The One with a 한복 and a 10K

Hello everyone! Sorry I didn't email yesterday! We had a mission-wide fitness day all day yesterday so we have special permission to email today. This week was a busy one with lots of cool experience...where do I even begin?

Let's start with an apology to Dad (who is currently managing my bank account since I am internet deprived) and my savings account. So last week, y'all know I went to 남포동 and shopped. Well, while we were walking down the street of the most amazing stores I'd ever seen, I saw the most beautiful modern-style 한복 (Hanbok: traditional Korean clothing) in a boutique window. Every sister who serves in Korea needs a Hanbok...and they're not cheap. But I was planning on buying on at one point during my mission because like I said, you have to. Anyway, I saw this Hanbok and in was haunting me all day while we were shopping so we just decided to try it on for funsies. Well, I tried it on and couldn't take it off. Especially since Korean Thanksgiving was coming up and you wear a Hanbok on Korean holidays. So in a moment of irrationality and mindlessness, I bought the Hanbok. And like I said, Hanboks are not cheap. So I went home with a Hanbok and a bunch of clothes from the $10 store, sat down at my desk and then looked at the receipt from the Hanbok store and realized the terrible awful I'd done. I just imagined my poor father's face when the charge came across and wanted to die. I think I know what Alma meant when he said his soul was wracked with eternal torment. I literally just couldn't handle it so I knelt down on the floor and repented: no joke. I was dreading getting on my email today because I was pretty sure that I would receive news that my father had been hospitalized because his 바보 (stupid/dopy) daughter spent all of her life-savings on a more-than-$100 hanbok. Honestly, I don't think I've ever spent that much money on an item of clothing in my entire life...but it was so beautiful and from the Kate Spade/Anthropologie of Korean Traditional clothing. Oh devil knew what he was doing when he heard I was going to Nampo. But every Korean in the ward and my companion kept telling me that that wasn't a bad price for such a unique and stylish Hanbok. So I think I might live. Anyway, I am still feeling so guilty. But when I wore my Hanbok on 추석 (Korean Thanksgiving)  and the entire ward died and my member trust points went way up,  I think maybe it was kind of worth it. But I really do think I'll be guilty till the day I die...but also yolo because you only serve in Korea once and when it's your money you can do what you want, right...? #rationalizations

Anyway, let's talk about stuff that is actually important, like Hong Yeji! Last P-day we had dinner with her at this most beautiful Thai food restaurant in Changwon. The food was so good and the restaurant was the closest thing I've seen to an American restaurant since I've been in Korea. It felt so nice and had an Anthro vibe like the places Kristin and I used to always go to together. I didn't know that existed here. Anyway, we had a really great conversation and Hong Yeji is just the most beautiful person. She has traveled the world and loves weird books and movies and music like me! I know that we did not meet on accident. Hong Yeji is so understanding of all of the missionary rules and lifestyle because she is Christian and she even said that she wants to be more like us in her religious conviction. She is just the most wonderful, lovely person--I can't even describe it. Also, Hong Yeji was worried about me feeling left out/homesick on Korean Thanksgiving so she gave me a roasted chicken because they don't really have turkey in Korea. It was so sweet. She is the best human and she treats me as if I were her little sister. I am so grateful for her. This week we will be getting transfer calls (I can't believe I'm almost not a trainee anymore!) and either me or my trainer will probably be leaving Jinhae so we are going to invite her to come to church to hear our bye-bye talk. I have been praying a lot for Hong Yeji! She is such a great friend and so kind!

This week was a really great week because I felt a click in my brain. It happened on Thursday night when we were eating at a member's house and we were talking and all of the sudden I was leading the conversation and not just nodding and agreeing with what my companion said. My Korean isn't perfect but I can speak and understand enough to get by. That is such miracle! Also, last night for the first time ever I dreamed in Korean! It was so weird, but when I woke up I realized that everyone in my dream was speaking Korean. It wasn't complex Korean or anything, but I feel like I am starting to not feel like I am drowning anymore. What a blessing! Also, communication with my companion is so much easier now and we have become best friends. When we first became companions it was a little hard because she really doesn't speak any English so I kind of just awkwardly pantomimed and we made it work. But now we talk and talk and talk. I have only laughed as hard as I do with Kim Yeji with my best friends and I really think I could say that Kim Yeji is definitely amongst my best friends now. We have so many funny jokes and we really are best friends. There is no other way to put it. We have to really try to go to bed on time at night because our pillow talk is so fun...and it's all in Korean (well...Konglish). I feel so blessed! But I still have so far to go because I still talk like a Kindergartner and make so many mistakes!

Sunday was Korean Thanksgiving and we ate SO much food at a member's house. I almost died. But we were lucky because even though there was a lot of food, it was pretty light because the family who fed us likes to eat healthy. The 추석 moon was so beautiful and bright and I made a wish on it! But I won't tell what it is or it won't come true! ;)

On P-day we had a mission fitness day and we met with 3 other zones and ran a 5k/10k. I ran the 10K with Sister Amende (my MTC buddy). She is an endurance powerhouse and she kept me going. It is so sad how out of shape I have gotten. It was hard to finish 6 miles...a norm/easy for me before my mission. But it's okay because I have all of my life to run for hours every morning and only 18 months to be a missionary. But it was so great to feel the post-running high again. You just don't get that in your 30 minutes-1 hour of exercise every morning when you're a missionary. I am so glad that President and Sister Barrow are so into exercise and fitness. It really has been such a blessing. Also, while we were walking to the 10K starting point yesterday President Barrow gave me a much-needed pep-talk about gaining weight/staying fit as a missionary. (It's crazy how revelation works. How did he know I needed that?!?!) Gaining weight really does happen to all of us and as long as we are doing all that we can to stay healthy on our missions, we will be blessed and we won't have stress about weight. I really want to emphasize to sisters who are planning on serving that they will gain weight. There's no question. But it's okay. It will all come off quickly, especially if you do your best to eat as healthy as you can and exercise as much as possible. We need to treat our bodies like the temples they are and put good things in them and not think bad things about them. 

Today I reversed the 10K and did not follow my own advice to treat my body like a temple because we had two back-to-back lunch appointments because Korean Thanksgiving is still going on and of course everyone wants to feed the missionaries on holidays. I literally almost threw up while I was eating at the second appointment because I was so full. My stomach has never been so sickly full in all my life. We had to go to both appointments and there was no way out of it. But it was okay because we got to see 박부자 again and sing to her. I was so sad because she had to spend all of 추석 by herself! So even though I was dying, I forced down the weird rice and mystery meat soup she made for us. It's crazy what you'll do for the people you love.

Anyway, that's all of the adventures for this week! Love ya'll!

Sister Johns 

Wannbe Korean

Hanbok!!

My lovely companion

박부자 aka my Korean grandma.

Darling Hong Yeji

가가호호 (door to door) in the rain!

The One With the Hong Yeji, Fried Octopus Balls and the Shopping Day

Hello!!!

Okay I have zero time! We got permission to go shopping in Nampo for Elder Ralphs's last P-day so we are just emailing really quickly at Lotte Mart. Let me just tell you: you don't know shopping until you have been to Korea. It is all so beautiful and so reasonably priced. Dad, don't be surprised if I decline my credit card. ;) Jk. I'll be careful. But really though. I literally hyperventilated when I walked into this mall. No joke. You can ask my comp...and I may or may not have peed a little. God is my witness (is that bad to say??), if I ever serve here in Pusan or Nampo I will be broke and happy by the time I leave. Pusan is amazing! I didn't realize how much I miss the city until we got here today.

Anyway, this week was good. We saw two huge miracles! Hong Yeji, the cute girl from English class who works at the post office, invited us to go to dinner with her tonight in Changwon! We are so excited! I have been praying for Hong Yeji since we met her! She is the cutest human! Pray, pray, pray that we might be able to teach her or help her a little! She is amazing! Also, we were looking for less-active members the other day and after about 100 rejections a less-active sister who is about 25 answered the door and was super excited to see us. We are meeting with her on Thursday and Kim Moon-Jo on Sunday! Korean Thanksgiving is this week!! I am so excited!!! :) Fall in Korea is the best! The weather is great and there are these delicious Redbean and cream filled fish breads that you can get on the streets. You can also buy fried octopus pancake ball things. Most foreign missionaries don't like them, but I decided to hakunamatata it and try them. They were super yummy! Who knew?

Also, I had a major breakthrough this week. I felt like everything I have been doing is worthless because we don't have anyone to teach. But the other day, we visisted 박부자 (Pak Booja), the old lady we visit every week who always gives us weird food. And I realized that the fact that I, a selfish and human-natured 20-year-old girl, can sit on an old lady's floor drinking a cup of sicknasty powdered milk with about 12 sugar cubes (and my companion's because she couldn't do it) and listen to this woman ramble on in a language I don't understand about all of the (probably fictitious) flings she had with foreign men when she was young and still be happy/keep coming back is an accomplishment in itself. Before my mission, you couldn't have paid me to do that, but now it is a pleasure. I love Pak Booja and seeing her at church every week makes me so happy and visiting her and singing to her every Tuesday makes me so happy. 

Well, that's all I've got time for. I have some shopping and site-seeing to do! :)

사랑해요!!!

I you love!

Sister Johns 

The One With a Grandma in a Cult, Pig Intestines, and a Baptism

Hello friends and family! This week was very eventful...how will I fit everything in one email?? 

Let's start with something super exciting. You know the lady we have been teaching English to has absolutely no gospel interest? Well, this week when she met with us she told us all about her wedding plans and showed us pictures and it was so fun. I didn't even know she was getting married! When you don't understand Korean very well, you miss out on important things like that! Haha...oops. But she was super open with us and told us that she didn't even care if we studied English anymore, she just likes meeting with us because we are good friends and she gets a good feeling when we come to her house. We taught about repentance and forgiveness and she shared a really wonderful personal experience about a time she forgave someone. I don't think anyone who hasn't met Yang-Jong Hwah can understand how much progress she has made! She even invited us to her wedding. Please keep praying for her! 

On the less happy side of things, we found out that our Revelations-loving grandma is actually part of this really terrifying cult here in Korea that tries to join and then secretly destroy other religions. She told us about how when she saw us on the street she knew that we were missionaries and that she wanted to lie about being interested in our message so that we would come over and she could try to make us doubt our faith. This religion is super freaky. Anyone who has served in Korea probably knows about it and has maybe even taught someone who is part of it. We were so shocked. This granny is like 70... Our last appointment with her was so scary and weird and the spirit was NOT there! My companion had a feeling that she was a part of this movement because over the last few weeks she kept saying and doing weird things. But on Tuesday she just straight up told us, which is really rare because this religion is super secretive. I think she just really wanted us to try to join it for some reason! Ew! In this religion only members know where the secret churches are and you have to take a super insane test about Revelations in order to join. The old lady was telling us about how when she took the test she was at the secret testing location from 5:00 p.m. until 2 a.m. taking the test and she was so stressed that her nose started bleeding but she had to keep going to pass and join. Super weird! Also, the guy who started this religion is apparently "God" and he judges who is good and bad at this place in Seoul. He is coming back from some sort of travel soon and all of the people who are part of this cult thing are going to see him. The grandma kept trying to bribe us into going with her by saying she'd buy our plane tickets and take us to Jeju. SO freaky! But we told her no thanks and that we needed to go. She said she knew we were going to drop her, but that she would keep trying to call us and meet with us. SO creepy! But we blocked her number and told the Zone Leaders about her. Missionaries run into weirdos like this more than you think. There are a lot of really creepy/weird religions here in Korea. We are going to try to be more careful in the future. I think we learned our lesson!

Okay, back to the happy stuff! Kim Moon-Jo came to church yesterday! Yay! We taught her a lesson after church and she said she really wants to share the gospel with her sister, but doesn't know how. Next week she is trying to get her sister to come with her to church. Keep praying for them! A really cute mom also came to English class this Wednesday. She is super sweet and nice. She is really interested in English, but she currently doesn't have a religion and is kind of looking for one. I have been fasting and praying for her a lot. I would love it if ya'll would too! Also, the Elders had a baptism this week! It was the most amazing experience! Their investigator has been coming to church and meeting with the missionaries for almost 4 years and he got baptized on his birthday since he is finally old enough to get baptized without his parents' permission (they really hate the church for some reason). His testimony is so incredible and I just know he'll be one that endures to the end. I realized that baptizing just one person and seeing them endure to the end is the greatest desire of my heart. Not for numbers or praise or any of that dumb stuff, but because this gospel has made me so happy and I want it to make someone else that happy as well. We have been working so hard to find people so this hope can become an actual possibility. I just have to keep fasting and praying and working and hoping. 

After the baptism we all went out to eat "pig part soup" except it was just pork and not pig parts, so it was good. But we also ate soondae, which is pig intestine sausage. It definitely wasn't my favorite! Haha. But the members don't know that. ;) They are always super impressed with how well I eat Korean food compared to other foreigners. Hehe. What can I say? I guess I gave a stomach of steel or I'm just a good actor or something. But in all seriousness I really do love Korean food. It's so good! Also, there are these yummy spicy peppers that they give you with with your soup that most people (especially Americans) can't eat without dying of spicy! But I like them. The ward mission leader challenged me to a pepper eating contest and I won without my eyes watering or my nose running. It actually scares me how much spicy food doesn't effect me. I actually really like it! 

Well, that pretty much sums up this week. We have been keeping super busy and trying every finding method in the book. I know if we strive, Heavenly Father with trust us with His children who are looking for truth. 

사랑해요!!

I you love!

Sister Johns

This week Elder Yamatashia of the 70 visited and trained us...lol how did I forget that in my letter. Anyway, I got to see some friends from our zone and the Jeju Zone.

The Jinhe market 

What my face looks like when my mouth is full of pig intestines

New Glasses...and my "tea collection" Korean tea is super delicious! My favorite is this really finely sifted 12-grain mix that you add water and milk to. SO good! (That's what's in the big bag)

We always make the cutest message cards

A cute member's cute puppy

I fell in a puddle

Delicious tofu soup

The One With English Camp

Hello friends and family!!

This week was suuuppper busy! We held a Stake-wide English camp in 마산 with missionaries from three other areas near us and it was super fun, but also super draining. Honestly, there's really nothing to tell y'all about this week except that we had English camp and our entire week revolved around that. But it was super fun! We set up "stores" in the rooms at the Stake Center and decorated them super cute. People came to our stores and learned how to get a hair cut, buy clothes, order food, etc. in English. It was really fun. Sister Kim Yeji and I did the shopping room (typical). It was super cute! The Doghe sisters made a Zoo, the Midean sisters made a Baskin Robbins, the Doghe elders made a Hawaii room, Jinhae B-team made a barbershop, and the Masan sisters made a movie theater. It was pretty awesome and people really liked it. The Masan missionaries even met a few new investigators, but Masan is kind of far from Jinhae, so we were sad when no new Jinhae investigators showed up.

I made a major accomplishment this week! I taught a lesson all by myself on the bus! And I was able to have a decent conversation to everyone I sat by on the bus this week. I have been opening my mouth a lot more lately and I have been a lot happier because of it. This week Kim Yeji and I planned some new finding activities that we haven't done before. We are hoping if we try our best and put embarrassment and fear aside, we will find people to teach.

Even though I finally felt like I could kind of talk to people this week, the week was a little rough. All of our investigators cancelled last-minute including Kim Moon-Jo and her sister. That was really discouraging and all week I worried about them. Yesterday was Fast Sunday and I prayed so hard for Kim Moon-Jo. During ward council, we talked about how we could help her and the members were so willing and helpful. Jinhae ward is amazing. We also learned from the Primary President (who knows Kim Moon-Jo pretty well and has been helping her a lot) that Kim Moon-Jo has been going through a lot of really hard trials lately. Her family situation is really rough and in order to live in Jinhae to be closer to her mom she had to get a new job at a factory where she works all night until 3 a.m.. It has been really hard on her. I have been praying for her a lot because what she is going through with her family and with work is really rough, but she still tries so hard to come to church and do what she is supposed to do. Please pray for her!

Other than that, there's not much more to say. English camp ate us up this week! Please keep us in your prayers. We are trying so hard to find people without much success. We need all of the prayers we can get!

사랑해요!!

"I you love!!"

Sister Johns 

"Welcome to Masan Land!"

Our girly "boutique" (so much pink it hurts)

 

The Movie Theater. We gave out popcorn and played a fun Mormon Message 

The Zoo 

Barber Shop

Hawaii Resort

Baskin Robbins

Last night the Bishop and his wife (my favorite person ever...think Korean Sister Bertrand) invited us and all of the YSA/YW girls over for the most delicious Korean feast! And she made me tofu spaghetti! I just love her!