Arrived in Korea (November 10)

Hello!

I cannot believe that I am in Korea right now...this is absolutely crazy. It seems like yesterday that I was in Provo trying to learn Korean. That is actually not a lie, I do not know much Korean... It has definitely been an interesting experience trying to communicate with people on the subway on the street. Bright side, people are more willing to talk to me when I lure them in with "May I practice 한국말?" Anyways, I am getting a bit ahead of myself...let us start at the beginning. ^^ (Oh yes, I just did that).

The plane ride to Korea was fairly enjoyable, but it is really hard to keep yourself busy and not watch videos. Luckily, I befriended one of the Korean sister missionaries and we chatted a lot about our interests and what we would like to do in the future. Her name is Sis. Ahn and she is from Pusan, South Korea which is located towards the south. I promised her that I would come visit sometime, but let us be honest...I will be poor as soon as I finish my mission.

President and Sister Morrise, Sister Chao, Sister Kim

After we arrived at the airport, the mission president notified us that we would be proselyting on the subway. This was at 10:40 at night....let us just say that most of the missionaries looked out of their minds. Also, can you imagine being on a subway and 35 missionaries enter. I definitely would have tried to avoid eye contact, but with that many people it is impossible. I actually was able to give one Book of Mormon away! It is all about strategic placement of the book and making eye contact as much as possible. Frankly, the most approachable people on the subway are old people. They are quite willing to listen without sassing you back. After proselyting for about an hour, we finally arrived at the mission home. 

Okay, fast forward time...this story is taking much to long. So my companion is Sis. Kim and she is a native Korean speaker. Win! She works incredibly hard and truly wants to make a difference. We are currently serving in the area of 분당, which is supposedly just as nice as Gangam. There are a lot of investigators and I am quite terrified to teach them. This brings us back to the beginning...what language have I been learning? I do not even know because no one understands a thing I am saying. Also, I keep agreeing with everything which is a terrible idea. I literally agreed with an investigator when she said "My food is disgusting." Sigh, bad times. Bad times.  Thank the lord for senior companions who are fluent in the language. I am actually learning a lot about hard work and the language from Sis. Kim. 

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to meet one of our investigators. She is about the same age as Popo and reminds me a lot of her. She is super lonely and loves it when the missionaries come to visit. She is illiterate, which makes teaching a bit difficult but she loves Jesus Christ. We are hoping to get her connected with the ward because she needs support and we will not be in the area forever. She has a baptismal date set for Nov. 23, which is not too far away! Tonight, we have an appointment with an 11 year old. Apparently, her mother was once active in the church but now is not as active as she used to be. The strange thing is that she wants her daughter to be active. We will see how it goes because apparently she is a hard one to win over.

Anyways, I am loving it here in Korea and I am keeping warm for the most part. I do not think it will be too bad here, but it is only Fall. I will definitely keep my eyes out for cute and reasonable winter boots...but I have giant feet. I’ll keep you posted. I love it in Korea and I will try my best to learn the language! I will chat with you soon.

사랑합니다!

-챠오 자매님

I have not seen Caitlin yet, but I will see her this weekend at the large mission conference. I cannot wait to see everyone! There are only 4 people in my apartment and it is quite fun. I still room with Sister Carter...Yay! The food here is so delicious!