Monday, August 8, 2016

The One With Adventures in Pusan and Morning Exercises With Grandmas

Wow. This week was eventful!! Life as an STL...ㅋㅋ 

This week we left for Pusan early on Tuesday morning and we had an STL training meeting with President Barrow and the APs. It was really great and I learning a lot, but the best part was probably the salad for lunch and the choco-peanut butter bars that Sister Barrow made.ㅎ

After that meeting it started pouring rain and a typhoon came through so Sister Allred and I had to trek through the dumping rain to the subway station. But it was pretty funny and we just laughed about it. All of our stuff got completely soaked though and everything in my suitcase smelled like wet dog...yum! 

We went on our first exchange with the Deshin/Quejung sisters. They cover two areas, Deshin and Quejung which are in the older part of Pusan. The coolest part is that Korea's very first church building is in Deshin because I think that Deshin is where the church started in Korea. It was super cool and Sister Allred and I worked our butts off there to help those sisters!! It was really great and I got to go on an exchange with Sister Markus from the MTC.

After we finished up with Deshin/Quejung sisters' exchange, we headed over to Haeundae/Gwangan...boy was that amazing!! I have wanted to see that area for my entire mission! It was soo cool! We even went and got lunch by the beach. And on the way to teach an investigator, we passed by the world's largest mall!! It was sooo cool! I think there's a reason why I have to serve my whole mission on the countryside because I would get waayyyy too distracted by the tall buildings, flashy lights, beaches, and malls in the city! 

But the best part of exchanges was morning exercises with the Haeundae/Gwangan sisters. There's a little track/exercise park by there house and everyday from 6-7 the grannies and grandpas go there and do yoga and at the end of the "yoga" class, everyone gives each other a massage. We couldn't pass that up, so we went running for a little bit and then joined in on the yoga. Not gonna lie, it was pretty dang hilarious considering that the grannies and grandpas were so excited to have four foreigner girls and a foreigner boy (and his poor Korean companion who was 100% mortified) come join in. At the end we all did a massage train and the most awkward part is that a grandpa started massaging me!!! Ahh!! Don't tell President...ㅋㅋ It was sooo funny! Everyone chanted while doing the massage train and Sister Allred and I died laughing...we may or may not have both peed our pants a little bit. But the best part is that at the end everyone slapped each other on the butt and said "good job" so I got slapped on the butt by an 80-year-old grandpa (that's not weird in Korea, btw. It's just something that old people do to young people in a sort of grandparent-baby sort of way). Hahahaha!! But it was all worth it because my back was cured of 14 months of knots from sleeping on the floor! Ahhh! It was soo funny! I really wish I would have taken my camera...It seriously looked like an episode of TellieTubbies...ahhahaha.

Back on a more spiritual note, we had Mission Leadership Coordination Meeting on Friday and it was really great. It was super cool to learn lots from the other leaders in the mission. And Sister Cooper and Sister Hall were there, so it was great to see them! And we had one of my favorite foods for lunch and delicious TEXAS SHEET CAKE!!! I was so happy!!

It was way fun to have so many sleepovers with the other sisters, but sleeping on the floor kind of made my back hurt, so I was really excited to see my yo (Korean floor bed thingie) back in Jeju.

Things on Jeju have been great! We met with a new Russian investigator and her family. She speaks a little Korean, no English, and we speak no Russian (unfortunately...ㅠㅠ) so teaching is pretty interesting. It's just a lot of hand gestures, Google translate, and our rudimentary Korean against hers. But we ordered some Russian pamphlets, so that should help a lot. We also are going to see if we can find someone in Seoul or some other part of the world who can translate for us through Skype. We still have to talk to President about it, but I have heard of other missionaries doing that in other areas and seeing success. Hopefully it all works out! 

Other than that, things are just coming along. It is hotter than Hades here and we are constantly sweating to death. I know it's not Thailand or anything, but this weather is killer! I can't wait for it to be nice outside again!! 

Before I finish I have a quick assignment for all of you! This week a new American family moved into our branch and we taught them in English during Sunday school. We talked about the Sabbath Day, keeping it holy, and consecrating ourselves. Our discussion really made me think about who I was before my mission, what I did with my time and how I really know so little about what really goes on in ward and branches around the world. After being a missionary, my eyes have been opened to a lot of things!! So I have a few questions for y'all and a challenge. 
1. Do you know the names of all of the less active families in your home ward/branch and actually try to reach out to help them? 2. Do you know the names of the investigators the missionaries in your area are teaching?? What do you do to help them? 3. Do you know the names of families in your ward/branch who are struggling and need help?
If you have answered yes to these questions and you are actively working to help these people, then thank you and keep up the good work. If you said no, I would invite you to repent, change, and help your brothers and sisters out!! Most of these people have made sacred covenants with God and they aren't keeping them. Do you know what that means? If you look in the scriptures, it's really not pretty! And if they haven't made those covenants yet, they're missing out on blessing that we have that they don't! And if we don't do anything about sharing those blessings so that others can receive and enjoy them too, then that's pretty dang selfish. If you said no, please think of what's holding you back and compare that thing's worth to the worth of a soul. We have a lot more responsibilities than we think as church members!! Are you fulfilling yours?? I sure hope I continue to once I return home from my mission. And I sure hope that it doesn't just end with the dissipating of fresh-off-the-mission "RM weirdness." In every ward or branch in the world whether it's here on Jeju, at BYU, or anywhere in the world, there are people who need a friend and a helping hand. Are you making yourself available to be that? 

I hope you will all look out for people in your area who need help and actually act and do something to help them!! This religion is not a passive one! We must follow Christ's example and love all others around us, not just through our words but through our actions. Whether it is the family across the street that just moved in, the old lady who has lived next door for ages, or the less active church member who has been forgotten on the church member list, it's our job as Christ's followers to help them. That is what we covenanted to do at baptism. 

Anyway, that's all I've got for this week! Have a great week!! 

사랑해요!
"I you love"

Sister Johns

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