So this week...
This week this week. Ah, yes. This week. At the beginning of this week I was feeling a bit down. Not as far down as I dove when I got braces on for the second time. Heavens no. Nothing to that extent. But I just found myself, as I do everyday, yearning to find someone to share this beautiful message with and who would do so much as to pull out their headphones and listen. We currently do not have any progressing investigators and I occasionally find myself thinking that it is because of all that I lack as a missionary. I know that it is not, but it's often hard not to feel that way when we feel as though we are doing all we can and nothing is coming from it! We did quite a lot of 전도 this week, my companion and I! That is a term that ought to be elaborated on.
Sister McCloskey's Korean-English DICTIONARY
(For the folks back at home)
전도(하다): [jun-do] (v)
the act of preaching the gospel to every person who crosses your path (i.e. talking to everyone); a term frequented most among missionaries serving in the Korean area
Example: What did you do today? We 전도-ed for five hours straight! It was so awesome.
...Then she opened their understanding to life as a missionary in Seoul, Korea. We did quite a bit of the above this week. Talking to everyone on the street and subway and bus.
Tangent. Now back to the original topic at hand: feelings of in adequacy. Though this week, with appointment after appointment falling through and a myriad of rejections, I prayed hard for Heavenly Father to stengthen my faith that we would be able to find some prepared people and confirmation that our efforts are being recognized and I felt such an overwhelming feeling of peace. We have found and reactivated so many less-actives and through many of them I can feel God's love and appreciation for the work we are doing. We had an incredible zone meeting and it was such an answer to all my prayers. I have come to know, first hand, that missionary work is not easy. Secret's out! But I have also come to recognize that with God's help, it becomes a whole lot easier.
I'm just so darn grateful for prayer.
A few other things I have come to realize this week:
- I really do not know how to handle girls. Definitely something I needed to learn coming on a mission because by golly growing up with three brothers didn't prepare me for this! I'm a girl. I should be able to know what to do with girls right? Wrong. But I'm learning.
- My area encompasses the whole heart of this city. If you look at a map of Seoul and look above the river and all the area surrounding Namson tower, you are looking at my home. How. Cool. Is. That.
- Korean is really hard. Have I mentioned this one before?
- Koreans love macaroni and cheese. Who knew?
- My companion is just what I imagine cousin Briana would be if she had served a mission. Seriously the similarities are all but uncanny. She is loud, does really funny impressions and is always making people laugh, she has super long thick gorgeous locks of hair (though that doesn't apply anymore, so I hear), she's very much motherly, and she is so good with people. It really is like serving with you, Bri! So cool.
- The world is so small (especially in the church). This I knew, but came to know even more as a friend of mine from high school, Mckenna Jenkins, shows up in sacrament meeting with her boyfriend, the son of my mission president. What the?
So yes, this week was hard, and I learned a lot. Hopefully soon I will be writing about an investigator, but for now this is what you get! Oh, and yesterday, Sunday, we had a baptism of one of the Sister's Korean sign language investigators and watching them bear their testimonies was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. And our district sang and did the Korean sign language to "Love One Another". It was such a cool experience.
Wow. Sorry I had more to say than I though. Disclaimer: I have a Korean companion so this is me getting out all the english that's been boiling up inside me. :) Lucky you!
I love you. Heavenly Father loves you. There's proof in the Bible, you know. Go take a look at 1 John 4 if you don't believe me. :)
Love love love,
Me
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| Proof that I am happier than happy in this big city. I mean look at the size of that smile. This is Sister Sieverts last transfer and I am for sure going to cry when she leaves. I love her more than she will ever know. |
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| And here's a beautiful garden home in the middle of a downpour. mmmm.... |
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| This beautiful spot we happened upon last P-day that reminded me a lot of Ireland... |
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| And Sister Song cutting our nightly section of watermelon. :) |
Hey Kim,
ReplyDeleteMy son is in the MTC preparing to serve in the Seoul Korea Mission. He well arrive in Korea at the first of September. I stumbled upon Rachel's blog while looking for some snip-its to send to him about the country he'll be serving in. I love her writing and her faithful, optimistic attitude. I've laughed at many of her excerpts about the culture and the Korean people. Any sister would be blessed to have her as a companion. Thanks for sharing.
Merrilee,
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to comment. I am so impressed that you would go to all the trouble to reach out. You say such sweet things about Rachel, and I think I should let you know that she is just as happy, faithful and optimistic as she sounds in her letters. I hope that your son is adjusting well to Korea and that you are doing well. It's not an easy thing for a mom to say goodbye to her child for two years, but it's a comfort knowing that they are serving the Lord and they are in good hands. Thanks again for your kindness.