The One with the New Runner's High

Hello from Coomi! 

I made a breakthrough this week!

As you are all aware, before my mission I loved to exercise. I could have run all day and that would have made me the happiest girl alive. My favorite feeling in the world was that feeling of complete physical exhaustion after a long run or a hard workout. I'm pretty sure I was addicted to the "runner's high." When I first became a missionary, I really struggled with accepting that fact that I probably wouldn't have another "runner's high" for 18 months because any average person who has served a mission can tell you that no matter how hard to try to make it the same, exercise as a missionary and exercise as a normal person are very, very different. I really missed the feeling of just doing one more push up or running one more mile, then just collapsing after all sweaty and happy! But I have found a new runner's high on my mission that will have to do until I get home and I can spend an entire day at the gym! My new runner's high is long, hard, exhausting work. This week I was thinking back on the times that I have been happiest on my mission and those times were the days when I worked with all I have and gave the Lord all I've got, then crashed into bed, aching but satisfied. So I have decided that every single day when I go out, I will not go back into my apartment without giving away all of the Book of Mormons in my bag. I will talk to every single person on the street. I will love and serve the members and less actives and pour all of my heart into their well-being. And when we find investigators (and I know we will because they do exist in Coomi like they did in Jinhae and Pohang) I will give my whole heart to them too. I have faith that if I give God all that I have miracles will happen. So I can't slow down and just run 8 miles when I know I can run 10 or just talk to the people who seem nice or easy to talk to because I cannot judge who is prepared and who isn't. God is the only one who knows their potential. but I know mine and I can't just let myself fall below the bar. I can jump higher and higher so that my "bar" keeps getting higher and higher and I keep learning how to reach and raise it. I know I can do all things through Christ and if I trust Him it will all work out! If I don't give Him all I've got, then everything that I have given up to serve my mission, everything that I have put into the last 11 months, will be worthless. But I love god and I know that He will help me! Please pray for us to find new investigators and help this area! 

사랑해요!!!

"I you love"

Sister Johns

It's Buddha's Birthday, so all of the Buddhist temples are decorated so pretty!!

The lanterns all say "Happy Birthday Buddha!

The One in Ammoniah

Hello from 구미!

Okay, let's just start off by saying that this week wasn't exactly the best week of my mission...

Kim Yosul dropped us because she is busy with school and she wants to wait to be baptized until she has time to not go less active after baptism. So she said she'd call the sisters again "later." But I'll still be praying for her. So after that wonderful news we got on Tuesday, we are officially investigator-less. Ugh. And to make things worse, when we try and talk to people on the streets people just wave their hands in our faces, tell us to go away, or just ignore us as soon as we introduce ourselves as missionaries. People did that in my other areas, but nothing like it is here in Coomi. Sister Lee and I have basically decided that Coomi is Ammonihah and that we just have to keep working hard until we find Amuleck!! But the members warmed up to me a lot more once they realized that I can actually hold a decent conversation in Korean, so that was a miracle!

I don't have much time this week! Just pray for us because we're kind of having a hard time with the keeping going thing right now. But it's all good. I am just grateful for this trial of my faith because it will be for my good once I can see past the mean people on the streets and rejection.

사랑해요!!

"I you love"

Sister Johns

lol. i don't think they realized what this meant when they made it...lol #gottalovekorea 

We went exploring in a little town nearby with an American Military base. Yes. those are all crazy amo military car thingies...?? World domination much?

The One with Cherry Blossoms and General Conference

Hello from Coomi!! 

It's finally spring, which is great because it's warm, but terrible because summer here is, for lack of a better word, hellish.

This week was so great! It was just a big spiritual feast!

On Wednesday we met with Kim Yosul and it went really great, but she seems a little too afraid and hesitant to set a baptismal date. Just pray for her! I am worried about head conversion versus heart conversion with her. We were also walking down the street right after our appointment and this random American lady named Jennifer came up to us and was so nice! She said she would love to meet sometime! That was a miracle!

On Thursday, we had Zone Meeting and it was soo good! It was all about testifying of Christ. I was feeling super self-conscious about my testimony and sharing it with people on the street in Korean because I hadn't had a chance to share it in my native language in so long that I didn't even know what to say. And just as I was having that thought the Zone Leaders got up and announced that we were going to have a testimony meeting for the last 30 minutes of the meeting so I had a chance to share my testimony in English and that has made it so much easier for me to know what to say when I share it in Korean. God knows us so well! That was such a great experience.

Right after Zone Meeting we went to Elder and Sister Dustin's house with all of the Sisters in my zone to watch women's conference. That was so great!! Sister Dustin is sooo sweet! She made homemade bread, honey butter, and American food!!! It tasted like home!! I really needed that this week, as much as I adore Korean food. Sometimes you just need food made by a grandma!! :) Women's Conference was AMAZING!! I loved Sister Marriott's talk. It was like she was calling me to action as a missionary and as a person! I have been working sooo hard on developing charity on my mission and especially this transfer because President Barrow asked us to choose a Christ-like attribute to improve on. And Women's Conference was all about charity! I just felt so happy to be sitting on the most charitable senior couple in the world's couch and having the opportunity to hear women of God teach about how I can also love people more!

The rest of Conference was great! I wish I would have brought my notebook with me so I could share some insights with you, but I feel like I would just be preaching to the choir because y'all are all great and I should probably just be listening to your insights instead! It was just a spiritual feast and I got so many answers to questions I have.

Also, this week rain came and destroyed all of the beautiful cherry blossoms that only come once a year, but I was really lucky and a member and one of the less actives that she visit teaches took us to see them before they went away. Gosh, Korea is beautiful!!

사랑해요!!!

"I you love"

Sister Johns 

Conference!!! yay for fuzzy blankeys!! 

Some cherry blossom trees

Trees at day  

Trees at night 

pretty flowers in Daegu

Giant edible clovers from Sister Dustin's window garden!  

An alley cats chillin next door to our apartment 

I ate some meat and liked it!! Soo proud of myself! 

The One With a Miracle from 서울

안녕하세용!!!

This week was such a roller coaster! Sister Lee and I are sooo exhausted and so ready to just take a nap and then study some Korean!!

This week was so busy! We had to go down to Pusan because Sister Lee had an interview with President Barrow to follow up on an assignment he gave her. It felt soo good to go back down South for a little bit. It was so warm and there were actually people to talk to on the streets.Since we don't do transfer meetings anymore, I hadn't been to the mission home in like 3 transfers or more and it was really nice to go there again. And I got to say hi to President Barrow and have a quick interview/ It was so great! I really hope I get to serve in a big city with a subway station to jundo on at least once during my mission!!! That would be so nice! There would actually be people to talk to and I wouldn't have to chase people down the street! Serving in the country side isn't the easiest! Haha. Anyway, things are going really well in Coomi. We had a big miracle this week! Last week we were doing weekly planning and looking at our stats and just wanting to die because they sucked so bad. So we decided to fast and pray for a new investigator. And the next day we got a call from the Office Elders about a girl who just moved to our area from Seoul. We taught her with a member at church this Sunday and she is sooo prepared! She asked so many great questions and really wants to be baptized! I am so happy!! Also, it's super crazy because her hometown is Jinhae and she lived in the same neighborhood as me when I lived there! Also, she went to college in Pohang and now she is living in Coomi and studying to work for the government as a lawyer or something! There is no such thing as a coincidence when God is involved! I am so excited!! Please keep praying for her! Her name is Kim Yosul and we are meeting with her again this Wednesday and setting a baptismal date for April 24th. Please pray that it all works out and that she can be baptized on that day!

Other than that, we're just trying to love the grind. I am starting to see why I am serving in this area this transfer and how I can really help strengthen this ward. I learned so much in Pohang that I need to apply here! Everything in my mission has been so inspired!

Love y'all so much!!

사랑해요!!
"I you love"

Sister Johns