Hi Mom, Dad, and everyone!
Yet another week has gone by. Wow, it's always fast! I'm writing in the afternoon again, but sometimes we have to check in the morning (after 10:30 am in Korea on Mondays), so yeah. I don't know what happens between when you write and I get it, but just leave plenty of room for me to get it! Thanks!!!Anyway, this week, on Wednesday, we had zone conference in Kimhae. It was really good. Our zone leaders, Sprosty and Shumway, initiated a round table discussion (minus the table, as they pointed out :) ) about how we visit the members in our areas. A big part of the missionary work we do is building up our areas, especially now that we serve in branches that range from small to mid-size. That means we spend time each week visiting less active members. We talked about how important it is to work with the branch presidencies, members in the ward, and the people we meet, so that everyone can build good relationships with each other.

The next day, we spent a few hours in Sheenpyung (an area in the Gwaejong branch)trying to visit members. (we love saying that name because it sounds Chinese to us. Sheenpyung! Sheenpyung!) I say "trying to" because it was so hard to find the addresses! The area is full of alley markets with people selling seafood, fruit, and other things, coupled with alleys filled to the brim with apartments. Needless to say, it's not the easiest place to get around. We were able to leave message cards at a few apartments though, because no one was home. Or else, in one case, the member had moved. Sad day!

We still haven't been able to get permission from Su-hyun's mother for baptism, but the member who knows her mom thinks everything will be okay. She is going to talk to her about it. Yong Soon-Young came to church in Daesheen yesterday! It worked out well because I gave a talk on prayer that day in the Daesheen branch. She stayed the whole time and for lunch afterwards. I'm excited for her lesson on Tuesday to see how she felt about church. She has been a couple of times, but as yet she hasn't felt ready to commit to coming every week. Maybe that will change this week!

I love you all and am so grateful for your support! I hope all is going well at home. Enjoy conference! I'm excited to see it in two weeks here (we watch it in English).I love you!Love,Alyssa

Monday, September 21, 2009
This week we were able to meet with Kim Su-hyun's friend Jo Min-Jung after English class on Saturday. We were excited because Jo Min-Jung has started coming to church and mutual with Su-hyun every Sat/Sun. Hopefully she'll want to continue the lessons with us! We taught Yong-Soon Young some of the commandments on Friday and it went well! We were nervous because one of the commandments was...chastity. Osekheyo! (Awkward) But she took the lesson very well. Thank goodness! We committed her to coming to church next week because I have to give a talk in the Daeshin branch! It's on prayer, so that shouldn't be toooo hard to prepare. I'm still nervous though! In the Youngdo branch last Monday we had the BEST activity for Family Home Evening. (They hold a Family Home Evening at the church every Monday). We wrote the names of people from the scriptures on post-its and stuck them to their foreheads. Then we had to figure out who we were by asking yes/no questions. It was hilarious! There was one member who had "Emma Smith" stuck to his forehead. No one could look at him without laughing! I loved watching the branch president try to help one of the elders figure out he was "Laban." He finally pretended to cut his throat, and then Elder Ballam shouted, "Laban!" It was a lot of fun. I'm excited for this next week. We just keep moving forward! I love you all! Have a great week- and remember, every little thing you do to change your life can make a difference.
The Lord is mindful of everyone, and He will always listen to your prayers and help you find your way.
Love you!
Love,Alyssa

Hi Mom!
Wow! Sounds like you all had a really fun week! And Chelsea must be having an awesome time at BYU- going to Bear Lake, bringing people to the pool, etc! That's great! Send everyone my love! I wrote Chelsea and Casey emails last week but haven't heard from them yet (hint hint). I'm also sending Chelsea a letter this week.
Things are going well with Yong Soon-Young. She doesn't want to commit to coming to church yet, but we hope conference next month will help her to change her mind. She loved a talk we showed her by Pres. Monson!
We still haven't gotten permission from Su-hyun's mom for baptism, but the YW presidency is going to talk with her and maybe visit her with us. One of the members is her mom's friend, so I think she'll have a better influence than we would.
We had an awesome combined zone P-Day last week- two zones went to Haeoondae Beach! It was fun to relax and talk to other missionaries on the sand. We got our feet wet, but that's it! A lot of the elders played football, and one of my comps played too, but she said they never passed the ball to her. Boo! I just enjoyed chatting with people by the water and playing with the sand a little bit. It was great!
Today is the first day of my fifth transfer- and I'm still with Sis. Beckstead and Sis. Musser! We're excited to serve together again. We LOVE our branches- the Gwaejong branch is amazing! They have an awesome youth/singles program and do seminary, English class, mutual, and singles meeting---all on Saturday! Korean kids are really busy during the week with school and hogwan (academy- usually English or math), so Saturday is the day of Church activities! Su-hyun always comes to mutual on Saturday, and it's great to see how the ward welcomes her in! She might as well be a member- on Saturday, they talked about preparing for the temple at mutual. She knows she needs to be baptized, but she also knows that she can still pray, read her scriptures, and come to church each Sunday. It's awesome! We love Su-hyun and pray that her mom's heart will be changed.
On Friday, we had a shiksa (meal) with the Daesheen Harmoni. Daesheen is one of the branches we serve in and Harmoni is Korean for grandmother. They call older women "harmoni" or "grandmother" in Korean. The Daesheen Harmoni is infamous for inviting the missionaries over frequently for shiksas and stuffing them to the brim! There are photos of missionaries all over her walls and in several photo albums. She used to be the cook for some of the past mission presidents, so she LOVES the missionaries. A little too much, you might say! On Friday, she served huge platters of bulgogi (beef), big potatoes, sweet potates, tomatoes, pineapples, apples, and rice. I've been avoiding beef (for my stomach), but I ate everything else. The poor elders, though (we were with four) got loaded down with food! The Daesheen Harmoni loves one in particular, Elder Bloomfield, so he and his companion, Elder Murray, had to eat a TON of food. They literally had to lick the massive plate of bulgogi clean, along with several huge servings of rice and potatoes. Seriously. I've never seen ANYONE fuller than Elder Murray! And still, after we ate all that, she pulled out melon ice cream bars.
The Daesheen Harmoni is really sweet though, and I'm grateful for the opportunity we had to get to know her at her house. She is getting older, but it is apparent her love for the missionaries is still strong as ever. She is so nice! We appreciated the experience...and ended up skipping dinner that night!
Well, I should go. We're going to Family Home Evening group at Youngdo branch tonight and we have the activity! It will be fun.

I love you all! Have a great week!

Have fun in San Diego next month!!!

Love,
Alyssa

Hi everyone!

I hope you're enjoying the beginning of school/fall/anything else! I forgot to say thank you earlier for the letters from the Linford family reunion. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! That meant a lot to me. I loved the pictures too- it looks like everyone had a blast!
This week I got a letter from my friend Alyse, serving in Brazil with some amazing news...apparently her sister Jocelyn is engaged to Jason Thomas (Mom- Michael's younger brother). They plan to marry next April! That blew my mind. I still remember them as we were in high school. And when I get back they'll be married! I'm so happy for them!
This week, we made amazing progress with Yong Soon-Young, one of our investigators. (She has met with missionaries off and on for a long time.) I was on splits in a different branch, but Sis. Musser and Sis. Beckstead said church went really well. It was Fast Sunday, and they said the testimonies were just what Yong Soon-Young needed to hear! We love teaching Soon-Young and seeing how she progresses. She loves the scriptures and *yohrsheemee* (diligently) studies them- like she is in Institute or something! We are excited for her to see General Conference next month so she can hear from the leaders of the Church today.
We're also excited about Kim Su-Hyun, our 15 year old investigator. She might as well already be a member- she comes to everything and everyone loves her, but she needs permission from her mom to be baptized. If all goes well, we'll be able to meet with her mom this week and tell her more about the church. Su-Hyun's mom already knows she goes to church, but Su-Hyun is a little worried about asking for her permission. Sound familiar? It's very similar to a situation with Sae-un that I had in Daegu. Hopefully, Su-Hyun's mom's heart will be opened and she'll allow her daughter to be baptized.

Anyway, I love all of you so much! Oh yes, Happy birthday Chelsea!!! (For Sept. 4th). Wow, I can't believe you're already 19 years old!

Have a great week everyone!

Love,
Alyssa

P.S. Mom I haven't gotten your email yet, but I'll check back later today. Love you! :)