The One With Baptism Bells!!

Hello from the happiest day ever in Coomi! 

They'd better start filling up the font and playing "I Like to Look for Rainbows" because we saw miracles this week!

Let's start with the best news! After three weeks of patience and prayer, we were finally able to start the missionary lessons with Jung Bo-rahm. And within the first five minutes of starting our lesson we had committed her to be baptized and she said she would be. I am so excited. Jung Bo-rahm is the cutest, sweetest, most pure little friend and I can't wait to see her get baptized next month and receive the happiness of this gospel that I just want to share with everyone! She said she isn't sure when she wants to be baptized, so she said she'd pray this week to know what day to get baptized on. Pray for her!!! :)

Sister Workman and I were talking and thinking a lot about baptism and the reason why we want to baptize. We were talking about how Jung Bo-rahm and Aubrey are the same age and how that is really cool that I will get to see someone the same age as my little sister get baptized. That made me think a lot because Aubs is graduating this week and I can't go to support her. But she is really lucky because she is going out into the "real world" with an immense and important knowledge that most people don't have. She is going out into the "real world" knowing that she is a child of God, she came from a heavenly home with Him, and if she follows Jesus Christ and lives a happy, righteous life, she will return to live with Him again. With that knowledge, you never have to worry a day in your life. No matter what hardships come, you know who you are, where you came from, and where you are going. And if you are just trying to do your best to do your part, the place you are going is the most beautiful place beyond all imagination where you can be with everyone you love forever. You are safe and sound and happy for eternity if you just endure life well, stay positive and keep the commandments. No trial lasts forever if you follow Jesus Christ and keep His commandments. There is rest for us all. This gospel knowledge is everyone's "catcher in the rye" that makes the metaphorical jump from childhood off of a cliff and into adulthood a safe landing and not a hard fall. (If you haven't read The Cather in the Rye, go read it, kids) Anyway, I promise there's a reason behind me getting up on a soapbox with you right now. The reason is that Sister Workman and I were talking about our leaps off into the world and how we can't imagine how scary it would have been to do that without the knowledge of the gospel. We were talking about how blessed Aubrey and other kids graduating right now are that they have the gospel to guide their path for the rest of their lives and onto eternity. We were also talking about how Jung Bo-rahm will be graduating soon too (but they graduate in the winter in Korea). We were talking about how our greatest desire right now is to give Bo-rahm- and all of our investigators- the peace and knowledge of the gospel. I am so grateful for this gospel and how it had shaped my life to be a happy one with the constant hope of a great future. I hope everyone in the world gets to feel that hope as well.

Well, in other news we found two new investigators this week! This has been the most bountiful week of blessings I've had in a while!! I also got to go on exchanges with Sister Amende, my pal from the MTC and that was super fun! 

Missions are great, y'all. Don't hesitate, just go on one! It'll be some of the hardest, but brightest times of your life. When you live for you, life is hard. When you live for others, life is bright and hopeful. It's the grand paradox that Christ teaches us in Matthew 16:25. "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." And obviously, Jesus knows what He's talking about! 

Anyway, I love y'all to death! Have a wonderful week and don't forget to find people to serve and count your blessings! 

사랑해요!

"I you love"

Sister Johns

요한들 자매

Cereal party with Sister Amende! 

The One Where She Ate Dog

Yes. It happened. Everyone who serves in Korea has to do it and I did it. I ate everyone's favorite furry friend. I know you're all judging me so hard right now, but you only Korea once, my friends, even if you are a vegetarian. But before I say anything more about that I have to write about all of the fun adventures that happened this week. 

On Tuesday, we cleaned the church and a member took us out to eat Sahmgey tang, which is basically just an entire chicken steamed in a big bowl of soup. It was surprisingly super yummy! Friday was Zone Conference and everyone in Daegu Zone went down to Pusan and we went on a hike in the mountains and learned about Lehi's Dream and how we can be better at inviting everyone to taste the fruit of the tree (Christ's gospel/the Atonement). It was so fun and there were a bunch of stops along the way where we listened to talks by President Barrow and some of the other missionaries. At the top of the mountain, we took pictures and ate Korean Pear, which is pretty much as close to the fruit from the tree of life as it gets. Sister Clove and I got to see each other again and it was the reunion of a lifetime. I also got to see some of my other friends and hike with them, which was so fun! After hiking we listened to the returning missionaries' testimonies and it was such a great meeting. On Saturday we found a new investigator!! Yayy! We were stickerboard jundoing downtown to advertise for our free English class and this lady stopped and started talking to me. She was super interested in me and the other missionaries because we know Korean. She was so interested in me because I have only been in Korea for 10 months (lol...only) and she said that out of all of the foreigners she knows who study Korean I am one of the best (lol...lies because hardly any foreigners in Korea speak Korean so really, it's not that big of a compliment) and she was so interested in how we learn to speak Korean so quickly. We got her number and she came to English Class and we started talking about missionaries, our purpose, what we do all day, and about God. She said she used to be Christian and believed in God when she was young, but she had a hard time finding Him again when she got older and more busy. I just told her "yeah, He's pretty hard to find. But we can help you find Him and help you follow Jesus Christ." She said she liked that idea, so we'll be teaching her English and about the gospel once a week. We went out and got spicy 떡볶이 and I felt sooo bad for my poor trainee, Sister Workman, because she has a hard time with spicy food and our investigator knows I love spicy food so we went to the spiciest restaurant in town! I really enjoyed it, but my poor companion!!! She is such a trooper! Also, on Sunday, Jung Bo-rahm came to church by herself again. She is still a little hesitant to start the missionary lessons, but she really just likes being at church with us. She has some friends from Utah who are on missions, so she is really interested in missionaries. It is also really cool because she said that even though the church is much bigger in America than in Korea, there is the same good feeling. Keep praying for her! I think we should be able to start the lessons and invite her to be baptized next week. She is ready! 

Okay, so back to eating dog. Like, I said I would like for y'all to hold your judgement for a second because A. everyone who serves in Korea has to at least try eating dog soup once B. I only ate one bite and that was enough C. This is all just a part of me getting rid of my list of "nevers."

Let me just tell y'all, before I came to Korea, I had a huge, long list of "nevers." Here are just a few of the things on it...

The second I got to BYU, I said I'd never serve a mission...lol. Here I am!

I said I'd never cut my hair short before I turned 30... In February, I cut off 8 inches, just for the heck of it.

I said I'd never go to Asia ever and that I had no desire to travel there. Guess, what it's my home now and I love this place to death.

I said I'd never gain weight. Just laughing at pre-mission me who said she'd be different than every single other sister out there who serves and gains the inevitable mission weight. I've gained like 20 pounds in Korea and I just don't even care. It will all come off, just like it did for my sister and my friends and 90% of girls who serve. I can't be bothered to stress about weight.

I said I'd never run a marathon, and that is the first thing I'm training for when I get home because if I can survive an 18 month mission, I sure as heck can survive a marathon.

I said I'd never eat dog, and guess what?! I did. And it wasn't that bad. A little fatty, and I generally don't really like meat, so it wasn't my favorite. But it wasn't bad.

Basically, the point of all of this is to say, that we shouldn't put limits on what we can and can't do and what we will and won't do. Because I promise you that God will pull some funny little tricks on you and you'll just end up surprising yourself. It's really amazing what each of us are capable of. Before my mission I stressed so much about dumb things. Like how much I weighed, what people thought of me, etc. Now I don't care. I can't be bothered! I gave up my 125-pounds-of-pure-muscle self to the great people of Korea because I love them and I know how important eating is in this culture. It was hard, but I can tell you all that I will never struggle from another eating disorder again after my mission and that is the best feeling in the world. I will be forever grateful to my Korean friends for that. I will also be so grateful to all of the people in this mission who love each other and accept each other for who everyone is without judging. I know that I am surrounded by friends even if I am a clumsy gooberhead! I love my mission and all of the things that I am learning that I really hope I can give back a little because I just feel like no matter how hard I try, I can never give as much as I take. I am learning who I really am and how to be myself while I am serving and living among the best, most adorable, kind, fun, loving people in the whole entire world! 

Anyway, this week was great. It scares the crap out of me that my mission is coming to an end! I love this work, I love Korea, and I love God! 

사랑해요!!

"I you love"

Sister Johns

요한들 자매

Pusan hike

lol of this stalker pic of everyone on the mountain. I just thought I'd include it. 

Dog soup

Sad face (don't worry, I repented!!)

Dog meat...ewww!! Haha. Honestly, it tasted exactly how you would expect a dog to taste...

The One with Lots of Miracles and Tongsuyook

안녕하세요 from 사랑하는 구미!!!

This week was so much fun and so much for my poor trainee to take in!!! Bless her heart!! Korea put her though the ringer this week, but she handled it like a champ! I'll explain more about that later. But first I'll share some miracles.

Yesterday we got to church early to get everything ready before the members got there and when we were practicing for Sister Workman to lead the music the oldest daughter of the family that came last Sunday (her name is Jung Bo-rahm in case you want to pray for her *hint*hint*) just walked into the chapel. I went up and said hi and it turns out that she came to church all by herself!! Her family was on vacation but she couldn't go because she's in her last year of high school and kids here have to go to school 6-7 days a week during their last year of high school. By a miracle, Sunday is her only day that she doesn't have school, after school academy, or study hall. So she took the 20 minute train ride all the way to Coomi to come to church. The family in the ward that brought her to church last week didn't even know she was coming, but she did! And she took her only day off to come to church! I want to give her English teacher in Sandy a big kiss on the cheek for being such a great influence on all of the kids who did foreign exchange with her!! So she came to church and during YW we basically taught her a member present lesson about prayer and God and invited her to be baptized. We also asked her if we could start teaching her the missionary lessons after church and she said she'd ask her mom. Please pray for her that we will be able to teach her the lessons and help her get baptized!

Some other miracles this week were that we were able to find a long-lost less active member while we were advertising for our English class, we found a new investigator with lots of potential when we were out proselyting on the street, and we started inviting people to be baptized on the streets as we proselyte. Some people think that we're crazy, but President Barrow has been encouraging us to be more bold in our teaching and finding. There is so much work to do and not enough time to do it!

Okay, so I'm sure all of you white folk back at home are wondering what Tongsuyook is. Tongsuyook is delicious. It is like sweet and sour pork, but 500 times yummier, probably full of fat that is bound to clog your arteries, and possibly the best part of Korean "Chinese" food behind Jajang myun and Jambong. It is heaven...but if you have to be forced to eat an entire platter of it (which feeds like 4-6 people) with just you and your companion, you just might get diabetes or have a heart attack...or both. And that is pretty much what happened to us this week.

We made an appointment to meet with a less-active at the school where she works. So we met her there and helped her with organizing some things and she gave us a tour of her vegetable garden and the class rooms and she had us speak English with her students. It was so much fun. She is the cutest lady and she is so sad because she has worked at that school for 20 years and she has to retire next year. 슬픔!!!! But after she decided to take us out to dinner for helping her. She originally wanted to take us to this really delicious Korea side dish restaurant, but Sister Workman has a really hard time with Korean food so I had to refuse the offer (sad...). So we decided to go get some Korean Chinese food. It was so fun and we had a great conversation, but she ordered us each a giant bowl of Jajangmyun (black noodles) and a HUGE platter of Tangsoouyook. And she wanted us to eat the whole thing. So we did. And I kid you not, we were like Scooby and Shaggy waddling all the way back to our house. In the words of Grammy Johns: tie my legs around my neck and roll me home because I am stuffed like a pig. Hahaha. I love Korea. 

Anyway, that's all of the time I have to tell you about this weeks adventures! 

사랑해요!!

"I you love!!"

Sister Johns

요한들 자매

We have to bury our foodtrash in Coomi.

Diggin up a hole...*you've got to go dig those holes*

Adventures in 왜관 

The Training One

Hello from Coomi!

This week was insane and possibly one of the longest weeks of my mission!! It all started with transfer calls last week when I got called to be a trainer. Since we don't have transfer meetings anymore we can't all just camp out in Pusan until the trainees get there and we have to go back and forth between areas. It was way fun because Sister Clove and I are in the same zone so we were able to be temporary companions throughout the whole training ordeal.

I met Sister Clove at Daegu Station on Monday and then we headed back to Coomi and cleaned my apartment and shopped and got everything ready for a trainee to come...it seriously felt like I was baby-proofing the house or something. We were both so nervous that neither of us slept the entire night and we had to get up at 5:30 to take the train to Pusan, which is a little over 2 hours away from Coomi. We were so beat, but we were both so stressed that we couldn't sleep on the train. And when we got off of the train and went to get on the subway, it stared POURING buckets of rain. There was a huge typhoon, and, I kid you not, the second we stepped out into the open both of our umbrellas were completely annihilated by the wind and rain. And there was not an open taxi in site, so we just booked it to the mission home in the dumping rain. By the time we got there we both had string cheese man hair and we smelled like wet dogs. Sister George (the sister in the senior couple at the office) felt so sad for us and made us sit in front of the heater to dry off. 

And that is only where the fiasco begins! President Barrow was sending the returning missionaries off to Seoul, but they missed their KTX because of traffic so poor President ended up being super late to the meeting. While we were waiting we had a really great discussion about becoming a good leader and about how to be a good trainer with all of the other trainers. It was really cool! Then President Barrow came, we ate lunch, which I can't even remember eating to be honest because I was so tired. But apparently I was making dumb jokes the entire time due to lack of sleep. #humiliation #stressprobs #onlysisterjohns. But Sister Clove said that she would still be my friend anyway. Thank goodness! Haha. But we had an awesome training meeting, then we headed back to Songin (Sister Clove's area). She was whitewash training in and the sisters who were there before weren't expecting to be whitewashed out so they left the house a total mess and there was no food. So we rushed to the store (but we didn't know where anything was because neither of us had served there before) and finding it was a hassle and a half. We grabbed groceries and cleaning supplies and then got to work. We scrubbed that house from top to bottom and it took hours! It was kind of nice though because it just felt so good to do that service for Sister Clove and her trainee. Especially since Sister Clove said she'd still be my friend even if I make stupid jokes when I'm tired. Hehe. We stayed up until like 2 a.m. cleaning (oops) and it was really fun to be companions again and really helpful because we were able to talk to each other a lot about not stressing. We also joked around like idiots like we used to in Pohang. It was so much fun.

We finally went to bed, but we had to be up to get on a train to Pusan at 4:30am, so basically we pulled an all-nighter. (Kids, don't ever do that as a missionary. It is a horrible idea!) We got to the mission home and we were both a discombobulated, sleep-deprived mess. I'm sure it was really funny for the other missionaries there...

We did the Jundo activity where each of the trainers jundo with each of the trainees and it was really fun, but I felt so inadequate because all of the other trainers are so great...and then there's me. Haha. #바보 Anyway, I was so exhausted and I almost melted down on the mission home couch. But that's another story for another day...But on the up side of things, we had the most delicious food for lunch! 

Then we got assigned our trainees! They play all sorts of tricks on the trainers when they are assigning the trainees and I'll just say that there is a really embarrassing video of me and Sister Clove blindfolding each other and we're both so nervous about who our trainees will be that we both look like we're going to poop our pants. That will probably be shown at mission Christmas parties for the rest of forever for other missionaries to laugh at. But that is also another story for another day.

I really wanted to train a Korean because I love Koreans sooo much, but I got assigned to train Sister Workman, and I couldn't be happier!!! She is the best! She is so cute and so strong and so willing to work and to learn! I am so blessed! But honestly, all of the trainees this transfer are great! 

We had a great week this week and saw some miracles at church on Sunday! I prayed so hard to be able to find investigators because I haven't had an investigator in almost two transfers now even though we jundo and work like maniacs!! I was going insane and I wanted Sister Workman to have a great training experience, so I prayed that we would have some people to teach. And out of nowhere a new non-member family came strolling in through the front door of church on Sunday! Yay! 

There was only one problem. The mom had literally never even heard about God before and in gospel principles class our teacher didn't show up, but I'm the oldest missionary in the area and therefore the best at Korean so I had to teach the entire lesson with no prep. And our recent converts love deep doctrine and asking deep questions, so it turned into this insane discussion that I could barely follow. Lucky the bishop got some divine revelation to send a member in to help out and he got everything under control. Why is it the days that new people come that people decide to have debates about the essence of God?? Haha. I guess the church is the same wherever you go and there's always that one old lady who loves family history and that one guy who sits in the back and likes to go on deep doctrine tangents...

So the moral of the story is pray for this new family!! The girls went on foreign exchange to Sandy, Utah and they really love going to church. They are so cute!! 

This is all just one big adventure and I am so terrified for it to be over, but the end is getting closer and closer and it freaks me out so bad!! This week I hit my 1 year mark and my 10 months in Korea mark! It's unreal! I am having an existential crisis for realsies! Skyping this morning was an identity crisis and a half! But it will all work out or something like that!

See y'all in 6 fast Sundays!

사랑해요!!

"I you love"

Sister Johns 

Pics from a few weeks ago when we got assigned our trainees. Please ignore what I look like. I literally hadn't slept in 3 days. 

Sister Workman my trainee