Best Year Ever?

Okay, so I spent like the past twenty minutes of my email time looking at everyone's pictures of the 4th of July, so this may be a bit of a short email. (So many 4th of July pictures! Nicky, the dead cat pictures made me cry with laughter/feel really sick. I love ya, kid.)

 

But hey, this week I HIT MY YEAR MARK. WHAT.

I wrote down a list of a few of the things that have changed about me in the last year. It includes silly things, like my tolerance for spicy food has grown a ton (Daddy, Thai food when I get back, yes?) and I now think carpets are stupid. Like, why do we need them? They're hard to clean and heated floors are so much better. Also houses in America are absurdly huge. My list also includes some sad things, like the fact that my back, which was once shaped like this  ㅣ    is now kind of shaped like this   ㄱ. I blame the hours upon hours I've spent sitting on the floor. Momma, when I come home I need to go from the airport straight to the chiropractor. And then, of course, there are the more spiritual things: my capacity to love, my testimony of the gospel, my complete assurance that God really is mindful of every one of us. Always.

So, yeah. Even though I've had some bad weeks, it's definitely been a good year. Maybe my best ever . ^^

 

How to Give a 소개

Nothing else too life-changing happened this week. We did pick up a new investigator though! Our recent convert 박유진 has been bringing her friend to English class for a couple of weeks now and this past week she texted us and was like, "Hey my friend wants to hear the missionary lessons!" And we were like, "Um, what?" That's never happened to me before! Let it be a lesson to all that that is how you give a referral. Don't force your friends to hear the gospel or just give the missionary's a random phone number and tell them to call it. And certainly don't invite the missionaries and a few of your employees to lunch and then tell them that they need to be baptized (been there before. so awkward...). Talk to your friends about the church. Explain that the missionaries are trained to share the church's beliefs and the message of the restored gospel. Ask your friend if they want to know more and if they do text the missionaries and set up a time that you can all meet together. I know this is easier said than done, but please no more awkward lunches. They're not worth it no matter how fancy the restaurant.

 

구원의 계획

We had a really cool experience after church yesterday. But first, let me explain what it's like after church in Korea. First off, we always eat lunch all together after church is over. It's like a Linger-Longer every week. I'm going to miss that so much. Then after everyone has eaten, we clean up the chairs and tables and vacuum the floor. All the little kids run around like crazy of course. After that the adults and the little kids start to pack up and go home and only the youth remain. This ward is so special because almost all of the youth are the only members in their families and they're all friends, so every weekend they pretty much spend all their time in the church. Once everyone else has gone home after lunch on Sunday, the youth stay in the chapel (which doubles as the cultural hall and is usually just referred to as "that big room upstairs") for hours later just because it's usually the only time they can be all together. Yesterday, while everyone else was playing and talking, we were sitting in the corner with our recent convert, going over the Plan of Salvation. Soon our other recent convert joined us and then a little while later, a couple of the Young Women joined in two. After a little while another of the Young Women joined. Then one of the Young Men. Then the Young Men's president. Finally, the elders noticed and figured they should join too. And what started as a three-person review of the Plan of Salvation turned into an eleven-person discussion on faith, God, marriage, and the Spirit World. We were really able to answers the youths questions, ease their fears, and strengthen their testimonies. It was so cool and definitely a mission memory that I won't soon forget. I wish you could have been there.

 

And that's all I've got time for!

I'll send pictures now!

I love you!

Abba

 정읍(Jeongeup)

Hey look, it's the church!

 Did I wear the same outfit on my year mark that I wore on my first day on my mission? You betcha

My companion bought me ice cream on my year mark. ^^

I love this girl!

This is what after church is like.

So my camera has this setting where Pororo (a Korean cartoon character) appears in the front screen so children will look at the camera. I've been doing it to all the kids in my ward. I call it "The Pororo effect."

It also works on elders. ^^