02 Jan 2009
Hello!
Goodness, a lot happens in two weeks, I don't know what I should write about!
Happy New Years, first of all. I am now 23 Korean age. Age is according to what year you were born, so 1987-ers are in their 23rd year.
New Years, was our preparation day (but email places were closed--so emailing today). Some elders came by to put more insulation around our windows. The one has construction experience, I was relieved to find out (so we weren't just being girly by him coming to do it). He ended up taking off a set of windows that had been badly installed and refitting them--so the six of us (there are four sisters in the house) kind of spent the day together. Lots of tasty treats got baked and eaten. There was some guitar playing, and letter writing.
Sister Romney gave me the Christmas present she had forgotten about--a gongi set. Gongi (sp?) is kind of like jacks. You have five little...balls. You throw one up and try to grab one off the ground and then catch the one you threw. We're meeting with a Buddhist family--we practice English with the daughter, who is about nine. She loves gongi and showed us how to play. She says everyone knows how to do it because they played when they were little. Her mom and dad are both good at it, she says.
At our first visit with them, we gave a copy of the Family Proclaimation to the parents, who were both home. It turns out that was quite a coincidence--usually, when one gets home, the other leaves for work (the mom's a nurse and works odd shifts). Since, we have been able to teach gospel messages twice to the mom and daughter (and baby brother), but I'm just praying we can meet them all together--and more often. Both parents seemed to have some interest that first night.
Christmas was wonderful. It's really not a big holiday here, but the ward did have a Christmas party on Christmas Eve. There was a big dinner, and when we walked in to where tables were set up, Sister Romney were directed over to where the mission president and his wife and visiting daughter were sitting. After we sat down, feeling brave, I ventured over to another table where three ladies were sitting and tried to ask them what their names meant (they all mean something! like 샛별--Morning Star--or 민선--highest jewel. I love Korean names!). I had NO idea what they were saying for 90% of our conversation, but we smiled alot. And laughed. I still don't know about their names.
Sister Romney and I did a skit with the elders, and later there was a slide show. While waiting for some technical difficulities to get resolved, the brother who stood up and did the impromptu solo the other week sang a Christmas carole in (Korean) sign language. As I watched him sign in his white gloves, and looked around me, I thought about how I wouldn't be anywhere else in the world at that moment.
We also had our mission Christmas conference since I last wrote. The word came down that the sisters were borrowing hanbok--traditional clothing--for the conference. Sister Romney and I talked to someone in our ward, and a few days before the conference we went over to her apartment to pick them up. She showed us how to dress and did our hair (well, she did half and then had our companion do half, so it turned out a bit lop-sided), and we took pictures. And then she fed us.
We ended up with a dinner appointment that night, too. We are fed so often by members, and they so often send us on our way with things. The other day we looked someone up in the ward directory and visited her unannounced. It turns out she's been inactive awhile, and wasn't that happy to see us. But she let us in, and let us talk together, and gave us barley tea and fruit and sent us with two apples a peice and an entire bulk bag of frozen cream cheese that she had. Again, I just feel like I receive more love and gifts than I ever offer. I have had calm assurances, though, that God knows exactly how much I can (or can't, as the case may be) do right now, and that it's still the right place for me to be.
A few more experiences from the last two weeks. We met with a husband and wife in their car parts store. The husband had been meeting with the elders for about a year, practicing English and hearing the lessons. The elders finally decided to stop meeting with him, but he thought his wife might like to. She really wasn't interested in the church, and during a few moments of them hurrying around the shop and us waiting, I kept thinking things like...I'm in Korea...in a car shop...in Korea.... After talking about some things we probably won't be meeting again.
On Tuesday, we were at a bus stop, and I went up and bowed to a woman and introduced myself. I thought she said she wasn't interested, so I just gave her a flyer for the English program. We taped one up on a pole, too, as we waited. She looked at the flyer I handed her, and at the one on the pole, and came back to talk to me. We ended up meeting with her and her two daughters later that night. "A Korean first," as Sister Romney calls them.
It is often hard to connect to people through language, culture, fear...but this week one of the other sisters and I had a moment and I just wanted to do anything for her; and then talking to the daughters of the woman we met on the street, I wanted to really know them and everything about them. In the MTC, the lesson I seemed to be learning over and over was that everything is better with love. With charity. When you love someone, it doesn't matter so much what they do or don't do. And I started to feel that again this week. And I am very grateful. Hopefully, now, it will keep growing.
Have a wonderful week!
Carrie
Hello!
Goodness, a lot happens in two weeks, I don't know what I should write about!
Happy New Years, first of all. I am now 23 Korean age. Age is according to what year you were born, so 1987-ers are in their 23rd year.
New Years, was our preparation day (but email places were closed--so emailing today). Some elders came by to put more insulation around our windows. The one has construction experience, I was relieved to find out (so we weren't just being girly by him coming to do it). He ended up taking off a set of windows that had been badly installed and refitting them--so the six of us (there are four sisters in the house) kind of spent the day together. Lots of tasty treats got baked and eaten. There was some guitar playing, and letter writing.
Sister Romney gave me the Christmas present she had forgotten about--a gongi set. Gongi (sp?) is kind of like jacks. You have five little...balls. You throw one up and try to grab one off the ground and then catch the one you threw. We're meeting with a Buddhist family--we practice English with the daughter, who is about nine. She loves gongi and showed us how to play. She says everyone knows how to do it because they played when they were little. Her mom and dad are both good at it, she says.
At our first visit with them, we gave a copy of the Family Proclaimation to the parents, who were both home. It turns out that was quite a coincidence--usually, when one gets home, the other leaves for work (the mom's a nurse and works odd shifts). Since, we have been able to teach gospel messages twice to the mom and daughter (and baby brother), but I'm just praying we can meet them all together--and more often. Both parents seemed to have some interest that first night.
Christmas was wonderful. It's really not a big holiday here, but the ward did have a Christmas party on Christmas Eve. There was a big dinner, and when we walked in to where tables were set up, Sister Romney were directed over to where the mission president and his wife and visiting daughter were sitting. After we sat down, feeling brave, I ventured over to another table where three ladies were sitting and tried to ask them what their names meant (they all mean something! like 샛별--Morning Star--or 민선--highest jewel. I love Korean names!). I had NO idea what they were saying for 90% of our conversation, but we smiled alot. And laughed. I still don't know about their names.
Sister Romney and I did a skit with the elders, and later there was a slide show. While waiting for some technical difficulities to get resolved, the brother who stood up and did the impromptu solo the other week sang a Christmas carole in (Korean) sign language. As I watched him sign in his white gloves, and looked around me, I thought about how I wouldn't be anywhere else in the world at that moment.
We also had our mission Christmas conference since I last wrote. The word came down that the sisters were borrowing hanbok--traditional clothing--for the conference. Sister Romney and I talked to someone in our ward, and a few days before the conference we went over to her apartment to pick them up. She showed us how to dress and did our hair (well, she did half and then had our companion do half, so it turned out a bit lop-sided), and we took pictures. And then she fed us.
We ended up with a dinner appointment that night, too. We are fed so often by members, and they so often send us on our way with things. The other day we looked someone up in the ward directory and visited her unannounced. It turns out she's been inactive awhile, and wasn't that happy to see us. But she let us in, and let us talk together, and gave us barley tea and fruit and sent us with two apples a peice and an entire bulk bag of frozen cream cheese that she had. Again, I just feel like I receive more love and gifts than I ever offer. I have had calm assurances, though, that God knows exactly how much I can (or can't, as the case may be) do right now, and that it's still the right place for me to be.
A few more experiences from the last two weeks. We met with a husband and wife in their car parts store. The husband had been meeting with the elders for about a year, practicing English and hearing the lessons. The elders finally decided to stop meeting with him, but he thought his wife might like to. She really wasn't interested in the church, and during a few moments of them hurrying around the shop and us waiting, I kept thinking things like...I'm in Korea...in a car shop...in Korea.... After talking about some things we probably won't be meeting again.
On Tuesday, we were at a bus stop, and I went up and bowed to a woman and introduced myself. I thought she said she wasn't interested, so I just gave her a flyer for the English program. We taped one up on a pole, too, as we waited. She looked at the flyer I handed her, and at the one on the pole, and came back to talk to me. We ended up meeting with her and her two daughters later that night. "A Korean first," as Sister Romney calls them.
It is often hard to connect to people through language, culture, fear...but this week one of the other sisters and I had a moment and I just wanted to do anything for her; and then talking to the daughters of the woman we met on the street, I wanted to really know them and everything about them. In the MTC, the lesson I seemed to be learning over and over was that everything is better with love. With charity. When you love someone, it doesn't matter so much what they do or don't do. And I started to feel that again this week. And I am very grateful. Hopefully, now, it will keep growing.
Have a wonderful week!
Carrie
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