Dear family and friends,
First of all HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dear mother!!!! Oh how I love you so much and have come to love and appreciate you even more on my mission. You have taught me so much and I can never repay you for everything you have done for me and our family. What a great example you are! I love you!!
Well we are working really hard to prepare our investigator for her baptism, and she is doing GREAT!! President Morrise said he will try and come to it, and that day will be so beautiful!:)
This past weekend we had the big Family History Activity in the city of Incheon, all of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I am sure you saw pictures already. Thursday and Friday were not successful at all because no one came, but I did get a chance to do my own family history work. I learned a lot about your parents mother, ADA and JACK THOMAS. Saturday was very busy and almost every member came to it. There weren't a lot of nonmembers but there was a decent amount, and our mission President and his wife came. It was fun to see them and the old members of my first area. They had really good food served and I had a good thirty minute talk with the mission president's wife. She just started crying to me saying how her mission has just blessed her life, and she is still seeing the results of her efforts. It was a good talk:) I had a really good week and I couldn't be happier. I love this gospel and will never deny it.:)
My last companion got transferred, but now lives in the same house as me but just moved to the other room. A few days ago she accidentally got stuck in the bathroom for 45 minutes, and we had to call our President. We tried really hard to get her out, and then finally we called a repair man, who did some serious damage to our bathroom door. Haha! It was a pretty funny experience. When she got locked in she just started screaming, "HELP ME!!!!! HELP ME!!!!!! I AM STUCK!!!" We couldn't help but laugh so hard!!!
I have a new companion now and her name is Sister Juliana Daley from West Jordan, Utah. She's 21 years old, and has been out for 3 months. She is not overly talkative but not too quiet either. She got to Korea in August, and just got done being a greenie. She wants to study music, and is really awesome!! I think my biggest challenge though right now is probably being patient with my companion. I went from a Korean who spoke perfect Korean language to someone who doesn't know it yet. It's fun teaching her but I have to slow down and remind myself I was once there.
The story you told me about Alyssa almost made me cry! Thank you for sharing it. I know our prayers are answered and my prayers personally have been answered! YOU GOT THIS ALYSSA! I will be right there for you when I come home.:) I love you!!!!
The other day we had a lesson with our investigator, and afterwards she wanted to eat dinner with us. She DECIDED FOR ME what I was going to eat………haha! She wanted me to try the MOST spicy ramen in ALL of Korea!!! I told her I like spicy things but………….I was a LITTLE nervous. We got to the little convenient store around the corner, and we started to pay for our food, when the cashier girl suddenly blurted out,……"Are you missionaries?" We said yes and she started telling us how she is Christian but is so confused because so many of them are hypocrites. She is about 25 years old. We started to tell her the difference with our church, and she immediately said, "That's what every church says!" The second I would say something else, she would interrupt me and say, "Yea sure….that's what they all say." We could tell she was getting a little fired up. I had this thought to invite her to church to just see what our church was like. She politely refused because she believed we were just like everyone else. I felt like we should stop and just listen. Meanwhile our investigator was watching us intently all of this time. We then handed the cashier girl a Book of Mormon and she said, "O.K. just go eat and then we will talk." We sat down and had a fun time, except for the fact that the food was VERY VERY VERY SPICY!! My whole mouth turned cherry red and I guarantee you I will NEVER do it again!! haha! As we were talking at the table, and my mouth was in severe pain, the cashier girl ran over to our table and sat down and said, " O.K. WHO ARE YOU? PLEASE TELL ME MORE?" I could tell something changed inside of her. I told her everything………….and that we serve a mission for 18 months and don't receive any money. I told her we just want to help people become closer to Jesus Christ. I told her also that we are not like other missionaries and ARE NOT going to push this down her throat. I literally saw her face change when I said that. She said, "No way….really? You just want to share happiness? You don't want money?" Long story short, her heart was softened and she agreed to give her number to us and meet. She is now texting us and always asking us to visit her. If we would have jammed all this information down her throat we would have no number and would have lost her.
Just so you will know, I went to see the doctor about the ring worm. They had me do a test, and apparently it's a bug bite that got infected. He gave me medicine but it's something I always have to do until I get home in 4 months. I have cream and pills. I couldn't really understand everything though.
To answer your question about my bathroom. Yes, my shower is in the middle of the bathroom on the back wall and there is no shower curtain. Water splashes everywhere. haha! When I first walked into it I wasn't sure where it was………I don't mind though.:) And you asked if I can read the Book of Mormon pretty good in Korean. uhhhhh yeahhhhhhh…….? I'm decent……….I need more practice though.:) The last question you asked was that you had read in the Wall Street Journal that the birth rate in Asian countries is real low and the overall population is becoming more and more old people and way less young people, and is that true? The answer is absolutely yes!! When the member of the Seventy spoke to us a few weeks ago, he talked about that and it's true.
For P day today we are cleaning and then going to Costco.:) I'm excited! The next 6 week transfer date will be December 6th and I have no idea what could happen then. I could be transferred out and I'm not sure. Anything could happen.
I am planning on taking a lot more pictures of Korea before I come home and I will love to show all of you this beautiful country I live in.
The roots to my blond hair are coming in quite dark and the elders keep asking me when I'm going to fix those. I want to do it soon but I'm just really scared to do this MYSELF!!! I don't want to mess it up, and I didn't want to do it until I got home but it looks like I will have to. haha!!
I can't believe there's 120 days left to go? I didn't even know that!! Well that's just scary!!! I only have 3 more transfers and each transfer goes by in a blink……..I'm getting scared but I'm trying not to think about it. Dad, you have always been the calendar man….. 130 days I'll be on the beach with Alyssa and all you guys at Del Coronado? It makes me really happy but also very SAD to leave this beautiful country of Korea. I look forward to relaxing but I love Korea WITH ALL OF MY HEART!!!
My mission has really taught me things I never knew I would learn. It has helped me realize and understand the importance of the LITTLE things we do in our church, like Family Night, visiting teaching, and fulfilling our callings and magnifying them, etc…. I CAN NOT describe to you all the change and impact this mission has had on my life. I feel that my life has made a complete 180 degree turn for the better. I now understand the importance of family history work and will NEVER do visiting teaching the same again. It has changed my whole views on letting children have cell phones, and how I will raise my family. It has changed my WANTS in a future husband and ultimately it has brought me soooooo much closer to my Savior Jesus Christ. My testimony was good…………..but now it truly is ROCK SOLID, and I know I will hold it sacred and precious to my heart forever. I understand so many more things now, things I never thought I would possibly learn on a mission. I really know this all was good for me and supposed to happen.
I have just been DYING to get some cds to have music, and especially the Lamb of God by Rob Gardner my entire mission. If you haven't sent them yet can you please somehow send it to me? Pretty please? Maybe for Christmas?
I love all of you so much and really hope you are all happy.:)
Love Michelle
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