Week 6

Hello Family!

I cannot believe how much time has passed and that Sis. Kelly and I have been companions for 5 weeks! It seems like only yesterday that she arrived in country and we were trying to figure out how to navigate 안양. This past week, a lot of things have happened and we have seen many miracles among our investigators, ward members, and missionaries in our zone. 

First, this past Saturday we had the opportunity to hear from Elder Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. I never realized how funny apostles can be. At conference, most of their humor goes unnoticed! Elder Cook taught us a lot about making ourselves more consecrated missionaries and applying the principles of Preach My Gospel. He also talked a lot about being happy with what we are doing, but never satisfied. Essentially, he said that as long as we are trying our best...we can be happy with ourselves. The success of a mission is not determined by baptismal stats, but by the number of times you invite people to come unto Christ. It was exactly what a lot of us missionaries needed to hear because we aren't having "success" compared to other countries. That being said, we feel honored to be serving in a place as magnificent as Korea. Seriously, the people here are incredible and constantly showing us what it means to truly love your neighbor. One challenge that Elder Cook and his wife gave us was to study Chapter 6: Christlike attributes and find hymns/primary songs that can relate to each attribute. As we do that, he promised that we would be able to continually focus our thoughts on the savior. So, I am going to try...even though everything is in Korean. HAHA

Secondly, we have been meeting a lot with two investigators:박하영, 오해진, 선순옥 자매님. 박하영 is actually progressing a lot more than we anticipated. The YW have really taken the initiative to befriend her and make her feel more welcomed at church. Yesterday, 박하영 was unable to come to church because she was ill and all of the YW texted her telling her to get better. This week, 박하영 will be going on a little campout with all of the YW and YM. I am really hoping that she gets better and is able to go because it would really help them develop a friendship!  오해진 is progressing, but Sis. Kelly and I have taken a different approach to helping her remember the lessons and commitments that we give her. Right now, we are helping her to learn that she is a daughter of our Heavenly Father and that he loves her. So every time we meet, we sing I am a Child of God with her. Every time she sings it, the room is filled with such a sweet spirit and I know that she understands the lyrics to the song. It has become one of her favorite things to do with us. 선순옥 자매님 took us to her friend's restaurant this past week and we talked about the Plan of Salvation. She asks a lot of good questions and we hope that we are able to help her find the answers.

Other than that, things are going slowly but surely here in 안양. The non-religious highlight of this week is that Sis. Kelly and I went to a CAT CAFE on P-day. Yes, you heard me...a CAT CAFE. It looks like a vets office with a bunch of mean cats laying around. We paid 16 dollars to get in and literally counted down the minutes until we thought we could leave. I think that cafe was made specifically for cat lovers and couples, both of which are things that we do not really fall into at the moment. I have never laughed so hard in my life at a cafe. It was absolute madness. 

I love you and hope that all is well! I cannot believe that Tiffany is old enough to be a graduate from High school. WEIRD! Seriously, she needs to stop growing up and just watch Spongebob all day until I come home. 

Love,

Sis. Chao