The Christmas One

Merry {late} Christmas from Pohang! 

This Christmas was such a special one! I wish I had more time to write about it! 

On Christmas Eve we threw a branch Christmas Party and so many people came. We had several investigators there and even a less-active sister we have been trying to track down for forever. It was so magical. It actually felt like Christmas at home for a few hours in our little church that we decorated with small strings of lights and paper snowflakes. The branch put on a Christmas Pageant and our recent convert couple played Mary and Joseph (they are such good sports!) and their little boy, who is like 3 (haha) was "baby" Jesus. We also played minute-to-win-it games like we do at home on Christmas Eve and we decorated sugar cookies that we worked so hard to make in our tiny little toaster oven. It was such a special night.

On Christmas, we started the day off by sitting under our felt Christmas tree and opening presents we got from home. After that, we got to Skype! It was so great to see y'all and hear you in person! I really wish we would have had more than an hour! I wish we could talk more often!

After Skype, we went to Sister Cook Hyung-mi's house for lunch and she gave us cute little Santa hat clips and fed us lots of delicious Korean food--like SOOO good! Then we read her the I Believe In Santa Claus book and she really liked it. Then we sang Christmas hymns together and I cried, knowing that this would be my only Christmas in Korea as a missionary. It made me so sad to think that next Christmas I won't be singing in Korean and that I won't ever be serving others like I am now ever again on Christmas. It was such a special moment and the spirit was so strong.

After that we went downtown and passed out the remaining 250 of our 400 "Savior is Born" video cards with Santa hats on. It was super fun and we talked to SO many people!

After that, we took a long bus ride from the developed part of Pohang out into the countryside to have Christmas dinner with our ward mission leader and his wife. They are very old and they don't have a lot, but they were so excited to volunteer to feed the missionaries on Christmas. They said that they thought all week about what they could feed to the American missionaries on Christmas and they were so, SO adorably excited to feed us this soup that they heard Americans love. It was so cute and sweet of them. They worked so hard to make our Christmas dinner special, and I can say that it was much more special than any fancy Christmas feast I've ever had at home. We sat around the table in there humble apartment and talked about Christ. It was a very special moment and the spirit was so warm. 

After that, we had to take the crazy night bus home and we tried to wish as many people as we could a Merry Christmas on our way home.

This Christmas was like no other Christmas I have had before, and I will never forget the special feeling of warmth and closeness I had to my Savior this year as I served God's children in Korea.

I love y'all so much! Have a wonderful New Year's Eve!

사랑해요!

I you love!

Sister Johns

Pals

Being "super models" 

The One Where Alice Decided to be Baptized!

Yes!!! I can't even express to y'all how excited I am! It happened! I came on my mission wondering if I would ever see a baptism and this week two of my investigators decided to be baptized!

First of all, after so much fasting and many fervent prayers, we met with Alice and taught her about Jesus Christ's Gospel. But before we could even start the lesson, she asked if we remembered to bring her a copy of the Book of Mormon in English. So cute! She was so excited to start reading it, especially since I gave her the cute pocket-sized copy of it that I use. Then we taught about the importance of faith and read Alma 32:21 together. After that, we talked about repentance and she really liked how in our church you don't have to confess your sins to a priest, but you can talk to the bishop if you need help. After that we taught about baptism and asked if she wanted to prepare to get baptized on January 31, 2016 if she is ready and if she knows that what we are teaching is true. And...she said that she wants to!!! After that we talked about getting the gift of the Holy Ghost and her eyes were just sparking. The spirit was so strong and she could feel it too. We told her that when she gets the Gift of the Holy Ghost, she can feel like that always. It was amazing. She also asked some questions about tithing, which gave us a good opportunity to teach a little bit about the commandments and tell her that we would teach about all of them next time. Alice is in Seoul until the 29th for Christmas and her birthday, so we won't be able to meet for a while, but she asked if we could give her the 서울 missionaries' number so she can meet with them while she is out of town...without us suggesting it or anything! She is golden! Ah! I love Alice so much! She is the coolest! Keep praying for her everyone! This isn't the end of the road!

Also...do you remember Kim Hyunji from Jinhae? She is getting baptized on January 2nd! I am praying that I can get permission to go to her baptism, but I don't know if I will because Jinhae and Pohang are really far apart! It would be so amazing if I could see her get baptized too! 

Well, that was all I needed for Christmas this year! Two Christmas miracles in one week! I just can't even believe it!! I love you all and I can't wait to Skype this week! Keep praying for us over here in Korea! We need all the help we can get! 

사랑해요!

"I you love"

Sister Johns

Unintentionally matching with Sister Cooper #MTCcompprobs

Lol. I have no idea what is going on the this picture.

I got to see Sister Kim at the Christmas Party before she returned home! I was so excited to see her!

Pics that Alice sent to us! 

Sister George (she and her husband serve in the mission office) made the cutest presents for Christmas! All of the Sisters got a special scarf with our mission motto sewn in to it and the Elders got Korean Pusan Mission ties! So fun!

Thanks for the stocking, Mom!

Our little felt tree with our presents!

The One About Boldness

Hello Friends and family! Happy *almost* Christmas! 

This week was so good!

First of all, I have a question: Do you remember that crazy grandma I taught that was in that scary cult that was all about destroying other people's religions? Well, I met another of her kind this week! It was sooo freaky! I swear I am a magnet for weirdos. I have taught more weird people than most missionaries around and it's only my 4th transfer! Anyway, the Elders got this call from this random lady who said she wanted to meet with them. They passed her onto us because they aren't allowed to teach girls and we met her in the Shinae (downtown). She took us to Lotteria and the lesson started off fine, but something was really off and the spirit just wasn't there. Then all of the sudden she got really creepy and asked if she could take our picture so she could "remember our names and what we looked like." We told her heck no and started to say that we had to leave. Then all of the sudden her "son" came and they just started being super weird and asking all of these weird, personal questions about us and our religion. We just lied to her about our age, where we are from (lol...I said I was from Russia and that I didn't speak English and she totally bought it), etc. Then we just straight up said we had to leave. Don't worry, we blocked her and she kept calling the Elders, but they blocked her too. Korea can be really creepy sometimes! And she was totally part of that religion just by all of the things she said. Don't worry Mom, I'll be more careful in the future!

Anyway, besides all of the weird stuff that happened this week, it was really great! We accomplished so much and had so much fun!

This week I got to go on exchanges with Sister Cooper in Bongojeen! We had so much fun and it was great to get all caught up on everything that has happened in the last 5 months. We also got up early and ran to the beach together, which was the best ever. Especially considering that both of our current companions aren't huge fans of morning exercise. It was soo good to see each other! I can't even describe it! And it was soo cool to see how we have grown up and matured so much! I love Sister Cooper to death! I forgot how great it was to be companions! We really did have a great companionship! I pray that we get to serve together again in the field! 

Okay, now the cherry on top of this week! I don't know if I had time to write about it, but last week we met with this girl named Alice (she is Korean but she likes us to call her by her American name). She is 24 and the cutest thing ever. And her English is SOOO good! Better than anyone else I have taught. We started meeting with her last Saturday so she can practice her English with us. This week we prepared to teach her the Plan of Salvation and invite her to be baptized. She asked for us to teach her in English, which is such a blessing and she understands it all...so I can really express myself. Yay! Anyway, we taught her about the Celestial Kingdom and how we have to be baptized to get there and that baptism is something that she can do if she wants. She then asked us about authority because she was christened in the Catholic church when she was a baby. That led us to teach her the entire Restoration, give her a Book of Mormon and commit to be baptized (but we didn't set a date yet...next week!). She said that she still wants to keep meeting with us and learn more. When she was studying in the Philippines for University, she had a teacher that was LDS and always talked about how happy she was and how great this religion is/how it is so full of blessings. Alice said she always saw the Elders walking around in the heat and working so hard was so curious who they were and why they would do that. But she was nervous to talk to them because her mom hates non-Catholic religions. But they when she got our name card when we were advertising/jundoing for English Class in the Shinae, she felt that she should call us because she knew we had good character. We will keep meeting and I am exercising ever bit of faith in me that Alice will be baptized for real-zies and she won't just be a letdown like almost every other person I have ever taught on my mission.

So I just have one request for all of you out there who are reading this right now: Please pray for Alice. Sister Morrison and I cannot do this on our faith alone. We need your help to move this mountain and perform the miracle.

So please, please, PLEASE pray for Alice. Pray like heck!!! I want nothing more than for her to be baptized and have the happiness that I have. As I was teaching her I have never known more in all of my life that Christ lives, and that He loves us--but more importantly He loves Alice and wants her to come to Him. I want Alice to be baptized. Not so I can get a stat in my planner or receive praise or blessings, but because I love my Heavenly Father, my Savior, and all of God's children. I want to serve God by bringing all of His kids back to Him because He misses us just like I miss my Mom and Dad and sisters and all of you loved-ones reading this right now. So please, please, please let me get what I want and please, please, please pray for Alice. Fast for Alice if you want to. Pray morning, afternoon, and night for her to have a desire to be baptized and come into this indescribably happy gospel. Please don't pray for me. Actually, just plain don't pray for me. Pray for Alice instead. Pray that we will teach her by the spirit, that she will feel the spirit, accept our commitments and keep them, and that there will be nothing holding her back from all of this happiness we want to give to her.

We cannot do this alone. I need your help. All of your faith and prayers added to mine will make this happen. I know it! Right now we are changing our mission culture to be a baptizing mission. In case you haven't noticed, missionary work is hard in Korea. Most people go home without one baptism--some without even seeing one baptism in the 1 1/2 to 2 years that they are here. But I have faith that through boldness and faith, miracles will happen and we will see many, even hundreds be baptized! If Alice had been my investigator two transfers ago, I would have never been so bold with her. I would have never known that bold is what Alice needs. I would have never invited her to be baptized in the first lesson, but this mission is changing and so am I. I see what is on the line here. I see that I want all of the people I love--all of God's children--to make it back to Him safely. So I am a changed missionary. I am willing to do things that I thought were crazy a month ago--like inviting randos on the bus to be baptized and giving my investigators invitations that really push them. Because in order to help people grow, you must first invite them. 

Okay. I'm going to get off of my soapbox now. I love you all. I pray for you all! Thank you to everyone who wrote letters for my Christmas letter advent chain thingie. I can't even describe how happy I am to hear from you all and know that you are all still alive and happy! I promise that once I get some time, I will send each of you a thank you note/response to each of your letters!

I love you all so much! Have a great week and Christmas season!

사랑해요!!!

I you love!

Sister Johns

p.s.- don't forget to pray for Alice ;)

 For the 구주 나셨내 "A Savior is Born" campaign, we had to take a pic and send it to the mission email. I think they are going to do something with them...I don't know. But mine says "그분이 나셨기때 문에 나는 할머니들이랑 이야기할수있다!!" aka: "Because he was born I can talk to grandmas every day!"

Love you all! Thanks for the advent letter chain! 

The One With Lots of Miracles and Kimchi

Hello! Yes. I did! I made kimchi this week! But before that, I have to tell you about all of the miracles and blessing that were poured all over us this week!

Miracle #1: We decided to make this Christmas program focused on missionary work that counts down until Christmas Day and each day the members read scriptures, watch Mormon Messages, etc. all to get them focused on Christ and sharing His light. We got it all prepped and ready and presented it to Branch President who LOVED it. We really gained a lot of his trust by doing that and that is crucial in this area.

Miracle #2: So the family that got baptized this week is part of this super cute friend group of moms that includes the branch president's wife, Kim Unjung (the mom of the family who got baptized) and this other way cute mom named Jung Yoo-mi who all do fun things together with their kids. They have been trying to get Jung Yoo-mi to warm up to the missionaries for a while and we had just finished this term of kids' English class (it will restart in January) so we weren't sure how we could keep sharing the gospel with her. But then on Thursday we got a random text from Jung Yoo-mi inviting us over for dinner!!! It was amazing! We ate with Kim Jung-ah (branch president's wife) and Kim Unjung at Jung Yoo-mi's and played with their kids and ate STRAWBERRIES!!!!!! Yes, strawberries! I haven't seen strawberries or had them in months. I almost cried at we were eating them. It was so great and they want us to start coming over once a week until we start Kids' English again. I am so excited. We think we are going to do a Christmas FHE with them this week or next. Please pray that she will become interested in the gospel!! 

Miracle #3: We sticker-board jundo SO much. Like SO much! Just to advertise our free English class and also find people with gospel interest. Anyway, the Elders got a random call from this girl (who they're not allowed to teach...oh bummer) who they passed onto us so we could teach her. She is soo dang cute and SO good at English. Her English name is Alice and it fits her so well. We are going to be meeting with her for an hour every week and practice English and talk about the gospel. I would really appreciate it if you could all pray her (and Jung Yoo-mi) to have the desire to be baptized. There is so much power in prayer and I feel like if everyone is all praying together miracles will happen.

Yeah...this week was amazing. And the cherry on top was the fact that we got to go do a Christmas FHE at a member's house last night and their mom taught us how to make kimchi!!! I have wanted to learn since I got my mission call! It was so much fun, but a lot of work! I'll send lots of pictures. It was so funny and so cute because the mom was dying about how well I can eat weird Korean foods. She called like two of her friends while we were there eating to tell them how crazy it was. Haha. We ate freshly made, STRONG kimchi (sooooo much garlic and red pepper and tiny shrimp go into that stuff it's not even funny) with pigs' feet  and eel (yes. I ate pigs' feet...ew.) and rice for dinner and then we all sang Hark the Herald Angels Sing in Korean and I'm sure you can imagine the "Gloria" part was pretty stinky from all of that kimchi breath. Haha. It was probably one of my favorite moments of my mission so far. The spirit was so strong and it felt like Christmas at home even though people don't really celebrate Christmas in Korea. It just made me realize how much more we should focus on Christ at Christmastime. In Korea Santa and presents and trees aren't a thing. The only thing the members really celebrate is Christ and His birth. It's really cool and I think it would be really good if we were more like that in America too.

Anyway, last week was really great. And this week is going to be really great because I get to go on exchanges with Sister Cooper because she's my STL this transfer!! I am so stoked!!!! We are both so excited!

Love y'all!! Tell Grammy Linda I love her and Happy Birthday! I wish so bad I could have been there to see her!!! I cried when I saw the video of her getting surprised by everyone! I just love her! 

사랑해요!!!!

"I you love!"

Sister Johns

 Making kimchi is way fun

Smashing some garlic (about 100 cloves to be exact)

We put two big bags of crushed red pepper in the kimchi

Then they fed me kimchi like I was a puppy or Cleopatra or something. Haha. So fun!

Ferris Bullerin it at this cool tower we found when we were jundoing two old ladies on a hiking trail 

Cute!

 Elders...

The One Where a Family Got Baptized!!

Hello!!!!

This week was amazing and I have no time to write!! Ahhhh!

Okay...so the Beck family got baptized!!! It was amazing and I feel so lucky to have gotten to see that. I was really sad that the missionaries that originally taught them couldn't come, but it was really cool to see how happy Sister Morrison was after her first baptism. And I really just felt to lucky to witness such a huge miracle first hand. We had Zone Conference this week and President Barrow told us that his vision for our mission was that it would become a baptizing mission. He commissioned us to start being more bold in inviting people to be baptized and in the way we do missionary work. Baptisms are remarkably rare in Korea, but they are starting to pop up everywhere all of the time and I really do think that Korea can become a baptizing mission again. I just saw three people--a family--be baptized and begin their journey to live with God again. It was probably one of the most beautiful things that I have ever seen. And each member of the Beck family was so happy and literally glowing when they came out of the baptismal font. It was soo cool to be able to help the Branch President's wife help Kim Unjung (the mom) get ready after she got baptized. It just made me think of Mom and Vanessa at Vanessa's baptism and that made me cry happy tears. And next year the family will be going to be sealed in the temple! How amazing!!!!! I just can't even describe it.

This week was honestly just great all around. We were super busy preparing for the baptism, so I honestly didn't even have time to be homesick on Thanksgiving. But all I wanted was a piece of pumpkin pie. I was dying to eat it, but it doesn't exist in Korea!!! But Sister Kim Jung-ah (the branch president's wife) made a pumpkin pie for us and brought it to Kids' English Class. She served her mission on temple square and knows how to make American food, so it was sooo good. I almost cried happy tears when she gave it to me. She said that she remembered how hard it was for her when all she wanted was some Korean food when she was a missionary. I really love the Pohang members. They are all super cute and fun and really just wonderful people. Also, the branch president's wife is a vegetarian!!! She said she'll never make me eat meat at her house and that she'll give me some veggie ideas for eating in Korea. And did I mention that she served the out-bound part of her temple square mission in Texas? Yeah, she is heaven-sent. 

Funny story: here in Korea there are about a thousand random underwear/PJ shops EVERYWHERE!!! And in the winter they have these amazingly comfy fluffy nightgowns that are super cheap. So I went to buy one and we saw these super long, super comfy dresses on the other side of the store. So we bought some because they were way cheap. Now fast forward to Sunday when we wore them to church. We were talking to Kim Unjung and she asked us where we got our "dresses." We said we got them at the market for like $5 and she just started laughing. We asked why and she told us that we were wearing grandma nightgowns. HAHAHA. Yeah...I walked around the streets as a representative of Jesus Christ obliviously wearing a nightgown and we had to have our investigator break the news to us at her baptism. That was definitely not a shining moment in the life of Sister Johns. Hahaha. But all of the members thought it was so cute because we had absolutely no idea. Yeah...I definitely won't ever wear that again...

Anyway, this P-Day was so much fun! We went to this famous hand statue thingie that is in the ocean. And Elder Jang made me eat worms. I didn't die, but I didn't love them either. That was definitely an experience. 

Well, that's all I have time for this week! I love you all! Please pray for us! Pray for us to be bold and strong! Pray for us to find people who are ready to be baptized! I know they are out there and that we can change the Korea Pusan mission forever. This can be a high baptizing mission. I know it!

사랑해요!!!

I you love!

Sister Johns

The most amazing day with the most amazing people

baptism!!!

We love these kids

My little buddy who is also the cutest kid in all of Korea and probably in the whole world.

Crewin' up with the area

Giant random hand thingie