Hi Everyone!
It's nice to be writing again. This was a pretty good week. Shiksas (meals) and teaching were plentiful. It was great! This P-day we decided to take it easy. I took a nap and then we went to a stationery store- there was so much! It was really hard to choose and I ended up with a standard notebook for Korean (so it's STIll hard for me to make decisions!) My companion, Sister Jensen, is Sister Representative for our zone so we had our first split on Thursday. Sister Hawkins came to Daegu for the day with me. I was FINALLY able to get money out of the bank (you have no idea how hard it is to go without passport, waygookeen (foreigner) card, or access to missionary funds). But fortunately, this week I got my passport, waygookeen card back from the government AND debit card from the mission president. My companion was able to lend me enough money until I could get sufficient ID to get money from the bank.
Sister Hawkins and I taught two lessons on Thursday- one to an investigator, and one to a recent convert (we call her Harmoni [grandmother]). Harmoni is SO funny. She's the one who gave us spam and fruit. On Thursday we scoopped apples out with spoons. It tasted like applesauce! And we managed to finish the Plan of Salvation with her- the last part IS the important part! Everyone should know that they can live with God again! So that night we had a shiksa with...the mission president! He called me to say that he was in town with my mission debit card. Sister Hawkins and I went out with him and his wife, and her houseguests. It was delicious- I wish I could remember the name- but you cook the meat yourself, stick it in a leaf of lettuce with some other yummy things, and stick the WHOLE thing in your mouth. The next day we had a shiksa with a young couple in the Sangeen ward- and I found out the husband served with my friend Keith Gonzales in the Seoul mission! Craziness! He was telling a story about an old companion, Elder Gonzales, Mexican-American, from California, serving in Seoul. All of a sudden, I thought "Duh!" THat's my old roommate Lynzy's husband! It was REALLY funny. I love those kinds of connections.
I have to go but I love you all!
Alyssa
Monday, April 27, 2009
Hi Mom and Dad!Oh goodness. I have a lot to write and so little time! Yesterday was a great day. We watched General Conference at the Suesong ward with the whole Daegu stake. Dad, I don't know if Gumi is a ward now- I'll have to ask! A lot of people turned out, which was awesome. We watched conference in English upstairs in two rooms- one was mostly missionaries, and the other was mostly Waegookeens (that means foreigners). There is a military branch in our stake. At the break, all the wards split up into different places (the park, different classrooms), and had feasts! The nice thing about being sister missionaries is that we had TWO wards to visit- Sangin and Daemyong. We went to Sangin first and didn't have time for Daemyong. But we did still have time to swing by the military ward's layout (they invited us) and have delicious food (including the most delicious New Zealander cake ever). So that was great. The speakers were great too! I watched ALL the talks and only started to fall asleep once! I loved seeing the people speak I saw at the MTC- Elder Ballard, Elder Scott, the Portuguese elder in the seventy, etc. When he got up, I thought he looked familiar. Then he said he was from Portugal and it clicked! I remembered what he told us about his conversion story. What I learned at the MTC means so much to me. One of the brethren talked about the song "I love to See the Temple." That primary song means a lot to me now. At the MTC, every time we walked home from the temple on P-Day, my companions and I would sing that and look back and just...be happy. I love that memory. There was so much to learn at General Conference- and I especially felt that as we have a responsibility for our investigators. One of them is Say-un. She is so cute (11 years old) and smart. Her great-uncle is the stake president, and another is a Sunday school teacher, so she has a lot of the exposure to the Church. She kept sneaking up to the missionary room to be near us. I turned around once and saw her recreating the Plan of Salvation handout we had talked to her about. Every detail! She is very bright and I'm pretty sure she has a photographic memory. She is the one that knew about Oliver Cowdery. So I am so excited that we can teach her. We would like to teach her little brother too, but we'll see. He reminds me a lot of Christopher (he likes to play and climb around a lot- as most little boys do). Well I have to go now- we're going to Costco! I love you all and am so excited to be here doing the Lord's work. I can't say a lot (yet) but I am learning so much about what it means to be a missionary. I love the people here and have already made some good friends- investigators, missionaries, members, just a mix of everything! Goodbye!Love you!!Alyssa
Monday, April 6, 2009
Hi Mom, Dad and everyone else!
So I'm here! It's my first P-Day in Korea (Monday) and I am at a post office in Daegu using the free internet! And that's where I live- Daegu! My areas are Daemyong and Sangin and I live in Shin-jeon We were so tired when we arrived in Korea last Tuesday night. The next day they put us to work doing a proselyting activity in Pusan. It was kind of intimidating- I'm not going to lie! Especially when you realize how FAST the people talk. They made me soapbox a couple of times (get up on a planter box and shout (in my case :) ) to the people walking down the street. It's not a very typical missionary practice but more of a greenie initiation tactic. But while a Korean sister missionary and I were up there, a woman and her son stopped to talk to other missionaries. So that was exciting. Before that activity, we went to a bathhouse (at 6:00 in the morning!) Before we came to Korea, my district had wondered whether that would be allowed or not. But as it turns out, President Jennings really wants us to learn about the culture. It was definitely a new cultural experience. The one we went to was really nice.
That evening, they assigned us to our senior companions. I'm with Sister Jensen. She is a lot of fun. She is from Hawaii and has a Masters from Stanford in Ethnic Studies. I've been around all these college grad sisters lately- sometimes I forget that I still have a year (plus more!) of school to look forward to! My housemates are Sister Lee and Sister Matthews. We have a pretty diverse apartment- there's Sis. Jensen from Hawaii, Sis. Lee from Korea, Sis. Matthews from New Zealand (she is Maori), and then me, the girl from Utah. Haha. But actually, pretty much everyone knows I'm originally from California. I haven't been able to let go yet!
Our apartment is tiny. There is a little kitchen, two little rooms, and a little bathroom. We sleep on mats on the floor, which is not as bad as I thought. It's like a mattress! We're hardly ever home though, because we don't live in either of our areas. So basically we just eat breakfast there.
So much has happened in the past 5 days! Two people we're teaching are Yay-jin and Jung-min. They are really nice girls- about 14 years old. Yay-jin's sister joined the church last year and that's when she became interested. We set a baptismal date with her a couple of days ago! Her friend, Jung-min, is not quite ready for that yet, but she is making a lot of progress. I don't do a lot of teaching during our appointments (that's an understatement!) but I'll testify a little bit here and there. On Sunday after church, we taught them with Say-un, another investigator, about the Plan of Salvation. Say-un's uncle's family are members and she comes with them every week. She knows a ton about the gospel! So we're excited about her. My Korean is not great (at all!) but I'm trying! When people ask how long I've been here, they think I'm trying to say 5 months when really I'm trying to say 5 days! It's pretty funny. My first day proselyting, we were in the subway station and I turned around and saw these two cute old ladies on the bench and said hello. They smiled back and moved to one side to make a spot for me- and both motioned to it! And then they decided they wanted me to sit in between them so they moved again and patted the spot in the middle (all while smiling up at me). It was really funny! I've gotten used to the people looking at me all the time- because I'm a blond foreigner! Many times, we pass teenagers or little kids and exchange hellos (in English). It's a lot of fun. Middle school girls are really funny. They're so shy! It's a challenge trying to talk to people, but getting their attention is not a problem AT ALL. That part has been built into me. So that's convenient! People also want to feed us all the time. Last night, it was Fast Sunday and Sis. Jensen and I were STARVING after spending the whole afternoon/evening visiting members and teaching investigators. When we were right next to our house, a man started talking to us and then he insisted on buying us dinner. We refused, several times- it was Sunday! But he wouldn't let up, so finally we let him buy us kimbop. And he also got us these huge soups- you should've seen me try to eat the huge noodles!
The other night, we went to a new member's house to have her sign her baptism form. She is really old and so cute, but also pretty poor. I felt bad because she insisted that we take spam and fruit with us. And then she had to make sure it was packed JUST right in my backpack! So now I'm eating spam whether I like it or not! It's been a lot of fun getting to know the people we teach, people in both our wards, and the other missionaries. I have SO much motivation to learn as much Korean as possible- so I can communicate with everyone! Tragically, I left my Korean binder packed full of notes on the plane in Seoul. Don't put things under your seat! But I told the AP's about it and they're going to try to look on Lost and Found. But you know what? I have no lack of Korean help here, and it wouldn't be a real travel experience without me losing at least one thing!
Today we are going to see a big Buddhist temple. I am going to do a ton of fun things on my P-days because it is Sister Jensen's last transfer. So I'm excited! I have so much to learn about missionary work but I'm getting a good start. I am so thankful for the Lord's word and I'm excited to watch General Conference on Easter next Sunday. I love you all and hope all is going well! And Ruby gets blessed soon, right? That's awesome! And tell Newel and Marlowe congratulations for their new baby!
Love,
Alyssa
So I'm here! It's my first P-Day in Korea (Monday) and I am at a post office in Daegu using the free internet! And that's where I live- Daegu! My areas are Daemyong and Sangin and I live in Shin-jeon We were so tired when we arrived in Korea last Tuesday night. The next day they put us to work doing a proselyting activity in Pusan. It was kind of intimidating- I'm not going to lie! Especially when you realize how FAST the people talk. They made me soapbox a couple of times (get up on a planter box and shout (in my case :) ) to the people walking down the street. It's not a very typical missionary practice but more of a greenie initiation tactic. But while a Korean sister missionary and I were up there, a woman and her son stopped to talk to other missionaries. So that was exciting. Before that activity, we went to a bathhouse (at 6:00 in the morning!) Before we came to Korea, my district had wondered whether that would be allowed or not. But as it turns out, President Jennings really wants us to learn about the culture. It was definitely a new cultural experience. The one we went to was really nice.
That evening, they assigned us to our senior companions. I'm with Sister Jensen. She is a lot of fun. She is from Hawaii and has a Masters from Stanford in Ethnic Studies. I've been around all these college grad sisters lately- sometimes I forget that I still have a year (plus more!) of school to look forward to! My housemates are Sister Lee and Sister Matthews. We have a pretty diverse apartment- there's Sis. Jensen from Hawaii, Sis. Lee from Korea, Sis. Matthews from New Zealand (she is Maori), and then me, the girl from Utah. Haha. But actually, pretty much everyone knows I'm originally from California. I haven't been able to let go yet!
Our apartment is tiny. There is a little kitchen, two little rooms, and a little bathroom. We sleep on mats on the floor, which is not as bad as I thought. It's like a mattress! We're hardly ever home though, because we don't live in either of our areas. So basically we just eat breakfast there.
So much has happened in the past 5 days! Two people we're teaching are Yay-jin and Jung-min. They are really nice girls- about 14 years old. Yay-jin's sister joined the church last year and that's when she became interested. We set a baptismal date with her a couple of days ago! Her friend, Jung-min, is not quite ready for that yet, but she is making a lot of progress. I don't do a lot of teaching during our appointments (that's an understatement!) but I'll testify a little bit here and there. On Sunday after church, we taught them with Say-un, another investigator, about the Plan of Salvation. Say-un's uncle's family are members and she comes with them every week. She knows a ton about the gospel! So we're excited about her. My Korean is not great (at all!) but I'm trying! When people ask how long I've been here, they think I'm trying to say 5 months when really I'm trying to say 5 days! It's pretty funny. My first day proselyting, we were in the subway station and I turned around and saw these two cute old ladies on the bench and said hello. They smiled back and moved to one side to make a spot for me- and both motioned to it! And then they decided they wanted me to sit in between them so they moved again and patted the spot in the middle (all while smiling up at me). It was really funny! I've gotten used to the people looking at me all the time- because I'm a blond foreigner! Many times, we pass teenagers or little kids and exchange hellos (in English). It's a lot of fun. Middle school girls are really funny. They're so shy! It's a challenge trying to talk to people, but getting their attention is not a problem AT ALL. That part has been built into me. So that's convenient! People also want to feed us all the time. Last night, it was Fast Sunday and Sis. Jensen and I were STARVING after spending the whole afternoon/evening visiting members and teaching investigators. When we were right next to our house, a man started talking to us and then he insisted on buying us dinner. We refused, several times- it was Sunday! But he wouldn't let up, so finally we let him buy us kimbop. And he also got us these huge soups- you should've seen me try to eat the huge noodles!
The other night, we went to a new member's house to have her sign her baptism form. She is really old and so cute, but also pretty poor. I felt bad because she insisted that we take spam and fruit with us. And then she had to make sure it was packed JUST right in my backpack! So now I'm eating spam whether I like it or not! It's been a lot of fun getting to know the people we teach, people in both our wards, and the other missionaries. I have SO much motivation to learn as much Korean as possible- so I can communicate with everyone! Tragically, I left my Korean binder packed full of notes on the plane in Seoul. Don't put things under your seat! But I told the AP's about it and they're going to try to look on Lost and Found. But you know what? I have no lack of Korean help here, and it wouldn't be a real travel experience without me losing at least one thing!
Today we are going to see a big Buddhist temple. I am going to do a ton of fun things on my P-days because it is Sister Jensen's last transfer. So I'm excited! I have so much to learn about missionary work but I'm getting a good start. I am so thankful for the Lord's word and I'm excited to watch General Conference on Easter next Sunday. I love you all and hope all is going well! And Ruby gets blessed soon, right? That's awesome! And tell Newel and Marlowe congratulations for their new baby!
Love,
Alyssa
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Dear Everyone,
I can't believe I'm leaving in 6 days! This will be the last e-mail I send. Time goes by really fast at the MTC. It really does. But at the same time, my companions Hadden and Copeland and I have gone through three sets of roommates! Our first set went to Japan, second to North Carolina (they were in and out in 2 1/2 weeks), and our third set ARE Korean and they're going to Korea with us! I've seen friends come and go here- like Sister Borders, Elder Lindsley, Sister Willardson (YL), etc. I can't believe how many sisters I know going on missions! At one time, there were five of us here from my ward at Roman Gardens (I was there for about two years). Isn't that crazy? Bishop Crandell would be proud! I have had such an amazing experience at the MTC. Yes, it has been hard, and that has gotten to me a couple of times (Korean! It's awesome/difficult! All at the same time!). But overall, I have grown so much closer to my Savior. I have grown to know and love my 2 companions (have you ever spent 24/7 with two other people before? It's a talent, and we've got it down!), and I love my district. I am sad when I think about us all parting ways. Half of my district is going to Taejon, and half is going to Pusan. The people leaving in my zone are going to Taejeon, Pusan, Seoul, Seoul West, and L.A. (As in L.A, California- isn't that cool?)Our flight leaves on Monday morning. Mom & Dad, I'll probably call you from the L.A. airport. That will be between 11-12:30 PACIFIC time. (So 12-1:30 your time). Then after that, I'm off to KOREA! It's a 12-14 hour flight. Woohoo! We'll see how that goes. All 38 of us are going to be on the same flight. And we'll see how THAT goes! I've learned a lot about 19-year-old elders since coming here. Wow. Sometimes I'm really grateful I'm a girl!Thank you so much everyone for supporting me! I love you so much. Alyssa
P.S. This will be my new address:
Sister Alyssa Linford
Korea Busan Mission
Dongnae PO Box 73
Busan-Si
Busan-gwangyeoksi 607-600
SOUTH KOREA
Dear Everyone,
I can't believe I'm leaving in 6 days! This will be the last e-mail I send. Time goes by really fast at the MTC. It really does. But at the same time, my companions Hadden and Copeland and I have gone through three sets of roommates! Our first set went to Japan, second to North Carolina (they were in and out in 2 1/2 weeks), and our third set ARE Korean and they're going to Korea with us! I've seen friends come and go here- like Sister Borders, Elder Lindsley, Sister Willardson (YL), etc. I can't believe how many sisters I know going on missions! At one time, there were five of us here from my ward at Roman Gardens (I was there for about two years). Isn't that crazy? Bishop Crandell would be proud! I have had such an amazing experience at the MTC. Yes, it has been hard, and that has gotten to me a couple of times (Korean! It's awesome/difficult! All at the same time!). But overall, I have grown so much closer to my Savior. I have grown to know and love my 2 companions (have you ever spent 24/7 with two other people before? It's a talent, and we've got it down!), and I love my district. I am sad when I think about us all parting ways. Half of my district is going to Taejon, and half is going to Pusan. The people leaving in my zone are going to Taejeon, Pusan, Seoul, Seoul West, and L.A. (As in L.A, California- isn't that cool?)Our flight leaves on Monday morning. Mom & Dad, I'll probably call you from the L.A. airport. That will be between 11-12:30 PACIFIC time. (So 12-1:30 your time). Then after that, I'm off to KOREA! It's a 12-14 hour flight. Woohoo! We'll see how that goes. All 38 of us are going to be on the same flight. And we'll see how THAT goes! I've learned a lot about 19-year-old elders since coming here. Wow. Sometimes I'm really grateful I'm a girl!Thank you so much everyone for supporting me! I love you so much. Alyssa
P.S. This will be my new address:
Sister Alyssa Linford
Korea Busan Mission
Dongnae PO Box 73
Busan-Si
Busan-gwangyeoksi 607-600
SOUTH KOREA
Monday, March 23, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Okay, so the real stuff. We leave for Korea in two weeks! Scary thought? Kind of, especially since we heard about an "interesting" North Korea situation. What's going on with these so-called satellites? I hope nothing happens and it just turns out to be another Cold War like situation. That would be ideal. :) But if worse comes to worse, I'll be on the opposite side of Korea. So that's good!It has been SO much fun getting to know our Korean roomates, Sister Lee and Sister Jung. The other night I came into the room and Sister Lee and Sister Hadden were singing "Eidelweiss" together. It was so cute! I had no idea they'd know Sound of Music! And another night, Sister Lee and Sister Hadden were studying vocab together: Sister Hadden was learning the Korean side and Sister Lee was learning the English side! I am so glad that we get to be exposed to a little bit of Korean culture before going over there. It has been amazing getting to know these wonderful people. I love them!I have to go, my time is up.
Okay, so the real stuff. We leave for Korea in two weeks! Scary thought? Kind of, especially since we heard about an "interesting" North Korea situation. What's going on with these so-called satellites? I hope nothing happens and it just turns out to be another Cold War like situation. That would be ideal. :) But if worse comes to worse, I'll be on the opposite side of Korea. So that's good!It has been SO much fun getting to know our Korean roomates, Sister Lee and Sister Jung. The other night I came into the room and Sister Lee and Sister Hadden were singing "Eidelweiss" together. It was so cute! I had no idea they'd know Sound of Music! And another night, Sister Lee and Sister Hadden were studying vocab together: Sister Hadden was learning the Korean side and Sister Lee was learning the English side! I am so glad that we get to be exposed to a little bit of Korean culture before going over there. It has been amazing getting to know these wonderful people. I love them!I have to go, my time is up.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Tuesday. March 3, 2009
Hi everyone!Wow. The weeks go by so fast here! We usually have the same routine every Preparation Day (by command of the MTC President, it is no longer P-Day), but this week we switched it up. They wanted us to go to the temple at 3p.m. instead of in the morning because it was getting too congested. And that ended up switching the whole day around! The day still went by quickly, but it was nice to have a new schedule for a change.
Speaking of the temple, my companions and I love to go there every week! I never appreciated the Provo Temple so much until now. It is such a blessing to have it right across the street. I love the spirit there. I can feel strongly Heavenly Father's love and it helps prepare me for the rest of the week ahead. Tonight, my companion Sister Hadden is giving the closing prayer at Devotional. So my other companion Sister Copeland and I are excited for her, but we're also excited because that means we get to sit on the stand! Oh, the things that excite us these days.
Also, we got new missionaries in our zone this week! They're downsizing all the missions in Korea because of the low birth rate (wow- I wonder who researches these things). Only 11 missionaries came in, compared with 30+ missionaries who came in January with me. But we got two new sisters! Sister Peterson and Sister O____ (I can't spell her name to save my life!) are such great sisters. We're up to 7 sisters in the zone now! (My low was 5, high was 10). The downside to less missionaries is less room in the cafeteria. We used to be the largest Asian zone, and now the Japanese (missionaries going to Japan) are taking over. No, seriously. Everyone always sits in the same areas of the cafeteria, and the Japanese are right next to us. We love them though, because we're gym buddies. It's great.And Korean is...well, Korean. Chonin saronghamnida! (that means I love). As usual, I need to SYL more. I realized that as a learn-by-the-book person, I tend to concentrate too much on the written aspect and not as much on the speaking part. And the speaking part is definitely more important! We only have 4 weeks left but I am devoting myself with the Lord's help to this. It helps that we're teaching the lessons in Korean. Even though it's painfully slow and difficult to say, it forces us to Speak! And be understood! That helps a lot.As I study the Book of Mormon, I've started noting what happens in the chapters in my scripture journal. It has helped me so much to understand the timeline and bring it all together. I love reading about the peoples of Zarahemla and Mosiah being united and understanding what happiness that brought to the people. And then I feel even more devastated when I turn to the next chapter and see that people began having problems again. It helps me to imagine what our prophets must go through.
I have to go! Bye! Alyssa
Hi everyone!Wow. The weeks go by so fast here! We usually have the same routine every Preparation Day (by command of the MTC President, it is no longer P-Day), but this week we switched it up. They wanted us to go to the temple at 3p.m. instead of in the morning because it was getting too congested. And that ended up switching the whole day around! The day still went by quickly, but it was nice to have a new schedule for a change.
Speaking of the temple, my companions and I love to go there every week! I never appreciated the Provo Temple so much until now. It is such a blessing to have it right across the street. I love the spirit there. I can feel strongly Heavenly Father's love and it helps prepare me for the rest of the week ahead. Tonight, my companion Sister Hadden is giving the closing prayer at Devotional. So my other companion Sister Copeland and I are excited for her, but we're also excited because that means we get to sit on the stand! Oh, the things that excite us these days.
Also, we got new missionaries in our zone this week! They're downsizing all the missions in Korea because of the low birth rate (wow- I wonder who researches these things). Only 11 missionaries came in, compared with 30+ missionaries who came in January with me. But we got two new sisters! Sister Peterson and Sister O____ (I can't spell her name to save my life!) are such great sisters. We're up to 7 sisters in the zone now! (My low was 5, high was 10). The downside to less missionaries is less room in the cafeteria. We used to be the largest Asian zone, and now the Japanese (missionaries going to Japan) are taking over. No, seriously. Everyone always sits in the same areas of the cafeteria, and the Japanese are right next to us. We love them though, because we're gym buddies. It's great.And Korean is...well, Korean. Chonin saronghamnida! (that means I love). As usual, I need to SYL more. I realized that as a learn-by-the-book person, I tend to concentrate too much on the written aspect and not as much on the speaking part. And the speaking part is definitely more important! We only have 4 weeks left but I am devoting myself with the Lord's help to this. It helps that we're teaching the lessons in Korean. Even though it's painfully slow and difficult to say, it forces us to Speak! And be understood! That helps a lot.As I study the Book of Mormon, I've started noting what happens in the chapters in my scripture journal. It has helped me so much to understand the timeline and bring it all together. I love reading about the peoples of Zarahemla and Mosiah being united and understanding what happiness that brought to the people. And then I feel even more devastated when I turn to the next chapter and see that people began having problems again. It helps me to imagine what our prophets must go through.
I have to go! Bye! Alyssa
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