an old dog learning new tricks

Hello from the post office computers!

Thank you for your letters and emails. It sounds like you are all about the daily grind in very different ways, but generally happy doing so. I'm glad to hear it.

This week has been an interesting one. We taught Sister P on Tuesday. We talked about how we were just going to teach her like an investigator. She had asked for The Book of Mormon Stories and New Testament and Old Testament stories in English so she could understand the scriptures a little better. So, we gave her those and she was really excited about them. We started teaching the lesson and from the first two points we got into some deeper doctrine a little too early and I realized how hard it is to teach the gospel in English too. Ha. We may have caused a little more confusion than clarity, but once we started talking about prayer and the BOM again, it got a little easier. Sister P expressed doubts about this being the right time to change her life--it's hard to change when everyone around you doesn't understand your desires for change. I just kept praying that we weren't getting "dropped." Anyway, she agreed to say a prayer this week. The day before our next appointment she sent us a text message that said she was drinking and it probably wouldn't work to see us the next day. We were disappointed, but told her we would call her to set up another time. We talked with her the next night and she said she thought we would have given up on her, but agreed to meet. So, in spite of our mistakes and weaknesses, we will meet again. I am grateful that the spirit makes up for human frailty. I was really quite worried about the whole situation, but I am now really relieved that we will be able to meet again.

We also have a new investigator. He is the friend of Brother Jeong, a 16-year-old young man in our ward. Our new investigator's name is Brother Jeong Seung. He came to our "friendship night" last week and then came to church the next day. It is perfectly normal for people to come to church here wearing whatever they want. That's what he did. This week, though, he came to church wearing a TIE. It is big news in these parts. It was so cute watching the youngest deacon in our ward, Brother Lee, teach him how to tie that tie over and over in sacrament meeting. We are looking forward to teaching Brother Jeong Seung this week after English class.

In other news, Sean got the priesthood this week. We are excited for him and hope his testimony will continue to grow. We are hoping before he leaves for Taiwan for school again in September that he will be able to baptize his little sister. We'll see.

Our new house situation is fun. I am in a house with Sister Baker (who was in the house the last 2 transfers), her companion Sister McComber (who was a transfer ahead of me in the MTC and a lot of fun), and Sister Cutler. The dynamic is a lot different than before, but we laugh a lot, which keeps me sane. The other day after study all four of us walked out into the kitchen from the study room. I was first in line and casually looked left out the window over our deck out of habit. I have never seen anyone or anything there, but I look every day. It's just what I do. Well, this time there was a man smoking in his briefs on his back deck in the other apartment building across the way. Technically it's his back deck, but unfortunately for a few of us, it's our front deck. There was really no way to avoid the sight. Ha. It took a good 10 minutes for all of us to get our composure. Real mature, I know.

I am having a lot of fun with Sister Cutler. She works hard, talks to EVERYONE, maintains a positive attitude and a sense of humor. I kind of fell into a funk last transfer, but I know that Sister Cutler is here to help me get out of that funk. I am really grateful to be able to serve with her. She is teaching me so much by example. It's nice to be able to laugh. It really helps lighten things up. We are working hard and she is challenging me to increase my faith. I couldn't ask for a better situation right now. We set some bold goals this week and I know we are committed to doing everything in our power to acheive them. I know Heavenly Father knows me perfectly. He pushes me to the edge of my limits and then gives me someone else who can help me get where I need to be. I know He is deeply involved in our lives. Every night before we go to bed Sister Cutler and I talk about the miracle and funny moment of the day. There are so many. I know if you look for them you will find them too!

Mom and Dad--always recovering from some manic sleep depravation, but glad you're still kicking. it's inspiring, as always. i hope the backwoods of the islands keeps things fresh. it's nice to have humble people humble us. that certainly happened to me a few times this week. love you both and hope you are well.

Nick and Meg-- glad you made it to FL. sounds like quite the trip. I would have been a goner. I remember trying to sing Weezer songs at the top of my lungs to stay awake at 3 in the morning with Ashlee and Chip, and unfortunately I was the first to go. Glad you made it. Hope you are enjoying a little time off! Love you both.

Char and Matt-- good detective work. I loved that story, though I can't say I envy you. You are the best and always have great "fix it" stories, being engineers and all. Hope Lincoln's idea of "potty training" has spared you a little this week. Sounds like he's a good trainer. Have fun with Matt's parents! I hope you guys are able to hang out together soon. Site sounds like a real drag. Love you!

Ladi and Bob-- now yours is the life i want! sounds like you are the tourists of the century. glad to hear things have been so fun and simple. it's interesting how those usually are the most fun things. love you both, thanks for writing to me. i was more than disappointed to learn about the hershey park tradition shutting down...next time? loveeeeee.

Be good. Love you all. I know the gospel is the way to happiness. Thank you for your examples!

tons of stuff

Hello family!!

I am writing from Dong Daegu Station, because, yep, you guessed it, I got a new companion. I will be staying in Joongri with Sister Brady's recent trainee--Sister Cutler. She is really excited about missionary work. She is a really nice person who just wants to work hard. I am looking forward to serving with her. She has also already won my heart because she eats things that fall on the ground--even in Korea. Who knew winning my heart was so easy? I think we will have a lot of success together. Sister Wallace is off to Gumi, which is about a 20 to 30 minute ride into the country from Daegu. Besides being landlocked again, she is excited about the change.

This morning all the missionaries that are getting transferred or getting new companions all met in Busan. Twelve elders are returning to the US this transfer. It's pretty wild. Most of them have been my leaders throughout my time here thus far, so it was strange to see them go. They have served well.

Transfer calls definitely threw our plans a little bit this week, but in all honesty, it was one of the better weeks I have had in Joongri.  Two weeks ago Sister Wallace and I had been contacting near a big park in our area by using the left over surveys we had from a district proselyting activity. For some reason both of us were kind of losing steam and quite literally sort of going through the motions. We stopped 3 junior high girls who had just finished a day at the local amusement park (E-World or WooBang Land). They happily filled out our surveys. In a way it felt like we were just going for "numbers" than really trying to teach people that day. At the end of the day we felt a little badly for the way we had served. Sure, we got a lot more contacts than usual, but it felt a little hollow. Two days after that we looked through the surveys and called all the people who had written their contact information for us on their surveys. One of the junior high girls marked that she had no religion, she believed that God existed, she thinks there is life after death and that she would want to meet with us again. We called and set up an appointment with her.

When we met with Sister Che this last Tuesday, she had a lot of good questions: (Who is God's father?) (How will I get an answer to my prayer? How will I recognize it? How do I pray?) It was really cool. She came around the corner smiling and alone---junior high girls usually travel in packs, especially when going to meet foreigners...ha.  We were able to talk to her a lot and teach her about the Book of Mormon and how she can receive answers to her prayers. She really really wants to know about religion.  It was surprising to interact with her and feel of her maturity and desire to know truth personally.  It was such evidence to me that even when we are tired some late afternoon or early evening, that as we do this work and follow up with those we meet, if they are ready personally good things can come of it. We had plans to meet again on Thursday, but unfortunately Sister Che had to cancel. I think we will meet again this Tuesday.

We found out Sister Wallace was leaving on Thursday night, so Friday was spent getting her luggage where it needed to be and meeting with another investigator, MiNe. She is struggling because of some financial/dependency issues with her parents that really doesn't give her much liberty in her career, her religion, or really any life choice. She will really miss Sister Wallace. They connected really well. I hope she will be able to progress. She said she will come to church this week.

On Saturday we had a ward activity that went really well. A lot of the youth brought their friends and enjoyed the time there. We are working to make English class a place where we can find new investigators. We're getting there. This transfer there will not be elders in our area, which I think will be both good and bad. I think we will be able to focus our efforts a little bit more, especially with regard to English class.

After the ward activity we met with Sister P--the sister originally from Guam. We found out that we know some of the same people....small worl. We went to dinner and just talked about her life spiritually and what she wants. She told us about how she has come to the realization that partying doesn't bring the kind of happiness she wants. She has been teaching English here off and on for 4 years, but her group of friends here just isn't really conducive to a change of lifestyle. I think it is a little hard for her to stomach losing friends in a foreign country. That said, although she was baptized when she was 9, she said that for the first time in her whole life she feels open to religion and God. We asked her how she feels when her family talks about their spiritual experiences. She described a really strong sense of peace and almost wanting to cry. She then asked us "What is that feeling called? Isn't there a name for it?" I then, half in jest, but in seriousness as well quickly replied, "The spirit."  We talked about that feeling a lot and how she could have that with her always if she wanted.  She talked about how strange it was to be happy talking to us even though we weren't drinking etc. She talked about a friend who ALWAYS convinces her to drink, even after she says no 5 times.  I challenged her to say no the 6th time---baby steps. We had to go, but later that night she texted us and told us that her friend had called her to go get drinks that night and she said no. So cool! Sounds like a really big baby step to me. When she found out Sister Wallace was leaving she planned to meet us on Sunday night as well. The idea of someone being able to meet more than once a week is quite novel to us.

So, we met the next night as well. Sister P really wants to know about the bible and doesn't know any of the history, so she wanted us to explain it to her. We got sidetracked on that for a while until we just talked about the pattern of prophets--how when we are humble we call out to God and accept his word and then things start going well and we stop listening or seeking him, and that really, the pattern of prophets is a lot like the pride cycle that can be applied to our lives. That really resounded with her. We talked about prayer and she said that exact cycle had happened to her since she had been in Korea. She says that the few times she has prayed in Korea she has ended up crying a lot and looking like a wreck the next day at work. I asked her why she thinks she crys when she prays. She thought about that and then replied, "I've never thought about that. I guess if I didn't really believe that God was listening I wouldn't cry like that, would I?" We challenged her to pray before we meet again (Wednesday) and to start reading the Book of Mormon again. I am really hopeful about her and so grateful for the good examples of those in her family who encouraged her to say hello to the missionaries. She knows they are happy and she has so much admiration for them.

It's a great work to be involved in. When I meet people like this any of the so-called misfortunes I've endured on my mission don't matter at all.

Ah. I love it.

Time is up! Dad, happy father's day!

Love you all!

Julia

have you spent your time well?

Hello!! 잘지냈어요? (Translation: Have you spent your time well?)

First of all to Mom: Happy Birthday 2 days ago! And then to Dad: Happy Father's Day! I am hoping to send something off to both of you today. My promises have been very empty, I know. Love both of you.

So this week was another interesting one. Not quite as much happened as we might have hoped, but it was what it was. We went to Busan for another training meeting on Tuesday. It was a good meeting and I felt like I learned a lot of what I could be doing better as a trainer and a missionary. It's always good to learn that. On the train ride home my stomach was really having a fit. I wasn't looking forward to what could be a long train ride in a bathroom stall---and so it was. It was quite the trip. A little more turbulent than the standard airplane, but we survived.

We had a district proselyting activity in our area at Duryu Park. This is my all-time favorite place to proselyte. Since I have been in Korea this is the first place I have ever met Koreans who are not busy. They are just sitting around! (or exercising like mad). It is a missionary's dream come true. We got some interesting contacts, but it was generally pretty successful. It was Korean Memorial Day so there were more people there than normal. We visited a less active sister who lives nearby and we were actually able to find her and set up an appointment to come back. She had to cancel the appointment later, but I think it was quite a miracle that we actually met her anyway. We were grateful for that minor miracle.

We taught MiNe this week. She is so sweet to us, but I don't think her primary interest is in the church. We invited her to come to church with us and she said not this week but next week she will come. She is really afraid of rumors and hypocrites etc. etc. I think we need to get back to teaching both people AND lessons. Sometimes we get a little sidetracked on her concerns and we don't answer them with doctrine as much as advice. I think if we changed that around we would be able to get a lot further in helping her progress.

One really cool event did happen. The elders in 중리 met a sister by the local Home Plus. She came up to them and said "Hi brothers." She is a foreigner originally from, as chance would have it, Guam. She moved to SLC when she was 13 and many of her family members are members of the church. Many of her siblings served missions. Those siblings convinced her that every time she saw missionaries she had to say hello because missions are so hard and the missionaries really need the encouragement. Following that advice, she talked to the elders. She actually even went to our high school....pretty wild. She is 3 years older than I am. She is teaching English here in Korea. She described herself as not very religious but hesitantly gave them her number. I called her two days ago and she didn't answer. I called her yesterday and she said it was especially strange that I called that day.  She had set her alarm to go to the English speaking branch that very day. Apparently it had been a really long time since she had gone. She woke up to her alarm, convinced herself to sleep for 5 more minutes, but then overslept and missed church. I think she really was blown away I had called on the same day. She was really nice and open and we set up an appointment to meet this week. She seems like she really wants to make some changes in her life. I don't know why our lives are lining up quite like this, but I look forward to discovering more about the timing of what seems like a myriad of coincidences. Guam, SLC, West High, and now Daegu, South Korea. Really interesting. 

I know God knows our geographical, spiritual, mental, and physical locations. He is so mindful of them. Even when nothing makes apparent sense to us, there is a reason. As Elder Maxwell says, as we come to accept both the timing and His shaping of us, then we truly become happier people. I know that is true. I can't imagine that I would have had so many "coincidental" things in common with someone in my area. It is a miracle that I hope we will be able to cultivate.

This week is transfer calls. We'll see if we stay or go. I hope to stay, honestly. I really love my area and the ward members. Time will tell! Love to love you.

Love,

Julia

the benefit of a good old fashioned breaking point

Hello Family!

Thank you to Laura and Dad for coming up big this week. It was really nice to hear from you. Glad things seem to be going well still. Dad, the Gilberts have spent a lot of time talking about that book, particularly the parts you found interesting, (doctrine, principle, application and the explanation of knowledge, understanding and intelligence) so I am looking forward to reading it soon. I'll let them know you liked it as well.

This week was one of the most unique of my mission. It was a week of emotional extremes. Sister Wallace and I finally hit some sort of breaking point. Generally 24 hours a day 7 days a week can get you at some point with anyone, but unfortunately for both of us it came while we were out on the street near Keimyeong Dae Hakkyo (University). We were there looking for the black man that I told you about a few weeks ago. We hadn't really been able to give a full effort in tracking him down, but luckily we had a day this week where it was relatively convenient to go there and seek him out. It took a lot of time and we got a few contacts along the way, but ultimately we discovered that the kid from North Carolina is usually studying on another campus in the Daegu area. We found out that he may have a class or two on the campus in our area, but that his department is on another campus. This was disappointing, but we were glad to hae gotten that far in our search. I think we'll roam the subway stop where we found him originally around the time of week we met him the first time and hope for the best. Anyway, the campus of Keimyeong is really pretty and the people are all friendly so it was fun in its own way.

As we walked down to the main road to walk to our investigator's house and leave a note, a few issues we had with one another boiled to the surface. We put on a good show and eventually resolved our issues enough to get where we needed to go etc. More on this later.

We suddenly had an appointment with our investigator about a day later. Her brother, Sean, is the one who was baptized 6 years ago with his mom. After being there for a while we realized that we were there to talk to him, mostly. Sister Wallace is really really good at the inspired questions bit. She is good at coming to understand what people need and relate it to what people already have. She asked Sean about his beliefs---something we really hadn't done before. I think a lot of times we see people coming to church regularly and just assume they have their own personal witness about it. Not so with Sean. He told us he thinks there is a God, or at least something, due to the intricacy of the earth and our bodies etc. He says he doesn't really pray or read the scriptures and doesn't feel anything special at church. Sister Wallace then asked him how he felt when he was baptized. He had been really honest with us so we were surprised when he said: "Really really clean." We asked him to describe that feeling emotionally and he said that it almost felt like he was flying for 2 or three days after his baptism. We asked if he had ever felt any semblance of those feelings since and he said no. We challenged him to pray to know if God really was there and to feel something about it. Both he and Sister Ee (his sister) said they would come to church this week. It was a really cool experience to watch how people will open up if you are able to use the spirit to know what questions to ask them. Unfortunately they didn't come to church this week, but I learned a lot from both Sister Wallace and Sean in this lesson.

We also began teaching a little 8 year old boy. He is the son of a less active sister and the grandson of another Sister Ee, a member of a neighboring Daegu  ward in Suseong. He wasn't expecting a lesson and was just playing a game on his phone for the better part of the "lesson," until Sister Wallace swooped in. She really liked anime before her mission and of course, as most Korean kids do, this kid loves Pokemon. She started talking about how God is all powerful. I was her translator. It kind of felt a little like she was Moses and I was Aaron. Ha. She knew talking about the power and the fact he has made everything and that our goal is to live with him again and eventually become like him. These concepts became really intriguing to this little boy. He lit up. I learned so much from her about teaching with the spirit and the spirit of revelation. It was really cool.

A few days ago Sister Wallace received a Dear Jane, which for her, oddly enough was an answer to her prayer and, let's be honest, an answer to mine also. Since then those issues that we have had have been resolved to a greater measure than ever before. The morning before she got this letter I was praying that we could not have the past condemn our success together and that the next 2 weeks could be the best, most committed of my misison. On this exact same morning Sister Wallace recieved a letter and the answer to her prayer. She is now more committed to being here than ever before. Any tiredness I have had from approaching my year mark is steadily being lifted. This week Sister Wallace explained to me that she (or humans, generally speaking) cannot be pulled or pushed to make a decision, but that we need to be lifted. I have learned a lot about how to interact more meaningfully with people this week. It's been humbling, which isn't really fun, but the subsequent events that come from that experience really are fun. So we're excited about the next 2 weeks and hope to build Jungri up as much as possible before looming transfer calls come in. Whomever stays will hopefully have a lot to look forward to.

Dad--you are a rock. thank you for always writing so steadily and powerfully. it means a lot to me. Happy Father's Day this week! Unfortunately for both you and Mom, I am kind of tag-teaming your birthdays and Mother's/Father's day. Pathetic, I know. But a letter is on the way.

Mom-- sounds like you are still pulling off masterful performances in the kitchen. I miss those. Sounds like the missionaries appreciate it. I hope this week slows down a little for you. Thank you for sending something. I love hearing from you!

Chucky-- thank you for the blog update/travelogue. So fun. I can't believe Bennet's teeth. At least they will be lost at some point in the next six years. I say you take that doctor to The People's Court or Judge Judy. Tape it for me when you make your big mid-afternoon television debut! I love you. Can't wait to meet my new niece. Take good care of her for the next few months.

Matt-- hope you are well! it was fun to talk to you on the phone the other week and i have been applying some of the advice you offered. Thank you!

Nick-- I hope this week fared well and you were able to get out on the bike again. I'm jealous. Everytime I see a bike I want to ride it. Hope work is going well and you're raking in the dough. I know I am. Love you!

Meg--I hope everything went well this week. I've been thinking a lot about you. Maybe I will even write you a real letter soon. Hard to believe, but believe it's in the works. Which road is it that's paved with good intentions? I will overcome. Love you.

Ladi-- sounds like you're having a true American experience. I hope Anville is treating you well. It seems to be. I hope Minnie caught the ant she was searching after.

Bob-- glad to hear your internship is going well! I hope your Latin American dreams come to fruition!!

Ah. So much love for all of you. This work is true and real and fun when I'm humble enough to do it right. Love you and thank you for your support.

Love,

Julia