February 24, 2009
Dear Everyone,
I must tell you who spoke at Relief Society last week. (We have MTC combined RS). It was Janice Kapp Perry! We sang a medley of her Primary songs after she talked about the importance of music in the gospel. I won't lie. I cried! I don't know why- those songs never made me cry before coming to the MTC! I think "We'll Bring the World His Truth" got me going because I never thought I'd go on a mission when I sang it in Primary. And there I was singing it at the MTC! We met her after the meeting. My companions and I always sing "I Love to See the Temple" while walking home from our temple trip on Tuesdays. We told her that and she said, "Well you should look to the right! My house is right there!" That was funny. I didn't know she lived in Provo. And guess who spoke at Devotional last Tuesday? Elder M. Russell Ballard! We don't find out until right before who was speaking, and we were all excited about that! We sing in the choir every week and we sang "How Great Thou Art" when he came. That was exciting. Elder Ballard talked about how to answer difficult questions people have about the Church. He has talked to the media about the Church a lot, so he knows just what people want to know when they ask questions. It was interesting. He gave us tips on how to become better missionaries who teach with the Spirit.Oh my goodness. I taught for the first time in Korean on Saturday! It was hard, but now it's over! I have to go, my time is quickly running out, but I'll write about it!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Happy post Valentine's Day everyone! You should've seen the line of elders at the post office box on Valentine's day to get packages from their (ahem) friends. It was really long! Thank you Mom for the package.
I'd love to see pictures of Ruby...I'll vote for who she looks the most like! I have a feeling it might be Jenn (she does have brown hair, right?) And Dad, it's too bad I wasn't there for your cub scout cake activity, because I definitely would've had some of your cake! Make sure you tell Chris that! Plus, I also think it's funny how often you had pizza/sub/top ramen while Mom was gone. But who am I to judge? I don't lift a finger to make food around here! Sigh, only 6 more weeks of that!Our older districts and the Korean district left early Monday morning. We were sad, but happy to see them go to Korea! There was A LOT of picture-taking, memory book signing, etc. I love our zone! I really bonded with the Korean sisters too. On Sunday night, all the sisters (there were 10 of us- 5 leaving) gathered in one room. We said goodbye to Sister Stehmeier, Sister Musser, Sister Lee, Sister Lee, and Sister Choi. I love all of them! One of the Sister Lees was really shy when she first got here because she didn't know much English. But we got to know each other as we practiced bearing our testimonies and ate together. She is such a sweet girl! She got sad as we were saying goodbye and I said all the happy things I could in Korean, which was, "josumnida...gua...hangbok...gua...sarong." All that means is good and happy and love. But those simple words in my broken Korean and her response in English brought us together. It's amazing how you can communicate with so little spoken language! And then I said "gi gi myo myo," and we all cracked up because it's our new favorite Korean word. Not even the Koreans knew it! It's an old word for "wonderful" that we picked as the nickname for Elder Gygi in our district (for obvious reasons). Elder Gygi is on the short side, and that seems to be the reason why the Korean sisters have an affinity for him (besides his hilarious personality). They were always clamoring for a picture with Gygi before they left! In other news, we are going to teach the first lesson for the first time in Korean this Saturday! I am really nervous, but I spent a chunk of time today studying moonbop (aka grammar), so that I'll be more comfortable constructing sentences. SYL is paramount here. I don't do it enough! But I can see how much the Lord has blessed me. I still struggle with the language, but it's hard to believe all that I've learned in the 5 weeks I've been here!I also get nervous about teaching itself. They really emphasize teaching to the investigator's needs and being in touch with the spirit. When my companions and I stop worrying about the plan and try to understand what the investigator needs, we teach so much better! Last Saturday we taught a real investigator from Korea who did not know much English. Luckily, he was there with an American friend who helped us a little bit, but we were still nervous about teaching him. We talked about baptism most of the time. It was a great experience. We were by no means perfect, but I learned what it means to be teaching someone who really has little knowledge of ordinances, the Atonement, and things like that.Well, I have to go, but I'm sending a letter soon! I love you so much Mom and Dad! Thank you for being wonderful parents. And I love everyone else too!Sister Alyssa Linford
I'd love to see pictures of Ruby...I'll vote for who she looks the most like! I have a feeling it might be Jenn (she does have brown hair, right?) And Dad, it's too bad I wasn't there for your cub scout cake activity, because I definitely would've had some of your cake! Make sure you tell Chris that! Plus, I also think it's funny how often you had pizza/sub/top ramen while Mom was gone. But who am I to judge? I don't lift a finger to make food around here! Sigh, only 6 more weeks of that!Our older districts and the Korean district left early Monday morning. We were sad, but happy to see them go to Korea! There was A LOT of picture-taking, memory book signing, etc. I love our zone! I really bonded with the Korean sisters too. On Sunday night, all the sisters (there were 10 of us- 5 leaving) gathered in one room. We said goodbye to Sister Stehmeier, Sister Musser, Sister Lee, Sister Lee, and Sister Choi. I love all of them! One of the Sister Lees was really shy when she first got here because she didn't know much English. But we got to know each other as we practiced bearing our testimonies and ate together. She is such a sweet girl! She got sad as we were saying goodbye and I said all the happy things I could in Korean, which was, "josumnida...gua...hangbok...gua...sarong." All that means is good and happy and love. But those simple words in my broken Korean and her response in English brought us together. It's amazing how you can communicate with so little spoken language! And then I said "gi gi myo myo," and we all cracked up because it's our new favorite Korean word. Not even the Koreans knew it! It's an old word for "wonderful" that we picked as the nickname for Elder Gygi in our district (for obvious reasons). Elder Gygi is on the short side, and that seems to be the reason why the Korean sisters have an affinity for him (besides his hilarious personality). They were always clamoring for a picture with Gygi before they left! In other news, we are going to teach the first lesson for the first time in Korean this Saturday! I am really nervous, but I spent a chunk of time today studying moonbop (aka grammar), so that I'll be more comfortable constructing sentences. SYL is paramount here. I don't do it enough! But I can see how much the Lord has blessed me. I still struggle with the language, but it's hard to believe all that I've learned in the 5 weeks I've been here!I also get nervous about teaching itself. They really emphasize teaching to the investigator's needs and being in touch with the spirit. When my companions and I stop worrying about the plan and try to understand what the investigator needs, we teach so much better! Last Saturday we taught a real investigator from Korea who did not know much English. Luckily, he was there with an American friend who helped us a little bit, but we were still nervous about teaching him. We talked about baptism most of the time. It was a great experience. We were by no means perfect, but I learned what it means to be teaching someone who really has little knowledge of ordinances, the Atonement, and things like that.Well, I have to go, but I'm sending a letter soon! I love you so much Mom and Dad! Thank you for being wonderful parents. And I love everyone else too!Sister Alyssa Linford
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Hi everyone! Wow, my month anniversary of being in the MTC is tomorrow. That's crazy! Next week the older districts are leaving, which means my district and a couple of others are going to be the older districts. I can't believe it! It seems like just yesterday we just got here and looked to the older districts for wisdom on everything- Korean, rules, teaching, rules, food, rules, etc. You get the idea! I'm going to miss them. Our gym time will just keep getting smaller- until we get another busload of Japanese and Korean missionaries! (meaning missionaries GOING to those countries- like me! I'm really going to miss the missionaries from Korea. It's been a lot of fun having them here. We took zone pictures on Sunday (I'll send them soon), and we took a picture of the Korean district. They really know how to pose!Anyway, I need to answer a couple of questions. Mom, my shoes are comfortable. They seem warm, I suppose, and my feet have gotten used to them. And Dad, I'm going to try to write a letter in Hangukmal soon. It will be very simple and short, but at least I'll get some practice in! I was going got practice Korean today, but then slept during my free time instead. I don't sleep very well at night here, and I think the nap made up for that. But I WILL squeeze in some Hangukmal before I go to bed tonight! My branch/zone is made up of all missionaries going to Korea: either to Busan, Daejun, Seoul, or West Seoul. We all get along pretty well. It's nice being one of 10 sisters in a zone of 65, because everyone knows who I am. It's not that hard to figure out! And we get a lot of privileges- like elders standing up when we come to the table, often taking our trays, holding open the doors, etc. I'm getting used to it...which could be problematic! But it's nice.My time is seriously running out, but I want you all to know how much I love you. I have felt Heavenly Father's love for me here, and I know He loves all his children. I am thankful to know that He will always be there for me.Have a great Valentine's Day!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Wow. I don't have much time. First off, I am so excited about that baby Ruby was born! What is her birthdate? I'm sorry that Jenn had to be in labor for so long though. That must've been really hard! I attached an email I sent to Brandon and Jenn. I was SO excited to find out that I'm an aunt! And that Brandon and Jenn are parents and Mom and Dad are grandparents! And it goes on and on! Ruby is blessed to have so many people who care about her and have been so excited to see her come! As soon as I found out from the DearElder, I announced it to my district. They were happy too because (1) I have a niece! and (2) they don't have to hear me ask the DL for DearElders day upon day. It seemed like a long time, anyway, but probably just four or five days. I'm glad you found your scriptures Mom! That's really funny. I should try that sometime! Just kidding :) A while ago Dad asked about the missionaries in my branch. I'll try to describe that quickly. There are probably about 70 people in our zone. Of that there are only 8 sister missionaries! Five of us are English speaking and three are from Korea. We just got 7 Korean missionaries who are going back to Korea because they shut down the MTC there. I love the sisters! (the elders are pretty cool too.) -okay, i'm sorry, my capslock key stopped working.anyway, one of the korean sisters, sister lee (there are two sister lees and three elder kangs- (exclamation points also don't work) sorry. sister lee led sister hadden and i in yoga at gym time yesterday. it was so much fun. she is about as flexible as a ragdoll and we are nowhere close to that. almost every move she did we both gasped as we thought about how we couldn't possibly do that. especially when we attempted to scoot our legs up and behind our heads. yeah. it was a riot (exclamation point) elder sung, who is korean-speaking from australia, helped us with translation when we needed it. it was fun (exclamation point) well, i wish i could write more but i simply must go to choir practice. i love you all. happy early valentine's day.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Tuesday, January 27,2009
As for other things... I'm in my third week at the MTC! I feel like I've been here forever! Our two week mark is tomorrow. Dad, everyone who knows that I'm serving in the same mission as you thinks that's awesome. I'll write home to you in Korean soon (at least a few sentences), but like you said, it's hard to do that on the computer! It takes a while for things I learn to sink in. I usually have to practice it over and over again before it finally occurs to me how to use my newfound wisdom. I can't remember how French was when I started learning it (that was 7 years ago!), but it definitely wasn't as hard as this! Everyone in our zone is really excited because they closed the MTC in Korea (okay, I'm going somewhere with this), so all the Korean missionaries are coming here for three weeks before heading back to Korea! I think there are about ten, and the missionaries who have been here 8 weeks are acting like their hosts. It's funny because the American missionaries are trying out what they know about Korean customs (like shaking hands with two hands out), while the Koreans are trying out American customs (shaking just one hand). Speaking of shaking hands, we tried to shake an "investigator's" hand at the TRC on Saturday and he laughed and wouldn't do it. Turns out, Sister Copeland, our fount of Korean knowledge (her mom is Korean), forgot that women DO NOT touch men in Korea! Oops! But the really funny part is that Brother Keel, the pretend investigator we taught, is the brother of my home teacher last winter. Isn't that funny? They both go by their last name (Keel) so it's a little confusing. I knew Keel, my home teacher, was from Korea, but I hadn't seen him in ages. It was great seeing his brother at the TRC! He introduced me to an elder in the zone that he lived with during fall semester. I'm always running into people I know. It's really funny. It's weird that at the end of the day, the people I know that work at the MTC go home to their real lives and I stay here. But that's okay! I chose to live without the real world, right? I'm here to learn how to teach the gospel. AND to learn Korean. That's the really hard part!Ai-yi-yi-,I have so much more to write but I'm late for Choir practice. Love you mucho and I'll write next week!
As for other things... I'm in my third week at the MTC! I feel like I've been here forever! Our two week mark is tomorrow. Dad, everyone who knows that I'm serving in the same mission as you thinks that's awesome. I'll write home to you in Korean soon (at least a few sentences), but like you said, it's hard to do that on the computer! It takes a while for things I learn to sink in. I usually have to practice it over and over again before it finally occurs to me how to use my newfound wisdom. I can't remember how French was when I started learning it (that was 7 years ago!), but it definitely wasn't as hard as this! Everyone in our zone is really excited because they closed the MTC in Korea (okay, I'm going somewhere with this), so all the Korean missionaries are coming here for three weeks before heading back to Korea! I think there are about ten, and the missionaries who have been here 8 weeks are acting like their hosts. It's funny because the American missionaries are trying out what they know about Korean customs (like shaking hands with two hands out), while the Koreans are trying out American customs (shaking just one hand). Speaking of shaking hands, we tried to shake an "investigator's" hand at the TRC on Saturday and he laughed and wouldn't do it. Turns out, Sister Copeland, our fount of Korean knowledge (her mom is Korean), forgot that women DO NOT touch men in Korea! Oops! But the really funny part is that Brother Keel, the pretend investigator we taught, is the brother of my home teacher last winter. Isn't that funny? They both go by their last name (Keel) so it's a little confusing. I knew Keel, my home teacher, was from Korea, but I hadn't seen him in ages. It was great seeing his brother at the TRC! He introduced me to an elder in the zone that he lived with during fall semester. I'm always running into people I know. It's really funny. It's weird that at the end of the day, the people I know that work at the MTC go home to their real lives and I stay here. But that's okay! I chose to live without the real world, right? I'm here to learn how to teach the gospel. AND to learn Korean. That's the really hard part!Ai-yi-yi-,I have so much more to write but I'm late for Choir practice. Love you mucho and I'll write next week!
I actually started writing you the first day I got here (I had a few hours of spare time- and I see NONE of that now!) But I still haven't finished the letter (see above!). I wanted to tell you how grateful I am for you and I think the moment we had at the MTC with everyone hugging is one of the most precious moments of my life. Thank you for supporting me and being such great parents. You're wonderful. I know that you love each other a lot and are striving to keep our family gospel-centered. That is so important! We are learning how to teach the first discussion right now, and it really stresses the importance of having a gospel-centered family. You'll receive another letter from me soon! I'm not sure if I can attach pictures to this, so I'm going to mail them to you. I hope you can figure out how to scan them into the computer and upload them to the blog! Most of them are from our temple walking trip on Sunday. It was so much fun! We went with most of our zone and took a picture of our district. I LOVE our district. My companionship makes up a third of it! There are nine missionaries altogether and I have two companions- Sister Hadden and Sister Copeland. It's been an adventure figuring out how to accomplish things when we need to together all the time. Sister Copeland is sick right now with a sinus infection, so we all made a trip to the health clinic. I hope she feels better soon! Sister Hadden and I saw some sister missionaries going French-speaking while we were waiting for her, and happily chatted away in French. It's funny how much more I appreciate what little French I have now that I'm learning Korean!Speaking of Korean, it is a hard language to learn! We started learning it on the second day here, and I thought, "Did I really get myself into this?" Something I've learned here is that the Lord doesn't always bless us with the easy way out, sometimes we are given challenges so that our faith can be strengthened. This is definitely one of those cases. I don't think I've ever studied anything quite so mind-boggling to me as Korean is. Trying to learn this language has really humbled me- it doesn't come quickly and I have to work REALLY hard. Our teachers stress that we won't be able to learn the language on our own. While we still need to put everything we have into it, we need the Lord's hand to gain the language so quickly. Right now, I can stumble through a very simple, short prayer, say hello and goodbye, thank you, say elders and sisters, and some other vocab. We're working on our testimonies. Constructing sentences is interesting! Wow. I can't believe I didn't know ANY Korean 6 days ago!
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