Sunday, June 15, 2014

Down the Drain

DADDY! Happy Fathers' Day! If I were there at home today I hope we'd eat barbecue ribs in the backyard, play badminton, and listen to that Regina Spektor CD over and over and over again. I love you and I hope you had a happy day and that you didn't miss Nicky and me too much. Don't worry, we'll be home soon.
Good Stuff
Great news! We found some investigators this week! YAYAYAYAYAY. I knew they couldn't hide from us forever. It all started when we found this really old investigator in our Area Book (see! looking through the area book worked!) and then one thing led to another and we started teaching her and her sister English and her sister's two daughters English as well! And the gospel of course, but this week we didn't get much farther than, "Do you have a religion?" No. "Do you believe in God?" Also no. But it's not like I haven't heard that one before so I'll tell you how it goes! I'm so excited to teach them! The first lady we met (the one who was sort of an investigator in the past) used to attend English class at our church and meet with the elders back in the 90s. When we met with her this week she pulled out all these pictures of her, her kids, and the elders from, like, 1997. Ha. Fun fact. 1997 elders look exactly the same as 2014 elders. But the great part was that she remembered all their names and when they transferred and where they were from. It made me hopeful that since we were the first sister missionaries she'd ever met, she would one day feel the same way about us. And that one day when she talked about the missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, she would be a member! ^^
Fun Stuff
I learned some New Zealand slang! Since one of the elders in my ward is from New Zealand, he's been teaching me so slang and how to talk like a real New Zealander. And now I'll teach you!
New Zealand Slang: A List
skux - cool. And if you add another "x" and make it "skuxx" it's even cooler. or so i'm told.
hucks - dollars. Just like "bucks" but with an "h."
hardcase - funny
hard - I agree
honest - for sure
hoof - It stands for "honest over our friendship," but it means "Really for sure" or "Really?" Like one person could say to his friend, "I just found a million dollars!" And the friend would say, "Hoof?" "Hoof." I don't understand it either.
"She'll be all right." - "Everything will turn out okay."
Wow. They almost all start with "h." That's kind of weird. Must be a New Zealand thing.
Gross Stuff
I unclogged the drain! Momma, you would be so proud of me. I noticed that the drain in our bathroom wasn't working very well and as a result our entire bathroom kept flooding with water (remember, in Korea, the whole bathroom is the shower), so I set out to investigate! I began by removing the layer of soap and hair that covered the lid of drain. I thought that might be the problem, but I was still kneeling in an inch of water, so I delved a bit further. Within the drain, there was...another drain! Drain-ception! This drain had a lid too, so I again scraped off the layer of soap and hair in the hopes that at last the flood in our bathroom would decrease. But it didn't. Intrigued, I removed the lid from the second drain and found...another drain!  And do you know was was clogging the final drain? The biggest wad of soap and hair that I've ever had the misfortune to find. It was honestly the size of a large mouse (maybe it once was a large mouse), but I scooped it out like it was nothing. The bathroom flood receded, the drain gurgled happily, and I knelt on the tile floor clutching my soapy hairball, beaming and victorious.
As I was trying to get to sleep last night I began thinking, "How can I compare my drain experience with missionary work? After all, I need to end my email with something spiritual." And I figured it out! Are you ready? Here's my analogy.
Before I left home, I had only one desire for my mission--to help other people and to bring them the good news of the gospel. A good desire right? Kind of like my initial desire to unclog our drain. But as I got further and further into my mission, I realized that there is so much more to missionary work than I orginally thought. At least for me, it's not just teaching the gospel, but teaching English. It's not just learning Korean, but learning compassion. I wanted to help people, but sometimes I can't--I have to let them help me. Like my discovery of the second level of our drain, missionary work is far more complex than I ever imagined. Which is hard sometimes, but also good. And I know that my mission has even more in store for me--more challenges and more blessings than I haven't even considered yet. So I look forward to the day when I can look back on my mission and all the good it's brought me and clutch the metaphorical soap-scum hairball that is my mission, at last understanding how much I've learned and how much I've accomplished.
Did you like my analogy? I'm pretty happy with it. Someone should give me a Pulitzer.
Kay, I love you all!
Till next week,
아바 자매

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