Honorific Teeth

2-11-09

This morning during Korean study I found out there is an honorific word for teeth. I am starting to realize some of the things that make Korean hard. Honorific things--different words for people above you. And that it's just plain different from English. I know four ways to say "and" now--between verbs, between nouns, at the end of a list, between sentences. I still don't really know how to make things negative (which sometimes makes things interesting), or really how to say "you," since Korean doesn't use "you," it uses titles, and I don't always know what title is appropriate.

It is coming, though. Last Sunday my companion and I did an exchange--she went to Songpa ward, and I went to Songnam ward for church. We had ward members as companions during that time. My companion, Kim Young mi, just got back from a mission in Pusan, Korea. The plan was that Sister Romney would be in Songpa for two people coming to church for the first time, and in Songnam I would teach a lesson to someone preparing to be baptized--Kim Jae rae--during church and after to someone who just started meeting with us.

Kim Jae rae's baptisimal date has kind of been moving around--just because of logistics. Her son is in the bishopbrick, though, and she's been attending church regularly for the past few months. She had been taught everything but the lesson on commandments--which is long, so Sister Romney and I had planned on breaking it up over two lessons in the next couple of weeks. Sunday morning, after talking with some of the ward members, she decided she wanted to be baptized the following Sunday.

So thank heavens for Kim Yong mi--we taught together the rest of what she needed to learn, and then I talked to the elders about an interview that day. I felt triumphant figuring all of this out in Korean--and excited the baptism was being moved up. Everything was good until I asked Jae rae's son for a form for her interview (because he's in the bishoprick), and he said (I summized) what's the rush? Just get baptized a bit later. Now the plan is March 1st.

Poor Sister Romney in Songpa--neither of the new people came to church, and she was frustrated we went through it all to arrange doing an exchange when they didn't come. The next (Monday) night, too, all of our plans for Tuesday except one appointment fell through. We called everyone we could think of and no one wanted to meet, do anything. She was an absolute wreck. Tuesday we were supposed to do a special training with two elders. They are finishing their missions--going home it two weeks--and the mission president gave them the assignment of spending a day with each companionship in the mission.

Originally we had a full day planned to do with them--four appointments--and they, and backup plans, just started to fall through. Sick. Busy. Freaked out by having four missionaries come to see her. Didn't what to meet with us again, period. Didn't answer. Can't visit because kids study at home. We went to bed not really knowing what we were going to do with this special day when we were supposed to learn alot and have a lot to do.

But it worked out wonderfully. It turned out we had the day open to ask questions we needed answers for. I had been so nervous about being overwhelmed by the training--overwhelmed by them shadowing us in lessons, about them judging me, judging us. I think it would have been hard for Sister Romney, too. Instead, we got to talk about how to do things better. How to help people come to church. How to find new people to teach. How to get ward members to trust us. How to encourage people and build them up and help them do things that will help them learn and progress. Questions about things we had been wondering about. It just turned out perfectly.

Well, I'm out of time, but I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Much love,

Carrie