Dear Mom,
Thank you so much for your Christmas message, Mom. Now I will look at "I heard the Bells on Christmas Day" in a whole new light! It sounds like you had a wonderful Christmas program.We were very excited to have the Christmas party for our branch on Saturday night. It went great! There were many different parts, but Elder Ryu organized the whole thing and did a fantastic job. Sister Jung and I sang "The First Noel" with the Relief Society and did the sign language along with it! One of the sisters is deaf, so she taught everyone the sign language. I thought it was beautiful! For the missionaries part, we made small video stories about Christmas through taking several pictures. It's hard to explain, but it came off very well! Elder Ryu put it all together. It was amazing!We were excited to see some of the less active members come to the activity and get involved. It was a success- especially since we saw many of them at church the next day!We visited the deaf relief society member at her apartment last night with the ward mission leader. It was a cool experience. It was a very quiet meeting! Lot's of writing and learning words in Korean sign language. She knows a little American sign language so she tauht that to me as well. She is very sweet and we are excited to meet with her more often!I am so thankful for the Christmas season and the love we can show to our families and friends. I'm so thankful for the Savior's example. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year's! I love you all so much! Thank you for all of your support.
Monday, December 21, 2009
December 14, 2009
Hi everyone! Wow, this week went by much too fast! I'm glad you had a great early Christmas dinner with everyone! It sounds like it was a lot of fun! Haha, it's crazy to think that it's already been a year since last Christmas and all the snow that came. Sounds like it will be another white Christmas! Anyway, I have to say Cheju-do is amazing! It's not as cold as Busan was when I left, but I've heard it can snow every once in a while. I just hope that once in a while doesn't come too fast! Dad, Sister Jung is actually Korean- she is from Taejeon. She is part of the second set of Korean missionaries to go to the Provo MTC since they shut down the MTC in Seoul, and we were roommates at the MTC. We came to the mission at the same time! I am really excited to be serving with her. My Korean has already started improving! (It helps that now I really DO have to speak Korean all the time!!) The elders we serve with here, Elder (Gi-Ook) Ryu (Korean) and Elder DeWaal, have been really helpful. (Side-note- Sister Jung and I were really excited to work with Elder DeWaal because he is came to the mission the same time as us too!) Anyway, Elder Ryu and Elder DeWaal are referring their female investigators to us, and are helping us to get to know members in the ward. We made it a goal to visit all the active members within the first two weeks, so by the time we went to church yesterday, we already knew half the people there! One day, we went to a sister's home to help her move from one side of the city to the other to live closer to the church. The elders and some members from the relief society were already there, and later much of the youth and brethren came to help out too! It was really cool to see everyone work together to help the single mom and her two kids. The branch has a warm family feeling which showed when we went to a ward party on Saturday night. It was so much fun! Elder Ryu had organized the whole thing and put together some really fun games and a great lesson about eternal families. The problem in the branch is that there are several families with single moms who recently divorced and their children. They need support from the missionaries, but it was a little bit awkward with just the elders here. That's where we come in! Part of the reason Sister Jung and I were sent here was to strengthen them and encourage their families to become/remain strong in the Church. Oh yes, plus I must tell you what I heard happened back on the yoochi (mainland)- Remember Hyun-a? This is going back to the sum mer. I taught her with Sister (Young-bin) Lee and had many lessons with her brother Dae-hyun, a member who was baptized in March. She got baptized in July, and I have since heard about her mom and sister (Hyun-ju) who have gotten baptized (at different times). Well, I heard that her DAD just got baptized too! That's amazing, because that means everyone in the family are now members of the Church! I was so happy to hear about it from Sister Lee, Elder Kemmerer (an elder I served with there who went back to serve in the same stake), AND President Jennings! (He called us to ask us about our new area, and told me about a special fireside they had for new members in Daegu). One time, someone asked me if I could just have one goal as a missionary, what it would be. I said that I would love to see an entire family embrace the gospel and all become members. Well, it came true! I am so grateful for the happiness the gospel can bring to our lives. I love families and am so happy that the Kim family can now all experience the blessings of the gospel. I know with all my heart that if we follow the prophet and obey Heavenly Father, we will be able to find the peace we so much desire in this life. I know that no matter what the alternative is, nothing else can bring us that deep and everlasting happiness. I know that when we follow the example of our Savior Jesus Christ, it is then that we will truly be able to fulfill our purpose here on Earth. I'm especially grateful that families can be together forever and live again with Heavenly Father and our Savior.I love you all so much and am grateful for your examples of love and kindness. I appreciate the time we have to reflect on the birth of our Savior and his life during the Christmas season. I think it's interesting to read 3 Nephi 1, which talks about the sign of the Savior's birth, along with Luke 2. Both the Book of Mormon and the Bible truly do testify of our Savior!Have a great week! Love you!Alyssa
Hi everyone! Wow, this week went by much too fast! I'm glad you had a great early Christmas dinner with everyone! It sounds like it was a lot of fun! Haha, it's crazy to think that it's already been a year since last Christmas and all the snow that came. Sounds like it will be another white Christmas! Anyway, I have to say Cheju-do is amazing! It's not as cold as Busan was when I left, but I've heard it can snow every once in a while. I just hope that once in a while doesn't come too fast! Dad, Sister Jung is actually Korean- she is from Taejeon. She is part of the second set of Korean missionaries to go to the Provo MTC since they shut down the MTC in Seoul, and we were roommates at the MTC. We came to the mission at the same time! I am really excited to be serving with her. My Korean has already started improving! (It helps that now I really DO have to speak Korean all the time!!) The elders we serve with here, Elder (Gi-Ook) Ryu (Korean) and Elder DeWaal, have been really helpful. (Side-note- Sister Jung and I were really excited to work with Elder DeWaal because he is came to the mission the same time as us too!) Anyway, Elder Ryu and Elder DeWaal are referring their female investigators to us, and are helping us to get to know members in the ward. We made it a goal to visit all the active members within the first two weeks, so by the time we went to church yesterday, we already knew half the people there! One day, we went to a sister's home to help her move from one side of the city to the other to live closer to the church. The elders and some members from the relief society were already there, and later much of the youth and brethren came to help out too! It was really cool to see everyone work together to help the single mom and her two kids. The branch has a warm family feeling which showed when we went to a ward party on Saturday night. It was so much fun! Elder Ryu had organized the whole thing and put together some really fun games and a great lesson about eternal families. The problem in the branch is that there are several families with single moms who recently divorced and their children. They need support from the missionaries, but it was a little bit awkward with just the elders here. That's where we come in! Part of the reason Sister Jung and I were sent here was to strengthen them and encourage their families to become/remain strong in the Church. Oh yes, plus I must tell you what I heard happened back on the yoochi (mainland)- Remember Hyun-a? This is going back to the sum mer. I taught her with Sister (Young-bin) Lee and had many lessons with her brother Dae-hyun, a member who was baptized in March. She got baptized in July, and I have since heard about her mom and sister (Hyun-ju) who have gotten baptized (at different times). Well, I heard that her DAD just got baptized too! That's amazing, because that means everyone in the family are now members of the Church! I was so happy to hear about it from Sister Lee, Elder Kemmerer (an elder I served with there who went back to serve in the same stake), AND President Jennings! (He called us to ask us about our new area, and told me about a special fireside they had for new members in Daegu). One time, someone asked me if I could just have one goal as a missionary, what it would be. I said that I would love to see an entire family embrace the gospel and all become members. Well, it came true! I am so grateful for the happiness the gospel can bring to our lives. I love families and am so happy that the Kim family can now all experience the blessings of the gospel. I know with all my heart that if we follow the prophet and obey Heavenly Father, we will be able to find the peace we so much desire in this life. I know that no matter what the alternative is, nothing else can bring us that deep and everlasting happiness. I know that when we follow the example of our Savior Jesus Christ, it is then that we will truly be able to fulfill our purpose here on Earth. I'm especially grateful that families can be together forever and live again with Heavenly Father and our Savior.I love you all so much and am grateful for your examples of love and kindness. I appreciate the time we have to reflect on the birth of our Savior and his life during the Christmas season. I think it's interesting to read 3 Nephi 1, which talks about the sign of the Savior's birth, along with Luke 2. Both the Book of Mormon and the Bible truly do testify of our Savior!Have a great week! Love you!Alyssa
Dec. 6, 2009
Hi everyone!It sounds like the Christmas season is off to a great start! That's great that Chris and Chelsea are going to see Brooke in the Nutcracker with Puujee. That will be so much fun! I got a letter from her a couple weeks ago, but haven't gotten a chance to write her back yet. Tell her I love her for me!!! She's awesome!! (Yes, I love you all too :) ) I love that you got the Christmas tree from Farmer Bennett again- it's great, you can just throw it over the fence! Isn't Christmas wonderful? I love this time of year! So Mom, you're directing the Mountainville school play? I bet with that, getting the ward choir ready for Christmas, and orchestra, you're way busy! Tell Brooke and Dad I'm proud of them for joining the choir- that's great! Anyway, you're probably wondering what my big news is. Well, it's the first day of my 7th transfer, and I am in....CHEJU DO!!!! It's craziness. I just flew here today! I thought for sure I would stay in my old area because my companion, Sister Beckstead is going home this week. But on Friday night, the APs told me that I was going to Cheju-do with Sister (Min-hee) Jung- we came into the mission at the same time! So what is Cheju-do, you ask? Good question! It's an island off the coast of Korea, and it's kind of known as "paradise" around here. It's really beautiful, and it's a popular vacation spot for people from mainland Korea and other countries. Cheju-do has a kind of mystical wonder for the missionaries in the Busan mission- the missionaries talk about "the do" like it's not in this world or something! I was really surprised to get the phone call because sister missionaries haven't served on Cheju-do for over a year. Sister Jennings, Pres. Jennings' wife, said that the members really wanted to get sisters back on the island, so President decided to send Sister Jung and me out here! We're out here on our own with two sets of elders on either side of the island. Thankfully, the elders are helping us a lot to get our footing and figure out how we get the sisters' work started up again. I heard the Relief Society sisters are really excited to meet us, and we're really excited to meet them! We're ready to get to know the branch and work hard to find people to teach. My other big news is that now I'm SENIOR! Sister Jung and I are what's called "co-senior"- which means we share responsibility and make decisions together about how we will do the work. I'm kind of nervous about being senior now, but now is as good time as ever for it to happen- there are so many new things going on! The sad part about both Sister Beckstead and I leaving the Goejeong/Daeshin/Youngdo area is that the sister missionaries won't be there for a while. The branches were sad to see us go- especially because now the Goejeong and Daeshin branches have to share a threesome of elders. They used to have us (the sisters), and a set of elders each. But unfortunately, the number of missionaries in the mission has to go down for a while. Sad day! Remember Su-hyun? She finally got permission to be baptized! It's happening this next Saturday (the week after Sis. Beckstead and I left). The whole branch was excited to hear that she can finally officially become a member. The AMAZING youth program embraced her as an unofficial member months ago, and she is doing great! I love her so much. I'm so excited for her! It was hard to say goodbye to all the amazing people that I've worked with for the past four months in Goejeong/Daeshin/Youngdo. The members there are so kind and caring. I am really going to miss them, but I know they're in good hands with the elders, and I'm excited to get to work in this new area! Oh yes, I just read the Christmas article Pres. Eyring wrote for the December Liahona on the plane ride over here. Wow. It's so inspirational! I definitely recommend it to everyone! I love the Christmas season and the opportunity we have to serve others and remember our Savior Jesus Christ. I hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas season! Love you!Alyssa
Hi everyone!It sounds like the Christmas season is off to a great start! That's great that Chris and Chelsea are going to see Brooke in the Nutcracker with Puujee. That will be so much fun! I got a letter from her a couple weeks ago, but haven't gotten a chance to write her back yet. Tell her I love her for me!!! She's awesome!! (Yes, I love you all too :) ) I love that you got the Christmas tree from Farmer Bennett again- it's great, you can just throw it over the fence! Isn't Christmas wonderful? I love this time of year! So Mom, you're directing the Mountainville school play? I bet with that, getting the ward choir ready for Christmas, and orchestra, you're way busy! Tell Brooke and Dad I'm proud of them for joining the choir- that's great! Anyway, you're probably wondering what my big news is. Well, it's the first day of my 7th transfer, and I am in....CHEJU DO!!!! It's craziness. I just flew here today! I thought for sure I would stay in my old area because my companion, Sister Beckstead is going home this week. But on Friday night, the APs told me that I was going to Cheju-do with Sister (Min-hee) Jung- we came into the mission at the same time! So what is Cheju-do, you ask? Good question! It's an island off the coast of Korea, and it's kind of known as "paradise" around here. It's really beautiful, and it's a popular vacation spot for people from mainland Korea and other countries. Cheju-do has a kind of mystical wonder for the missionaries in the Busan mission- the missionaries talk about "the do" like it's not in this world or something! I was really surprised to get the phone call because sister missionaries haven't served on Cheju-do for over a year. Sister Jennings, Pres. Jennings' wife, said that the members really wanted to get sisters back on the island, so President decided to send Sister Jung and me out here! We're out here on our own with two sets of elders on either side of the island. Thankfully, the elders are helping us a lot to get our footing and figure out how we get the sisters' work started up again. I heard the Relief Society sisters are really excited to meet us, and we're really excited to meet them! We're ready to get to know the branch and work hard to find people to teach. My other big news is that now I'm SENIOR! Sister Jung and I are what's called "co-senior"- which means we share responsibility and make decisions together about how we will do the work. I'm kind of nervous about being senior now, but now is as good time as ever for it to happen- there are so many new things going on! The sad part about both Sister Beckstead and I leaving the Goejeong/Daeshin/Youngdo area is that the sister missionaries won't be there for a while. The branches were sad to see us go- especially because now the Goejeong and Daeshin branches have to share a threesome of elders. They used to have us (the sisters), and a set of elders each. But unfortunately, the number of missionaries in the mission has to go down for a while. Sad day! Remember Su-hyun? She finally got permission to be baptized! It's happening this next Saturday (the week after Sis. Beckstead and I left). The whole branch was excited to hear that she can finally officially become a member. The AMAZING youth program embraced her as an unofficial member months ago, and she is doing great! I love her so much. I'm so excited for her! It was hard to say goodbye to all the amazing people that I've worked with for the past four months in Goejeong/Daeshin/Youngdo. The members there are so kind and caring. I am really going to miss them, but I know they're in good hands with the elders, and I'm excited to get to work in this new area! Oh yes, I just read the Christmas article Pres. Eyring wrote for the December Liahona on the plane ride over here. Wow. It's so inspirational! I definitely recommend it to everyone! I love the Christmas season and the opportunity we have to serve others and remember our Savior Jesus Christ. I hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas season! Love you!Alyssa
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