Merry Christmas!

Yobesayo? Anybody home?

Sorry that the phone card called it quits so abruptly. I can't say I was surprised. I was mostly just disappointed that it didn't allow me an extra second to say goodbye. Suddenly "This phone card expires in 30 seconds" was blaring through the speaker incessantly without a break for me to relay the message. Regardless, it was nice to talk to all of you, or at least hear your voices. I hadn't anticipated the number "5" not working on the phone, so my apologies that it was kind of an unconventional choppy conversation.

Thank you for the Christmas gifts! We got to the post office and they had to bind our boxes together so we could carry them home better. What a fun surprise. I got Mom and Dad's gift, Charlotte's gift, and Aunt Kathy's gift. Thank you thank you! I will personalize a thank you sooner, but know that I am wearing many of the new clothes I received. I usually don't care all that much about clothes, but it is really nice to receive something new to wear. I needed a new coat, and was planning on going to another Gu Jae (second hand store) today to look for one, but Charlotte came through. I also needed another scarff. Inspiration, I tell you. Sister Yeon said I look very "vivid." I'm not sure if that is a compliment, but I told her that, ignorantly or not, I believe that all colors go together. Maybe more people will take note and want to talk if I dress brightly. Thank you! All the gifts were really fun and some will be very delicious. I don't know if Aunt Kathy knew this or not, but Snickers are my favorite candy bar, so I was particularly pleased! Also, the American food mixes, especially the brownie mix, will definitely be put to use. Also, Grandpa, thank you for the card and your generosity! I so appreciate all you do for me and loved reading your favorite scripture passages this week.

After both of us had opened our gifts the house was a mess and I started to get a little bit of a "candy before breakfast headache." It really felt like Christmas. Thank you.

I fear I sounded a little down about the work here, and if that is the case, please forgive me. We are excited to meet with a man tonight who we found in our area book last week. He seems genuinely interested. The first lesson/meeting with someone is always interesting, but we are looking forward to it. I'll let you know how it went next week.

This last week we met with a man who is maybe in his 70s, Jeong. He had some sort of stroke a while ago, so he has a difficult time walking, but cruises around the streets in quite the zippy wheelchair. He attends a church and reads the bible, but also received a Book of Mormon when the missionaries first contacted him in June. They never followed up so the book has mostly been gathering dust. We were able to meet with him two times this week. I have a really hard time understanding him because he had a stroke and so his speech is impeded a little bit and beyond that, he's speaking Korean, ha. But, he has a good heart. I can tell that already. He invited us into his home and his wife suggested we go find someone who doesn't believe anything. She likes to leave the room when we come, but Jeong is very kind. He also happens to collect clocks. I counted 13 of them in the living room alone. It would be one thing if he synchronized them, but most of them are a minute or two ahead of the ones around them. It's enough to drive someone crazy, but quirkiness is endearing. For someone so obsessed with time he sure is relaxed. We are grateful for that. I think he has a sincere desire to find truth. The first lesson was good. He really likes talking about Joseph Smith. During the second lesson I was in Tong Yeong with Sister Milius, a new missionary who has been here for about 5 weeks, while her companion, Sister Lee Hae En, served in Jinhae with Sister Yeon. Exchanges are an interesting opportunity, but Tong Yeong is beautiful and Sister Milius has a strong desire to do her best. It is inspiring.

From what I heard, the lesson with Jeong went well and he accepted a soft baptismal committment. We will teach him about the plan of salvation this week and plan to extend a baptismal date invitation. I'm looking forward to it.

I can't remember who said it, but someone said that we cannot give a crust to the Lord without receiving a loaf in return. I see that every single day. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve.

Also, during our Christmas party someone filmed this video of us singing and posted it here if you want to see it/me:

www.busankoreamission.blogspot.com

Love you!

Julia

Here are a couple photos of the Christmas experience around here. P.S. We write from an employment center every week...these people must really think we're inept. Still no job. Here the same time each week...

Merry Almost Christmas

Merry Almost Christmas! Thank you to all of you who wrote me this week, especially those who remembered my Christmas request of including your favorite scripture and why. It is always nice to hear about those things, and of course, the updates are nice as well.

As for the conference call, I hope it works and would love to have all of you on the line. I will try calling at 8 AM my time on Dec. 26th. Many of the calling cards are specifically land line to land line or cell phone to cell phone. We can't call from our cell phone, so I will use the number Laura provided and hope it all works. If not, know I love you and I'll talk to you next time around. Thank you for doing that, Laura!

It is still very cold fall weather here, so in many ways it feels absolutely nothing like Christmas. In any case, it is coming quickly. Tomorrow we will go to Busan for a mission wide Christmas party, which should be fun. I'm looking forward to playing guitar on a few musical numbers and being with other missionaries. We will also have a combined ward Christmas party on the 24th at one of the wards where we serve (Pung Ho). Both Jinhae and Pungho ward members will attend. We're hoping to get some of our investigators and less active members to come as well. It is always nice to have an activity where they can feel the spirit and get to know the members better.

This week was a little rough in a few ways. Our most recent converts, Eu Hae En and Lee Yeon Jeong, have had a hard time coming to church lately and have stood us up a few times as we've tried to teach them the new member lessons. They came to sacrament meeting yesterday, but left after that to go somewhere with their friends. This situation has me fairly stressed out. The last thing I want to have happen is for them to jump straight from the baptismal record to the less active list. We have been teaching a lot of teenagers the past few months, and admittedly it can be difficult. I wish I could remember what it was really like to be 15. I don't know that the other Young Women have helped them feel all the welcome, so we are starting there. Regardless, the ward is really good about wanting to help in any way they can, and like us, are worried. I'm grateful for their help. We are praying to know how to help their faith grow.

They were supposed to come with us to a Christmas open house in Busan at President Gilbert's house. We had confirmed several times that they would be able to come, but when we called them at noon on Saturday, they said they couldn't come. We were scheduled to leave at 2 and it would have taken the better portion of the day. We hadn't made much of a back-up plan, but since none of our investigators are progressing right now, we decided to really go through the area book and see what was there. As we looked through both area books we began calling all the people whose contact information we had received. Some of these dated back to over 7 or 8 months ago, so they were understandably confused. "Who is this?? No, I don't remember." Most of the calls were not fruitful, but we called one man who asked if we could meet later that very same day!! Our schedules didn't quite match up, but we were delighted at the prospect. It was a challenge to mask the excitement in our voices on the phone. We will call him today to set something up for this week. We are also going to visit a grandpa this Wednesday who has some interest. It's amazing to me that right when I feel like casting out my faith with unbelief Heavenly Father shows us a minor miracle.

As I've mentioned, most of our investigators are not currently progressing, so we're trying to find the balance between being patient with them and knowing when our time is better spent elsewhere. It's hard to know, but I'm grateful for the spirit and hope to have the faith to follow it. Last night we were knocking doors at an apartment complex near our house and one of the ladies said to come back at 10 AM this morning. So, we received permission to go out a little early today and check back with her. She either didn't answer or wasn't home. Even though she wasn't home I just had the overwhelming feeling that it's okay. Instead of being disappointed it's easier to remember to take a chance on people, to take a chance that they might have real faith. In Preach My Gospel it says something like if you try your best you may still experience disappointments but you will not be disappointed in yourself. I have to remember that. Dad, you might appreciate something that I heard President Eyring say after he was the third person to quote a particular scripture in a conference. He said "Repetition is not boredom. It's inspiration."

So I have been on my mission for 6 months now. Crazy. I still have a lot to learn, but as we refocus our finding efforts, I am hopeful we will be able to help people progress in this gospel. When I remember and focus on the "why" of this work instead of the "what" or "how" I find peace. I have to remember if my efforts are out of love for those around me they are not wasted, even though I have weaknesses and will not be a perfect servant. President Uchtdorf said, "The 'why' of obedience transforms the mundane into the majestic." This is my Christmas hope this year.

As for my favorite scripture right now it is Mosiah 3:5-6:

5 For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the ^aLord ^bOmnipotent who ^creigneth, who was, and is from all ^deternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a ^etabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty ^fmiracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the ^gblind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases.  6 And he shall cast out ^adevils, or the ^bevil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men.

Before my mission I hadn't really thought much about Christ's miracles. But, although this scripture refers to His body in the use of the words "tabernacle of clay," I thought about how a tabernacle of clay could be compared to my heart. If it is maleable and a place where holy inspiration can be sent, then I will see miracles and power of the Atonement happen inside of it. Some mornings, to be honest, I feel a little sick because of my weakness and my fear of not being enough. Through Christ's atonement those feelings go away. Sometimes I don't recognize the spirit, but He reaises me from the spiritually dead when I ask in faith.  Sometimes I sit down on the bus and willingly bind my tongue, but through Christ's atonement I can get up and talk to people, the lame can walk. And, although I walk and often speak blindly, having no idea what to say or how to say it, I see miracles when I am open to recognizing them. All manner of dis-ease is overcome through Jesus Christ. I love Jesus Christ. He has become my friend. I hope I have become His friend too. One of my goals of my mission was to have a heart where Heavenly Father could send inspiration and  know it would be recognized, received, honored and cherished. I don't know that I'm there yet, but how grateful I am that every day I have the opportunity to try to serve others better. I truly stand all amazed at the love He offers me.
All of you are profound evidence of His love in my life. Thank you. Merry Christmas.
Love you and I'm looking forward to talking to you.
Julia

Anyonghasayo!

Anyonghasayo! (Direct translation: Are you at peace?)

I hope you are all doing well. Thank you to those who wrote me this week, and those of you who didn't, repent and write next week. Ha.

It sounds like the beat goes on around home and Guam and such. It does here as well. We had a bit of a frustrating week with appointments and are still trying to learn how to spend our time well, but when we expect miracles and ask for the eyes to see them, we start seeing them, regardless of how small they might be. I really loved the talk that was given in general conference about the guy who after a really long day at work just really wanted a piece of chicken before he went home to be with his family again, but didn't have the money. He did the searching and he had the faith and his prayer was answered. It was a simple prayer. It was a simple answer. Heavenly Father cares about what we care about, especially when it's His work we're trying to do.

Our less active search has not been exactly fruitful quite yet, but we continue anyway. We are especially trying to focus on those who have been through the temple and been on missions. We were actually able to eat dinner last Monday with a less active couple who have recently decided they want to come back to church of their own volition. The brother has been a member for quite some time, but his wife just joined the church a few years ago and has been in and out of activity. They are humble people and give me hope that there are others like them. We will teach the wife the new member lessons because she never received them.

We also have been trying to teach the father of a recent 12 year old convert. Her father is a little wild. He generally drinks a bowl of alcohol while we're there and offers us some each time. He is 61 and kind of a hardened guy, but let Kim Do Ah be baptized because he saw that the missionaries really care about her and that the teachings of the church are generally good. He has progressed a lot since the missionaries first met his daughter, but it usually turns into more of a heated discussion than a spiritual lesson. He thinks Mormon thinks he is Jesus Christ. I generally understand maybe 10 -15% of what he says because he speaks with a very thick southern accent (Satorri). Even Sister Yeon has a hard time understanding him. Anyway, yesterday we went to their house with a member and talked to him about The Book of Mormon and invited him to read it. The war of words approach just isn't going to work, but we're hopeful that he'll actually read it. He has cancer and does not have a job. It seems like he's had a hard life, but he is welcoming to missionaries. That is the first step.

We had zone conference on Wednesday in Busan. The Gilberts have given us the 5 S's: strict obedience, sincere prayer, scripture study, service, and submission. They also talked about Christ's disciples and how they left their nets straightway and followed Him. They talked about anything that might be our "nets," things that seem harmless but could get us tangled up pretty badly after a while. They asked us to write down anything and everything that is keeping us from focusing on the work or opening our mouths. We then put those things in the trash and burned them. It was kind of Girl's Camp-esque, but in a kitschy way it felt good to write down those things and see the physical manifestation of their demise. We are still having to work to really let those things go, but I really enjoyed zone conference and am always impressed by The Gilberts.

I don't know if I've mentioned this, but because there are two wards in our area (Jinhae/Pungho) we work with Elders here also. On Saturday the Elders had two baptisms. Lee and Yoon are 16 year old friends of a member in the Pungho ward. They are really good girls. The Gilberts actually came to see the baptism and spend some of the day with us. It was nice to have them here. They are wise and their energy pervades every place they pass through. Even though Sister Gilbert can't speak a lick of Korean everyone loves her. She is a good example to me.

Lee Hae is a very imaginative artist who always accidentally says in her testimony that she can BECOME Jesus Christ. Besides this minor doctrinal fauxpaux she understands the gospel quite well and has a sincere testimony. I think she will do well. She is fun and funny and spacey. I like her a lot.

Yoon H. is half Philipino. She has been investigating the church for a few months now. She wanted to be baptized long ago, but her parents opposed. Eventually she was somehow able to get permission. She has real faith. It is impressive to me. When she was reading The Book of Mormon she cried when Nephi died because she liked him so well. She also wants to teach her friends the gospel because it has helped her so much. She is sweet and I am really convinced she will continue to grow in faith and diligence.

Sister Yeon and I were able to sing "I Stand All Amazed" in harmony with the guitar at the baptism. It was really fun. Sister Yeon initially studied opera/music at school in Seoul, so she has what I consider to be a good balance of a trained voice and the ability to blend well with others. It is nice to sing with someone who really knows how.

Christmas is coming fast. We will have a combined ward Christmas party on the 24th. We will also have a mission wide party on the 18th, which will be nice. I am looking forward to Christmas on a mission. Every single day I am trying to focus on helping people come unto Jesus Christ so Christmas takes on even greater significance now.

As for the Christmas phone call we have been asked to call in the morning around 8 or 9 on the 26th, Monday, since that will be Christmas in the states. If that doesn't work for you, Mom and Dad, I'm sure we can work out another time actually on Christmas. I don't know the time difference between here and Guam, but let me know what works. I will probably call from the church via a calling card. If you can give me the number to call and what time works that would be great. If we can link up with everyone else in the US/Canada that would be fun, but if not, we've been instructed to primarily call our parents, so...my deepest regards to those I love in the US/Canada.

A special Christmas request to the family:

I don't need much, but I would really love if in your next email to me you would share your favorite scripture and why you like it/what it means to you. Thank you for your faith and prayers. I think about your examples all the time. I'm praying for you too. Love you all. Merry Christmas so soon! 

Love,

Julia

getting the run around

Hello Family!

First, the beloved garage!! It's hard for me to believe that actually happened and that Charlotte didn't just do some Photoshop magic to pull a prank on me. My most heartfelt regards to that ol' thing. Isn't it weird how we get attached to things like garages? Anyway...hope all is going well with the repair/removal. Thanks for keeping me updated. I will admit that one of the bigger fears of Pday is the idea that there might not be any email in my inbox, but all of you are very stalwart, so thank you!

So this week has been good and hard for several reasons. We had big plans to really get things going with some of our investigators. However, it has become apparent to me that this work is so much about personal agency, both mine and that of our investigators'. It was the kind of week where everything went wrong. We had about 4 appointments fall through and a few of our investigators seemed to have stopped answering the phone. I am learning the difference, slowly, between being disappointed and moving on and being discouraged. I have also learned how to read a map this week...ha. We got to the area where we were going to search for a less active member and realized that we had forgotten the exact address. We went back home to get the address, which ended up being a royal waste of time, and then went back to the area and couldn't really figure out where we were or how to get where we needed to be. Let's just say I'm grateful for a Korean companion and that we are both humble enough to ask for directions. In doing so we actually got the contact information of the bank employee we asked. I was reminded that when Heavenly Father promises that our weaknesses will be made strong in Ether 12, I don't really think He always means that we will become strong in a weak thing, but that He will put people in our path to show us the way, to make us strong. Whether that person is a bank employee or Sister Yeon, or Jesus Christ we have to expect that weak things will be made strong. It made for some good laughs anyway.

We have decided that we really want to focus on finding less active people and finding new investigators along the way during our travels. We received less active lists from both bishops in the wards we serve (Pung Ho and Jinhae). There are about 40-50 active members who attend each ward. For each ward there are an additional 100-130 less active members. We were a little shocked at the numbers, but as we get better at mapping out where these people live and how we can use time more effectively in looking for them, I think we will be successful. These people once had a strong enough testimony to be baptized. These are people who know who Jesus Christ is and once professed to believe in Him enough to be baptized.  If even 5 or 6 people come back to each ward I know it will make a huge difference. Many of the ward leaders have expressed a desire to help us if we have the opportunity to visit these people. It's a daunting task, but if we can do it right, I know it will be helpful. Helping people have real faith, not obligatory faith, not fleeting faith, is really challenging, but I know that all my efforts will pay off and I will be happy if I keep trying.

To be honest, I feel a lot like an amateur racquetball player. I thought about my experience two summers ago when Ranger and I really got into playing racquetball every morning.We started out so poorly, but got to the point where we felt like we were pretty good. I remember being a little surprised at how winded I could get just playing racquetball.  The room isn't all that big. It wasn't until we started watching some of those old guys who wear the goggles and the sweatbands that we realized how inefficient our playing style really was. Seasoned players seemed to be able to get every ball by simply moving a foot or two, while we were chasing down every ball relentlessly. The difference between our styleswas experience. They had learned how to judge how the ball comes off the wall and the most efficient way to act after they made this judgement. So we've been doing a lot of running around in Jinhae/Pungho, but the learning curve is a little steep. Maybe I'll try wearing racquetball goggles and see if that improves my missionary technique. It will be a good conversation starter if nothing else.

It's hard for me to believe it's almost Christmas. It is still fall here in Korea. Thank goodness for that. I'm not too keen on snow. I usually fare just fine with a pea coat and my scarff. Today we are going to play soccer in Masan with two zones. Hopefully it will be fun. I am a little selfish with my Pday time, so I will admit, I wasn't thrilled at the prospect, but it is always fun to be around the other missionaries. We also have zone conference on Wednesday in Busan. I am really looking forward to that. President and Sister Gilbert always bring the spirit and I always go away with more resolve and faith after hearing from them.

Mom and Dad--

Glad to hear Micronesia goes on. Thanks for your letter, Dad. It sounds like fun to get to travel around so much, even if sleep deprivation plagues you every once in a while. I know the missionaries feel richly blessed to be around you. We certainly feel that way around here. I'm sorry you won't get to paint the garage at 9:30 PM anymore..l know that was a hobby of yours...

Nick--

Thanks for the note. Love to hear the every detail of sickness. It makes for a good (sympathetic) laugh. Ha.

Meg--

Hope you are well! You look great in the pics Charlotte sent.

Char--

Thanks for the letter. I loved the blog post and pictures. It's always nice to see everyone. Did you ever get my "birthday" gift I sent you?

Matt--

Thanks for saying hello! It was nice to hear from you and I always appreciate the sage advice. Why IS loving people so hard? Ha. Sounds like you're doing well.

Ladi--

Sounds like too much adventure in SLC. Sorry to hear you had to bear the brunt of the situation! Hope things are looking up. Or you're looking up. Timber.

Bob--

Home ownership. Wahoo! Sounds like a drag. Hope you've recovered from the all nighter.

LOVE YOU ALL!

Julia