Hi Everyone!
I realize that I talked about shiksas last night- you might want to know that shiksa means meal- they're exciting! It's nice to get to know the members and...we always love food!
A while ago, my companion started talking to a girl next to her on the subway- the girl said she recognized us as missionaries and said she saw sister missionaries the day before. She pointed to our Book of Mormon copies and name tags and said they had that, and that one was Korean. We knew they were our housemates, Sister Matthews and Sister Lee, and told her that we lived with them. There are several elders in Daegu, but only 4 sisters! She was excited that we lived with them. I thought it was amazing that she saw them and we sat next to her the day after! She said her grandmother went to church regularly (she passed away) and she is looking for that in her life. We met with her and her boyfriend the other night and will refer her to the other sisters (she is in their area). I'm not sure how interested she is in the church yet, but that experience showed me how the Lord can guide us to those who need to hear our message. We don't often run into people who say they'd love to meet with us again, so that was a great experience! I'm so thankful for the Lord's help.
This weekend we had a lot going on. Saturday, our investigator Yay-jeen got baptized! Yay-jeen is in high school and was introduced to the church by her sister, who was baptized last year. I can see how her faith is growing as she learns about the gospel. She wants to do the right thing and has gained a strong testimony about prayer to our Heavenly Father. I know that prayer can help us in any part of our lives. Our Heavenly Father will always let us know that He loves us. One of the elders in the Dae-myong ward, Elder Nyholm, (one of our two wards) baptized her and her sister came down from Seoul! I was excited to meet her and found out that she knows an elder in Seoul that I knew at the MTC (Elder Verhagan- he was my ZL for the first 6 weeks). It is such a small world! We were also excited because Yay-jeen's friend Jong-meen, who we also teach, was able to come to the baptism. She wasn't sure if she could because she was studying for the TOEIC the next day (BIG English test), so it means a lot that she took time from her day to come.
I don't have to worry about not using the piano here! At the baptism, I was pianist and Sister Jensen and I sang A Child's Prayer together. I loved hearing Yay-jeen's testimony, even though I didn't understand everything. It was a great experience.
Right after that, we had a Ward Friendship Night for the Daemyong ward. The ward mission leader organized it, so it had a lot of missionary involvement! Daehyun, a recent convert of the elders, played the clarinet and I accompanied him on the piano. Sister Jensen and I teach his sister Hyun-a. We first met and became friends with her when we went to the Buddhist temple on my first P-day! After that, Sister Jensen taught everyone the Hula (she is from Hawaii). It was really funny to see everyone try to sway their hips and follow her- the bishop, ward mission leader, all the kids, everyone! It was a lot of fun. They made the elders (Nyholm & Asay) and me do the dance in front of everyone while Sister Jensen played the ukelele! You can imagine how that went! I definitely do not have that talent, but it was fun to just do it anyway. Everyone had a great time (the kids loved the hula!) and they printed pictures of it in the ward letter the next day-
Sunday was great- Hyun-a came to church for the second time in a row! She saw Yay-jeen get confirmed and I tried to explain to her what that meant. Sister Jensen and I then went over to the Sahng-een ward (our other ward) to practice with the ward choir. Stake conference is next week and we're performing! So it was definitely an exciting weekend.
I wish I could write about everything, but there is just too much! I am so thankful for blessings from the Lord. Yes, things don't always go perfectly, but if we try to do the best we can, He has promised He will bless us. Don't forget that! We can always turn to Him in prayer- He knows everything you're going through. Things don't always go according to plan, but you can always try to make the best out of the situation! I'm trying to have that outlook- it makes life so much brighter!
Love you all!
Sister Linford
Monday, April 27, 2009
Hi Everyone!
It's nice to be writing again. This was a pretty good week. Shiksas (meals) and teaching were plentiful. It was great! This P-day we decided to take it easy. I took a nap and then we went to a stationery store- there was so much! It was really hard to choose and I ended up with a standard notebook for Korean (so it's STIll hard for me to make decisions!) My companion, Sister Jensen, is Sister Representative for our zone so we had our first split on Thursday. Sister Hawkins came to Daegu for the day with me. I was FINALLY able to get money out of the bank (you have no idea how hard it is to go without passport, waygookeen (foreigner) card, or access to missionary funds). But fortunately, this week I got my passport, waygookeen card back from the government AND debit card from the mission president. My companion was able to lend me enough money until I could get sufficient ID to get money from the bank.
Sister Hawkins and I taught two lessons on Thursday- one to an investigator, and one to a recent convert (we call her Harmoni [grandmother]). Harmoni is SO funny. She's the one who gave us spam and fruit. On Thursday we scoopped apples out with spoons. It tasted like applesauce! And we managed to finish the Plan of Salvation with her- the last part IS the important part! Everyone should know that they can live with God again! So that night we had a shiksa with...the mission president! He called me to say that he was in town with my mission debit card. Sister Hawkins and I went out with him and his wife, and her houseguests. It was delicious- I wish I could remember the name- but you cook the meat yourself, stick it in a leaf of lettuce with some other yummy things, and stick the WHOLE thing in your mouth. The next day we had a shiksa with a young couple in the Sangeen ward- and I found out the husband served with my friend Keith Gonzales in the Seoul mission! Craziness! He was telling a story about an old companion, Elder Gonzales, Mexican-American, from California, serving in Seoul. All of a sudden, I thought "Duh!" THat's my old roommate Lynzy's husband! It was REALLY funny. I love those kinds of connections.
I have to go but I love you all!
Alyssa
It's nice to be writing again. This was a pretty good week. Shiksas (meals) and teaching were plentiful. It was great! This P-day we decided to take it easy. I took a nap and then we went to a stationery store- there was so much! It was really hard to choose and I ended up with a standard notebook for Korean (so it's STIll hard for me to make decisions!) My companion, Sister Jensen, is Sister Representative for our zone so we had our first split on Thursday. Sister Hawkins came to Daegu for the day with me. I was FINALLY able to get money out of the bank (you have no idea how hard it is to go without passport, waygookeen (foreigner) card, or access to missionary funds). But fortunately, this week I got my passport, waygookeen card back from the government AND debit card from the mission president. My companion was able to lend me enough money until I could get sufficient ID to get money from the bank.
Sister Hawkins and I taught two lessons on Thursday- one to an investigator, and one to a recent convert (we call her Harmoni [grandmother]). Harmoni is SO funny. She's the one who gave us spam and fruit. On Thursday we scoopped apples out with spoons. It tasted like applesauce! And we managed to finish the Plan of Salvation with her- the last part IS the important part! Everyone should know that they can live with God again! So that night we had a shiksa with...the mission president! He called me to say that he was in town with my mission debit card. Sister Hawkins and I went out with him and his wife, and her houseguests. It was delicious- I wish I could remember the name- but you cook the meat yourself, stick it in a leaf of lettuce with some other yummy things, and stick the WHOLE thing in your mouth. The next day we had a shiksa with a young couple in the Sangeen ward- and I found out the husband served with my friend Keith Gonzales in the Seoul mission! Craziness! He was telling a story about an old companion, Elder Gonzales, Mexican-American, from California, serving in Seoul. All of a sudden, I thought "Duh!" THat's my old roommate Lynzy's husband! It was REALLY funny. I love those kinds of connections.
I have to go but I love you all!
Alyssa
Hi Mom and Dad!Oh goodness. I have a lot to write and so little time! Yesterday was a great day. We watched General Conference at the Suesong ward with the whole Daegu stake. Dad, I don't know if Gumi is a ward now- I'll have to ask! A lot of people turned out, which was awesome. We watched conference in English upstairs in two rooms- one was mostly missionaries, and the other was mostly Waegookeens (that means foreigners). There is a military branch in our stake. At the break, all the wards split up into different places (the park, different classrooms), and had feasts! The nice thing about being sister missionaries is that we had TWO wards to visit- Sangin and Daemyong. We went to Sangin first and didn't have time for Daemyong. But we did still have time to swing by the military ward's layout (they invited us) and have delicious food (including the most delicious New Zealander cake ever). So that was great. The speakers were great too! I watched ALL the talks and only started to fall asleep once! I loved seeing the people speak I saw at the MTC- Elder Ballard, Elder Scott, the Portuguese elder in the seventy, etc. When he got up, I thought he looked familiar. Then he said he was from Portugal and it clicked! I remembered what he told us about his conversion story. What I learned at the MTC means so much to me. One of the brethren talked about the song "I love to See the Temple." That primary song means a lot to me now. At the MTC, every time we walked home from the temple on P-Day, my companions and I would sing that and look back and just...be happy. I love that memory. There was so much to learn at General Conference- and I especially felt that as we have a responsibility for our investigators. One of them is Say-un. She is so cute (11 years old) and smart. Her great-uncle is the stake president, and another is a Sunday school teacher, so she has a lot of the exposure to the Church. She kept sneaking up to the missionary room to be near us. I turned around once and saw her recreating the Plan of Salvation handout we had talked to her about. Every detail! She is very bright and I'm pretty sure she has a photographic memory. She is the one that knew about Oliver Cowdery. So I am so excited that we can teach her. We would like to teach her little brother too, but we'll see. He reminds me a lot of Christopher (he likes to play and climb around a lot- as most little boys do). Well I have to go now- we're going to Costco! I love you all and am so excited to be here doing the Lord's work. I can't say a lot (yet) but I am learning so much about what it means to be a missionary. I love the people here and have already made some good friends- investigators, missionaries, members, just a mix of everything! Goodbye!Love you!!Alyssa
Monday, April 6, 2009
Hi Mom, Dad and everyone else!
So I'm here! It's my first P-Day in Korea (Monday) and I am at a post office in Daegu using the free internet! And that's where I live- Daegu! My areas are Daemyong and Sangin and I live in Shin-jeon We were so tired when we arrived in Korea last Tuesday night. The next day they put us to work doing a proselyting activity in Pusan. It was kind of intimidating- I'm not going to lie! Especially when you realize how FAST the people talk. They made me soapbox a couple of times (get up on a planter box and shout (in my case :) ) to the people walking down the street. It's not a very typical missionary practice but more of a greenie initiation tactic. But while a Korean sister missionary and I were up there, a woman and her son stopped to talk to other missionaries. So that was exciting. Before that activity, we went to a bathhouse (at 6:00 in the morning!) Before we came to Korea, my district had wondered whether that would be allowed or not. But as it turns out, President Jennings really wants us to learn about the culture. It was definitely a new cultural experience. The one we went to was really nice.
That evening, they assigned us to our senior companions. I'm with Sister Jensen. She is a lot of fun. She is from Hawaii and has a Masters from Stanford in Ethnic Studies. I've been around all these college grad sisters lately- sometimes I forget that I still have a year (plus more!) of school to look forward to! My housemates are Sister Lee and Sister Matthews. We have a pretty diverse apartment- there's Sis. Jensen from Hawaii, Sis. Lee from Korea, Sis. Matthews from New Zealand (she is Maori), and then me, the girl from Utah. Haha. But actually, pretty much everyone knows I'm originally from California. I haven't been able to let go yet!
Our apartment is tiny. There is a little kitchen, two little rooms, and a little bathroom. We sleep on mats on the floor, which is not as bad as I thought. It's like a mattress! We're hardly ever home though, because we don't live in either of our areas. So basically we just eat breakfast there.
So much has happened in the past 5 days! Two people we're teaching are Yay-jin and Jung-min. They are really nice girls- about 14 years old. Yay-jin's sister joined the church last year and that's when she became interested. We set a baptismal date with her a couple of days ago! Her friend, Jung-min, is not quite ready for that yet, but she is making a lot of progress. I don't do a lot of teaching during our appointments (that's an understatement!) but I'll testify a little bit here and there. On Sunday after church, we taught them with Say-un, another investigator, about the Plan of Salvation. Say-un's uncle's family are members and she comes with them every week. She knows a ton about the gospel! So we're excited about her. My Korean is not great (at all!) but I'm trying! When people ask how long I've been here, they think I'm trying to say 5 months when really I'm trying to say 5 days! It's pretty funny. My first day proselyting, we were in the subway station and I turned around and saw these two cute old ladies on the bench and said hello. They smiled back and moved to one side to make a spot for me- and both motioned to it! And then they decided they wanted me to sit in between them so they moved again and patted the spot in the middle (all while smiling up at me). It was really funny! I've gotten used to the people looking at me all the time- because I'm a blond foreigner! Many times, we pass teenagers or little kids and exchange hellos (in English). It's a lot of fun. Middle school girls are really funny. They're so shy! It's a challenge trying to talk to people, but getting their attention is not a problem AT ALL. That part has been built into me. So that's convenient! People also want to feed us all the time. Last night, it was Fast Sunday and Sis. Jensen and I were STARVING after spending the whole afternoon/evening visiting members and teaching investigators. When we were right next to our house, a man started talking to us and then he insisted on buying us dinner. We refused, several times- it was Sunday! But he wouldn't let up, so finally we let him buy us kimbop. And he also got us these huge soups- you should've seen me try to eat the huge noodles!
The other night, we went to a new member's house to have her sign her baptism form. She is really old and so cute, but also pretty poor. I felt bad because she insisted that we take spam and fruit with us. And then she had to make sure it was packed JUST right in my backpack! So now I'm eating spam whether I like it or not! It's been a lot of fun getting to know the people we teach, people in both our wards, and the other missionaries. I have SO much motivation to learn as much Korean as possible- so I can communicate with everyone! Tragically, I left my Korean binder packed full of notes on the plane in Seoul. Don't put things under your seat! But I told the AP's about it and they're going to try to look on Lost and Found. But you know what? I have no lack of Korean help here, and it wouldn't be a real travel experience without me losing at least one thing!
Today we are going to see a big Buddhist temple. I am going to do a ton of fun things on my P-days because it is Sister Jensen's last transfer. So I'm excited! I have so much to learn about missionary work but I'm getting a good start. I am so thankful for the Lord's word and I'm excited to watch General Conference on Easter next Sunday. I love you all and hope all is going well! And Ruby gets blessed soon, right? That's awesome! And tell Newel and Marlowe congratulations for their new baby!
Love,
Alyssa
So I'm here! It's my first P-Day in Korea (Monday) and I am at a post office in Daegu using the free internet! And that's where I live- Daegu! My areas are Daemyong and Sangin and I live in Shin-jeon We were so tired when we arrived in Korea last Tuesday night. The next day they put us to work doing a proselyting activity in Pusan. It was kind of intimidating- I'm not going to lie! Especially when you realize how FAST the people talk. They made me soapbox a couple of times (get up on a planter box and shout (in my case :) ) to the people walking down the street. It's not a very typical missionary practice but more of a greenie initiation tactic. But while a Korean sister missionary and I were up there, a woman and her son stopped to talk to other missionaries. So that was exciting. Before that activity, we went to a bathhouse (at 6:00 in the morning!) Before we came to Korea, my district had wondered whether that would be allowed or not. But as it turns out, President Jennings really wants us to learn about the culture. It was definitely a new cultural experience. The one we went to was really nice.
That evening, they assigned us to our senior companions. I'm with Sister Jensen. She is a lot of fun. She is from Hawaii and has a Masters from Stanford in Ethnic Studies. I've been around all these college grad sisters lately- sometimes I forget that I still have a year (plus more!) of school to look forward to! My housemates are Sister Lee and Sister Matthews. We have a pretty diverse apartment- there's Sis. Jensen from Hawaii, Sis. Lee from Korea, Sis. Matthews from New Zealand (she is Maori), and then me, the girl from Utah. Haha. But actually, pretty much everyone knows I'm originally from California. I haven't been able to let go yet!
Our apartment is tiny. There is a little kitchen, two little rooms, and a little bathroom. We sleep on mats on the floor, which is not as bad as I thought. It's like a mattress! We're hardly ever home though, because we don't live in either of our areas. So basically we just eat breakfast there.
So much has happened in the past 5 days! Two people we're teaching are Yay-jin and Jung-min. They are really nice girls- about 14 years old. Yay-jin's sister joined the church last year and that's when she became interested. We set a baptismal date with her a couple of days ago! Her friend, Jung-min, is not quite ready for that yet, but she is making a lot of progress. I don't do a lot of teaching during our appointments (that's an understatement!) but I'll testify a little bit here and there. On Sunday after church, we taught them with Say-un, another investigator, about the Plan of Salvation. Say-un's uncle's family are members and she comes with them every week. She knows a ton about the gospel! So we're excited about her. My Korean is not great (at all!) but I'm trying! When people ask how long I've been here, they think I'm trying to say 5 months when really I'm trying to say 5 days! It's pretty funny. My first day proselyting, we were in the subway station and I turned around and saw these two cute old ladies on the bench and said hello. They smiled back and moved to one side to make a spot for me- and both motioned to it! And then they decided they wanted me to sit in between them so they moved again and patted the spot in the middle (all while smiling up at me). It was really funny! I've gotten used to the people looking at me all the time- because I'm a blond foreigner! Many times, we pass teenagers or little kids and exchange hellos (in English). It's a lot of fun. Middle school girls are really funny. They're so shy! It's a challenge trying to talk to people, but getting their attention is not a problem AT ALL. That part has been built into me. So that's convenient! People also want to feed us all the time. Last night, it was Fast Sunday and Sis. Jensen and I were STARVING after spending the whole afternoon/evening visiting members and teaching investigators. When we were right next to our house, a man started talking to us and then he insisted on buying us dinner. We refused, several times- it was Sunday! But he wouldn't let up, so finally we let him buy us kimbop. And he also got us these huge soups- you should've seen me try to eat the huge noodles!
The other night, we went to a new member's house to have her sign her baptism form. She is really old and so cute, but also pretty poor. I felt bad because she insisted that we take spam and fruit with us. And then she had to make sure it was packed JUST right in my backpack! So now I'm eating spam whether I like it or not! It's been a lot of fun getting to know the people we teach, people in both our wards, and the other missionaries. I have SO much motivation to learn as much Korean as possible- so I can communicate with everyone! Tragically, I left my Korean binder packed full of notes on the plane in Seoul. Don't put things under your seat! But I told the AP's about it and they're going to try to look on Lost and Found. But you know what? I have no lack of Korean help here, and it wouldn't be a real travel experience without me losing at least one thing!
Today we are going to see a big Buddhist temple. I am going to do a ton of fun things on my P-days because it is Sister Jensen's last transfer. So I'm excited! I have so much to learn about missionary work but I'm getting a good start. I am so thankful for the Lord's word and I'm excited to watch General Conference on Easter next Sunday. I love you all and hope all is going well! And Ruby gets blessed soon, right? That's awesome! And tell Newel and Marlowe congratulations for their new baby!
Love,
Alyssa
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