Monday, July 28, 2014

안양....Transfer 5



안녕하세요!

Well, it is Transfer 5 in 안양 and I have to say that I am a bit excited. This past week, I said goodbye to Sis. Kelly and welcomed Sis. Nebeker. It definitely was sad to see Sis. Kelly go, but she is already enjoying herself in her new area. Her Korean is steadily improving because she has been practicing a lot with her companion.

So my new companion is Sis. Nebeker. She is not actually from Orem, but Salt Lake City. Apparently her father lives in Orem, Utah. Sis. Nebeker actually lived with Sis. Blickenstaff in 가정 house! Apparently that house is really nice and on the 30th floor. Crazy!!!

She is super nice and has a great attitude about missionary work. She is always striving to be obedient and has even pushed me to start running in the mornings. Oh how I dislike running. Haha, so I may actually become in shape this transfer in 안양! To be honest, I sit and stretch while she runs around the track. Don't worry, I promise I will do some speed walking or something. 

Other than that, this week has been really navigating how we can best work as companionship. I must say that at first it was a bit difficult, but that is because I am a weirdo. Sis. Nebeker always went to bed at 10:30 and I always talked after 10;30. Well, I am happy to announce that Sis. Nebeker and I have finally talked at night...it was hilarious. Don't worry, I will still go to bed around 10:30, but it is nice to have small chats at night. Plus, that is when all the profound deep doctrinal, but not necessarily important when it comes to salvation questions. Haha. 

Sis. Nebeker also really loves organization and SWEETS! This will be a great companionship. Okay, back to spiritual things. Sis. Nebeker is a fantastic missionary. On her first day here, she was super bold and gave out a Book of Mormon to someone who had relatively no interest in the gospel. Well today, that lady called us and said she wanted to meet! How awesome is that?! I am so excited to meet with her and so is Sis. Nebeker. 

I guess I should call this an introduction to Sis. Nebeker because I have nothing really to talk about. Haha, it has been a bit of a whirlwind but I have loved every minute of it. There is something super special about being a missionary in Korea!

Yes! Miracle for this past week. We had ward council this past Wednesday and the bishop was explaining some things that the missionaries should be doing. Well, for some reason the elders did not understand so the bishop turns to me and tells me to translate for them. Well, I DID! My Korean is definitely improving and I am going to start having Sis. Nebeker SYL a lot more. 


-Sis. Chao

Monday, July 21, 2014

Transfer call

Hello Family!

Can you believe that another transfer has come and gone? Well, I cannot because it seems like Sis. Kelly and I were just starting our second transfer together. On Saturday, Transfer calls arrived and it looks like I will be staying in 안양!. I know, I was really surprised because no one has stayed here longer than 4 transfers. Sis. Kelly will be in the same zone but is going to be with her first Korean companion! Haha, I am so excited because that means she will be embracing Korea faster than ever! I must admit that I was a bit jealous, but I am really excited to meet my new companion! Her name is Sis. Nebeker who came to Korea the same time as Sis. Kelly and I think she might be from Orem. I don't really know because I haven't had the change to talk to her yet. It will be fun and who knows, she is probably the key to making more miracles happen in this area.

This past Tuesday, we had another appointment with 손순옥자매님. As we were planning and preparing for her lesson, Sis. Kelly and I had this feeling that we should prepare lots of scriptures using the Book of Mormon and the Bible. As we were teaching her about the Plan of Salvation, all of the questions that she asked, we had scriptures to help answer them. As we did that, the spirit was invited and we felt the presence a lot faster. 손순옥자매님 recognized that what we were saying were true because she stated that she felt the spirit. She said that we could be pastors someday, which I take as a compliment. ^^

Yesterday, Sis. Kelly had to give her farewell speech on the pulpit and it was adorable. Everyone was laughing because she tried her best to give her talk in Korean. Although it wasn't perfect, all of the members told her that they felt the spirit and understood that she really wanted them to help with missionary work. After sacrament meeting, a lot of members came up to us and invited us to dinner. In the next 2 days, we have.....8 meal appointments? Do not ask me how we are going to do it, just know that we will make it work. Lately, Sis. Kelly and I have been meeting with a less active member and helping her feel like she is still welcome at church. One of the things that has really helped her feel comfortable around is by doing our nails. Normally, I wouldn't be for painting my nails but this is a great way to get to know her. Since I am staying here in 안양, I am going to make it a goal to make this sister feel like this ward is home. That is what this ward is starting to feel like to me! I love all of the members here and I just want them to always remember that church is a refuge from the world.

Oh, I also ate pig blood sausage yesterday...bad news. Oh man, it was terrible and Sis. Kelly and I just couldn't eat it without laughing. Somethings are just not meant to be eaten by me. I think that is one of them. Maybe  I have become a little bit pickier. 

I would write more, but I feel like my emails are turning into really boring novels. Even I got bored reading my email over again. Haha. 

Love you!

Sis. Chao

Monday, July 14, 2014

Miracles!



안녕하세요!


Lately, Sis. Kelly and I have been feeling like no matter how much effort we put into the work in 안양, nothing is happening. To be honest, it was a bit of a discouragement...but yesterday we realized that we see miracles everyday. Some of them are really big and others are incredibly small. An example of a smaller miracles happened on Monday. Sis. Kelly and I were shopping at our favorite location in 안양 (an underground market) and there is one store where we have small talk with a worker. Well, on Monday Sis. Kelly was looking at the shirt and the worker tells her to come inside and look at in the mirror. As Sis. Kelly was looking at the shirt, the worker and I started having a little chat. Almost immediately I had this thought to introduce the English Program to her. Sis. Kelly handed her a card and the worker crumples it slightly in her hand. Usually that means the person isn't really interested, but doesn't want to hurt our feelings. So. Sis. Kelly and I left and went to some other stores in the market. A little while later, I decided that I wanted to buy a shirt at the store where this one worker was. As I was looking at the rack, the store worker walked up to us and quietly asked "If I call you, can we meet outside?" Miracle!!! *Hallelujah praises was in the background music*

This email wouldn't be complete if I didn't talk about yesterday.  This past week, we tried to have another YSA activity, but like the other ones...not a lot of people showed up. Well, the YSA members that the sisters talked to all promised to come to church the following day. Well yesterday during Sacrament, all of the YSA members came to church. Even the ones who have not been to church in years! It was a miracle. The best miracle of all was right after the sacrament, I look over to the side door and in the hallway stood Grace, her daughter in law, and the grandson. I immediately got up, greeted them, and then hugged them! I have missed them so much and Sis. Kelly and I have been praying for another opportunity to meet with them. They invited us over to their house on Saturday and Sis. Kelly and I could not be more excited! After sacrament, Sis. Kelly and I met with a YSA member 잔지혜자매님. She talked a lot about the trials she was going through and how being the only member in her family was difficult. We just talked and shared some spiritual messages, but I really hope that we can help her realize why she joined the church in the first place. We plan on meeting her again later this week. Wish us luck!

So lesson of this week, miracles happen every single day...we just have to keep our eyes open for them. :)

Not So Spiritual-

So I'm not sure if I have mentioned this enough in emails, but it is hot in Korea. It literally feels like I am walking in a sauna. I thought the two summers in Cambodia and India would have prepped me for this, but they definitely have not. I do not know if it is because I am in a skirt and actually trying to look pretty, but I am sweating up a storm. 

Lately, people have really enjoyed getting close to us...but I really don't like them touching us because Sis. Kelly and I are STICKY. I don't know how the Korean people look so amazing all the time!

I love Korea and I love being a missionary! Also, Sis. Kelly and I might be going to a public bathhouse today. Yes!

Love you,

Sis. Chao





Monday, July 7, 2014

Life of a missionary




Hello Family,

So, this week has been incredible but the overall theme would probably be: Rejection. Now, I am not depressed about the continual rejection, but it does re-emphasize that I am a sister missionary. 

Now, I don't know if you remember this.....but there was one person Sister Kelly and I kept visiting at Homeplus. Well, this past week was her last week working in 안양 because she will be moving to another area. So, Sis. Kelly and I were determined to meet with her outside of Homeplus! Well the first time we asked her, she simply said..."oh, I am really busy." 

You think that would deter us, but then we decided to ask a different way. She then replied. "Oh, I don't really believe in church." Now, any normal person would just give up, but Sis. Kelly and I were determined to ask again after we talked for a little while longer. Well after the conversation, we just decided that we would come see her on her last day. Well when we asked her when she was working, she said "Oh, I have another dinner appointment." Sis. Kelly and I were super confused because all we really wanted to say was goodbye. Essentially, we were rejected 4 different times in 4 different ways. After we left Homeplus, Sis. Kelly and I just burst out laughing because no sane person would have continued to ask.

The best type of rejection while street contacting definitely has to be when people pretend that they don't understand what we are saying because they don't know English. The best part about that rejection is that we are speaking to them in Korean. Eventually, they give up and just listen to what we have to say. Although, I must say that it is really hard not to laugh when the reason they reject us is a bit ridiculous. Oh, how I love being a missionary.

This week, Sis. Kelly and I went on a hike with our new investigator 조명희 자매님. It was a beautiful hike up on a mountain close to our house. It had a beautiful view of all of the areas in 안양. While we hiked, Sis. Kelly and I were able to ask 조명희 자매님 about her religious background and build trust with her. We are hoping to have a real lesson with her later this week. After we went hiking, I tasted possibly the most unique tofu soup of all time. It smelt and tasted very differently. Sis. Kelly tried to eat it, but literally could not control her gagging. I tried not to laugh out loud, but she was a champion and ate the food. 

Other than that, this week has been relatively normal. All of our investigators are doing well and continue to learn about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Some of our investigators are slower than others, but it is okay because it is the Lord's time and not ours. We just have to make sure that they are building a relationship with the Lord. 

-Sis. Chao