Letter from 30 December 2009

Hello and happy new year! Tomorrow morning, the first of the year, Shilim ward has asked us and the elders to attend their hiking activity with them. I guess they do it every year to welcome in the new year. Sister Ee's home ward does it, too. Should be exciting. I hope I don't freeze.

Last Sunday it snowed! Maybe two inches; snow usually doesn't stick, but it did, and it is beautiful! I had forgotten how much I like the snow. How you can see people's footprints, see where they've been. How things are quiter, muted. How beautiful snow is on the rooftops and trees. I am also tremendously grateful for good winter boots, and find great satisfaction in being able to walk through slush and banks of snow and it not effect me.

We met a new investigator yesterday for the English program. We haven't had many new investigators lately; I was so excited to meet her! Her first name is Oo joo--which means "space." In a not-weird-way, though, apparently--When Sister Ee heard it, she said, "Oh, pretty!"

Christmas this week, and a Christmas phonecall (a wonderful present!). A senior missionary couple hosted a bunch of missionaries at their house after that. Ate burritos and played Uno. That night, we met a new member and her two new member daughters and an old member for dinner, and one of the daughters had a temple reccommend interview after. Wonderful.

Have a wonderful week--and wonderful year! May it be the best one yet. I've been learning a lot about goals on my mission--appreciating them for the first time (I never was a goals person--until now). I'm seeing how when we set them, pray about them, work for them, things actually happen. I set some goals for the new year today. I'm excited for 2010. It should be a good one.

Lots of love,

Carrie

Letter from 24 December 2009

I'm sorry I didn't write a group email last week! That evening, walking down the street, I all of a sudden realized I completely forgot!

Merry Christmas to you all! What a wonderful time of the year. This Christmas has been such a special Christmas--I'm grateful to be here. I feel closer to Christ this Christmas than I ever have. I'm grateful that he is our Savior--that He can understand all things; that He knows us, our trials and worries. That through the atonement, He can lift our burdens, and that in repenting we can be clean from sin. I'm grateful for the scriptures that testify of Him. I'm grateful for good men and women who follow him--and so act in love and charity. I'm grateful that his gospel has been restored in its fullness, with the same orginaztion that he established during his ministry.

Our mission president and his wife, President and Sister Burton, in about September invited us, as a mission, to do an activity together. They gave us each a fresh copy of the Book of Mormon, and asked us to highlight four things in different colors: references to Christ, His words, His attributes, and doctrines. We were to read five pages a day to finish by Christmas Conference.

Christmas Conference was Wednesday, and I finished reading on Tuesday. Just a few pages of the activity shows how the Book of Mormon truely does testify of Christ. And reading it like that every day, I started to see how the Book of Mormon really is a record of people who believed in Him. Who taught others of Him. Who followed Him. It gave me such a new appreciation for this Book that I carry around every day. That I show to people on the street. That I teach out of. It truely is a testament of Jesus Christ.

People have been so kind to us during the Christmas season. Last Sunday we got presented with gifts from the wards we serve in--socks, candy, fruit, and really nice shampoo that smells like Korean medicine. And the Christmas Conference for the missionaries yesterday included a turkey dinner and a visit from Santa. A member from the ward lent me a han bok--a traditional Korean dress--to wear. All the sisters dressed up and looked lovely.

We went caroling with some members last week; I made snowflake decorations for the English class Christmas party (everyone was kind of in awe with them--I guess snowflake cutting has not yet been incorperated into the Korean kindergarten curriculum), and Sister Ee headed a mass cookie baking/card making effort that has yeilded a gift for every member in Shilim ward for their Christmas party tonight.

The best part of Christmas so far, though, was last Sunday when a recent convert came to church with her 19-year-old daughter. We attended the meetings together; after taught her the first of the missionary lessons. We asked her, when, through prayer and reading the Book of Mormon, she came to know what we were teaching was true, if she would be baptized. She said yes.

Out of all the things we do, those are the best kind of moments.

A very Merry Christmas! I love you all!

--Carrie

Letter from 9 December 2009

Hello!

This week was transfer week...and I got transfered! That made seven months in my last area, Anyang stake. My new area is called Seoul Nam Stake (Seoul South Stake). The sisters serve in two wards here, Shilim and Dongjak. This might be my last area--thankfully enough. Packing is horrible! Thankfully here door-to-door shipping is common and inexpensive, so the bulk of my things are getting shipped, and I just dragged one suitcase on the subway to get here.

The new area is right near Seoul National University, for a way of locating it. The best university in Korea.

My new companion is Sister Lee Ja yeon (not Sister Lee Yae ji--different Sister Lee's). "Lee" is actually "Ee" in Korean anyway (I don't know why it gains a vowel in English), so for the sake of distinguishing between the two Sister Lee's, I'll just call her Sister Ee.

Yesterday things worked out to be able to meet Sister Byun who got baptized a few months ago and the Choi sisters who just got baptized a few weeks ago. It has been so wonderful to see Sister Byun, since she was baptized in August, grow and change. She is happier. She is working to reach out to her family and to help them. She serves in callings at the church--serves other people. And she has a testimony of Jesus Christ. That was the most difficult thing for her when she got baptized--believing in Christ. And now she believes in Him, trusts Him, follows Him, and finds strength in that. And that is so beautiful.

Love you!

--Carrie

Letter from 2 December 2009

Hello!

December has come! Our apartment, from over the years of missionaries, I guess, somehow has two Christmas trees. I pulled one down this week--it was in a box on top of a cupboard above the washing machine--and set it up along with a snowman doorknob hanger and a stocking that says "Elder Miller." Merry Christmas!

I guess I wasn't too excited for December--I wasn't expecting anything too exciting for Christmas. Christmas isn't too big in Korea. We had a zone conference this past week, though, and the mission president's wife took some time sharing some of her favorite scripture passages about the Savior with us, and we sang a few hymns together...so simple, but hearing what she shared made me realize getting ready for Christmas was a time to remember Jesus Christ. In the mission we have, for the past few months, been reading the Book of Mormon looking specifically for references to Christ, His words, His attributes, and doctrines. But the last few days, more than studying about Him, trying to remember Him and focusing more on trying to love and serve like He did and taught us to do has helped me feel closer to HIm at this time of the year when we celebrate Him. And now the Christmas season is becoming special.

We visited Yang Boo soon again this week, the grandmother who lives in our same apartment complex. She's been attending church regularly, has read the whole Book of Mormon, but she gets a little flustered whenever we talk about baptism. This week she went, and she told Sister Park she wanted to fix her hair, show her how to do it (and Sister Park said, oh, I think she mentioned this last time...). She told her to take out her barette; Yang Boo soon got a bottle of styling wax out of her bathroom, put it in Sister Park's hair, told her and showed her how she needed to style it with her fingers so it would be taller and whispy--"THIS way. You need to do it THIS way"--and if she just cut it here and here, it would be right. She disappeared onto the viranda and rummaged around, and then appeared with something metal and long and pointed, which made Sister Park jump. She put the camp-style gas stove she uses on the floor and started heating it up over the flames--turned out to be a screw driver. We were both a little nervous about what she was going to do to Sister Park, until she explained it was because she didn't have a curling iron.

"Have you ever tried this before?" was Sister Park's response. It all turned out alright.

That night, we got a call from some of the Elders in Anyang ward. There was someone at the church for us, they said. It turns out it was someone who knew Sister Park's mother. This family went to Canada for a few years and met Sister Park's family there. They wanted to take us to dinner. We were eating and talking, and the mother of the family pulled out her cell phone, rummaged around for a phone number...and dialed up Sister Park's mom. Missionaries have lots of rules, one of which is that we call home twice a year, on Christmas and Mother's Day. So when Sister Park's-mother's-friend tried to hand her the phone, everyone else around the table started waving their hands and saying no, no. So she handed the phone to me. I got to talk to Sister Park's mom (who is very nice).

Maybe both of these stories are you-had-to-be-there kind of things. Hmm.

All my best, have a wonderful week!

With love,

Carrie

Letter from 26 November 2009

Hello, and Happy Thanksgiving!

We went to the Osan military base today for a Thanksgiving. The family who hosted us had lived there since August; before that they spent six years in Italy. Going to the base was such a strange sensation. I could understand all the chatterings (in English) that were going on around me. We walked into their house and they told us we could keep our shoes on. I started to eat my dinner and went to pick up my fork with my right hand, and thought it was the oddest thing in the world that it was on the left (I actually switched the fork with the knife and spoon before I realized that the place setting was actually correct, and I've just been eating with chopsticks for so long that I didn't remember that the fork really does go on the left).

Strange things.

Other news: we set a baptism date this week! Hooray! I've been in this area for over six months now--I don't know if I will still be here when Eu reem does get baptized. If I am or not, it's still happy!

So little email time today...sorry! Hope to share more adventures next week!

I send my love,

Carrie

Letter from 18 November 2009

Hello! Hello from Sanbon, Korea!

It's getting COLD! It's been almost one year since I've been in Korea, and things are coming full circle. Things were bare and cold when I got here. And it's getting chilly again! It reminds me, though, of what I've already experienced in Korea, and that's fun to look back on.

We had a neat experience this week. An appointment cancelled, and Sister Park and I took some dinner time to regroup a little bit. We looked at some rolls and picked a member in the area, called her up. She happened to be home. I hadn't seen her at church before, but we don't get to attend in that area very often. It turns out she hasn't really gone for five or ten years now, though her son still goes. She gave us fruit and dumplings and warm milk, and we talked for awhile. Before we left, she offered to say a closing prayer. I was grateful we happened to have time, happened to be near, and she happened to be home.

The other night, after a lesson with the family from North Korea, the member who had taught with us and her husband offered to drive us home--about 40 minutes, a long way. I was so grateful, though--not just that we were on time, but for how they chatted with us, told us how they met, what's important to them, about school and their missions. I'm so grateful for these people.

Have a great week!

--Carrie

Letter from 11 November 2009

Hello!!

It's been a good week (do I say that every week?). Thursday night we had dinner with a member who is a little less active. Towards the end of the visit we were sharing a message from the scriptures, encouraging her to read on her own. And then she said that, a few months ago, she wasn't reading or praying because things were hard. But then the missionaries started visiting--me and Sister Lee--and after that, she started thinking that because things were hard, she should probably be reading and praying. And so she's been doing it more often lately. I was just so grateful to hear that. That something we did mattered. And then she said I was a good missionary. I had been feeling a little down that day, and what she said turned it around. Goodness, we need each other to help each other. We helped her, and she certainly helped me.

On Saturday, there was an area (stake-wide) fun meeting with Robert Holley. He's an American who when he was younger served as a missionary in Korea, eventually moved back, married a Korean...he's a lawyer originally but works in broadcasting, did some English-learning stuff, I think, some acting...anyway, I guess he's kind of famous here.

Well, it turns out that the uncle of my new companion, Sister Park, lives in the area we cover. She got special permission to call him and invite him to the meeting. And he came! Missionaries have so many rules that it made it just a little awkward--first of all me (her companion) having to always be with her, and then, when he wanted to take us to dinner, because of a rule that sister missionaries can't meet alone with a man, a church sister came with us...a little strange, but we think he had a good experience.

At dinner we were talking. He showed us his hand--he's missing about half of three fingers. He was ten years old at the time of the Korean war, he said. He lost the fingers because of a hand grenade. He said there's still shrapnel (sp?) in his hand that has worked its way out over the years. One day a few years ago he was washing his face and all of a sudden something cut his face. It was a piece of that hand grenade that had been in one of his fingers for years.

On Tuesday we went and visited another member. She's newer in the church--she was baptized about three years ago, I think. We went and talked to her about the temple. She has never gone, not even seen it, I think. I'm so glad there's a temple close to here--it makes it so much easier (I imagine) to help people look towards the temple. We told her about how all people need to be baptized, though there are people who lived and died without that opportunity. So, because God is merciful and just, he has provided a way for all people to be able to follow Christ though baptism--that those who died without that knowledge will still be able to learn, and that we, in our bodies, can be baptized in behalf of them on earth, in the temple. We were explaining about it, showing pictures, and she said, it seems to be a very sacred place.

And timing worked out well--the bishop and his councilors meet at the church on Wednesdays (this was a Tuesday), and a group are going to the temple to do baptisms on Saturday. So she had an interview with the bishop last night, and is going.

And then, last night we met some new people. The elders had met the mom on the bus, they were interested in the English program, and we had some time last night, so we went to their house to meet them. A grandma, mom, and daughter. Sister Park was trying to place their accent and asked right away where they were from. Turns out...from North Korea. Right on the boarder with China (that's how they got here--went through China, and then Thailand, I think). They came about a year ago, though the girls older sister had come first. Three years before. She was fourteen and left on her own--her mom had no idea what happened to her, she explained. Ran away? Dead?

After some time, the grandma's sister sent them some money, and that's how they're here. The ten-year-old stood up and sang some songs for us, songs about Jesus she had learned. I had seen a documentary years ago about North Korea with a child standing and singing just like that. She sat down, and the mom talked about Kim Jeong Il--about how he didn't allow churches in North Korea. About how people didn't learn about Jesus Christ.

Well, I'm out of time! More next week!

With love,

Carrie

Letter from 4 November 2009

Hello!

Saturday was the baptism for the three sisters--So hyun, Do hyun, and Gi hyun. Their schedules are pretty crazy--they attend school plus private academies like most Korean students, so the only time during the week before the baptism we could meet them again was Friday--the day before. We taught one more lesson--told them about tything and fasting--then they had their baptism interviews, one at a time. While they were waiting for eachother, we wandered downstairs to see the baptismal font, talk about the service. Their mom was going to play the piano at the service (though it turned out she couldn't), so we went over to the library/missionary room to make some photocopies. As I was pulling up the...lid? cover? to copy the hymn, So hyun pointed to the copy machine, and said, "was this paid for with tything?" "Yep," I said. "You got it."

The service went well; Sister Buford--now Elizabeth--came with her boyfriend. She went home when the six-week period transfer ended last Thursday and when I got a new companion; she's now packing up her apartment and getting ready to move back to the US. She'll leave next week. It was funny to see someone who had been my mission compaion three days before in a knee-length skirt and high heels with a boy at her side. It was wonderful to see her, though, and I was so glad she could come.

On Tuesday we went to a member's house for a Halloween party she was putting on for a couple other moms and their young kids. They were obviously expecting us--when they opened the door for us, they were all lined up to greet us. Halloween isn't big in Korea; this member had lived in the US and thought it would be fun. And the party was a great success. There was a costume contest--the kids wore and were very satisfied with very simple things--a witches hat, or a mask, or a cape. And then we "Trick-or-Treated," with Sister Park and I standing in the bedroom and the kids coming to knock. Then the member had us read a few picture books in English to the kids--really simple things, they enjoyed it. As we did, I overheard the member telling one of her friends about the English/gospel program, and she wants to meet us later. Then we had lunch and jello and went on to our next appointment.

Out of time!

Have a great week,

Carrie

Letter from 21 Oct. 2009

Hello!!!!!

I finally have a little more time to write this week! Hooray!

Things have been pretty busy! Which is absolutely wonderful! Last Friday was Pak Na ra's baptism. Sister Buford was so anxious to make it an event to remember. We turned on the heater in the bathroom about two hours early. We got a gift--a plant with pretty flowers and a notebook and (can you picture Sister Buford in the store?) a pretty candle and almost a little plastic bear keychain with the date on its belly and a pretty green coordinating gift bag to put it all in.

We were at the church early to try to get photos worked out for the Sister Buford fireside that next day. The elders were there too, it turned out, trying to get the baptismal font filled up. The boiler wasn't working, so we put water on the stove and in the rice cooker to start heating up. It ended up really not making a difference, though--poor Pak Na ra. She was a good sport about it, though.

The ward mission leader also requested that Sister Buford and I do a musical number, so we practiced singing a hymn in harmony. And then, as people were getting ready for the service, one of the women of the ward asked--if I could play the piano, they could play "I Am a Child of God" on the ocarina.

Have you ever heard of an ocarina? They look kind of like little submarines--kind of like a recorder in submarine form. They kind of seem to be a trend here. I had never seen them before. There's a mid-week ocarina class at church, and a lot of the ward members are learning it. I thought it was just kind of a way-to-make-music-accessible kind of instrument--inexpensive, pretty simple--but then I saw a big banner at an arts center for an ocarina concert.

Anyway.

So I accompanied the ocarina choir for "I Am a Child of God." I don't play much piano. I played the right hand and the bottom note and it worked out okay. I don't think anyone knew the difference. (Right??)

That was Friday; Saturday was Sister Buford's fireside. She had a translator--who I sent a text message to confirm with that morning, then turned around and called her and asked if she could teach a lesson with us that same day. I didn't put together that they were the same people. Oops. She was gracious, though, and did both for us.

Sister Buford showed pictures from filming the movie, getting her makeup done, practicing action scenes, with famous Korean actors. She got to the last picture--at her baptism. Dressed in white.

And I thought, "*this* is real."

After did "sign," as the Koreans say, and took pictures with people. I think it was a success. We'll do it again this Sunday at a different ward.

Sunday was Pak Na ra's confirmation. I opened my eyes after the blessing and looked at Pak Na ra...and she was different. After church that day we hurried over to a different ward building for an appointment, and happened to run into Byun Shin jeong, who got baptized a couple months ago. She was there asking another member for help with her family history. And this week, we met and taught a lesson to Byun Shin jeong's mom. Pak Na ra, and then Byun Shin jeong and how much she loves the church, how she's been changing and growing...they're helping me start to get it. I feel like I am finally starting to get missionary work. That people change with the church. That there's a difference when they are baptized and confirmed. That we don't just need it, but that it makes people happier. And that it's possible! I feel like I am starting to light up inside. I am finally starting to understand. And if it took me this long and this much work to start to get it, well, then how much more precious that knowledge is.

Also on Sunday, there were five other girls who attended church--investigators. And Monday and Tuesday, we went out to Ansan to meet some member high school students friends. There are a group of four members--three boys and a girl--who attend the same high school. The girl--Jeong Ee sul-- did some street contacting with us and is a better missionary than us! What wonderful people. And last night, the bishop of another ward went to a hair salon with us to introduce us to someone another member had met and wanted to introduce to us (confused yet?). I just feel privlidged to work with these people, be around them, learn from these members and their testimonies.

I hope you all have a wonderful week! I love you dearly!

--Carrie

Letter from 15 October 2009

Hello hello! The leaves are changing, the weather is nice--a lovely time to be a missionary.

This week we were teaching a lesson to Hong Kyung sook. We were talking about the Ten Commandments, and I was explaining what we did on the sabbath day. Midway through what I was saying, my companion, Sister Buford, burst out laughing. When she started laughing, so did Hong Kyung sook, but the member teaching with us, O Mi jeong, was good enough to retain her composure as she calmly explained that the word I was looking for was "shee da."

It turns out the word I thought meant "to rest"--"shee ha da"--actually means, roughly, to piss. Sister Buford (who didn't originally learn Korean as a missionary), explained this to me later. As she did so, all the situations I've used this word in started flashing through my mind. Teaching investigators that we rest on the sabbath day. Talking to people on the bus about why we attend church. When we've visited members in their home and telling them they need a rest.

Goodness. At least someone finally told me.

Other news this week: we have a baptism tomorrow! Hooray! Pak Na ra is a high school student, her friend is a member and they started attending church together. We're excited!

Time's about up--I send my love.

All my best,

Carrie

Photos of Carrie

Carrie sent some photos to her sister, and they can be viewed here, here, here, and here. She looks great!

Letter from 30 September 2009

Hello! Today isn't preparation day--just email only. This weekend is a big giant holiday, Choo sok. So prep. day is getting moved to Saturday, the main day of the holiday. I've been asking people what they do for it. The women all kind of moan. Then make mounds of food, clean the house for visitors. A lot of people call it "Korean Thanksgiving," but it sounds like it's even bigger. Traditionally held at the parent's house, and the oldest son's wife gets to do a lot of the cooking.

Other things we've been up to: We're working on planning a special fireside meeting with Sister Buford. We've been talking to people at the different wards we serve at, and one of the bishops really latched on to the idea. Sister Buford will talk about being in the movie, show some behind-the-scenes pictures, do a Q and A, and then talk about how, during and after working on the movie, she found the Church. She'll tell about her past attending a different church and studying religion, about getting a Book of Mormon, meeting the missionaries by chance, etc...and about her conversion.

We had a meeting last night with the bishop and his councelors working on some of the plans. We also met on Sunday. I walk out of these meetings feeling like a diplomat. I get to negotiate what people are saying, and translate--Sister Buford speaks some Korean, but I speak a little more. It was fun to look through some of her pictures last night, too, and the people at the ward were enammored (sp??)--someone handed us a bag of corn-pop like snacks. We really didn't need them--an investigator had just bought us a huge dinner (I think it was an entire duck that we ate), and so I tried to hand the bag off to someone as we were leaving, and the bishop said, no, they're for Sister Buford.

A member had also given us a flat of pears for Choo sok that we took home on the bus last night. I carried it on my head on the way back like the old women here, and Sister Buford laughed, and made me laugh. Things are good:)

Much love!

--Carrie

Letter from 24 Septemer 2009

Hello from Gunpo, Korea! It was a great week. We worked hard. We saw miracles.

We went to church on Sunday, not sure about being able to teach any lessons that day, but with a few possibilities, and a goal to teach three with members. And at church, a high school student, Un jeong, brought her friend, Na ra, who we had met with once. Also, another member brought an old neighbor, Sister Han--two of Sister Han's three kids had been baptized, but the family had moved and they hadn't been attending church. So the member called them up, and Sister Han said she could bring them to church. So after church, we ended up being able to teach Na ra with her friend Un jeong, and Sister Han and her daughter with her former neighbor, Kim Jeong sook.

Two lessons. We needed one more.

We called Jeong Hee sook. Didn't answer. We had planned on visiting a member, Nam Un joo, and hoped to maybe find someone to bring with us. Didn't happen. We tried going door to door in an apartment complex, and actually found someone who said come back in a half hour. We were still in the same area, so we called Nam Un joo up again, asked her to come, and she met us. We went back up to the apartment and...the person said, "never mind." So, we tried on the street, with the member coming along. And we found two sisters who stopped, listened to a lesson with the member, Nam Un joo, accepted a Book of Mormon, and gave their phone number.

Three lessons. Whew.

Sister Buford is willing to WORK! I have a hard time keeping up with her;)

Have a wonderful week,

Carrie

New Transfer--Letter from 17 September 2009

Well, it's a new transfer! Yay!

And I have a new companion.

Transfer calls now come on Tuesday instead of Saturday, and the change took place today--Thursday. Sister Lee gets to serve with another Korean sister (which I think she'll enjoy), and I get to serve with...Sister Buford!

I wrote about Sister Buford a couple weeks ago. She's American but has lived in Korea for the last 20 months or so. I heard more of her story on the ride home today: she did some acting in high school, studied finance at university. Spent a summer working for Paramount. After she graduated, she got a job in finance, but decided to follow an urge she's long had to live abroad, and to try out a dream to be a film actress.

Her mom's Korean, Asia is good for business things, she had been to China and didn't like it...anyway, she moved to Korea. She got a job teaching English and sent out resumes and auditioned for movie roles. And she got the main part in a Korean movie. She was working on it this time last year.

And...she had been religious during her whole life, though a bit disillusioned with religion during college. A friend sent her a Book of Mormon, though. And one day on the subway she talked to the missionaries. Event after event happened, and she met with the missionaries. Meeting with them, she just wanted to learn. She didn't want to pray, because she knew what it would mean if she learned for herself if the message was true. But she did pray. And she got baptized last Feb.

Originally when she met with the sister missionaries, it was a threesome--three sisters together. She eventually ended up meeting our mission president, I think, and said if that situation would arrise again, she was willing to help out.

And so that's what she's doing! She's serving for just a short time: this transfer. Just six weeks. She says hello to everyone she sees, she has worked to study the missionary lessons, she is so excited, so ready to go. I am so excited to serve with her--her faith is enormous, and her desire to share the gospel is amazing. Such a reward to be able to work with her.

So this morning Sister Lee met her new companion at the subway station, then I travelled with the mission president to the mission office with other "trainers"--companions of new missionaries. It felt like coming full circle. When I came here, just like that, there were a couple little meetings, and the new and training missionaries got together and bore testimonies and the president assigned who would go with who. Being there today on the other side was an interesting sensation. I'm grateful for as far as I've come. I didn't realize a mission is just one big learning curve! I'm grateful for what I've experienced and learned, and it's fun to be able to look back and look forward.

I send my love!

--Carrie

Ha, there's one more thing I wanted to share this week.

Sister Lee and I visited with a less active member this week. We happened to visit when the bishop was already there--neat to see him in action (encouraging to act, do things, to forgive and to repent), but also kind of awkward.

Anyway, the bishop finished his visit and left, and the member (Sister Kim) and her daughter talked to us for awhile. I guess Sister Kim knows medical things well...I don't know what all she does...but Sister Lee asked her about her skin and how to take care of it, which lead to a long discussion I didn't quite understand. And anyway, Sister Kim offered to do accupressure on Sister Lee's ears--sticking tiny bead-like balls on parts of her ear with skin-colored tape that you then squeeze.

And then she asked me if I would like her to do it to me. I said yes... because, well, I've never had anyone do accupressure on my ears before. She asked me if anywhere hurt, and Sister Lee piped up "her ankles!" which was true--they've been sore lately.

So Sister Kim pulled out a big book and opened it to a diagram of an ear with dots on it, found the one for "ankle," and stuck it on that place at the top of my ear. She squeezed it so it hurt, and said if I kept doing that, my ankle would be better.

And the incredible thing is...it worked. My ankle stopped hurting.

When I tell this to Americans, they say things like "really?!?" When I tell this to Koreans they say, "of course."

Anyway, have a great week!

Letter from 9 September 2009

Hello! Today might be in two parts...long story.

I don't have any emails to respond to this week--maybe it's just technical difficulties;) I can (I think--not sure how much time we have) spend some more time writing a longer group email, then.

It was an interesting week. On Monday night, we went to dinner with some members in one of the wards we serve in. Elder Choi and Sister Goo. Elder Choi was called last Conference to the first quorum of the Seventy (for those of you who knows what that is). We invited Byun Shin jeong, who just got baptized, and another member and her son--Darima. She was baptized a few years ago now, she's from Mongolia. We meet her and help her and her son with English and teach a gospel lesson.

The appointment was good--after dinner, we sat on the floor and talked about the priesthood. We carefully planned a lesson, starting whith asking Elder Choi to define the priesthood. I asked him to do so, and he took the question and ran with it, asking his wife, Sister Goo, to explain about it as well. I added my testimony to what they said--I talked about the priesthood, after it was lost after New Testament times and the death of the apostles being restored again in modern times when a new prophet--when Joseph Smith was called. And I added my testimony to what they said.

I am growing in appreciation for the priesthood, and for the blessings that come from it. And I told those new members during the lesson (in my broken Korean) that whenever they need help, to ask for it. That Christ loves us, and one way he shows that love is through worthy priesthood holders.

Also this week on Tuesday, we set a baptisimal date with O Ha na. Yay! She attended church on Sunday--couldn't take the bus because of her hurt foot. I called some members and, bless them, one picked her up Sunday morning and drove her to church, where we met her. She is scheduled to get baptized on the twentieth.

On Tuesday, we had originally scheduled an appointment with O Ha ha for that evening, but that afternoon she called us and said she was starting university again, so couldn't meet in the evening, but could we come that afternoon? We went, and in the meantime she decided her foot was still too bad for her to go back to school. (So in the future her schedule will be the same--available in evenings. Just a one-day fluke) During the appointment, the bishop called us, and told us how one of the young single adult women in the ward, her father had just passed away, and the funeral was that day. He asked us to go that evening. Because of the schedule changes, we went.

Sister Lee was wearing a white shirt and light checked skirt, and said maybe she would have to change to go to a funeral. And she was right--everyone was in all black--except the mourning family. Sister Im and her sister and mother were dressed in bright white simple traditional Korean dresses. The contrast was striking. A picture of her father was set out, surrounded by white flowers, insence, fruit. Guests would face the picture, and bow deeply--kneeling, and touching their heads to their hands to the floor. Then they turned to the family, and each bowed like that to each other.

We talked to Sister Im briefly. Sister Lee and I were both nervous to go--not sure what we could say or do. We said a few words, and she had to excuse herself to bow with her family. Other church members also attended--I hope she will find strength in the gospel right now.

Transfer calls are next Tuesday--I find out if I change companions, if I change areas. I don't think I'll move areas. Any changes that happen will take place next Thursday. So I'll let you know then.

Have a wonderful week!

--Carrie

Letter from 3 September 2009

My sister Dagny had her baby this week--a girl, Kate. I don't have news that can compare to that! I'm "exciting" (as Sister Lee says) for my family, and to meet new members of my family when I get home!

It was a good week. On my birthday (Monday), the mission president and his wife called me up and sang to me on the phone. And Sister Lee and I had pat bing soo--kind of like an ice cream sunday, kind of like a snow cone: shaved ice, sweet red beans, fruit, flavored syrup, chocolate sauce, "dok" rice cake (not the crispy kind you're probably thinking...it's more like bread, but really chewy), sometimes corn flakes, ice cream....

Also, we met a great new investigator that day. Recently, for the missionaries, there's been a focus on "remembering"--recognizing the blessings, the little miracles that happen each day. At a district meeting last week (a small meeting with four other missionaries serving in close areas), with this in mind, the district leader asked us to talk about some of the miracles we saw this week. And, this week, our miracles are our investigators.

On Monday, we met O Han ah (a member we met with this week who lived in the US for awhile and has an American husband said her name sounds Hawaiian: Ohana. When I met her, I said it sounded like Hannah--since O is her family name. Han ah means "one" or "first"--usually. Names can have lots of different meanings. Anyway...). The elders met her as they were knocking door to door. They called us up and gave us her phone number, said she was interested in the 30/30 English program.

People found going door to door like that, and people interested in the English program aren't often the ones who stick around for a long time. So I guess I went without huge expectations. But she is amazing. After 20 minutes or so of chatting in English, she said, "I think 30 minutes is almost over. Can we talk about church in Korean now?"

A car ran over her foot in January, and for some reason it still isn't healed--so she's at home most of the time, goes to the doctor every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. She's 23--born the same year, 1987, as me and Sister Lee. That's important here.

Yesterday we met a woman in her seventies, again, who the elders had met. She studied piano and vocal performance at university, and we showed her the baby grand piano in the chapel and she played through some of our hymns. She had me sing for her, and she said I would be really good if I had better technique. She brought us two sacks filled with about twenty apples each. We talked about the Book of Mormon and gave her a copy.

And another new investigator who called us up on Sunday and said she wants to get baptized at the end of September. Like I said, our miracles this week were people.

I love you all,

Carrie

Letter from 27 August 2009

Hello! Not much time again--I'm sorry. Today we went to the zoo in Seoul Grand Park with the Olympic judge. She's officially dropped as an investigator, but not as our surrigate grandmother. I love spending time with her. She's waiting for us.

This week we had zone conference with other missionaries, and we ment a sister who will be a missionary for the next six weeks to keep the number of sisters serving together even. It took a bit to piece together her story. Turns out she lives here, joined the church six months ago. She's an actress, and was the lead in "My Girlfriend is an Agent" (if you want to look it up). She got up and told us the story of her conversion. I really want to serve with her...maybe because she's a movie star. But...more, I would really like to spend six weeks with someone with her faith. She is on fire with faith, lit up because of the gospel.

I love you all, have a wonderful week.

--Carrie

Letter from 20 August 2009

I promised Sister Lee just ten more minutes four minutes ago--I have to write quick! We went with other missionaries to a war memorial museum today, and there isn't much time for email! It was good--learned some new things.

I wanted to share some Korean moments I had this week...

--Proselyting (sp?) carrying about 20 pounds of kimchee. A member gave it to us. She made it last November. We eat it for lunch.
--Hitting my head on the corner of a brick wall bowing goodbye to an investigator after a teaching appointment last night. Fortunately it was dark (though maybe the reason I didn't see the wall coming) and everyone was busy saying goodbye, so I don't think anyone saw.
--Having my bag and everything in it smell like soy sauce and garlic after carrying around a mix of sauce left over after a ward dinner.

Also, an investigator (who we dropped that night--sad. Lots of those lately) took us to eat Vietnamese noodles. She had been to Vietnam, and so I was asking her about it as we ate. She said, they're Communist, you know? I didn't know. I should have. I heard that and I thought, oops, we lost that war, didn't we?

We've been visiting a lot of less active members lately--well, maybe three this week? One of the women finally said it--you can tell the missionaries anything, they just come and go. These people tell us exactly why they're not coming to church. I just wish my Korean was better--and that I had some answers for them. I just have "missionary answers," as someone once put it. Pray. You can always pray, even when other things look to hard. Read the scriptures--that's one way we can get answers, and sometimes we find things that are specifically for us. Everyone is human--everyone makes mistakes. The Savior knows everything we're going through, and He will help us as we turn to Him.

I know those things are true. I know they are. I just hope...I hope people will listen--well, not listen, but try for themselves.

I love you all, have a great week.

--Carrie

Letter from 13 August 2009

Byun Shin jeong got baptized on Saturday. She was excited. I was excited that she was excited. The next day, Sunday, when we got to church 20 minutes early, the other missionaries told us she had already arrived. This week we wanted to meet with her at a member's house to talk about the temple, but she said, sorry, I'm busy. She's attending the world-wide Korean Young Adult Conference that's being held this week.

Some other good things this week. We have really not been busy lately--not a lot of investigators, people to meet with (that's not the good thing!). One night, looking desperately for an appointment, I saw a name on a role from church that I didn't recongize and asked if we could come. It turns out the woman was baptized a couple years ago, and last year, just decided to stop going to church. She said we could come by, and as we were visiting, she said flat out she had no intention of going to church again. But she told us to come visit her at her work--she works at a daycare, where kids get care for free (this week she's going camping with them). And she said we'd probably be able to meet with her sons, too.

And we met a new person on Sunday--her son was recently baptized. We asked if we could teach her more about our church, and she said yes. The family is just the two of them--mom and son. I hope they will be able to start doing this together.

The past two days were rainy--aparently, this year is especially rainy. It was a nice respite from the heat, though. And last night, when the rain cleared out, the air was clear, that beautiful early-evening sun shined. People on the street started pulling out cell phones to take pictures of a full rainbow that had appeared.

Have a wonderful week!

Letter from 5 August 2009

Hello!

Transfer week--but no changes here. I'll stay in the same place with Sister Lee.

The number of people we're meeting with is still...small and smaller:( That means we have had time, though, to meet with more members. I am terrible with directions, and Korean names are really hard for me to remember, so that means I've been spending a lot of time--trying to!--figuring out who the members of the wards are, what areas they live in, etc.

Tuesday morning I was looking over names, pictures, and looking at someone's picture--Choi Dong hee--I thought, "we haven't visited her yet, have we?" We hadn't. I called her and asked if we could stop by that afternoon. She said sorry, but she had other plans. Then a few minutes later, she called back and asked, "what time can you come?"

We went and talked and visited, and shared a message--a passage from a General Conference talk, about how parents can give children good education, lessons, etc, but if they haven't given them faith, they haven't given them much at all. Choi Dong hee said earlier that day, after we had called, she thought that maybe the missionaries really should come by. So she cancelled her other apointment and called us back up. She said those were words she needed to hear. It was a neat experience.

Also this week, Byun Shin jeong set a baptism date--she's getting baptized on Saturday! We were teaching a lesson and had planned to set a date with her. She easily goes off on other topics, and when we were talking about something like house cleaning, I decided it wasn't the most spiritual moment and figured it would have to wait till the next time. And then, after some comments about mopping, I think, my companion, Sister Lee, said something like, "So when are you going to get baptized?" Byun Shin jeong kind of thought for a second, pulled out her cell phone and looked at the calendar on it...and decided on Saturday.

The singles her age in the ward have been wonderful to her--she spends time with them; we had dinner together with one, Kim Soon hee, Tuesday after Byun Shin jeong's interview. We had never been to Kim Soon hee's house--but Byun Shin jeong had, maybe three times before. I'm excited for her, and I think things will go well on Saturday.

Have a great week!

--Carrie

Letter from 29 July 2009

Hello!

Sometimes I get letters or emails from people and they have great news, they've been up to interesting things...and I think about what I can write back, and there isn't a whole lot! A mission is actually kind of regular--pretty much the same schedule, doing the same things, teaching the same lessons...or maybe I just need to see life more creatively.

This week we had another lesson with Byun Shin Jeong. She's the one we've met with for awhile, she's thinking about baptism. During the lesson she asked me all of a sudden what I was looking for in a husband. I'm not quite sure why she was thinking about that...anyway, she said the members of are church are pretty much what she's looking for. She wants to marry someone who doesn't drink, who doesn't smoke, who's good with kids, and who's a good dancer. She said it's really rare that men in Korea don't drink or smoke--and she said that the church members were good to their kids, to family. It was interesting to hear her talk about it--talk about it like she was already a member of the church!

This is the last week of the transfer--I find out this Saturday what will happen with companions, areas, etc. So I'll let you all know!

Much love,

Carrie

Letter from 23 July 2009

Hello!

I think we've gotten through monsoon season. I was asking around--people said it lasts 2-3 weeks. It hasn't rained since a huge storm that hit right as we were walking home last week. We got off the subway--though in this area it's above ground. We were at the station and had a few minutes before we needed to head back to our apartment, so wanted to talk to people there--but hardly could, it was so loud! There was lighting and thunder clapping, but mostly just the sound of rain pounding on the roof made it so we couldn't hear people we were trying to talk to, and they couldn't hear us. We left the station--kind of took a deep breath before going out in the rain. The umbrella hardly did any good--there was standing water on the sidewalks that we had to slosh through, my dress got wet at the bottom and wicked water until it was mostly all wet; as we were walking somehow even my hair got wet.

But it hasn't rained since then.

The woman we met in the elevator two weeks called us up suddenly last Friday. We had asked her to read the Book of Mormon. She was reading it Friday afternoon, and thought it was strange, and couldn't understand it, so she called us and told us she didn't want to meet us anymore. We went up to the 19th floor one more time and said goodbye. It was kind of like a breakup.

We've had a few other parting-of-ways lately.

But we're finding people, too. The whole process just keeps going. We met a grandmother, Lee Hyun Sook, her daughter, and granddaughter for the first time this week. The grandmother has some friends who are members of the Church, and wanted to do the English program with her granddaughter. We met on Sunday and introduced ourselves, talked some about the program and introduced our gospel message. We met again on Tuesday--with the grandmother, her granddaughter, Ji min, and grandson, Bom (they're cousins). Bom is staying with them for the six-week school vacation. His mother recently died of cancer. He and Ji min are the same age (9 American age), have the same glasses. We practiced English together, and they--and their grandmother--all know a lot.

At one point, Bom asked his grandmother in Korean: "How do you say 'past' in English?" She told him, and then he said, "I am happy past." "Because of his mother," Lee Hyun Sook said. It broke my heart! The whole family attends church and knows a lot about spiritual, church things. We were telling about how Joseph Smith was confused about how there were so many churches and religions, so he prayed to know which one to join, and Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him to answer his prayer. When Ji min heard that, she said wait, God is a spirit, not a body. I showed her Genesis 1:25-26, talking about how we were created in God's image...and was amazed about how I was showing that, explaining that to a 9-year-old. At the beginning of the lesson, when I asked who God was, Bom (also 9) said "Jesus is his only begotten son." Ji min said the closing prayer for the lesson, and did so beautifully. They are truely part of a wonderful family and are being raised so well. I was grateful for that example.

I love you all, I hope you have a wonderful week.

--Carrie

Letter from 16 July 2009

I've been trying to write down fun quotes again. I want to keep sharing them.

I'm sorry about last week! We had a big meeting on Thursday--the whole mission got together to hear a professor from BYU talk about Korean history and religion. Travel time, and then some technical difficulties with computer resulted in...last week's short email.

It was a great lecture, though, and wonderful to see the other missionaries. It's the first time we've met all together. Now that I live in a house of just two instead of four sisters, it feels like I know the elders--the male missionaries--better. And they're a lot of fun!

We had a neat experience on our way to come email last week. A woman in the elevator started talking to us as we were coming down from our apartment to come email. She's lived there a few years, and has seen the missionaries come and go. We set an appointment to meet her, and we've already met her three times since last week. She lives on the 19th floor. We live on the 6th.

We've had some other neat appointments recently. Last week, we finished the six-week English program with Kim Jeong-ah--had our last lesson.Kim Jeong-ah lives never married, lives alone. She teaches yoga as a hobby, and is the kind of person who seems comfortable in any situation with any person.

After English time, we started gospel time, and asked her if she had read the Book of Mormon. After she said it was hard, we started to talk about some ways of doing it--looking at topics, we suggested. We pulled out the Book of Mormon Introduction card we use, with some questions on it and where to find the answers in the Book of Mormon for another example of how to study. And all of a sudden she said--I've wondered about that question.

It was a question about why God allows suffering to occur. We read the passage the card suggested--about Alma and Amulek, how they taught people the gospel, but then the people who believed were burned. We read what they wrote, and talked about the principles of free agency--how the persecuters had that choice--and of justice--how they couldn't choose the consequences. We talked about how God is just, and how the atonement makes things just.

And to end the lesson, we sang to her. We sang a church song, a children's song about prayer. She loved it, and she sang a song for us--a song about God. There was just a sweet feeling in the lesson. She bought us ice cream on our way to the bus stop, and we said goodbye.

We had dinner again last night with Kim Jeong-jah, the retired international gymnastics judge. Recently for English time she has me correct the autobiography she's writing in English--she decided it would be good language practice, and, she said, every day is the same for her, so instead of writing a journal, she would write about her past. She is endlessly interesting to me. She was born in North Korea, and her and her family were refugees twice during the Korean war. Her husband--her "kid's father," as she says it--was a fencer on the Korean national team and competed in the Olympics. He would come in every night at curfew (there was a curfew--at midnight), and later moved to California and owned a dollar store. She finished a book a couple of years ago about rhythmic gymnastics, and gave me a signed copy.

We invited her to be baptized this week. She didn't really answer. She did say, though, that she had been thinking. Thinking about if her husband had been a member of this church, which teaches no drinking. She's come to church a couple of times, said a few times that maybe she could see herself joining it.

I hope so.

I love you all dearly, and I hope you have a wonderful week!

--Carrie

Email from 2 Weeks Ago

Hello everyone!

A few notible events this week. We went to a fish market with an investigator--the woman who judged gymnastics in the Olympics for years. We went to a tank, and she picked out a fish, and an octipus (sp?). As the man fished them out and got a stick with a hook on it ready, a woman was tying on a big, thick rubber apron...he wacked the fish once on the head with the flat end of the stick, the gills splayed out, and the woman cut it up right there, and another employee chopped up the octipus. They layed everything out neatly, and we went upstairs and ate it at a restaurant--raw fish wrapped in lettuce with spicy sauce; the octipus still moving, its suckers sticking to our chopsticks. Sister Gubler asked how long it keeps moving. "About an hour," she said.

Yesterday, we met with an investigator, Byun Shin jeong who met some members at the English academy where she works. She doesn't like the job--she said it was kind of amazing that she worked there, met that person there, and met us. She stopped progressing for awhile, and now, all of a sudden, she's progressing again. When we meet with members, they all really encourage her to get baptized. Yesterday we got so close to setting a date. We had the calendar out. If you don't mind praying for someone, go ahead and pray for her.

Today was transfers--the last six weeks went by fast! Sister Gubler moved to another area, and now I'm senior with Sister Ee Yae Ji--Sister Lee is the English version. Senior. This will be an adventure.

I love you all, have a wonderful week!

--Carrie

Letter from 1 July 2009

Hello!

This morning, I was doing crunches in the park, and an "aunt," as thery're called here--an woman in maybe her 60's or 70's--came up to me and said I was doing it wrong. She held my knees and counted loudly to ten (in case everyone wasn't staring at the foreigner already) as I did full situps. She said something about *that's* the way you loose weight on your stomach, and walked away.

This week, we met with Yoon Dong-hee, who talked about the "aunts." She said sometimes they're called the "third gender." They have opinions, do what they want to do, have strong wills. Strong. Not male or female, Yoon Dong-hee said. The third gender.

We've been meeting Yoon Dong-hee for maybe four weeks now. We go out on the bus on Monday mornings and meet her at a community center near the girls dorm where she lives. She's a graduate student, wants to practice English. She always gives us something to eat or drink when we see her--last time, she brought a plate of mandu wrapped up in newspaper and two sets of chopsticks that she had prepared at her apartment. Her mother is a preacher, and she said she believed in religion, but nothing specific. She kind of has the same view a lot of people do, it seems--Christ, Buddha, others were good teachers. The mountain analogy: there are many paths, but they all lead to the top.

But she's progressing, which is amazing. She reads the Book of Mormon, asks questions about it. She prays. She wants to attend church. And now...we're passing her off to another set of missionaries. She's technically in our area, but the church building that's closer is in another area.

We also met with Byun Shin-jeong again this week. We talked more about baptism. She lost her job, and she's planning on taking an exam the next two weeks on Sunday (Koreans are often taking tests, and more often studying for them). She knows she can attend church one of the two, but isn't sure about the other week. She said she wants to wait a little longer before she's baptized--because you have to keep going to church after you're baptized, right? That's how she asked it. She gets it.

I also got letters this week--and was so, so grateful for them. They were filled with kind words, testimonies of the Savior and the atonement. They helped me when I was feeling a little down. So thank you, thank you, thank you.

Much love,

Carrie

Letter from 10 June 2009

Hello!

Last night I was filling out a teaching record for a lesson we had taught when Sister Lee came in to the study room asking Sister Gubler to make cookies that she could include in a package she was sending home. Sister Gubler makes cookies often for members, people we visit or who do nice things for us. She wasn't sure there was enough dough left of what she had made for Sister Lee's family, too, though. So I said--should we make them? Now? We had 25 minutes before bed. Sister Lee and I did it together. She hadn't made cookies before. This morning, I asked her, "how was it?"

"Easy," she said.

We visited a lot of members yesterday. Lately I kind of feel like a diplomat. To a foreign country. We meet with members, and as we meet, I always have a few goals in mind: show that they can trust us--that we're capable and responsible and nice and dedicated; figure out when they might be available to teach with us (we always want to teach lessons with members); figure out how to help them do missionary things--if they know someone interested in meeting, or trying to show them how to share the gospel with someone; help them feel the Spirit and feel uplifted. And get in and out without the appointment lasting forever.

And without them feeling pressured. That's where the diplomatic skills come in, I think. Yesterday we visited with three members or families. The last appointment was with a family (part of them were home) who just joined the church in February. And I wanted so badly for them to think about who to share the gospel with and take action and do it--the prospect of them doing that seemed so exciting--that I just kind of flat out said it. Who do you know you could share the gospel with? And then the mom spent the next ten minutes or so talking about how awkward doing that is, how other people think our church is "ee-dan" (cult? unorthodox? I don't know if there's a good translation), etc, etc. So that really isn't the way to ask, I realized. Oops.

A few weeks ago we met with a young mother who just moved to a new apartment. I asked if there was anyone who lived around there who might be good to visit. And she talked about her neighbours, how she would like to talk to them about church, but it's hard sometimes. We talked about the power of example, and tried to encourage to continue building friendships in the area (she seemed really lonely, actually). A better way to ask, I think.

Anyway, I feel diplomatic.

I'm realizing, too, that with teaching, with being a missionary, there is endless room for improvement. There is always something new to try, always something to do better. Tonight we will be doing a lesson with a member and her neighbour who was asking questions about the church. It's just the second time we'll meet. We want to talk about the Plan of Salvation, and also about baptism, and ask her to be baptized. I've taught about baptism a lot. Lately, our mission president has been stressing a lot the doctrine of baptism, and studying about it this morning, I realized that same thing: endless room for improvement. It makes me nervous for tonight. But it should be fine. Good. It will be good.

I send my love!

--Carrie

Letter from 3 June 2009

Really short today!

Yesterday we met with an amazing member family. They lived in New Zealand for about two years, but when they heard a talk about how members need to help strengthen the church in their own countries, they moved back to Korea.

Their oldest daughter speaks wonderful English with a beautiful New Zealand accent, and is smart and a good studier, but they decided to take her out of high school so she could study at home. Her parents didn't like how they couldn't have dinner together as a family ever--high school students stay at school late, late studying.

I was amazed at their courage to make these decisions, and at the blessings that came from them. They had a strong, loving family, and it made me (again) want my family and home and children to grow based on gospel principles.

Choi Hee sook, who we set the date with, couldn't come to church this week. So the date will be pushed back. This way, though, she will be able to prepare better for baptism.

Out of time!

Have a wonderful week,

Carrie

Letter from 28 May 2009

It will be a quick one this week.

We met again with the investigator from North Korea last night, Choi Hee sook. And we set a baptisimal date with her! I get worried when we talk about baptism. I worry people don't understand it, or that they aren't ready for it, or that they're not doing it for the right reasons. So I was worried when we were talking about it last night, and invited her to be baptized. But as we did, I had that same kind of feeling I did meeting with the group who got baptized and then left for Fiji. A good feeling. A feeling that surprized me. Choi Hee sook said she would work at changing things around at work so she could attend church, and she was excited when we talked about June 7th.

Wednesday was a good day. Kind of a strange one. We hadn't had investigators who were available during the day, and we spend time walking, riding the bus, and meeting with a member. A bit later we met with a woman other missionaries met and referred to us. We met on the street, and were going to walk to the church to do a lesson there, but she really struggled walking. So we just sat down on some steps near the sidewalk, and taught the first lesson like that. It wasn't the ideal situation--we kind of attracted attention. I don't think it was the most comfortable setting for her (I'm pretty much used to looking weird and standing out by now, so it wasn't strange at all for me). It ended up that two other people came up to us and requested Books of Mormon from us.

So things keep going.

I love you all, and hope you have a great week.

--Carrie

Letter from 20 May 2009

Hello!

It was kind of a long week. But I got through the first one in the new area with new companions...things should start speeding up from here.

I'm enjoying the threesome. It has a very different dynamic. When we visit people they are kind of surprized that there's three people, but at this point it isn't weird for us. That's kind of true for a lot of things about missionary work, though--it's kind of strange for other people, but not at all for us.

Like praying all the time. In the MTC, there was a Korean tutor we could meet with for thirty minutes at a time. She would always have us start with a prayer, which was strange to me then, but now...why not start with a prayer?

Also when we tell people we live together, or when we explain why we only have one cell phone number (we're always together), they are a little surprized. But that's what missionaries do!

I'm enjoying getting to know my companions, too. So my last compaion, Sister Bang, made sure I started using eye cream. Now Sister Lee (my companions are Sister Gubler and Sister Lee Yae Gi) told me I need to wash my feet every night before I go to bed. "Think about it," she said, "walking around all day with your feet in your stockings." So now I wash my feet at night.

Sister Lee also eats more Korean than Sister Bang did. Sister Lee said she needed rice at every meal...then she said, well, two out of three is okay. We ran out of rice this week. On Sunday had packed a small lunch that we ate in the kitchen at the church building after the meeting--crackers, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, cookies Sister Gubler made. It was the second meal without rice--Sister Lee refused to eat.

We had a good dinner that night, though. The ward's bishop and his family invited the members over to his house for dinner. There were at least fifty people--but seating is a lot more efficient when you sit on the floor, I've noticed. We had an investigator who came--someone we're meeting with and teaching.

Her name is Choi Hee sook, and she's from North Korea. She is looking for the right church. I was currious about meeting with her. We taught a lesson last week, and she started talking about North Korea. I really wish I could have understood more of what she said. I really wish that. She talked about how people are so poor they don't have rice--they eat barley or corn. And she told us how no one knows about the Bible, about religion.

After meeting with her...before, in my mind, North Korea was just a political ananomly (sp?), some fluke in history and government. I don't know how to describe it...maybe like looking at those old Soviet propaganda posters. You know what's behind them isn't quite right, but they're foreign looking and far enough away from you personally and historically that you don't have to worry about it.

After the appointment though...I just got maybe a sliver more of understanding. There was also a member at the appointment with us. Choi Hee sook has been in South Korea for about nine years now, and the member looked at me and said, "you haven't seen your family for a few months, but can you imagine nine years?" And then I asked if you could send letters to North Korea, or email (because I really can't imagine nine years), and they just laughed. Of course you can't just send a letter to North Korea. And people don't have computers.

That night I thought about it...how even if it was a historical fluke the way I thought, what it comes down to is that it affects normal people every day. They are so close from here, but their lives are completely different. Members take us out to eat and overfeed us...and within a few hours they can't afford rice--or there isn't rice. All of a sudden it felt a lot more real. This is definately a learning experience, as a missionary. In a lot of different ways.

I hope you all have a wonderful week, and I send my love.

--Carrie

Letter from 13 May 2009

Transfer day!

Sister Bang and I got up at 4:45 this morning to head to Shindorin subway station. It's a central point in the mission, so on transfers, everyone moving meets at the same point. So this morning at 7:00 there was a heard of white shirted foreigners. Quite a sight.

I found out on Saturday that I would be moving, and so the last few days I've had some unexpected feelings. It is sad to say goodbye to people. It has been gratifying to realize I love them and appreciate them, and that maybe I mattered a little bit to them, too. And it's been exciting to think about the new experiences, especially new people, waiting for me in this area.

Yesterday was a good last day in Yeongdong. We had a district meeting, them met with Jeong Tae ja. She's middle-aged, we met her on the subway. She invites us over and cooks for us and talks, and we try to get a lesson in. She dilligently attends another church, and so considering that, and how long visits always ended up taking, we weren't sure if we should keep meeting with her.

During our visits, Sister Bang figured out Jeong Tae ja's husband knew a member of the church from Sister Bang's home town. And after awhile we found out...her husband had been baptized and joined our church when he was in college. This friend baptized him.

So it didn't feel like just chance that we were meeting with her, though she didn't seem to be really understanding what we were teaching--more like she would hear things she wanted to hear. But yesterday we met, and we read from the Book of Mormon together. We tried to explain again how it's not just a good book, but that if it's true the church is true (like her, a lot of people accept the Book of Mormon, they just don't see the implications).

She is really involved in her church, and Sister Bang and I weren't sure that her changing religions was really a possibility. But yesterday when we met, she started talking.... I have a really hard time understanding her when she speaks, so I had to check with Sister Bang after. But I heard right--she was saying that if it was right, she would come to our church.

I also got to see a few more church members yesterday who we had gotten to know, and a newer investigator we've been meeting with--Nam-Goong Yoo ran. She is learning nail art and has a dream to do it in America. And in the evening we had an appointment with Nam Gi yeon. She was actually really distressed that I was leaving. She's the investigator we would sing pop songs with during English time. She asked me which one had been my favorite, and we sang it together. I promised I would never forget her. And I really don't think I can.

And then that night I finished packing like mad--stopped folding things even, just throwing them in. So now unpacking is a mess. I think because people rely so heavily on public transportation here, shipping things is really inexpensive. I packed up two good-sized boxes that Sister Bang arranged to get sent (total: about 14,000 won, so about $14) and somehow still filled up my two suitcases. I will have to eliminate things. Especially since a wheel broke on one of the suitcases. It got really heavy at that point.

My new area is Anyang stake. We cover five wards--I'm not excited about that part of it! At least I'm a little more keyed in at this point, so getting to know people and areas will be a bit easier this time around, I think.

I'm in a threesome. Sister Gubbler is from California. She has three transfers left, so has lots of experience! She is Sister Lee Yae gi's trainer. Lee Yae gi is from Daejeon (in the southern part of Korea), and this is her second transfer.

This transfer will definately have a very different dynamic. I'm a "co-senior" companion with Sister Gubbler. In Korea, age is really important. The American "age group" of "peers" and "friends" gets a heirarchy. You are "friend" (for lack of a better translation)--which means you were born in the same year--or an "older sister/brother" or a "younger sister/brother." Sister Bang explained to me that we would never be called "friends" in Korean, since she is older than me. We would be a "friendly older sister" and I would be a "friendly younger sister" (again, for lack of a better translation). And Sister Bang and I were friends in the English sense of the word, but at the same time she really was my older sister ("oni") in the Korean sense. And different than just a junior and senior companion. She would have me sit down on the subway if there was just one seat. She would tell me things I needed to change. Made sure I took medicine if I was sick. Made sure my bag wasn't too heavy. That kind of thing.

And when I was dragging the suitcase with the broken wheel, I realized I didn't have an "oni" anymore! The threesome feels right, though. It will be different, but it will be good. A friend from the MTC wrote me awhile ago. She was in a threesome and said she actually really liked it--there wasn't so much guessing about what the other person was feeling/thinking. Also, I'm seeing that I will be able to take more responsibility now without my "oni." So for several reasons, I think it will be good. An adventure, too.

Much love,

Carrie

Letter from 6 May 2009

Hello!

The weather is warming up fast here. Spring brought yellow and white forcithia bushes, cherry blossoms and magnolia trees all over, and now as they are leafing out there are bright pink and purple flowered bushes blooming all over the city. It is getting hot faster this year than normal, though, and the monsoon season is reportedly coming early--maybe the beginning of June. And after monsoon season, Sister Bang tells me, is when summer--hot and humid, from what I hear--officially starts.

The warm weather makes me think of all sorts of happy memories--summer has good associations, with school letting out, family vacations, and also thinking about this time last year making arrangements, going to interviews, really getting ready to go on a mission.

Also, I caught a cold this week, and oddly, that has brought up unexpected memories, too. Like the comfort of going to the doctor's office with my mom when I was little. And also, all of a sudden Korea smells like it did when I first came--I had a cold when I came...the two must be connected. Interesting, the things that bring up memories.

And interesting, too, that I have a few memories to look back on in Korea, as a missionary. All of a sudden I'm towards the middle of my mission, not the beginning! I still feel like I'm just figuring things out, though!

People are becoming more important, too. We are still meeting with Nam Gi Yeon. We sing pop songs with sad lyrics together when we do English practice. When we do gospel lessons, she summarizes bit by bit the things she's read in the Book of Mormon, and asks questions about the House of Israel and Moses. Yesterday when we met, she asked for help reading some letters from nearly 30 years ago. When she was a school girl, her and a friend met two foreigners on the subway--one from France, one from Switzerland. They were traveling the world, and the one from Switzerland send her some postcards, a couple of letters. And then they lost touch, but she kept the letters.

And we meet three times a week with Kim Mi Yeong, but just twice this week because Monday was Children's Day--a "red day," so kids had it off from school, adults off from work. It was fun to see families out and about together. It's just a day to make kids happy.

Kim Mi Yeong asks about how to actually use the atonement. She wants to know if God lives, about Jesus Christ. As we meet, I try, I hope she sees that with prayer, with reading in the scriptures, attending church--as she searches out and learns, she will come to know. She will come to feel God's existance, and Christ's love. That's how all of us do it.

I am seeing more and more that knowing things, that the Church, the gospel, is a process, not a somewhere where you arrive, and then you're set. We have a whole lifetime--for a reason, I think. We need time. It's step by step, and each step comes with greater joy, with a greater ability to feel peace. And that's why it matters.

I love you all, and I hope you have a wonderful week.

--Carrie

Letter from 29 April 2009

Hello!

It was another good week. I feel like I learned a lot this week.

Like how being capable is a process. For a long time I had the idea that if I just decided to do things right, I could do them all right--so I guess I thought if I just concentrated a little harder, I could be perfect. Maybe a couple of months ago the sisters in the mission got together on preparation day for lunch, and the two leaving soon were asked to give a few words of wisdom. One of them said that on her mission, she has learned that God doesn't expect immediate perfection, just immediate progression. And that kind of sums up what I've started to realize.

And I am seeing that we're all just works in progress. I am a better missionary that I was when this began--and a better person, I hope. But I haven't "arrived." I don't think we ever do--thank heavens. There are always other lessons, other challenges--so things won't get boring! And we've been given a whole lifetime to keep working at it.

And one other big lesson this week. Before I cam on my mission, I had felt the joy that comes from obedience and following the Lord--that He really does direct us to the paths that will make us happiest. I tell people often, when we talk about prayer and getting answers and direction, about how I chose a university. I didn't particularly want to go to BYU. But I prayed about where I should go, and it felt right. And I when I followed that prompting, I really did find joy. I found good friends, there are good classes for my major, I had opportunities to do research. When we follow the Lord, he leads us to be more happy.

Joy comes from following, but I think it comes from service, too. And sacrifice. I don't feel like I am doing a lot as a missionary. I don't speak much Korean, and I can't tell you which way is north when we're looking for houses for appointments. I misunderstand people's questions and have a hard time remembering the names of ward members at church. But this week...the members we had taught who were just baptized, came to church and one had brought a friend, and we met another at home...nothing in particular, except realizing I loved them, I wanted the best for them, and that there is joy in that, too.

Have a good week,

Carrie

Letter from 22 April 2009

Hello!

It's been a good week. Maybe I'll work backwards.

Yesterday we had a zone conference--a long meeting, filled with good things and lots of things to do better. Life is a work in progress. Goodness. A member took us out to dinner, and we had a lesson with Song Bo mi, the middle school student who just got baptized. We talked about the temples, and she listened so closely, looked at pictures, asked questions. It is amazing meeting with her. On the subway on the way home, we ended up talking with a woman who attended the Church and read the Book of Mormon when she was in college--fifty years ago. It was really extraordinary. The Church had just come to Korea fifty years ago--it was so small. She must have seen a really neat time.

Meeting with her, I wondered what I usually wonder seeing or meeting with older people--what they have seen. Korea has changed so dramatically in the last fifty years since the war. I want to hear their stories, their memories. See what they can see when they think back.

Tuesday we jumped rope for exercise and met with Kwak Kyon Jin, who lives upstairs in a two level house, and has to wave an umbrella in front of the dog chained at the bottom of the stairs to distract him so we can go up.

Monday an investigator fed us bi bim bap and her husband figured out his friend knows my companion, Sister Bang. His friend is a stake president.

Sunday we did a companion exchange, and I went to Kangdong ward for the first time. A woman who showed up at English class on Saturday asked me to correct an essay for her, and said she'd come to church so we could look it over on Sunday. She came and sat in another room during the meeting, working on her essay.

Saturday there were only two people at English class. We met a member--a high school student--and practiced English and did a gospel lesson at the church. There was a ward activity going on later that night, and half the ward primary children came in in a herd, and we talked to all of them about how Joseph Smith restored Christ's gospel.

Friday I didn't write in my journal.

Thrusday--preparation day--Sister Bang and I found an art museum on a map. We went, and it turned out they had a special Gustav Klimpt exhibit. I had wanted to see it--I had seen it advertized--so I was really excited. We also got hearded into some opening event where they were serving a buffet. A nice buffet. Catered. Sister Bang asked a few times--are you sure we can eat?

Yes, yes, they said. Enjoy.

I love you all!

--Carrie

Letter from 15 April 2009

A few lessons this week.

Last week I had met with a new investigator along with a member--Sister Bang was busy helping get ready for the baptism service. We met, I introduced the 30/30 English program, we introduced ourselves in English, introduced the Book of Mormon, and set a next appointment.

Especially with the English program, I've felt like in the first meeting, we need to do what we say we're offering. We say we'll do English then teach about our church. I've felt like, when we first meet people, if we don't do English and teach about our church (what's promised), they will feel like we're wasting their time.

This investigator, though, dropped by the next week. Sister Bang was making phonecalls the day of the drop, and when she hung up, she looked at me and said, "you didn't do anything to build the relationship, did you?"

We had talked about it before--we had had a dinner appointment, and practiced a lesson for it, then practiced asking the people if they knew anyone else we could teach. At the appointment, though, there were lots of people, we weren't sure when we would leave because someone was giving us a ride...and the gospel message ended up just a card with a scripture on it Sister Bang slipped to the hostess and a "thank you."

After the two experiences--especially the "you didn't..." experience, I'm thinking my idea of meeting expectations and showing people they can trust us is maybe culturally different. I'll keep working on figuring it out. But I wish I had a Korean mind--things would be more effective, I think.

Another lesson from Sister Bang this week: eye cream. It started the day I looked in the mirror and said, "well, that one's new," looking at some of the lines around my eyes. Sister Bang found out I didn't use eye cream. She let me borrow hers (and followed up nightly to see that I used it) until the two of us could go to the store and I could get my own. Eye cream is expensive. I wondered what on earth I was doing, but then told myself the price was in won, it must not really be that much...

Have a wonderful week!

--Carrie

Letter from 8 April 2009

Hello!!

We had a baptism this week! Shin Dong oon, her neice and nephew Hyun jeong and Su hyun, and the family friend, Song Bo mi all got baptized and confirmed last weekend.

Two of the baptisimal interviews were done earlier, and then the two girls, Hyun jeong and Bo mi, got interviewed just the night before (Korean students are super, super busy--always at school or hak won--a private academy--studying). The girls went in one at a time, and as we waited, we did a short lesson with the one not being interviewed.

And then we just talked. Hyun jeong told me about the founding story of Korea. A bear and a tiger wanted to become human, so they talked to the son of heaven (I think), who told them to go to a cave and eat only garlic and mugroot for one hundred days. They tiger gave up on the ninety-ninth day. But the bear became a woman, and married the son of heaven. And that's how Korea was begun.

Later in the week, we were leaving one of the huge apartment buildings after meeting with a woman for English practice then a gospel lesson. A church member, Pak Yeong mi, had come with us, and as we were leaving, she pointed to some of the plants that are beginning to sprout with spring. She bent down and picked a green leaf and handed it to me, explaining that you could eat it. It was mugroot--쑥.

The baptism was on Saturday. The four are the first ones I have seen from the first lesson to baptism. That night Sister Bang and I did a companion exchange so she could help them get ready and a member--Kim Jeong sook--and I met with a new investigator. When Kim Jeong sook and I finished, we went into the hall and I saw Su hyeon dressed in white...it was a really impressive feeling.

I had a lot of feelings that night--I didn't quite expect to. I was happy and excited for them. And relieved. And really worried. Worried about them understanding what we taught, what they were promising with baptism.

They were confirmed the following Sunday in church. Shin Dong oon lead the line of four up to the front of the chapel, and sat down first to be confirmed. She looked really resolute as she walked up. She is in her thirties, really small, and each time we meet with her I think she is more beautiful. I was just impressed with her. And her courage.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Love,

Carrie