The Last One

I seriously cannot believe I'm writing this email right now. How the heck did time go by so fast?! I feel like it was just yesterday that my plane landed in Korea. Just yesterday that I was with Kim Yeji in Jinhae. Just yesterday that Pohang changed my life. Just yesterday since training Sister Workman and Jung Borahm's baptism. Just yesterday that I touched down on Jeju! And it feels like I have so much more time left. It feels like I'll just get another transfer call on Saturday night and go off to my next area, but instead I'll just be getting a text with my plane ticket confirmation for my flight to Pusan to go to the mission home, then my train ticket to Seoul, then home. And that is a stab to the heart every time I think about it. I have been feeling so anxious lately. It's the weirdest mix of emotions. While I am beyond excited to come home and see y'all {Mom, Dad, Kayleigh, Aubs, (and don't forget Autumn!!)} and work out and finally sleep for the first time in over 18 months, my heart throbs at the thought of leaving Korea. I love this place. I love these people. They taught me so much! They taught me how to be generous, honest, trustworthy, kind, funny, and how to eat a LOT of delicious food! They taught me how to make the best in any situation. They taught me how to have fun no matter what age you are. They taught me so much, they loved me SO much! But most of all, the Korean people taught me how to love as Christ loves. They helped me get one small step closer to my life goal of becoming like the "charity" (aka Christ) described in Moroni 7:45 that I have fasted, prayed, striven, struggled and worked to become over the last 18 months and two weeks. I love Korea and the people here so much. With all of my heart. There's a scripture in the Book of Mormon in Alma (maybe chapter 29) where it talks about how the Ammonites had treated Ammon and his brethren as if they were "angels sent from Heaven." That is how the members, investigators, and grandmas on the street have treated me for the last year and four months in this wonderful country. I feel like Ammon when he told King Lamoni that he'd like to dwell in the land of King Lamoni's people forever "even for the rest of [his] days." Y'all I am a wreck. I haven't cried pretty much my whole mission and I hate crying more than anything...BUT the other day during companionship study I broke down and started crying! I even had a tear! It was so funny because I was so excited to cry (because I haven't over the last 18 months) that I just started laughing and Sister Kramer and I just started cracking up! Sister Kramer is an angel! She has been taking such good care of me this transfer! We will be friends forever! Last night I was so stressed about going home so she gave me a facial and a foot massage. I am convinced that she is one of the three Nephites because she touched my nasty missionary feet without dying. She seriously is the best friend! 

Anyway, I have so much I want to say, but so little time. So all I can say is that this mission, this happy, trying, shaping, challenging year and a half have been the best year and a half FOR my life (as one wise RM told me!) I love Jesus Christ. I know who He is now. He has been with me every day of my mission. He is with my when I jundo and serve and teach and love. I am so grateful for this mission and all that this 18 month walk with the Lord had taught me. Christ established His perfect gospel; The only way of living that can bring world peace, love, and understanding. Because of Him, His Atonement, and His love we can return to our Heavenly Father to live with our family and friends for eternity. And all of these pure and simple truths were lost and then found again through the prophet, Joseph Smith. I have come to know that all of this is true and that it's not just a good story as I have struggled for this message for the last 18 months. Let me tell you, I would not have gone through everything that I have gone through if this wasn't true and if I didn't know it with my whole heart. I am not perfect, but I know that if we keep the commandment and love others, we will make it home to Heavenly Father where He is waiting for us. This life doesn't just end. I think that is the most precious knowledge I have come to know on my mission. Before, I really had a hard time believing in life after death, but I know God lives and our family members and friends who have passed on do too. We will all be together again. 

I am so grateful for this experience. I am so grateful for how the Lord has blessed me. I am so grateful for how He has refined me. My mission smoothed out some of my rough edges and helped me know which rough spots to keep working on. It taught me how to love and be patient with myself and others. I am not perfect (believe me, I'm far from it!), but I am trying to be better every day and this mission has taught me how to do that.  It has been hard. There have been days that were dark and I was so weary and felt like I couldn't keep going. There were times when I felt like giving up. But through Christ and His Atonement, I, an imperfect 21-year-old girl, was able to accomplish this task.

To all of you out there who are preparing to serve, prepare to sacrifice everything. Your heart, your might, your mind, your strength, your body, your soul, and all of the little things you love. But your sacrifice will not be in vain. You will find people like Kim Unjung and her family and Jung Borahm and Jemm and they will be what's worth it. They will change your life. Your success as a missionary is (as my wonderful companions says), "Your commitment to Christ and your desire to serve Him." You may go out and baptize a million people, you may be like me and only baptize one, or you may not baptize anyone at all. But missionary work is not a work of numbers. Missionary work is a work of love. Never forget that.

To all of you who are sitting on the fence deciding whether or not you should serve, follow the Nike slogan and just do it!! You will not regret it. Let me reiterate that it will be HARD. Missions will always be hard. But hard is good. Hard things force you to grow and become the person God wants you to become. But missions are not about you. There never are, never were, and never will be. Missions are about inviting others to come unto their Savior, Jesus Christ. On your mission you will live for others and not yourself. And even though that is a hard task, we are all able to do it because the Lord just loves us and is on our side. And he would love to have you on His side. He doesn't expect perfect servants. He just wants you! So just do it. Just serve. Just give yourself up on the altar of sacrifice and then one day you'll be sitting at a computer at a cafe in a foreign country bawling your eyeballs out at the thought of going home. 

Ahhh!!! Please don't make me go home! Give me six more weeks! Or six more months! I am not ready to go home and take off the tag. I love this work. I love Korea. I love the Korean language and speaking and hearing it every day everywhere I go!! I love the people!! I am going to miss this time so much! I am going to miss the tall, rolling green mountains. I am going to miss the delicious food. I am going to miss the grandmas and the smell of the fish market! I am going to miss the crazy stray cats and sharing the word of God to everyone on the streets of Korea! I am going to miss eating and sleeping on the floor. I am going to miss chopsticks and rice and kimchi! I am so not ready! But I know I have to obey the white handbook and go home on time so other missionaries can get visas (even though my visa/foreigner card don't expire until July of next year!!!). I know it's my time but I'm not ready for it! 

I am so grateful for this wonderful, life-changing experience. It will be one that is sewn on my heart and something that I think about every day. I will never forget this most amazing, beautiful experience serving the most amazing, beautiful people in the world for the most amazing, beautiful God that I love.

Catch y'all on the flippity-flip!!!

사랑해요!!

"I you love!!"

잔스 자매

Johns Jamae

Cute Sisters Kramer and Johns with the copies of the Book of Mormon to give to members to share/"Power of Everyday Missionaries" meeting

The One With a Surprise Visit

Hello from Jeju! I am so sorry but I just don't really know what to say! I will be home so soon that I have no motivation to email. Haha. I just want to stay in Korea and be a missionary forever! I love missionary work. I love Korea. 끝. 

Haha...

Anyway, I got a call this morning and it was Sister Oleson! It was so weird to speak in Korean together but so cool! We went out to lunch and talked and it was so fun! I love her so much she is the coolest! Mom, when you see her give her a big hug for me!!! 

We also went to Busan again this week! It was so fun because I got to go on exchanges with Sister Workman (my trainee). I love her to death and I am so amazed by her progress! She is so wonderful! 

Okay. Well, I am going to go be a missionary now! 

사랑해요!!

"I you love"

Sister Johns 

The One With Pneumonia (however you spell that)

Hello from the other side of the world!

Life is keeping on keeping on and my mission is just passing by right before my eyes! I can't believe that I only have 3 weeks left! Sister Tanner (from my MTC district who went to Daejeon) went home this week! Sooo weird! Daejeon is a little faster than us as far as transfers go! Seriously though! I can't believe how quickly everything is going by! 

Anyway. So I found out last week that I have Pneumonia. That was fun. We went to the doctor, which smelled terrabad like morning kimchi breath and ginseng. You've gotta love Korean morning smell! Anyway, we talked to the doctor and he was really nice and patient with me considering that I don't really know doctor/pneumonia vocab. But I really think Heavenly Father was helping me understand everything that was being said and helped me know all of the words I needed to know. Anyway, so I met with the doctor and they sent me back to get an x-ray, which was way sketchy!! There was no protective gear or anything against the x-rays/germs/etc. And the x-ray technician wouldn't speak to me in Korean even though I was speaking perfectly okay Korean to him and he didn't really know any English except for "take off you blazer" as he handed me this super sketchy grey robe and pants that a grandpa had just worn before me (with no undies!!!) So I just kept everything on because I am sorry, but I have just made it way too far to go home with some weird butt disease. But it all worked out! And they took my x-ray and then I went back to the doctor and he said I had pneumonia!!! So they gave me SO much medicine (like 4 pills and this nasty orange drink) to take every day. But it worked like I charm and now I am feeling fine! 

This week we also went on exchanges in Haeunde and it was so fun! I got to go with Sister Park Ohnyoo and it was so fun to get to serve with a Korean for a day! I miss Korean companions so much! I love this country and these people. We jundoed all day and I was sooo exhausted after! Technically the doctor told me to just stay inside and stay away from people, but missionaries can't exactly do that! Especially when you are Jeju STL and you can't just reschedule exchanges and things because it involves airplanes! Ahh! But it all worked out and Sister Kramer and I got some stinkin yummy Vietnamese food after the exchange.

On Friday, we had MLCM (mission leadership council meeting) and we discussed this year's Christmas initiative (we got to see this video for this year early and y'all it is AMAZING!! By far the best one yet!) and we discussed setting the goal for every team in the mission to set the goal to have a baptism on Christmas Day. I know that we can do it if we consecrate ourselves and work hard! BUT I WON'T BE HERE!! NOOO! I love this place! I don't want to leave!

Anyway, that's all I have for this week! Love y'all! 

사랑해요!

"I you love!"

Sister Johns 

 I had to wear one of those asian masks because of my pneumonia...ㅋㅋㅋ

We spent a day in 서귀포 (the other side of the island) because there are no sisters there right now and there were some dropped investigators and people that needed a visit! 

I am never coming home!!

The One With Halloween and Miracles

Hello from Jeju! I have been coughing up a lung all week! And there's nothing worse than being sick as a missionary! But it's okay because it was all made up for in miracles this week! 

On Saturday we had our branch Halloween party and it was such a blast! And our investigator, Song Jioo came and got pretty close to the members! Also the young women brought friends and one of them is coming to church with her mom next week! 

Today since I'm sick we're just going to chill at home and eat pumpkin pancakes! 

Tomorrow I have to go to the doctor...hahaha. I am a little terrified for that. Korean health care scares me. The last time I was at the hospital was a year ago with Sister Jung Hyemin because she had a weird rash. We went in and talked to the doctor for like three seconds before we were ushered in to the sketchiest little room and she was shot up with like five shots in the butt and then they just threw the needles in the trash! No BD sharps collector to prevent aids and stuff, y'all! I am so scared for tomorrow! Pray for me! 

Anyway, sorry my emails stink. I just have about 3 seconds before I go home so I don't really know what to write about.

사랑해요!

"I you love"

Sister Johns

I got a wonderful Surprise this week. I received this text message and pictures from a family visiting Korea!! Made me so happy!

Dear Johns and Kramer family, we're here in Korea visiting, and got to see your cute daughters in action last night at the ward Halloween party! They're such a blessing to this ward! Thank you for your sacrifice. Love, Jeri Keeley

I love Yoomi!! 

So fun! 

Jemm and Madeline made Micky and Minnie costumes for Kyudon and Unso! 

Carving Pumpkins

My Korean mom!

The Bruco kids! 

The mummy roll game!

 Cuteness!

Song Jioo 

The One With a Visit from Elder Bednar

This week was crazy and amazing!

This week Elder and Sister Bednar came and visited our mission and we had a discussion and a question and answer with him from 2-6 on Friday! It was amazing! I can't even describe it to y'all. It was just such a great experience! I am so grateful for the priesthood, modern revelation, and the fact that we still have prophets and apostles here on the earth today!

Because of the devotional, we were stranded in Pusan from Tuesday until Saturday night...BUT on Saturday night we were able to meet with a new investigator who is 19 (American age) and who has a lot of interest in the gospel, the plan of salvation, and attending church! Pray for her! Her name is Seong Ji-oo. She's too cute and she was so excited to learn how to pray! 

Sister Kramer and I are having so much fun together. We were both formally vegetarian/vegan and we both love music, exercise, cats, and shopping. She is from Portland and she has such a cute family! We are seriously having a blast and serving together is an answer to both of our prayers! We are both so ready to work hard and have fun! And we are on a serious diet and exercise plan! 

Well, that's all I've got for this week! Sorry, I don't really feel like emailing anymore so my emails from here on out may be short because I have 5 weeks left and I just want to enjoy Korea! 

사랑해요! 

"I you love"

Sister Johns

Lookin nice and classy in our lab coats at the dish-washing service activity in Pusan!

Korea Busan Mission with Elder & Sister Bednar

The One At the Start of Her Last Transfer

I cannot believe how time has flown!!! How is it my last transfer?! How do I only have 6 weeks left???? 

We weren't expecting it at all (in fact, I was sitting at my desk giving Sister Gomez a massage while we watched the District) when we got a transfer call. We were sure she was going to be my last companion! But we got a call and Sister Gomez is going back to Changwon zone and my new companion will be Sister Kramer! I am really sad to see Sister Gomez leave, but also excited because Sister Kramer is the best! This will be a great last transfer!

We had a miracle at church yesterday! The American family in the branch (the Bruco family) went to a fun run and they met another American girl who was looking for a church to go to that offers English translation. Battabingbattaboon! That's us! She's so cool and part of a religion called Christian Scientist. She is really nice and her best friends growing up were LDS. It's really cool having her at church! But lots of pressure on me for translation because I'm the oldest missionary in the area, and therefore the resident translator! Ahh!

But I am so excited for what's ahead! 

사랑해요!

Sister Johns

The One With Interviews, MLCM, and General Conference

Hello from Jeju! I know that the American news freaked all of you out, but worry or anything because everything is fine here! Apparently, last week there was a huge typhoon here, but let me just tell y'all I slept like a baby through that thing! I slept really good for the first time in probably 14 months only to wake up to a call from President Barrow at 6:29 sharp letting us know that we were not allowed to go outside until the storm passed. We just got ready and studied like usual. The only thing that I noticed different was that there was no wind. Sister Gomez was pretty happy though because I had planned to drag us out of bed at 6:00 to go for a run, but typhoon "Shabba" destroyed that plan. But as far as we know there wasn't much major damage or anything. The only thing we saw was that a member's window got shattered from the wind, so we just went over to her house and cleaned it up instead of doing language study. Oh, our exchanges also got canceled because of the typhoon, which was kind of a bummer, but also nice because we got to stay in our area longer.

Other than that this week was pretty spiritually filling! We had MLCM (Missionary Leadership Coordination Meeting) in Busan on Friday and that was amazing! We talked alot about how to prepare ourselves and the other missionaries for Elder Bednar to come visit our mission next transfer! Everyone is so excited. We also had interviews with President this week and he gave me some really excellent council! I am so grateful for my mission president! We also did planks with Sister Barrow while we were waiting for our interview time, as per usual! But it made me so sad to think that it was my last interview/workout with President and Sister Barrow before my exit interview!! Also, President dropped a subtle "m"-bomb ("m" as in marriage) on me. I am so not ready for that. NOOOO. I am NOT coming home! Understand?

We also watched General Conference this week and we followed President Barrow's counsel to come up with a list of questions to bring to the conference. It was so amazing because we got so many answers to our questions. I feel like through conference this year I was able to learn and make a plan for how to keep up everything I've been doing and learning on my mission after my mission. I am not quite as scared to go home now! Yay! But...I'm still never getting married and I am living with Mom and Dad until I am 100!!!

But...that wasn't the only thing I learned from GC. I also learned how important members are to missionary work...oh wait, I already knew that! Duh! I'm a missionary! But I really hope all of y'all were listening real hard to that! I was reading a talk this morning by Elder Bednar that said, "Ultimately, it is my responsibility and your responsibility to find people for the missionaries to teach." You hear that? It is y'all's responsibility as members to be witnesses of Christ at all times and places! If you do that, you will make missionaries around the world very happy people!! I can't wait to come home from my mission and get to work in McKinney, Texas and Provo, Utah. I can't wait to find people to serve! Because if I have learned anything on my mission it is that "when you are in the service of your fellow beings you are only in the service of your God" and "Charity is the pure love of Christ" and those who possess charity will have a place with Jesus Christ when all is said and done. You want to be happy? Then get to work!! There is so much to be done within our own families and within our friend groups and even within the line at the grocery store! Y'all have no excuses! You don't even have to try to talk to people in Korean!!! Just open your heart, hands, and mouth and God will send you people to help! I can testify to you that, as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I have been the happiest I have ever been since I was a little kid because I know who I am (a child of God), why I am here (to follow Christ and learn to love as He does) and where I am going (back to my Heavenly Father if I do my best). I have found my life's purpose and so much happiness doing this work, and you can too. That is why I am telling y'all to do missionary work! It just seems completely unacceptable to me that within my very own family we have people who have not received the blessing of baptism. How selfish are we?? Share the chocolate bar, guys!! Delicious food isn't meant to be eaten alone! Neither is the gospel! It also makes me so sad that there are also less active members in our family and friend circles who are struggling with their faith that we are doing absolutely nothing about! I can promise you that y'all can do 100 times more for them than the full-time missionaries serving in their area can! Believe me! I am experiencing this exact same work here in Korea right now! Put your own pride, embarrassment, fear, whatever-it-is aside and take up the faith to help the people you love! I believe that we don't truly love anyone unless we are willing to share with them and tell them the things that no one else will tell them that they need to hear! A true friend doesn't let another friend go outside wearing jeans that make their butt look huge! Sharing the gospel is just the same! True friends who love each other don't let each other pass up the best opportunity and blessing of anyone's life: the gospel!

Get to it y'all! That's all I have to say!

Well, I hope everything at home is great! I love y'all to death and pray for y'all to be happy! 

사랑해요!

"I you love!"

Sister Johns

Jemm made us the most delicious grapefruit poundcake (with no butter and low sugar) to eat during conference

Jemm's darling little boy, Kyudon loves Conference!

General Conference Korean style. #cantlivewithoutramen