2nd Transfer is almost over!

Say What?

I cannot believe how much time has passed since I arrived in Korea. I probably should have learned a lot about things about being a good missionary and the language, but my learning curve is a lot lower than I anticipated. I kid, I am learning a lot about missionary work and perhaps the language. Sis. Kim says that I have improved a lot since arriving in Korea. 

This past week, Sis. Kim and I have had some pretty amazing and sketchy experiences. First, the most notable thing that happened this week was not the celebration of my birth, but 구덕레 finally coming to church. We have invited  구덕레 to church every Sunday since November, but she has never accepted our invitation because she did not want to offend the pastor of her current church. When she tried to tell the pastor that she was switching churches, the pastor said "If you want a happy in the end, if you stay in our church." It is safe to say that she was a bit terrified of leaving her church. Well to make a long story short...she came this past Sunday and loved it! She cannot wait to attend next week! Now we just have to work on finding a baptismal date.

Another one of our investigators 김숙 (Kim Sook) is progressing slowly, but surely. At first, she told us that she was only interested in learning about the gospel because her daughter was recently baptized in Hawaii. However, her interest has grown significantly as we have talked to her. The questions she asks are very deep and you can tell that she genuinely wants to know for herself. She has even defended our church during conversations with members from her church. We are hoping that she will continue to meet with us, but she is incredibly busy lately. 

Also, thank you for the birthday wishes! It really feels like I was born in and raised in Korea...minus the ability to talk. My birthday celebration started really early in the morning like 7:20 am when I got out of the shower. I was coming out of the bathroom when Sis. Kim, Sis. Carter, and Sis. Saunders started singing Happy Birthday while holding a cheesecake. Sis. Kim and I then went and street boarded for 6 hours that day. It was incredibly tiring, but we met a lot of people. One of the people that we met told Sis. Kim that she was going to Hell. Seriously, people are gems out here. :) After streetboarding, Sis. Kim and I went to Shabu Shabu with our favorite grandma. She loved the food and kept saying "Thank you to your family for this meal." I may try to smuggle her home with me. I don't think I will be able to leave her in Korea. 

Thank you for everything!

Love,

Sis. Melanie Chao