Hello from Pohang! The weather is so sunny today and I am so happy! Sun makes the freezing cold wind more bearable!
Can you believe that this Friday I am halfway done with my mission?!?! What the heck! I still feel like I was a little trainee in Jinhae five minutes ago! I can still remember rolling into the MTC in Kendl's red Jeep like it was five minutes ago! And when I walked through the MTC doors and the lady pinned on my missionary tag for the first time couldn't have been more than a second ago. And don't even get me started on how serving with Sister Kim Yeji and Sister Jung Hyemin feels like it was just a second ago! I have learned soo much! I can't even describe it to you! I have learned SO much! I love this mission. I love, love, LOVE it! I love Korea so much. I didn't think my love for Korea and Koreans could grow any more, but I keep surprising myself and falling more and more in love with this place! I really wish I could adequately describe to y'all how much I have grown as a missionary and how much I have learned. I know all missionaries say this, but if you're not on a mission, get yourself on one! You will learn so much. You will grow so much. It will be hard. There will be days when your back and feet and neck kill from walking and walking and walking all day long. There will be days when you are so discouraged because you tried so hard and talked to everyone but only taught one person who ended up rejecting you. There will be days when you have gained an insane amount of weight and you want to scream. There will be days where your head spins from listening to and trying to understand a foreign language nonstop for hours. You will feel SO inadequate, and there will be days when you just want to give up. Missions are NOT a vacation or a study abroad. Missions are certainly NOT easy. But they are the most rewarding thing that anyone can ever do as a selfish 20-year-old. Why? Because on those days when your feet hurt and you ache everywhere imaginable, you will realize that you have been made mentally and physically stronger so that you can take on anything. When you are discouraged from rejection, you will find just one person who will listen even if it is just for 5 minutes, and that will be enough. When you get on the scale and want to scream, you will end up realizing that none of that really matters and your confidence will increase just by knowing that. When you are struggling with the language you will have a moment of clearness and understanding that keeps you going and striving to be better. And when you feel inadequate you will look at yourself and realize that you are climbing a ladder that is getting closer to God with each rail. And as you get closer to God, you realize how wonderful, perfect, kind, and stunning He is. Which will make you feel so inadequate, yet so loved because God is helping you climb that ladder to becoming just like Him. So at the end of the rough, exhausting days, you will know that through Christ's love, mercy and Atoning power that you can do it. And as you do it all with a positive attitude, you become happier and happier even if nobody listens to you and you suck at the language and there are so many other missionaries who are 100 times better at the work than you. I love this mission. The longer I am a missionary, the more grateful I become that I took the risk of coming on a mission to Korea. So if you are thinking about going on a mission, go. You will not regret it. It will be hard, I promise you that. But every second will be worth it in the eternal scheme of things.
Okay, now it's time for me to get off of the soapbox and share some news! This week was transfers and Sister Morrison got transferred to Daegu, Songin and I will be staying in Pohang with Sister Clove, who has been in Korea for 4 months. She is two transfers younger than me so I am a little scared because it is my first time to be senior companion. But I am just grateful I'm not training yet! Sister Hall from my MTC district and another Sister who has been in Korea for less time than me are training! So glad it's not me! I am so not ready for that yet! I am so afraid to lead this area. My Korean is so inadequate. I can't even describe it to you! I wish so badly that I was good at this language. I just want that more than anything in the world so I can communicate clearly with people and not feel so many limits and barriers when I teach. I just want to be fluent sooo bad. I can't even describe to you how much I want that. It would help with the work so much. I will be fasting and praying so hard for the gift of tongues! Please pray for me as well. I am going to need all of the help that I can get from on high!!
I love y'all so much!!
사랑해요!!!
I you love!
Sister Johns
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