THREE AREAS?

October 21, 2013

Dear everyone,

The last few days have been FULL of changes! First, on Thursday night, transfer calls came. And Sister Lee has already left for Kyongju. I'm staying in Geumjeong another transfer! My new companion is Sister Oh. Sister Oh is WONDERFUL! She is just about the calmest person I've ever met, and honestly, I think it might be exactly what I need. She takes everything a little bit slower. Sister Oh also speaks PERFECT fluent English. She studied at BYU-Hawaii for two years, and that has been a huge blessing for me. I loved Sister Lee with all my heart, but being able to communicate is something irreplaceable.

The last several transfers, the Geumjeong sisters (us) have been over two areas because our ward boundaries cover two areas: Geumjeong and Yangsan. Yangsan is super country and about an hour away from Geumjeong. Today, after our transfer meeting, an elder from my district came up to me and asked, "You excited to start working in Oncheon?" Oncheon is the area next to ours. The office elders and APs work in that area. We are also now over Oncheon. We have THREE areas. My mind is still blown. We are over two wards, three areas, a total of 4 English classes, and wow. I'm still reeling a little bit. Sister Oh and I will be praying a lot, but seriously, I'm so excited. It's going to be so much fun! Two wards?! Wow. So excited.

The past week, my desire and love for missionary work has grown so much. As I prepared for the new transfer and my new companion's arrival, I started looking at our investigators and members with new eyes. Since I've finished my first two transfers, I'm not "training" anymore. I'm a full-blown missionary. As that realization really sank in, I started to understand how missionaries really are God's care-takers in the areas they've been called to serve in. The people of Geumjeong, Yangsan, and now Oncheon are our responsibility, and we need to do everything in our power to understand their spiritual needs and meet them to the best of our ability. It's kind of an overwhelming thing, but I know that the Lord qualifies who He calls. If He didn't, He couldn't call us. He calls the weak and the simple because He knows they will trust Him. I know this gospel is true with all my heart. I love my Heavenly Father more than I can express. And I'm SO excited for this transfer! 

I love you all so much!

Love,

Sister Bonney

Buddhist monk? Miracle?

October 13, 2013

Dear everyone!

 

First off, last week my email title made no sense and I didn't realize that until I was trying to fall asleep that night. Solid. Anyway, explanation! "Policemen don't need to be stylish" or whatever. So although Sister Lee and I have finally figured out how to communicate with each other, we still have those moments when we totally miss each other. For example, I was talking to Sister Lee (in Korean) about how I think Korean glasses are so much better than American glasses. They're stronger, cheaper, and more stylish. She was not agreeing at all, and I didn't understand why. Finally, she says in broken English, "Policemen don't need to be stylish!" Yup. Solid.

 

So this past week was my birthday!!! Which was fun, but at the same time, just an ordinary day. We spent most of the morning and afternoon in our apartment actually studying (which we do every morning) and then weekly planning (which takes about 3 hours). Then we had English class. We bought a cake, and we partied with the elders which was actually really fun! Our ward has the best elders. :) They brought me two huge bags of my favorite Korean candy, which was super sweet of them! I was actually really impressed they even knew and remembered what it was! 10 gentlemen points, right there!

 

This week has been full of little miracles, but I'm only going to mention a few of them. Yesterday, we were supposed to meet an investigator at a subway station, but they never showed up. (That wasn't the miracle, in case you were wondering...) Anyway, there were a couple women from another church passing out fliers. A man approached us and asked if we were from their church. We explained we weren't and told him a little about our gospel. He was SO interested. As sister missionaries in our specific mission, we're not allowed to approach men, but he approached us! That was the miracle. We got his contact information, and he agreed to meet with us and the elders to learn more!

 

Another miracle: Yesterday, we walked into the hallway after church and there was a nonmember man and a Buddhist monk standing in the middle of the foyer. What. The. Heck. He had the shaved head and monk clothes and everything. Apparently, he wanted to learn English! The nonmember man had attended our English classes in the past and told the monk we would teach him because we are kind, service-loving people. And the monk is interested in our gospel. HOW THE HECK DOES THAT EVEN HAPPEN!?!?!?! I have no idea. But Heavenly Father does. I can't wait to see what happens!

 

There have been SO many other miracles this week, I can't even list them! Like meeting an investigator who lives an hour away about 50ft outside our apartment door the morning after she prayed to know if God wanted her to meet with us?! How does that even HAPPEN?!?!?!? It's such a blessing to be able to see how God is working in our area.

 

One of the most exciting things about this week was General Conference. We were able to watch it in English, thank goodness. :) And every speaker was so inspired and guided through the Spirit. Just hearing the speakers, my testimony grew SO much that God speaks today! He loved His children back in the days of the scriptures, and He loves us just as much now! Why would He ever stop communicating with us?! He wants to speak to us, to guide us, to comfort us, and He does. We just have to be willing to listen with faith and with an open heart. God speaks NOW! I KNOW IT! I love this gospel with my whole heart, and I KNOW it is true. God lives, and I love Him more than I can express. And that's why I'm on a mission.

 

I love you all!

 

Love,

Sister Bonney

"But policemen don't need to be stylish..."

October 6, 2013

Dear everyone!

          I hope you are all doing well and getting excited for Halloween! Halloween does not exist in Korea, but all the foreign missionaries are having fun planning "Harvest Parties" for our area's members. I'm actually really going to miss Halloween... But that's irrelevant! And I can't spell anymore. Bear with me.

          Anyways, our area is actually slowly starting to pick up the pace! We have a special investigator named Katie (that's her English name). She and her daughter Annie lived in San Diego, CA for 2 years where Katie studied TEOFL. They speak PERFECT English. She never speaks Korean with me. Ever. They started coming to our English classes about 2 weeks ago, and that also includes our Bible class where we discuss Bible stories in English. She came with so many questions about the gospel. She had been found and taught by missionaries in CA, but had never accepted the gospel. She's struggling to believe in God, but her desire to believe is so fervent and so strong. She approaches US to talk about the gospel. She wants faith so badly, and I know it will come as she seeks earnestly. We're doing our best to follow the Spirit as we help her!

            Having a Korean companion has been fun and interesting. Korean and American culture is SO different, and so sometimes having a Korean companion is ... interesting. It's just as frustrating to my companion to have a foreigner as her companion too, but it's really helped me to understand the Korean people and Korean culture which I know will be a great blessing as I serve these people. Also, Korean is amazing. The Lord has blessed me so much. I can speak and understand incredibly well for a second transfer missionary, and I know it's all Heavenly Father cause I am NOT this gifted. (Especially with Korean. Cause Korean's just totally backwards.) Sometimes I'm afraid that because I am doing so well with the language I'm going to get called to train or be senior companion soon, but for now, I'm just going to speak Korean. And I love it.

            This work is real! The more I serve here, the more I love the people and am able to see how much Heavenly Father manifests His love for us in so many ways. This gospel is true!

Love,

Sister Bonney