Sister Bonney: Called to Serve in Busan: The Gadianton Rappers and the Blue Sock

Dear Mom, Dad, Elder Bonney, Elizabeth, Benjamin, Andrew, Eve, James, Miriam, Anna, Joseph, Rebekah, Abigail, Esther, and Peter, and everybody else!

This week has been so AMAZING! 힌국밀 (Korean) is going so well!!! 우리의 구도자들 (our investigators) are progressing so well, and my testimony has been growing so much! (Okay. I finally got a Korean keyboard, but typing it is really hard, but just know that I could have said just about all of that in Korean.) At the end of my day now, I can't seem to be able to express in sufficient words how grateful I am for how much Heavenly Father has blessed me. Life as a 손겨사 (missionary) is always hard in its own way, but there is so much joy in the Lord's work.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE WONDERFUL PACKAGE!!!! The chocolate, fruit snacks, and the beautiful pictures absolutely made my day!!! There are several sisters in our residence hallway who have come over and told me how great they think your pirate pictures are.

Our district is absolutely the best. Sister Johnson and Sister Wadsworth are always so upbeat, but our elders are my favorite. ^_^ They call themselves the Gadianton Rappers, and I'm so excited every morning to spend another day with them! I'm going to be so sad to leave the MTC because our district's going to have to split up since not all of us are going to Korea Busan. They are such great examples of faith and dilligence to me, and it is so wonderful so be around such worthy priesthood holders all the time!

Korean is going SO well. Heavenly Father is blessing our district so much. We've gotten through our first grammar book, and we can all read about 5 times as fast as we could the second week. Also, we've memorized both the missionary purpose and the baptismal invitation in Korean. This next week, Elder Wilson, Elder Hansen, and I are going to help them memorize the First Vision. Our teachers, Brother Kim and Sister Sagers, are wonderful. They really care about us, and they are so patient with us. We've learned so much! I can hardly believe that a month and a half ago, I didn't even know how to say "Book of Mormon". The Gift of Tongues is real! I witness it everyday in class, when we teach, and when I hear the others in our district speak Korean. It's so amazing. I wish you all could hear us!

This week, my testimony of tender mercies has been strengthened so much. Tender mercies are any blessing that Heavenly Father gives to us in any form just because He loves us. Last Saturday, I had a rough day. Like it was really bad. I don't know why, but I honestly couldn't understand more than two words in Korean during our lessons. I screwed up in one of our lessons because I thought our investigator said one thing when he really said another. I was really tired, and I was having a really frustrating time being positive. And it was the day after P-Day. Which is kind of like Monday for missionaries. At the end of our last class, when we got back to our residence hall, all our roommates were upset because they had had horrible days too. (Day after P-Day. Case and point.) But for me, that was a tender mercy. We all just sat on the floor and had a pity circle. But eventually we all started to make an effort to recognize how much we had been blessed, and then everything started to get a little better. First, I got the package from my family. With a package like that, I couldn't help but be sooo happy. ^^ Also, I found my blue sock. Okay. I don't expect you to understand, so don't try if you don't. I have three pairs of colored socks that I wear with my favorite tennis shoes. I feel really fly in them. I love them. A lot. I have an orange pair, a blue pair, and a green pair. I'm wearing my blue pair right now, and I'm feeling very attractive in them, let me tell you. Anyway, a week before (2 weeks ago), I lost my orange pair and one of my blue ones. I was so sad. You have no idea. But I decided not to let my socks control my attitude (cause that's even more ridiculous than being emotionally attatched to them), and I just kind of forgot about it. But I did pray I would find them.... Yeah. I did that..... Anyways, I found my orange pair a couple days after I lost them, but since then, it had been about a week and a half, so I didn't think I would find my blue sock. But I was over it. So over it I didn't even know what I was over. But that fateful Saturday night, I picked up a pair of pajama pants off my bed, and my blue sock fell on the floor. HAAAAAAAAAAALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Missionaries are very easy to please and entertain, but this was also just a Sister Bonney moment. And it absolutely made my night. I had looked EVERYWHERE! I had looked under my bed, in my suitcases, I had emptied my drawers, checked a couple Lost and Founds, and I had not found it. But God knew I was going to have a bad day, and so He sent me back my blue sock. You probably think it's stupid, but don't hate. Appreciate. For me, it was a big deal.

Beyond the blue sock, my testimony has grown so much. The Lord hears and will answer your prayers if you only have the faith that He will! He know you so perfectly, and He loves you so unconditionally! Pray to recognize how to He has blessed you, and I know you will be able to see so many blessings in your life. The scriptures are the word of God, and through them He will comfort you, strengthen you, teach you, and uplift you while filling you with His Spirit. Jesus Christ lives, and because of his Atonement, we can be forgiven, resurrected, sealed as eternal families, and return to live with our Heavenly Father in a perfect state of happiness. This Church is TRUE! It was restored through Joseph Smith, and it is the true and full Church of Jesus Christ on the earth today! I am so grateful to be a member of this Church and for all the blessings that I have recieved from knowing its truthfulness and being able to partake of its blessings throughout my life. Mosiah 18:8-9 The gospel is true!!!! Jesus Christ is our Savior, Redeemer, Master, and Messiah. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

I love you all so so so so so much!!!!!!

Love,

Sister Bonney