New City, New Companion, Same Sydney

In a surprise twist, I'm in 정읍! Jeongeup

I honestly thought my companion would be the one to be transferred, but she's set to stay in 공주 for one more transfer. It was hard to leave, but I was ready. Plus, yesterday I got to go back for 현지's (Sunny's) baptism say a proper goodbye to all my Gongju family members. I will miss them dearly, but I think we all knew that it wasn't going to to be forever. I'll go back to Gongju again someday. ^^

 

But enough about the past, let's talk about 정읍!

 

1. It's small and 시골. in the countryside Like really small and 시골. Ha. In fact, if I were to rank my three areas on a scale from one to ten on their overall level of "small and 시골"ness, it would look a little like:

충주: 2.5Chungju

Honestly, 충주Chungju had a McDonald's. Not that 시골.

공주: 4Gongju

Sure there were a fair amount of mountains, trees, and 할머니s (grandmas)growing cabbage, but there were also historical sites, museums, and a few college campuses.

정읍: Ha. Um, 8? Jeongeup

If you're wondering how Korea's rice crop is going this summer, just let me know. I've got a front row seat. ^^

 

But, all that aside, I really, really love it here. It's small, quaint, and really quite beautiful. I'm pretty sure every time I've been transferred, my mission president has looked at my picture and been like, "Oh yeah, this girl's from western Pennsylvania. Let's put in her in the 시골 (countryside) again. She'll do just fine." And thus far, I have! 

 

2. If you were to Wikipedia it, you would find that 정읍 has only one claim to fame: maple leaves! Which means that are maple leaf symbols everywhere--on the light posts, on the fences, even maple leaf mascots! (I'll have to take a picture of them. They're only slightly creepy.) Anyway, it's rather exciting. Sometimes I feel like I'm in Canada.

 

3. The buses here have faces! But only for a month. The city started this special event for Children's Day and made all the city buses look like cartoon characters and then while you ride it plays a continuous loop of Korean children's songs and "Let It Go". I think the natives of 정읍 are a little embarrassed by it (especially the high school students), but I like it!

 

4. My companion is 이예진 자매님! We were actually in the MTC together, but only for ten days, so we didn't really know each other. She's so cool and she speaks English really well since she learned it while living in Hong Kong when she was little (approximately the same time we were living in Japan. Weird, right?) and then perfected it while at BYU-Idaho last year. It's weird to speak so much English again, but I try to still speak what little Korean I can so I don't lose the small amount of "Korean language" ground I've fought so hard to gain. There are a set of elders serving here as well and since one of them is from New Zealand, they sang me a New Zealand Welcome Song on my first night here. It was quite the experience.

 

5. And finally, the ward! The ward is wonderful as they always are. This ward is actually really famous in our mission for how many Young Men and Young Women there are in it. It also started when this one girl was baptized a couple years ago and then she referred, like, all of her friends and family members to the missionaries. And then seven people got baptized! Amazing, right? So we have a lot of recent converts to teach and keep active. Ha. I've spent the last six months teaching mostly 10 year-olds and now my primary teaching demographic has switched to primarily 16 year-olds. And you know something I learned about teenagers--they speak way faster than children do and use way more slang. Please continue to pray for my Korean understanding. It's hard to keep up. :L

 

But let's go back to Sunny's baptism. It was so, so good. Her parents weren't able to make it (ㅠㅠ) but her best friend 가연 did (^^)! Sunny was just so ready to be baptized. Before she went down into the water, 이희원 and I said a prayer with her just like we had with 홍정혜. And then with a quick kiss on the head and a, "Good luck, we love you!" she was baptized just like she had known it was something she needed to do for her whole life. When she came up out of the water 이희워 자매님 and I were there for her just like we'd been there for the past six months, only this time we were laughing and clapping (and maybe even crying a little), saying, "You're the cleanest person in the world! You're the cleanest person in the world!"

 

And that's how I'll always remember her--my adorable, kind, reverent, little ten-year old friend 현지--as the cleanest person in the world.

Love you all.

 

아바 자매

The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful

Korean Fun Fact #7: Being a 외국인 in Korea

Okay so sometimes being a foreign is the best and sometimes it's the worst. Here's why--

When it's the best...

people give you free food, discounts on clothes, and everyone tells you you're beautiful. But really. Korea has done wonders for my self-esteem. There was even this one time in my first area that my companion and I were walking down the sidewalk and a group of students were walking in the other direction, on the other side of the road, and they still yelled to me across two lanes of traffic, "BEAUTIFUL! YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL!" And then I turned to my trainer and was like, "I love Korea!"

Anyway, it's going to be super weird when I return to America and random people don't tell me I'm beautiful anymore. ㅠㅠ 

In other good things, the Korean people are really nice about complimenting foreigners who try to speak Korean. Even when I was a greenie and could manage only an awkward, "안녕하세요," kindly grandmas would still pat me on the back and say, "You speak Korean so well!" Once I didn't even say anything, and some called back to me, "You speak Korean so well!!" And that's when I realized they probably weren't praising me for my Korean skills. Koreans are just super nice.

On the flip side, when being a foreigner is the worst...

small children are afraid of you, creepy men notice you a lot faster, and groups of students whisper about you when you get on the bus. And then you add the whole, "I'm a missionary" issue into the mix and things get a whole lot more complex. It's a good time. ^^

The week!

1. We met this guy on the street who had met the elders a couple years before for English interest. When we asked him for his contact information, he replied, "Don't worry, the elders will know it. The name's Bond. James Bond." And then he ran off. Ah, missions are so weird.

2. On Monday, we had the funnest Ward FHE ever. I can't explain it all right now, but just know that it involved competing for the different ingredients in 김밥 and we're definitely doing it when I get back.

3. Our investigator invited us over for her son's birthday. We sang and ate cake and gave him the sweet Spiderman card we made him. But guess what movie her kids were watching? That's right. Frozen. Her little five-year old son would not let us get away without watching Elsa sing "Let It Go." Every few seconds he would look up at us to make sure we were watching. If we looked away for even a second, he would say, "NO! You have to watch her sing!" 아이고. I swear I'm going to see the entire movie before my mission's even over.

4.I bought a new skirt and then this happened. I'm sorry, I'm not sorry.

 

5. And finally, transfer day! I don't actually know what's going to happen yet, so you might have to wait for next week to find out, but I know I'll definitely be getting a new companion. And I know that I haven't written about my companion nearly as much as I should have, but please know that I really really love her. We made it six months of non-stop togetherness, as two people who can't really even speak the same language, and we're still friends. Um, yeah, we definitely deserve some sort of medal. As hard as it is sometimes, I'm so grateful to always have a companion through this crazy, confusing, sometimes heart-breaking mission. And I know that 이희원 자매님 and I were truly always meant to be companions. The six months we've spent laboring together have been well-worth the miracles we've seen and the friendship we've formed.

I'm going to miss her so dearly. Parents, prepare for Korean visitors when I get home. ^^

I love you all! Wish me luck with the week!

아바 자매

Sydney sent me a quick note after sending her letter and informed us that she is getting transferred and her new companion will be another Korean sister.  

Chim-Yay!

Hi! Hi! Hi!

A quick email this week, since I literally just talked to my family like two hours ago. Isn't the time difference in Asia weird?

Yesterday our Pretty Investigator got baptized! And after her baptism, she was more radiant than ever. Ah, it was such a happy day, I had no idea baptisms could be so wonderful. Her friend in the ward gave a beautiful talk about enduring to the end and the young adults (along with the missionaries) sang the EFY Medley to her. The Spirit was so strong. Before she stepped down into the water, we said a quick prayer together and once she came back out I felt just like a proud parent. It was a really, really good day.

Here's a YouTube video so you can hear the song they sang.  I wish Sydney could have sent a video of them singing it but this will have to do.  Grab a tissue!

2 Nephi 31:5, 7-10

 "5 And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!
 7 Know ye not that he was holy? But notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments.
 8 Wherefore, after he was baptized with water the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove.
 9 And again, it showeth unto the children of men the straitness of the path, and the narrowness of the gate, by which they should enter, he having set the example before them.
 10 And he said unto the children of men: Follow thou me. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, can we follow Jesus save we shall be willing to keep the commandments of the Father?"
I know that baptism is a commandment from Heavenly Father and I know that if we are baptized as Christ was, by immersion and by the proper authority of the priesthood, we at last enter the gate and begin our way along the straight path to eternal life.
I love you all dearly.
Sister Abba.

An ancient school they came across

Sydney says this is made with wormwood and was all excited to have eaten it.  

Being goofy

She says there are azaleas everywhere

"the red light are the neon crosses of the many,many christian churches. from where we were standing we could see eight of them."

"You know you're going into the country when all the people on the bus are over the age of 80.  So many old-people hats!"

cute church

"Sunny" is holding Sydney's skirt because it was windy.  ha ha

A wonderful week!

Surprise!  Remember how I said Sydney wouldn't write until Tuesday?  Well, her mission President changed her P-day back so we got a surprise letter this evening with loads of pictures.  We get to talk to her in a week!  Yay!

First off, thanks this week to all the grandparents! Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Gray, I got your birthday card--thank you so much! It's so sparkly! And Grandma and Grandma Arvanitas, I got your birthday card too! Also sparkly! And I loved the Bloch pictures you sent. In fact, I used them in my lesson the very next day! I love you all!!

And Mama Mousser, thank you for the birthday card too! I hope Katie has a wonderful wedding this week and that it's beautiful and not too stressful. I love you!

Also, Daddy happy birthday tomorrow! I admit, I have no idea how old you're turning, but I feel like it's old. I love you anyway and I'll be celebrating your birthday tomorrow, while everyone else is celebrating Buddha's birthday. I'll take lots of pictures for you. ^^

And here's a brief summary of my week.

1. We climbed a mountain! This past Saturday was our ward youth activity and we got special permission to go with our investigator, JungHe (the pretty one), who's getting baptized next Sunday! It was so fun and absolutely beautiful.  Kind of like being back in Pennsylvania, except in Pennsylvania you'd never see the trees decked out with pink lanterns, celebrating Buddha's birthday. It was just nice to be somewhere green and foresty and doing exercise that was more strenuous than my half-asleep sit-ups at 6:30 every morning. And the best part was our investigator had a great time and feels a lot closer to the members now. Win-win!

2. This week is a week of holidays! Children's Day today, Buddha's Birthday tomorrow, Parents' Day on Thursday. So many things! Hopefully I'll have some fun stories to tell next week and to my parents, have a happy Parents' Day! I love you!

3. We had an amazing lesson with HongChungYoung, our Chinese investigator. Even though she wasn't able to come to church yesterday (it wasn't raining ㅠㅠ) we were able to meet with her a coupe times this week and teach her the commandments. She absolutely loved them, especially the Ten Commandments. She was actually crying she loved them so much. She said that if everyone were to follow these commandments, the world would be a happy and peaceful place. In fact, before we even explained the Word of Wisdom beyond "We don't drink, smoke, drink coffee or tea," she said, "I'll keep them all. From today onward, I won't do anything of those things ever again." It was amazing! We were like, "We haven't even told you about the blessings yet..." But she didn't need to hear about the blessings. She knew these commandments were from God and that all things from God always come with blessings.

And I too know that the commandments come from God and I am so grateful for incredible investigators like HongChungYoung who strengthen my faith that all good things truly do come from him.

I love you all!

And family, I'll talk to you soon!

Love,

Abba Jameh.

Buddha's birthday lanterns

We sang "I'm trying to be like Jesus" and then split up the song lyrics and drew pictures to match

KaYun's was my favorite. She had "I'm trying to be like Jesus, I'm following in His ways."

And then she wrote a little story too. The words say, "One girl walked along the way in order to resemble Jesus Christ. She met Jesus Christ along the way. Because she followed Him she became like Him. And so she resembled Jesus Christ."

Except it's better in Korean.

Buddha's birthday lanterns while climbing the mountain

One of the young men started building a tower out of the Buddhist wishing rocks. Honestly this is kid is exactly like a Korean Christian Agle. It's hilarious.(The Agle's are friends of ours)

Sitting on a turtle with some members and our beautiful investigator.

At the top!

Sydney's companion's mom crocheted them some rings. 

Praying for Rain

Sydney sent a little note to us saying next weeks letter won't come until Weds, Tuesday night for us.  It's a Korean holiday coming up the first week in May.  So her mission president moved her p-day.    We used to experience something similar in Japan.  It's called golden week there.  So don't think we forgot you next week, it will just be delayed.  

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Gray! You're getting so old, but I still love you!! I hope you had a happy day!

And...the lists are back.

1. We met Gongju's only German man this week! We were just sitting on the bus going to Sejong and I saw this man sitting across the aisle who had Andy Serkis's face and the 11th Doctor's fashion sense and immediately thought, "Where in the world did you come from?" Turns out he's a German professor at Gongju University and has had dinner with the elders a few times over the years, but doesn't really have any interest in the gospel. We had a nice, but awkward chat over the course of our bus ride, but after I got off the bus I was so grateful that the majority of my random conversations with strangers do not happen in English. At least in Korean, I can be the cute, ditsy American trying to speak a hard language. In English, I just sound like an idiot. I think over the course of our ten minute conversation, I said the word "awesome" at least fifteen times. Ugh. Fail. My companion and I had a good laugh later though trying to imitate his fancy accent.

2. Oh, how was The Amazing Spiderman 2? Amazing?

3. All the colorful lanterns are out in prepartion for Buddha's birthday! It's the same day as your birthday, Daddy! Korea is looking very festive.(Steve's birthday is May 6th)

4. Yesterday, I added another language to my "List of Languages in Which I've Watched The Restoration." I've seen it in Korean, Tagalog, Hindi, and yesterday, Mandarin! In fact, I don't think I've actually ever watched The Restoration in English. Which is fine, because I've had a chance to admire all the other, forgotten parts of it, rather than just the words. For a 20 minute film, it's so well done! The soundtrack, the cinematography, the metaphor of the seed of fatih...It's such a good movie! If you haven't watched in a while, I invite you to watch it today! And then watch it another language just for fun. ^^  (This is a movie made by our church.  You can watch it at www.lds.org if you want to know what she is talking about)

5. In other awkward 전도ing experiences, we were out in the countryside, looking for people to talk to and we spotted this tiny, old grandpa, sitting on a patch of grass by the side of the road. We went up to talk to him, but he didn't answer and didn't seem to understand anything we were saying. So we awkwardly gave him our English flyer with our phone number on it and told him that if he had any interest in the gospel, he should call us. But as my companion was giving him the flyer, he turned to me and soundlessly mouthed, "What is this?" And that's when I realized that he was a mute. And probably also deaf. Poor little old man! I felt so bad, he was probably so confused! Since we didn't know what else to do, we bowed extra respectfully and then walked away.

6. And now for a really long and frankly wonderful mission story! One of my favorite thus far. 

Last week, we taught our Modern-Day Mulan about fasting. She really wants to be baptized and has been progressing and reading the Book of Mormon like no other investigator I've ever seen. She's AMAZING. Like, truly, truly amazing. Anyway, she works in construction here in Korea until she can go back to China and be reunited with her husband and son, so this past Sunday (Easter) we fasted together with her that she would be able to find a new job, or at least have Sundays off, so that she could come to church and soon be baptized. And then one day go back to China and be with her family again.

Well, she had an wonderful fasting experience and so did I. I could really feel the Lord's love for her throughout the day and I knew He understood her troubles and her needs. And then, yesterday, miracle of miracles, she came to church!!!! Because she works in construction, she doesn't work when it's raining since it's so dangerous, so my companion and I prayed really hard Saturday night for rain and do you know what? It rained yesterday! In fact it's still raining!

And Mulan (홍춘영) had such a spiritual experience at church! In her 47 years of life she had always believed in God, but had never been to church. Not even once. And so yesterday, for the first time in her life she came to church and she loved it. She loved the members and the music and the discussion in Relief Society. She especially loved the bishop's talk in sacrament meeting and she very enthusiastically told him so after church, shaking him warmly by the hand. She even told some of the other members later that she wants her husband to become a man just like our bishop! She said she can't wait to share the Book of Mormon with him and introduce him to the gospel.

Wow, we just really had an incredible day yesterday. One of the best of my whole mission. I know right now missionaries are not allowed to openly preach the gospel in China, but I testify that the Lord knows His people and He is moving this work along in so many ways that we don't even realize it yet. I love our Modern-Day Mulan (홍춘영) and I feel so priviledged to be one of the missionaries that began teaching her. I never imagined that I would ever teach a investigator like her on my mission, so diligent and prepared and just ready for this gospel and the light it brings. And I know that one day, some day soon, she will take that light and at last bring it home to the saints waiting in China.

I hope you all have splendid days!

Love,

Sister Arvanitas

Birthday

Korean Fun Fact #5: Baking

Baking in Korea is absurdly difficult. I learned this the hard way last Monday when my companion and I went over to a member's house to help her figure out her brand-new bread-maker. For some reason, both our member and my companion assumed that because I was American, I would know how to make home-made bread.

Yeah... no.

And even if the majority of Americans did know how to make bread, anyone who's met me knows that I would not be one of them. Also having grown up in western Pennsylvania, my first thought when it comes to homemade bread is just to go to Amish Country and buy some. Luckily, the bread-maker wasn't as complex as the three of us supposed (all you have to do if dump in the ingredients and turn it on), but while we were waiting for the bread to cook our sweet member suggested that I use the extra ingredients to just "whip up some cookies or something." To make a very long and stressful story short, I went with a seemingly simple orange cookie recipe I found online. A grave mistake on my part.

"Do you have an electric mixer?"

"No, but I have this fruit juicer."

"That'll work."

"Do you have any butter?"

"A little..." (Actually butter is really expensive in Korea, but of course, the recipe I chose called for two cups of butter. I used about a fourth of a cup and called it good.)

"It's fine. This'll work."

"Do you have two cups of white sugar?"

"Um, no, but I have a 240 milliliters of brown sugar."

"That'll work."

"Do you have an orange zester?" (If only you all could have seen me try to explain what an orange zester in Korean.)

"Kind of...I have this cheese grater!"

"That'll work."

"자매님, do you even have an oven?"

"Kind of...*presents a sort of glorified Easy Bake Oven*

"That'll work."

Moral of the story? Never. Again.

In other, less stressful news, let me tell you about my birthday! The first birthday I've ever spent without my mom! (It was great though, Momma, I promise. I missed you though.)

I woke up at 6:30 as always and went to take a shower only to find that our water was freezing cold. Like, aggressively cold. Our apartment complex was working on the pipes, so all the warm water in our building had been shut off. Since I couldn't stand to wet anything more than my hair, I washed it as fast as possible and came out of the bathroom to find...

my roommates with balloons and a box of chicken wings for breakfast! It was quite the shock! I had told my companion like a week before that I wanted to eat chicken on my birthday, so she sneakily ordered some the night before and surprised me with it for breakfast. My roommates even stuck some hurriedly-lit wooden chopsticks into the chicken to stand as birthday candles. It was pretty adorable.

Later on in the morning, while waiting for the bus to our other area, Sejong, I got a lovely phone call from my trainer, 이지우 자매님, and Sister J......, the sister I went on about a million splits with back in my first area. They're companions now! It was great to talk to them and hear them sing me "Happy Birthday."

In Sejong, we met with our investigator, taught her some English and ate some more chicken and pizza and then taught her about the Plan of Salvation. It was great. The rest of the day, we spent in the Sejong library doing weekly planning. Not my favorite missionary activity to do on my birthday, but at least I got to sit in a library for a while.

And to end the day we went back to Gongju with our little investigator KaYun in tow to go to the ward primary activity. We made pizza toast (Wow. I ate really unhealthily this birthday. Whoops.) and had a feast. I liked it! And more importantly, KaYun liked it! Now we just need to get her to church! On the way back from taking KaYun home, our member bought me a surprise birthday cake which I merrily shared with my roommates once we got home. They sang me "Happy Birthday" again and I got to blow out real candles this time (not ghetto chopstick ones). All in all, it was a very happy day.

Thank you all again for the many birthday wishes! I love reading them. And thank you to those who wrote to me about the ferry that sank on the way to Jejudo Island. It's been broadcasting non-stop on the news and on the radio and it's awful. Aside from my birthday, it's been a pretty rough week. Thank you for remembering Korea in your prayers. I'm thankful for all of you and the peace that this gospel brings.

I love love love you.

Sister Abba.

Chicken for breakfast

She got her birthday package on Easter

Music and Dreams

Thanks to everyone who sent a birthday wish.  If you sent it past 11 tonight ET, she won't get it until next week but, I think I got everyone's message.  I didn't receive any past 11 o'clock.  You're going to have to do some translating this week.  

First of all, thank you for all the birthday wishes! I haven't had the chance to read any of them yet, but I'm very excited to read and re-read them throughout the week. It's gonna be a good birthday, I can feel it.

Also, I'm really sorry about my lack of email last week. With transfer calls and stressful picture swapping with my roommates, there was just no time for actual words. I'll do better this time, I promise.

Korean Fun Fact #4? 

Let's talk music. Here in Korea, we like to stick to the four main music genres: traditional, Disney, K-Pop, and 트로트.

Traditional.

I don't have much experience with traditional Korean (or even Asian) music, but there was this time back in my first area that my companion and I traveled way out into the country to eat dinner with some members and after dinner, the member's youngest daughter played a song for us on the 가야금. The 가야금 is like the Korean version of a dulcimer, only it's enormous. You could honestly use it as a canoe. Anyway, here we were in sweet member's home watching her 11 year-old play this ancient instrument and it was only like my second week in Korea and the autumn sunlight was streaming through the window and the music was so beautiful. And as our member watched her daughter play, her expression contained so much love and joy that it made my eyes well up with tears. Definitely one of my favorite memories in Korea.

Disney.

Korea knows what's up. I can pretty much hear the entire Frozen soundtrack just by walking around the grocery store. Thank you, Korea. ^^

K-Pop.

I really like K-Pop! I promise there are music possibilities beyond and far better than "Gangnam Style!" Just you wait. I'll be listening to a lot of K-Pop when I can back.

트로트

Good heavens. 트로트. Where to begin?

It's the kind of music that all the old people listen to and it's awful, but in a this-will-one-day-make-me-nostalgic-about-Korea kind of way. If I had to describe it, I would say it's like the instrumentation of "The Chicken Dance" paired with the vocals of Fiddler on the Roof only sung in the warbling tones of a 75 year-old. It's the strangest music ever, but the 할머니s and 할아버지s love it. I hear it on the bus and in the market and, most wonderfully, blaring from little radios attached to the front of bicycles as cute, old men ride them around town.

Now, onto the week! First of all, can I just say that I hit my nine month mark this week and I didn't even notice. It wasn't until my companion and I were planning for the next day that I looked at the date and then looked at my calendar and exclaimed, "I'm halfway done!" Wow, that went fast. And I haven't even done anything yet! How can I be halfway done?! Anyway, thoroughly disappointed that I had forgotten my halfway mark, I ate some blueberry cake and went to bed.

This week we met a new investigator, 한순자. She's this cute, little old 할머니 we met at the bus terminal a couple weeks ago. Our conversation kind of went like:

한순자: (to me) American?

Me: Yes, how did you know?

한순자: I could tell just by looking at your face.

Me: Oh, well it's nice to meet you! We're the sister missionaries serving in this area!

Companion: (Korean, Korean, Korean)

한순자: (Korean, Korean, Korean)

Me: ......

Companion: (to 한순자) Well, here's our phone number. If you give us yours, maybe we can visit you sometime.

Me: Oh, uh...yes!

And so we got her number and went to visit her! The part in the middle that I didn't understand was that she's really sad and lonely and her children never visit her because they resent her for the poor education she was able to provide for them. So we offered to visit her and be her friend! And now we are! She's such a sweet little lady and her house is so cool. Well, it's less of a house and more of a rundown shack out in the countryside, but still. I will never get over the sheer fortitude of these ancient Korean women. In their 80s and still using an outhouse like a pro. I hope to one day be so strong.

As we visited with 한순자 and ate lunch with her, it became clear that she was extremely lonely and thus was so happy to have us with her in her home. We sang her a hymn and gave her a message card and asked about her belief in life after death. She said flat-out she doesn't have one. We die and that's the end. We return to the ground from which we came. But then she paused and said something rather interesting. 한순자 told us that years ago her 28-year old daughter had died. Afterwards, she was obviously distraught, but she had a dream about her daughter a few nights later. She said that in the dream she was standing by a rock in a wide wilderness. Her daughter was there and she was so happy to see her. She asked her daughter to come back with her, but her daughter said she couldn't. She told her mom she was really, really busy and there was a lot she needed to learn. And then the dream ended and she woke up.

My companion testified to 한순자 that her dream was very real. That there was life after death. But not only life, but learning and progression and the opportunity to hear and accept the gospel of Jesus Christ.

"For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit."

(1 Peter 4:6)

Oh, how I know for a surety that this gospel is true. There is so much more after death. I know that all who did not have the opportunity to hear or accept this gospel in this life, will be give another chance after this life. I know that there are forces seen and unseen working with me in missionary work and I am ever so grateful for the times that I am absolutely certain I am fulfilling the hopes and happiness's of people beyond the veil. These people are as real and present to me as you are.

Have a splendid week.

Sydney.  (Sister Abba)