transfer...

Dear everyone,

Well, I was really disappointed this Thursday when a phone call came...it was President Gilbert calling to tell my companion, Sister Cutler, who is wrapping up her third transfer that she would be training a Korean! That meant one thing: I was being transferred. I really feel like Sister Cutler has helped me be the missionary that I need to be and have really enjoyed seeing some of the miracles that we have experienced together. We have a lot of fun, lots of jokes, and work hard. It's the perfect combination, I think. I was disappointed to not have the opportunity to see the progress of those in our area and most especially disappointed to not have the opportunity to serve with Sister Cutler. She is terrified of training, but I learned so much from her example that I know she'll do well.

But...it looks like they're trying to get me ready for island life early! I am going to Jeju Do--essentially Korea's Hawaii. It is quite the coveted location and has been named one of the 7 wonders of the world. I didn't really care if I ever got transferred there or not and I attribute my going there to that feeling. I am excited though. I heard it is incredibly beautiful and not nearly as hot as Daegu. My companion just finished training and her companion is headed home tomorrow. Her name is Sister Yoon and she is from Incheon. She is very very sweet, smaller and shorter than I am. Right now we are in Busan until we fly out to our area tomorrow morning. I wouldn't be surprised if I serve the rest of my mission on Jeju Do.  When it was announced in church that I was being transferred there an audible sigh of envy and delight spread throughout the congregation. I don't think I can really conceive of what is about to happen.

This last week was a good one. We were able to meet with some people we met on the street, which was a miracle in and of itself. I think good things are in store for Joongri area this transfer. Christine, our Catholic investigator who is a very devout Catholic and owns a clothing store, finished the BOM last Monday. We gave her a triple combination (BOM, Pearl of Great Price and Doctrine and Covenants) then and by Friday she had read Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith History, and the first twenty sections of Doctrine of Covenants. She told us that she just likes reading and isn't really interested in joining our church, but we are working on helping her see what a divine confirmation of the Book of Mormon really means. I am excited that there will be a Korean going to serve with Sister Cutler because I think she'll be able to better explain/understand the things that I don't.

We weren't really able to meet with other investigators this week, but we met with a new 70 year old lady, Sister Kim. She has house plants throughout her home and cactii and big grasses on her back deck. Her house smells like fresh rosemary. She too is Catholic. She told us she gave us her number because she saw us and thought about how she might feel if her children were in a distant land and how much she would want someone to care for them. She described how she feels like people are like the plants on her back deck---all different, but beautiful. She pointed out a tall grass and told us that others throw these away, deeming them weeds, but when she cares for it and waters it and sees it grow she feels like it is really just beautiful. She is very sweet that way. She almost kicked us out for not drinking this coffee that is supposedly very good for your health, but she held off. We taught her just a few points of the first lesson and she would not accept a BOM because she would feel "pressure to read" if we left it. Exactly. That's the point of the book. Ha. I hope they will be able to continue to teach her. I so appreciate her kindness though and in many ways hope I will be willing to take people in like that.

Ah. Who knows what the future holds. I have heard that many people who are in a lot of emotional/difficult times move to Jeju Do in hopes to get out of that funk. I hope we can find them and bring them unto Christ. From this last transfer I have learned that God sees and rewards our hard work in His timing and hardly ever in the way we expected. There is always room to improve, and I'm sad to have to go to a new location to do so, but I know that it is God's will. I am excited to implement some of the things I've been able to learn.

I love you all and hope you're well!

Dad--can't believe you haven't gotten your pilot's license yet with all the fiasco. You are the kind to take things into your own hands. I hope you have been able to sleep, etc.  Thanks for your hard work. I meant to tell you that the Donaho's had come and Sister Donaho had called you "a boy scout." Ha. You just get out there, don't you? Also, a week or two ago I received a text message from some Korean guy with you in it...I'm not sure who he was, but we were treated with your face popping up on our phone. It was nice to see you, anyway. Love you.

Mom-- glad to hear you still see your normal as beautiful. I hope things are going well for you. I hope your back isn't hurting anymore. The flight fiasco seems to have caused the most ruckus so far, but I hope that you got to have some fun with the missionaries, etc. Love you and love hearing from you.

Nick and Meg-- glad to hear that things are going well in SLC. Hope you're having a great summer and that work is going okay. Tell the Jarret's hello! Hard to believe it's been so long. Love you guys.

Char and Matt-- thanks for the pics. The boys look great and it's hard for me to believe they can already talk/walk/BIKE! so much. Tell them hello and keep your sanity. Hope the pregnancy is going okay! Love you.

Ladi and Bob-- your time is winding down in PA, right? Make the most of it. I'm trying to do that here too. Love you guys. Thanks for the letters. It's good to hear from you even if it's "boring"--it's news to me! Love you!!

Love,

Julia

keeping at it and eating mexican food

Hello everybody! ^^ ㅎㅎ

So many emails this week. Thank you! It's nice to know you're all still doing well and summer lives on. We have affectionately named all our Daegu summer alter-egos. Maybe some of you have experienced them as well.  They are as follows: Sweaty Betty, Smelly Nelly, Moustache Maxine (i.e. sweat-stache), and, due to my obsession with 3 minute microwave curry, Curry Murray. As you can tell we are sweating it up out here, but happily.

This week was a good one. I don't know if we've ever more diligently accomplished the things that we planned to do in weekly planning. The grand miracle was Christine. As I mentioned last week she had already read a lot of the Book of Mormon in the short time she had been in possession of it. She is a very very strong Catholic, but told us how much she is enjoying the Book of Mormon. Last P-day was not fun. We had to get our foreigner cards worked out, and a lot of other errands (buy a fan, buy new bags now that backpacks are banned for sisters) that just weren't fun. We didn't get home until P-day was essentially over and a very selfish part of us was quite disappointed. We had planned to go to 계명대학교 (Keimyung University) because there was a big "Children's Games' event and we thought it would be a good place to proselyte. It is quite far from our home and we weren't sure if we wanted to go for selfish reasons or if it was the spirit. As we looked over our planners and thought about what might be a more productive activity we happened upon Christine's name and decided that we should go visit her instead. Why look for new people to teach when others are already willing to be taught? The answer was clear. We went to her house/clothing store and she welcomed us warmly. She had gotten all the way to Alma 33, marking the scriptures she likes all along the way. She told us that it isn't just reading for fun, but that the Book of Mormon really brings her joy and solidifies her testimony of Christ. Wow. Apparently she only met with sister missionaries "by chance" two or three times in about 2000 or 2001 and then they got transferred. They had only given her a pamphlet, so when Sister McComber and Sister Baker gave her a Book of Mormon she was very intrigued and happy.  We were so excited to hear that and promised her that if she keeps reading and prays about it she will receive a divine witness. We didn't have a lot of time, but told her we wanted to talk next time about our message a little more. We were able to go back on Friday and by this time she had made it to 3 Nep. 18 and expressed the same sentiments. We taught her the first lesson, all of which she practically knew from the introduction to the Book of Mormon and from the pamphlets.  She said she hasn't really said a prayer about the Book of Mormon because she wants to finish it first. With other investigators I think I would treat the matter differently, but we are going to visit her tonight and I am willing to guess she has finished it. If she hasn't prayed or finished it we will invite her to do so--you don't have to read the whole thing to know it's true, but how much we appreciate her diligence in reading it. It's incredible, really. Anyway, during the first lesson, she still has a lot of qualms with our differences in doctrine (prophets, trinity, method of prayer, etc), but I know that the best way to answer people's concerns is through the Book of Mormon. She didn't come to church this Sunday, but I am confident she will after she receives an answer to her prayer. Granted, she did cross herself before offering a prayer, but it was a very sincere prayer and I think I need to take lessons from her in spirituality. I hope tonight will go well. I have never seen anyone devour the Book of Mormon so eagerly.

We met with Sister P at a Mexican restaurant this week. Yes, you read it correctly. A Mexican restaurant. In Korea. I have never been happier to eat such a mediocre burrito. It has been a year since I ate Mexican food, after all. Besides the food, she told us she hadn't been smoking for 2 days. What a victory. It starts one thing at a time. She wanted to know all the commandments so she could hang them on her wall and look at them. We talked about commandments for a little while, but she being the make-a-list-to-check-things-off kind of person, we told her that it's more than a checklist and that as we understand the "why" behind the commandments and the promised blessing for keeping them, how much easier they are to keep. She expressed concern about really being able to come back to church and we told her about the prodigal son and how as soon as the father could see his son in the distance he ran to him, even though the son had been so rebellious for so long. Heavenly Father is just waiting for us to show even the slightest bit of humility and start walking back. He'll run. That's his promise to us as well. She seemed comforted by that.

It is definitely rainy season. We take some risks every once in a while and decide not to take an umbrella. Generally we pay (usually literally) for that decision. A few days ago was no exception. We had finished a visit with a less active couple when it began pouring rain. We ran to a mart (every mart sells umbrellas) to buy a cheap umbrella. Nothing cheap there, but my umbrellas had broken and it would be good to invest in a nicer one, so I bought one. Sister Cutler and I shared this one until we got to a mart with cheaper umbrellas. Sister Cutler went to buy a new cheap one for herself (around 3 bucks) and as soon as she gave the lady the money I noticed that everyone started putting their umbrellas away. It proved once again that the fastest way to get it to stop raining around here

is to buy an umbrella and the surest way to guarantee rain is to attempt to will it away by not packing an umbrella. Heaven knows enduring the scolding from the 할머니들 (grandmas) when we come in sopping wet is just too much to endure. Plus, your hair apparently falls out from acid rain if you don't lug around an umbrella.

Also funny news, the other day we decided to go to a new park in our area to try proselyting. On the map it just looks like a regular park, so we thought it would be a good place to meet people in an area we don't normally go to. We got there and Sister Cutler had to go to the bathroom (a very regular occurrence around here), so we crossed the street and looked at the park map to see where the bathrooms were. Well, upon looking at the map we realized we had several options: one by the tennis courts, one by the....chimpanzees....and one by the.....lions. Wha? We ran into a free zoo. Wasn't what we were planning on, but since there was a public bathroom we decided to go in and use it. Anyway, while I was waiting for Sister Cutler outside the bathroom, there was this Korean man with his college aged children, talking to the chimpanzee in English. "hey man....what you doing in there?" I didn't know whether to be offended by this gesture, as an implication that Americans are like monkeys and this was supposed to be an insult to my intelligence--although I do feel that I should be in a cage sometimes here with the amount of gawking and random feeding that goes on in my direction. Or, maybe the man just assumed the monkey was bilingual--a much more generous conclusion that I will gladly accept.  That said, a many well-meaning has been mistaken about appearances --since I've been here it's been supposed I've been English, French (both understandable) Indian and Egyptian. Never been quite so exotic in my life. Today we are off to the zoo since it's officially P-Day.

Yesterday we also had plans to meet with this Philippino lady, Marean. We had trouble knowing exactly where she was, but we finally tracked her down and she was with 3 other Philippino woman in the park. They were the best. They have all come here for work. They all speak English quite well and were happy to talk to us. Linda and Marean have been here for about 6 years off and on, Judith has been here for 3 months, and Emmalou has been here for over 10 years off and on. They all have religion and miss their families so much. Emmalou said that she envies us---she has come here to work in a factory and we have come to "share the good word of God." It was a time when I realized that even when it's hard, I know how long I am here, I am doing something that brings me joy and I am doing something with the intent of bringing others joy. They were just hilarious and humble and sweet all at the same time. We gave them a copy of the Book of Mormon and asked if we could meet with them again. I am grateful to be here and to help people and pray for them in the middle of a park sometimes. I hope we will be able to meet with them again.

They brightened my day even though they are in a hard situation. I know that God sees all our efforts and even though we don't always see it, our influence extends much further than we ever know. It keeps me going to know that and to experience it from the light of another kind person. Love you all. I know this work is good and true. Keep at it! Love.

Julia

the grandma club and summer heat sweetness

Hello Hello!

 

My introductory creativity is running low these days. Do forgive. Thanks for the letters all around. It was great to hear from all of you!

 

We had a fun week here in Joongri. We tried to track down a bunch of the people we had contacted in our former weeks together. Unfortunately we weren't able to meet with many of them, but we did get to see a few. There are a lot of older ladies who like to talk to us and let us sit down by them. They are happy to let us talk about our message, but an overriding thought is that all religion is the same. We talk to people like that everyday. They aren't too eager to change, but I love them and their kindness. We usually can't get away without them shoving some of their treats or the like down our throats. They are sweet. I have gotten better at sharing my food since I came here, that's for sure.

 

Some of our appointments fell through, so that meant a lot of contacting and work on the street. We also met with a group from 신천지 (Shin Cheon Jee). We weren't completely aware of what this appointment would entail, but it turned out to be sort of a bible bash. I still can't communicate clearly or fast enough to really let 'em have it (luckily...I think that's why Heavenly Father sent me where I would have to really think about how and what i need to say and couldn't rush to overbearing statements). Anyway, we testified of the BOM, told them about how our church came to be, left them with copies and an invitation to read. It wasn't easy, but I was grateful we stuck to the game plan of testify and leaving something behind. It took me an hour or so to get my head back in the spiritual game after the appointment. Still a lot of pride to lose, as you can see. Ha. The women were respectful, but wouldn't tell us their real names and were suspicious when we wrote down the names they gave us so we could remember them. It was interesting, but we won't be meeting again.

 

On Monday night after P-Day we were taking the subway on the way to try and meet a new contact. We were talking to people on the silent subway. It is so nice to have a companion with me backing me up. It is nice that when we have both made the decision to talk that the resiliency and determination of one another spurs us on. Anyway, after about 4 people not really listening, we tried a lady on the other row. She was really nice to us and told us that she was actually baptized in middle school into our church! She is probably in her 50s now, but we gave her a Book of Mormon, got her phone number and are now trying to meet with her. I know that God is putting the prepared people in our path, even if it's the second, third, or fourth time they've heard the message. It was really cool to meet her.

 

Also, Sister McComber and Sister Baker (the sisters I also live with) were in our area trying to find someone they've been working with. They walked by this clothing store and a lady came running out and tracked them down. She told them she's met with missionaries before and that she wanted to meet again. Her English name is Kristina. They went in and met with her, gave her a Book of Mormon and said they would bring us next time. We went with them this week and Kristina apologized that she'd only made it to 2 Nephi in the four days she's had the Book of Mormon. We tried to mask our astonishment, but when she went back to get us some pumpkin tea, all four of us were looking at each other with huge eyes. Kristina came back and talked to us about a few things. She is a really really strong Catholic, but says that when she's reading the Book of Mormon she feels like it's the word of God. We will be going back early this week to meet with her again and start really teaching her the lessons. It's a really big blessing to have someone devour the Book of Mormon like that. It's exciting.

 

All three of our other would be progressing investigators are having a hard time getting into the Book of Mormon. We spent this week reading with them and encouraging them to do so on their own. One is the lady we found on the street that I talked about last week, Sister Nam. She had refused a hard copy of the Book of Mormon last week, claiming that it was too heavy and big, in spite of the fact she had 9 book shelves of who knows what in the very room we met in alone. We were worried she would fall upon unfavorable material on the internet. Not reading the Book of Mormon has never been quite as big of a blessing. Because she hadn't read we were able to read together, testify, and get her excited about getting her own answer about the book. We left the book behind and felt like it had been a good appointment. It is officially rainy season, and like the big Utah dry weather brats that we are, we had forgotten our umbrellas. By this time it was pouring pretty well. We braced ourselves and prepared to run to the next mart to buy an umbrella. We ran and got inside, but when we found out that the umbrellas were nearly 10,000 won we declined and decided we could make it to the subway. As we were leaving the mart, Sister Nam's husband had apparently seen us and driven over to give us an umbrella. We were humbled and grateful for his kindness. Elder Ringwood told us that when we see someone doing good in the lives of others we need to talk to that person. Sister Nam's husband is already love in action. We are hoping we'll be able to teach this good family. They are sweet.

 

Also, on funnier notes, we were escorted out of this neighborhood by a Catholic man in an electric wheelchair. When he found out we were Mormon he spent a block and a half following us and singing the equivalent of what must be "Oh Babylon, Oh Babylon we bid thee farewell..." or something like it. He didn't have a bad singing voice, honestly, but we just smiled on our way and wondered how far he would follow us. Another lady stopped him eventually. It was funny.

 

On Sunday night we paid a visit to the park that we had visited last Sunday. There are about 5-8 grandmas that spend their time under this pavillion every single day. We call them the grandma club. They are very kind to us. We have been teaching them a principle at a time. Last week was "the gospel blesses families." That was a real hit, let me tell you. All of them live alone, and some have never been married. They don't offer a lot of active participation, but we heard it on that one. This week was prophets. None of them are Christian, so it was a new concept. Once we talk religion, they don't listen much, but just enough that we think it's definitely worth the time to stop. I have never heard one of the ladies utter a word, but every time I sit down she stops fanning herself and always fans me--I don't know whether it's an act of kindness or a subtle hint regarding my hygiene habits, but I'll assume the former and be grateful. They really are the best. Most people on busses, on the streets and hanging around town in Korea are grandmas. They are so kind to us. I can't understand much of what they say, but their sentiment is always apparent.

 

We also met with Sister P this week. She is going to try quitting drinking and smoking at the beginning of August. We talked about the rest of the Plan of Salvation with her and promised her the power of the atonement could help her in her endeavor. She said she is going to try and lay low so she won't be tempted by her friends, but said that we were probably the only people she could really see at that time. Of course we were happy about that. I think for the first time we were able to help her see the actuality and possibility of Jesus Christ's help. It was probably our best meeting with her since the first.

 

Things are good. We're learning and happy along the way. Sister Cutler is helping me grow and so good at sticking with her goals. I'm grateful for this opportunity and know my path is led and God loves all his children.

 

Be good to yourselves! Love you.

 

Dad-- thanks for the mail. thanks for keeping me on my toes. at a recent district meeting Sister Gilbert asked that I tell everyone your quote about "the best missionary work begins at the end of your comfort zone." So, for better or worse (better :)) your influence is felt all the way over in Korea Busan mission too. Glad to hear you're still pumping people up. Thanks for your faith and steadiness!

 

Mom-- glad your back is feeling better. Sounds like there's not a lot of time to be in pain over there. You're a champion, so I'm sure you weathered it well. Love you. Thanks for your letters. They are always entertaining and inspiring.

 

Nick-- hope things are going well! love you. let me know about the summer happenings in UT.

 

Meg-- you too. You gotta let me in on all the fun RP gossip and summer time parties. Love you!!

 

Char-- thanks for all the pics and stories. They were, as always, hilarious. I almost forgot you were pregnant until I saw those pictures. Can't believe it. Hope you're feeling well!

 

Matt-- 3 weeks on site?? Stay healthy. I hope you get to come home soon. Thanks for working so hard. You look great in the pics. When I showed someone my family pictures the other day they pointed to you and said "movie star." So, if your self confidence was ever in question, here's a pump up for you.

 

Ladi-- love you! Keep having fun in PA. It sounds like a blast to have a summer away, and it sounds like, as usual, you're making the best of it. Tell Minnie hello, and Robert too. Love you.

 

Bob-- hope the job is still going well. Thanks for the Hot Rod Hundley quote. Those always seem to quell any semblance of homesickness.

 

Love you guys. Till next week,

 

Julia

 

a real live novel from the summer heat of daegu

Happy Summer!

Sounds like it's summer for everyone at this point. It is definitely
summer here in Korea. All the grandmas on the street are worried about
us and spend most of their time fanning us and inviting us to share
the shade of their parasoles (sp?). They are so sweet. It has been a
hot but good week. It wasn't what we expected or planned, but that's a
big part of what made it a fun week.

I have been thinking that it would be fun to, like I do with my
companions, share the miracle of the week and the funny moment of the
week. I'm going to try to do so, but I'll also give you a play by play
of the other events as well.

This last week we were able to meet with Sister Yeon--a lady in her
late 20s or early 30s who we found in our area book.  One of the
elders who used to serve in our area and is now our zone leader
suggested that we try working with her. She attended ELC(The English
Learning Center) in Provo for almost 2 years about 4 years ago.
Consequently, she is really good at English and ended up associating
with a lot of Mormons. She had only met with the missionaries in Korea
once or twice because it is such a challenge for elders to meet with
sisters etc., but now that we are here we are hoping to change that.
In Provo her roommates and most of her friends were LDS. She said she
really liked the lifestyle--especially regarding partying. It was
surprising that people could still have fun without partying. Her
roommates gave her a Book of Mormon and she went to church 3 or 4
times, but it was difficult to understand everything because it was in
English. Anyway, she left Provo, but some of her friends from that
time have visited her here in Korea and taken her to church once. She
had told the elders that served here last August that she wanted to
marry a Mormon, but since that time, about 3 months ago, she was
married to someone else. Anyway, this week we visited with her and
tried to understand where she is coming from. She is really sweet and
open. Her entire family all attend another Christian church here in
Daegu, so I'm not sure how it will play out, but we meet with her
again on this Friday. I'm hoping it will go well. She seems really
promising.

Miracle of the week:
While we were walking on the street on the way to a less active
member's house this week, we stopped another lady who looked like she
was maybe in her 30s. She was really warm and open and invited us to
come to her house two days later!! This is quite literally a miracle.
Appointments are sometimes few and far in between, but we were able to
go to Sister Nam's house and teach her the first lesson. She hasn't
attended church since she was really young. The first half of the
lesson went well, but the second half was a little too
presentation-esque (for instance, she clapped after I recited the
first vision...)..somewhere along the way we lost her, but she prayed
at the end of the lesson and said to Heavenly Father that it had been
a long time and she was sorry she had forgotten him. She said she
would read the Book of Mormon introduction, but refused, absolutely
blatantly refused our 3 offers to accept a physical copy of the book.
She plans to read it online, which is another concern. Anyway, we wer
surprised at this because she has literally 10 book shelves FULL of
books in her house. Sister Cutler, being the optimist that she is,
suggested that maybe Sister Nam had had a fight with her husband about
her book hoarding hobby and she just couldn't get herself to accept
the book. Regardless, we're a little worried. We'll meet with her
again this coming Friday.

Brother Jeong came to church again this week in his Sunday best. It is
so good to have a member's help. We don't have to pester him to do
anything. He just does it. Unfortunately because it's test time he
didn't have time for us to teach him, but summer vacation is coming
up. Hopefully we'll be able to teach him more then.

We also have been searching for this less active sister, Sister Kim
for about 10 weeks. We haven't had any luck in our search. One member
told us that they think she works at E-Mart. We went there and said a
prayer behind the building that we would be able to find her. We went
inside, wandered around, and even though there were a lot of people we
could have asked, we just felt like we needed to keep going for some
reason. We went to the second floor and after we passed through the
security gates it didn't look promising that we were going to find her
there. We went back to the security gates and decided to ask the
greeter/security person if they knew if Sister Kim works there. Even
though there were tons of other people working there, we chose to ask
this specific person and...it was Sister Kim herself. She couldn't
really talk because she was working, but we finally got to meet her
and plan to meet again.

We've been talking to everyone. Sister Cutler is just the person I
needed to get me on track at this point in my mission. It's more fun
when you talk to everyone anyway. We stand up on the busses and the
subways and we talk to people about the gospel. In the past my
companions and I have talked to people individually, but when we as
missionaries talk to people together as a team, it seems like
something different happens. We were called to serve two by two, and
people take note as we work together. It's usually not the first
person that we talk to that's interested, but because we're talking
and doing the work, Heavenly Father puts people in our path who will
talk to us. Often when bystanders watch us as we're talking to someone
else, that bystander will then start a conversation with us.

It happened even just yesterday. We went to a park to talk with
people. We were talking to this family who were playing in a fountain.
The family wasn't really too responsive, but an older couple in
electric wheel chairs sitting in the shade of a tiny tree beckoned us
over. We went to talk to them and it turned out the man had attended
English class a long time ago in Gyeongsan, a nearby town. He asked if
he could attend church and if people would help him get up the stairs
etc. We assured him we would love to help him with that desire. These
two people then yelled across the park to a college aged girl in an
electric wheel chair and asked her how she was hurt. She was kind of
taken back, but she came over with her friend and all six of us were
talking. The girls were pretty good at English so they continued
talking to Sister Cutler while I talked to the older couple. The girls
wanted to come to our English class and I was able to give the lady
and man a copy of the Book of Mormon. A drunk guy also came up to us
and was asking us for all of the information he could get about our
church (we gave him one of every pamphlet, a Book of Mormon), but he
only had about 3 teeth and was still requesting something. He wanted
to shake our hands, which is particularly weird here. Reluctantly we
shook his hand and our crowd of 5 just kept growing. A man behind us
yelled to us in English, "excuse me, can you come take a picture with
my kids?" It was at that point that I wanted someone to take a picture
of this entire scene so I could remember how hilarious it was. The
fact is we spend all day begging people to talk to us, so 6 or 7 of
them hanging on our every word was unexpected, but welcome. Ha.

Too many funny stories this week, but I love collecting them. I'm glad
Sister Cutler's here to help me do so. We're laughing a lot along the
way.

I know Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us individually and is
infinitely aware of our spiritual, physical, mental, emotional
location. It is obvious to me every day. The Book of Mormon secures us
either great scorn, curiousity, or intrigue every day. We are trying
to focus on it more in our proselyting. It brings such extreme strong
emotion, but I know it's true.

Thank you for your love and support!

Dad and Mom-- hope your back is feeling better, Mom. I also hope you
guys get your missionaries you need on time, especially the elder
serving in New Mexico. I hope you are enjoying the work and getting
some rest as well.

Nick and Meg-- hope you are well! I'm assuming the July traditions are
still holding up well. What did you do for the 4th? Anything fun with
the Clayburn clan? Miss you guys! Love.

Char and Matt-- I can't believe a piglet bit your toe. That is big
news. Glad you have been having such fun on vacation. Hopefully
Lincoln didn't think the national park was on par with the petting
zoo. Tell that boy to keep his hands away from the bears. Love you.
Row Row Row your boat.

Ladi and Bob-- sounds like such a fun weekend! I do remember Hershey
Park being quite fun. Glad to see it held up to expectations and you
had a quaint small town experience with Lysie. Tell her hello! Love
you. I can only imagine Minnie on those rides. Ha.

independence day

Happy near Independence Day!

There certainly won't be too many fireworks around here in a few days, but it is definitely beginning to feel like the middle of summer. We are feeling it, but it is fun to be out here everyday spreading the word.

We have continued to meet with Sister P. She wants to know all the facts about the church and she asks all the hard questions but isn't all that eager to experiment spiritually. She is not that happy that the answer we offer is to read and pray.  It seems too simple. She told us that she just can't get herself to pray, but we continue to encourage her. She is worried that if it is short it is not sincere, and if it is long she's afraid she will be too much of a wreck to go to work the next day. We taught her about the Plan of Salvation this week and she really liked it. The other day as we were studying Sister Cutler made a good point---you can say "hello" sincerely. Generally you don't tell someone everything about yourself right away, but no matter how simply  you speak to someone it can still be sincere. So it is with prayer. Next time we will talk about that I think. She also wanted to know why, if our purpose is to baptize (she also inquired if we had some sort of baptism quota--definitely no.), why we were meeting with her. We explained that our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ and endure to the end, regardless of where they are on that path. She seemed surprised to hear that and kind of relieved too. We will meet with her this next Sunday as well.

We saw some great miracles this week. I told you last week about Brother Jeong--the friend of a young man in our ward. Last week he wore a tie to church and this week he wore a tie AND nice pants to church. As Sister Cutler and I were sweeping the front steps before church we were excited to see Brother Jeong and his friend walk through the gate. They were the first at church. It was a good start to the Sunday.

On Saturday we really pondered the purpose of our fast. I haven't always fasted for specific purposes with my companion, but we decided to ponder about something and fast together. We decided to fast for Sister Ee, our 14 year old investigator, who at one point had a baptismal date and who we now have not seen or been able to meet for over 5 weeks. Her brother is Sean, who recently got the priesthood. Her mom is a less active sister who has come twice to church since I've been in Joongri. Her dad is really nice to us, but for some reason opposed her baptism at the time we had scheduled it initially. It has been nothing but difficult to meet with her since that time. This week we visited her parents' print shop two times to try to find Sister Ee and talked with her parents a little bit. Unfortunately we were not able to meet with her.  After Relief Society however, we were pleased to see Sister Ee and her friend sitting in the Sunday School room waiting for us to teach the lesson. It was a blessing we weren't expecting. Sister Cutler mentioned how strange and spiritual it was to meet someone for whom she had spent 12 hours fasting. They listened well to our lesson, and we definitely changed it to fit our purposes, but they listened well and still knew a lot of the answers. Now just to get her to experience it spiritually. They had to leave Sacrament meeting a little early for several factors, but I know that our fast was rewarded.

During sacrament meeting we were shocked when Brother Jeong, our investigator, got up to bear his testimony. We hadn't really ever even taught him a lesson, but he got up and talked about how when his friend invited him to church he said "I already attend a church." But, he decided to come anyway. He mentioned how this church is different and that the people all say hello to him and are kind---it's a different church-going experience than he's had before. He said he feels good at church and that next time he bears his testimony he will prepare better. It was shocking and really sincere of him. We were quite pleased.

After church we taught him the first lesson and invited him to pray and read the Book of Mormon. Because of time restraints we didn't talk quite as much about baptism as we would have liked to, but we talked about it a little bit and invited him to be baptized when he came to know what we were teaching him was true. He said he will. I think he will be baptized July 22 or 29th. We are really really hopeful about him. It is testing season so it's hard to meet with students, but we are feeling really spoiled with Brother Jeong.

Still going strong with Sister Cutler. She is a champion. We balance each other out pretty well. We are asking everyone for return appointments/contact information. This week we were passing a cute little grandma walking the other way on the street. We stopped her and asked her where she was going. She then very dramatically communicated through an animated game of charades that she had just had her tooth pulled and could not talk. We asked her if we could meet up another day and talk about our message. We were shocked when she wrote her name and number on our paper. I never expected to get contact information from a temporary mime, but Sister Cutler's faith is such that those kinds of things are happening. It was definitely the funny moment of the day, but I learn a lot from Sister Cutler in inviting people to learn more.

Life is good. I am happy. I know that the simple things--prayer, scripture study and faith really are the ways to happiness. 

I LOVE YOU!!

julia