the work moves forward

Yoraboon, can you believe it's been a week?

 

Thank you for the abundance of emails this week and the two handwritten letters (you know who you are). It is really nice to have such inspiring people as family and friends. I am so grateful for your advice, stories, updates and musings.

 

It is amazing to me how quickly and yet how slowly time seems to go by here. This week, in a moment of hesitation to talk to someone, I coined a phrase: "The longer you wait the less time you have." Just call me Yogi Berra. But really, it's true. When I really consider who people are, see them as people, I am much more apt to talk to them and invite them to learn more about our message. Today, whomever I sat by, I imagined someone I love around their age--whether it be Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma, Laura, Nick, Charlotte, Robert, Megan, Matt...and how much the message of the restored gospel has blessed their lives. This exercise has actually proven to be the most inspiring as far as getting me to say something to someone. I am still struggling to do this, but we're getting there.

 

The urgency to share the gospel initially turned me into a crazy person--if I wasn't talking to someone I was guilty, and if I was talking to someone I was pretty forward. I have laxed up a bit, but I really know that I shouldn't. The habits I make now will stay with me my entire mission. This mission is undergoing major revamping right now. Prior to President and Sister Gilbert's arrival, my companion confessed that most companionships were lucky if they even talked to ten people per day outside of regular activities. Although Sister Oaks and I didn't have the week we envisioned and were a little disappointed with ourselves, we have grown together in our commitment to share the gospel. In Preach My Gospel it says that our success is primarily measured and defined by our commitment to invite others to come unto Christ. We are taking that to heart and really trying to find people to teach now.

 

We weren't able to meet with Kim Su Eon this week (the guy we met at the subway station who asked us about life callings). Apparently he is busy with tests at school until the beginning of October. We will be calling him. I think he will be surprised to hear from us again, but Sister Oaks and I feel like he really is ready to hear the gospel.

 

Last Sunday we went to dinner at a member's house. She has two teenage girls and...a guitar! I got to play it and sang one of my more religiously based songs. One of the daughters said I have a "husky" voice. Thank you! Their English vocabulary is so impressive and entertaining here. Of course I thought of the time that Mac said he liked the "Husky" pants. Oh boy.

 

I also went on exchanges with Sister Ee early last week. She is serving in Ulsan. She actually came to my area, Sang In in Daegu. She is really inspiring. She went to school in Seoul for nursing, but is from Busan. She wrote that in big letters in her mission papers, but....she got called to the Busan mission anyway. So Laura, although California was an initial disappointment, I think Sister Ee has you beat. Her Dad is the stake president in Busan so she can't serve there. She basically has the possibility of two or three areas to serve in. Anyway, her English is very good and she described how she likes how Joseph Smith described his experience in the first vision by saying "The light descended gradually until it fell upon me." She emphasized that we need to be patient with ourselves and others and expect that we will come to an understanding of how to be the best missionary we can, but that it will likely happen gradually, as my testimony has. She is really outgoing and good at contacting, so it was a nice change of pace for me. I hope someday I get to serve with her. We'll see. When we went back on the bus to Ulsan (about an hour and 45 minute ride), I was able to see the familiar Tae Wah river etc. It was kind of fun.

 

Yesterday after church we did a "service project" way out in the country with the ward where we harvested chestnuts. I had no idea where we were going or what we were going to do. It was the most unusual Sunday afternoon I have spent here. Just smack those trees and look out below. When the bishop was hitting a tree one came down on my arm. Luckily I was wearing a sweater so the spikes didn't penetrate the skin, but this morning I looked at my arm and thought I might have poison ivy or something....no, just left over from the collision. Never a dull moment.

 

Everyone on the street is quick to compliment your Korean even if you only say "An yeong ha say o." It is very sweet. The culture is very much like that. I was thinking about how rude we can be as Americans when people are trying to speak English. Generally, a lot of people just say "I can't understand you" or "you should be better at English if you're going to live here." I hope I can be more complimentary about it when I return. I think I could get in a lot of trouble though, as the USA is a little bit more of a melting pot than Korea. There are lots of people to offend by complimenting their English skills if they have lived there their whole lives....ha.

 

I have loved the hymns more than ever. "Come Come Ye Saints" has been particulary influential. The line "no toil or labor fear, grace shall be as your day," has resounded. Grace will always outdo any obstacle to God's work if we are willing. Pray for me to be better and to exercise faith. I can feel your prayers, and I know that it is because of them that I have been able to do any needful thing up to this point.

 

M and D-- Thank you for your letters and thoughts! lots of traveling, as per usual, it seems. It sounds like Guam is full of many kind warm people like Korea is. Glad you were able to make some connections to the Chuukese government. Maybe a future career in store? I love that you are pushing the missionaries. It is absolutely what we need.

 

Nick-- Thank you for your thoughful letter. I love hearing about your mission and the ways the spirit led you. It is always motivating. It's nice to hear you are doing well and are happy. Glad I'm not missing an NBA season. Ha.

 

Meg-- Thank you for your note! You are a gem. I love to hear your thoughts and funny tid bits. They keep me going, always. Tell Mac attack hello from me.

 

Char-- thanks for the past letter, pictures, and new letter. I love hearing from you. I am glad you know about Asia, especially Korea, and that you have good ideas for contacting. I really need and appreciate them. Sometimes I wish we were companions so we could tear it up. Ha. Glad you and the boyz are doing ok.

 

Matt-- glad to hear the job in Calgary is better. You run those board meetings like they've never been run before. I'm pretty sure you'll be USA president by the time I return.

 

Laura-- thank you for the update on you and yours. Minnie! What a little babe. Can't wait to meet her someday. I'm glad you're doing well and finding a little more purpose in work/motherhood balance. Thank you for your advice, always.

 

Robert-- sounds like you really nailed the blessing. Wish I could have been there to hear it. Hope school is going well.

 

Love you all! Till next time.

 

Julia

Chuseok has come and gone. Time to work!

Hello to all of you lovely people!

 

Thank you for writing to me this week! I love hearing from you, always. I am still learning so much every single day.  Sometimes the lessons are very hard to learn, but I am blessed when I apply what I learn. This week I was reading about Abinadi in The Book of Mormon and he stated that a certain group was not wise because they did not apply their hearts to understanding (Mosiah 12:27). Oh, so that's what I have to do...

 

Last Tuesday the entire mission went to Busan for a mission P-day to celebrate Chuseok. Each zone had t-shirts made for their zone and we had a bunch of fun activities/food. It is always inspiring and upliftting to be around The Gilberts and the other missionaries en masse. I always walk away mre determined to do my best. President Gilbert told us that we cannot be casual about who we are. That is absolutely true. Whenever I start to feel that way I get really really sad about it. When I try, even though people might not listen to me, I know I am showing Heavenly Father and myself the commitment I have to His work. I also read a quote from Heber J. Grant that has been proplelling me forward:

 

"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do; not that the nature of the thing is changed, but that our power to do is increased."

 

We also spent the actual night of Chuseok (Monday) at the house of some members of our ward.  They own a restaurant out in the country, but invited us to their house.  There are lots of traditional dishes made especially for Chuseok--one of which is shark. I tried it. It tasted exactly like I imagined the dog sharks drenched in formaldehyde we dissected in 6th grade might taste. It wasn't too bad, actually. Most of the food here has been okay. I don't crave it yet, but I eat it with a smile on my face. Chopstick skills are going up.

 

The members with whom we spent Chuseok are just good, down to earth, humble people. The husband is the first counselor in the bishopric and the wife is the 1st counselor in the Relief Society. In Korea, they play rock, paper, scissors (Kai Bai Bo) for everything. Their 12 year old son lacks some sort of growth hormone so he is really tiny. When he was playing his siblings/dad in Kai Bai Bo to see who would have to do the dishes he just kept winning and winning and laughing hysterically. Some things don't need much of a translation.

 

We had a really frustrating day a few days ago.  We had an "appointment" with the Relief Society and the elders in our area.  It was at the Daegu Arboretum, where the RS President lives. It ended up being a tour and a leisurely walk that lasted way too long. It was like P-Day on a non-P-day day.  We found out later that one of the elders has to go home tomorrow because he can't serve in the army when he thought he might be able to, so he's headed home a few months early to start school and get his military assignment figured out. So, it was sort of like his last hurrah, but it drove me crazy. Anyway, we had an appointment to meet with a 50 something year old Buddhist man at our church--my first teaching appointment with someone interested in the gospel. We had planned to meet him at the subway station right by our house. We got the church ready and walked to the station to pick him up. We waited...and waited....and waited....nothing. So after about 20 minutes and a phone call that he did not answer, we went back to the church to get ready for English class. We were a little disappointed. We had met a Chinese girl who was planning to come to our English class that day, so we headed back to the subway station to pick her up about a half hour later. We waited, and waited....nothing. As we were a little discouraged, both of us were sort of distracted. Suddenly, a kid in his 20s sat down next to us and in English says: "I want to ask you a question."  We were kind of shocked. He must have walked up from the train, through the turnstyle, past us and then circled back around the pillar that we were sitting by to talk to us. He proceeded:

 

"I want to talk to you about life callings, because you obviously know more about God than I do.  As youths, we have to make a lot of decisions and today I had an experience.  Just three hours ago I finished a service project where we got to work with people with disabilities.  I have been a law/business major at a Catholic university here in Daegu for a while, but I felt really good while I was serving with these people. I just finished talking to a friend of mine who was a social work major and I'm considering switching over. How do I know it's God telling me to do this instead of just my own thoughts?"

 

Wha?? How in the world was this person just led to us? We explained that every good thing comes from God adn that feelings are often the way he communicates with us---they are real. We told him that through prayer and careful consideration he would be able to know what he is supposed to do. He was so thoughtful and open hearted. He was on his way to talk to his pastor about it.  We asked his name (Kim Su Eon...but my Christian name is Paul). We asked if we could meet again. He gave us his information and we are going to set up an appointment this week.  It was surreal.

 

In PMG it says that we will be led to people who are ready to talk about spiritual things or they will be led to us.  I hadn't really believed the latter part of that promise until the other day.  We had asked him if he had ever seen missionaries before and he said that he's seen them on the train, but he's never had the courage to talk to him.  What does that imply? That there are many who want to talk, but we just have to take that step to invite them to talk. What had seemed like a failure of a day evolved into the most miraculous day of my mission thus far.

 

As we walked back to the church I thought about how carefully that had to have happened. I am convinced more than ever that my life/God's work is kind of like a symphony--a very dissonant theme does not make itself manifest or meaningful often until much later in the piece, but Heavenly Father knows the notes well and the instruments to carry out the work.  He knows who will hear Him through specific instruments and He conducst with great confidence and care.  More than "one step enough for me," as suggested in Lead Kindly Light, it has become one note enough for me.  While I was in the MTC, my friend Nelda shared a May Swenson quote with me about a bird who is perched on a statue of an angel: "We know not upon what mystery we stand." Essentially, so much more can be made of us if we trust both what we've been given (our wings/talents) and the wings of the God we put our trust in (his promises are sure). It's true. We're looking forward to meeting with Kim Su Eon and others this week. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

Mom and Dad--busy as usual! Sounds like you are doing well and loving to be with the missionaries. I have no doubt that like the missionaries in the Busan mission, the missionaries absolutely love being around you too. Love you both

 

Nick and Megan-- so fun to have somany little concerts and fall activities lately.  Thanks for your love! Oh BMcKnight...would have been dreamy. Love!

 

Char and Matt-- thank you for your letters, Chucky. I didn't get the DearElder you meant for me to get. I sent home a box with my mission home address in it (it's in the big packet they give you before you go on the mission).  Laura can find it for you. I don't have it with me right this second. I miss the boys and you of course. Thank you for keeping me updated on their developing personlaites. Any tips for street contacting in Asia? Everyone is on their phone, everyone is running around, I can't say much. I will try. What was your approach(es)? BRT? Spread the message like crazy? Love.

 

Laura and Robert-- keep at it. thank you for your pictures of Minnie! Keep them coming. I can't believe she's already nearly a month old. I love you both! Contact approach suggestions welcome. Love to love you.

 

Till next time. Thank you for your prayers! I love all of you dearly.

 

Love,

Julia

happy chu seok!

Hello hello dearest everyone,

 

Thank you for your words of encouragement and updates! Kimberslee, I got your DearElder yesterday. Thank you for that. You are a gem.

 

Oh boy, so what has been happening. On Wednesday Elder Ringwood came to our zone for mission tour along with President and Sister Gilbert. He talked about "particles of faith" as described in Alma 32:26-28. From this verse and a few others on faith we learn that desire, belief, hope, and ACTION are all the main elements of faith. He talked about how we don't know who is ready to hear the gospel so we need to invite everyone with the expectation that miracles are happening, but that we need to go forward in faith without the need to see those miracles. They are so often happening behind us. I had studied about miracles earlier this week and in the Bible Dictionary it says that the greatest miracle is the atonement/ressurection of Jesus Christ and if this be admitted then all other miracles cease to be improbable!

 

I thought about a recent convert we have here in the Sang In Ward. Her name is Kim Jeong Yoon and she is about 21 years old. Her friend, who likes to talk to foreigners, was on the subway and met some missionaries. They arranged a time to meet together again, and Kim Jeong Yoon's friend, being a little nervous about the situation, later invited Kim Jeong Yoon along as well. Kim Jeong Yoon's friend ended up not being interested in the gospel, but Kim Jeong Yoon was soon baptized and completely turned her life around. This week over a bowl of Halloween Wizard ice cream (mint, fudge, and pop rocks...only in Korea), she told me that a lot of her friends don't understand her, but she doesn't care. She has helped us have two potential investigators in her sister and another friend--a sign of true conversion, I think. She is going to study English at BYU in December. I know there are other Kim Jeong Yoon's out there. They might not be the person on the subway, but they might be that person's friend.

 

I have lacked the action part of faith to really contact people "as much as I can," as I am instructed in Preach My Gospel. While jump roping the other morning (my calves are going to be monsters by the end of 15 months), we were listening to "Come Come Ye Saints." The line that caught my attention was "fresh courage take." That has been my effort the past few days, even in the very moment. It is not my job to judge whether someone will or will not accept the gospel, but to be a great inviter.

 

I will admit it is hard because every day I engage in very awkward conversations (at least for other people). Unfortunately at this point I am kind of like a billboard with sem-interactive capabilities. I can spew my message (hopefully accurately convey my sincerity), ask a few questions and hope to understand, but that's about it. It probably seems very stiff to others. I am learning not to focus on what I can't do, because it's not about me at all.

As a companionship we have some differences. I have what some might call greenie fire. I want to, or at least feel it is my duty, to talk to everyone. I don't really know how. Sister Oaks is not a fan of the awkwardness that sometimes comes with this work. I have a feeling the awkwardness becomes more perceptible the more you learn the language. It turns out missions are hard and some days my desire for diligence (though not always carried out as well as I wish it were) may have others deeming me an "emotionless robot," at least in their hearts. Shout out to you, Robert. You're not the only one! But, I am learning to laugh more, make mistakes and hopefully keep my ego out of this business.

 

We are not currently teaching anyone on a regular basis. Koreans have the uncanny ability to keep themselves busier than any other culture I have seen. School, all the time. If it's not school, it's work and very regimented play schedules. President Gilbert has challenged us to strive to get three contacts per day. I know we can do it. We have had some success as we have put forth the effort. If he asks us to do it, there is a way.

 

I know this work is God's work and that Jesus Christ is my Savior.

 

Chu Seok, sort of like Korean Thanksgiving (Harvest celebration), is today and tomorrow. Tomorrow the entire Busan Mission will travel to Busan for some festivities with the Gilberts. I think it will be a lot of fun. It will be nice to see everyone from the MTC in a central location. Yahoo!

 

Mom: Sounds like you're doing great. Thanks for the letter. Other languages are so hard, aren't they? The good news is that our sincerity communicates much more than our words. Keep after it. I know you will and are. I'm so impressed by your willingness to use your talents! Love you.

 

Dad: Thanks for the letter. I actually read that scripture about "the elect," this morning. I love it as well. Those who are willing to open their hearts and hear will receive truth. Such a cool concept. Sounds like you are busy, as usual. Elder Ringwood spoke highly of you and Mom. Thanks for your consistent effort to stay in touch! Love you!

 

Char: The bullet points were more coherent than you think. Thank you! Glad to hear you're okay. Can't say I'm all to surpirsed about the passports. My ministerial certificate is MIA somewhere in Korea, but I still have my passport, luckily. Hope Calgary is good. Love to love.

 

Ladi: Thank you for your letter. Much of it is EXACTLY what I needed to hear. I may be picking your brain more soon about some of the things you said. Unity is important and we're striving for it here. Minnie is as cute as can be. Love you so!

 

Bobby: Looking good on that lap top in the pic Ladi sent. Hope school etc is going well! From one wet blanket to another, keep it up!

 

Nick and Megan: Hope you are doing well and you have ventured in the multi level marketing scheme once again. Go Go Go Go!

 

Love Love Love.

 

Julia

almost one week in korea

Hello family!!

 

I am here in Korea, believe it or not. Most days I still can't believe it. The other day I had a dream that I lost my passport and had to go home. Even my subconsious can't believe I'm here.

 

The entire initiation process was really fun. We hadn't been all that courageous at the airports and were a little down on ourselves, but when we saw the Gilberts there to pick us up, their enthusiasm for the work and gratitude for us was so apparent that discouragement melted away. We went to the mission home and quickly went to sleep. The next morning we had interviews with President Glibert. He is a powerhouse and along with Sister Glibert they are unstoppable, honestly. We did some bank paper work and got our accounts figured out and then came back to eat. We got ready to go down to the subway and contact with our trainers. We still weren't sure who our trainers would be, but there were two options: Sister Li (from the Seoul area, extremely charismatic and smiley, been here for 2 transfers serving in Busan) and Sister Oaks (from Colorao Springs, a little more somber, but obviously knows the language pretty well, been in country 9 months, serving in Daegu). Initially I was with Sister Li and Sister Brady was with Sister Oaks. It is Busan mission tradition to run from the mission home to the subway station. I ignorantly wore some ineffective shoes and also left my quadruple combination in my bag. It was a slower run than anticipated with all the set backs. Sister Li, although she didn't speak a lot of English, would grab part of my bag and help me run. She was so sweet. We got on the subway and I was under the impression that we needed to do missionary work (right?) so I just started talking to someone. It was awkward, but when I speak in Korean I am pretty oblivious to the idea that things are awkward. Sister Li thought I knew I was supposed to stick with her. We were in the same car, but after she was done contacting someone she came and said 'you can stay with me." Ha. She was proud of me. She smiles and talks with people really naturally. People like her, even when she has a nametag on. It was really incredible to be part of her interaction with others. By the time we went to dinner we had three contacts. Dinner was good, although I dropped a piece of tofu straight into my sweet rice water. The chopstick skills aren't quite up to par yet. Lots of laughing, anyway. The Gilberts came and contacted with us too, even though Sister Gilbert had a migraine. I wouldn't have even known it unless President Gilbert had told us she did. She knows about four words in Korean, but she communicates much more than that. It is inspiring. Sometimes I forget about that.

 

The next day we took care of some more business etc. Then we went to contact on the subway again. I was with Sister Oaks this time. We didn't get any contacts and both of us struggled to talk conversationally with one another. Anyway, it still went okay. Later that day we found out that we would be companions and it was time to go. The office missionaries drove us to the train station and we were off to Daegu. (Didn't we take the train from Daegu to Seoul last summer?) Anyway, my bags were both just under 50 pounds. We were quite the sight. She didn't know where the elevator was near our subway stop so we hauled everything up about six flights of stairs. Most people are nice to us even though they are a little leary of the nametags.

 

Anyway, this week has been pretty good. The ward we're in is doing really well. They had a ward goal of 14 baptisms this year and they have already met that goal! We are in the Sawng Shin Ward/Area. In Korea, food is a really important part of the culture. As a result, we stay at appointments way too long (usually with members) trying to get out so we can do some more work. I don't know this culture well, but I'm pretty sure white handbook trumps all. We're working on it. There are some really strong new converts we've met with this week.

 

On the long bus ride to meet one of them out in the country, we didn't really contact people. It's hard when I can't understand what people are saying back to me. Susan Johnsen, in a Young Women's lesson a long time ago, told us that we need to get over our selfish shyness if we are to help anyone. I haven't forgotten that, but I have forgotten to act on it sometimes. On the way back from our lunch appointment the bus really started to fill up. A girl who was maybe about 15 sat next to me. I had said "An yong ha say o" to her as she sat down and was trying to figure out what else to say. After a minute of silence she said to me in English, "excuse me, where are you from?" It was a wake up call. Heavenly Father has people who want to talk to me, even if they aren't interested in the church. I talked to her and invited her to learn more. I gave her a pass along card and we got her information. We will contact her later today. It was really quite motivating. The busses are crazy here, by the way. If anyone has ever played the Crazy Taxi video game, it's like that, but on a bus.

 

We also teach English class as a venue for potential investigators. Unfortunately there are a wide variety of attenders. Kids from about 5 to middle aged woman of about 50. There were twelve people at class. I was kind of wondering i it would be a good use of time.  The littlest kids are actually the best at English (some of them were born in the US). One of the little girls brought her pet hamster to class in its cage.  As class was going and Elder Babcock was teaching this diverse audience about the concept of the idiom "figment of my imagination" (way over the heads of most class members) and teaching them extremely useful words like "whimple," the little girl got the hamster out.  One of the high school agedd boys who is not a member of the church came over and was trying to hold it and get it back in the cage.  The hamster bit himwhile eeryone else was reciting an English tongue twister and he freaked out...then someone else said "I smell smoke." The other high school boy was missing and we discovered he'd been smoking in the church bathroom.  This series of events made me laugh harder than I have since I got here. Seriously laughed to tears. It was good therapy. Hopefully the Gilberts are revamping the English class program.  We need to find people, not save hamsters, reactivate smoke detectors and play musical chairs with middle aged women. I hope we can focus better.

 

We have a few investigators, but we need to make sure they are progressing and find some more. I am excited to do these things. So cool.

 

Yesterday I shared my introdcutory testimony at church. It was very simple, but the little kids told me I was a good speaker because I didn't use long sentences. That's all I have, kids. Glad you like it. Ha. People were gracious to me.

 

The church is true. I hope we can share it better. Love all of you so much. Thank you for your letters, Grandma, Megan, Mom and Dad! Until next week!

 

Love,

Julia