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

The First One in 포항 (Pohang)

Hello everyone!

This week has been the best and the worst. Isn't it funny how missions are like that?!

I got transferred to a new area! Pohang is really awesome. It's right by the ocean and there's a beach with sand and everything! And the branch is really wonderful and there are tons of super cute kids in it! We even do a kids' English class on Thursdays! It's so fun! We're also preparing the cutest family in the world to be baptized next Sunday. The missionaries have been teaching them for 6 months and they're finally ready! They are seriously the cutest. And I have no idea why but their kids love me! Their little boy is just my buddy! I am so tempted to break the no-holding-kids rule every time we see them. Also, serving with Sister Morrison is so much fun! I felt like Ariel when she gets her voice back when we met at Transfer Meeting! It's so weird having an American companion! We have way too much fun together. Our first three nights together we stayed up until like 1:30 talking and peeing our pants laughing so hard! Also, we are the only two ginger sisters in the mission and we're serving together...so jundo is pretty insane. People literally stop us and ask if they can touch our hair. It's super weird! But we found two new people to teach this week because of it...? Ginger power?! I think so!

Pohang is also super intense though. It is known within the mission for being a super hard area. Sister Morrison tried to shield me from that at Transfer meeting, but before she could say all of the good things about Pohang, I had heard all of the crazy bad stuff. But it's really not as bad as everyone made it sound. It is just that there weren't sisters in Pohang for 30 years until about 5 transfers ago and the branch president expects a LOT out of the missionaries. I am so nervous and I feel so inadequate. I feel so overwhelmed by how much I still need to learn as far as Korean goes, and this area has never had a sister as "young" as me before (as far as amount of transfers goes) or two Americans, so gaining the members' trust is really hard. I seriously have no idea why President sent me here. Pohang an area where hardcore sisters who know what they are doing go...and I am the complete opposite of that. I like flowers and baby things and bows I am pretty much as soft-core as it gets. I am so confused, but I am trying not to let the stress get to me too much. I have adopted that super old song by The Mountain Goats that goes "I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me" as my theme song because I think Pohang might rip out my soul.

Anyway, Pohang is FREEZING! It rains pretty much everyday I and I have been sick with a weird cough/cold all week and it just won't go away!! But I am way to afraid to go to the doctor though...Korean doctors' offices are way sketchy and I can't speak Korean to save my life, so I think I'll just wait until the cold blows over...

Anyway, there's not a ton to say! I am super happy and super stressed as usual for missionaries. Pray for me because I have never felt so inadequate in my life. 

Have a great Thanksgiving and each of you eat a piece of pumpkin pie for me!!

사랑해요!!!

I you love

Sister Johns

Scenic Pohang

Posco (a huge steel factory in Pohang)...pretty much everyone on Pohang works here and has MONEY because of it. That makes missionary work a little hard but also good because there are lots of people, but not a lot of humble people. 

 I love this Ginger!!! :)

호떡!!!!!! YUM!

Hey! They kind of do celebrate Christmas here...kind of! 

The One with Transfers, the 6-Month Mark, and all of the Problems with their Bathroom

Hello everyone! I have so much to say and so little time because I am getting transferred to 포항!!! Ahhhhh! What?! I will be serving there with Sister Morrison, the only other ginger in the mission. How perfect is that?! And she is my first American companion (and my first companion who can speak English!! Yay!) It is sooo sad to leave 진해 but I am excited for the change! 

Also can you believe I have been a missionary for 6 months and I only have 1 year left?? Well, I sure can't! This missionary work goes by soo slow and sooooo fast at the same time. I can't even describe it!

Well, this week was insane. I'm sure you're all wondering what these "bathroom problems" are, so I guess I should probably explain. This week our bathroom just decided to break down. On Tuesday our shower was flooding and the shower head stopped working, so despite the fact that I swore to myself that I would never put myself through the trauma of going to the public bath ever again, we got permission from the APs to go until our landlord could fix the shower head. And I know that God lives because the public bath was closed this week (yay!), so we showered out of a bucket. It was actually kind of ironic that that happened because when my Stake President interviewed me before I submitted my mission papers he asked me all of these funny questions about learning a new language and eating weird food and living in a new culture. Then we looked me in the eye and asked "Sister Johns, could you shower out of a bucket?" And I said I could if the Lord needed me to. And that's what I did this week. I showered with freezing cold water out of a big bucket/bowl thingie we use for cooking. Haaha. God sure does have a sense of humor. But I did it! And it really wasn't so bad! 

So after they fixed our shower and exactly two days later, our toilet would.not.flush. (Just so y'all know, nobody made any huge number 2 or anything. It just randomly stopped working) So we tried EVERYTHING. I plunged so hard that our plunger broke in half. And, yes, prior to doing that, I pulled the toilet chain like a reasonable human and nothing happened. We both really needed a bathroom because, you know, we're human, so we decided we needed to call someone for help. So we called the landlord, but because we have incredibly bad luck, he just happened to be in Seoul for the rest of the week. We were too mortified to call the Elders about our hopelessly clogged toilet, so we called the STLs who couldn't help us. So we had two options: swallow our pride and call the Office Elders or call Sister Barrow. So, thinking it would be the less embarrassing way out, we called Sister Barrow. But she couldn't help us, so she put PRESIDENT BARROW on the phone. So, there I was sitting on my floor, covered in toilet water and clinging desperately to what was left of my dignity as I explained to my mission president our toilet problems. Since he is in Pusan and can't just come right over and fix our toilet, he sent us back to square one: call the Elders. So I called them and they came and fixed my toilet (which was SO weird because there were Elders in our house...ew!!!). And that is the sad story of how Sister Johns lost her dignity. 

Anyway...

Other than the bathroom problems and the tragic death of my spirit. This week was great. We got to meet with all of our investigators one more time and they are all doing really well. I love them all to death and it was so sad and so hard to leave them. We were all heartbroken when we had to say bye. Espeicially when I said bye to Hong Yeji! That was probably the hardest. I just love her to death. Before I left, we went to this super cool Korean tea house and book cafe and we taught her about the Book of Mormon and we talked about why we decided to become missionaries. Hong Yeji is super into her church, so I don't see her joining any time soon, but that is okay. I explained to her how happy this religion had made me. I told her about the time when I didn't believe in God and thought I was so stylish because I lived an existential mindset and how when I finally knew that God really does exist and speak to us through prophets and through personal revelation I was so much happier and finally felt at peace with my life. I shared my testimony and told her that I am not our to tear other religions down because they are also beautiful and they bring others to Christ. We also talked about how we aren't trying to convert people who don't want to be converted. We just want to share the spirit with others and little bits of this gospel that has blessed our lives so much. I told her that the gospel was like a super delicious blueberry smoothie that I wanted to share with everyone I meet. We talked about our missionary purpose and how through our visits I just want to help her come closer to Christ. Hong Yeji and I are going to write each other letters for the rest of my mission and I told her that I would share little messages with her to brighten week. I am so glad that I got to meet Hong Yeji and that through email and letters I will get to teach her for the rest of my mission. 

Yesterday I gave my bye-bye talk at church and the spirit was so strong. I just feel so much love for the members of the Jinhae ward! Somehow, by a miracle, I was able to speak decent Korean for most of the talk. But then I saw all of the people I love crying (even the young men! It was so cute!) and I started to cry. After sacrament meeting I was just swarmed by hugs and love and plates and plates of rice. I really don't want to leave Jinhae, but I know I have to go. And Sister Markus from my MTC district is coming to replace me so it will all be okay! Jinhae is in great hands!

This missionary work is so hard, but so great. I am learning so much about love and patience and selflessness. But I still have so far to go! 

사랑해요!!

I you love!

Sister Johns

Lol apparently Dad has a sketchy bar in Jinhae that we found during jundo

Love them!

The One When She went Skinny-Dipping with a bunch of Old Ladies at a Public Bathhouse

Hey y'all!!

Yes. you read that right. I did indeed spend the morning at a public bathhouse with a bunch of nakey old ladies. But please let me explain...Haaha.

Bathing together is totally okay here in Korea...? Actually, I knew that at some point during my mission I would have to go the bathhouse. It's just part of the Korea experience. Last night during daily planning Sister Jung and I were talking about what we should do on our last P-Day together and we joked about going to the bathhouse (missionaries are allowed to go on P-day mornings between 6 and 7). I was like "heck no." Just so everyone knows, I am the kind of person who feels violated walking from the shower to my room to get my towel when there's not even anyone home. But our shower randomly started to flood and we don't have anything to fix it, so we really did have to go...and I am scarred for life. But it was actually kind of fun...if you can use the word 'fun' to describe it? Haha. Basically after you pay and you go into this big locker room and everyone just starts strippin down to their b-day suit without any warning. Haha. It took me like five minutes to get undressed. Haha. Sister Jung was cracking up. Koreans have gone to the bathhouse since they were little, so it's no biggie to them. Anyway... After that there are different baths that you chill in with a bunch of old ladies. So yeah, this morning I basically went hot tubbing with a bunch of naked 60- and 70-year-old old ladies. Haha. But when else in your life can you say that? You've gotta love Korea! After bathing, we were getting dressed and right as I was thinking "I never want to see another naked lady ever, EVER again" about 7 buck-naked old ladies ran by. It was like the part in Mulan where Mulan has to bathe with all of the dudes except (thankfully) it was just old ladies.

Well, that was an experience. 

Anyway. Now that we have discussed Sister Johns's mental scarring, let's talk about missionary work!

This week was great! We couldn't meet with Kim Hyunji and set a baptismal date because she had to work, but she is really progressing. We are going to set a baptismal date this Friday. She is also going to a YSA camp this weekend with the members, which will be so great! I am so excited for her. She is the cutest and so prepared for this message. Please keep praying for her. Coming to church is hard for her with her work/university schedule.

Han Mihyung is also doing great. We met with her and Hong Yeji on Thursday and she taught us the traditional method of making and serving Korean tea (lol...good luck teaching the Word of Wisdom, right?!). It was super beautiful and it actually gave us a great opportunity to teach the W.o.W. They actually understood it a lot better than I thought they would! Before we left, Han Mihyung asked us about faith, so we shared Alma 32:21 and she asked to have a Book of Mormon so she could read it on her own and figure out for herself if it's true! Thatta girl!! I love her to death. She is the best I know that when she gets her answer about this message, she will stick it out and endure to the end because she really wants to know for herself if our message is true. She is so amazing and she treats me like I am her daughter. Please keep praying for her. Especially that she will get an answer on her own about the Book of Mormon.

On Saturday we met with Hong Yeji again. We got special permission to go to Masan to meet with her because she wanted to show us her house. We went out to Italian food that actually tasted like Italian food! It was so fun. We talked about books and music and art and life and it was so fun. Hong Yeji really is a kindred spirit! As we were talking, I expressed to Hong Yeji that I am a little nervous about pursuing Art History because getting a good job at a museum is really, really hard. Then she gave me the best advice ever. She told me about how when she was my age, she really wanted to study English/literature and become a librarian at the national library in Seoul, but everyone told her that if she did she wouldn't make any money. So she chose to study accounting instead. She got her degree and now she is an accountant/banker and she makes plenty of money, but she is so unhappy and regrets her choice she made when she was 20 every single day when she goes to work. Next year she is going back to school to get an English/literature degree and do what she wants to do so she can finally be happy and content with life. She told me to stick with what I love, work hard, and trust God because He will help me every step of the way (funny how our investigator taught me a lesson!). When I was set apart as a missionary, I was blessed to be able to have a confirmation about what I should study and I really think that was it. After that I shared 2 Timothy 1:7 with Hong Yeji because I felt impressed to share it with her during personal study (I am reading the New Testament start to finish right now. It's the best, ya'll should too, just sayin). She really loved it and it really was just what she needed. I shared my testimony and then she really opened up to me about where her faith is right now. In her darling Konglish she told me the story of a little boy who lived at the time of Jesus. When Christ was in prison prior to His crucifixion, the little boy saw Him and felt sad and confused because the man was wearing a funny thorn crown. When he saw that Jesus was only wearing a thin cloth, he felt bad and brought Him a blanket and some bread. Jesus and the little boy talked and became best friends. Hong Yeji said that she feels like the little boy because Jesus is her best friend. Throughout her life her relationship with Jesus is like the seasons. When she was young it was always summer. They walked closely on the road of life. But as time went on and she grew up and became busy sometimes it would become summer or fall. But right now she feels like it is winter because she is so lonely because she is 30 and unmarried, her friends have moved on, and she hates her job. She said she still loves Jesus, but she can't understand why her life has turned out the way it has. I felt so sad when she told me this. I told Hong Yeji that we may feel like it's winter, but it's always summer for Jesus and he is always ready to walk closely with us on the road of life when we are ready to come back on the path with him. I shared Alma 7:11-12 and she really loved it. The spirit was so strong. Then Hong Yeji opened up about how she has had really bad luck with relationships. She told us about how the man she loved cheated on her and married the other woman. Forgiving him was so hard, but she did and now she really hopes he's happy. Hong Yeji has the most beautiful heart in the world. I don't know if I could forgive someone the way she did. After that we talked about our dream guys (lol), about how looks aren't important, and Hong Yeji really comforted me about not being there for Kayleigh's wedding. I told her that I have faith that she will marry someone really wonderful (and there is actually an amazing and cute guy in the Jinhe ward who is in the exact same boat as Hong Yeji...just sayin). It was the best night. We laughed and cried and talked together and comforted each other because right now, the lives we're living aren't easy. I am going to be so sad if I leave Jinhae after this transfer. But Hong Yeji and I have decided to stay in touch no matter what. She also said that if I get transferred to somewhere close by, she will come visit one P-day. Please pray for her. She is the most wonderful, beautiful person and I feel that she is the reason why I was called on my mission to Korea. 

This week was so great. I love y'all so much! Have a wonderful week! Write me if you get time and I'll do my best to write you too!

사랑해요!!

"I you love"

Sister Johns 

We made "chocolate-white chocolate" cookies (they are made of salt, pepper, mushrooms--the 'white chocolate'--, vinegar, tomato juice, etc) and gave them to the Elders...it was so funny. We are just a little evil 

Han Mihyung teaching us how to do traditional Korean tea

Group jundo in the rain (Elder Roper and Elder Wienken went on emergency exchanges together for a day and they're in their first and second transfer...lol. I have no idea how they survived). 

My lovely friend, Hong Yeji

So cute: Hong Yeji ordered me bread-bowl pasta because Koreans think that all Americans love bread. :) I could only eat like 1/4 of it because it was so much food! Haha. 

This One with 가가호호 Trick-Or-Treating

Happy (late) Halloween!

First of all, I CAN'T BELIEVE MY ONLY OLDER SISTER IS ENGAGED AND GOING TO GET MARRIED WITHOUT ME THERE!!! ifnsoignsiofgnsiofgnsfiogn

But that aside, this week was AMAZING!

Last P-Day, we literally slept for the entire day. It was the best! It gave us all of the energy we needed to get through this week! Here's some advice: if you're tired, take a nap.

I'll start with some bad news, then move on to all of the good stuff. On Wednesday, Joo Rami dropped us. I was so sad, but also a little relieved because I got a weird feeling every time we went to her house. But I am also a little sad because she needed a lot of service and now we can't give it. But it's okay. She has her agency. And I am so grateful that God gave us the ability to make choices for ourselves.

On Thursday, we taught Han Mihyung the Plan of Salvation, and she really liked it, but she has a really hard time developing faith in Christ and accepting that Christ's life is not just a good story. Which, I totally understand because for about 50% of my life I felt that way. But now I know that Christ lives and He is our Savior because I asked God about it and got an answer in the most inexplicable way. Please pray that Han Mihyung will be able to have that experience too. I love her so much. She literally takes care of me like I am her own daughter.

On Friday, I went to exchanges in 도계! It was so fun and cool to see another area!

On Halloween, we went door-to-door reverse trick-or-treating and gave out the goodie bags Mom sent with treats and Because He Lives cards in them. It was pretty fun and my companion really loved the pumpkin stuff!

Okay, now the best part!

This weekend we taught Kim Hyunji again. We taught the Plan of Salvation and she was so happy when she heard that she could be with her family forever and that she can go to the temple one day. She just lit up. It was amazing. Yesterday, she came to church and really loved it. She said she had a warm feeling and wanted to keep coming. Last night, there was a fireside and we invited her to come and she did! There are two other 19-year-old sisters in the ward (who I love!) and they all became instant friends. It was so amazing to see. When we were eating dinner, she was talking to a member who got baptized last month and she turned to me and said "나도 짐례 받고싶다!" aka "I also want to get baptized!" I am so excited! I really think Kim Hyunji will get baptized, but the thing that I most worried about is the Enduring to the End part. People go inactive so easily here in Korea. Our focus is to help her develop faith on her own so she can stay strong forever. And how amazing will it be if she really does come to BYU?! We can all hang out together! I am just so happy and grateful I was able to meet this friend!

Also, last night after the fireside, we were cleaning up and Bishop came up to me and he was totally serious, which is so rare because he is the biggest jokester on Earth. I think I have seen Bishop Moon Je-kun act serious three times in the four months I've been in Jinhae. Anyway, he said that he was really proud of me and that out of all of the trainees he's met in Jinhae, I am the best at Korean and the hardest worker. And that he was sad that I would probably get transferred out of his ward this month. I was so shocked. I literally just show up. Haha. But apparently I am doing something right? That was one of the really special moments of my mission. I love these people I am meeting here and I am so grateful for the opportunities that Heavenly Father has given me to improve my Korean and grow as a missionary. I actually hate it when people tell me that I am good at Korean because I still have so much to learn and I really don't want to be put up on a pedestal. I have just been really lucky to have had two really awesome Korean companions who have helped me with the language a lot. People make being good at the language such a big deal here, but really it doesn't matter at all. All that matters is loving the people and trying your best. Anyway, that's my soapbox moment. Please don't think I am being prideful. Becoming prideful is my biggest fear. In actuality, I have so much Korean to learn and I still can't understand most of what people say! But I am just glad that I have been able to grow.

Okay, one more fun thing! Pak Pooja, the cute old lady that is my Korean grandma saw that I didn't have any warm clothes and gave me some of her old granny cardigans. It was so cute! I love her to death. She is the cutest and the sweetest! I am planning on sending her letters during the  rest of my mission and after. Also, she said that she wants me to set her up with any of the single old men in America. Hahah. I just about died laughing when she said that. But I don't blame her. She's so lonely. LOL.

Anyway...

I love y'all so much! Thanks to everyone who wrote me this week! I really appreciate hearing from everyone! Sorry if it sometimes takes forever for me to respond! I promise I love you all and pray for you every night! Email times is just way short.

사랑해요!!

I you love!

Sister Johns

They had special Halloween stuff at a 빵집 in Doghe!  

Reverse trick-or-treating! 

The cutest thing ever: When we were doing this, we gave a goodie bag to the cutest little middle schooler and she had just learned about Halloween at school so she ran back inside and got candy and gave it to me so I could feel like it was American Halloween. She also said she would come to English class. So stinking cute. There are still good people in this world!! :) 

Sister Jung! <3 

I made brown rice, tofu kimbap with Sister Jung! 

I love these girls!

Kim Hyunji!

Our ward mission leader and his wife on her birthday. I just love these two!