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