Hi everyone!
Happy Thanksgiving (last week)!!!Even though I was all the way over here in Korea, I still managed to celebrate Thanksgiving twice! The first time was at our combined zone conference held on Thursday in honor of the holiday. We were all excited about it because Sister Jennings and Sister Lee cooked an AMAZING Thanksgiving dinner, but especially because Elder Yoon-Hwan Choi of the Quorum of the Seventy came to speak to us! It was a great conference. Elder Choi spoke at General Conference at the Priesthood session- about the "loud choir boys". He is from Seoul and is making a tour of all the Korean missions (threre are 4) with his wife. He talked about how we can strengthen our wards and branches as we focus on the future potential of the individuals and the branches, instead of any weaknesses they may now have. Referring to the story he shared at conference, he said that's what he did as a bishop when he worked with the rebellious boys in the ward. Instead of giving up hope on them, he decided to take action and get them to put their energy into becoming a singing group. Now, many of those boys have served missions, married in the temple, and are leaders of the church. Isn't that great? I also learned a lot from his wife, who spent some time counseling the sister missionaries on her own. She has an amazing testimony and we really appreciated learning from her as well as her husband. She talked about the "special role" that we have as sister missionaries, and how we need to show our support to the elders because they have the priesthood.
My other Thanksgiving dinner was on Saturday with a semi-American family in the Youngdo branch. The father, Brother Harrison, is American, and his wife is Korean. She speaks practically perfect English though, and teaches school in English for about 10 young Korean kids (including her son) at her home. So we got to have our Thanksgiving meal with them, their son, and her students. It was a great experience! I enjoyed spending time with the kids and talking to them about our traditional foods at Thanksgiving.
Yesterday, Sister Beckstead and I got to see the Primary program at the Goejeong branch. It was so cute! The kids all seemed to really enjoy singing and speaking in front of the congregation. Everyone loved the branch president's daughter, because we could only see her forehead peeking out above the podium. I thought about how Christopher was just in his last Primary program. Sad! He is growing up so fast!
I love you all so much! I hope all is well!
Love,Alyssa
Monday, November 30, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Hi Mom!
Sounds like things are going well back home. I can't believe the blizzard season has started already! Korea is starting to get really cold. I'm so glad to have my warm coat! It's still cold, but it makes it so much better! Tell Casey congrats on his new job. That's awesome! I can't believe Chris had his last Primary program. That's nuts! I'm sure Brooke will be amazing once again in the Nutcracker. And I heard you're going to Grandma and Grandpa's house for Thanksgiving. That will be so much fun!
This week, once again, went by really fast! We got to visit Soon-Young Yong for the first time at her apartment and met her mom. She was really sweet! She is very old and can't leave her house very much. We were also excited to introduce Soon-Young to two single members her age in Youngdo, our other branch, and a new investigator. We all ate dinner together with the elders. It was great! Soon-Young discovered she was the same age as Mi-Young Go, one of the members. That means they're "chingu" (friends). Finding out someone is a chingu is very big and they hit it off great! Soon-Young also came to church yesterday. We hope she will be able to come to a special stake conference next Sunday. The Church put together a special broadcast for members in Asia. We hope they'll have an English room for the missionaries!
We also had dinner this week with a less active member in Youngdo, Sis. Harrison. She is Korean but her husband is American. I was on splits at the time- Sister So-Young Lee came with me. We had a wonderful experience talking to Sister Harrison and hope that she will decide to come out to church soon.
Yesterday we had two shiksas (meal invitations)! We had lunch with a counselor in the Daeshin branch and his family. I didn't think I could eat any more food... but we had to eat more that night at a shiksa of a Youngdo branch member's house! She served...get this...bosheentong. That probably means nothing to you, but to me that means DOG SOUP! Seriously. Fortunately, I avoid eating meat, so I didn't have to eat it. But my companion and the elders did! When I told the member that I couldn't eat the dogmeat, she said okay. Then she came out with a bowl of the broth! So I had some dogmeat soup broth. Didn't think I would ever say that!
We are going to have a big zone conference on Thanksgiving Day and a member of the seventy, Elder Choi (he's Korean) is going to speak to us! We're really excited, especially because Sister Jennings, our mission president's wife, is going to make Thanksgiving dinner! It'll be great.It's starting to get pretty cold in Korea but the work is still going well! We love our branches and the people we teach.
Love you! Hope you have a great week! Thank you for everything!
P.S. Dad, do you know someone named Blake Young? He served in the Busan mission in 1979-81 (maybe) and is the bishop (in Ogden) of an elder I serve with (Elder Mikkelsen). Let me know!
Love,Alyssa
Sounds like things are going well back home. I can't believe the blizzard season has started already! Korea is starting to get really cold. I'm so glad to have my warm coat! It's still cold, but it makes it so much better! Tell Casey congrats on his new job. That's awesome! I can't believe Chris had his last Primary program. That's nuts! I'm sure Brooke will be amazing once again in the Nutcracker. And I heard you're going to Grandma and Grandpa's house for Thanksgiving. That will be so much fun!
This week, once again, went by really fast! We got to visit Soon-Young Yong for the first time at her apartment and met her mom. She was really sweet! She is very old and can't leave her house very much. We were also excited to introduce Soon-Young to two single members her age in Youngdo, our other branch, and a new investigator. We all ate dinner together with the elders. It was great! Soon-Young discovered she was the same age as Mi-Young Go, one of the members. That means they're "chingu" (friends). Finding out someone is a chingu is very big and they hit it off great! Soon-Young also came to church yesterday. We hope she will be able to come to a special stake conference next Sunday. The Church put together a special broadcast for members in Asia. We hope they'll have an English room for the missionaries!
We also had dinner this week with a less active member in Youngdo, Sis. Harrison. She is Korean but her husband is American. I was on splits at the time- Sister So-Young Lee came with me. We had a wonderful experience talking to Sister Harrison and hope that she will decide to come out to church soon.
Yesterday we had two shiksas (meal invitations)! We had lunch with a counselor in the Daeshin branch and his family. I didn't think I could eat any more food... but we had to eat more that night at a shiksa of a Youngdo branch member's house! She served...get this...bosheentong. That probably means nothing to you, but to me that means DOG SOUP! Seriously. Fortunately, I avoid eating meat, so I didn't have to eat it. But my companion and the elders did! When I told the member that I couldn't eat the dogmeat, she said okay. Then she came out with a bowl of the broth! So I had some dogmeat soup broth. Didn't think I would ever say that!
We are going to have a big zone conference on Thanksgiving Day and a member of the seventy, Elder Choi (he's Korean) is going to speak to us! We're really excited, especially because Sister Jennings, our mission president's wife, is going to make Thanksgiving dinner! It'll be great.It's starting to get pretty cold in Korea but the work is still going well! We love our branches and the people we teach.
Love you! Hope you have a great week! Thank you for everything!
P.S. Dad, do you know someone named Blake Young? He served in the Busan mission in 1979-81 (maybe) and is the bishop (in Ogden) of an elder I serve with (Elder Mikkelsen). Let me know!
Love,Alyssa
Monday, November 9, 2009
Hi Mom, Dad, and everyone!
That's so cool that the whole family could see and talk to Grandma through Oovoo for her birthday! I don't think I can use Oovoo to call you for Mother's day (or Christmas for that matter!) because we don't write on our own computers. I write either at the post office or a picture developing place. So sorry! I'll ask someone about it though.
I got your package. Thank you SO much! I really appreciate it. You're the best! I understand how you feel about packages, but I really love when the packages come from you, because it feels like home. But whatever you do for Christmas will be great!
The Halloween party was great! We had a blast hitting the pinata with the singles (six girls). Then we played pin the wart on the witch! Sister Beckstead got Halloween candy from her mom, so we got to hand that out as prizes. The singles loved it!
This week, we were able to find two new investigators! They are both referrals. One is not really interested in the church right now, but her sister referred her. She wants to meet with us again, though, so we want to teach her what we can! The other seems to be interested in the church, and we were able to teach her with two member friends. It was great! We're really excited about both of them.
Sue-hyun wasn't able to get baptized this Sunday because her parents suddenly withdrew their permission. We were so sad! She is a trooper though, and sang at the baptismal service for twin investigators of the elders in Goejong branch. She can still come to church and all the activities, and we're just continuing to pray that someday her parents' hearts will be softened.
On Saturday, the Goejong branch had a party outside the church. It was a lot of fun! We sat on the ground and had sahm-gyop-sahr (a really popular pork/bacon dish)- you eat it with lettuce. I didn't have it (because of the meat), but everyone else loved it! Then, the elders in our district (Goejong/Youngdo/Daeshin) did the upside-down hokey pokey dance....AGAIN! Goejong branch hadn't seen the dance yet, though. Sister Beckstead and I sat out that time. We decided it would be best if we just helped. :) It was cool because the brother of a man in the branch came from America. He is Korean but lives in America now with his American wife and family. He came back to Korea to visit with his 9 year old son Josh who doesn't know any English. Sister Beckstead took him under her wing and he hung out with the missionaries during the party so he could speak English to someone! He was really smart and told us a ton about Greek mythology! He reminded me a lot of Chris.
I have to go now, but I love you all!
Have a great week! Thank you for your prayers. It means a lot!
Alyssa
That's so cool that the whole family could see and talk to Grandma through Oovoo for her birthday! I don't think I can use Oovoo to call you for Mother's day (or Christmas for that matter!) because we don't write on our own computers. I write either at the post office or a picture developing place. So sorry! I'll ask someone about it though.
I got your package. Thank you SO much! I really appreciate it. You're the best! I understand how you feel about packages, but I really love when the packages come from you, because it feels like home. But whatever you do for Christmas will be great!
The Halloween party was great! We had a blast hitting the pinata with the singles (six girls). Then we played pin the wart on the witch! Sister Beckstead got Halloween candy from her mom, so we got to hand that out as prizes. The singles loved it!
This week, we were able to find two new investigators! They are both referrals. One is not really interested in the church right now, but her sister referred her. She wants to meet with us again, though, so we want to teach her what we can! The other seems to be interested in the church, and we were able to teach her with two member friends. It was great! We're really excited about both of them.
Sue-hyun wasn't able to get baptized this Sunday because her parents suddenly withdrew their permission. We were so sad! She is a trooper though, and sang at the baptismal service for twin investigators of the elders in Goejong branch. She can still come to church and all the activities, and we're just continuing to pray that someday her parents' hearts will be softened.
On Saturday, the Goejong branch had a party outside the church. It was a lot of fun! We sat on the ground and had sahm-gyop-sahr (a really popular pork/bacon dish)- you eat it with lettuce. I didn't have it (because of the meat), but everyone else loved it! Then, the elders in our district (Goejong/Youngdo/Daeshin) did the upside-down hokey pokey dance....AGAIN! Goejong branch hadn't seen the dance yet, though. Sister Beckstead and I sat out that time. We decided it would be best if we just helped. :) It was cool because the brother of a man in the branch came from America. He is Korean but lives in America now with his American wife and family. He came back to Korea to visit with his 9 year old son Josh who doesn't know any English. Sister Beckstead took him under her wing and he hung out with the missionaries during the party so he could speak English to someone! He was really smart and told us a ton about Greek mythology! He reminded me a lot of Chris.
I have to go now, but I love you all!
Have a great week! Thank you for your prayers. It means a lot!
Alyssa
Monday, November 2, 2009
Monday, No, 2, 2009
Hi everyone!
I'm SO excited to meet Puujee's cousin when she comes in January. Do you know her name? I knew that two sister missionaries were coming in January but I thought they were American. They don't have Halloween in Korea, but because of English academies, some children at least get some exposure to the idea of it. A member in the Youngdo branch runs an academy, so we helped her students trick or treat at some stores one night last week. It was really cute to see all the kids dressed up! On October 31, the Youngdo branch had a party, but it was just a coincidence that it happened to be the same day. It was a lot of fun! They wanted us, the missionaries, to prepare a really fun activity to show everyone. We got an idea from Elder (June-Woo) Jung to dress up like we were doing headstands and dance to the hokey-pokey. So we wore pants over our heads and sweatshirts on our legs with shoes on our hands and toe socks on our feet. We blew up balloons to stick in the hoods and be our "heads". Sounds confusing, right? It definitely was! With pants over our heads, we couldn't really tell what we were doing, and the members didn't understand the English in "hokey-pokey", so I'm sure they were bewildered by us. But it was fun because now we're just those crazy American missionaries (plus Elder Chun-Joon Lee)!! We're having a Halloween party in the Goejong branch tonight for their Family Home Evening group they have, so we're excited about that. The elders tried to make a pinata for the random candy we got, so I'm a little worried that the members are really going to get confused about Halloween! One of the Korean elders asked if they needed to buy Halloween presents for the party! We told them no, but just imagine. We could make it whatever want!
Anyway, I have to go, but I'm excited about this week! Sister Beckstead and I have lined up some appointments with less active members and potential investigators. And hopefully Su-hyun can get baptized on Sunday! It'll be a good week.
I love you all! Have a great week!
Alyssa
Hi everyone!
I'm SO excited to meet Puujee's cousin when she comes in January. Do you know her name? I knew that two sister missionaries were coming in January but I thought they were American. They don't have Halloween in Korea, but because of English academies, some children at least get some exposure to the idea of it. A member in the Youngdo branch runs an academy, so we helped her students trick or treat at some stores one night last week. It was really cute to see all the kids dressed up! On October 31, the Youngdo branch had a party, but it was just a coincidence that it happened to be the same day. It was a lot of fun! They wanted us, the missionaries, to prepare a really fun activity to show everyone. We got an idea from Elder (June-Woo) Jung to dress up like we were doing headstands and dance to the hokey-pokey. So we wore pants over our heads and sweatshirts on our legs with shoes on our hands and toe socks on our feet. We blew up balloons to stick in the hoods and be our "heads". Sounds confusing, right? It definitely was! With pants over our heads, we couldn't really tell what we were doing, and the members didn't understand the English in "hokey-pokey", so I'm sure they were bewildered by us. But it was fun because now we're just those crazy American missionaries (plus Elder Chun-Joon Lee)!! We're having a Halloween party in the Goejong branch tonight for their Family Home Evening group they have, so we're excited about that. The elders tried to make a pinata for the random candy we got, so I'm a little worried that the members are really going to get confused about Halloween! One of the Korean elders asked if they needed to buy Halloween presents for the party! We told them no, but just imagine. We could make it whatever want!
Anyway, I have to go, but I'm excited about this week! Sister Beckstead and I have lined up some appointments with less active members and potential investigators. And hopefully Su-hyun can get baptized on Sunday! It'll be a good week.
I love you all! Have a great week!
Alyssa
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