And.
Yeah.
Stuff.
I seriously feel like Pday was yesterday no joke.
Well actually this week we went to the senior center in another area and served food to the old people at the cafeteria. It was a lot of standing in one place for a long time- but it was great! The old people were so funny XD One old dude saw me and the other American sister and was like "Is this really Korea?" And a bunch of old people were like "Is today some special day?" It was cute :) And a few of them spoke their limited English to us. Hehe.
Ah! Gosh! Tuesday, on the way to meet with our new investigator we had to travel kind of far, so we got on the bus by our house and a guy (maybe 22?) got on the same bus as we did, got off on the same stop, got on the same subway, got off and transferred on the same line, and got off on the same stop as we did. We totally felt like stalkers the whole time. After we met our new investigator we went and got some boxes for the Elders, The one set of Elders (ZLs) were gone, and Elder Lant and Elder Reis were stuck at home because Elder Reis can't walk. They were moving, so they didn't have boxes. We brought them and a bunch of snacks and food to help Elder Reis cheer up. He went home the next day because of his legs (I think his kneecap was fractured and something wrong with his ankle) his last companion who was also hit had to go home as well, but hopefully they'll be back soon!
Ah yeah, so the 3rd elder in the last week has come to our area and we hope this is the final change. Sister Bae doesn't want to keep memorizing their names XD
This week at Zone training we did some 'unity' activities. One of them included a two person push-up. Its basically like, unless you can do a one-handed push up you fail. We didn't fail. Mwhahahahahaha. Well for reals, you have to only use one arm and the other connects you and your comp as you do a push up at the same time. Its no joke. We had to do the girl push-up version. But then we (us and the other set of sisters) got cocky and did a 4 man push-up. We succeeded. AHAHAHAH. It was so funny. All the Elders were like "The heck?!?"
After zone conference we met with another investigator that night. She loves the Bible, and she loves her church, but she also loves the missionaries and knows there is something different about us. Teaching her is hard, I won't lie. Every time we ask a question (and sometimes even when we don't) she brings up some random verse from the Bible that may or may not be related to what we are talking about. This time was no different in that sense, but on the other hand, my companion and I were on fire. After the lesson was over we both slumped in our chairs and acknowledged we had never taught a more unified, spiritual lesson than the one we just had. It was tripping awesome.
On Friday the mission had a conference for all the Korean missionaries, so while my companion went to the conference I went on exchanges with Sister ~~. My mission life hasn't been very long, but this exchange may stand to be one of the most interesting, one of a kind exchanges I've ever been a part of.
Sister ~~ is a wonderful missionary. She's got a great testimony, desire to serve and work, a love for the Gospel, a relationship with our Heavenly Father, and she needs a fake elbow.
Yep, you may be wondering what a fake elbow has to do with anything. You may also be wondering why that makes her a wonderful missionary. You may also be wondering what I ate for lunch. You may also be wondering why I keep telling you what you're wondering. You may also be wondering when I'll finally get back to the point.
Well.
Keep wondering.
Just kidding.
Sister ~~ visited the hospital recently because the pain in her 'elbow' (it's not actually an elbow bone, she had it replaced a long time ago with some other bone) was really bad. It turns out, she has bad arthritis. Not only that, there may be a problem with the nerves in her arm, which means she has to get an elbow replacement ASAP otherwise her arm will die. Lastly, they don't know whether or not she really has the nerve issue and they can't find out until they actually preform surgery.
So when I went to their area, Sister ~~ was awaiting a phone call that would inform her whether or not she would be sent home. But you know, go home, come back, finish up, whatever. Almost. Sister missionaries can't return to the mission if they've been out for over a year. The day I exchanged was Sister ~~ year mark on her mission.
We visited a RC together and during our lesson we got a text from the president to call. So we finished and she called him.
Its interesting walking next to the missionary who gets that call. I'll be completely honest, before my mission I was extremely judgmental of missionaries who came home early due to 'health problems'. Granted, lots of missionaries go home using the excuse of health problems when they are truly capable of finishing the mission they have been called to. On the other hand, I experienced firsthand the sorrow, frustration, despair, and sadness of a missionary whose only desire was to fulfill the mission to which she committed her heart and soul. She was scared, and upset, and shocked, and overall in need of comfort. When we got to the house she called her mom and worked things out for her return trip and such. She cried.
I couldn't really do anything but sit and watch as my perspective was changed. Guys, there are a lot of missionaries who go home early because they are bums. And there are a lot of missionaries that are sent home early who have an earnest desire to do the Lord's work and be His tools for the salvation of His children. Don't miss that difference. I did. I know I did.
I don't know if what I said to that sister helped her, but I do know that that experience changed me. I am a weak person, but I want to change and be strong. I want to let these experiences break my stubborn opinions and bring light where my walls kept me in the dark. The mission is great! I feel it.
Sister ~~ will probably leave for home on Thursday. Keep her in your prayers. :)
On another, lighter note. After English class we had an impromptu musical! Starring guess who? Oh, right. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Sister Brooksby. My companion really likes to hear me sing broadway songs. So, she volunteers me to sing everywhere we go.
It's fun. I love singing and acting, and she loves watching. It works out.
When they heard I would sing the Elders all grabbed chairs and sat down to listen. The new Elder, Elder Young, asked "What's the big deal?" And Elder matthews replied "No, she's a really good singer." Aww thanks! Its nice to hear.
Actually, because I sand at the members house last week I suddenly acquired 4 requests to sing at different meetings. RS, the baptism yesterday, a RS activity on Saturday, and in church next month.
Magical. Haha.
Speaking of the baptism. It was an 8 year old girl, her LA dad baptized her. It was funny, the primary kids sang the same song we prepared, so everyone ended up hearing the same song twice, but two very different versions. Sister Bae played the violin and Elder Karlson played the piano. It was great! We all got lots of compliments after :)
That's the week! Its been pretty crazy!
No comments:
Post a Comment