The One With Easter Miracles

Hello from sunny Coomi!

Today's weather was so nice and it was such a fun day! We got to go into downtown Daegu for a zone P-day! The senior couple serving in the area made us a very, very delicious brunch that tasted like America and we went shopping a little in the big city!! The city is just where I belong...Heavenly Father, why do You keep sending me to serve in the countryside?!?!?! Hahaha...I shouldn't question God like that...oops! Anyway...

This week has been really great and yesterday was a very special Easter for me. Easter really isn't a holiday or even a thing here in Korea, but being here without the chocolate bunnies and pastel bows really helped me focus on the Savior even more than at home where there is a huge celebration. I am more than halfway done with my mission (WOW...WHAT??!?!?!!) and it is time more than ever before to get down to business!! I have realized that the last transfer or so I have been so stressed about such meaningless things and it is just time for me to get back to the basics of why I am here in Korea as a missionary. I am here because I love my Savior, Jesus Christ and I want to serve Him through serving others. Satan uses so many stupid things (like titles and positions, weaknesses and inadequacies, grudges against others, the list goes on) to distract us from our simple purpose on this Earth (whether we are missionaries or not). Satan loves to over-complicate things and make us think that insignificant things are significant. But with Christ, everything is simple. Sometimes I look back and long for my days as a trainee before I knew what being good at Korean was and where my trainer protected me from mission gossip and other things that cause stress to missionaries everywhere. At that time, I felt like I was doing enough because I really, truly was giving it my all and that was enough for me back then. But now that I am an "old missionary" I feel like more is expected of me. But really, all I have to do is crash into bed exhausted from working my hardest and putting in my whole effort each day and that is enough regardless or how good my Korean is or how many baptism I have (or haven't) had. Lately I haven't been able to sleep at night because I lay on my yo and my mind reels and my heart races over not being good enough at Korean, not having any baptisms, not holding titles or positions, missing home, gaining weight, etc. and I feel sick. But I have started a new exercise to cure that problem: each night as I fall asleep I think about Jesus Christ and all that He has done for me any everyone else in the world. He put up with so much from so many people and when you think about it, He didn't see much success from His efforts until after He had accomplished His mission on Earth. And when I think about that I remind myself that the sole purpose and the only reason why I am here on this mission is for Jesus Christ. And that makes me feel peace. When I remind myself of that, there is not a single worry!! I encourage you all to do the same thing at night or any time during the day, especially when you are feeling inadequate, alone, etc.. I promise when you do, you will feel peace, happiness, and rest because Christ will take your burdens with His "easy yoke" and everything will be "made light."

On this missionary work side of things, here's my 2 Easter Miracles:

The other day I was getting ready when all of the sudden we got a call from a random number. It happened to be from the Jinhae Sisters (my first area). The had called to tell me that Kim Hyunji, my first investigator was getting baptized. Jinhae and Coomi are far away from each other, so I couldn't go, which was sad, but I was just so happy that Hyunji was getting baptized that it didn't matter! She was baptized on Easter and the Sisters sent me pictures! She looked beautiful in her white dress! I just wanted to cry happy tears! And I was so nervous that Hyunji wouldn't remember me because Jinhae was so long ago, but she remembered me and she still has the the picture of the Seoul Temple that I wrote my testimony on! I am just so happy!!

Also, on Easter we were out Jundoing and knocking doors and we were tired and hungry and we weren't having much success, but we had one more 18 story apartment building left to knock doors at and I'm not going to lie, I was so tempted to walk back home. But I decided that we should just thrust in our "sickles" for just a little longer. We only had time to do half of the doors, so we prayed about which was to go: left or right. I suppose any reasonable person would have just made a decision, but we were running low on faith so we decided to ask God where to direct us. So we chose the right (literally). We started on the 18th floor and faced rejection all the way down to floor three where we rang the bell and a teenage boy and his little brother answered. We asked if we would share a message and they said they didn't have time because they were moving in, but they would like to hear later so we got their numbers and set up a follow up appointment right then and there! That has literally never happened in my entire 8 1/2 months in Korea!!! We were so happy! Please pray that this family's heart will be open to our message and that they will be prepared for baptism!!

God knows us and loves us. He answers our prayers. It's all really simple!

Have a wonderful week!

사라해요!!

"I you love"

Sister Johns 

The First One in 구미

안녕하세요 from 구미 (Koreans romanize it like Gumi, but I know y'all will pronounce that like gummy, so I'll give you a pointer and tell you that it's pronounced more like Coomi)!!!!

I finally received a transfer call on Saturday night and now I'm here in the 대구 (Daegu) Zone! I am serving in Coomi with Sister 이수영 (Lee Soo Young). She is my age and she grew up in LA, so she is perfect at both English and Korean...I am sooo jealous of that! Haha. She is super nice and I am really excited to serve together this transfer! Finally with a Korean again!! #thisiswheremypeopleat

This week was pretty fun. Just the usual. We had Kids' English Class on the night of my birthday which was super fun because the moms all thew a surprise birthday party for me. I still can't believe I'm 21!! That's so old!!

Leaving Pohang was really hard, but I was so ready for it! Even though I was only there for 3 transfers, it felt like I has been there for eternity!! I was so ready for a change! It just feels so great to be in a new area with new people, new challenges, and new learning experiences. I have a really good feeling about Coomi! I feel like I am going to learn and grown a lot here! Change is sort of hard, but I love it so much! Who would have known?!

Leaving Sister Kim Un Jung and the Pohang Branch was sooo hard! I just love her family so much! It was so cute because yesterday as we were leaving the church after saying goodbye for the last time, all of the little kids were so sad and they all followed me out of the church and chased me down the road! We all walked down the road hand-in-hand until we got to the point in the street that all of their parents said they aren't allowed to cross and so they all just stood there and waved until we were out of sight. I seriously felt like I princess or something! I love all of those kids so much and it was so hard to say bye to them!! They will probably be old men and women the next time I see them and that freaks me out! I never want to leave Korea!!

I was also really sad to leave Sister Clove. We both helped each other grow a lot. She really helped me learn to be more organized and clean (Mom, you can send her a thank you note for that later) and she really helped me work on starting to conquer my ADD problems! Haha. But we also laughed so much together! We got so close so fast and had so much fun! I seriously act like the crazy freak I am at home with Emily and Aubrey around her! It's insane! Haha! I think the Lord knew what he was doing when he separated us because I think we would have burned down the house if we stayed together one more transfer! Haha. I just love that girl! Keep praying for her and all of my companions because they are some of my best friends!!

Well, I really don't have much else to say this week! Love y'all so much!!

사랑해요!!

"I you love"

Sister Johns

P.S.- Thanks so much for all of the Birthday Wishes!! Y'all are all so sweet and I wish I had time to respond to everyone!

Not exactly sure what a "smail spoon" is, but it's best for eating peanut butter. Thanks Sister Clove! Best present ever!

I'm 22 in Korean age...weird!!

Surprise party after Kids' English 

I love these kids!!!

Green Pancakes with Sister Merrill for my birthday! She is so thoughtful! 

It was sooo nice outside the other day, so we jundoed to the pier and our dresses kept flying up~oops!! 

Sister Cooper is transferring to 도계!! 

With Sister Kim Hyeryoung (she is basically Deena Lee's daughter!!!!) we have been besties since we were trainees together and we found out this week that we are practically family! Love her!!

The One When Claire Said She Would Be Baptized!!

Hello from Korea!!

Can I first say that Kayleigh's wedding was so beautiful and seems like it was a blast! I am sooooo sad that I couldn't be there, but so glad that my cardboard-cutout-self had such a great time! Gosh, Kenz! You really like to party!!! I never thought I'd be the crowd surfing type, but then again, I surprise myself every day...like yesterday when I pretty much ate an entire pig intestine. #adventuresinkorea 

Anyway, things are just keepin on here in Pohang. We saw a big miracle this week...I mean we see them every single day, but we saw a really big one this week! Our investigator, Claire, told us that she would be baptized! If you remember, last week we taught her how to repent and she said that she felt so much peace when she repented in her heart. We taught her about baptism and the Holy Ghost and she said that she wants to be baptized! So let's fill up dat font and seal the deal! I know that Claire isn't just going to be like Alice and Kim Jihyun and all of the other people that almost got baptized because this time I have more faith and I am not going to let any doubt creep in. I know she will get baptized and I will finally see the miracle of conversion on my mission!!! I have been waiting so long for this!! 

Other than that, nothing really exciting happened this week. We went to Hogaye for a relief society activity and I saw Sister Cooper there! That was sooo good and it was great to talk to her about Kayleigh getting married! I have made some of the best friends on my mission! Also, we had a little miracle yesterday night. Our ward mission leader and his wife (the cutest little old people ever) invited us over for dinner so we wouldn't have to jundo out in the cold all night and they made us kimchi spaghetti (SO cute) because me and Sister Clove are both American. They made me feel so welcome and happy in their house and we went out on the veranda with our mission leader's wife and she showed us the first cherry blossoms of the season. It seriously felt like that scene in Mulan where her dad tells her something really inspirational under the cherry blossom tree. Brother Ahn and Sister Jung just made us feel so welcome in their home and it really helped distract me from thinking about the wedding. It was just one of those moments that reminded me that I wouldn't want be anywhere else in the world but here in Korea even if I look like the ogre version on Princess Fiona from Shrek, I have to eat pig intestines and worms, and I haven't gotten a good night's sleep in 10 months. But honestly, this mission is making me a way better person than I was before, even if my teeth are permanently stained from eating so much kimchi (YUM!).

We have transfers this week! I will get a call on Saturday if I am transferring, and chances are the next time I write you it will be from another area! I kind of hope so! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Pohang! This area is great and I would recommend for anyone to serve here! But I really need change because I am starting to get restless here! Who knew that Kenzie Johns, the girl who is afraid of everything, would love change! But I am coming to love change more and more every day!

Well...

Sorry if my letters are starting to get boring. I guess I have just gotten really used to the whole life in Korea thing, so I don't have a lot to write about anymore. It's just my home now and even the random men peeing on random walls and psycho stray cats all over the streets don't phase me anymore. But I love this place. I really wish Americans could appreciate Korea and not just see it as some random place in Asia because it really is the best place ever and so beautiful and the people here are the absolute nicest humans you could ever meet!

사랑해요!!

"I you love!!"

Sister Johns

ps- can you believe I'm going to me 21 this week! That is SOOO old! I just can't wrap my mind around it!!! 

The One With Adventures at the Buddhist Temple

Hi all!

Honestly, nothing really happened this week, but after living in Korea for nearly 8 months I finally got myself to a cultural site where the little art history major that has been hiding inside of my heart for now almost 10 months could scream for joy! We took the bus down to Kyungju and saw one of the biggest and most famous Buddhist temples in Korea, Bulguksa. It was so much fun and such a cool experience to go and appreciate some art, history, and learn about another religion that so many people here in Korea follow. Sister Clove also tried her first silkworm larvae today...hahaha! That was so funny! I told her that because I tried it for the first time while serving in Pohang, she had to try it too! She almost died! If you ever make your way to Korea, I'll make sure you try it too!

But on the missionary work side of things, nothing crazy happened this week except that I had to speak in church and a member of the 70 was there! Yeah...I almost pooped my pants in fear when I found out that he would be attending sacrament meeting five minutes before I had to speak. Also, Jang Jung-nyung went to China, but she has been chatting with the entire branch via internet and text! She is awesome and I know great things will happen when she comes back to Korea! Also, our other investigator (we'll call her Claire because I think her English name will be easier for y'all) is doing great! We taught her about repentance and she said it gave her a lot of pressure, but that she would try it because she wants to become clean and pure like the missionaries. Pray for her!!

I can't believe how quickly time is going by and how much things are changing. I'm turning 21 next week and my older sister is getting married and I'm more than half-way finished with my mission journey. It's crazy and I can't wrap my mind around it all, but I am just going to do my best to focus and just be happy to be here in Korea right here, right now. I really do love this place so much and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world, except maybe at Kayleigh's wedding for just one hour! But I know that if I sacrifice, I will be able to find people to help and that will make it all worth it. I am learning and growing so much! I can't believe I've been here in Pohang for three transfers!! Transfer calls are next week! We'll have to wait and see what happens. Even though I love Pohang, I just feel so ready for a change of setting. I really hope I brake the "Pohang 4 transfer-curse"!! Also, Sister Clove and I decided that we are way too good of friends to serve together for another transfer or we will tear down the Pohang house! Finally a companion who laughs at my fart/poop jokes and doesn't think I'm super gross and immature! But I will just go and do whatever the Lord tells me to do wherever He calls me to do it!!

Love you all! You are always in my prayers and in my heart.

사랑해요!!

Sister Johns 

Bulguksa

Just so cool!

We were out jundoing in the rain and we saw this sad man on the side of the road selling rice cakes, so we bought a million of them because we passed him three times and felt like we just had to help him. These rice cakes are now my favorite snack! I ate an entire sleeve myself in less than an hour...#oops #fatprobs