Dear fam and friends,

     Well I can't believe Justin is off and gone.  He is such a stud.  I love him so much and I have been praying for him every day.  It is really hard to adjust to the mission life but I know he can do it.  This will be the best thing for him in his life, and I will write him today.  I hope everyone is doing well though:}

     All I can say right now is WHAT A WEEK!!  We had our big Thanksgiving party that we as sisters and elders in our district put on for investigators.  The mission agreed to help us out with money which was a big help.  We slaved away and we went broke as well. haha.  After all of our hard work we had a HUGE success.  About 50 people showed up, including a pastor, and thirty of those people were investigators and some of our English class members.  They all brought their friends and it was so great.  We cooked American food for them and they all got to try turkey for their first time,  They thought it smelled like tuna and they thought it was the strangest thing.  They kept on asking me, "Is it supposed to taste like this?" haha It was really fun.  I got to perform and sing songs with my guitar for them all, and it made me feel like I was back at home. Where I feel most comfortable is up on the stage singing in a mic.  We got to dance and just have a good time with these people. The next day was Sunday and two investigators came to church.  It was amazing because that rarely happens.  Koreans often say they will do something, because they want to be kind, but bail out at the last minute. 

     The biggest miracle this week was yesterday when we met with the Kim sisters.  They have been keeping their commitments and really progressing.  One of the Kim sisters drank coffee though this week, and she said while she was drinking it she felt terrible.  She told us that she prayed after to receive forgiveness.  Aww.. I love these sweet girls.  Anyway….our lesson was completely led by the spirit and it was amazing.  I had no idea why I said the things I said but it was supposed to be said. It led straight into asking them to be baptized and they accepted, and set a date. They have come a long way and I am just so happy with their progression.  They will be getting baptized after I leave this area when I am transferred, but it's o.k.  They are getting baptized so I am very happy!!

     Yesterday (which was Sunday) was really hard for me.  Sundays are aways the hardest for me because I have never had a "spiritual" Sunday so far in Korea.  I simply can not understand what anyone is saying.  I was sitting in church yesterday trying to pick out words that I knew, and trying to put the sentences together and suddenly a huge wave of inadequacy came over me.  I thought to myself as I sat there, "How in the world am I EVER EVER going to learn this Korean language?"  The second I thought that Satan started working hard on me.  It got so bad that I actually started to have thoughts of going home.  I was at war with myself and was trying to get the thoughts out of my head.  I thought to myself…."Well this is definitely not from God.  He would never want me to feel this way."  I started to pray in my heart for help.  Later that night we were traveling on a bus to our lesson to teach the Kim sisters, and I was sitting on that bus just staring out the window.  Tears filled up my eyes as I began to wonder, "Can I REALLY do this?"  I went back and forth in my mind.  I got out and wiped my tears away, and then asked if we could say a prayer before going in. Then afterwards we opened the gate and as I turned to shut it I paused and said to myself, "O.k. you can do this Michelle.!"  In that moment I felt so much peace come over me and I felt strength and confidence as we walked into the apartment.  I prayed so hard the whole time that somehow I would have the spirit with me and that these Kim sisters would feel the spirit as well. Miraculously they did feel the spirit, and it was so evident when they actually accepted baptism!  God strengthened my companion and I, and softened these sisters hearts.  In that moment I realized how wrong it is to ever doubt God's work.   I know that through God's power we can DO ALL THINGS.  Through faith we can perform great miracles.

     I know that this mission is where I should be right now.  It is really testing me and really pushing me, but I know that many wonderful things will come from this experience.  I have already seen miracles, and have learned a lesson to trust in God.  

     Well… every day my companion and I get up at 6:30 to start the day. Oh and I make green smoothies now for breakfast in my new blender. I put fresh fruit in it with spinach and kale. Yum!  We start personal study from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. and then companion study from 9 to 11:00 a.m. From 11:00 to 12:00 p.m. is language study and then 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. is lunch.  We finally get out of our apartment by 1:00p.m. We walk the streets every day talking to random people. I aways wear boots now because my legs get really cold in a skirt. We don't go knocking on doors very often because there are so many people to talk to on the streets. It's actually fun meeting people every day.

     For p-days we most of the time play soccer which is super fun!!  We sometimes play for 2 hours and we play with a ton of pastors!! haha  They love us because there are no other girls that ever play soccer. We always clean on p-days, but we go shopping as well, which is fun to do.

     I teach English once a week to the Koreans. I never thought I'd be doing that. haha. I will send you some pictures soon of the city and my apartment. oh and this is random, but If you send me anything for Christmas a stocking will be just fine.  I can just use a little extra money.

     Well I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I miss all of you so much, but I know that God is with me as I continue to grow and learn on this mission. Love ya.

        LOVE, MICHELLE