Hi Mom, Dad, and everyone!

This has been a big week. Last Friday night, Sister Yoon and I got transfer calls...she talked to one of the APs, Elder Pendley, who told her that she had to transfer to Daegu-Sangin/Daemyong wards (my greenie area!). I got a call from President Jennings, which means...I'm training now!! Based on my interview with him earlier this transfer, I pretty much knew it was coming, but now I'm actually doing it! Three sister missionaries (2 Korean, 1 American), and one Korean elder came into the mission this transfer, making up a total of 80 missionaries.
But anyway, we Sister Yoon and I still had a lot that happened before training day came up. On Saturday, May 22, we had our children's English class in the Bangojin area. Actually, before that, we were visiting less-active members' houses, when we ran into a young couple and their son admiring puppies in a pet store window. The wife was Korean and her husband was American, so at first when they waved to us from down the street, I thought it was because they saw another American. But no, as we got closer, Sister Yoon recognized the wife, Kim Lyo-won, as a sister missionary who served in her home ward in Seoul several years ago. What a small world! The couple said they just moved to Korea (Cojae-do) from Provo after the husband graduated from BYU. They were just in Ulsan for a wedding- so it's an amazing coincidence we saw them on the street in little, older Bangojin area! Kim Lyo-won's husband said he served in the Busan mission from 2003-2004 and knew Stephen Ricks from Yorba Linda who served then! Apparently Stephen is in the Air Force now- I figured that you and Casey would want to know that (unless you already do!). Sister Yoon and Kim Lyo-won were so excited to see each other and talk about mission life. I can't say it enough- church member life is small in Korea! I feel like everyone has a connection to some other member somehow.
So then Sister Yoon and I went to English class, which has been going great now that I've started playing games with the little boys like Pictionary and Hangman. Two of the boys, brothers Lee Moon-hyeon and Gwang-hyeon, are really good at English even though they're only 8 and 7 years old. They have been very patient and helpful with a younger classmate who doesn't know much English. Myong-hyeon has a future as a professional translator! I was really impressed at how attentive they have been as we learned letters and numbers with the younger boy even though they already know all of that. They have also learned how to pray from the missionaries and they argue over who can choose the hymns. The fact that they're excited about singing the hymns makes me happy! Their mom, Nam Hyun-ju, is not yet interested in learning more about the gospel, but I hope that we're building a solid foundation of how she views the church.
Later that day, Sister Yoon and I went to the big cooking competition at the Hogye branch. There were five teams involved in the cooking competition...and the catch was only one member cooked at a time, so when the next member's turn came, he/she didn't know what the last member had done, much less what meal they were cooking! It was a lot of fun. I didn't see the cooking actually going on, because downstairs, at the same time, each of the missionaries had a game room where the members of the teams competed each other in various games. Afterwards, the teams got to eat their own foods, which almost all turned out to be some variation of duk bokki- a super condensed, mashed-up rice that looks like a large white eraser (duk) in spicy red sauce. It's a really common snack in Korea. After the competition, we all watched two inspirational videos together about people that overcame their hardships and are still having fruitful, happy lives. One of the people had no limbs, but doesn't let anything get him down- he said he would't change his condition because that has influenced what he has become. He said that he is happy because he chose to have a positive attitude
and didn't let anything get him down. He is a really good inspirational speaker! Do Ha-youn's mom, Pak Young-mi, said that she found the video very inspiring. We were happy that she could come and hear Brother Jo Hyeon-su's testimony about overcoming our individual obstacles as we make goals. I know that Heavenly Father's plan was meant to help us to become the best we can possibly be. We have so much promise! If we have positive attitudes and work hard, I know we can achieve what we might've thought was impossible. As long as we rely on the Lord and act on our faith, the Lord can work through us to accomplish miracles. Yes, this is definitely a lesson I still need to learn/relearn every day of my mission. But I think it is the most important lesson we can learn. We are meant to be happy. And I know that we can become happy as we follow the Lord and strive to do better each day.
On Sunday, May 23rd, Sister Yoon gave her farewell talk at Bangojin branch because she has to go to Daegu this week. Then we went to the Hogye branch and taught Do Ha-youn the rest of the first lesson after chruch with her brother Gyong-hoon. She seems to be doing well, although we really want her to pray on her own. (It's hard for a 10 year old to remember!) We invited her to pray on her own again, so I hope she remembers!
That night, we had dinner at Kim Yang-hee's house, a sister in the Hogye branch. She invited us, the Hogye elders (Chae Jong-seok & Murray), Gyungju elders (Ballantyne & um..his comp...), Bangojin elders (Bocchino & Moore), plus...Jun Ji-yoon, another single sister (30's) in the branch. So yes, it was a very full house! We had a lot of fun, mostly because the elders decided it would be fun to sing country songs and Disney songs together after dinner. The Koreans, another elder, and I couldn't join in on the country songs but we had fun singing Disney together. The elders remembered SO much more of the song lyrics than I did...which I thought was pretty funny.
On Monday, we had our last district meeting of the transfer with Sisters Culver and Hadden, Elders Wells and Jung Gi-hun, and Elders Bocchino and Moore. Elder Bocchino decided to have Preach My Gospel Jeopardy, which turned out to be a blast! We had to do things like name all the commandments we have to teach in the 4th lesson and remember which church leader said, "Every member a missionary."- Pres. Howard W. Hunter. It might not sound like a lot of fun to you, but we got really into it! Not to brag or anything, but my team "Jung-Pohoh (Elder Jung and I) definitely won! It was really close though! By the way, our team name was "Jung-Pohdoh"
because my name in Korean is "Reen-poh-duh". But since "Poh-doh" means grapes in Korean, I get "Reen-poh-doh!" a lot. Haha!
That afternoon, Sister Yoon and I visited Song Young-ok, a recent convert in the Shinjung branch in Ulsan that Sister Yoon taught last transfer with Sister Hadden. Sister Song was really sweet. She is in her late 50's/60's and joined the church after her daughter, who was less-active for 10 years decided to come back. And now her mom is a member! Sister Yoon was really sad to say goodbye to her too. Aigo, transfers are never fun!
On Tuesday, we met with Lee Ji-yae in the Bangojin branch and were finally able to watch the Restoration video with her! She is amazing. That afternoon, we were supposed to have district proselytng outside, but because it was pouring rain (it's Monsoon season!), we ended up doing district door-to-door proselyting. (Korean is so much more fun- kakahoho!). Sister Yoon and I had a miracle happen. A man invited us into his home and we were able to basically teach him the first lesson, (in answer to his question how our church differs from other churches). We also taught a little about the Word of Wisdom, talked about Moroni's promise, and left a Book of Mormon with him. As we were there, I could feel the Spirit and realized how important it is for us to be able to receive that. This work is not about how well we can teach- it is about how much we allow the Spirit to work through us. This man told us how he knew an American named Jason from an English class that was a member of the church. He had seen missionaries numerous times on the street, but said he never had enough courage to go up and talk to them Did you hear that? He said that he never had enough courage to go up to the missionaries! And the missionaries always think of it the other way around! This man has strong faith in his own church right now, but he was to open to hearing what Sister Yoon and I had to say, and we were so grateful for the opportunity to talk to him. I know the Lord is guiding his work!
Wednesday was a really BIG day. It was training day! For training day, we got to go to Nampo-dong, a big shopping area in Daeshin, my old area when I served in Busan. We practiced proselyting on the subway and outside with the new greenies and had a great experience. While Sister Alcalzar and I worked on a fun proselyting scavenger hunt, we managed to get two contacts and give a Book of Mormon away to a man who said he would read part of it! That night, I found out that I would be training Sister Alcalzar. She is really sweet, from San Diego, and I'm excited to serve with her!

Oh yes, Mom, can you check with Alyse to see how fall housing plans are going? Please make sure something is happening! And I hope Chelsea is enjoying life in Aspen Grove! It sounds like she should have a good summer. I love you all! Have a great week! Thank you so much for all of your support! I am ready to work hard for the last weeks I have left as a missionary!

Love,
Sister Linford