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