Hi everyone!

Wow, I'm going to type super fast because there is so much to say and so little time to say it!

I have big news- yesterday, after church, our investigator Do Ha-yun got baptized!! I was worried and calling the branch mission leader and branch pres. about her because her mom (non-member) had said she would like to have her baptized on her birthday 7/7, but we hadn't been able to meet and were worried we wouldn't finish the lessons in time. Well, a few phone calls later, Jo Hyun-su, the branch mission leader, told us we were set up to teach the entire 4th lesson and have her baptismal interview on Friday so she could be baptized on Sunday. She has been coming to church for 2 years with her brother Gyung-hoon, and she is 10 years old, so we're not too worried that she isn't ready to commit to the commandments yet. We had to do a little convincing to keep her away from green tea though! She is a great girl and I know the sisters will have a great time teaching her the convert lessons next transfer.

Other news- it was my last time at church in Korea~ Wow. Giving my last talk in front of the Hogye branch was a bittersweet experience. That night, at the Bangojin church, we had a going-away party for Elder Bocchino, Elder Oxborrow (now serving in Gyungju) and me, since we're all going home. I love the members at both of our branches! We were especially sad to say goodbye to Lee Jee-yae, a member in the Bangojin branch that just started coming back to church again when I transferred in a few months ago. She is awesome! When we met to teach her for the last time, she told us about a time when she was feeling really worried about the future. (This was before she found out that she got into college in Australia for January!) She said she prayed to Heavenly Father, opened the Book of Mormon, and read the first verse she saw, 3 Nephi 13:34. That just happens to be when Jesus Christ is teaching the Nephites in the Americas! He said, "Take ye therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself." Jee-yae said as she read that, she felt peace enter her heart. It was amazing to hear someone that we've been studying the Book of Mormon share her own personal spiritual experience. I love the Book of Mormon and the things we learn from the prophets' words each time we study. I know it is the "keystone of our religion" and that Joseph Smith translated it through the power of God. It is a powerful witness that Jesus is the Christ and through its teachings, we can learn the purpose of our lives. We can know how to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ again!

Of course, it's not a perfect journey, but I know that trying to live according to the gospel will bring the greatest happiness to our lives. I am so thankful for the opportunity I have had to serve in Korea. I love this country, the people, and the wonderful members. I know as missionaries we all have a special purpose to fulfill, and many times, even we do not fully comprehend what that is! But that's what the beauty of the gospel is. As we strive to love and serve others as Christ does, we grow so much ourselves. I still have so much to learn about that, but I'm thankful for the journey that has just begun. Serving a mission has been by far the hardest experience in my life, and yet is also the sweetest, most joyful experience. I've learned so much and have realized through teaching others how the gospel blesses their lives, that it really is the way that I want to live mine.

The Bangojin and Hogye members are amazing! I am sad to leave them, and also Daegu- Sangin & Daemyong wards, Busan- Goejeong, Daeshin, & Youngdo branches, and Cheju-do- Cheju-shi branch. It's hard to say goodbye~ but the great thing about missionary work is it keeps moving forward (whether it be new missionaries in your old area or the member missionary work that's up ahead). We'll see what's in store...!


I love you all! I hope I recognize you at the airport!

Love always,
Sister Alyssa Linford

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T


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From: Alyssa Christine Linford
Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2010 11:17:31 +0900
To:
Subject: Re: Happy Birthday


Hi Mom, Dad and everyone!

Thank you for the Happy birthday wishes! And yes, I will definitely gett Korean stuff for the family! It sounds like you and Chris had a great time in Lake Powell!
So I definitely had NO idea that Sheri was getting married on July 9th in the Newport Beach temple!!!! I am sad because that is just two days before I get home! Can you please call her, tell her congratulations, and tell her I'm DYING for an email from her?? I want to be able to say something to her before she gets married, for goodness sakes! That's exciting that Lauren Magleby and John Nash are getting married too. What is this? There's something going around... :) I heard about Sheri's boyfriend in a couple of letters, but need to get more updated!!

I had an awesome birthday by the way! That day, we volunteered as a district at this Iron Festival where they had booths showing the way they made things in the olden days. They wanted us, as foreign missionaries, to walk around the festival and translate for any foreigners we ran into and to just be part of the "environment." It was amazing! Honestly, we didn't run into many foreigners (I don't remember any!), but we did have wonderful experiences with the people there. Sister Alcazar and I got really close to a harmoni (grandmother) who weaved things out of straw. She was really cute! We took a picture with her and she said she wanted a copy. I asked if we could get her phone number, but since neither of us had a pen or paper on us, we had to borrow a cardboard box and pen from a booth nearby and strip off a piece to write it down! I will definitely hold onto that forever! She was impressed that we came to Korea as missionaries for a year and a half.

I am so grateful for all the experiences we're having lately and am excited for next week- Elder Micheal Ringwood, from the quorum of the 70, is going to speak to us at a Mission Tour in Daegu!

Well, I have to go explore an ancient grotto in Gyungju (close to Ulsan and the cultural base of the Shilla Dynasty!) I love you so much! Have a great week! I can't tell you how grateful I am to be serving right now with my companion, Sister Alcazar. We love the work here in Ulsan and love working with the members! They make everything worth it. I know the Lord will help us to complete His work as we work with the members- that's really the way it needs to be done! I am so thankful for our experiences with them.

I love you! Have a great week!

Oh yes, Happy Father's Day Dad! I love you SO much! Thank you so much for your example!

Love,
Alyssa

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Alyssa Linford
To: cmlinford@yahoo.com; penny linford
Sent: Sun, June 13, 2010 8:58:16 PM
Subject: Hello again!


Hi Mom and Dad!

So when on wrote on Thursday, I neglected to tell you that my mission changed P-days again...back to Monday! I hope you don't get too confused! :)

Anyway, I'll tell you about our weekend! On Friday night, Sister Alcazar and I met with Choi Yu-jin and her husband, less-active members in the Hogye branch. They were so nice to us! It was my second time meeting them, but it had been a while since we saw them last. Sister Choi shared her experience from her mission, which fit right into the conference talk we had decided to share with her from the General Conference Liahona (an overseas church magazine.) We shared testimony about Sister Cook's talk in the Young Women conference. The sisters in our mission were able to all get together to watch that a few weeks ago, and we had an amazing experience. Sister Choi said she really identified with Sister Cook's talk about never giving up, even when it gets difficult. Sister Choi's husband, a convert from last year, flipped/skimmed through much of the Liahona and said he would read a little bit! He really seemed interested in a few of the talks. And we were able to make an appointment on the spot to come back and read Book of Mormon stories with them and their (almost) 8 year old daughter!
On Saturday, we had a successful English class in Bangojin with the cute little boys that attend. At the end, when I taught a spiritual thought about prophets, Moon-hyun recalled what he had learned about Joseph Smith and said we needed to give Dong-oo a Book of Mormon! He's not even a member of the Church but he's already becoming a missionary! The boys are really smart and seem to enjoy the spiritual thoughts and praying at class. We are happy to be able to work with them, and hope their mom will become interested in learning more.
After Bangojin, we went to a new English class we started in the Hogye church to get our investigator Do Ha-yun and her brother Gyung-hoon more involved with members in the branch. They were the only ones who showed up, but it was our first class, and more kids said they could come next week! Sister Alcazar and I were excited to be able to hang out with Ha-yun and Gyung-hoon more. They're great kids!
On Sunday, we stayed after church to practice with the District choir for the district conference that's coming up in two weeks. It's getting intense! It's nice to be singing in the choir because it's the one time we can spend with several members of both Hogye and Bangojin branches. Since we're kind of the only missionaries serving in Hogye right now, it's been hard for Sister Alcazar and I to get enough facetime in Bangojin. It seems like at church, half the time when we talk to people, we have just enough time to say we have to go to the other branch!
After choir practice, we went to Bek Myong-sook's house, a sister in the Hogye branch. She is amazing! She is a kindergarten teacher who lives with her husband (he isn't a member of the Church). Her two children are grown and she was introduced to the gospel through her son, who joined 7 years ago. Sister Bek was just baptized in 2007! She decided recently to go back to school and graduated in a degree with piano, but also studied the violin and flute! Not to mention, she just got back from a trip to Vietnam. She loves children (hence being a teacher) and said she has never really grown up. At lunch after church, I had seen her eating with all the five year olds! She talked about her experience with the missionaries over the past few years, and told us all about Elder Kent, who was clearly her favorite. I remembered Elder Kent because he was the AP when I came to Korea...over a year ago!
Anyway, we had a great weekend! I am excited for this next week and am so happy to be serving in Ulsan, Korea! I love the gospel. I know that Heavenly Father has provided a way for all His children to come back and live with Him again someday. And that's why I'm here!!

Thank you for everything! Have a great week!

Love,
Alyssa

Hi Mom! And Dad!

Thanks so much for your letters this week!

Things are going well with Sister Alcazar so far. She has jumped into life as an American missionary in Korea! She has good ideas about how we can help the members in the ward, and isn't scared to try to talk to them! That is huge, because it can be really intimidating as a greenie. The members are really impressed by her attitude and can't believe she has just been here two weeks! Sister Alcazar studied Japanese before Korean, which has a similar grammar makeup and some similar words, so I think that has helped her a lot. There are also a lot of foods in Korea that are the same thing but go by another name in Japan. When Sister Alcazar lived in San Diego, she worked at a sushi restaurant so she loves trying new things. Yes, she definitely had nakgi bokkum bap (fried rice with octopus) during her first week. I went through the menu with her and was really surprised when she went for that. I've been avoiding octopus my whole mission! Although there have been some occasions when I've had to eat a tentacle or two...uh, yay!
On Sunday, we got to teach Do Ha-yun the 2nd lesson, and set a preliminary baptism date with her! Her mom (a non-member) had said she wants her to get baptized, but we still have to check the date with her and see what her husband says about it. We're grateful for Ha-yun's older brother (middle school student who's a member), who agrees to help out at Ha-yun's lessons.
On Monday, we met with Sister Shin Hee-sun, a less-active member in the Hogye branch who said she needed help making a phone call to the American embassy. We thought we were going there to help her with her English call, but when we got there, she said, "Okay, let's pray!" So we prayed and then she looked at us expectantly for a spiritual message, and we happily obliged. Luckily, we had taken a General Conference Liahona along with us and marked Sister Beck's talk for her to read. Shin Hee-sun is having trouble deciding between religions right now even though she was baptized into our church last year. It's interesting because she said every time her friend, a Buddhist nun, teaches her about Buddhism, I call her! And lately when I've called her, She talked about how she attended church diligently for 6 months, prayed and studied the scriptures for 2 hours everyday. During that time, she said she felt herself receiving personal revelation and felt close to the Lord. But having a calling in church was hard for her and she didn't like being so busy. She said she recognizes that she doesn't feel the same spiritually now that she is not going to church or studying her scriptures. Sister Alcazar and I were impressed by how straightforward Shin Hee-sun was with us. We were so grateful that we chose to share Sister Beck's talk about personal revelation with her, which we decided on before Shin Hee-sun told us about her experience with personal revelation! I am truly grateful for how the Lord can guide us, even in the seemingly small decisions we make. I know I need to recognize and allow for His guidance more in my life---especially as a missionary!
Yesterday, we had zone meeting in the Hogye branch church. We enjoyed meeting up with all the missionaries in the Ulsan area and learning from our zone leaders. Afterward, we practiced for a musical number we have coming up. Elder Michael Ringwood of the Seventy is doing a mission tour in Korea so we have to sing when he meets with two zones in our mission. Yeah, we're a little nervous....putting a musical number together with 12 missionaries who live far away from each other is no easy task! The mission tour conference is later this month in Daegu. Even the missionaries on Jeju-do get to fly to Daegu to see Elder Ringwood .
Today we went to a whale museum/small aquarium with the other sisters and the Bangojin elders. It was a lot of fun! We actually went last week, but it was closed, so we went back to downtown Ulsan and rode a big ferris wheel that lets you see much of Ulsan. So we were excited about going back this week.
So it has been a good week! Sister Alcazar and I are excited to begin another week, work hard, and help our investigator and less-active members progress. I really do love Ulsan! We want to do the best we can to serve the people here.

Oh Mom, can you check with Alyse and Chelsea about the housing situation? It's really important to get that taken care of as soon as possible because finding housing can get really difficult as it gets closer to the beginning of school. Let me know what happens!

I love you! Have a great week!

Oh yes, and happy much belated birthday Brooke! I can't believe you're 16 now! Now YOU can drive me around! haha. I love you!

I hope Dad and Chris have a fun time in southern Utah!

Love,
Alyssa

Hi Mom! (and Dad and everyone else!)

I'm sorry to hear that Sister Scott passed away. She and her husband both seemed genuinely kind and caring. Please send him my condolences.

As for this week, things are going well so far for Sister Alcazar and I in Ulsan. Unfortunately, Sister Alcazar hasn't been able to meet the people we usually meet every week, but I promised her that they do actually exist! She has been getting to know members in the ward though, so that is good. We visited Sister Kang Ji-yae on Monday (Sister Kang lives in the Hogye branch, which was her last area when she returned from the Busan mission last year!). Even though Sister Kang is just a year older than me, she seems so much more mature because she's married and is expecting a baby next month. She is always really helpful and updates us on less-active members that it would be good to visit. Her husband is really funny too. He makes fun of me because he says whenever he says a joke that I don't think is really funny, or if I don't know what to say, I kind-of half laugh. "hahahaha...ha." I realized that I do, as a matter of fact, do that. I don't know how to stop! Anway, they're a really fun couple.

On Tuesday, we met a member of the Bangojin branch that we hadn't been able to spend time with before. Sister Heo Hyo-gyung and her daughter Shin Sur-gi have been members of the Church for four years and have been close with the elders during that time. She is really kind and enthusiastic. I wish we could spend more time at the branch so we could get to know her and the other members better! It's hard because we attend one meeting of each branch each week, so some people we only see in going and passing. Sad day! There are some amazing people in our branches!

Yesterday, we had zone conference in Daegu. My companion Sister Alcalzar had to give her intro talk as a new greenie, and I had to give my farewell talk to the missionaries because it's my last transfer. Sister Hadden, my MTC companion that I now live with (!), and Elder Matsuura and Elder Voorhies also gave their last talks. I haven't served around the elders, which is funny because Elder Matsuura was my zone leader for 3 transfers when I was serving on Jeju-do, and I didn't meet him until a month and a half ago! It was a really good zone conference. I always appreciate hearing from President Jennings. He talked about how obedience and diligence bolster us in order to be able to accomplish the Lord's work in His own way.
Elder Brown, the area medical advisor, and Elder Gibson, the area mental health advisor, also spoke to us about staying physically and emotionally healthy. I especially appreciated Elder Gibson's talk because he talked about overcoming discouragement. He gave some really good insight into a problem that I think afflicts us all at one time or another (and not usually just once!). Elder Gibson talked about overcoming discouragement from a psychologist's point of view, but in the realm of the gospel. It's amazing because we can overcome anything if we follow the principles of the gospel!

I am so grateful to be serving here in Ulsan. I can't say that enough. I know this is the Lord's work. I know that Heavenly Father provided a way for us through the Atonement in order to live with Him again. He loves us SO MUCH! We can't comprehend how much that love extends. We are capable of doing anything if we try our best to live according to His will. I know that as we try to develop the same love for others that Christ has for us, we will grow so much beyond what we can imagine. It's an eternal, lifelong process. I have a long way to go! But I love the people here in Korea. I love my branches, the members we work with, our investigator, potential investigators. I know we are all beloved, divine creations of our Heavenly Father. Each one of us has great worth, and He wants to see each one of His children return to Him someday. I know that no matter what happens, He still loves us. He wants us to make righteous choices, but He has provided repentance as a way for us to overcome our human fallacies. We are all imperfect, but as we work each day, we can progress so much and come closer to the Savior! I know that it is my purpose as a missionary to invite the people of Korea unto Christ so they can partake of the same blessings that I have, well, basically been given. It's not easy by any means, but no one ever said it would be easy, they just said it would be worth it!

I love you all! Please have a wonderful week and remember that no matter what, there is always at least one person, Heavenly Father, who loves you. Better yet, there are probably a ton of people who love you! And how can we show our appreciation for receiving all this love? By showing it right back...plus more!

Love you!

Love,
Alyssa

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

Hi everyone!

So this is crazy...it's almost the end of the transfer! We find out what is going on tomorrow- and it looks like Sister Yoon, my companion has to leave and be another sister's SENIOR companion! She is nervous about it, but I know she'll be great.
The big news this week is we have a new investigator!!! Her name is Do Ha-youn and she is a 10 year old girl in the Hogye branch. She has been coming to church every week with her older brother for 2 years, but hasn't been baptized or taught the lessons. Her older brother was taught and baptized by the missionaries a few years ago. We were happy to visit her yesterday, but were nervous about how to approach her mom about teaching her. It worked out great though! When we got there, her mom (not a member) sat us down and basically said, "My daughter wants to get baptized so you need to teach her!" Wow! Her mom is really straightforward. Sister Yoon and I were so surprised- little need for icebreakers! So we got right down to business and taught Ha-youn the first half of the first lesson. She's not the easiest to teach though! She wanted to know how exactly Christ was resurrected. When we explained why, she said "Yeah I know that. But HOW was He resurrected?" She talked about how she imagined someone just popping up from the ground. I don't know...it may be a little sacriligeous but it was so funny! I don't think she was satisfied with our reply to that...oh well! She also wanted to name all 12 of the original apostles and know who was the prophet following Adam, the first man on Earth (that would be Seth). And she even talked about the two men that were crucified with Christ on the hill. It turns out that she has been studying (no, I'd say absorbing!) a comic book-like version of the Bible. So she knows a lot now! Korea has all kinds of comic book-like books that explain things to kids that they might have no interest in otherwise (historical people, movements, etc.) I'm not one for comic books, but it seems like American kids could definitely benefit from that!
On Monday, we met a new less-active member Yu Hee-jeen, at a bead/jewelrymaking shop where she works. She was really nice and the cool thing is the next day we randomly saw her on the other side of the city at KFC near our house. Two completely different missionary areas! (Shinjung and Bangojin). We were really suprised to see her there...but then we remembered that real people, unlike missionaries, do not need to get permission to go from one area to another...and they can eat wherever they want! Shinjung and Bangojin are both in Ulsan, but Ulsan is the city with the most landmass in Korea. It's huge! Thus...the one hour commute it takes us to get to our areas.
On Tuesday, we were excited to meet with Lee Jee-yae, who has started studying the Book of Mormon with us each week. We hope to introduce her to Yu Hee-jin at the bead shop because they are both singles in the Bangojin branch without strong ties to the other members. I know it's hard to be single in America, but being a single member of the church in Korea in a small branch...is no fun at all! So many young people are either studying in America, in the army (men have to do 2 years of military service), studying somewhere else in Korea, or in Seoul! Or...sadly, less-active. The matchmaker within me wants to pair up all the singles I've met in different areas. But I'm not bold enough for that yet :)
I am sad to be in what might be my last week with Sister Yoon. We've learned a lot from each other over the past 5 weeks! I really am thankful to be serving here in Ulsan. We've had some wonderful experiences with the members and less-active members here. We're getting ready for a cookoff competition that the Hogye branch is having on Saturday. I'll let you know how that goes! I hope that Do Ha-youn's mom can come with her. That would be perfect! I am thankful for the blessings the Lord gives us and am so thankful for the knowledge of the gospel. I am grateful for our Savior. I know He lives, and that it is through his atoning sacrifice that we can live with Him and Heavenly Father again. I love Heavenly Father with all my heart and love all of you too! I love the people here in Korea. They are such kind people!

I have to go!

Love,
Alyssa

Hi Mom, Dad, and everyone!

Happy late Mother's day! I really enjoyed talking to Mom, Dad, Chelsea, and Christopher on Sunday. It was great! Thank you so much for staying up to talk to me!

Today was a really good P-day! Sister Yoon and I went to the Bangojin area with the other sisters (Sisters Hadden and Culver), the Bangojin elders (Bocchino & Moore), Shinjeong elders (Jung Gi-hon & Wells), and the Hogye elders (Chae Jong-sok & Murray). In Bangojin, we took a bus out to an old elementary school that has been converted into a school museum/ reptile zoo. It was a lot of fun! We spent a couple hours playing with all the reptiles there. Get this- I let them put a huge python around my neck! We felt like we were little kids again- and I held and played with countless snakes, lizards, and turtles. Can you believe it? Conquering little fears- one at a time!

On Tuesday, Sister Yoon and I were excited to meet with Lee Jee-yae again- she is a less-active member in the Bangojin branch who has started coming to English class every Tuesday and now studies the gospel with Sister Yoon and I afterwards. She wants to study the Book of Mormon together from the beginning. We always have a really good time with her! This week we talked about Joseph Smith's testimony of the Book of Mormon and how the Lord helped him to prepare the way for the restoration of the Church. *If you haven't read it in a while, you should read Joseph Smith's testimony at the very beginning of the Book of Mormon (before 1 Nephi)- It's amazing! It really helps investigators and new members understand how exactly we got the Book of Mormon in the first place. We wanted to watch the Restoration video with Lee Jee-yae but ran out of time. Well, at least we have next week! We're really grateful that we have a standing appointment with her. She is so ready and willing to learn. It's the best!

On Wednesday, we had interviews with President Jennings, had a big lunch, and district meeting afterwards. It was a full day! Interviews went well- Sister Yoon is nervous because she probably has to go senior next transfer and she is just in her 2nd transfer right now! We don't want her to go- she and I just got here! But we'll see what happens in a couple of weeks. I really enjoyed talking to Sister Jennings and the other missionaries while President held interviews. She is funny and really intelligent- I always have to make a list about the books she talks about so I can read the later (she was a librarian).

Anyway, I have to go, but tell Brooke and Christopher congratulations on the ballet competition (Brooke) and Wizard of Oz callbacks (Christopher). That's awesome! I'm happy to hear that you and Dad went to a genealogy class at church. I want to work on genealogy when I get home and put the things I learned from my BYU genealogy class to use.
(uh...so long ago! Freshman year!) I talked to Kim Jung-jae, a sister in the Bangojin branch who is the Family History consultant for the Ulsan district. She told me that most Koreans have their family history dating back several generations (which is incredible!). The catch is that the history is recorded in hanja (Chinese characters), plus it's in cursive, so many people can't actually read their family histories. That's where people like Sister Kim Jung-jae come in! I thought that was interesting. Family is such an important part of Korean culture- and it's also the central part of our message as missionaries! It's perfect! I am so grateful to know that families can live together forever with Heavenly Father through temple ordinances. Now that I'm on my mission, I realize now that the family really is at the center of Heavenly Father's plan for us. We weren't sent to Earth alone- we were given parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, all kinds of support for life-- that can extend into the eternities. So yes- I'm actually really excited about getting into genealogy with you when I get back, Mom! It will be fun!

I love you all so much!

Love,
Alyssa

Hi Mom!

We all got together today to watch Young Women's conference together at the mission home and get to spend P-day together. It's been fun! I got to go to a Buddhist temple nearby (sorry I can't remember the name right now) with Sister Hadden, Sister Olgolvie, and three greenie sisters that just came in this transfer. They are so nice! We had a lot of fun and now we're getting ready to watch Young Women's conference all together and have pizza. It will be good! I was also really excited to see Sister Jung, my companion from Jeju-do. She said her new area in Busan- Goejong/Daeshin/Yeongdo branches (the area that I had to close for sisters when we went to Jeju) is going great! I was excited to talk about the members there with her.

And no, Korea does not celebrate Cinco de Mayo, but May 5th happens to be a big holiday- Children's Day! Everyone gets work off and goes on picnics or just in general spends time with their families. Last year, we spent the day in the country with the whole stake! This year, we went to a village between Kyongju and Ulsan and had lunch, painted pottery, and played games with the Hogye branch. It was a lot of fun! Sister Yoon and I were excited to get to know the members better and meet a potential investigator. (She is 10 years old, comes to church every Sunday with a relative or something, and hasn't been baptized...plus we met her mom, who is definitely ALSO a potential investigator!) That night, we went to visit a less-active member that the elders said we should focus on, Sister Choi Yoo-jin- and it went great! We got to sit down and talk, with her whole family (her, husband, two young daughters). She is REALLY kind and loved talking about her experience in different wards in the area. She talked about how she knew she needed to act to really have faith, and that right now she just had the belief. We said "yes, that's like a scripture!" And she finished our sentence "in Alma- chapter 32!". So were really excited because she obviously has remembered a lot from the scriptures.

Oh yes, I just remembered... before we went to the country for Children's Day, there was a baptism at the Hogye branch for a girl, Choo Ha-eun (it was her birthday)! The cool thing is her parents asked us to teach her all the lessons before she got baptized, so we taught her all the 4 lessons in 2 days! Her dad is a member of the district presidency, but he fooled us into believing that he was less active the first time we met him!

O yes, Happy late birthday (May 5) Sheri!!!! I love you!

Thanks! I love you so much! Have a great week and Happy early Mother's Day!!

Hi Mom and Dad!

This past week went by really fast! Last Friday, Sister Yoon and I spent an hour of quality time with our Hogye branch mission leader proselyting on the street after our missionary coordination meeting. It was an interesting threesome- Sister Yoon, me, and our former AP,a very confident ward mission leader Brother Jon (Something-something). Needless to say, I was a little intimidated. I learned a lot from about street proselyting!
On Saturday, Sister Yoon and I had the privilege to help a sister in the Bangojin branch make jello for the precise reason that I am American and thus must be pre-disposed to the art of jello-making. I warned her that I had never actually made jello (got me!), but we helped her anyway. And thus I discovered that yes, it is actually ridiculously easy to make jello. And it went over REALLY well at the baptismal service we had that night for a boy in the ward! Everyone was especially fond of the fruit-filled jello (haha!).
On Sunday we were excited to see three really important less-active members come to church in the Bangojin branch. Okay, so one of them already came every other Sunday, but the other two sisters hadn't been in a long time. We were happy to see Lee Ji-yae, a college student who hasn't been coming to church because the sister missionaries haven't been a presence in the branch for a while. Well, Sister Yoon and I are changing THAT! It's hard because we have two areas here and it's hard to split, so we can't be completely supportive of less active members in either branch. I feel bad for Ji-yae because there aren't really other singles in the branch, but Sister Hadden, who serves in a larger branch in the district, wants to get her involved with the district singles. YAY!
On Monday we had Zone Conference in Daegu! It was great- it had been nine months since I was in my greenie area! I was excited because I hadn't been to a Zone Conference in 5 months (that's what happens when you're on an ISLAND with only 5 other missionaries!). We were happy to see other missionaries serving in/around Daegu and Ulsan. We had a really good conference about helping the new "To the Rescue" program work in the branches where we serve. "To the Rescue" is a program introduced by President Monson to help less active members come back to church and find people to teach for the missionaries. We were excited to learn how to work with the leaders to make the program a success.
After the conference, I stayed in Daegu on splits! I had a really good experience working with Sister Crowther
who is serving in the Daemyong/Sangin wards! On Monday, after the conference, a Daemyong bishopric counselor and the elders went shopping with Sister Crowther and I for food for the missionaries. I thought that was so generous of the families in the ward who wanted to give the missionaries food. I am always impressed at how generous the people of Korea are. The missionaries feel bad accepting their tremendous generosity. We are humbled when we think WE are the missionaries and they are the members.
On Tuesday, she and I met with Kim Hyeon-a and her sister Kim Hyeon-ju for lunch. They're both converts from last year in the Sangin ward and I got to teach Hyeon-a before she was baptized! It had been FOREVER since we had seen each other. I really enjoyed seeing them and seeing how they had become a stronger family in the gospel. Everyone in their family was baptized in the past year (one by one), and now their uncle is an investigator! Hyeon-ju is really sweet. They're both so kind! I love and miss working with their family. Their brother, Dae-hyeon, is now a student at BYU!
Then, Sister Crowther and I had Sangin ward mission coordination meeting with the Sangin elders (Elder Ballam and Elder Kemmerer) and the really funny ward mission leader (Brother Jon Jung-shin)- otherwise known as (oori saranghanin songyochekimja- our beloved ward misison leader)- that's the nickname I gave him when I served here as a greenie! He is devoted to missionary work in the ward an is a big help (he used to be the Daegu stake president!). Then, Sister Crowther and I visited Jung Ok-nam, a convert of a few years ago with the Sangin elders. She is really kind to the missionaries and is so cute when she prays! When I served with Sister Young Lee-bin here last year, we used to visit her every week, so I wanted to see her again. She is so cute! She got really excited when I showed her a picture of Sangin ward members from a fireside last year and she got out her magnifying glass so she could see everyone's faces. When she saw herself, she got excited and said, "Harmoni eeda!" (It's Grandmother!). She really wants the elders to be able to teach her sons, so we prayed that they would have the opportunity to teach him.
After that, Sister Crowther and I went to the Daemyong ward area and had dinner with the Daemyong elders (Elder Lee Chan-joon and Elder Matsuura) and a cute family with a baby girl. She has grown a LOT since last year! I am really worried about seeing how big Ruby is when I get back!
Today, we had another sisters' P-day out and went to the Kyung-ju National museum. It is really interesting to see the artifcats they have here that are hundreds of years old! I am especially intrigued by the Buddhas that are here. (Oh yes, I'm still here- we're using the museum's public access computers). Korea has an amazing, rich, LONG cultural history. I can see why the Korean people have so much pride for their country. We've introduced ourselves to LOTS of people here- there's a ship of foreigners that landed for the day at Ulsan, so we got to meet lots of elderly Americans and Europeans. Plus, there are a ton of kids here on field trips! Sister Hadden and I enjoyed talking to an elderly man from America who was familiar with the church in Polynesia. He said his ship docked there once on a Sunday and they couldn't do anything because all the Mormons were resting! Haha! I thought that was pretty funny :)

I can't say enough how grateful I am to be serving here in Korea. I am SO grateful for my amazing companion, Sister Yoon. She is only in her second transfer but you wouldn't know that from talking to her! She has an AMAZING testimony of the gospel and wants to share it with everyone! I also know this gospel is true. I am so thankful for our loving Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ. I know that Joseph Smith is indeed a prophet and that he translated the Book of Mormon through the power of God. bear testimony that as we apply the teachings of the Book of Mormon, we will become so much happier. Most importantly, I know the gospel allows us to progress, to learn, to stretch, to do better each day. We are not perfect- but we come closer to Christ as we TRY to grow each day. I bear testimony that we do need to TRY EACH DAY! Our testimony needs continaual nourishment. How can we nourish it? Through study, prayer, and sharing it with others!

Sister Yoon and I are committed to working hard and FINDING INVESTIGATORS for our area! I know if we work diligently everyday, the Lord will bless us. We saw how he blessed our work with less-active members on Sunday!

I just started reading the Book of Mormon again and I love 1 Nephi 9:6. The Lord will HELP us accomplish His work. He has promised us that! It CAN be done!

Oh yes, tell Jocelyn and Jason congratulations on getting married! That's AWESOME!
Oh yes, and I did get Chelsea's email last week. I think that's amazing that she wants to go to the Jerusalem center! Sorry I didn't write back Chelsea- and I just wrote a ridiculously long email so I'll write you back next week!

I love you! Have a great week!

Love,
Alyssa

Hi everyone!
This week we were excited to have lunch with the elders and Nelson Watson, a less active member in the ward from Hawaii, and his wife Stella (Korean) and daughter Alicia (6 yrs old). Stella isn't a member but she came to church once with Alicia. She said when she is available she'll come to church as long as Alicia wants to come. We bore testimony about Family Home Evening and how family prayer can strengthen our families. Mom and Dad, I'm so thankful we always had FHE and family prayer at home, because now I can testify about that experience to the people we teach! I took it for granted growing up, but now I see how much that can strengthen children and families!
After the Watson family, we visited Cher-Anne, a less active Filipino member in the ward. She was so excited to be able to renew her Liahona and Ensign with Elder Ryu's help and said she'll do her best to come to church! She loves the missionaries and has a strong testimony of the gospel. We felt the Spirit as we met with her and shared our testimonies- especially when Sister Jung shared her testimony- in ENGLISH! She was really nervous about it, but we practiced before and she was great! She said she felt like a greenie because we were talking in English and I had to cue her in for
the testimony. Haha- A little bit of role reversing!
On Monday and Tuesday this week, we were excited to meet with a couple of less active women and get to know them a little bit. Hopefully we'll be able to meet them again soon!
Things are going slowly right now...we don't have investigators, but we're searching, and doing a lot with less active members. But
tomorrow we're meeting with a referral from a girl in Young Women's in the ward. We're excited to meet her and hopefully be able to teach her.
I really appreciate the scripture Dad shared with me this week:
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest"
I know the Lord guides His work and that when we put our faith and trust in Him, we will be able to accomplish what He desires of us. Thank you so much for your love and prayers! I love you and love the people here in Jeju-do. I am so grateful for the gospel and all the blessings we receive because of it. I pray that we as missionaries can share those blessings with the people of Jeju-do!

Love,
Alyssa

Hi everyone!

Sorry, I'm short on time, so this will be a quick email!

This week, we had a fun family home evening group at the church where several boys from young men's showed up. They had fun playing cops and robbers, running around the outside of the church. I stayed warm inside and chatted with Gook Hyung-mi, whose sons Kim Song-su and Kim Myung-joon were playing with the others. Kim Myung-joon, by the way, is the boy who was in the hospital. He's fine now! It must have been a 24 hour flu kind of a thing.
Last night Sister Jung and I met with a less-active high school student who got baptized in elementary school. We hope to keep meeting her every week- she is really nice!
We also had the opportunity to meet the friend of a junior high girl in the ward on Saturday and spend some time with them. She said she'd like to meet with us again! We ALMOST got her to come to the young men's/young women's activity with us, but then she had to go home. Oh well- at least we can still see her!

I am excited for this week- this past week Sister Jung and I had a day where everyone we wanted to meet with canceled, and we got dropped by an investigator. It was really hard, but we realized that as long as we do everything we can on our part, the Lord will help us find people who are ready to receive the gospel.

I love you all so much! I'm so thankful for this gospel. I love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and am so thankful for the wonderful examples of others. I hope I can become more like them! (companion, church leaders, FAMILY, mission president, prophet!)

Have a great week! I love you!

Love,
Alyssa

Hi everyone!
Well, it's been another great week! On New Year's Eve, we had a fun branch meeting/party that turned out great! I found out that it was the first time they have done it, but I'm sure it will happen again next year! There was karaoke, which also turned up at the Christmas party. I loved seeing the members in the ward get into the "classic" Korean music of 20-30 years ago. It was really funny! That night, Sister Jung and I went home- and you guessed it! We went to bed at 10:30 pm as usual. But the next morning, we got up early to see the sunrise from a beautiful spot with the branch and what seemed like HALF of the city of Jeju! Seeing the sunrise on January 1st is a Korean tradition. After we saw the sunrise (Kind of- it peeked through the clouds), the branch members found a quiet spot to say a prayer for the new year together. It was a wonderful experience! Later, we celebrated New Year's/ our ward mission leader's birthday with the same "family" group that was together for Christmas: us, the elders, our ward missionary Jung-ee Kim, and the mission leader Hyung-tae Moon. On Saturday, we stopped by the restaurant of Jo Soon-shim and Kim Gi-wan, a couple whose three school-aged daughters joined the church earlier this year. They are so kind! The problem is they are busy working at their restaurant everyday to make money for their family. But they love what the church has done for their daughters- I hope we can get to know them better! On Fast Sunday, we got up early again for a special Fast Sunday prayer in a quiet, wooded area with the branch president, the Jeju-do district president and wife, the mission leader, Kim Jung-ee (the branch missionary), us, and the elders. I found out they do that every Fast Sunday! I was excited about getting up early, but it was a special experience. I could feel how much the leadership of the branch cared for its members.
Today, we had an amazing P-day! We went to Sogwiepo, at the south end of the island with the elders, Lee Hyun-jung, our investigator, and her son Pak Joon-hyung(a member). We walked along the coast on a special trail with AMAZING VIEWS of the ocean. It was gorgeous! I'll definitely send you pictures. We got to explore on the rocks a little bit and had a lot of fun. We were excited to have our second Jeju-do adventure (the first being the teddy bear museum!) and enjoyed spending time with Lee Hyun-jung and Pak Joon-hyung.
It was a great week!Thank you Mom and Dad, the family, Cheryl, Grandmas and Grandpas, Brandon and Jenn, for all your Christmas greetings! I was so excited to see the Christmas cards. Everyone looks great!
I love you all so much!
Love,Alyssa

Hi Mom, Dad, and everyone!
You might be surprised to be getting an email from me in the middle of the week! Pres. Jennings just changed our P-day from Monday to Thursday, and what better day to start off than New Year's Eve! So from now on, if you could get your emails done before Wed. night that would be great! Anyway, not a ton has happened since I called you on Friday and emailed on Monday! Let's see...we had our Family Home Evening group on Monday night at the church. It was a lot of fun! We played the game where you you get a post-it on your forehead of a person's name from the scriptures, and everyone has to ask questions to figure out who they are! I had done it in the Yeongdo branch and thought we could try it out here. It turned out great! There were just 7 of us that night, the missionaries, Sister Jung-ee Kim, the branch missionary (she's about our age), and two boys from Young Men's, but we still had a lot of fun!
On Tuesday, we met with a former/potential investigator, Song-ja Kang, at the restaurant where she works. She is a really kind single mom who has known the missionaries for a long time, but has her hands full working all the time. I think she likes the church because she has two sons in high school and middle school who need good examples in their lives. I hope we can continue meeting with her! We gave her a booklet on how we can strengthen our families and are going to talk about that with her each week. I had my favorite food there- duejang jigae! Yesterday, we had district meeting down in Soguipo, on the other side of the island. We enjoy district meeting because of the mid-week spiritual boost and it's the only time we ever see the elders serving down in Soguipo! Elder Ryu talked about how we need to speak openly- but always with the Spirit. It was really good. I realized how important it is to recognize the way we are communicating with others and see how we can improve. He said that you should consider others' feelings when you talk and always try to speak through the Spirit. It was a really good lesson that prompted us to consider how we can improve our relations with others as missionaries. Communicating through the Spirit is something we especially need now, but we'll also need it throughout our whole lives too!
After the meeting, Sister Jung and I visited one of the Soguipo elders' investigator with them, Jung-soon Kim. She was busy, so we were only able to talk to her at the door, but she was really kind- my comp hadn't gotten the whole scoop on her and thought she was a member because she was so nice! We live far away so we can only visit her with the elders when we're down in Soguipo every other week, but we were glad we could meet her.
Last night, we had family home evening with Soon-hyung, a recent convert high school student, and his mom Hyun-jung Lee. Sister Jung and I taught about how Christ can help us overcome sin and also the principle of faith. Hyun-jung isn't a member but is really grateful for the church because of how it has changed her son's life. She LOVES the missionaries. She showed us a picture album of all the missionaries that have worked with them in the past year or so- and we were at the end! We really love Hyun-jung and her son and enjoy working with them. Today, we were surprised to wake up to a Winter Wonderland! Kind of. There was a lot of snow coming down, anyway! I guess it's an early start to the new year! Sister Jung and I are excited for the year 2010 and all that has in store. We're having lunch with a member in the ward and her children to celebrate New Year's Eve. Tonight, the branch is having a New Year's meeting/party and tomorrow morning the branch is going hiking at 6:30 to see the sunrise and welcome the new year! It'll be interested. I'm excited right now, but it's not yet the dark, cold, snow-filled morning that it will be when we get up tomorrow!Dad, I read the talk that you sent from Pres. Utchdorf. That's amazing! I loved what he shared about the experience people had when Joseph Smith dedicated the Kirtland temple. I especially liked this part of Pres. Utchdorf's testimony:"indvidual and collective trials may sometimes seem overwhelming.That is when we need, more than ever, to draw near unto the Lord. As we do, we will come to know what it means to have the Lord draw near unto us. As we seek Him ever more diligently, we will surely find Him. We will see clearly that the Lord does not abandon His Church or His faithful Saints. Our eyes will be opened, and we will see Him open the windows of heaven and shower us with more of His light. We will find the spiritual strength to survive even during the darkest night."I am so grateful for continued revelation from our latter-day prophets.I LOVE Pres. Utchdorf. I feel sometimes like we're on the same wavelength of some unseen radio channel.
I am so grateful that we can pray to the Lord and receive strength each day as we strive to do His will. It's hard, but I'm have a testimony that the Lord will help us to overcome the obstacles in our lives. He wants us to succeed and be happy!I love you all and am so excited for the new year. The new year is amazing- it's a new beginning!
Don't forget to make your New Year's resolutions!
Have a great New Year's Eve!
Love,Alyssa

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.

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

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!
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

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

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