April 28, 2014
Dear everyone!
I can hardly believe it's P-Day already. Time seriously flies as a missionary. Don't blink! You'll be transfered before you know it.
Okay! This week we have some "Only in Korea" moments.
- For dinner the other day, my Korean companion ate fried rice and ... bondegghi. What is bondegghi? Excellent question. Silkworm cacoons boiled in their own bodily juices. YUM. And yes. My companion's name is Sister Yum.
- There are nuns in Korea. There are also Buddhist monks. And if you hadn't caught on yet, there are also Mormon missionaries. All we need is a rabbi and you've got yourself a joke.
- Yesterday, my comp and I were waiting to cross the street and this old guy pulled up on his bike right next to us. On the back of his bike was a huge crate of ... dripping dead fish. (This kind of thing is not uncommon...) From the country that brought you Samsung! ^^
- Speaking of Samsung, everyone in Korea over the age of 6 has a cellphone. And if you don't have a smart phone, you're either ancient or you're not 6 yet. And most of the primary kids have a smart phone. Yesterday before church, one of the young men brought out a bucket and made all the primary kids put their phones in it until sacrament meeting was over. It was actually really funny. The primary kids were not very happy about it. ^^
- The ship tragedy. If you have access to the news, you've probably heard about the ship sinking with all the high schoolers on a trip to Jeju Island. That's in our mission. It's a huge tragedy in the area. Everytime we talk to someone, the conversation always comes back to that. It's hurt a lot of people over here.
- On a happier note, we visited our bishop's house last night and got to spend some time with him, his wife, and their two sons. Their oldest son is 15 years old, and he really REALLY likes America. He also LOVES American things. So he asks me, "Do you know pibble?" "Pibble... You mean people?" (This is in Korean..Korean English pronunciation is always fun to figure out..^^) "No! Pibble! P-I-T-B-U-L-L." I almost died laughing. "Of course, I know Pitbull!" He spent a good 20 minutes talking about what American music I like. He likes Pitbull, Linkin Park, Glee, Bobby Ray, and Kanye West among a lot of others. It was one of the funniest and most memorable member appointments I've ever been too. And needless to say, we're pretty good friends now. ;)
On a more spiritual note, I want to testify that when you do the Lord's work, He does not make you do it alone. He ALWAYS goes with you. This transfer has been one of the harder parts of my mission, and for various reasons, I was getting pretty discouraged and lonely. But I knew that part of faith is carrying on happily and with a brightness of hope no matter what you may face, so I tried to work that way. This past week, Heavenly Father answered so many of my unspoken prayers for comfort. The Gumi members are so amazing. On Saturday, we had a meal at one of our member family's houses, and they show us so much love. They are so kind, and they really just treat us like good friends. It was so comforting just to feel that love. Later, we were with some of our single adults, and one of them just decided to buy us ice cream while another one, Sister Yoon, and I just had a conversation as good friends, not as missionary and member. Yesterday at church, Brother Moon, our ward mission leader and another single adult, and I just joked around yesterday after church, and it was so good to just feel like a part of the ward. Later, at the bishop's house, I could just feel how much they loved me. I can't explain the feeling but it was wonderful, and I know that Heavenly Father chose to answer my prayers through them. I'm so grateful to be able to be in Gumi. I'm so grateful for the members here, and not just as the members, but as individuals. Each one of them is special, and I'm so grateful to Heavenly Father that He allowed me to come to know that. I love them each so much, and I know Heavenly Father feels that way about each of us. I know that He knows us personally and that He always hears our prayers and that He will always answer them. Sometimes we do have to wait, but He will always answer because He is our Father and because He loves us with a perfect love that we cannot even begin to imagine. I know this gospel is true with all my heart.
I love you all so much!
Love,
Sister Bonney
