Training or being trained? both.

Hello family!

I'm sure you're wondering how I'm holding up. I'm wondering the same thing. Ha. First things first, my companion is really great. Her name is Yeon Su Hyeon and she is from Seoul. She lived in the United States/Canada for 7 years (age 14-20), so she speaks English fluently and Korean of course as well. She actually lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan briefly when she was 14 years old. She noticed on my family reunion shirt that it said Ann Arbor and wondered if I had family there. When I told her that Brad and Meredith live there we pieced it together that Brad was her bishop when she lived there. She said he may not remember her because "she was a shy little Asian girl." It was fun to make that connection anyway. The Sunday before she came was stake conference, where they played a video about Korean missionaries in the MTC. I was really impressed by one of the sisters who was interviewed...and now she is my companion! Wild. She is semi-famous in the stake.

Anyway, we spent a few days in Busan for training day. It was fun. We got to do a lot of contacting on the subways and on the street. Sister Yeon tore it up. She got a few contacts and gave away a copy of The Book of Mormon. She is a good mix of both a desire to be exactly obedient (that I really haven't seen in many of the missionaries here), a desire to be a Preach My Gospel missionary (that is, actually open our mouths instead of hang out with the youth for a few hours on a Saturday afternoon), and the warm Korean personality that so pervades this country. We are enjoying our time together so far even though I lack much sense of direction sometimes...ha. That's really the only thing that's caused any frustration. It will get better. Especially as both of us get to know the area better.

Being "young" in the mission may be what others deem our biggest weakness, but I really see it as a strength. Being around all these young missionaries with a lot of desire and no notion of mission culture has really helped me refocus and given me renewed desire to really do what I've been called to do. I noticed that many of my contacts lacked the most important parts--testimony and promised blessings. That's the point when the spirit can step in. It is fun and motivating to be with someone who is really trying to be a good missionary in all of the ways that I want to be a good missionary. I am lucky and plan on capitalizing on this time I have with Sister Yeon.

On the way back to Jin Hae from Busan I inevitably took the wrong bus...but we were able to get the bus driver to meander his way to Jin Hae and talk to him about the gospel too. How grateful I was for a Korean companion at that point. So far no more wrong busses. The good news is both of us know it is better to laugh than get worked up.

On Sunday our two most recent converts, Eu Hae En and Lee Yeon Jeong were supposed to get confirmed in sacrament meeting. We had talked to them and they were planning on coming. Up to this point I hadn't really felt a lot of responsibiity or worry about investigators coming to church. They usually do so I figured they would. Sacrament meeting started and they still weren't there. The bishop and his counselors motioned to me and I told them they were coming...We sang the opening hymn. Still not there. The opening prayer was particularly lengthy and I was praying the most fervent prayer this little heart knows how to pray. During the opening prayer I heard the chapel doors open. The prayer concluded and Eu Hae En and Lee Yeon Jeong barely had time to sit down before they were called back up to the front to receive the Holy Ghost. It was good. Even if they were in their jeans and pajamas. I'll take it, and I know Heavenly Father will too.

We have big plans for the area. Yesterday we got a less active list and also emphasized at the ward council that we can only stay at members' homes for an hour or maybe an hour and 15 minutes for meals. This was emphasized by my Korean companion and is culturally sometimes a sensitive subject. At any rate I think they took it a lot better from her than they would from me.

We are trying to teach Kim Do Ah's (a new member) father and grandmother. It will be interesting. The father has cancer, and was initially hardened toward the church and the missionaries. He has really progressed a lot in his feelings toward us and allowing his daughter to learn about the church. Tonight we will go to their house and invite them to be part of the lesson after dinner. We are hopeful.

In our new effort to be bold we are really trying to teach investigators in the right way. It is really refreshing to have a renewed sense of purpose and I hope it will permeate everything we do.

It will be good! Thank you for your support and love!

Glad to hear Thanksgiving was fun all around. I ate a Korean feast followed by pumpkin pie at The Gilbert's for training day. I did enjoy that pumpkin pie. Oh, and Mom, thank you for the Reese's! A little piece of heaven on sometimes long days. Love you Love you!

Love,

Julia

growing up awfully fast

Hello!!

 

Well, I am writing to you much later than usual because...as Mom and Dad already know, I am training!! Wha????! I was schocked. Floored, quite literally. President Gilbert asked if I was sitting down. This is not necessarily due to any skill or virtue of my own, but really, they had no other choice. Typically they try not to have someone "white wash" (move to a new area they don't know well/doesn't have good records) and train at the same time. My companion, Sister Lee Ga Hee, has been in Jin Hae/Pung Ho since she came to Korea in June. So, it was time for her to go, but she is not training in her new area. There are a lot of sisters getting called to our mission and not all that many sisters in our mission. So, as it were, it's me, I guess. Apparently it's some sort of mission record to have a foreigner train after just two transfers. So, here I am. Guinea pig. I am nervous in a lot of ways, but excited in a lot of ways too.

 

President Gilbert asked if I was sitting down when he called, which is always the line to open a can of worms. When he told me I was training I kind of fell to my knees on the kitchen floor and my stomach flipped over once or twice. I think that's how I will best serve my new companion---if I stay on my knees and pray. I told President that I was a little overwhelmed, but that I would get over it. I then said, I'm over it. Ha. Fake it til you make it, as the saying goes. I understand that Mom and Dad were actually in the Gilbert's hotel room in Seoul when they called to tell me the news. Ha. I'm glad you didn't say anything, ha, but in some way it's nice to know you were there. I feel like you're always here with me, especially as we're united in purpose. The Gilberts are great.

 

Anyway, I'm in Busan for a few days on exchanges. Today was exchange day so we brought Lee Ga Hee to Busan to meet her new companion and go to her new area. I will stay with Sister Min Bo Ram and Sister Oaks in Busan until Wednesday/Thursday when we have training day at the mission home. I am excited because I feel it will be fun to be with a brand new missionary. I remember having a huuuuggee sense of urgency. I remember being inside and hearing cars honk and thinking I really needed to be outside preaching the gospel. The honking cars were a reminder that there are souls behind those steering wheels and I really want to help them. In some ways, "old" mission culture has extinguished some of that fire out of me and my mission hasn't quite been what I want it to be. I'm grateful Heavenly Father gives me so many opportunities to start over and grow. It's incredible when I think about it.

 

There are 4 American sisters and one Korean sister coming. I'm hoping for the Korean. We'll see.

 

On Saturday, we had two baptisms---Lee Yeon Jeong and Eu Hae En. They are 14 year old friends. Eu Hae En chose the oldest grandpa in the ward to baptize her. He is a little confused sometimes, so he had to baptize her twice because it didn't go quite right the first time. She was gasping when she came out of the water the second time, because he held her in for so long. When she got in the bathroom she said just loud enough for everyone to hear... "I didn't know baptism would entail someone trying to kill me." Truly the start of a new life, in more ways than one. Ha. They were sweet and shy and a little overwhelmed at all the attention. They will be confirmed on the 27th since Sunday was Stake Conference.

 

I am nervous about our investigators because so many of them are close to Lee Ga Hee and I sometimes wonder if their interest is a gospel interest. But, I know that Heavenly Father is over all, so I will do my best to fill any holes in the right way. With Him I am whole, not a hole. He knows them perfectly. I'm looking forward to the opportunity. If you haven't been praying for me, please, get on your knees. Ha.

 

Charlotte, I saw your friend Ben at Stake Conference. he was nice enough to say hello. He was kind.

 

That's about it. This work is God's work! I'm grateful for Him and for the restored gospel. Wish me luck. Or better yet, pray.

 

Love you all.

Time is up.

 

Julia

Happy Birthday, Chucky!

It's me again, everyone!

I love hearing from you, so thank you!

First of all, happy birthday to Charlotte! I hope it was a nice day and that Lincoln made you breakfast in bed. Secondly, I was sad to hear about Meredith. I hope she is doing better. I will pray for her. Also, Mom and Dad, I hope you are enjoying Korea. The Gilberts are the best and they are looking forward to talking to you too! It is actually not all that cold, luckily. I usually do just fine with my pea coat, which incidentally looks an awful lot like the Korean Navy jackets. There are a lot of sailors/Navy men in Jinhae, so it is kind of funny to have matching jackets. Ha.

Anyway, the work! This week has been good for a few reasons--we have been teaching two 14-year old girls, Lee Yeon Jeong and Eu Hae En. Sister Lee Ga Hee first met one of their friends, Sister Che, on the street about 6 or 7 weeks ago. We initially met with that friend, who the following meeting, brought 3 additional friends. Sister Che and Seong Ga Jeong, the third friend she invited to our meetings, have not been progressing. However, a few weeks ago Lee Yeon Jeong and Eu Hae En committed to be baptized on November 19th. They are the two who when they heard about the plan of salvation let out an audible sigh of awe. They are good girls. 

We were worried about parent permission, so last Monday we met Lee Yeon Jeong's mother. She wasn't expecting us, but we brought cookies and eventually brought up the baptism. The clock really has never ticked so loudly as it did in those moments of silent waiting...she wasn't too opposed, and generally had a positive attitude toward us and the idea, but said she needed to think about it. We felt good about the exchange. We are still waiting to hear about permission from her mother, but Lee Yeon Jeong passed her baptisimal interview on Sunday. 

Her friend, Eu Hae En, brought the baptisimal papers to church on Sunday, signature and all. We are excited, and at least Eu Hae En will be baptized on Saturday! We are really praying that Lee Yeon Jeong can join her. Two days ago we were able to finish teaching them the commandments. As Sister Lee Ga Hee and I started companionship study earlier that day, we began talking about what we had studied in personal study. About a week ago Sister Lee Ga Hee had been asking me a lot of questions about who will be able to go to the celestial kingdom/receive exaltation. It had been several days since we last talked about it. Before we began our discussion, suddenly D&C 137 popped into my head. I knew that was about Joseph Smith's brother, Alvin, and the celestial kingdom. I didn't know why I had thought of it, but as I flipped to it, I realized that it answered our question perfectly. We were both pleasantly surprised and relieved.

Anyway, I feel that I was prompted to find D&C 137 that morning. As we taught Eu Hae En and Lee Yeon Jeong the rest of the commandments later that night, they had quite a bit of skepticism about tithing, but committed to keep it. Also, when we talked about keeping the laws of the land, including even the small laws, like not crossing on a red light, we were surprised at the response. Sister Eu Hae En and Lee Yeon Jeong said that they had a friend about a year ago who crossed on a red light and was hit by a car and died. Sister Eu Hae En said that she felt our church was true, but wondered about the fate of their friend. She said that their friend had been religious, but since she was not part of our church, wondered if she would be able to go to the celestial kingdom. It was the perfect opportunity to read D&C 137 together and explain that those who would have accepted the gospel if they had not passed away can and will inherit the celestial kingdom. Even though I didn't understand a lot of what was going on in the lesson I am grateful that Heavenly Father gave me a tiny burst of inspiration to help our investigator.

As they left and Sister Lee Ga Hee and I did the dishes at the church, they came back about two minutes later inquiring how exactly to pay tithing. We told them we put it in an envelope and give it to the bishop. They said they would bring it to church the next day! I am inspired by their faith...10 minutes after hearing a commandment they are ready and committed to keeping it. It takes some of us years...it is a blessing to see faith grow. We are looking forward to their baptism this Saturday!

Transfer calls are on Thursday...we suspect that Sister Lee Ga Hee will be moving. I am a little overwhelmed at the prospect, but I know God is over all. Sister Lee has spent nearly 5 months of her mission here. We sometimes have different styles and ideas of missionary work, but I am learning a lot from her. She has the unique ability to see others needs and sacrifice in their behalf immediately. It is incredible. I am able to see her do so for me every single day, for our investigators, and for complete strangers. I know this is one of the reasons I am with her right now...It is something I really want to learn to do. The other day we passed a plant in the church landscape that was drooping because it needed water. I casually mentioned it to her and immediately she poured all her drinking water in the soil. It's just who she is to serve everything and everyone around her. If she moves I will miss being around someone who serves with such eagerness, but look forward, as always, to learning from someone else as well.

We were also able to teach Pak Jin Yeong (the girl we taught to pray last week) and her mother, Kim Gyeong Hoa. Sister Lee Ga Hee met Kim Gyeong Hoa on the bus a while ago. Kim Gyeong Hoa was not planning on participating in the lesson. She made us delicious food and expected we would just teach her daughter, Pak Jin Yeong. Pak Jin Yeong, as I've mentioned before is not attending school because she had trouble with friends. Anyway, they have two crazy dogs who are generally more of a nuissance than they're worth (it was heartbreaking to see them get beat down with a hanger...), so we were a little worried about the spirit being there. After lunch, they both agreed to participate in the lesson. We taught them the entire first lesson. They have little to no concept of God. I was able to relate the first vision, which brought the spirit. During the lesson the dogs were quiet enough to not chase the spirit away. I could tell Kim Gyeong Hoa was really trying to soak it all in. There is so much new vocabulary for people who have no religious background, but at the end of the lesson, Kim Gyeong Hoa, even before we had asked her, said that she wanted to read more of The Book of Mormon and understand it better. She explained that as wek spoke she felt something warm in her body and that her heart was at peace. We smiled, delighted at her recognition of the spirit, and told her that was exactly what she felt. They are reading the BOM and we will talk to them more this week. It was maybe the closest to how I imagined missionary work being. It was exciting. Pak Jin Yeong closed the meeting with a prayer. From her mom we learned that she was excited to meet with us again. We are hopeful about them.

Anyway, time is short, but I love when we really get to see the inward feelings of people's hearts and how quick they are to reveal them when the spirit is present. It is rewarding.

Wish me luck with the next transfer. We'll see what happens!

Mom and Dad-- welcome to Korea! Enjoy it. Even though people drive crazy, as you remember, the Korean people are gracious and kind. I'm jealous that you get to go the temple. It will be fun for you to meet with other mission presidents and exchange ideas and experiences. I look forward to hearing about it.

Nick and Megan-- sounds like you are busy as always. Thanks for the letter, Nick! I hope the Tahoe holds up and that the calls from LDS Family Services are promising. I'm praying for you!

Charlotte and Matt-- Chucky Sue, you owe me. Happy Birthday! Hope it was great. I want to hear about Calgary a little bit more. Highs and lows. Highlight reel would be fine too. Ha. Love you.

Laura and Bob-- even though I didn't hear from you this week, I somehow managed to not print out your letter from last week, so reading it kind of felt like hearing from you this week. I hope you had a good one! Minnie sounds like she was the real life of the Halloween parties. Oh well, I guess on Halloween the objective really isn't to be the "life" of the party, now is it. Wah Wah wah....lame joke? Check. Time to go once those start flowing from the keyboard.

Kacie Barnson!! You leave soon. Send me your address. Missionary work is the best! Love you.

Love you,

Julia

a week of losing and finding

Hello to my dear family.

 

You would think I could come up with a new way to address you, but it's all that ever comes to mind, I suppose, because it's what you are. Thank you for your letters! I will not have time to read them right away, but I printed them out for later. It is always inspiring to hear from you, no matter how little or much you have to say. Thank you for your support!

 

I will admit, with Halloween coming and going I really craved a Reese's peanut butter cup. I hope all of you were able to eat one for me. Peanut butter is in short supply around here. Ha.

 

This week was pretty good, although there was an inordinate amount of time losing and trying to find necessary items. Somehow we managed to lose our keys on the bus, Sister Ee Ga Hee's wallet on the bus, and Sister Ee Ga Hee broke her shoes so we had to buy new shoes, and she also strained her neck on the bus as we traveled back from our P-Day activity last week.

 

It was a little bit frustrating and put a damper on our plans, but bless those honest Koreans, we found the wallet at the lost and found at the bus terminal with everything in it. We never found the keys but were able to get into our house and get a new copy relatively inexpensively. She also acquired some lovely (in jest) grandma shoes that while comfortable, are quite the eye sore. I tried to convince her not to get them, but she really doesn't care. She is funny. She also was insisting that she had sprained her neck. She had done this before and wanted permission to go get acupuncture at the hospital. A side note about Koreans and the hospital--Since they have public health care they go to the hospital for everything from a slight cold to a heart attack because the co-pay is around $10. People wear the hospital clothes and drag their IVs everywhere out on the street. At night It kind of turns Korea into quite the haunted house. People will even bike dragging their IV along. Anyway, Sister Lee Called Sister Gilbert and asked if she could get acupuncture. An adamant no resounded from the other side of the phone. Sister Gilbert's suggestion was a warm bag or sock of rice on the hurt spot and some IB Proufen. Sister Lee was appalled. Warm rice??! I told Sister Lee that this is American medicine. We never go to the doctor.  Anyway, we tried it and it helped a bit.

 

The next morning she was reheating it and left it in a little too long. I noticed it started to smell like burned popcorn...Sister Lee had forgotten and left it in the microwave for too long. When she opened the microwave tons of smoke came pouring out..her face was priceless. "Oma!" When I stopped laughing and finally came over, her sock and the rice were charred and black and the sock had virtually melted into the rice. The black rice seemed to be growing at an exponential rate, filling the microwave in a very repulsive way. It truly was a scene out of a scary movie. It made for a good laugh, in any case. The good news is Sister Lee's neck is feeling better and we can do better and more missionary work.

 

As far as missionary work goes, we again had 7 investigators at church--6 of whom are under the age where they can independently decide to be baptized and one who is over 80 years old. Regardless, we were quite pleased and are hopeful about this week.

 

The two girls who had a baptisimal date for this coming Sunday,Bo Hee and Hae Bin, are not so sure anymore. There desire has weakened because they haven't learned how to receive or care to receive personal revelation quite yet. This is my fear with younger girls who see missionaries as someone fun to hang out with, but not necessarily as a way to spiritual enlightenment. I was afraid their testimony of us was growing much more than their testimony of Christ. Sometimes though, I think that a testimony of a good person precedes a testimony of Christ. This week we will try to teach them how to read the Book of Mormon effectively and pray and receive answers to their prayers. Hopefully they will have renewed desire for the right reason.

 

In good news, two of the girls we are teaching, Eu Hae En and Lee Yeon Jeong, committed to be baptized on November 19th. They seem to have real desire. They loved the plan of salvation. When we got to the end they both let out a sort of audible sigh of awe. We are hopeful that they will continue to progress. This afternoon we will meet Sister Lee Yeon Jeong's parents and tommorrow we will meet Eu Hae En's parents. That is what may be the real test. I will admit that I am nervous that if they are baptized and I am here with another inexperienced American it might be difficult to retain them, but God is over all, right? I am grateful for that knowledge. We hope their parents are receptive to the idea.

 

We were also able to teach Bak Jin Yeong this week. Sister Lee met Sister Bak Jin Yeong's mother on the bus a few weeks ago. Jin Yeong is 16 years old and is currently refusing to go to school because she had trouble with friends. We met with her and got to know her a little bit. She is sweet, but a little bit shy. We taught her the first few principles of the first lesson and I felt like I should teach her how to pray. Afterward we asked if she would offer a prayer. She did so willingly and well. It is really incredible to be part of someone's first time talking to God. Even though these are simple prayers, they are heartfelt. Most of the trouble in our lives seems to stem from forgetting that we can talk to God and that He is our loving Heavenly Father. We are looking forward to teaching her more this week and hopefully teaching her parents as well.

 

Just two more weeks of this transfer. It is likely there will be another change. I am admittedly nervous, but there is great peace in presence in the present. So that's what I'll do. That's all Heavenly Father asks us to do.

 

I am enjoying teaching in spite of my weakness. Things are good. It is incredible when we are receptive to the spirit how quickly we learn this is not about us at all...it is something much bigger. I am grateful for that lesson every time I learn it.

 

Love you all! Sorry no personal notes this time!

 

Love,

Julia