fresh starts and starting over

Wow, so much love from home this week. Thank you! It sounds like
you're all doing well. I was grateful, especially, for all the cute
pictures I got to see. You look great too.

Well, the first week of my last transfer (sort of, as I will have an
awkward interim of about two weeks where I will probably serve with
some sisters in Busan before I go home) is underway. I haven't been
companions with an American for 2 transfers now. I have found that
there are pros and cons, as one would expect, in serving with Koreans
and Americans.  One of the surprise pros is that people are A LOT
nicer to us in our initial approach. I had initially thought that
people on Jeju are kind of more closed than other areas where I've
served, which may still be true, but two American girls stammering
through Korean seems to soften that facade a little bit. I may have
mentioned this before, but before my mission, being called "cute" kind
of felt patronizing and was a term I wasn't interested in being
associated with..ha. Well, I have been humbled to a degree I didn't
know was possible on my mission and the language has made me simple
and quite literally like a child. I have never been "cuter," but if it
simple kindness and testimony soften people's hearts to the truth than
I will gladly serve Heavenly Father in this way. We are cute. Sweet
grandmas and people on the bus offer us clementines and snacks and
candy bars just for saying hello, for sitting on the bus next to them,
talking to them, and even sharing our message. The parent mentality is
a strong one in Korea--people see us and see how far we are from home
and what we're doing and have mercy on us. I'm grateful for it and I
hope they will allow us to give them the greatest gift we can offer.

Some of you may remember that at Christmas time I am the #1 clementine
fan. For not liking to be called cute I know how to down those
"Cuties." Anyway, just thought I'd let you know that I am in heaven.
It is 귤 (clementine) season in Jeju right now. They are famous for
growing them here and are practically giving them away. I couldn't be
happier.

We just got back from hiking part of Halla San, a giant famous
mountain in Jeju. It was a tough hike and we didn't make it to the
top, but the journey was scenic so I enjoyed it a lot.

This week we didn't have as many opportunities to offer that gift as
we would have liked. It seems like most of what was going well for us
last transfer kind of fell apart this week. The first week of a
transfer can be a little rough, as it is a time of adjustment for
everyone, but we're going to be okay and we laughed about it. Sister
Baker is a really hard worker and understands me well. I'm glad to be
her companion.

Brother Kim, the older man whose wife passed away, told us he didn't
want to meet with us. Two of our other investigators stopped
responding to us completely (Sister An, the girl I met on the bus
while we were fasting a few weeks ago and her friend, Sister Jeon). It
was tough, but I know there has to be something better coming. The
most successful method of finding in the Asia area right now is
through the English classes, so we are working to build up our English
class and come up with new ideas (newspaper ads, fliers, etc.) to
advertise and promote it. I hope it will make a difference and we can
find people whose hearts are open to the gospel.

We met with Sister Kim, the less active sister we meet with weekly, at
her restaurant. She usually has a lot of questions that I either don't
understand or, in her estimation, can't answer adequately enough. As
Sister Baker and I are both foreigners, we were worried that she would
be  frustrated with the situation. We decided to take two of our
members, Sister Kim (another one) and Sister Ram. They are in their
late 20s, but are both converts, very warm and knowledgeable about the
scriptures. It was the right choice. Her questions about the
scriptures, although all over the place, were well-fielded by Sister
Kim and we tried to refocus the lesson on basic principles of the
gospel she is still having trouble with (God's existence and
faith/prayer), and Sister Ram added a beautiful testimony that seemed
to relate really well to Sister Kim's experience. It was a huge
testimony to me about the influence of good members and why it is so
vital to have them be a part of as many of these lessons as possible.
We were sooooo grateful.

Tonight we will be calling ALL of our former investigators and
contacts. I think it will be good to work with what we already have
and have to scrap so hard to get. It will be a week of finding, but I
have learned that, like Dad says, it's our job to invite people to
make commitments. That is the door to faith and repentance. I gave a
talk in district meeting where I realized that all these doors
(commitment, faith, repentance, baptism/Gift of the Holy Ghost,
enduring to the end) are doors that the investigators have to choose
to open.  "Narrow is the way and few there be that find it." It is my
job to help them, and while it can be easy to dislike agency sometimes
and ask "what CAN i do?" I came to find that I am actually standing on
the other side of the door that comes before commitment. That door is
love for these people. It's my job to open it. I'm grateful for my job
and although it's not natural for me to love or express my love, I
know that Heavenly Father lets me in on some rich spiritual
interaction when I make that choice.

Ah. My time is short, in more ways than one, but I'm happy to serve here.

Love you all so much!

Sister Julia Mecham

Dad-- sounds like you're doing well. Is there a Sam Gerber coming to
your mission? He's the little brother of one of my companion's
friends. A round about connection, but I think he's coming in the next
transfer or two. Glad you're finally able to get a little rest after a
busy Oct.

Mom--thank you for the travelogue and spiritual stories--you are so
good at explaining things so i can really imagine them. Love you!!

Nick-- hope work and your free trip preparations are going well.
Sounds like fun and sounds like you're doing well with the job!

Meg-- thanks for the mail! I hope that everything works out well with
family and such. Tell Mac hello. How is work?

Char-- great pics! thanks for the blog update. I love love loved
seeing what's been going on. the boys are looking more and more
handsome and you look great as well! i want to learn how to take
better pictures from you in the future!

Matt-- I hope you are finding some time off work and are enjoying
life. You are great!

Ladi-- I already told you, but I can't believe all that hair! You are
beautiful. Anyway, glad you're happy and I love the stories about
Minnie. She sounds like a character although it may look as though she
inherited my photogenics...is it possible to inherit such a thing from
an aunt? She looks cute, huge gap between her front teeth and all.

Bob-- hope school and work are going well. I heard you are really good
at cleaning car interiors. I guess being a dad helps you develop more
talents than you even knew or wished you had.

Grandma--thanks for the mail! You are always so connected to everyone
around the world--it amazes me. You know how to make friends
everywhere you go. Would you like to come be my missionary companion?
We could use you :) Love you.

LOVE!