Oh 안양

안녕하세요!

I cannot believe that it is already P-Day! It seems like only yesterday that Sis. Kim and I were emailing our families and updating everyone on what is happening in 안양. 

Things have been going well, but this area is incredibly difficult. Street contacting is probably one of the scariest things I have to do as a missionary. Yesterday, my Korean just kind of clicked and I started understanding more of what people were saying to us. Yeah, I no longer have to wonder what people think of missionaries because I now know that the majority of them do not like us. Perhaps I will have to work on a less creepy approach or something. In all honesty though, who doesn't get creeped out when a stranger starts asking them where they are going and how was their day. I know I would. Sis. Kim has promised to help me work on conversations, but we have been too busy to role play lately. 

Sis. Kim and I are getting along very well. We essentially push each other to be better missionaries all the time, but also have a lot of fun together. Last night, we tried playing hide and seek together and just scared each other. 

I don't take pictures with Sis. Carter anymore because she is in a different zone. Sis. Wright transferred to the same area as me and her companion is best friends with my companion. It is safe to say that we will see each other a lot and I mean a lot. It is great because Sis. Wright and I just have child like fun when we are together. Last P-Day we decided to buy ice cream and eat in a closet because we wanted to share embarrassing mission stories without our companions hearing.

One of our investigators 강윤경s has a real sincere desire to believe in God, but has trouble believing that there is one because of things in the world. When she talked about what is preventing her from believing in God, I could not help but be reminded of my own conversion. I know that I had a really hard time believing in God because the world is just bad news. I don't think her conversion will happen the same way mine did, but I hope there are things we can do to help her know that God exists. 

남경연s is doing fine and has almost fully recovered from her minor heart attack. She is actually loving all the attention that ward members and the sister missionaries have been giving her. She really knows that the ward loves her, which is great. Sis. Kim Chun has the time of her life in 분당 and has picked up several new investigators. Unfortunately, she had to drop the other grandmother we were visiting because she was not progressing and has not been for a long time. It is incredibly sad, but perhaps she is not ready right now and needs time to figure out what she wants out of life. I don't know if she will actually think about it in that much detail, but hopefully she will get around to it. 

Um, I don't really wear the boots or rainboots anymore because I gave them to another sister in the ward. She really needed them and I didn't really need to wear them. The sister is so grateful to have them. She loves them, especially when she is working with the fisheries. I wear fleece tights all the time to keep my legs warm because they are super cheap in Korea. I don't really wear scarves because it isn't too cold where we are. I wear them when it is super chilly though. Don't worry, I have a great immune system and have yet to get sick! Yes! I mean...prideful. Knock on wood.

I wish I had something funny to tell you, but nothing funny has happened recently. At least nothing super noteworthy. Everything is just kind of "you had to be there" type of things. 

Today, Sis. Kim has challenged our zone to beat her badminton. If you didn't know already, Sis. Kim was almost an Olympian for Korea but had to stop because she had a super serious injury. She has been playing since she was little and has mastered her craft. So, like a completely sane person I told Sis. Kim that I would destroy her. Hahaha. We will see what happens.

Also, a general apostle is coming to Korea in May!! :D

I love you all!

-Sis. Chao

P.S. Oh my gosh, I do have a funny story for you. Every Friday, the elders and sisters volunteer at a social welfare center and serve lunch. The food that the people serve there is a bit sketch. The other day, Sis. Kim was super excited to eat a meat dish. I looked at the meat and it was super fatty and tough. I did not want to eat it at all, but Sis. Kim insisted that it was delicious. So, I tried to bite it but it wouldn't break. I asked Sis. Kim what it was, but she refused to tell me. Like any sane person, I asked the nice worker next to me and she essentially said that was meat from pig heads. I didn't even know that was edible.... ! May be I shouldn’t have asked! :D