a new transfer and a new jeju

Hello!!

I am again writing from the Dongrae Post Office in Busan which means it's transfer day. Sister Lee goes to the Seoul temple/home tomorrow. I will miss her. I have learned so much from her and I'm looking forward to applying those things. A new transfer brings stress and peace with the newness of it all. It's funny.  Sister Lee was really sick this week, so we couldn't quite finish off her mission quite the way we wanted. Her body just gave up on her. Anyway, she has a great testimony and will be such a great service to her future ward. We talk about "next transfer," and I've helped her make a few goals to continue to do missionary work. Luckily we have a lot of model members who help us realize what kind of member missionaries we want to be.

This week was good. The man who we met on the bus whose wife had died about a month ago, but who was too busy to meet with us---he called us! He wanted to take us to eat something before Sister Lee went home. We talked with him about the plan of salvation and were able to testify about the reality of it. He has been reading a little of the BOM and the pamphlets we gave him. He doesn't have a lot of time, but I am grateful to both the missionary--Elder Kimball, who he met over 50 years ago--and Sister Lee for talking to him. It's inspiring to see the effect of small and simple things.

Also, at that meal unknowingly I ate cow blood clots. Ignorance was bliss. Sister Lee avoided them and left them at the bottom of the bowl. I should have taken a hint...she usually eats everything. Anyway, I survived and apparently it is really good for one's health. 

We have also been meeting a less active sister, Sister Hyeon, at her part time job every weekend. When we first went she wasn't that happy to see us and it was excruciatingly awkward. It has steadily progressed since then. She seems to have more light in her face and interest in seeing us. I really think she has a lot of potential to come back to church. It is rewarding to see sometimes small and tremendously large fruits of our labors. 

We also met another sister, Sister Kim, who we meet weekly at her Japanese restaurant. She has been reading the BOM and trying to pray. We invited her to come back to church and for the first time she expressed desire for 1) an eternal family and 2). interest in the lives of our members and a "maybe" instead of a "no" when we invited her. Her questions have become more focused and deep. She wants to know God but has so many doubts that she feels overwhelmed. This week we will go with a member to continue teaching her. Once again, nice to see a few fruits.

My new companion is Sister Baker. If you recognize her name it's because I've already lived with her for 3 transfers (18 weeks) in Daegu. She served in Sangin when I served in Daegu. Anyway, it should be fun. She is a very very diligent person and has desires to be a good missionary. Of course when I'm bereft of a Korean companion those Korean language fears creep in, but I know that we will be able to do God's will if we continue to seek it. We already know each other really really well, so now it's just for overcoming any potential difficulties in teaching together. She gets my jokes and laughs with me and that makes life so much easier. I really believe the most important thing is your relationship with your companion--it informs every other interaction so heavily. So, I am committing to have fun and work hard and I know she is too. She is from West Jordan, UT and went to BYU and studied Math Education and Dance Education. 

Life is good. There is still a great work to do. I am grateful to hear about all the people whom you are sharing the gospel with--all of you have such great stories about recent experiences. Thank you for sharing them with me. We jump on a plane in about 2 hours so I better get going. 

Love you all! 

Sister Julia Mecham

mixing it up

Hello from still pleasant weather Jeju Do.

I am astonished by the nice weather here and will gladly take it. It
sounds like Grandma, Grandpa, Mark and Pat had fun with Mom and Dad in
Guam.  Glad they have traveled safely so far, as have you Mom and Dad.
You sound busy!! That's good, though. I have found that if I'm not
busy I'm a little bored and it's easy to get distracted.

Anyway, this week has been pretty good. A lot of our appointments fell
through so we were left to our back up plan. In many cases that back
up plan has been "finding." We have realized that like PMG says,
focusing on just one or two methods of finding is not that effective,
so we have been trying to be creative and follow the spirit.

I mentioned that we saw a stand with free books at a bus stop recently
and decided we wanted to emulate that model and see what happens. I
know that in the U.S. if you put a bunch of copies of the BOM on a
table and posted a "FREE" sign on it that it would be vandalized in no
time. I wasn't sure how it would go over here, but we gave it a shot.
We wrote about how the BOM answers questions of the soul and is used
in tandem with the bible and provided our contact information. The
first day we set it out at a bus stop 3 of the 5 copies of the BOM
were gone and the other two were intact and safe. We made the mistake
of leaving it out overnight and as we rode the bus by the stop we saw
that the copies we had left out were torn up and tattered. We decided
to take the box to a new location and clean up the wripped copies.
That day the three copies we left out were also gone when we checked
on the box later that evening. On our way home we intended to pick up
the box serving as our stand so it wouldn't get vandalized. Too late.
It seems that as darkness falls here people get brave. It was wripped
and stomped into shreds. It was a little disheartening, and in some
ways hurts more than a verbal rejection, but I was reminded of "The
Standard of Truth." "No unhallowed hand can stop the work from
progressing. Persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may
assemble, but the work will go forth boldy, nobly and independent,
till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept
every country, and sounded in every ear, 'till the purposes of God
shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say, 'The work is
done.'" It felt good to know that a few more copies of The Book of
Mormon were floating around the city and although we may not continue
to use this finding method, it was kind of fun and worth a shot.

We also ran into a girl that Sister Lee had talked to on the bus a
week or two ago. We talked again and it seems that she is interested
in learning more. It is testing time at school, but as that ends she
seems really intent on meeting with us. She calls or contacts us
several times a week. It is exciting. I think we will meet with her on
Tuesday.

We also were able to share a copy of the Book of Mormon with an older
man on the bus. Sister Lee sat down next to him and it turns out that
he met missionaries about 50 years ago. He learned English from them
and has an English copy of the BOM. He even remembers the Elder's
name--Elder Kimball. As Sister Lee continued to talk to him, with
tears in his eyes, he talked about how lonely he was.  His wife had
died just a month ago unexpectedly. She talked about the Plan of
Salvation and her dad and how important it has been to her and showed
him where that is discussed in the BOM. He accepted it and gave us his
contact information. He doesn't have a lot of free time, but he is
studying the Bible with the Jehovah's Witnesses in his only spare
time. Anyway, even though the result wasn't ideal for us, I know that
God is planting seeds---even if they are 50 years apart. How grateful
I am to Elder Kimball--whomever he is. It has inspired me to keep
talking and have faith that something is happening, hearts are being
prepared, however slow or fast.

General Conference was great. We saw it a week later. I was able to
download it on my Korean dictionary in English so I could listen to it
in English while we watched the rebroadcast in Korean. It is hard to
understand those deeper concepts in just Korean, so I was grateful for
technology. I learned a lot and came away vowing to be more happy and
disciplined. Those two things are not mutual exclusive experiences,
but complementary. I'm grateful for that reconfirmation.

Ah. Time is short. I love you all and am grateful for your examples.

Love,
Julia

A little more time...

 

A few other fun ideas have come to us this past week. We started a member referral program called the "Hen Program." We visit members and talk to them about missionary work and invite them to do a 21 day challenge where every morning and night they read a specific scripture on the sheet and pray about whom they can share the gospel with. At the end of 21 days Pres. Spencer W. Kimball promised that, if done prayerfully and faithfully, they will have the opportunity to share the gospel. We are hopeful about it.

 

We also noticed a little table at a bus stop with Buddhist books that can be purchased for 1,000won. We are thinking of doing something similar with a few copies of the Book of Mormon along with our contact information. Of course, it will be a free gift. It will be interesting to see what happens. I have gained a strong testimony of that book. Early in my mission I realized that I would need a testimony of it not just sometimes, but all the time. So, I took Preach My Gospel's advice and regularly applied the promise at the end of the Book of Mormon. Every day before I read it I pray and ask to have the truthfulness of the book reconfirmed to me. It is not always a big lightning bolt answer, but it comes in ways that are specific to my spirit and in ways that I can recognize it. I am grateful Heavenly Father answers my prayers--even daily. 

 

I love you all and know you can receive answers to your prayers from Heavenly Father in ways He knows you will hear and respond. Try it. If it's been a while, try it and you will be surprised and delighted to find He is still listening and answering to the degree that we are willing. That has been one of the biggest lessons of my mission. I am grateful to have the opportunity to apply it throughout my whole life. With Sister Lee I've been talking about "next transfer" (i.e. even though she will return home) and telling her that her mission isn't over. It really isn't. There is more to do and by seeking Heavenly Father's will in what our specific assignment could or might be at any given time in our life I know that we can find out there is more for us to do in sharing the gospel. She and I, although we will be serving in different capacities, have big plans for next transfer too. 

 

Sounds like you are all busy doing just that.

 

Dad ---woah! broken record! that was not supposed to be a pun, but I am confident that your success in the mission came from the steadiness of faithful mantras impressed upon your soul and the souls of your missionaries and respective investigators. your letters to me have always been very encouraging and specific, but as i look at them I can easily see the same thread that runs through and ties it all together. Over and over you preach faith, repentance and renewed commitment through relying on the Spirit. I know those are the keys you are focusing on and it appears to be working. Congratulations! Keep after them! Thank you for keeping after me, even in the more "wet blanket" stages of my mission and correspondence. Say hello to Grandma and Grandpa, Mark and Pat! 

 

Mom-- I hope you're doing well and getting more sleep. I know you are quite the night owl, but don't let it kill you. Ha. Thank you for writing me so often and so well. I hope you are getting a few moments to rest and relax with the family. Love you and will write soon.

 

Nick-- hope you're well! Sounds like you guys will have fun going to Atlanta in a little bit. How is the Young Men's Presidency? Work?

 

Meg-- no guilt trip intended, but of course I appreciate the update and news. Thank you! The new job sounds like fun and I'm sure you're doing well. I've always envied your ability to jump into a project and make it run more efficiently. I'm sure they are grateful for you too. 

 

Char-- zombie land is no fun, I'm sure. 3 boys....how in the world? I am grateful for your example of member missionary work, in spite of being busy. It gives me hope for both my future and the future of members here. Love you and hope you're sleeping right now.

 

Matt--on site for a few weeks? bummer. you are a champ to drive the family to Utah. I wouldn't expect anything less from you. Hope you're well and get to go home soon. 

 

Ladi-- thanks for the mail. you are quite a faithful writer. I think you've only missed a week or two. Thank you! it's always fun to hear from you. ahhhhh. don't leave UT. that is the selfish part of me that has no idea what the future holds for me either. I'm sure things will work out great, however they work out. Love you. 

 

Bob-- go razzle dazzle them with your skills. I'm excited to hear about how your trip went. Be safe and make sure to eat a lot of delicious food. 

 

Love all of you!!!! 

Chuseok!

Dear Family 사랑하는 가족,

How are you? I was grateful for the abundance of notes, long and
short, in my inbox this week. As always hearing from you is a
highlight. You may think I went AWOL on you, but, due to 추석 (Chuseok),
all the places where we email were closed yesterday. I don't know if
you remember last year, but Chuseok is essentially a four day holiday
similar to Thanksgiving, but bigger. It along with the New Year are
the biggest holidays in Korea. During these two holidays the Korean
missionaries have the opportunity to call home. Most people return to
their hometowns for a few days. Anyway, the holiday definitely put a
damper on missionary work, but we got to eat some great food and the
members were gracious enough to host us.

This week we contacted a lot of potential and former investigators and
even had some appointments with them. One of them was a man and his
wife who investigated the church about 25 years ago when they were
students in Busan. Apparently a few years ago his daughter was
learning English from the missionaries. We called and they agreed we
could visit. We got on the bus and were surprised as things got
prettier and prettier and the time continued to glide on by. About 45
minutes later we got off at the stop we were instructed to get off and
went toward the beach. These people now own a "guest house," a sort of
hostel, right on the beach in a more isolated part of our area. The
view of the ocean was absolutely incredible. We got there about 4 PM
and were warmly welcomed by a bearded Korean man with an easy
smile--both of which are quite rare. He definitely had a "foreigner"
feel to him and we were really grateful for his kindness. We sat on
their deck which overlooks the entire ocean and to be honest, the
beauty of the scene made it a little difficult to focus. How can I
focus when fish are jumping up out of the bluest ocean water I've seen
and glimmering against the sun? It was breathtaking. Anyway, these
people love to travel and are well-read and very open-minded. All
roads lead to the same mountain kind of thing. They are really good
people, have read the Book of Mormon, but have no interest in Jesus
Christ. The man even said something like we are all the only begotten
of God. It was interesting and of course our first impulse is to
argue, but we both relied on the message of the restoration and our
testimonies of Jesus Christ in our discussion. We testified and
thanked them for their time and left. I think for now Heavenly Father
gave me that experience to realize how I couldn't deny him as we
looked over an incredible ocean seascape and also to help me to be
humble enough to rely on my testimony rather than any other source. It
was a challenge, but I was grateful for the opportunity.

We also had to drop one of our investigators who just isn't really
interested and isn't keeping commitments. She didn't seem too
heartbroken about it, which makes it almost harder, but in order to
use time a little more effectively, Sister Lee and I determined
through prayer, it was the way to go.

We also met with a less active sister who took us to a 고기 (meat)
buffet. Essentially you a bunch of money and then you pick whichever
raw meat you want to eat at your leisure and personally grill it right
in front of yourself. In the US it is a law suit waiting to happen,
but here it is perfectly kosher. (Too lazy to reword that so it's not
confusing, sorry.) Anyway, we brought her a framed picture of the Salt
Lake Temple. The whole time we ate she was kind of talking to us like
she is still very much committed in her heart. We, of course, are
really happy about that and hope she will come back to church more
often. I think the reality of where she is in life really hit, though,
when we handed her the picture of the temple. We didn't even have to
say anything. Her fingers rubbed the glass over and over and she kept
saying "thank you," with a sort of urgency to get out of an
uncomfortable situation, as her eyes teared up a bit. A picture was
truly worth 1000 words. I hope she will come back soon. We invited
her, but she was off to her hometown for the holiday.

On Saturday and Sunday we met with members to eat holiday meals. It
was really good. It was great to feel the ward family love. The family
whose home we went to on Sunday have only been members since 2008.
Brother Kim is now the 1st counselor in the branch presidency and
Sister Jo is the relief society president. They are a really great
family. I took a picture of some of the food before we ate and it was
funny because I think it is one of the only pictures of me with a real
smile. I
guess food prompts sincere happiness for me.

That night Sister Lee got to talk to her familiy. It was great to see
her strengthen her mom and then as she got to briefly talk to her
siblings who are serving missions and having a hard time, to see her
strength in their time of difficulty was inspiring. I think I am
learning a lot about perspective from her. As a missionary I still can
be selfish and a little disappointed if every member of the family
doesn't write me an email (ha), but from seeing her example I know
that it is my privilege to serve and love other people and God. I am
grateful for that time and grateful for the time I have
this week to improve in that endeavor.

I read D&C 31 this morning and am grateful the the "hour" of my
mission has come. It is short, but it's not over yet. I know there is
more to do and I'm happy for the remaining time I have to wear this
nametag and do it. Thanks for your love and support!

Love,
Julia

Here are some pictures:

Chuseok feast,

ocean landscape by the "guest house hostel"

Sister Lee and me

perfect weather and God's timing

Hello from Jeju Do. I really do love this place....

We are writing a little later than usual today because we actually
went to a little island just east of Jeju called Udo. It was really
really beautiful. We took an hour bus ride, a ferry, and then rented
bikes and made a complete circuit around the coast of the island at a
leisurely pace in about 2 and a half hours. I was glad there was no
typhoon to ruin island paradise this Pday. It has been, in my mind,
perfect weather this past week. Fall is my favorite season and it is
not disappointing here on Jeju Do.

Anyway, besides today, we have had a good week. It has been really
inspiring to watch the difference Sister Lee has made in this area. I
feel that member trust and interest and good feelings about
missionaries have gone up significantly. I am grateful for Sister
Lee's willingness to just call people and ask them for help. I can and
have done that before too, but I think she has a special gift to get
us the help we need when we need it.

We really haven't been having any success finding people. So, this
week we met with some members who, when we looked in the area book,
have some referrals that sort of petered out due to lack of interest
etc. We figured those who were willing to give referrals will be
willing to find more friends to share the gospel with. We encouraged
them to find opportunities to share the gospel and praised their
efforts. It was a really positive result. We don't have anything yet,
but I can feel the energy shifting.

We decided to fast so that we could know how to find the people who
are ready to hear the gospel. I'll be frank, fasting is something that
takes all the discipline this 5' 3" frame can muster to be done right.
That is, to be a spiritual feast pointed toward faith rather than
physical starvation. Anyway, we were on the bus and I sat down next to
this student. I have had some interesting spiritual experiences lately
that have prompted me to open my mouth a little more than usual.
Initially, because I was hungry, I didn't really feel like doing much
of anything, but as I thought about the experiences God has given me
lately I knew I needed to talk to her. So, I did. It was a simple
conversation--she's been to a church once and liked it because it was
Christmas and she got a present at the end of the day. She told me she
thought God exists because of some of the more intricate parts of life
like the human body and nature. Anyway,  she said we could meet again
and gave us her phone number. We contacted her again and it was the
easiest meeting we have ever set up. It actually made us nervous that
she wouldn't show up it was so easy.

But, Saturday rolled around and she came and brought a friend. Sister
Ahn and Sister Jeon. It wasn't a perfect lesson and I don't know that
they know that they feel God is relevant to them right now in their
lives, but it ended well and they agreed to meet again. And, just like
that, someone we found on the street becomes and investigator. I know
I need more faith, but I am grateful when faith is tried and we see
some beautiful fruit of it at the end of the week. A big miracle for
us.

Also, Pres. Ringwood and Pres Gilbert came to Jeju to reorganize our
District Presidency. It was good to see them and their wives. They are
great people and I can't help but think that they are people living
the gospel of joy and rejoicing as they get to share it. They are
always happy and inspiring. Definitely something to aspire to. I
really didn't request that phonecall and I'm sorry if I was slightly
awkward, Dad. Ha. Anyway, it was great to see them and feel of their
spirit. Everything is fresh in Jeju right now--new district presidency
and a branch president of about 2 and a half months. I love fresh
starts. They bring the tides of change and hope into my heart.

Anyway, I'm happy. Elder Ringwood asked if I was so he could report it
back to my parents. From the mouth of two witnesses here it is: I'm
happy. We are having fun and have even more fun when we work hard.
Love you all so much!

Julia

with a typhoon knocking on our door...

Hello!

There has been a short break in the most recent typhoon so we got a
call from our leaders about 45 minutes ago telling us to go email and
get home again by 1. Moses parted the Red Sea so I guess, if email is
important enough, a typhoon can be stopped for a few hours. We're
grateful. I'm especially grateful to get out of the house. Although my
past habits may cause you to think otherwise, I tend to go a little
crazy being cooped up all day.

We are safe and although there are supposedly winds at 60km/h on the
way, so far so good. Apparently this typhoon is going to have the
power to flip cars over. Usually it hits the southern part of the
island (Seoguipo) more than it hits us.

Anyway, this week was good. Sister Lee is in her last transfer and not
about to give up. I love her for it. I may or may not have mentioned
that she has two younger siblings also on missions in the Korea
Daejeon Mission. While all three of them were on their missions their
dad suddenly passed away last December. It has been understandably
really hard on their family, but all three of them decided to stay on
missions. It is experiences like this that make my concerns about the
future or past seem really minute. I'm grateful for Sister Lee's
example. Sister Lee was in her last area for just over 8 months. That
kind of a duration can slow one down sometimes and she admits it was
difficult for her. She is grateful to be in a new area and willingly
loving, talking to, and jumping into every assignment we've been
given. It really is awesome to have a companion who is more "senior"
than I am. I have learned a lot about planning and fearlessness from
her. We really believe we can find and teach a family this transfer
and are putting our effort in to do so.

Honestly, this week, the numbers weren't great, but the attitude and
feeling was so different that it felt like success to me. We acted in
faith on our goals and when they weren't met we knew we had done all
we could do. Of course, there is room for improvement, but I am
grateful for a companion who wants to be here and wants to serve. She
too is surprised at her desire this point in her mission, and I know
it is a miracle that both of us needed at the time we were called to
serve together.

We have already had our fair share of funny moments. We have been
eating frozen bananas for dessert lately and after receiving a box
from the 27th E. Ward Young Women (THANK YOU!), I thought it would be
delicious to melt some of the chocolate and dip the bananas in it.
Sister Lee was in charge of the chocolate melting in the microwave.
Well, about a minute later smoke was pouring out of the microwave. The
chocolate was burned and our house was billowing with smoke. It was,
of course, quite pungent and disappointing, but the truly funny moment
was when Sister Lee pulled a bonified Ghostbusters on us. She got out
our vaccuum, plugged it in, pulled it up off the ground and tried to
suck the smoke into it. I haven't laughed that hard for a long time. I
told her about Ghostbusters and have been singing it to her every now
and then. She doesn't appreciate it, but it keeps things light.

Yesterday, after church, one of the elder's investigators, Brother
Kim, was baptized. He is about 30 years old and is the boyfriend of
one of our members. I have never seen an investigator more involved in
his own baptism. He and his girlfriend made all the refreshments for
afterward and they sang a duet of "I'm Trying To Be Like Jesus." They
had requested that I sing something, so I sang a version of "Teach Me
To Walk In The Light" I arranged and accompanied on guitar. Although
those we invited did not come to the service, it was just a really
clean, moving feeling to see a baptism again. It's been a while, and
to witness someone really change and want to change is a beautiful
thing. We were grateful to have the opportunity to be there. Sister
Lee and I have talked about how seeing and hearing, while they promote
faith, are not faith. Faith is in the feet and it is evident that
Brother Kim's faith is sincere.

Anyway, we're not sure what this week holds, but I hope we can meet
some people with willing feet and hearts. It takes one to meet one, I
guess, so we're working to exercise more faith ourselves.

Admittedly I'm excited for Dec. 2012, but so grateful for this time I
have to be consecrated to the Lord here in Korea. It's not easy and I
think I would be a lot less grateful and less apt to call miracles
miracles if it were easy. I think that's part of why Heavenly Father
sent me here. I received an email from President Gilbert today about
making this the most productive time of my mission and that's what I
intend to do. As Elder Holland has said, we look to the past to claim
the embers, not the ashes, but faith is pointed toward the future. The
best is yet to come!! I know that is true for all of us. We can
improve in whatever our endeavors are.

I love you all and know this is God's work. He is beside me as often
as I invite Him to be and that is an empowering knowledge. Thank you
for your faith and prayers.

Love,
Julia

Dad-- I appreciate that you are a bigger picture kind of guy. I think
Mom fills in any of the gaps nicely. It's really fun to hear your
accounts of the same events. Thank you for your consistent letters and
encouragement. It's fun to be about the same work!

Mom-- thank you for the updates. Sounds like you've had fun with your
missionaries and travel lately. Your missionaries sound like they're
working hard and helping people progress. It's always fun to get new
ideas from them. Thank you!

Nick-- hope you're doing well! I don't know a lot about your job, but
I am sure you're doing well at it. Thanks for the letter the other
week!

Meg-- thanks for the update and I will never complain about length,
ever! So, one sentence or two is welcome. I know you will do great at
your new job. The learning curve is never fun, but it is fun to look
back later and see how far you've come. You are great. Thank you!

Char-- I got your letter/pictures yesterday. Thank you! The boys are
looking handsome. I loved the pictures and was thinking how great of a
photographer you've become until you told me someone else had taken
the photos. Take it as a compliment that I could readily believe you
were the mastermind behind the photos. It's hard for me to believe
there is another little boy in your family! I hope you're recovering
well. It was also fun to read/see your missionary pictures etc. You
were a champion and I actually got some good ideas about how to
increase in faith from your letters. Thank you!

Matt-- hope you're doing well! Hope work on site isn't draining you
too much and you'll be able to be back with the newest Adsero soon.

Ladi-- thanks for the update and the picture. I can't imagine Minnie
is real, but the stories about her bring her to life so thank you.
Isn't it fun that she has her own personality? If she "pat pat pats"
me when I first meet her I will be royally offended. You should warn
her now. Travel to SLC safely!

Bob-- I assume you are holding down the SLC fort well. I hope school
is going well. I know the rest of the Collard clan is looking forward
to hanging out with you again upon their return from Canada.

Ah. We're out of time. 밥 먹헌? 아니, 지금 가야되...사랑해!!

typhoon survival 101

Hello!

As you can see we survived the typhoon. It was something to behold, but overall, at least in our neighborhood, not as bad as I thought it might be. Typhoons are rather unpredictable and a sudden gust of wind can send one flailing, so we were instructed to stay inside all of Tuesday. That was a challenge on any of the work we wanted to do this week, but we got a few things done from home. The winds were howling and the rain was torrential, but we stayed safe and healthy. The elders in other areas had no power and were miserably hot, but we all survived. 

Thanks for writing! Glad to hear you're all safe. 

This week we had some good experiences. I haven't clarified for a few weeks, but I have definitely discovered that people actually live here. It's just our area/neighborhood that is extremely touristy. I think a lot of troubled people have come here with the belief that living on an island paradise will change their hearts, but unfortunately the economy, like most places, is pretty rough here right now. Anyway, we have been knocking doors, which hasn't proven to be the most effective method in my experience, but we can't really figure out how else to go about personal contacting right now. 

Well, we were a little down a few days ago and Sister Gilbert called to see if we had survived the typhoon. She also asked about our area. I said it would be better if we had people to teach, but that we're trying. She told us to get on our knees and ask how many people Heavenly Father has for us to teach in this area and call her back when we find out and let her know so she could pray for us as  well. We were kind of shocked and jaded about it, but we went forth anyway. We felt that 3 was a good number and settled on that and let her know.

The next day we went out and we were knocking on doors and...for the first time on my mission, someone let us in. Sister Kang. We tried to mask our utter shock as she flung the door open and invited us in. She is about 50 and works at a hotel as a cleaner. It happened to be her day off from a very busy schedule. I think she is someone who has always sought God in her life, but not so much organized religion. She was very curious about the BOM and our testimonies of it. Perfect. We were able to share with her and invite her to read it. She was excited to know that the BOM clarifies parts of the bible. We are  hoping to be able to teach her this week as well, depending on her schedule. It wasn't perfect, but we were really grateful for the opportunity. It gave us hope. Person we could teach number one. 

This Sunday we met what some have dubbed our "eternal investigator." She has been attending church on and off for 7 years, but has trouble keeping some of the commandments (as we all do...) and as a result is too nervous to commit. She has even had plans to be baptized once or twice, but it fell through. When we invite her to hear the lessons she feels pressure and stops coming to church. Anyway, as a result we've been careful with her. This Sunday our branch president interviewed her and she said she really is considering baptism again. The branch president suggested somewhere between October to December to her as a goal. She agreed. Person #2 that we may be potentially teaching this week. 

I know prayers are answered and that there are prepared people. I am grateful for your prayers and love. Thank you! Sometimes I forget when things are hard, but I appreciate all the optimism, good energy, and prayers you're sending my way. 

Anyway, this Thursday is transfer calls. We'll see what happens. My guess is a new companion and I will stay in Jeju, but still not sure. 

I love all of you! Hard to believe that Charlotte and Matt's baby is coming this week! Congratulations! I will pray for you. Nice to hear from all of you. Special shout out ot A. House. Thanks for the mail!

Till next week,

Love,
Julia

typhooooon!!

Hello!

I'm still alive, though, according to weather forecasts, I may not be
alive tomorrow. A really big typhoon is supposed to hit this evening
and continue on tomorrow as well. Apparently it's the first of the
season. Yesterday at church everyone was warning us about it and
telling us not to go outside tomorrow. Apparently winds up to 50
km/hour. We'll see. It seems this happens every year here so people
are used to it. I'm not planning on dying and neither is anyone else.
Hopefully we'll find a safe way to do missionary work. Ha.

It has rained, poured, drenched us most of of this week--although we
did have a couple sunny days. My shoes, as my first Korean companion
would say, are rotten. Yes, yes they are. Welcome to European heritage
and water logged faux leather, my friend! It is fun to carry an
umbrella around as we walk. For the first 10 minutes we're dodging
puddles and carefully, very optimistically holding the umbrella
overhead. The next five minutes start to become miserable---our feet
ARE puddles themselves. And the next five minutes I start wondering
why I'm carrying an umbrella at all. The misery dulls a little and
it's just life. We've been walking through rivers and forcing some
laughter when cars splash us. Such is life.

We were able to teach our new member, Sister Choi, in Seoguipo. She is
young and has a tough upbringing. Usually her mom doesn't let her go
out of the house when it's raining, so the fact that it was pouring
when we caught the bus to meet her was a little disheartening. But,
miraculously we could meet and we taught her about the Plan of
Salvation again. She is so cute and loves my companion, Sister Yoon,
so much. Later that day we taught Sister Go, a 16 year old sister. She
has a hard time coming to church, but does want to be baptized, even
though she is afraid of the water. We explained that she has to come
to church if she wants to get baptized. She is sweet, but I'm not sure
how well she's grasping the concepts we're teaching. We're still
holding on and praying we can meet this week as well.

We met with a less active sister, Sister Kim, who has been very warm
to us. She said that she wants to study the Book of Mormon with us
and, in turn, learn a few English phrases to help her with her work at
a Japanese restaurant. We were surprised at her interest, and although
it kind of seems she wants to read the Book of Mormon as a favor to
us, I think if we prepare well and help her gain a testimony of the
Book of Mormon, this will be a good opportunity for all of us. We meet
with her this Friday. We talked about prayer and she told us she has
too many doubts to pray. It is prayer that removes doubts. We're
looking forward to talking to her again.

We met some interesting characters this week--a Korean man who has run
a deli in New York for 21 years and has been here in Jeju hanging out
for a year. "What's up?" was his opening line. He was a character--not
too interested in the gospel, but we had an interesting conversation.
We also met a guy from London who was visiting his girlfriend here in
Jeju. He was really nice, but told us he likes Buddhism because it
doesn't have many rules and restrictions and just focuses on loving
everyone. It was fun to get to talk in English, but not too much came
of those experiences.

This week I hit my one year mark in Korea (Aug. 30th.). Pretty wild.

Anyway, the typhoon winds are picking up here in this citizen's center
and the windows are blowing around pretty hard.

I'm grateful for the opporunity to serve and the fresh start of each
day and moment if we allow it to be that way. That's something I'm not
naturally inclined to do, but I am grateful for the moments I see
people through the lens of forgiveness and brother/sisterhood. It is
the only thing that motivates me in this work. Thank you for writing
me this week! I hope I have more to say next week. Love!