English speech contest together. It was productive. As we wrapped up, 유경숙S (Sister You) called us and told us to hurry over if we wanted dinner, so we did haha. Her, her husband, and oldest son were home. Their oldest son is serving his time in the military and is quite the rebel nowadays. It is clearly taking a toll on his parents but he seemed to be oblivious to the hurt in their eyes. We ate a delicious meal, shared a spiritual message, and left quickly because Sister You and Brother Beck were on their way out too to go to the temple with the ward. They are awesome members! Our evening ended with visiting former investigators and inactive members. No success yet.

Thursday was our Zone Training meeting. Since last transfer there has been a lot of movement in the mission but especially with leadership positions. Our former Zone Leader, Elder Clawson completed his mission and I was so sad to see him go. He was probably one of my favorite zone leaders. Anyway, with him gone our normal prep meetings for everything have been done away with. So this morning Sister Gapinski and I were hounding the zone leaders to please tell us what we would be training the zone on. We finally decided 30 minutes before the meeting began- not cool. But by the grace of God we actually did really well. We focused on the section of PMG title "Ask Questions." We were both inspired to share several experiences and opened it up for everyone else to share as well. I felt the spirit super strong. I'm grateful that we were still blessed to do well despite out lack of preparation... but hey, sometimes it's better that way. After all, what has Jesus taught us? "Take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak." (New Testament, Matthew 10:19). I know we are blessed when we prepare but maybe today I learned the power of inspiration and revelation when we are called upon to teach. It was cool.

When the meeting ended, Sister Gapinski and I split up to do TIP (teacher improvement program) with a couple sisters. Sister Wright taught me. She was super nervous but did pretty well. I'm grateful to be able to serve near her, she is my "granddaughter" per missionary lingo. My first "daughter" or trainee, 한다솜S (Sister Han) trained Sister Wright. It's funny to see the small things that have been passed down. Posterity is a beautiful thing haha.

When it was finally time to leave, Sister Gapinski and I started an exchanged with 연수 (YonSu) sisters. I brought 곽남희S (Sister Gwak) back to 만수 (Mansu) with me. The only appointment that we had that night was with Momma Lee. She fed us and instead of going to our recent converts house (because she went to youth conference!!) we taught her a practice lesson instead. She is always so kind and loving, I'm really going to miss her. When we finished she asked if she could drive us home since she wouldn't have many opportunities to drive me before I leave for America. I really love her. She always made me promise to come back and visit her.. Duh! She will be a top priority.

Friday was a strange day. For starters, sister Gwak doesn't speak English, she knows it but is too afraid to speak, so I was forced to only speak Korean all day! It was a challenge but I was surprised how much I could spit out, even useless things that just came to mind as we were walked. I'm sad that I'm not better at Korean but hey, I'm able to fulfill my purpose AND I have forever to get better right? Anyway, we got a phone call from a member to meet her at the church. She called like 4 times while we were studying so I figured it was urgent but she wouldn't give a reason. When we came, she just wanted to record us reading English grammar rules for her to play for her students... I love people using me for English. Sigh. When we finished she drove us across town to our appointment. I thought she would join us but she changed her mind and just dropped us off.

Just before we walked into 이경호S (Sister Lee)'s house, our phone started blowing up! A member wanted to refer us to someone interested in our Family English Program but the catch was, we had to get to the church in 10 minutes. We were easily 30 minutes by car and more by bus! We called the elders to see if they could do us a solid and step in. After about 1,000 phone calls and 30 minutes later, everything was figured out and we were knocking on Sister Lee's door.

She was happy to see us. We were quickly welcomed in and served an early lunch ha. She made some dumplings from scratch and proceeded to teach me how to eat it properly (with soy says and green onion kimchee). Let me just say, I understood after the first demonstration but she was adamant on feeding me... I felt like I was a baby but it made her happy to prepare every little bite for me haha. Once we finished all the food we taught. We took a few steps back and recognized that we need to go back and build a firm foundation and faith in God and Jesus. I know that when she understands Them find Their purpose more fully, she'll be willing to act. It went well.

We left and made our way to unsplit. Today was Sister Gwak's birthday so we celebrated with dessert before changing back. It was sooooo good, especially because it is getting sooooo hot and humid nowadays. We attempted to find some former investigators and inactive members but ran out if time before we need to hop on a bus. It took forever by we eventually arrived at 박화성S (Sister Park-Elder Park's Sister)'s house for dinner. We ate a humble meal and shared a spiritual message. It was so good! We love her. As she walked us back to the bus stop, she decided to stay with us until our bus came because there was a mob of Cambodian immigration workers waiting too. One asked for my number purely using body language haha. Super weird! I gave him the Elder's number haha.

Once on a bus we tried to figure out the fastest way home and suddenly we thought it would be best to transfer at a big shopping center. Well boys and girls, I am here to tell you that it was life inspiration. I'll try to keep it short- as we waited for a bus a boy barely younger than us approached us in a panic, he was from Russia and lost. Immediately we get our cute couple investigators (who are fluent in Russian) on the phone and low and behold, the husband was across the street at the same shopping center!  He was waiting for his wife so he quickly came over to help us. We went back and forth with English, Korean, and Russian- it was awesome!! Eventually he was reunited with his brother and we were in a taxi with the cute couple to get home by 10:30. It was quite an eventful way to end our day.

Saturday was pretty uneventful. Studies, less-active hunting, English class, and weekly planning. Maybe the only thing worth mentioning is that today marked the 60 year anniversary of the Dedication of Korea for missionary work. Pretty cool.

Sunday was so great! No investigators came to church today but something else monumental happened, our adorable recent convert, HyonChee, went to a long weekend youth conference with a couple stakes. She told us she had a blast and she made a lot of new friends. And to top it all off she got up in sacrament meeting to bear her testimony about it all! It was a proud 'momma head' moment, if that's a thing... She sat in the meeting with her new friends and they all rock, paper, scissor'ed how would go first. She won and went last. It was the last testimony of the meeting and I wanted to cry. I love her! She really has grown so much!

After church we took Elders Park and Stowe to meet a potential investigator. It all went really well until it started raining and he recommended we duck in a cafe where he wanted to buy us food. I tried to be polite and say we were fasting but Elder Park interrupted and told me it was for missionary work and they we could resume our fast soon haha. Uhhh... That's not how it works but for today, it did. Sigh. Besides that is was good.

The rain really started to come down so Sister Gapinski and I went home to do call backs. No huge success. The evening ended with our ward mission leader. This week was over all pretty good. I hope you all had a great week too!!

Love you!!
Sister Sloan

Lunch with the birthday girl (Sister Shim)

Sunday dinner. I'm straight up tired. All. The. Time.

My beautiful companion

P90X Yoga PDay!

Sweet Korean Nativity set i'm bringing home!

We spy, with our little eyes, five gays...seriously though, those are boys with makeup and revoked man cards.

It's July and we're cold.

Our adventure with Jorge today.

Exchange with Sister Gwak!

Exchanged with Sister Pratt

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