Heart and Seoul: August 31, 2014 - Oh ee oh. Isn't it September?

Okay, so remember that roller coaster analogy from last week?

Well there's one thing I failed to mention about roller coasters. And that you get on, have the ride of a lifetime, and two minutes later you hear the click and feel the handle bars lift off your chest-- your clue that it is time to step off and let someone else take your place. It goes by SO FAST.

Thoughts of this sort rushed into my head this morning as I turned the page in my planner and saw the word September, staring me in the face. Can you believe it is already September? I can't believe it. I believe that God is my Heavenly Father and that he still performs miracles on the Earth today and that He restored the gospel through a modern prophet who, through God's power, translated a book that tells us where we came from, where we are going, and why we are here. But I simply can not believe it is September.

September promises to bring with it many an adventure, however. This upcoming weekend is one of two biggest holidays celebrated in Korea, so we get to join together with all the missionaries in the mission for what is sure to be a grand old time. That, along with the fact that I will be saying goodbye to my adolecence in but a short few weeks are only a bit of what is to come. The big news is that I will be celebrating these things, and many more a grand adventure, in a new area. I'm getting tranfered! That exclamation point (or as my dad likes to call them, explanation points.. huh dad. ;) ) is meant entirely to signify the kind of exclamation point that accompanies a wide eyed, opened mouth face. I was totally shocked! I will be leaving the center of Seoul and heading out to the boonies in an area called 춘천 and am to be companioned with a certain Sister 서주은.

... I debated whether or not to translate those into readable English and after several seconds of reasoning with myself, I decided on the latter. Alright, fine, mom. It's pronounced "Choon chun" and my companion is "Suh Jyu Un". I think it's pretty obvious that she is Korean, and I couldn't be more excited! Apparently my new area is something like the Lost City of Atlantis... only above ground.

I think.

Though excited, I am pretty sad to be leaving this not-so-little area of mine. I have grown to love it here. My beautiful area, my apartment, the amazing Sisters I live with (Sister Sieverts leaves Monday for Utah and she and I have grown so close these past two transfers), all the Elders in our district, our ward, and really just all the people I have met and had the opportunity to teach. I have grown to love my companion to pieces. Like Reese's Pieces. Because we all know how delicious those are. And I meant it when I said,"have grown". There was, indeed, some growing that needed to be done. Early on we hit a few rough spots (like when you mow the lawn and you hit a rock that your wierd dog who has a habit of eating rocks left hidden under a patch of tall blades of grass and you failed to find prior to mowing...), but we came through. We just kept on mowing and grew to love it and love each other so much. 예를 되면.. (for example)... Last night she plopped me down on the toilet and washed my feet. It was both hilarious and touching. I returned the favor with a blueberry smoothie. That, and we have fallen asleep hand in hand the last few nights. If that's not love, I don't know what is!

Oh yeah. And we may or may not have cut our hair together. Closer to the may than the may not.

But the best part about our little companionship is when we teach together. We have had the opportunity to teach together and role-play and there is such unity. We have been teaching our nine year old, 지호 (Gee ho who has a baptismal date for the 14th of this month!) and it's been a blast. My companion is so good with kids and I am having so much fun learning from her the Korean to use when giving analogies that kids can understand. We also taught Thomas and Leanne yesterday (I taught them back with Sister Seegmiller, but they've been too busy starting up their new business to meet) and it was incredible. The Spirit was so strong and we were both prompted to share scriptures that answered their questions. I could feel that pure joy that comes when the teacher and student are learning and growing together.

We also began teaching a new investigator this week that I found on the street a long while ago and she's so great! So great. So as you can see, all these things and more are what make leaving here that much harder. But I feel as though I have grown so much here this past transfer. Even Thomas said that he can "see a change in me" and that I am "more professional". It's probably just the haircut, but hey, whatever does it right?

I think I have changed some, but only for the better. My testimony is miles beyond what it was when I first embarked on this great adventure. The longer I stay in this country, the bigger my testimony gets. My testimony gets bigger, my hair gets shorter, my smile gets wider, my suitcase gets heavier, my Korean gets better, and my capacity to love grows infinitely brighter everyday. So yes, I think I'll stay here a little longer if you don't mind. Here's to the start of September as I begin my fifth tranfer with my fourth companion! Earth, Wind and Fire said it best, "Oh ee oh. Isn't it September? Oh ee oh..." Hah.

Yup, EWF, it most certainly is. I wish you all the best today and this month. I love you all.

Love,

Sister McCloskey