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
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
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
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
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!
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 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!
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