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
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